LENT / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 10
THE TRISAGION A JOINT NEWSLETTER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCHES OF HUNTINGTON, WV
The Lenten Edition
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust Christians of many denominations around the world are familiar with Ash Wednesday and some variation of the words “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” But what is the origin of this tradition?
from palms used the previous year in the Palm Sunday procession. Then, while the faithful were singing the Seven Penitential Psalms, “the penitents were expelled from the holy place on account of their sins, just as Adam was driven out of paradise because of his disobedience.” They were not allowed to put off their penitential garb or to re-enter the Church before Holy Thursday after they had gained their reconciliation by toil and penance, and by sacramental confession and absolution.
In the early days, Lent began not with Ash Wednesday, but with “Sackcloth Wednesday.” Initially this ritual was much more involved and was reserved for “public sinners,” who were required to perform public penance so that they could be admitted back into communion.
Sackcloth is generally described as a piece of coarse fabric that originally was worn next to the skin, making it uncomfortable and somewhat painful to wear. Later on, this fabric was worn only on the outside of their clothing as a public but less painful sign of their repentance.
In imitation of the prophets of the Old Testament, these penitents wore sackcloth throughout the entirety of Lent, along with ashes on their heads. In these ancient rituals, those Christians who were guilty of grave faults had to undergo public penance. Accordingly on Ash Wednesday, the Bishop used to bless the sackcloth which was to be worn by the penitents during the holy Forty Days, and place upon their heads ashes made
Eventually the sackcloth was no longer used and ashes were formed into a cross on each person’s forehead, inviting everyone to make an effort during Lent to repent of their sins and recognize that it is only through God’s gracious gift of his Son that we are given everlasting life. 1
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LENT / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 10
Around the Diocese and Beyond
Help Us
Our New Bishop Coadjutor Because space will be limited for Father Cowden’s consecration, the Commission on Spirituality would like to offer a way for every member of the diocese to welcome him to West Virginia. We would like to collect “welcomes” from the people of our diocese and place them as offerings on the altar at Father Cowden’s consecration. You can pen a note, send a card, write a poem, draw or paint a picture. . . whatever you would like to do for this special occasion. Each parish will be collecting these “welcomes” from now until March 6th. A person from each parish who is attending the service will bring them to the service, add them to the “welcomes” from other parishes and present them as offerings at the offertory. If no one from your parish is able to attend, please gather them and mail to Mollie Bailey at the Diocesan address: P.O. Box 5400, Charleston, WV 25361. Thank you for helping us welcome our new Bishop Coadjutor to the Diocese of West Virginia! Peace and Joy, Your Diocesan Commission on Spirituality
The service will also be livestreamed on the Facebook Page for the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia. 2
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THE BIG FISHERMAN NEWS FROM ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH hamic Covenant with “You will be my people, I will be your God.”, grew more complex in the Wilderness. Moses dedicated Israel to keeping the commandments at God’s Holy Mountain. On the return from Babylon a copy of the law found in the ruined walls of Jerusalem was read out loud from sunrise to sunset, and the people rededicated themselves to it. God chooses to walk with us in a relationship sealed with an exchange of promises.
Just a closer walk with Thee THE REV. DEBORAH RANKIN, St. Peter’s People have told me they hate the Old Testament. Most often they mention the terrible texts that are part of the Wilderness experience in Genesis and Exodus. The Wilderness is always associated in my mind with the journey from slavery in Egypt to the riches of the Promised Land. It encompasses a time of change and transformation presided over by God. The pandemic lockdown brought us to that place.
The penalty for breaking the agreement is everywhere the same in the stories I studied. Great loss of life, of property, of the integrity of the nation. Everything literally falls apart. Every time Israel strayed from the laws they agreed to live by with God and one another, they eventually lost everything, no exceptions. The point is forcibly made and repeated so often it becomes painful.
I started our online Bible Study at St. Peter’s as an exercise in calming myself, seeking direction from the Wilderness experience. My teacher for Hermeneutics, Werner Kelber, (Professor of New Testament at Rice University, his teacher Norman Perrin, University of Chicago) emphasized that each book of the Bible has its own unique character. Narrative readings look for trends that develop across an entire book. I undertook to read each book, Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, 1& 2 Kings in one or two sittings, getting the scope of the whole and then examining how the parts function within it. The lockdown gifted me with time for study.
