Pentecost is, for many of us and our congregations, the Sunday (or season) in which we turn our attention to the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The reality, however, for many of the people in our pews, is that the Spirit is often conceived of as more like the Force from Star Wars than a distinct divine person. [...]
Ascension Day Almighty God, whose only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven: May our hearts and minds also there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Some Collect Housekeeping Note that the ACNA collect is a bit different from the two collects [...]
During Rogation Days last year, I joked with our priest about making the drive to our home to pray over and bless our little garden patch for the spring. Rogation Days seemed like a charming ritual, sweet and a little antiquated. After all, if our zucchinis failed, there was the farmer’s market, the grocery store, the bulk warehouse, all waiting [...]
Days of fasting and prayer in the midst of a feast season seem counterintuitive. However, Rogation Days remind us that our lives and seasons are in God’s hands. What does “Rogation” mean? “Rogation” comes from the Latin noun rogatio, meaning “asking" (the verb is rogare, "to ask"). When are the Rogation Days? The Sixth Sunday of Easter (the fifth Sunday [...]
Fasting is intuitively a bodily and a liturgical act. The Liturgical Year invites us to "days of discipline, denial, and special prayers" in Lent, Fridays outside of Christmastide and Eastertide, Rogation Days, and Ember Days (BCP, pg. 689). While intermittent fasting has recently been a diet fad, ordinarily fasting in our North American context is connected to the Church Year. [...]
Today is Easter Tuesday, the third day of Eastertide, which for Christians traditionally marks a period of fifty festal days. This past Sunday, Christians gathered across the country, dressed in their finest (or most comfy) and raised the roof with their hallelujahs. They likely greeted each other, through their digital screens, with shouts of “Christ is risen!”, to which others [...]
Assist us mercifully with your grace, Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts by which you have promised us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. If you’ve ever had a [...]
O Lord our God, whose blessed Son gave his back to be whipped and did not hide his face from shame and spitting: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, [...]
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with [...]
The Collect for Palm Sunday Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon himself our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also [...]
This week, the Presbyterian theologian Carl Trueman reflected on what Christians ought to learn about ourselves and about the world from the COVID-19 pandemic. One thing, he says, seems obvious: “The levels of general panic indicate that few of us have been properly prepared for the reality of our own mortality.” Many Christians have reflected on the significance of the [...]
What Day Is It? When a crisis hits, it’s easy to lose track of time. “What day is it today?” has been asked in our (virtual) office a lot this week. Our minds are all muddled, our senses are in overdrive, and our routines have been disrupted. This is why, even though I otherwise expected it, I was surprised when [...]
Editor’s Note: You can listen to this Ash Wednesday Sermon on Restoration Anglican Church’s podcast. The life of Jesus is marked by healing. We marvel at the messiah as he travels through Galilee and Judea performing miracle after miracle, bringing wholeness and restoration to those who feel broken. Does the solemn reminder of mortality we receive at the outset of [...]
I belong to the generation that no one appears to understand: The Millennials. We have been referred to by the “e” word (entitled), and some spend thousands to purchase books and attend conferences in an attempt to understand this “everyone gets a trophy” generation. It’s pretty wild. We are the generation that grew up with the rise and transformation of [...]
Despite its focus on repentance, Lent is no exception to the gracious focus of all Scripture—Jesus Christ himself. Scripture is always about redemption. How should we read Scripture in Lent? Before we look at that question, we have to lift a few burdens. First, not all of us are expert Bible scholars, and that’s okay. As the Church Father Tertullian [...]
Learning to Love Lent The very first time I gave anything up for Lent, I did it with a desperate heart: not sure what I needed, not sure what I wanted, and not sure what the whole thing was about anyway. I was raising and homeschooling three growing children, teaching literature at my homeschool co-op, running 30+ miles a week, [...]
Ash Wednesday If you are new to Lent, you can go to any Anglican, Lutheran, or Roman Catholic Church on Ash Wednesday. Or find another type of church that has an “Ash Wednesday” sign. None of the traditions listed here require that you be a member to participate in the Ash Wednesday service. Just note that Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, [...]
The following list (drawn from our book, Lent: The Journey from Ash Wednesday through Holy Week) is not exhaustive, but consider these Lenten lessons. Lent reminds us that we are sinners and we need to repent. We are sinners and we need to repent—even after we are baptized, saved, forgiven, and healed. Yes, we continue to be a part of [...]
Who is this book for? This book is for anyone and everyone interested in the ancient Christian season of Lent. If you’ve never observed Lent before, there’s plenty to learn! But even if you’ve been observing Lent for a long time, we trust that the personal reflections and collect reflections we’ve assembled will add richness and depth to your Lenten [...]
What is Epiphany? Epiphany is a Christian feast day celebrated on January 6 every year. It's also known as "Three Kings' Day." As mentioned in our Rookie Anglican Guide to Advent, the Christian year begins with the season of Advent, which leads up to Christmas on December 25. Then come the 12 Days of Christmas (Dec. 25–Jan. 5), which lead [...]
Epiphany is January 6th. And as the kings discovered Jesus as King, so others have and others will. Lord Jesus may your light shine our way, as once it guided the steps of the magi: that we too may be led into your presence and worship you, the Child of Mary, the Word of the Father, the King of nations, the Saviour [...]
The Anglican tradition has inherited many ancient pieces of liturgy, so it may be a bit surprising to learn that the Festival/Service of Nine Lessons and Carols (traditionally held on or near Christmas Eve) is a fairly recent invention, celebrating its one-hundredth birthday only last year in 2018. It was constructed out of the grief and horror of the First [...]
Anglicans often speak of the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas, emphasizing how the holiday is not merely one day but rather an extended season. The season spans from December 25 (or the evening of December 24) through January 5, and contains a number of nativity-oriented feast days along with separate saints' days. Many families and parishes already have [...]
Sure, you've heard the song, but did you know that the "12 days of Christmas" actually start on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and go until the day before Epiphany (Jan. 5)? So, December 25 is the first day of Christmas. December 26 is the second day. And so on, until the twelfth day of Christmas on January 5, followed by [...]
