March 1, 2010

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Lent has begun. This holy season of Lent is a time to deepen our relationship with God and grow in our love of neighbor. We are assisted in our Lenten Reflection by the Rev. Henri J.M. Nouwen, who has written powerfully on the parable of the Prodigal Son. To read his reflection in our parish leaflet, This Week, please click here.

This Sunday, March 7, at 11:45 am, representatives from the Sisters of St. Margaret and Oxfam will provide reports on humanitarian efforts to assist the people of Haiti after the earthquake that devastated their country. A light lunch will be served.

Your donations to provide medical care, food, water, clothing, and shelter to the people of Haiti are still needed. If you wish to make a donation online, please click on Partners in Health, Episcopal Relief and Development, Oxfam America and the Sisters of St. Margaret.

On Sunday, March 14, at 4:00 pm, we will celebrate a Choral Evensong in the Anglican tradition. The public is invited. A reception will follow.

Please join us for the Wednesday evening Lenten program of worship, shared meal, discussion of "Lost & Found: Forgiveness and the Prodigal Son" and Compline. For information, please click here.

You are invited to our Film Series on Forgiveness and Reconciliation on Friday evenings; for information, please visit our homepage.

The Transitions Group for those who are unemployed, underemployed, or going through change in careers meets on Tuesday, March 2, at 7:00 pm. You are welcome to join us for this meeting that includes check in and reflection on the Gospel of the coming Sunday.

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT

The reading from Exodus relates the call of Moses to lead his people from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land: Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush,"Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of yourfather, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:1-15)

Psalm 63 expresses the longing of the servant of God to dwell in union with God: "God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you as in a barren and dry land where there is no water. Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place, that I might behold your power and your glory. For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; my lips shall give you praise. So will I bless you as long as I live and lift up my hands in your Name."

The reading from the epistle to the Corinthians reassures those who suffer that God is with them in their distress: "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." (1 Corinthians 10:1-13)

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches that earthly disasters are not punishments of the wicked: "There were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, 'Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.'" (Luke 13:1-9)

In this holy season of Lent may we draw closer to God in prayer, self-discipline and service of others. Please join us for the Holy Eucharist this Saturday at 5:00 pm and this Sunday at 10:30 am.

Sincerely,

David A. Killian
Rector

Worship Services for

The Third Sunday in Lent, March 6-7, 2010
Saturday, March 6, at 5:00 pm: Preacher - The Rev. David A. Killian
Sunday, March 7, at 10:30 am: Preacher - The Rev. David A. Killian

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