Ash Wednesday, Late

Should have planned farther ahead for an Ash Wednesday post!  But as so often happens, life crowded out blogging. Today we had orthodontist appointments--plural--not just B12's usual adjustment, but an evaluation for Chicklet, the next messy mouth in line--and a doctor appointment for B6's weird skin thing going on around his eye.  Last night the spring session of theater classes started up again, and I'm teaching Drama 1, a basic acting class with a theme of portraying animal characters.  It was so fun to be back in the saddle again...or should I say, back in the classroom.  After all, I majored in Elementary Education because I enjoy teaching!  The subject matter is new to me, but after one night...I can tell this is going to be fun.

So, Facebook to the rescue!  A friend of a friend recommended two articles on Ash Wednesday and Lent, and I commend them to you as well.

Lent is a call to weep for what we could have been and are not. Lent is the grace to grieve for what we should have done and did not. Lent is the opportunity to change what we ought to change but have not. Lent is not about penance. Lent is about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now.

Lent is a summons to live anew.

from Ash Wednesday and Lent: Beginning Again Always, by Sister Joan Chittister

Lent reminds us of whose we are. The "sacrifices," the disciplines, these are not intended as good works offered by us to God; rather, they are God's gifts to us to remind us who we are, God's adopted daughters and sons, God's treasure, so priceless that God was willing to go to any length -- or, more appropriately, to any depth -- to tell us that we are loved, that we have value, that we have purpose.

from The Trouble (And Blessing) of Lent, by David Lose

The Lord is Risen!

This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land.

This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from
the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life.

This is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell,
and rose victorious from the grave.

How wonderful and beyond our knowing, O God, is your mercy and
loving-kindness to us, that to redeem a slave, you gave a Son.

How holy is this night, when wickedness is put to flight, and sin is
washed away. It restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to those
who mourn. It casts out pride and hatred, and brings peace and concord.

How blessed is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God.

~from the Exsultet, a sung portion of the Easter Vigil liturgy, which Father Rooster sings so beautifully every year!

(The photo is a close-up of the altar at our church, taken by my husband.)

Maundy Thursday

(artist Sieger Koder)

The Washing of Feet

What could be stranger than this?

What more awesome?

He who is clothed with light as with a garment (Ps. 104:2)

is girded with a towel.

He who binds up the waters in His clouds (Job 26:8),

who sealed the abyss by His fearful Name,

is bound with a girdle.

He who gathers together

the waters of the sea as in a vessel (Ps. 33:7)

now pours water in to a basin.

He who covers the tops of the heavens with water (Ps. 104:3)

washes in water the feet of His disciples.

He who has weighed the heavens with His palm

and the earth with three fingers (Is. 40:12)

now wipes with undefiled palms

the soles of His servants’ feet.

He before whom every knees should bow,

of those that are in heaven,

on earth and under the earth (Phil.2:10)

now kneels before His servants.

Cyril of Alexandria (375-444)

(swiped from my friend Barbara's email list-serve. Thanks, Barbara!)

Church News

Holy Week begins tomorrow!

We are doing the full complement of services: Palm Sunday, Blessing of Oil & Water (on Thursday afternoon), Maundy Thursday, Stations of the Cross (on Friday afternoon), Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday.

I am coordinating the readings for all, and I've been a few steps behind ever since I realized that we weren't using the same Palm Sunday Passion reading from last year! I guess we're in Luke's gospel this year. Who knew?

I arranged it into a reader's theater version for four men and two women; we've rehearsed and are ready to go tomorrow morning. It sounds like the weather is going to be quite chilly and possibly rainy, so we are planning an interior route through the Kemper Center instead of our usual outdoor processional. I think it will be fun. The Kemper Center is such an interesting building, and it has a reputation for being haunted! We'll process through corridors that many of us have never seen before...bringing the presence of Christ with us.

For the Vigil, I've also arranged the Creation reading for a family of five to read, and had a great idea for how we could pantomime, with children wearing international costumes, the Gathering of God's people reading from Zephaniah. It's the last one and often feels like a bit of a let-down after the Dry Bones reading, which has more intrinsic dramatic potential, but I think using the kids will keep things interesting all the way to the end! We're repeating a few things from last year, and I keep forgetting that I need to practice the reading that I'm doing, "Come, buy, without money and without cost." We have lots of rehearsals in the coming week!

Oh, and the music--it's going to be fantastic. One of our members is a professional violinist, and she has world-class connections who are stepping in to help us out at the Vigil. She has planned some amazing pieces of music, and has been working with my musician brother-in-law on some original compositions, as well. Blondechick17 is singing, with others; Father Rooster will sing the Exultet...I can't wait!

We're also doing two baptisms at the Vigil. One is a teenager who wishes to be immersed, but the Kemper Center won't let us do an immersion baptism inside the chapel. So we're going to have to process outdoors onto a little porch, at least a few of us, for that part of the service--and wrap him up warm right afterwards!

The other one is the infant son of our friends Amy and her husband! They are coming all the way from...oh my goodness...Montana, is it? Somewhere out west--Amy, prompt my poor brain. We have known these two since before they started dating. We did their marriage counseling, and Father Rooster married them, and their older daughter was born within weeks of Bantam5, and Amy started blogging shortly after I did...and then they moved. And there isn't an Anglican church out there, and so--they are coming for a visit and a baptism!!