It occurred to me near the end of the study that the Bible made a point that still needs to be made. Historically, humankind struggles make and keep lasting commitments to God and one another. Yet God never failed to reinstate Covenant relationship with his people throughout the stories. With Jesus the offer of salvation was extended boldly to sinners, and his disciples took that offer out into the world. Recently, I have watched intelligent people declare that the deaths of 900,000 Americans in the pandemic, so far, is some kind of hoax. It’s overdrawn. Too much is made of it. As I listened I was struck by the similarities with the Wilderness stories I studied during the pandemic. When we lose faith with one another, nothing can be trusted, is true, and worst of all, nothing is binding upon us.
Beginning with Father Abraham, binding agreements, Covenants, were negotiated and established between God and his people. During my narrative reading, I observed that in the Wilderness God introduced the rule of law in human communities. As the people were leaving slavery, they began to exercise their ability to make choices about how they would live. At the very same time God issued the commandments and asked the people to dedicate themselves to keeping them. The reward for keeping promises exchanged was fertility, land, wealth, health, well-being, generations as many as the stars. Severe losses followed Israel’s failures to keep Covenant as the people progressed through the Wilderness.
I see a real need for people to recover grounds for trust with one another. Our fears must not capture our future. Lent always offers an opportunity to rededicate ourselves. Think of one small way we could improve our relationships with God and one another, and work on it. I’m working on impatience. I’ve decided as a leader I can no longer afford it.
I learned that God stood poised and ready to meet with the people after every failure, asking Israel to rededicate to Covenant relationship. The simple beginnings of the Abra-
Mother Deborah Rankin+
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LENT / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 10
THE BIG FISHERMAN CONTINUES
St. Peter’s Community Outreach Update Sequoia Ware St. Peter’s Community Outreach Center (SPECO) has had a successful start to 2022 despite the rising COVID-19 cases in the community and tri-state area. SPECO has made a few changes this new year. First, SPECO decided to change the monthly care bag pack from having it on the third Thursday of the month to having it on the first Sunday of the month directly after church service. The reasoning behind moving the pack date is because this date allows our church members to be hands-on with our outreach members and this helps ensure the safety of those who want to help volunteer while COVID-19 cases remain sky-high.
Maynard says SPECO is still asking for the following donations: Adult-sized winter coats, boots, hats, gloves, 50x60 fleece blankets, baby wipes, gas cards, bus passes, shelving, and pantry food (see out online list of appropriate items). Maynard can be contacted via email at jessie.speco@gmail.com
Poor winter weather was starting to cause a strain on resources, making it necessary for outreach leaders to hold additional packs and distributions of winter care bags for the month of January. This past January, volunteer leaders saw a significant need arise for blankets and hot meals as cold temperatures set in. In total, SPECO distributed 153 care bags, 286 hot meals, and had 10 people trained with Narcan. Carrie Ware, leader and founder of SEPCO, posted two posts on Facebook asking for volunteer help for firewood drop-offs as the need for firewood also increased with colder weather. To kick off this February, SPECO hosted it’s second care bag pack at the church after service on the first Sunday of the month. Considering the numbers in January and the need of winter care bags, 15 volunteers gathered after service and packed 164 care bags.
ALL ABOUT SPECO
Lenten Program
Ash Wednesday is March 2. The following weeks on Wednesday nights at 7pm we will gather for a program given by SPECO (St. Peter’s Episcopal Community Outreach). Beginning with Carrie Ware, volunteers in our outreach program will tell us about the work they do and what it means to them. Representatives from partner community organizations will tell us about our joint ventures in the West End. Carrie believes that those who do the work will help us understand what moves them and keeps this community effort so vital.
Sue Williams, St. Peter’s Episcopal church member and children’s Sunday school teacher, said the February pack was a success and an important way to bring the church members and outreach members together. “I really enjoy the fact that we can now help the outreach center by packing the care bags here after church,” she said. “It really makes such a difference in knowing what you’re doing for other people is going to be appreciated.”
Those who wish to meet for a meal will gather at 5:30 pm. Because the Omicron variant is the most contagious variant of COVID-19 so far, you may choose not to meet for the meal. The program will start at 7 pm., and I intend to join you then. Please keep masking and observing social distancing as much as possible during the gathering and meal.
