Whether or not you give up some sort of physical food, I really want to encourage everyone to give up some sort of media from our “diet.” We live in one of the strangest times to be a human being, with the world’s full knowledge base at our fingertips. And even more unique, the fact that we are constantly on the receiving end of a never ending stream of news. I am as guilty as anyone for too closely following the events going on in the world, and frankly that’s why I’m saying it here, I need this advice too! By and large it doesn’t do any good for the world, and definitely no good for our spirits to be so caught up in the day to day news cycles. Our time and attention would much better be used in reading Scripture and other religious writings, praying, or even simply spending time in silence or listening to music.

This Sunday is Septuagesima, roughly seventy days out from Easter. It means you have two and a half weeks until Ash Wednesday, March 5th. I hope that you will prayerfully discern how God is calling you to observe the coming season of Lent. The three primary tools of Lent are Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. I’m sure I pointed this out last year, but the three are closely interrelated. When we fast, when we give something up, whether that be food, drink, or media, we then free up time for additional prayer, and funds for giving to those in need.

At this point I will simply encourage you to get the wheels turning. Think about what you might give up for Lent. Think about what forms of prayer you may take on. Think about whom you might give additional alms to.

As always I am available to discuss and suggest ideas for your Lenten observances, and I will provide a few recommendations next week, but before that, please spend some time, and see what comes to mind when you simply ask yourself what God might be inviting you to give up, take on, and give away.

During our drive down to North Carolina, I listened to a number of audio books, and one that I happened to download (for free from the public library!) was “Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told” by Brant Pitre. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Bridegroom-Greatest-Love-Story/dp/0770435459

I have to say I was throughly captivated; it was a wonderful read (well listen!). As I approached the end of the book, I couldn’t shake the thought that this would work wonderfully as this year’s Lent Book Study.

Over the years, it became customary to bless candles on this day for both home and church use. It seems particularly appropriate, as this feast marks the conclusion of the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany Cycle that has so heavily focused on the theme of darkness and light. 

And so, we will be blessing candles on Sunday morning, and each household will be invited to take home with them a blessed candle to use for times of prayer in the coming weeks ahead.

The monthly men’s gathering of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew meets on Saturday 2/8 at 9 am in the Library. And on Super Bowl Sunday, 2/9, following the 10 am service the Annual Parish Meeting will take place.

Later on in the month there is social gathering for the Women’s Group on 2/19, and then on Sunday 2/23, following the 10 am service there is another service opportunity for all in the parish to help provide Birthday Bags to the Northfield Township Food Pantry.

It’s only natural that having gone through the month of December and the season of Advent, after having reached Christmas Day and that strange week between Christmas and New Year’s, after we finally get ourselves back to some sort of a normal schedule, it’s only natural that we experience a bit of a let down. It’s only natural to feel a bit down in the dumps, after having been surrounded by cheerful Christmas music for nearly two months, now, we enter the cold, dark month of January.

This season of Advent sure does fly by. This Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Advent I hope you will join us at 10 am for our Youth Christmas Pageant that will take place during the service of Holy Eucharist. In it we will get a preview of what we will celebrate at full strength come Christmas Eve. I hope you’ll also join us then, at 4 pm on Christmas Eve and 9 am on Christmas Day, as we rejoice at the birth of our Lord. 

What a wonderful past week! This past Saturday St. David’s sent packing two wonderful expressions of love and concern for our neighbors. In the morning a crew helped load 49 boxes of gifts that the parish had collected which were sent off to 19 individuals and 12 families, for a total of 71 people. Then, in the afternoon another crew helped pack 100 bags of cookies that were delivered on Tuesday to Lawrence Hall. Thank you to everyone who participated in either or both of these wonderful programs. And a special thanks to Marilyn Berdick for organizing the Giving Tree and Lindsay Adler and Melissa Rose for organizing the Lawrence Hall Cookie Donation.

So if God is free to answer or not answer our prayers, why should we bother with praying at all? When it comes down to it, prayer really isn’t for God, so much as it is for us. God is always with us, but we need reminding of that. So when we pray, we are spending intentional time with God, and most importantly, we are allowing that time of prayer to shape, and mould, and form us into the people God would have us be.

This past Sunday I encouraged everyone to consider giving up consumption of social media or the news. These things in particular have the tendency to suck up our attention and to leave us worse off than before we took in the  information from them. If you decide to fast from consuming the news or social media, not only will you likely be in a better headspace, but it will likely open up some space in your day to spend some time in prayer. And spending time in prayer, in my experience at least, always leaves me feeling better than before.