In other news, we have been working with a graphic designer and a website designer and finally settled on a logo for our church. The website isn't done yet, but we now have business cards we can hand out to invite people to Holy Week services or just to give them contact information for future reference. And we have an ad going on this weekend's editions of the Kenosha News, listing all our Holy Week services and times. There's going to be a web ad too--check back here for a link! We also have printed a "Thanks for visiting" postcard that we can use to follow up with visitors.

Yay, Holy Week! My favorite church week of the year!

Lent Begins

Though I had no time yesterday to post anything about it, yesterday was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent!

We had a beautifully solemn service which was well-attended. We had visitors, which was always exciting--Abbi's parents and eight brothers and sisters all came, and brought two other families from their church. One family knows Amy and her family, and has been reading Amy's blog--which is the most fabulous place to go if you are looking for ways to integrate the church calendar and its symbols in a family setting--and they seemed to have really enjoyed the service.

For Lent, we always give up dessert as a family, and I'm not sure what else, if anything, I'm going to do. I always try to give up yelling at my kids (--grin--but I am also serious), and I try to read the Scriptures and pray more faithfully during Lent.

I would love to also blog about some of the Scriptures I read, but I don't know if I have the time or the space this year to do Lent any differently than the preceding weeks and months have been. The only thing I can see to change is to turn my circumstances--which seem so out of my control--into part of my Lent. Instead of being frustrated that I don't have time for things I want to do, I will try to embrace the limitations as a Lenten abstinence. Instead of complaining about the things I can't do, or the things I have to do (driving kids, email, helping with homework) that take time away from what I want to do (read, blog, Facebook), I will try to offer them up, in prayer, as a sacrifice.

I think the aroma will be more pleasing!

It's Epiphany!

It's Epiphany today, the day we remember the Wise Men coming to the Christ Child with their gifts. They "saw the light" as it led them there, and they "saw the Light" when they looked into His face. Epiphany could be defined as the moment one "sees the light."

So when we started our church during the Epiphany season, we named it Light of Christ. That was three years ago this month, so we are having a church-wide celebration service tonight, in honor of this day of Epiphany and our three years together. We'll celebrate with a meal--one of our men is making lasagna for all, and another man offered his famous Caesar Salad--and our first-ever annual meeting.

Happy three years to us! And a blessed Epiphany to you all. May the light of Christ surround you this day and always!

Good Reading!

What better way to kick off the Pentecost season than with a carnival! There are ideas for celebrating Pentecost as a family, as well as meditations and testimonies on the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of believers. I can't wait to work my way through all the entries this week. Go and be blessed!

Epiphany Anniversary

Today at church we celebrated Epiphany and Light of Christ's second birthday!

Two years ago, during Epiphany, Mr. & Mrs. A held the first service in their home with the beginnings of a core team. At that point, Father Rooster was committed only to helping out once a month, as was one other priest. (It didn't take long for us and for the core team to agree that God was calling Father Rooster to a much great task, and by Easter Sunday of that year, we were coming every week and getting our house ready to put on the market.)

Our church is called Light of Christ because it began in Epiphany, when the Light of the World was revealed to the World: The readings for the day are either the Wise Men (representing the Gentile world) following the star (light) in the heavens, or the baptism of Jesus, when the dove and the Father's voice revealed him to be the Son of God.

In honor of our birthday, one member shared what the church had meant to her on her spiritual journey. She said that all her life, she had found the sense of God's presence to be elusive, even when intellectually she knew He was there. But at Light of Christ, she said, every Sunday, she always sensed God's presence, and that is what brought her and her family back week after week.

Praise God! I sat thinking, as she was sharing. How wonderful to hear that it wasn't the sermon or the music or the people that she kept coming back for--though I know she appreciates all those things--but for the presence of God himself! To me, this was such an affirmation that we're on the right track as a church.

We were delighted to have a number of visitors, including a young couple from our "mother church" and their little boy. They spent the afternoon and evening with us, sharing what God is doing in all our lives and exploring possible convergences in the future. We'll see what God may be doing there!

The wife is the daughter of some special friends of ours back in Illinois, and we were touched by a gift that had been sent with them--a large tin of homemade carmel corn, a specialty of her mother's, made for us. (I am munching on some as I type!) A small thing, but it goes a long way to keep a sense of connection with old friends. (Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. B! Can't wait to see you at Mars Hill!)

No birthday would be complete without a cake...so we had some after church.

What a blessed Epiphany Sunday!

Facing East for Advent

Our new processional cross...



...and Father Rooster celebrating the Eucharist, with Father Arnold Klukas from Nashotah House looking on.


The chapel that we meet in on special occasions has an east-facing altar (toward Lake Michigan, in our case, which is kind of neat symbolism). East-facing altars went out with Vatican II when it was felt that the priest should face the congregation instead of turning his back to them, and Fr. Rooster usually stands behind a free-standing altar.

But since the first two Sundays in Advent are when we especially wait for the second coming of Christ and it has been a long-standing practice of the church to worship facing east, and since we have this east-facing altar in the chapel, Fr. Rooster decided that we would use it as it was intended on those two days. The congregation was invited up into the choir and onto the steps of the altar, so that we all joined him there for the Eucharist.

***

I have been reading C.S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with the Bantams 9 & 13, and this morning we read about how their ship (an old Christian symbol for the church) continued sailing eastward, past all known territory, until they came to an island which had "an attractive smell...what Lucy called 'a dim, purple kind of smell.' " They soon discover a great banqueting table set with rich foods, and a beautiful girl invites them to eat at Aslan's Table, "set here by his bidding, for those who come so far. Some call this island the World's End, for though you can sail further, this is the beginning of the end."