Finally, SPECO would like to announce the official hiring of its first staff member, Jesse Maynard. Maynard once said, “Everyone is entitled to the basic necessities of food, water, and clothing, and to be treated with dignity. Too many people are denied these things by society and I do what I can to provide them the respect they deserve as friends and neighbors.” With this in mind, SPECO asks a friendly welcome from our church members and volunteers and to reach out to her email if you have questions regarding the outreach program.
After the program at 7 pm and a short discussion, we will close with Compline. Please join us in the Undercroft Wednesday March 9, 16, 23, 30 and April 6 for our Lenten Program. God bless us with a Holy Lent! Mother Deborah +
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LENT / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 10
THE BIG FISHERMAN CONTINUES
Never once did we ever walk alone will help us endure the test. Looking for the way out is a strategy that shifts our focus from our loss and the misery of being tested to hope in God’s care that never fails.
A meditation on the lessons appointed for the 3rd Sunday in Lent Exodus 3:1-15 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” 1Corinthians 10: 13 Inevitably I hear “he will not let you be tested beyond your strength” quoted to me by faithful people while they are telling me about their serious losses. As a pastor I have to suppress a shudder every time. It doesn’t seem the time or the place, when people are hurting and emotions are running high, to respond to that dangerous assertion with thoughtful instruction, so I let it go. I never have talked or written about it either. Preparing for Trisagion, I came across it again. This is the time; this the place. It is always dangerous to clip a statement and move it out of context. The whole statement goes, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
A friend with whom I had done years of family pastoral care moved away. After the move we touched base a few times; I could tell we were pulling apart. That realization caused me grief for a couple months, so I kept praying about it. At last I sat down to consider the relationship. I shifted my focus from my grief to all those years of meetings. If my friend honestly wanted to leave me behind with all those difficult and sometimes terrible years, I decided I would not stand in the way. The firm hold of my grief was broken while I was contemplating the life stresses of my friend. I went through this same process when my brother committed suicide. I shifted my focus to his unrelenting pain, and I let go. This stratagem contained in a few verses can direct us intentionally through every loss, great or small. God never intended for us to endure this loss, this test alone. He fully intends to walk with us. God bless us with a Holy Lent! Mother Deborah +
We think of great loss as testing our faith, but great loss is not a test prepared for us by the Great Puppet-master in the Sky. I believe it is important to make the distinction. What Paul writes is very true, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.” We find our faith tested by loss; loss is not a test. The second part of that sentence reads, “with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you can endure it.” We can acknowledge that loss tests our faith, and then we may turn our attention to looking for the way out that
LENTEN OBSERVANCES AT ST. PETER’S Ash Wednesday, March 2nd In person service at 7:00 pm and an online recording Palm Sunday, April 10th In person services at 8 am & 10:30 am and an online recording Maundy Thursday, April 14th In person service at 7:00 pm and an online recording Good Friday, April 15th In person service at 7:00 pm and an online recording Easter Sunday, April 17th In person services at 8 am & 10:30 am and an online recording
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DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE The choir has restarted with special masks for choral singing that have a wide bill across the front, giving us extra room for breathing and thick filtration. We will gather around a mic within the altar rails to leave a good distance to the first open row of pews. This plan was approved by Bishop Klusmeyer. We have begun rehearsing, and will be singing in the worship service at 10:30 am right away. I
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LENT / / 20212 / / ISSUE NUMBER 10
THE TRINITARIAN NEWS FROM TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Candlemas DAVID JOHNSTON, Trinity Lay Pastoral Assoc. I was moved by the Candlemas service of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation held at Trinity Episcopal Church on February 2nd. It was nice to have Bishop Klusmeyer and Father Matthew, who is our bishop coadjutorelect, present with us for worship. I appreciated having the sanctuary fuller than it has been in a couple of years thanks to the joint participation of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and St. John’s Episcopal Church. I am especially thankful to Mother Deborah Rankin and Vivian Kost for their leadership and participation in the service and the invitations they extended. Of course, welcoming three young people into The Episcopal Church through the sacrament of confirmation is always something worth celebrating. But I don’t think it was any one of these things that moved me. There was palpable joy present in the gathered congregation, and I believe that the source of that joy was the One who we had gathered to worship: Jesus Christ. Candlemas is, after all, a feast of the Church to worship Christ our God as we remember his presentation in the Temple. We hear the words of the Song of Simeon (or Nunc dimittis), which Simeon utters in response to encountering Jesus Christ. He praises God for Jesus who is “the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: a Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel” (BCP p. 12). The joy of Candlemas is worshipping God for the Light that is Jesus Christ in our lives. I have thought about that Candlemas service and how good it was to be gathered with people from St. John’s, St Peter’s, and Trinity as one congregation centered on Christ. I hope too that that gathering made impression on our three confirmands about the unity of the Church and the sense that they are truly joining their lives to something bigger than themselves and bigger than their local congregation, as precious as both these things are. My prayer since has been that God will continue to draw us and new people in our community closer to Christ at our center. And if Christ is our center, we will be drawn closer to one another as God draws us closer to Christ. I believe that God has good things in store for all three congregations in Huntington and that the future holds more joyful collaborations to come.
