Good day – Happy Family Day!

The Monday Lenten Bible Study on Zoom returns next Monday, Feb.26, at 7pm. See you there. If you don’t yet have the link, please email me: susan.montague2@gmail.com

Lenten Lunches at Emmaus begin this Wednesday, February 21, 12-1pm. 

The Coldest Night of the Year Walk to End Homelessness is this Saturday, February 24. A huge thank you to those who have donated! 

A Point to Ponder: I shared these thoughts with the group at the online Bible Study last Monday because this is bothering me…Many people I know approach Lent as a time to give up something they like – chocolate, desserts in general, caffeine, and so on. That’s what I grew up believing to be the norm for Lent. It occurred to me that this is very “First World”. Lent is not a first world thing, it is a whole world thing. What would a young, starving, orphan in Madagascar say to me if I told her I was giving up chocolate for Lent? How do Christians observe Lent when immersed in the horrific conflict and poverty cycles found in many other countries in our world? I have, for many years now, taken on added study and devotions throughout Lent rather than just giving up something. (This practice actually led to my, now, nearly unfailing routine of praying the Evening Office before – or during – supper preparation). How can we encourage Christians around us to transform our Lenten experience into something more than the first world experience it is now for many of our acquaintances? 

A Liturgical Note for You:

Ember Days in Lent: this Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are Lenten Ember Days. What does that mean? The English title for these days, “Ember,” is derived from their Latin name: Quatuor Temporum, meaning the “Four Times” or “Four Seasons.”  How this came about is actually not certain – in the early church, there were only three Ember seasons. Today, these four “times” are set apart for special prayer and fasting and for the ordination of the clergy. The Ember Weeks are the complete weeks following 1. Holy Cross Day (September 14); 2. the Feast of St. Lucy (December 13); 3. the first Sunday in Lent; and 4. Pentecost (Whitsunday). The current practice is to count the Ember Days directly as the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the third Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday in Lent, Pentecost Sunday, and the third Sunday of September.

A Note About Fasting: Since Ember Days are days of special prayer and fasting and we happen to be gathering for our first Lenten Lunch on this first Ember Day in Lent, what should you do if you are fasting? First, fasting is an ancient pathway into greater closeness with God. In a nutshell, we turn our attention from our physical needs to our spiritual needs. We spend more time in prayer (more time in God’s presence) to help us achieve this and to give us strength and comfort and joy (instead of the irritability of hunger and denial). Fasting increases our awareness that we are to rely on God to fill our needs so that when we do partake in food, it is in gratitude to God. Fasting does not mean that you completely go without food and water for 40 days and 40 nights – you’d soon be dead or in the hospital. Fasting can be done in many different ways from skipping a meal to reducing overall calories during the day. So, this Wednesday, when it is a day of fasting for everyone yet we are gathering around food, please don’t feel guilty about enjoying a light meal. It is, afterall, the fellowship and learning that is our focus at these lunches.  People who have medical conditions such as diabetes should not engage in fasting at all unless they have permission – and guidelines – from their doctor or nurse practitioner. 

For Your Devotions:

 Friday, February 23rd is the memorial of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna who was martyred in 156. I find it really exciting that Polycarp is said to have been a disciple of John the Apostle. Polycarp fought against the heresy of Gnosticism (Gnostics believed salvation was attained through secret spiritual knowledge). The Gnostics had claimed Paul as their guiding influence but Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians very importantly reclaimed Paul for the orthodox church. Unfortunately, Polycarp was a victim during a Roman persecution of the Church. The pagan Roman governor tried to burn Polycarp at the stake but witnesses say the flames only formed a vault around him, not burning him. A Roman soldier was sent into the flames to stab him. To read more:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Polycarp  and p.86-7 of For All the Saints here:  https://c2892002f453b41e8581-48246336d122ce2b0bccb7a98e224e96.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/ForAlltheSaints.pdf

Saturday, February 24th is the commemoration of Philip Lindel Tsen, Bishop of Honan, died 1954 and Paul Shinji Sasaki, Bishop of Mid-Japan and Tokyo, died 1946. Lindel Tsen was born into poverty and homeless by the age of 14. He overcame his circumstances to become educated, ordained, and the first Chinese bishop to attend a Lambeth Conference. Both men remembered today travelled to Canada to attest to the unity between their two churches (China and Japan) in spite of the war. After the war, Tsen was placed under house arrest by the communist government. Meanwhile in Japan, the government tried to force all protestant churches to join together as one. As leader of the Anglican church, Sasaki refused for several reasons but, most importantly, because the new united church did not accept the Apostles’ Creed. For his resistance, Sasaki was harassed, imprisoned, and tortured. To read more…  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindel_Tsen  and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Shinji_Sasaki  

In the hope of Christ,

Susan