March 2014
St. Mark’s News Volume 17/Issue 3
From the Rector The month of March will begin with two feasts: the first a Cajun feast on Sunday, March 2, and the second our annual Shrove Tuesday pancake supper on March 4. But the feasting will turn quickly to Lenten fasting on Ash Wednesday (March 5) when we will hear again the invitation 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.” This invitation to a holy Lent gives us the outline for a Lenten discipline that involves both giving up (fasting and self-denial) and taking on (prayer and reading/meditating on the scriptures). In the Litany of Penitence that we prayer on Ash Wednesday we confess that “We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us.” The first question that comes to mind with respect to Lent is the question of what we will give up. The temptation is to embark on a program for self-improvement that may have very little to do with our relationship to God. What might fasting and self-denial look like during the season of Lent? In her book Girl Meets God Lauren Winner has a chapter about Lent. Winner was attending All Angels Episcopal Church around the corner from Zabar’s in New York City. The morning after Ash Wednesday her rector asked her what discipline she had adopted for Lent. She proudly said that In this Issue she had decided to fast every Friday, which she thought was much more impressive than giving up chocolate or caffeine. He commended her, but From the Rector .........................1 then said he would also like her to give up reading for Lent because Vestry Highlights ........................2 reading was what she most loved. The night before, in his Ash Lent at St. Mark’s .......................3 Parish Life ..................................4 Wednesday homily, he had spoken about the need to give up something Outreach ....................................6 that was truly important; truly yourself. He had also said that the real test Christian Formation ....................7 of self-denial comes in private: will we adhere to our devotions when no Celebrations .............................10 one was looking? Would we be diligent or would we cheat? Winner said Caffeine Ministry ......................10 that at first she was diligent and then she cheated. But even though she ROTA .......................................11 cheated she did not completely abandon the discipline, and in so doing she found that she spent more time in prayer. It was a discipline that did, in fact, move her closer to Jesus. So the question for each of us this Lent is what might we give up that is both truly important to us, and that might move us closer to Jesus. If we fast from food will it make us aware of our hunger and thirst for God? During that Lenten season Lauren Winner discovered that her fasting and self-denial were connected to a rich prayer life: she prayed more because she did not have her usual distraction of constant reading. How might we spend this Lent season praying more and reading more scripture? How might we spend this Lent serving as Christ served us? In October, at the annual clergy conference at Camp Allen, one of the speakers was the Rev. Christopher Martin who is the founder of The Restoration Project. The Restoration Project is a movement devoted to nurturing mature followers of Jesus with a clear call and by utilizing ancient spiritual practices. At its heart are three Practices (Prayer, Worship, Service) and seven vows (Pray, Worship, Serve, Give/tithe,
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