Frontpage, Feb. 14, 2021

Feb. 14 – Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Feb. 14 – 11:00am, Morning Prayer – Join here at 10:30am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Feb. 14 – 7:00pm, Compline – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

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Feb. 16 – Shrove Tuesday

Feb. 17 – Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent

Feb. 17 – 10:00am – Ecumenical Bible Study through Zoom

Feb. 17 – 3:00pm – 5:00pm. Village Harvest Food Distribution.

If you would like to volunteer, please email Catherine or call (540) 809-7489. Pack bags for distribution 1-3PM Deliver food to client’s cars 3-5PM.

Feb. 17 – 7:00pm (6:30pm gathering)- Ash Wednesday service through Zoom Please bring a candle with you to light during the service, and some ashes if you’d like to impose ashes during the service. If you’d like some ashes from St Peter’s, come by the church between 4 and 5 PM on Wednesday. Bring a small container with you.

• Bulletin
• Lectionary
• Sermon

Read about the service and listen to the organ on the postlude.

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Feb. 21 – First Sunday in Lent

Feb. 21 – 11:00am Morning Prayer – Join here at 10:30am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Feb. 21 – 7:00pm, Compline – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

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Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 16 – at Home

Pieter Aertszen’s The Pancake Bakery, circa 1508.

In the Anglican tradition, Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday) was the day all households used up all milk, eggs, and fat to prepare for the strict fasting of Lent. These ingredients were made into pancakes, a meal which came to symbolize preparation for the discipline of Lent.( An article about Scottish Shrove Tuesday maintains this may have faded out in the mid-eighteenth century, at least in Scotland.)

Other names for this day include Carnival (farewell to meat) and Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday of the French tradition). Ironically, masks play an important role in many celebrations of Carnival around the world. What a shame that we can’t gather in person in our masks for a real Carnival celebration!

1. On Tuesday, February 16th, cook your pancakes at home with your family. Your conversation around the table could include the following Shrove Tuesday themes.
2. Recall a past Shrove Tuesday. Share with the others what your plans are for Lent—do you plan to give up something or to take up something with the intent of growing closer to God and to creation? How do you plan to focus on God?
3. Choose a devotional reading to share. One possibility is “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12 (NRSV)

   Psalm 51 is described as a prayer for cleansing and forgiveness. Why is forgiveness important? What does having a clean heart mean to you?

4. Consider adding a service opportunity during the 40 days of Lent. It may be for a sick or dependent neighbor. Or do something for the neighborhood like picking up trash or planting a tree.

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Lent Begins Feb. 17

Lent is a 40 day Christian festival beginning Ash Wednesday and concluding on Easter (Sundays are not counted).  The 40 day fast of Jesus in the wilderness was responsible for the number 40 being chosen .  It was said by Athanasius in 339 AD to be celebrated the world over.

The word “Lent” comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word lengten, which means “springtime,” named so for the time of the year in which it occurs.   The five Lenten Sundays are followed by the Sunday of the Passion, Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week, when we relive the events of Jesus Christ’s suffering and death.

What we now call Lent was originally a period of fasting and study for catechumens who were to be baptized on the Saturday before Easter.  The purpose of this extended fast was to practice self-denial and humility. This was to prepare oneself for receiving God’s grace and forgiveness in baptism, given on Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday.

Lent is:

• A time for looking at the things we do that are wrong or that tempt us, asking God’s and other people’s forgiveness;

• A time for giving up things that keep us from being loving people;

• A time for doing extra things that will help us grow closer to God;

• A time to be more aware of what it means to love as God loves us;

• A time to ask God to help us to be more loving, remembering
that God is always ready to strengthen us.

• A time to let go of our normal routine, try a new spiritual practice, to step out of our box, to reflect on ourselves, to reflect on a relationship with God. It can be a very creative time. At a later time these practices may help us endure trying of challenging times. Lent gives us a chance to practice facing our fears, journeying in the wilderness, confronting the dangers and difficulties we find there, and reaching out for Jesus’ hand the entire trip.

"The forty days of Lent serve as a time for Christians to return to the Sacred Presence, to the God who has never left us, even though at times we have been far away. Lent is a time to renew classic disciplines of prayer and reflection, as well as ancient practices such as fasting and Bible study. All of this is designed to renew a right spirit within us and to prepare us for the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection at Easter." ‐The Rev. Gary Jones, St. Stephens, Richmond

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By Kimberly Knowle-Zeller

She is ordained ELCA pastor, mother of two and spouse of an ELCA pastor. She lives with her family in Cole Camp, Mo.

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God of mystery and wisdom,

be with us this Lenten season.