What beautiful imagery for Advent and Christ's Second Coming!

Photo credit: Tammy Prather (Joel's wife)

Weekend Report

On Friday, Bantam17 and Blondechick15 had a day off of school, and it was a free day at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. So we invited our new friend, a 20-year-old young man from Germany who is visiting American friends who go to our church, and off we went to "the City" for the first time since we moved. (I took one wrong turn, coming home at the beginning of rush hour, and it added about 20 minutes to the 75 minute drive...but on the bright side, now that I've made that mistake, I probably won't make it again!)

It was Halloween, so the museum was filled with treats, like candy if you asked a question of any "scientist" and a demonstration of pressure, force and area involving a volunteer and a bed of nails. We saw another demonstration of elasticity/inelasticity in which several pumpkins were dropped from a balcony--a smashing good time (yuk yuk)--and instead of the normal coal mine tour, it was a Haunted Coal Mine ride! Chicklet6 and Bantam3 are still talking about it--it was a delightfully scary first for them.

On Saturday, Blondechick15 and I attended a half-day conference for mothers and daughters called Redefining Vogue. The speaker was Jill Savage, who founded the ministry Hearts At Home, which puts on national conferences for mothers. BC, who was attending reluctantly, was impressed by Jill's ability to catch and keep the attention of tired teenage girls; I was delighted to hear her say so many of the things we've been trying to get through to BC! She talked about not just exterior modesty, but interior modesty of character, purity, and commitment to Christ. She talked about sex as a gift that we wait to unwrap till the right time, like a Christmas present; but she also stressed the gift of singleness, when one has more time for learning, traveling and exploring interests and passions than one normally has after marriage and children. BC really appreciated these messages, and told me it made her think more about college. (Good news, since last we heard, she was appalled at the thought of four extra years of school!)

Then we had more overnight guests in the new guest suite--Papa Rooster's parents drove up from Illinois for the night and joined us at church on Sunday. We had three baptisms, all children from one family, and it was a delight to have their extended family with us.



The children's great-grandparents came, and they enjoyed it so much they said they'd make the drive from Racine once a month to join us! It turns out that Great-Grandpa co-taught seminary classes with one of Father Rooster's heroes, Fr. Alexander Schmemann, whom he quoted and described in his sermon as an example of a modern-day saint. (Great-Grandpa agreed--and loved PR's sermon.) It was a truly special service.

(Here is a post about it by a fellow blogger and congregant at Light of Christ, who often leads us vocally in worship!)

Then Papa Rooster's parents took us, along with PR's brother and his wife (who have been making the long drive from Chicago to join us fairly frequently at church), out for a leisurely lunch without children (all at our house). Later that afternoon, friends from our old hamlet, who happened to be in Wisconsin for the day, came over and we had a fabulous time re-connecting and sharing how God is working in our lives. We were in a prayer group together with them for many years, and we've missed them so much.

And that's the weekend report! Jaaaaammmm-packed with good things. Thank you, Lord!

The Feast of All Saints

"All Saints II" by Wassily Kandinsky

A saint is not a superman, but one who discovers and lives his truth as a liturgical being. ...It is not enough to say prayers; one must become, be prayer, prayer incarnate. It is not enough to have moments of praise. All of life, each act, every gesture, even the smile of the human face, must become a hymn of adoration, an offering, a prayer. One should offer not what one has, but what one is.

~Paul Evdokimov, quoted in Living Icons: Persons of Faith in the Eastern Church by Michael Plekon


The saint will no longer be characterized by extraordinary behavior (as the historian, say, understands it); he will no longer appear to the world as separated from his fellow men or above them. On the contrary, he will be doing the same thing as everyone else: what needs to be done, what is right and just. But he will join to his behavior a purity of intention more and more deeply united to a great love of God; more and more detached from selfishness and self-satisfaction.

~Romano Guardini, The Saints in Daily Christian Life

Confirmation Sunday

Our bishop is amazing. Here he is, praying for Bantam17...


...and for Bantam13.

For each one of our 23 confirmands, he prayed an individual, Spirit-led prayer that made you wonder how he could possibly know them so well, never having met them. Only by the power of the Spirit, of course!

We meet in this beautiful old chapel only for feast days or special occasions like today. Even though it's aesthetically worshipful, the space itself is difficult to conduct a service in, because of a large wooden rood screen which divides the space in half. Today, we started out with everyone behind the screen:


Another challenge is having both horizontal and vertically arranged pews!

(I like this shot of Father Rooster, in between his father and his bishop. It was a special Sunday for my husband, with his parents, his brother, his sis-in-law, his niece, his wife and four of his children all confirmed!)

After the sermon, the confirmands came forward and were seated in the choir, up near the altar...

...while the rest of the congregation remained on the far side of the screen.


It worked, but our musicians and the altar were too far away from the congregation when we were all on the other side of the screen. We'll try something different next time.

We were blessed to have so many visitors today, especially extended family members of the confirmands, but also a couple of families who were making repeat visits. (And of course, our intrepid photographer friend from Illinois who took on the lighting challenges with an unfamiliar camera: Thanks, Ray!)

