Today, Friday after the First Sunday in Lent, is traditionally an Ember Day – a day of special prayer and fasting. At a time when we need to urgently attend to the human connection to the natural world, underscoring the Christian connections to nature cannot be stressed enough. Ember Days are days for fasting and
At the recent Buskers’ Festival here, I saw something I hadn’t seen before. A busker put all the energy he could muster into his show. A crowd was gathered. But they gave little to no energy back. There was a bit of unenthusiastic clapping, and, yes, a little engagement. But, as the show progressed, the
Today, Wednesday after the First Sunday in Lent, is traditionally an Ember Day – a day of special prayer and fasting. The Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer (page 18) has “The Ember Days, traditionally observed on the Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays after the First Sunday in Lent, the Day of Pentecost, Holy Cross Day,
Let us pray (in silence) [that we may grow into the likeness of Christ] pause Transfiguring God, before the passion of your beloved Son you revealed his glory on the holy mountain: grant that we who by faith behold the light of his face may be strengthened to bear the cross, and be changed into
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Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life by Derek Olsen I am delighted to review this wonderful book. For two reasons. One. I think there is something really precious in cradle-to-grave common prayer – the distilled traditions of daily prayer, a disciplined reading of the scriptures, the centrality of the Eucharist,…
There are a number of ethical debates before our New Zealand parliament this term: abortion, euthanasia, medical marijuana,… There are a lot of polls, plenty of articles (in newspapers, magazines, and online), news reports, and social media posts… “I feel” (or “I think” which is essentially “I feel” without being as honest that it’s a
Alana Levandoski has composed the wonderful When Love Meets Dust specifically for this occasion of Ash Wednesday coinciding with Valentine’s Day. She says, It wasn’t lost on me that Valentine’s Day, our oft saccharine feast day, lands on the least sweet (apparently) day of the Christian calendar. During an Ash Wednesday service your forehead is
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I remind you of my reflection on the coinciding of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day. The above chart gives a good overview of the different ways of counting Lent and Easter. You are welcome (encouraged) to reproduce it – but please have the courtesy of acknowledgement and, if online, put a clickable link to this
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