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DURING LENT Ash Wednesday, March 2nd, we will have 2 services – one at NOON (chapel) and the other at 7PM. Of course, there will be ashes! Each Sunday during Lent at 9:15 (between the services) David will teach a class centered on the Lord’s Prayer. All are welcome!
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THE ST. JOHN’S EAGLE NEWS FROM ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH lenge. And I will be the first to admit that, with the enormity of the issue, we don’t feel like we’ve gotten very far. For the last 4 Saturday mornings, some of us have joined with parishioners from St. John’s Charleston and others around the state to examine our own implicit biases. And believe me, it was eye -opening.
Things done and left undone VIVIAN KOST, Parish Life Director This year, the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany and The Feast of the Blessed Absalom Jones happened to occur on the same day—February 13th. We have been asked to reprint a transcript of the Homily from that day in this publication. If you do not know the story of Absalom Jones, the first person of African descent ordained in the Episcopal Church, you can read his story here: https://drive.google.com/file/ d/1MX4b79Ue3VeRHKjDoSUjhp3hdu6zBzsv/view? usp=sharing
Reading the Beatitudes against the backdrop of racism, privilege and implicit bias, I am seeing them in a whole new way. So...If Jesus said “Blessed are the poor, for someday they’ll get to heaven.” We could get behind that, right? We WANT people who have been mistreated to be compensated for what they have been through.
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
But I don’t believe Jesus is talking about the FUTURE. My suspicion is that Jesus said exactly what he meant – that God’s people suffer with those who are suffering, hurt with those who are hurting — And THAT doesn’t really sound like heaven.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets."
The audience for the Sermon on the Mount is made up of victims of slavery and bigotry and oppression. Jesus shares the sadness and pain that fills their daily lives. Jesus looks at this crowd that knows all about suffering and says, “Blessed are the poor. God is on the side of the broken-hearted.”
These teachings of Jesus are often quoted and treated as comforting verses, but The Beatitudes have always been challenging for me. Maybe they’re meant to be.
Jesus does NOT say, “Blessed are the poor because it’s good to have hard lives.” Jesus understands that allowing abject poverty to continue is evil, intolerance is sinful, and bigotry is horrible. Being blessed is not about having no problems. Being blessed is about being loved.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
You might remember that, last summer, the churches of our Diocese were challenged by Bishop Klusmeyer to take concrete steps toward understanding racism and working toward justice. And THAT, my friends, a tall order.