Our soup, bread and salad lunch for 23--(same number, but not the same 23!)--came off fine. We had to eat in shifts, however, since I realized late on Saturday night that although I have table and breakfast bar space for 22, I only have 12 chairs and 4 barstools! (I can no longer put off that trip to IKEA. Must buy: bookshelves, folding chairs.) A small group actually used our dining room-turned-schoolroom as a dining room today, on a school/craft table cleared off just for the occasion--with room to spare!

***

Last year, when we met in the chapel on Pentecost Sunday, a mighty wind blew the doors shut.

Today, we met in the chapel for our Bishop to confirm the baptisms of 23 people and pray for them to be filled and equipped for ministry by the Holy Spirit--and there was flooding all over Chicagoland (of which Kenosha is considered a part).

***

Last night, a group of fathers and sons who were being confirmed met at the same chapel for a prayer vigil, just as a page who was to be knighted spent the night before in church. It was a holy time for all who attended.

At the same time, there was a woman attending a celebration in another part of the building. Many years ago, she had been an alcoholic. She had joined AA and hadn't touched a drink in years, but at this particular celebration, she decided to have one. Then she had another, and she began to fear that she couldn't stop. She went for a walk in the building, praying for God's help, and she came near the chapel where our group was praying. Suddenly, she sensed the power of the Spirit come over her, and all desire for another drink was gone.

This morning, she called one of the dads she had recognized in the chapel to tell him about her experience.

***

Despite the chapel's challenges, it certainly seems that the Holy Spirit meets us in a special way in that place!

Flashbacks

Here we were two weeks ago on a chilly, snowy, Sunday morning in Wisconsin! Light of Christ's first Palm Sunday processional went very well, though. That's Bantam12 carrying the cross, and our seminarian from Nashotah House, Joel P, is censor there in front.


And a friend emailed me these pictures she took at the Easter Vigil (from pretty far back, zooming in). Toward the end (around 10:30 p.m.), Bantam3 started to melt down. Since it was all over but the shouting, so to speak, he and I joined Father Rooster onstage for a change of scenery and a chance to wave a streamer on a stick. Here he is with Daddy right behind him.


You can't tell, but he's near the edge of the stage, so here's me coaxing him to back up.

It looks like I'm all in brown in this shot, but there's actually a groovy hippie flowering plant design (outlined with wooden beads) on the front of my olive green shirt that was quite festive for this special celebration!



And you have got to go here and check out Kim Johnson's pictures from Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. Kim is the photographer who took our family pictures--the ones in the sidebar. Her photos are so beautiful, and she really captured the flavor of those services at Church of the Resurrection. (Remember the "three streams, one river" posts I wrote? Kim's photos "show" what I was trying to "tell.")

Look for Father Rooster in the one with all the clergy in red. My mother-in-law is in the lower right corner of the one with the woman standing up worshiping--and don't miss the ones of children dancing in the aisles on Easter Sunday morning. It's hard to understand why this is such a big deal to these kids, but it is something they look forward to all. year. long! Definitely a tradition we should keep at Light of Christ, I think!

Holy Saturday: The Shadow of Death

It's Holy Saturday, the day the disciples waited in stunned disbelief at the sudden turn of events. Death to their King--instead of the great victory they had anticipated.

How were they to know what the morning would bring? Despite all of his teaching and preparation, they never suspected that this King would be conqueror over Death itself! He would live again--that His followers would never experience death. Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.

My friend Margie waits today in the shadow of death. Her husband, our good friend John, is in the hospital with pneumonia--and in his advanced stage of cancer, it looks as if his body is not going to be able to overcome the infection.

Go read her Good Friday post--and pray for her, please, and their children, and for all John's extended family and our church body. John is so loved, so admired, so treasured by us all. It is hard to think of saying goodbye.

At least we're in the right state of mind. As Margie notes, with humor, "Only John would wait until it was liturgically correct to walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death." (John and Father Rooster--those two are of the same mind in most ways, but especially on matters liturgical!)

Holy Week, Easter and St. Paddy's Day

Got your green on for St. Patrick's Day? Well, you missed it! St. Paddy's is over!

Because the saint's feast day falls during Holy Week this year (a week devoted to observing the events of the last days of Christ), the official celebration was on Saturday. Check out this Wikipedia article, which explains the dating exception. Did you know that here in Chicago, they dye the Chicago River green every year on St. Patrick's Day? The article includes a picture--from March 15, 2008!

Don't let this exception rock your world, though--it'll never happen again in your lifetime.

I thought it seemed like Easter was incredibly early this year. I dislike an early Easter for several reasons:

Lent starts too soon after Christmas for me to get into it.
Chance of snow on Palm Sunday, when we do an outdoor processional.
Chance of snow on Easter.
Wearing long sleeves on Easter.
New life=new clothes, by longstanding tradition, and I hate covering up a new Easter dress with a sweater!
No crocuses, tulips, lilies or daffodils up in my garden yet.
No holidays to look forward to in April.
Since Easter has arrived, I think warm weather should too--and I get cranky when cold weather hangs around longer than it should.

But Easter will never be this early again in my lifetime--or yours!

I received this by email and it's accurate according to Snopes.com (with one correction, noted below):

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here's the facts :

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). (Snopes says the next time will be 2160, then 2228.) The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.

So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!


Whew. That's a relief. I'm glad I won't live to see it any earlier.

I just realized I forgot to get assistance uploading a picture of our Palm Sunday processional through the snow drifts. Never again, I hope!

Anybody else just not ready for Holy Week to be here??

I'm trying to take it easy today, while regrouping with homeschooling and catching up on laundry....