At the moment, to keep things as secure as possible, you will need to be invited to create a Realm account. If you’ve given the Church your email and are a regular member of St. David’s, you should have (or shortly be receiving) an invitation to create your logon to Realm. As I said, I am sure there will be some kinks to be worked out, and if you haven’t received an invitation to logon, we will be sure to help you get that worked out. And again, there is no requirement that you logon; if dealing with computers isn’t your cup of tea, then don’t worry about it!

Advent is one of these preparatory seasons, and so like it’s bigger sibling Lent, the best way to enter into the season is through some form of praying and fasting. In terms of praying, there are all sorts of different options out there, which I’ve written about before. If you are looking for some assistance, I’m happy to talk with you.

In terms of fasting, yes that can mean physically fasting from food and drink. Just like Lent, you could decide to give up some particular food or beverage. But it can also mean fasting from consuming other things like television, the news, and social media. When you fast, especially from things like that you then open up time and space in your day to spend some additional time in prayer.

If you were at Church this past Sunday, then you heard the exciting news that we have hired both a new Interim Director of Music, Dr. Julie Brueck, as well as an Interim Assistant Organist, Justin Brueck. For many of you those names will be familiar as they have served in this capacity a number of years ago. I am so thankful that they are willing do so, and on such short notice. They have already officially begun, and their first Sunday will be this week; welcome Julie and Justin!

In this season of “All Hallowtide” when the Church draws our attention to those who have passed on from this earthly life, it is an appropriate time to dwell on our own mortality. While it may not be the most pleasant thing to think about, as Christians, we have a hope in the Resurrection, and we know the love of God that is stronger than death.

And so, I would like to encourage you to take a look at your Will and Estate Planning. Please make sure that you’ve left explicit instructions that you’d like a Christian Burial, (hopefully here at St. David’s!) and that you’ve remembered the Church in your Estate Planning. In case you didn’t know, you are welcome to, (and indeed encouraged!) to make arrangements to be buried here in our Memorial Garden, and you can even plan out the service, so that it’s all taken care of when the time comes. If you have any questions or would like any assistance, please let me know.

This year I am pleased to say that we will be celebrating both of these great feasts, although not on their traditional days. In fact, we’ll be celebrating them both on the same day, Sunday November 3rd. In the morning (at our usual service times) we’ll celebrate All Saints and in the afternoon at 4:00 PM we’ll celebrate All Souls.

I know coming to Church twice in one day is a bit of an ask, but I hope that you’ll join us for both. With All Saints the mood is more celebratory and giving thanks to God for those bold witnesses who have gone before us, and we pray for the grace to follow after their example. At the All Souls service the mood will be tempered a bit. It will be a bit more somber and reflective, allowing room for the natural sadness and grief that come with remembering those loved ones in our lives who have died.

God of course doesn't need any money, just as God doesn't need our worship and prayers. God will still be God whether or not we come to church and whether or not we give back to God. The reason we worship, the reason we give of our time and money to God, isn't for God's benefit, but for ours. When we worship God and when we give of our time and resources back to God, we are reminded of God's great love for us and that all things have been given to us by God.

It was just a few weeks ago that we celebrated the feast of St. Michael and All Angels, as I said, in an attempt to “keep Christianity weird” following the advice of Justin Brierley in his book “The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.” This past week in chapter two of Tom Holland’s “Dominion” we covered some of the history of Ancient Israel, and in our class I noted that I didn’t necessarily agree with everything that Holland said in that chapter.

“St. Francis was a lean and lively little man; thin as a thread and vibrant as a bowstring; and in his motions like an arrow from the bow. All his life was a series of plunges and scampers: darting after the beggar, dashing naked into the woods...In appearance he must have been like a thin brown skeleton autumn leaf dancing eternally before the wind; but in truth it was he that was the wind.” - G.K. Chesterton, “St. Francis of Assisi”

Before I lay out a possible progression of steps that will help you get to the full daily Morning and Evening Prayer found in the BCP, I will say that I am always available to talk with you about your prayer life and offer suggestions for you and your particular life circumstances. Sometimes the Church uses the fancy phrase “Spiritual Direction” to describe this, but all it really is, is having a conversation about your relationship with God and your prayer life, and seeing how you might deepen that relationship.

(In the “Inwardly Digest” book, Olsen repeatedly compares being a Christian to being a runner. He says a true runner not only runs every day, even those days they don’t feel like it, but they also run with intention, and have a coach who helps them in their planning. So I am here as a spiritual coach, free of charge!)

I am also pleased to announce the Adult Education program for 2024-25. This year we will be picking off where last year’s “The Path” left off. The last of the books of the New Testament were written some time during the end of the first century. But the story of the love of God has continued ever since through the life of the Church these past almost 2,000 years. And so as a means of continuing the story that connects us here today in the 21st century all the way back to the first, we’ll be going a journey through Church history.