It’s been a long way, already

sickness, worry, isolation, fear, waiting

our hearts are heavy

our souls are weary

our bodies are hurting

our hope is wavering

yet, you are with us.

Read the rest of the poem…

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Lent at St. Peter’s, 2021

This is a collection for Lent articles and activities.

This week the series “Come Pray” began on Feb. 14, just ahead of Lent. View week 1’s video
and sign up for weekly videos in the series. Here is their description:

“Across the weeks of Lent, listen in as Brothers discuss the rich and varied ways we pray, together in church and in our personal prayer. Then join us for worship, exploring a rich array of live-streamed services, culminating in the glories of Holy Week. “Come, pray in me the prayer I need this day.”

The series is centered on a weekly 20-minute video and invites participants to explore and experience diverse prayer practices alongside the Brothers through joining our regular, live-streamed worship, special services, and online teach

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3 Key points for Ash Wednesday

Sarah Bentley Allred at Virginia Theological Seminary recently identified 3 teaching points for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the season of Lent, the forty days set aside to prepare to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Now, we spend forty days preparing just as Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting and getting ready for his public ministry.

1. The Call to A Holy Lent. “Our liturgy directly invites us into a holy season of specific practices aimed at helping us reconnect with God in preparation for the celebration of Easter. “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (Book of Common Prayer, page 265) What practices are mostly meaningful to examine the course of your religious life ?”

2. We are dust. “Many Ash Wednesday liturgies provide an opportunity for worshipers to receive the mark of the cross in ashes on their forehead accompanied by the words, “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” There are many layers of meaning within this simple, powerful ritual. There is the call to remember God created us from the earth (Genesis 2:7). It is by the grace of God that we live and move and have our being and we are inextricably linked to the earth from which we were created.
“There is also the call to remember our connection to the rest of humanity. We are all made from the same “stuff.” We come from dust and we dwell in skin, bone, blood, and cartilage. And there is the call to remember we will return to the earth from whence we came (Genesis 3:19). Ash Wednesday provides us that rarely comfortable, but certainly important opportunity to sit with our own mortality.”

3. Repentance. “To repent is to both acknowledge that we have not loved God with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves AND to make every effort to do things differently. Repentance is about turning away from behavior that is not in alignment with these two great commandments. Rather than something to check off the to-do list, repentance is a practice. Being human means we will never be fully without sin and we will never outgrow the need for God’s forgiveness. ”

More information about Ash Wednesday.

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Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, 7pm service

Although the imposition of ashes is not a sacrament like baptism or the Eucharist, receiving ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday is a valuable reminder of several things.
Receiving ashes reminds us that we are created from the earth, and that God’s grace gives us life. Our life is linked to the earth from which we were created.

Receiving ashes reminds us that we are connected the rest of humanity and to all living things. We are ALL made from the earth. We ALL dwell in skin, bone, blood, and cartilage. And we will return to the earth at the end of our lives here on earth. Ashes on our forehead remind us to sit with our own mortality, an important exercise in humility.

During the Ash Wednesday service online, we will impose ashes on the foreheads of others in our households or place the ashes on our own foreheads if we are alone.

From Catherine “I plan to burn last Palm Sunday’s palms on Wednesday, February 17th, at St Peter’s. If you’d like ashes from the church, you may come to the church between four and five pm to receive ashes for the evening service. Bring a small container with you for your ashes. ”

If you can’t come by church for your ashes, you can get ashes from your fireplace or from your fire pit.

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Do it Yourself – Ash Wednesday – at Home

From “Observing Ash Wednesday at Home”

It starts with toasting marshmellows and moves toward writing our confessions. As Jerusalem Greer writes”This is a great tactile example of how God uses the “refining fires” of life (various forms—pain, loss, change,
love, etc.) to soften our hearts and loosen our grip on the illusion of control.

“Somewhere near your fire, perhaps on a small table, provide all those in attendance with pencil and paper and with a small sign that prompts each person to write down those things that they would like to confess, to have burned away from their past, that they feel a call to repent of.

As they add their confessions to the fire, have each person recite this Psalm: “God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life” (Psalm 51:10).

After everyone has added their confessions to the fire, take time to watch them burn in silence. Once the papers are no longer visible, say to each other “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” After the fire has cooled, return the ashes to the earth, perhaps in a garden area, where something new will spring from among the ashes.

