Twitter Users Post “Give-ups” for Lent 2021-How Do You Compare?

source: https://www.openbible.info/labs/lent-tracker/2021

It’s always intriguing to view what Twitter users report what they are giving up for Lent each year. To my way of thinking, it’s foolish to think of giving up so many of these popular items as a way of penance and focusing on a Lenten journey. Many conflate Lenten give-ups with doing right for the sake of a spiritual experience.

For example, what good does it do to give up lying, hate, smoking, stress, sleep, power, and junk for the 40 days of Lent, when you will likely resume them after Easter.

The entire list of give ups is HERE, thanks to the Open Bible folks.

One rarely hears of taking up a new, encouraging habit during Lent, but my attention was drawn to one denomination’s practice which gives Lent a refreshing direction.

UMC Photo-a-Day
The United Methodist Church (UMC) has created a daily photo. Their website describes this project.

“Will you join this photo-a-day challenge and share with the community how you perceive each word of the day? No explanation needed. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Tag us on your Instagram or on Twitter with #rethinkchurch.

You don’t have to be a great photographer. This project is more about the practice of paying attention and being intentional. If you don’t have Instagram or Twitter, we’d still love for you to share your photos. Just share them on your Facebook page and tag us, or post them on our Facebook wall, in the comment section for each day.

Need a daily reminder? We’ll share them every morning on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Let’s start this 40-day journey together, sharing glimpses of our lives with one another. Let this be an intentional time, even for a few minutes a day, to pause, remember and reflect.

https://www.umc.org/en/content/lent-photo-a-day-2021

I applaud this approach and look forward to seeing what results from it.

ct

Ash Wednesday Reflection

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Remember You Are Dust – Cross Ashes
Linda Russo

Ash Wednesday, Unshowered
by
Anya Krugovoy Silver

My hair’s pulled back to disguise the grime,
though maybe it’s well that I’m unclean,
since from dust you came, to dust you will return,
the priest recites, smearing my forehead.
Once, twice, and I’m marked, a lintel in plague years.
I’m invited to kneel and read the fifty-first Psalm,
recalling how David watched Bathsheba bathe.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Merciful one, save me from slight repentance.
I pierced the center of the white orchid, Lord,
and it was mud, blood’s cry, my body’s blighted tender.

Courtesy of Image Journal, Issue 88

Lent 2021 – What Next in the Year of COVID?

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Tomorrow, February 17, 2021, is the start of the season of Lent for non-Orthodox Christians. However, according to research, 76% of Americans do not observe Lent. However, 61% of Catholics, 28% of Evangelicals, and 20% of Protestants do.

Lent is traditional started with the giving the mark of the cross in ashes on ones forehead, tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. This starts a six-week season to prepare oneself for Easter Sunday. Many of these give up something during the period, such as food or activities. Food tops the list of give-ups.

The last year has been extremely difficult for many Christians, and it is difficult to imagine extending this period of suffering for another six-weeks. However, I suggest it is a great time to focus on the value of life. The overall direction of Lent is to reimagine the last days of Jesus, and prepare one’s heart to celebrate the joy of the salvation he brings to all. As churches begin to cautiously open to offer ashes, and meet in smaller capacities, this is also a time to celebrate that things are beginning to improve.

However, it’s also wise to keep in mind that the golden rule should be our guide. I can’t imagine any Christian who would knowingly treat their neighbor less than theirself.

An internet search using the terms “Ash Wednesday Services Anchorage” will reveal a large number of congregations offering in-person or in-car ashes.

Lenten blessings to my readers.

Evensong Selections by Keith & Kristyn Getty Available to Watch, Courtesy of Getty Music & Christianbook.com

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In the ancient tradition of Evensong, the church lifts its eyes from a troubled day and turns its heart to face the Lord in worship. The Evensong project by award-winning musicians Keith and Kristyn Getty is an echo of that precious tradition, born from the thoughts and conversations, prayers and songs that fill their home, particularly when the sun goes down. We pray that this special presentation with an exciting selection from the Evensong concert will help you feel the peace of Christ wherever you are.

Click here to access. https://www.revelationmedia.com/evensong/RM13498/

The Power of Lament During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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As we approach 2021, we are recovering from significant amounts of celebration during Christmas. Praise and celebration certainly have a rightful place in the Christian life, but during the pandemic, too much of the wrong kind of celebration is driving rates of infection through the roof. As mentioned in a recent post, lament is not much considered in the average Christian’s life. However, in perspective, one-third of the Psalms are focused on lament. I discovered a beautiful prayer of lament on the rzim.org website today to draw focus to the beauty of presenting lament to our creator.