Another Godspell mom told me that her little daughter said with surprise, during the second weekend of performances, "Man, nobody does laundry around here anymore!"

Yeah, it's one of those tradeoffs we theater moms have to make. (But in ten or twenty years, I doubt I'll wish I'd stayed home doing laundry!)

But in an effort to rest, I let myself finish reading this article at Christianity Today, which I started weeks ago. It's kinda long, so I will excerpt freely. The first page really caught my attention:

Last spring, something was stirring under the white steeple of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.

A motley group of young and clean-cut, goateed and pierced, white-haired and bespectacled filled the center's Barrows Auditorium. They joined their voices to sing of "the saints who nobly fought of old" and "mystic communion with those whose rest is won." A speaker walked an attentive crowd through prayers from the 5th-century Gelasian Sacramentary, recommending its forms as templates for worship in today's Protestant churches. Another speaker highlighted the pastoral strengths of the medieval fourfold hermeneutic. Yet another gleefully passed on the news that Liberty University had observed the liturgical season of Lent. The t-word—that old Protestant nemesis, tradition—echoed through the halls.

Just what was going on in this veritable shrine to pragmatic evangelistic methods and no-nonsense, back-to-the-Bible Protestant conservatism? Had Catholics taken over?

No, this was the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference, whose theme was "The Ancient Faith for the Church's Future." Here, the words spoken 15 years ago by Drew University theologian and CT senior editor Thomas Oden rang true: "The sons and daughters of modernity are rediscovering the neglected beauty of classical Christian teaching. It is a moment of joy, of beholding anew what had been nearly forgotten, of hugging a lost child."

The conference's Call for Papers likewise rejoiced: "One of the most promising developments among evangelical Protestants is the recent 'discovery' of the rich biblical, spiritual, and theological treasures to be found within the early church." In particular, it said, evangelicals are beginning to "reach back behind the European Enlightenment for patterns and models of how to faithfully read Scripture, worship, and engage a religiously diverse culture."

Baylor University's D. H. Williams, author of Evangelicals and Tradition, testified at the conference to the recent upsurge of evangelical interest in patristics (the study of the church fathers in the first seven centuries of the church): "Who would have thought, a decade ago, that one of the most vibrant and serious fields of Christian study at the beginning of the 21st century would be the ancient church fathers? There has been an opening of new avenues, especially among free-church Protestants, by the almost overnight popularity of bishops and monks, martyrs and apologists, philosophers and historians who first fashioned a Christian culture 1,500 years ago."

This conference was certainly not the first of its kind; in fact, many evangelicals had been looking to the early church for guidance for years. But in some ways, the conference represented a coming of age for a worship renewal movement begun some 30 years before.

If only the man behind the conference, the elder statesman of "ancient-future faith," could have been there to watch the excitement of young and old conferees alike. But Robert Webber of Northern Seminary (and formerly of Wheaton) could not be present. He was in the late stages of cancer. His chair at the conference banquet table was vacant, as colleagues stood to honor his influence on them personally and on the whole church. Weeks after the conference, evangelical Christianity lost its premier ambassador for reengagement with history.

I went to Wheaton College, and Bob Webber is the man who introduced me to liturgy. A couple times a year in chapel, we had a liturgical service which he led and which, in all honesty, I found pretty boring. But still, I give him credit for defining the term for me. The article goes on to quote a few other people I know, like Joel Scandrett and Mark Galli, and have met, like Thomas Howard, Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom. Oh, what fun it is to name-drop! (I know that a portion of my readers are acquainted with these folks as well.)

And what good news it is to us, as Anglican church planters with a heart for community, to hear that:

Many 20- and 30-something evangelicals are uneasy and alienated in mall-like church environments; high-energy, entertainment-oriented worship; and boomer-era ministry strategies and structures modeled on the business world. Increasingly, they are asking just how these culturally camouflaged churches can help them rise above the values of the consumerist world around them.

...So what to do? Easy, says this youth movement: Stop endlessly debating and advertising Christianity, and just embody it. Live it faithfully in community with others—especially others beyond the white suburban world of many megachurch ministries. Embrace symbols and sacraments. Dialogue with the "other two" historic confessions: Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Recognize that "the road to the church's future is through its past." And break out the candles and incense. Pray using the lectio divina. Tap all the riches of Christian tradition you can find.

...Like Webber, journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell has surveyed this youth movement that's dissatisfied with culturally co-opted Christianity and wants a more historically rooted form of the faith. Her results, featured in her 2004 book, The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy, show that these young people recognize the anti-Christian nature of the culture in which they grew up. They have been "reared in a media culture that relentlessly lobbies for their attention and panders to their whims," and thus "find it refreshing when religious leaders demand sacrifice, service, and renunciation of consumerism." They feel not restricted but "strangely liberated" by the focus on objective morality and obedience in these churches. To them, this is finally a form of religion that stands over and against individualism and relativism. And they are "captivated by groups that stress stability, commitment, and integration—the very values they found wanting in their splintered, mobile families and fragmented, impersonal communities."

Our Family's Lenten Practices

We discuss and model three disciplines with our kids during Lent: confession, fasting, and engagement.

Confession:

We discuss: Why do we need a whole 40 days of penitence? We should confess our sins year 'round, shouldn't we?

And we should indeed. But we get comfortable in our sins. Or we pretend they're not really sin. Or we're so used to them, we forget about trying to change. After all, nobody can live a sinless life. Why bother?

