Beloved in Christ,

God has given us a period of time for introspection and penitence. The foundations of Lent are prayer, fasting, and acts of mercy.   In a sermon from 450 AD, Peter Chrysologus, Bishop of Ravenna wrote: “Prayer, mercy, and fasting give life to each other.”

Our prayer life is an expression of gratitude for the mercy of God and calls us to be merciful to others.  Such an extension of mercy is fasting – abstaining from a reactive form of justice in order to embrace a justice rooted love and concern based on the sacrificial love of Christ.  In order to re-orient ourselves towards this form of justice, we need to spend time focusing on spiritual disciplines. As Chrsyologus notes, “fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to the earth. However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues. If you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit.”

Today, I share with you parts of a homework assignment that I received from my friend The Rev. Mark Anschutz. It is my prayer that you will find this assignment helpful and appropriate it according to your needs so that you can re-orient yourselves in cultivating the fruits of the Holy Spirit as you contribute to rebuilding our church and nation.

What fresh provision will you make to better care for your body in this season?

What broken relationships in your life will you seek to heal?

Of whom will you ask forgiveness?

Who will you forgive?

What sacrifices will you make to render greater care to those suffering from some form of poverty?

What source of daily Lenten meditation will be added to your life this season?

What plan of study will you engage in during this season to further enrich your understanding of the Christian faith?

It may sound old fashioned, but what are you willing to give up in this season?  This does have benefit!

In Lent, 2021

Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies;
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on optimism.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on alternatives.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from gossip.
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from worry;
Feast on faith.

Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Manoj

Online Contributions

Happy New Year! If you made your 2020 contributions through our online donation provider, Vanco, you will need to update your transactions for 2021.  Please login to Vanco here to make these changes. Your user name is your email address and your password is something you would have set up.  If you have any questions or need assistance with updating your transactions, please contact Kirsten Hair at khair@stannes-annapolis.org.  Thank you for your continued support of St. Anne’s.

Traditionally Lent is a time we give something up to allow God to fill the empty spaces. Because of COVID, this year is different and many of us already feel loss. In light of this, let’s simplify our Lenten practice together in small, nourishing ways. By adding your email HERE, you will receive one simple Lenten practice for each day of Lent.

Adult Forum

On February 24, we begin our Adult Forum Lenten series on The Canticles. Our first Canticle is The Song of Moses, Cantemus Domino, and will be presented by The Rev. Dr. Manoj Mathew Zacharia. The poetic cadence and theological depth of the Cantemus Domino, known to us as The Song of Moses, tell the story of scripture in quite a meaningful way. Please join us as we explore the context, scriptural and liturgical theology of this canticle.

Adult Forum is presented via Zoom on Wednesday evenings, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM preceded by Fellowship at 6:30 PM. Come and go as needed to fit your schedule. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. More information upcoming forums can be found here.

Have you ever wanted to dig deeper into the Sunday lessons? Perhaps, after reading the lessons, you have asked yourself, “what about the text” is the preacher not saying? Maybe you have wanted to be part of a group that studies and reflects upon scripture at a deeper level. Please join us over ZOOM for Morning Prayer and Scripture Study based on Sunday’s lectionary propers. The sessions will be led by a member of the ministerial team at St. Anne’s. We will begin with Morning Prayer at 8:00 AM  and then head into the study of scripture using the lessons for the upcoming Sunday. The lessons can be found here.

Our children’s worship service has a new look! Check it out! Families lead us in the reading and prayers, while Kristin Pagent and Ken Kimble lift our hearts in song from St. Anne’s sanctuary, and Connie Saeger-Proctor shares a lesson. Now professionally produced by our Sunday morning technology team to amplify our praises to God (yay!) Pray with us this week! Advent services for children are virtually offered each Sunday during Advent. Special children’s learning activity sheets are available every Sunday. The Sycamore Tree is premiered at 2:30.Watch Sycamore Tree here.