A Prayer of Lament over the Coronavirus Pandemic
Trina Doffelmyer

Hear our cry, Almighty God. Listen to our prayer. How long will we have to hide in our homes from this invisible enemy? Where will it strike next? And whom? And what if…? Our screens relay a continuous escalation of suffering and death around the world. Panic and anxiety abounds. Our souls are weary from the strain of the life-altering unknowns.

Heavenly Father, from the depths of our pain and confusion, we cry out to You. From fear-filled hearts and anxious minds, we plead with You. Rescue us, Father of compassion and grace. We lift up our eyes to You, Lord God, the One who sits enthroned in heaven.

On all who have contracted the virus

Lord have mercy

On all who have lost loved ones to this sickness and are in mourning and anguish

Lord have mercy

On all who are unable to earn an income because their jobs have been suspended

Lord have mercy

We cry out for healing and needed resources

We cry out for comfort and peace

On all medical professionals and caretakers attending to those infected with the virus

Christ have mercy

On all scientists and technologists striving to find a vaccine and to make it available

Christ have mercy

On all leaders of institutions and governments as they make decisions to try and contain the virus

Christ have mercy

We pray for strength in the long and exhausting hours of labor

We pray for wisdom in the research and difficult decisions

On all who have not yet contracted the virus

Lord have mercy

On the most vulnerable of our society who are unable to buy extra food or get proper medical attention

Lord have mercy

On all disciples of Jesus Christ discerning how to reflect His love to others within this crisis

Lord have mercy

We plead for protection of health

We plead for all to remain calm and kind

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the expanse of the universe. And yet this earth is no longer as You created it to be. Holy Father, our earth groans from the devastation caused by the curse of the Fall. My God, Your Word is true. One day You will liberate creation from its bondage to decay and death.

Life is sacred and precious in your sight. You are the God Who sees us and sustains us.Nothing can separate us from the Father’s unfailing love and kindness, not even sickness or the fear of tomorrow. You are our Light as we walk in this darkness. We will remember to celebrate the beautiful gifts You have given us in this present moment.

Almighty God, You are our Rock, our Refuge from the enemy, our hiding place.

You calm our frantic thoughts and fill our despairing hearts with joy and strength.

In Your Presence living water springs forth in the wilderness.

You restore our souls.

*Please note: this prayer may also be personalized by using “I” and “my” instead of “we” and “our.”

Anchorage Christmas 2020 Is Here – Be Covid Careful!

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A quick Google search using the search phrase, “Christmas services Anchorage 2020” yields many choices. Many services show as live services which is worrying. Since early on during the Covid pandemic, churches have demonstrated live services often become super spreader events. Unfortunately, many have died as a result. During His ministry, Jesus, responding to a question, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”, stated, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment.’ ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 NIV

I applaud those local churches who are streaming their services this Christmas, providing a safe haven for the celebration of Christmas. These are not times to be complacent. In a December 20, 2020 New Yorker article Michael Luo writes, “Many churches, particularly conservative ones, fought lockdown orders and rebuffed public-health warnings about large indoor gatherings. The virus has swept through houses of worship across the country. In the end, the lasting image of the Church in the pandemic may very well be that of an unmasked choir at First Baptist Church, in Dallas, led by the pastor Robert Jeffress, a staunch Trump supporter, singing in front of Vice-President Mike Pence at a “Freedom Sunday” service, as the county where the church is located reported a record high for covid-19 cases.”

In his most recent book, God and the Pandemic, noted theologian N.T. Wright, urges Christians to consider lament as an appropriate response to the pandemic.
He succinctly writes, “I have urged that we should embrace lament as the vital initial Christian response to this pandemic. Roughly one-third of the Psalms are lamenting that things are not as they should be. The words they use are words of complaint: of question, sorrow, anger and frustration and, often enough, bitterness.

They are all part of the prayer-book of Jesus himself, and the New Testament draws freely on them to express not only our own laments but the way of Jesus too. The Lord’s Prayer is our ‘norm’. Are we looking for sudden signs of the End? No: we pray every day, ‘Thy Kingdom Come on earth as in heaven’, and we know that prayer will be answered because of what we know about Jesus. Are we looking for fresh, sudden calls to repent? No: we pray every day, ‘Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ We know that prayer will be answered, because of what we know about Jesus. Are we then looking for fresh reasons to leave our comfortable lifestyles and tell our neighbours the good news? Well, shame on us if it takes a pandemic to get us to that point. Why wasn’t Jesus’ command enough? ‘As the father sent me, so I’m sending you’; ‘Go and make all nations into disciples’. God and the Pandemic (p. 52). Zondervan.

