At one of my first meetings with parishioners of St. Mark’s, we talked about our future, and about midway in our discussion, one parishioner spoke up and said that we needed a leader with energy.  I replied that “I couldn’t agree more, we do need leaders with energy,  but added that likewise “we also need parishioners with energy.  And furthermore, the kind of energy that we need comes from God, and can be experienced by each of us as we draw near to Christ.”

Lent is traditionally a time for repentance, prayer, fasting and giving alms to the poor, and each of these is very important.   But Lent can also be a time to “recharge” our lives with the energy that only God can give.   Jesus himself, several times in his ministry, was low on energy and would often withdraw for times of quiet, especially for times of quiet with his Father.  And typically he emerged from such times renewed and ready to do the work he had been given to do-healing, caring, feeding, preaching and so much more.  This Lent, may we follow the LORD’s example and also withdraw for times of quiet with God, knowing that God is, indeed, the ultimate energy source.

Beginning February 21, the Sunday morning 9:15 a.m. Forum will offer a six-week series led by Fr. Danny Schieffler and Fr. Carey Stone on different temperaments and ways to pray.  Please join them in the parish hall as they help us learn how we can enter into a deeper relationship with Christ this holy Lent.

The series includes

2-24  The Context for the Inner Journey The Rt. Rev. Larry Maze

3-3   Fasting The Rev. Danny Schieffler

3-10   The Sabbath The Rev. Carey Stone

3-17  Active Imagination and Ignatian Prayer The Rt Rev. Larry Maze

3-24  Service as a Spiritual Discipline The Rev. Len Griffin

Each session will conclude by 7:15 p. m. Come deepen your spiritual life by attending Wednesdays in Lent.

February 17th, is Ash Wednesday, the first of the 40 days of Lent, named for the custom of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers at Ash Wednesday services.

This day is observed as a fast in the church year of the Episcopal Church. The Ash Wednesday service is one of the Proper Liturgies for Special Days in the BCP (p. 264). Ashes are blessed for use on Ash Wednesday as a sign of penitence and a reminder of mortality.

St. Mark’s will have two services on this day at 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the church.

Jesus ‘came preaching the good news of God.’  That he spoke also of the kingdom of God makes no difference to this fact: for if anything is certain as the result of modern research, it is that the kingdom, in Jesus’ thought, whether it means ‘realm’ or ‘kingship’, is wholly bound up with the character of God.  It is something in which he is to come - not a state of things prepared for his coming by human effort.  It is true, of course, that Jesus also spoke, and that constantly, of the character and behavior necessary for those who would ‘inherit’, ‘enter into’, of ‘possess’ the kingdom; and that in doing so he purified, simplified, and breathed new life into the ethical code of Judaism.  This is no more than to say that, like all great teachers, he spoke both of God and of man, or preached both doctrine and ethics.   But whereas contemporary Judaism laid all the stress on man - that is to say on ethics, on what man has to do to fulfill the will of God - it is surely true to say that by contrast the emphasis of Jesus’ teaching is upon God, rather than upon man - upon what God has done, is doing, and shall do for his people.

So he tells of the divine Fatherhood which watches over the lilies, the ravens, and the sparrows; which sends rain upon the just and unjust alike; which understands our needs and gives to us liberally; which is patient and long-suffering.  He tells of a God always ready to welcome the prodigal, to search for the lost sheep, to give in his pleasure the kingdom to his flock; and of a heaven where there is infinite joy over the sinner that repents.  God sees in secret and shall reward openly; God sows his seed far and wide with a lavish hand, and reveals his innermost thoughts to babes and sucklings.  There is another side to the picture of God, though it represents him - whenever the time shall come that there is no more space for repentance - as a judge before whom there is no excuse.

For all the ethical teaching in the gospel, it seems impossible to deny that Jesus’ primary thought and message  was about God, and that human conduct in his mind came in a second and derivative place.

From Kenneth Kirk’s The Vision of God

Friendship is a cooperative and supportive relationship between two or more people.  The key word here is between. Friendship is not a one way street. In order for a friendship to grow, you must spend time with each other. For God to show us his unconditional support, guidance and love, we need to spend time with Him. ChristCare offers safe and trusting small group communities where people can support, nurture, encourage, and care for one another, while spending time with God. “ChristCare is a special place where you can grow in your relationship with God and other Christians”-Elizabeth Pittman, ChristCare leader. “ChristCare is a comfortable method of building Christian community that allows us to learn, love, and grow”-Erin Dalton, ChristCare leader.

Nine new ChristCare leaders are excited to invite you to join one of their groups. These generous individuals have spent three months learning through the example of the first ChristCare group leader, Jesus.  “As Jesus served us, so now we should do what we can to serve Him” Claudia Smith, ChristCare group leader. “We need Jesus’ living example to help us make sense of our complicated and confusing world”- Mary Frances Hodges, ChristCare leader. To find peace and comfort within our lives, it is helpful to spend time with other supportive Christians. “I hope that through friendship, prayer and Biblical Equipping, we can learn to be the people God desires us to be” -Sydney Gilbert, ChristCare group leader. “I hope that through our ChristCare groups, we can become a community united by the Peace of God”-Charlie Bolton, ChristCare group leader. “Although we all lead busy lives, the one thing we cannot forget to make time for is God”-Kellie Morse, ChristCare group leader.

ChristCare groups meet together to follow four growth opportunities: Community Building and Care, Prayer and Worship, Biblical Equipping, and Missional service. ChristCare groups put into practice the unconditional acceptance and forgiveness that Jesus shared with the world. Jesus did not live out his ministry alone! He needed his disciples to help him spread God’s Word . As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, Proverbs 27:17. “Thank you ChristCare leaders: My spiritual sword was rusty; God gave it newness through this ChristCare training”-Claude Whitcomb, ChristCare group leader.

As we renew our vision for the future, we need to strive to stay connected to God. “St. Mark’s may grow in numbers, but it will make no difference if we don’t grow in our heart and spirit”-Mary Ann Gammill, ChristCare group leader. ChristCare groups will meet for an hour weekly or an hour and a half every other week. The groups will be forming at the end of January, and will begin meeting during Lent. To learn more about the opportunities that ChristCare groups offer, please contact Luke Gilbert, Celia Martin or any of the ChristCare leaders quoted in this article. These leaders are people who are welcoming and compassionate; with many gifts that God has been cultivating. They desire to grow spiritually and want to help others grow along with them. Please keep them in your prayers.