Perhaps it’s fitting that this Gospel lesson comes as we, the church, commemorate Absalom Jones, the first person of African ancestry to be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. As you read about Absalom Jones’
We have a small group of people who have been struggling with how we, as a parish, can respond to that chal-
Continued on page 8 7
LENT / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 10
THE TRISAGION THE ST. JOHN’S EAGLE CONTINUES
Things done and left undone Continued from page 7
life and ministry in your weekly update or bulletin insert, you will find this theme of love throughout his life. He paid to get his wife freed first. He didn’t think about himself. He thought about their future children and how they could be born free if he paid for her freedom rather than his own. “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets." Would any of us here FEEL “blessed” when people hated, excluded, reviled or defamed us on ANY account…but we would feel even less “blessed” if we were just trying to tell others about Jesus. But that, in fact, is what the church did to Absalom Jones. They hated, excluded, reviled and defamed him. Oh...you want to sit in the main gallery when you attend church? Well, then you’d better start one where all the dark skin people are there all by yourselves. Oh, you want us to recognize that “other” church as a part of the Episcopal Church? Well, then you’d better not have the audacity to think you’ll be a voting member. Oh, NOW you want to be ordained as a priest? OK, but that’s going to take a lot longer than it would for someone with white skin…and, by the way, you can ONLY preach to others with your skin color. I don’t know about you, but I would NOT feel like “rejoicing” or leaping for joy. You may be wondering why I’m talking about this….especially in light of the Beatitudes. You and I didn’t create these systems that oppress people for the color of their skin or their country of origin. As I said earlier, Jesus was talking to a people in that very position. This problem has been in the world for longer than any of us care to think about. America didn’t invent it either, but we did (and still do) perpetuate it. As we were forming our group to explore how we as a congregation can work toward justice in the face of racism, some asked why we were doing it. We aren’t racist here. Everyone is welcome. Yes, that is most likely true -- but it’s not the whole story. The Episcopal Church in the United States has a long history of racist actions for which we, as a denomination, are working hard to understand and atone. But the inequities of race and class continues and violence against “the other” seems to be on the rise. I recently read a profound statement made by Bishop Carlye Hughes of the Diocese of Newark that I think sheds some light on where we are, and what we are to do moving forward. Bishop Hughes says: Continues on page 9 8
BLACK HISTORY MONTH In honor of Black History Month, in commemoration of the Feast of the Blessed Absalom Jones and in response to a letter from the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, St. John's will receive offerings to support The Absalom Jones Fund for Episcopal Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). You may make your offering on Sunday mornings during February or mail it to the church office. Your gift to the Absalom Jones Fund directly support St. Augustine's and Voorhees while honoring the legacy of Blessed Absalom Jones, the first African American priest ordained in the Episcopal Church. Please plan to support these worthwhile institutions by making your offering on Sunday mornings, sending it to St. John's office, visiting iam.ec/ givehbcu or by texting GIVEHBU to 41444.
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THE ST. JOHN’S EAGLE CONTINUES
Things done and left undone Continued from page 8
“We are at a time, at a moment in the history of our nation, and a moment in the history of our Church, at a moment in the history of ourselves as faithful people; at a moment that is full of challenge and full of opportunity, that is complex and confounding; at a moment where sometimes we feel like we’re able to make a difference, and sometimes we’re wondering if anything we say or do has any impact at all, and on some level we know one thing to be true: that the things that are done and left undone in this moment, will reverberate, long past us beyond our children, beyond our children’s children to generations that we will not know.”
the immense joy of being human, members of A SINGLE human race. A human race in which God became incarnate. Perhaps if we listen carefully to Jesus Sermon on the Mount we hear Jesus saying we have to do better – as the church, as communities and as a nation. You and I have to do better. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you with those “things that are done and left undone in this moment, that will reverberate, long past us beyond our children, beyond our children’s children to generations that we will not know.” Amen
Each time we gather we ask for forgiveness for “things done and left undone.” Reading the Beatitudes against this backdrop of racism and privilege, the lesson they teach seems to be aimed directly at those of us who, more often than not, are the beneficiaries of “the things that were done and left undone” in our country’s history. We’re probably more familiar with Matthew’s telling of the Beatitudes…“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Because I am the beneficiary of the privilege and implicit benefits that come with my whiteness, it is especially important for me to carry a spirit of love for all of God’s children. Maybe it is those who do not take the time or put in the work to strive for justice and peace and recognize the dignity of every human being who are truly the “poor.” And as hard as it may seem to understand...God loves them too. The great monk Thomas Merton went to the dentist one day and ended up writing about a life-changing experience. He wrote:
Ash Wednesday Services March 2nd
“Yesterday, in Louisville, at the corner of 4th and Walnut, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness. I have the immense joy of being human, a member of the human race in which God became incarnate. If only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There’s no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”
St. John’s will have a service at 7:00 p.m. If you are unable to attend this service, Trinity Episcopal Church invites you to join them at noon in their chapel
Merton spent the rest of his life with compassion for the victims of prejudice. He writes about the connections between love and suffering. He works for justice. As a people and a nation we, too, need to wake from the dream — that nightmare — of separateness. We, too, need
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Announcements from the Diocesan Office Dear Friends in Christ, Thank you so much for your continued support of Episcopal Relief & Development. Ash Wednesday is just a few weeks away, falling on March 2. Episcopal Relief & Development’s 2022 Lenten Meditations will focus on the close to 3 million people whose lives are transformed by our work and the work of our partners each year. The 2022 Lenten Meditations are organized into Episcopal Relief & Development’s priorities: Women, Children and Climate, and those whose lives have been touched by our disaster response and resilience work. We invite you to subscribe to our daily Lenten Meditation emails that will begin on Ash Wednesday and continue through Easter Sunday. As a part of our goal to become a carbon-neutral organization, the 2022 Lenten Meditations are now delivered only via email and as downloadable PDFs. You can find a digital copy of the 2022 Lenten Meditations in both English and Spanish here: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/churchin-action/lent/ We also encourage you to sign up to receive daily Lenten Meditations in your inbox by subscribing here: https:// episcopalrelief.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe? u=b78ff0ad1edb317537153e4c9&id=7f4581d53c We hope that the 2022 Lenten Meditations will help you to seek and serve Christ in the world's most vulnerable. May we continue to work together for lasting change.