I wish each of my readers wonderful days of celebration in honor of the Advent’s wonderful event, the coming of the King.

New Service at St. Mary’s Episcopal Replaces “Blue Christmas” -Tonight, December 17, 2020 8:00-8:45 p.m. (UPDATED)

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UPDATE:
I attended this online service and found it to be a great gathering! For online Zoom attendees, it was interesting to see each participant and attendee. In many respects this service seemed more personal than in previous years. St. Mary’s is commended to have presented this traditional service in an updated, and enlarged Advent form, while respecting Covid meetings concerns. I found it to be very assuring service for the Advent season.

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, an active and vibrant congregation in Anchorage, is transitioning to a new and different format this year, enlarging their emphasis upon the traditional Blue Christmas service held in December.

“We have been been doing online services of Hope, Health, and Healing each month during the pandemic, and this is a continuation of that”, explains St. Mary’s Rector Michael Burke. “The past year has brought us deep issues of grieving and loss, loss of our usual patterns of work and gathering, loss of loved ones, and loss of connection with one another. This service gives us a place to come together in God’s holy presence.”

I’ve attended and written about several Blue Christmas services locally, such as https://www.churchvisits.com/2017/12/not-feeling-holiday-cheer-maybe-a-blue-christmas-or-longest-night-service-is-for-you/, but believe St. Mary’s, especially this year, is on the right track.

To attend this service virtually, just click here https://godsview.zoom.us/j/97258355536 to join this special service.

An Advent Prayer for An Anxious Heart

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Pandemic fears getting you down? Lack of joy this Christmas
season? Relax your mind and pray this prayer to ask for help at
this time.

A PRAYER
FOR AN ANXIOUS
HEART

Heavenly Father,
May Your presence light up the dark places in my life.
Because in that darkness, there is fear.
It is a fear that grips my heart and consumes my attention.
The darkness is full of unknowns and what-ifs.
It is full of worst-case scenarios and defensive positions.
It is full of mistrust and unforgiveness.
The challenges I face and the ones I worry about facing
make my heart afraid and rob my life of peace.

But in Isaiah 43, You tell me not to fear.
You remind me that You are the One who created me.
You are the One who formed me.
And not only do You have the power to breathe life into me,
but You have purchased my freedom at a costly price.
You have called me out by name
and have declared that I belong to You.
That I belong with You.
You remind me that whatever I face, You will be by my side.
In this life, when I find myself in deep waters,
You will be with me.
When I go through rivers of difficulty,
I will not drown.

When I walk through fires of oppression,
I will not be burned up and the flames will not consume me.
Why?
Because You are the Lord my God.
You are the Holy One.
The utterly transcendent One whose righteousness and
justice never fail.
And You are my refuge. My protection.
My Savior.

Lord Jesus,
draw near to me and drive out the darkness
that I am still holding onto.
Let Your light bring peace to this anxious heart.
Amen.

courtesy of adventconspiracy.org

2020 Wieland Hunger Print Available (Limited Quantities)

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UPDATED – 12/11/20

“Go in Peace serve the Lord” 2020 Hunger Print by Marianne Wieland

Local Anchorage artist, Marianne Wieland, also a Lutheran, has prepared a very limited number of this year’s Hunger Print. I eagerly look forward to her release of each year’s print. This year’s print is no exception. For 41 years, she has been producing these prints to support hunger solutions, locally and worldwide. In the process, her prints have raised around $300,000 toward this goal. This long-term effort demonstrates the power one person has in addressing a significant issue.

Click here for an order form for this year’s print. 2020-Hunger-Print-Order-Form-1Download

For my previous year stories about Marianne’s project and prints, click on the following links.

Wieland World Hunger Print – 2019 – Now Available

2017 Wieland Hunger Print Now Available!

For nearly 40 years, an Anchorage artist — with the help of her church — has used her work to fight world hunger

Thank you for what you continue to do for world hunger Marianne!

UPDATE:
12/11/20

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church advises me they have a few of previous year Hunger Prints at the church offices. The pictures below show some of the available prints. A big thank you to Marcia Hoffman-DeVoe at Gloria Dei for these images.