Loading...Dear Friends in Christ,
The New Year is upon us and it has started very positively. We welcomed the Light into our lives and the world with our annual Cluster Epiphany service. What a wonderful service! It was so good to once again serve with Father Tom Mustard. I have often said if I needed a sermon for a special occasion I would want Tom to do it. I thank God for Tom and Shirley. They have been my mentors for many years. Didn’t they look good?
I thank also all those who helped with the service. James always does a tremendous job with the music. And the choir – wow! The Altar Guild always does a superb job. The Altar always looks great. Bob and George are the best ushers anywhere. And, of course, there was the feast afterwards. This was Debbie’s idea fifteen years ago that we prepare the feast for the parishioners in the Cluster as a thank you for all you do for us. I say we because I do my part – I stay out of the way.
Christmas Eve was inspirational in all three parishes. The music was wonderful. Not only did the St. Mary’s choir performed beautifully, and the choir at Stras outdid themselves. Chris Brown led the choir in a rousing rendition of “O, Happy Day.” A special thanks to Vic Sorrel for his solo at Stras and Art Mead at St. Mary’s. I have often said that the Episcopal service cries out for music.
On Feb. 18, our Annual Cluster Ash Wednesday service will be at Stras Memorial beginning at 7 pm. The reasons we have Cluster services for the Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, and others are because there is just one of me, and it is a time for all of us in the Cluster to get together and worship God together in love and fellowship. One of my biggest disappointments is that there are some who do not want to do this. We should take advantage of these services to thank God for our parishes. If Father Tom had not been willing to take on four small parishes in the Appalachian Mountains, there is a good possibility that there would be no Episcopal churches in Tazewell County. That is enough of a reason to celebrate together. The ashes used for the Imposition of Ashes come from the burning of the palms from the last Palm Sunday.
The night before Ash Wednesday we will celebrate the Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake dinner at St. Mary’s beginning at 5:30. The expression "Shrove Tuesday" comes from the word shrive, meaning "confess." Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Roman Catholics, who "make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God's help in dealing with." Being the last day before the penitential season of Lent, related popular practices, such as indulging in food that one sacrifices for the upcoming forty days, are associated with Shrove Tuesday celebrations, before commencing the fasting and religious obligations associated with Lent. The term Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: in many cultures, this means no meat, dairy products, or eggs. The Lenten season isn’t just about giving up something we especially like, but it also means to change something in our lives to be a better person. It may mean giving up food that is harmful for us permanently, or to be a nicer person, to love more and judge less, or maybe to go to church and worship God and thank him for loving you.
I hope to see you at both the Shrove Tuesday pancake meal and the Ash Wednesday service, as well as in Church on Sunday.
We will once again have a Healing service at Stras, but this will be an evening service and only once a month. We will begin at 6:30 on the first Tuesday of each month.
Take care and God bless.
In Christ’s Love,
Father Russ