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Lent 1, Year B Lectionary Sunday, February 21, 2021 

I.Theme –   Developing covenant relationships

 "The Peaceable Kingdom" – Edward Hicks, 1834

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm – Psalm 25:1-9 Page 614, BCP
Epistle –1 Peter 3:18-22
Gospel – Mark 1:9-15 

Connections between the readings – Noah enters the waters in the ark, sojourns for a time adrift, and emerges with a new covenant of co-creative transformation;  In 1 Peter, the covenantal relationship of co-creative transformation that emerges from the Flood is now taken up and extended in the covenant of new life in Christ that is marked and sealed in baptism. The saving power of baptism lies in its role as “an appeal to God for a good conscience,” an active connection to God that brings an intensive and intimate knowing of God’s aims and intentions for our actions. In the Gospel reading, Jesus enters into John’s baptism, sojourns for a time in the wilderness, and emerges with a new proclamation of the reign of God.

Commentary by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell:

Our Lenten journey through the Old Testament takes us primarily through the covenants that God has made with the earth and with the people. We begin in Genesis with the covenant after the flood, that God will never again destroy the earth and all living things by flood. We are reminded that there is nothing we can do that will separate us from God’s love (Romans 8) because God loves the world so much. When we begin with this premise, we understand the role of Jesus more clearly, in that God’s intention from the beginning is to love and save the whole world, not destroy it.

Psalm 25:1-10 is a prayer for wisdom and guidance. As we begin the season of Lent this is an appropriate prayer to pray together.  Seeking God’s guidance on the path of faith is the beginning prayer for all of us on this Lenten journey.

Mark 1:9-15 is Mark’s version of the baptism, temptation and beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Mark is short and to the point, not giving us many details at all. Traditionally we read the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, but Mark’s version is just so short, one verse (13). While Matthew and Luke go into elaborate detail of the temptations Jesus faced, Mark lets us know Jesus was tempted. We all face temptation in our lives to leave the way of faith–to seek our own success, to seek earthly wealth and fame–instead of seeking the path of God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus has to go through this time of temptation before he freely proclaims the Gospel, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (vs. 15). We all have temptations we face, and struggles we go through. To repent means to turn back to God, to turn away from where we have gone astray. Repent, turn back to the path of God and believe in the Good News (the gospel). But always remember first and foremost that you are God’s beloved. There is nothing you can do, nothing you will face that will separate you from God’s love.

1 Peter 3:18-22 echoes back to the story of Noah, in that God’s intention is life and love for the world, not death and destruction. Christ’s death is the final death, for in Christ’s resurrection, we are all resurrected. We are given this promise at our baptism, a reminder of the new life in Christ.

As we enter Lent, we are reminded that as we journey to the cross of death that we are really turning towards the resurrection. We have this time to remind us yearly that our journey is not complete. We all have temptations we need to turn from, places where we need to repent and turn back to God. But rather than dwell on the darkness, on our sins, Jesus wants us instead to repent and believe in the Good News. Turn back and know that you are forgiven, you are loved, and you are given the promise of new life here on earth and the hope of resurrection. 

Read more about the Lectionary…  

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Arts and Faith – Lent 1, Year B

Commentary is by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, assistant professor of liturgy, catechesis, and evangelization at Loyola University New Orleans.

This scene of The Temptation of Christ is a 12th–century detail of the magnificent mosaic program of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. In its full context, it is situated in the barrel vault of the south arm of the transept. The temptation scene is right above the scene of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

On a golden background depicting the heavenly realm, the mosaic tells the story of Jesus’ temptation through a series of symbols. Moving from left to right, the figures of Christ and the devil repeat in a pattern. Each set evokes one of the temptations of Christ through key images: bread, the pinnacle of the Temple, and the mountain top with all riches of the world. The angels on the right who come to minister to Christ close the visual narrative, as the devil flees downward under them to escape the scene.

This presentation of the temptation story assumes that the viewer is familiar with it. Each of the symbols serves to jog our memory and help us recall the story we already know. In this sense, the mosaic relies on the viewer to be the real storyteller, while the artwork simply summarizes the highlights as reminders along the way. By casting the viewer as storyteller, the artwork invites us into the story in a special way, challenging us to share the Good News of it with others.

The figure of Christ in this mosaic sequence is unique—it is not the man who endured the desert for 40 days among wild animals, but Christ the Lawgiver, holding a scroll in one hand, strong, steady, and wearing dignified robes. Christ the Lawgiver reminds us that each time he rebuked the devil, he did so by referring to the written Word, the truth of God manifest in the Scriptures. Each time the hunger for food, for assurance from God, and for an easier way tempted him, Jesus found steady ground again recalling the Word of God—the source of where he came from and who he was called to be.

For people of faith encountering this mosaic within St. Mark’s Basilica, worship in this space was an occasion to find steady ground again, to become more fully who they were as Christians in Word and in sacrament. This mosaic spoke to them of this steady ground, but also invited them to be storytellers so that through them, others could find this steady ground as well.

Discusssion

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