I love Frederica Mathewes-Greene's answer:

[I]f we're Christians we're always hearing that God loves us just the way we are, and that Jesus has paid for all our sins, so it looks like there's nothing left to do. We can spend this life watching TV. Yet we have to ask: why are our lives so tedious and uninspired? Why do we who claim to be Christian behave no better (kinder, more justly, more honestly) than those who don't? Is this whole life just waiting around to go to heaven, killing time at the mall?

When we read the New Testament it's clear that early Christians experienced something a lot more exciting than we do--something transforming, in fact. In the Bible and other early writings they describe "life in Christ" in terms that are vigorous rather than stagnant; they were being changed day by day into the likeness of his glory. The most distinctive thing about the way early Christians describe their lives is *energy*. God is at work! Look out! Amazing things are happening!

…If you want to be transformed, you'll have to change. If you're going to change, you have to admit you need to change. You have to look inside, where it's dusty and cobwebbed, and let the light start to shine in.

This is why repentance feels like a relief. It's admitting the truth about ourselves--stuff God already knows, but which we go to exhausting lengths to deny. Once it's in the open, we can deal with it, and start to see things change. We may even see miracles, even if they're just in our own behavior: more hopeful, more compassionate, less cranky. (The rest of this article is here.)

Lent is a time set aside to deal with sin. So during Lent we practice confession, asking God to search our hearts and put His finger on those things in our lives that need to change.

Usually the older kids and I write out our confessions, and we share some or all of them out loud. I have seen the relief that comes from admitting that they sometimes sneak candy or intentionally make their little sister cry or lie about Lego claims (after multiple trades, ownership gets fuzzy). And it's good for them to know that I know that I sin against them on a regular basis, with anger or a blaming spirit or failures of love.

We talk about the difference between sins of commission (things we have done) and sins of omission (things we have left undone). Ignoring a little siblings' request for help is sinful. Not being loving is as bad as being mean. Forgetting those in need is wrong. We may also discuss the Litany of Penitence, from the Ash Wednesday service, as an example.

We often burn these confessions in the fireplace on Ash Wednesday, but I think this year we'll wait and do it on Good Friday. I think for myself it will be powerful to confess my list daily for 40 days.

Fasting:

As we say no to our appetites, we strengthen our will to say no to sin. So we serve no desserts during Lent, and we encourage our kids to give up some little enjoyable habit or something that distracts them from the Lord or from obedience (as we also do). They've given up Legos, secular music, a favorite breakfast cereal--and sometimes they find, in their Easter basket, a small Lego set, a CD or a box of cereal.

One of our friends asked his nine or ten year old daughter what she had given up for Lent. "Well," she sighed, "I tried giving up sin. But I just couldn't do it. So I guess I'm switching to chocolate."

(Baby steps, kids--it's all about baby steps. Even for grown-ups.)

Disciplines of engagement:

During Lent, we try to add in a practice that will help us grow spiritually. We may purpose to memorize a Scripture passage, or read the Bible every day (besides our family Bible reading), or choose a character quality we want to exercise and grow in. We may select special Lenten devotional reading, or choose a ministry to serve in, or save money for a charity (a traditional Lenten discipline of engagement called almsgiving).

And we continue to discuss Lenten themes throughout the 40 days. One time, we were reflecting on the Psalm 51 Ash Wednesday reading ("For he himself knows whereof we are made; he remembers that we are but dust. Our days are like the grass; we flourish like a flower of the field; When the wind goes over it, it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.") I explained that it's important for us to realize how small we are and how short our lives on earth are, and how big and eternal God is, rather than having such a huge focus on ourselves.

"I get it!" Bantam(11, at the time) said, "It's like, we're the ants, and God is the dude!"


Lent's practical disciplines and prayerful emphases help us as we wage war against the sin that so easily entangles us. As Christ was put to death, effectively taking our sins with him, that He might rise in glory, unblemished and unstained by sin—so we too, during Lent, attempt to put to death a little more of that sinful nature, that we may rise above it, with Christ, during Easter!

Celebrating Shrove Tuesday

I have a guest blogger today, Amy from Kenosha, who's visited our church plant a few times. She shared with me that her family has developed some traditions for celebrating Shrove Tuesday--also known as Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day, Paczki Day, and Fasnacht Day, because it's a day to get rid of the all the rich foods, like eggs and sugar, which you wouldn't be eating during the fast of Lent (back in the days when everyone observed it more strictly). ("Shrove" is the past tense of "shrive," which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by confessing and doing penance--part of the preparation for the season of Lent).

We've never really celebrated Shrove Tuesday, so I was eager to hear from Amy! She says they often invite another family over to celebrate with them.

Well, it wouldn't be Shrove Tuesday for us without pancakes. We especially love the Banana Sour Cream Pancakes! We round out the meal with a Sausage and Egg Casserole, fruit, and OJ Smoothies. (Recipes below.)

Before dinner is served, we roll pretzels as a fun treat with ancient origins as a Lenten fasting bread. I try to make up the dough ahead of time, so that we can just spend time rolling and shaping; even the littlest ones can join in with a small piece of dough to play with. I was fascinated that the religious origins date back to the fourth century when the faithful kept a very strict fast all through Lent: no milk, no butter, no cheese, no eggs, no cream and no meat. They, instead, made small breads of water, flour and salt, and to remind themselves that Lent was a time of prayer, they shaped these breads in the form of arms crossed in prayer. The breads were called "little arms" (bracellae) which later became our pretzel. (See recipe below; of course, butter and cinnamon sugar are not for those on a strict fast!)

