"The season of Lent is upon us," Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry says in his Message for Lent 2016. "It is a season of making a renewed commitment to participate and be a part of the movement of Jesus in this world." You can watch the video or read the statement online here: Presiding Bishop's Message for Lent 2016.

The Rev. Liam Collins is teaming up again with Canon Frank and Victoria Logue to offer a Lenten Retreat at Honey Creek. The 2016 Lenten Retreat will meet February 19 at 5 p.m. and conclude by 2 p.m. on the 20th. Find the deep connections that will permit your life to be lived not out of a sense of never being or having enough, but in the power and presence of God. Come expecting God to be present to you.

The rates for the conference including three meals are: Lodge 1 Single $144, Lodge 1 Double $99.50, Lodge 2 Single $133, Lodge 2 Double $94, Cottage $90, and Campers and Commuters $64. Click here to register online with Honey Creek.

For busy families, finding the practices to nurture your faith is no easy task. Two friends of mine have teamed up to create an important resource this Lent in the GrowChristians.org website. The site launched early to encourage registrations for the updates throughout Lent and the reflections at the site have been though-provoking as Ben Irwin wrote about talking to kids about hard stuff in Lent and Derek Olsen shared why he considers taking our kids to the Ash Wednesday liturgy to be so important.

The ambitious goal of GrowChristians.org is to "create an online community of discipleship focused on the practical details of life at home."" To accomplished this, they have brought together reflections, stories, images, and recipes from a diverse group of Episcopalians around the church. The group blog is a pilot project intended to inspire "generations to come together as they celebrate the presence of God through the Christian year."

I know Nurya Love Parish, the Episcopal priest behind the Diocese Western Michigan's Plainsong Farm and Scott Gunn, Executive Director of Forward Movement and I am grateful to these two leaders for creating thoughtful ways families can engage with their faith meaningfully this Lent. I encourage you to sign up for the email updates.

Peace, Frank 

Frank Logue, Canon to the Ordinary  

The Episcopal Diocese of Florida is hosting its 2nd Annual Conference on Prison Ministry, to be held at Christ Episcopal Church, Ponte Vedra Beach, March 2-4. Building on last year's successful conference, we will explore the best ways to "seek and serve the Christ in others" who face issues of Reentry into Society and the opportunities for Reconciliation.

 

Joining us this year will be scholars, laity, and clergy whose experience in facilitating Reentry and Reconciliation will help illumine the path travelled by those formerly incarcerated and those who minister to them in God's name. Among our speakers are: The Very Rev. Michael Battle, who has written extensively on issues of Reconciliation and served numerous roles in the US and across Africa, assisting Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Sister Ann McCarthy, OSB, of Monasteries of the Heart, and a colleague of Sister Joan Chittister; Dr. Byron Johnson, of Baylor University, a scholar on issues of faith, domestic violence, and criminal justice. The Rev. Canon William Barnwell, former Canon Missioner at Washington National Cathedral and a lifelong minister and advocate on prison ministry issues, who is also a key participant in Welcome Home Sunday, a program in Louisiana that works to help people getting out of prison merge back into society.

 

All persons, lay or clergy, of all faith traditions who are, or seek to become, involved in serving those who are or have been incarcerated are strongly urged to join a community of others seeking to bring good news to prisoners. More information and registration links can be found at: Registration PMC.

Prayers for February 7-13
In our diocesan cycle of prayer, we pray for our congregations in Augusta, especially, St. Augustine's, St. Mary's, and St. Paul's. We also pray for our ecumenical partners St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Adel, and St. Ann Catholic Church in Alapaha. In our companion diocese of the Dominican Republic, we pray for the congregation in Boca Chica -Grace (De la Gracia), Mount Zion (Monte Sión), and St. Joseph (San José).