Nothing tastes as good as s'mores at Peterkin!
Wishing you peace. Sean McConnell Senior Director, Engagement
Make plans for summer camp 2022. Details can be found by visiting www.peterkin.org. Information continues to be uploaded. As a result, visit the site often.
If you are unable to access these devotional materials electronically, please contact your parish office.
Story making. Faith growing. Life enriching.
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This week will the beginning of a very important season for our churches - the season of Lent.
Kids Corn er
Do you remember how long Lent lasts? That’s right, Lent is the 40 days before Palm Sunday which leads right in to Holy Week and Easter Sunday. The word “Lent” comes from another word “Lente” which means springtime. That makes sense…since Lent and Easter always happen during springtime.
As I was thinking about Lent and springtime, I realized that many of the things I like to do in the springtime are similar to the kinds of things we should all do during Lent as we prepare for Easter. Wow! Let’s get started. In the springtime, we like to OPEN UP. We put screens in my windows so we can open up our windows and let fresh spring air fill our homes. For Lent, a great thing to do is OPEN UP our Bible Stories and read them more. When we read the stories in the Bible, God reminds us again that he is always with us. In the springtime, some of us like to CLEAR OUT. Some people CLEAR OUT the clutter in our closets or our yards. Some of go through closets and take out the things they don’t really need — heavy coats, old shoes — things that will just be in the way. Some people rake the dead leaves from their yard and take out the plants that didn’t make it through the winter. For Lent, it is good to CLEAR OUT the things in our lives that we don’t really need — things that get in the way of following Jesus. For example, maybe you watch TV or play video games a lot. Why not put them away for a while and use that extra time to help someone. In the springtime, we sometimes need to SWEEP UP. Some people call it “Spring Cleaning” and they try to find and clean up all the dirt and dust in their homes that has been hiding all winter — like under the rugs or under the couch — dirt that no one else sees, but dirt that THEY know is there. For Lent, it is good to ask ourselves, “Have I made any mistakes or messes that I need to clean up? Do I need to apologize to someone for something I said or did? Do I need to ask God to forgive me? Do I need to sweep up the messes I’ve made with other people?” In the springtime, I love to PLANT. We plant seeds in our gardens or flower pots and water them as we wait and watch them grow into something beautiful or tasty. For Lent, it is good for us to PLANT — to PLANT different kind of seeds. We can plant seeds of love in the hearts of others when we are kind, or helpful, or when we tell someone about Jesus. For Lent, think of something you can do that will become something beautiful for someone else, and do it in the name of Jesus, the one who did something really beautiful for you.
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THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE
OF
WV
The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, Bishop The Rev. Matthew D. Cowden, Bishop Coadjuter Elect Phone: 304.344.3597 On the web: wvdiocese.org/ Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/EpisDioWV
ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The Rev. Raymond J. Hage Priest (Ret.) Vivian Kost, Parish Life Dir. Email: office@stjohnshuntingtonwv.org Office Phone: 304.525.9501 Cell: 304.633.1797 On the web: stjohnshuntingtonwv.org/ Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/stjohnshuntington
The Rev. Deborah Rankin Priest-in-Charge Cell: 330.671.6469 Email: Deb.rankin2013@gmail.com Lea Perkins Admin Phone: 304.546.1499 On the web: stpeterswv.com/ Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/St-Peters-EpiscopalChurch-578162662263293
The Rev. James Morgan Interim Priest Kristi Meadows, Admin. Email: admin@wvtrinitychurch.org Office Phone: 304.529.6084 On the web: wvtrinitychurch.org/ Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/Trinity-EpiscopalChurch-Huntington-WV418519781555069
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