Last year we also planted seeds in a pot we kept by the window sill in the kitchen to help our little ones visualize life springing from death. Watching and tending the plant day by day as it sprouted and grew was much like an advent calendar.

During the meal I print Easter coloring pages for the little ones who may get antsy during Scripture readings and prayer. We also play the "40 Game Quiz: Can you name all the references to 40 in Scripture?" The one who names the most gets a fitting prize of chocolate that should be eaten immediately!!

During the meal we also review the history and purpose of Lent. We share the ways Lent has been meaningful to us in the past and share how we hope to spend the next 40 days in repentance and renewal.

We end with readings from Scripture and close in prayer. Many times we read the Ash Wednesday lectionary so that we are prepared to fully enter the service the next day. (Psalm 103; Joel 2:1-2,12-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6,16-21). For the prayer time, we begin with a litany of penitence and then close in silent prayer:

Prayer for a Season of Prayer, Fasting, and Penitence

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, the all-holy one, who gives us life and all things. As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love. We fall into sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptized into your Son.

In this holy season, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember your loving mercy. May our worship and prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these 40 days of Lent. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ's resurrection at Easter. We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

For more on the history and practices of Shrove Tuesday:

Maria Augusta Trapp explains the origin of the time of feasting and revelry between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, as well as the traditions associated with this time.

Dennis Bratcher gives an overview of the entire Season of Lent, beginning with Shrove Tuesday or Carnival.

An article from the Arlington Catholic Herald.

Recipes:

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

Copyright 2003, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All rights reserved

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

2 extra-large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Unsalted butter

2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving

Pure maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded tablespoon of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Sausage and Egg Casserole

1 lb of Jimmy Deans Hot Sausage

6 slices white bread

butter

6 eggs

2 cups of milk

Optional: tsp of dry mustard

16 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown and chop 1lb of the spicy sausage. Spray Pam on a 13X9 pan (metal or glass). Put 6 slices of white bread on the bottom of the pan (they can slightly overlap). Spoon the cooked sausage over the bread.

In a separate bowl, mix 6-7 eggs, 2 cups of milk, and a teaspoon of dry mustard. Pour over the sausage. Sprinkle 16 oz of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Then put the pan in the refrigerator to chill. You can chill overnight. Then once you are ready to cook, bake for 40-45 minutes on 350 degrees.

Orange Smoothie

1 (6 ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup white sugar

10 cubes ice

In a blender, combine orange juice concentrate, milk, water, vanilla, sugar and ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

Soft Pretzels

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/8 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup bread flour

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.

2. Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.

3. After dough has risen, cut into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt or cinnamon sugar.

Note: When forming the ropes, roll each one to about half the length you want, then set it aside while you roll the rest. By the time you get back to the first rope, it will have rested enough to roll further.

Thanks so much, Amy!! I look forward to trying that pancake recipe!

Kerry at A Ten O'Clock Scholar has some great Shrove Tuesday suggestions too, so stop by!

How do you observe Lent in your personal and family life?

What traditions do you find most meaningful?

What new spiritual disciplines might you undertake or which ones would you commend to others?

How do you bring young ones on the path with Jesus through the desert-season of Lent?

Lent will be the subject of the next Anglican Family Carnival (hosted at A Ten O'Clock Scholar). Join us there on the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesdy, February 6th, 2008) for "An Anglican Family Lent."

Bloggers: If you are an Anglican blogger, we'd love for you to share how you observe Lent: fasting, special meals, prayers, activities, etc in your family. Or perhaps, you'd like to share some devotions or thoughts on the Lenten season. Please send a link to your submission post by midnight on Sunday, February 3rd to Kerry at: kerry.wmson@gmail.com . If you have more than one post, that is fine, just make sure either they can all be accessed from the link you send OR you list each link seperately in your email.

Please, announce this carnival on your own blog or email this link to friends who might be interested. (Also - you are welcome to use the graphic above to advertise this carnival.) If you have any trouble with the graphic, email Kerry for the .jpg file.

Non-bloggers, we'd love you to participate, too! You may leave your contribution in the comments section when the Carnival opens on Feb 6th. If you have a lengthy submission, you may email it to Kerry by Sunday, February 3rd and she'll do her best to post your submission as a "guest" spot.

For those of you who are not Anglicans, but who follow the liturgical year and observe Lent, please join us if you would like--we'd love to have you! Just mention the church you attend or your upbringing or whatever makes you a "kindred spirit."

We appreciate it if you can help spread the word now...to give everyone time to put together those inspiring posts!

House Blessing Service

At church yesterday, it was a special encouragement yesterday to meet Amy--the first Amy who commented on the last post. She had introduced herself via email earlier last week. She's a Kenosha resident who found our church by googling--yay for the internet! It sounds like we'll get to meet her family next time; her husband stayed home with sick children.

Both Amys requested that I post the house blessing service that Father Rooster has compiled from various sources, Anglican and otherwise. I'm leaving out parts of it, such as the Communion liturgy and the prayer for blessing water, which are both in the Book of Common Prayer, and the Gospel reading, which you only need if having Communion. If you don't have Communion, you don't need a priest to do a house blessing--anyone can lead this lovely service, which is most often performed when someone moves into a new house.

But there are also situations where you do a house blessing as a kind of cleansing, especially if oppression or demonic activity is known or suspected. Then it is especially important to use holy water to bless each room; the priests and deacons we know always sprinkle it in each room, especially around the doorway, when performing any house blessing.

We always process a lit candle through the house as well, symbolizing the light of Christ entering each room.

Assemble at the entrance or in a living room to begin the service, then choose the appropriate prayer for the rooms of the house as you come to them. (V and R stand for "versicle"--read by the celebrant--and "response.")

Celebrant: Peace be to this house, and to all who dwell in it. The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Celebrant: Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, grant to this home the grace of your presence, that you may be known to be the inhabitant of this dwelling, and the defender of this household; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

One or both of the following Lessons, or other appropriate Readings may follow: Genesis 18.1-8; 3 John 1-6a, 11, 13-15

Let the mighty power of the Holy God be present in this place to banish from it every unclean spirit, to cleanse it from every residue of evil, and to make it a secure habitation for those who dwell in it; in the Name of Jesus Christ or Lord. Amen.

Blessing At the Entrance

Antiphon: Behold, I stand at the door and knock, says the Lord. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into the house and eat with you, and you with me.

V. The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in:

R. From this time forth for evermore.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Sovereign Lord, you are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: Send your servants out from this place on many errands, be their constant companion in the way, and welcome them upon their return, so that coming and going they may be sustained by your presence, O Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing In the Living Room

Antiphon: Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when God's people live together in unity!

V. Above everything, love one another earnestly:

R. For love covers many sins.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Give your blessing, Lord, to all who share this room, that they may be knit together in fellowship here on earth, and joined with the communion of your saints in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing In the Kitchen

Antiphon: You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you.

V. The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord:

R. And you give them their food in due season.

Let us pray. (Silence)

O Lord our God, you supply every need of ours according to your great riches: Bless the hands that work in this place, and give us grateful hearts for daily bread; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing In a Dining Room or Area

Antiphon: The living God gave you from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

V. He brings forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden our hearts:

R. Oil to make a cheerful countenance, and bread to strengthen the heart.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Blessed are you, O Lord, King of the Universe, for you give us food and drink to sustain our lives: Make us grateful for all your mercies, and mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing in a Family Room

Antiphon: Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when God's people live together in unity!

V: May those who love You be secure.
R: May there be peace within Your walls (Psalm 122:7a; 1 Thess. 13.b)

Let us pray. (Silence)

Stir up the gift of hospitality, Lord, in all who gather in this room. May your Name be invoked in all activities here to the building up of your domestic church; and in all watching, listening, reading and conversing may Your Name be glorified; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Or this Collect for the Family:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who sets the solitary in families: We commend to your continual care this home in which your people dwell. Put far from them, we beseech you, every root of bitterness, any desire for vainglory, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who, in holy wedlock, have been made on flesh. Turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the hearts of the parents to the children, and the hearts of the children to the parents; and so enkindle fervent charity among us all, that we may evermore be kindly affectionate one to another; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Blessing In a Bedroom

Antiphon: Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

V. I lie down and go to sleep in peace, for the Lord alone makes me dwell in safety:

R. I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

Let us pray. (Silence)

O God of life and love, the true rest of your people: Sanctify to your servants their hours of rest and refreshment, their sleeping and their waking; and grant that they, strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, may rise to serve you all the days of their life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing In a Guest Room

Antiphon: Do not neglect to show hospitality, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

V. Open your homes to each other without complaining:

R. Use the gifts you have received from God for the good of others.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Loving God, you have taught us to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us: Bless those who from time to time share the hospitality of this home. May your fatherly care shield them, the love of your dear Son preserve them from all evil, and the guidance of your Holy Spirit keep them in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing In a Bathroom

Antiphon: I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be cleansed.

V. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering:

R. Having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us pray. (Silence)

O holy God, in the incarnation of your Son our Lord you made our flesh the instrument of your self-revelation: Give us a proper respect and reverence for our mortal bodies, keeping
them clean and fair, whole and sound; that, glorifying you in them, we may confidently await our being clothed upon with spiritual bodies, when that which is mortal is transformed by life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing In a Workroom or Workshop

Antiphon: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord (Col 3:23)

V. Prosper, O Lord, the work of our hands:

R. Prosper our handiwork.

Let us pray. (Silence)

O God, your blessed Son worked with his hands in the carpenter shop in Nazareth: Be present, we pray, with those who work in this place, that, labouring as workers together with you, they may share the joy of your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing in a Home Library or Study

Antiphon: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Let us pray. (Silence)

O Lord Jesus Christ, who as a child did learn, and did grow in wisdom: Grant us so to learn thy holy Word, that we may walk in thy ways and daily grow more like unto thee; who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Blessing in a Private Prayer Room or Oratory

V: When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret;

R: And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Let us pray. (Silence)

O Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray your own prayer to the Father, grant to all who pray in this room the reverence, the humility, the contrition, and the gratitude to approach your Father in you alone, whose Light illumines the soul through prayer; Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Final Blessing

Antiphon: The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness tranquility and trust for ever. My people will abide in secure dwellings and in quiet resting places.

V. Unless the Lord builds the house:

R. Their labour is in vain who build it.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live here with the gift of your love; and grant that they may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives they touch. May they grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen them; and preserve them in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and for ever. Amen.

Celebrant: May all who go forth from this home go in peace, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.

People: Thanks be to God.