Soon Lent will be here. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on 2 March. St. Mark’s will offer two services to start our journey with Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross. Services for Ash Wednesday are at 12 noon and 6pm.
As we hear in the Ash Wednesday liturgy, Lent is a time of preparation and reflection, a time for going deeper in our own spiritual lives. Below is my Top Ten List of music, movies, and more that may be helpful to you.
10) Read the Passion Narratives together as a household. The accounts can be found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
9) Watch a cinematic version of the Gospels. The Visual Bible has filmed versions of all four Gospels.
8) Listen to Easter portion of Handel’s Messiah. There are also musical settings of the Gospels, including
7) Pray as You Go (a meditation and mindfulness app) and Living Compass (offering a free downloadable Lenten devotional booklet) both have excellent seasonal resources.
6) Play Lent Madness (see related article).
5) Join us on Fridays at 6pm for Stations of the Cross. We’ll take turns leading at each station. The Stations will be followed by a simple soup and bread supper for those who wish to remain.
4) Join us on Wednesdays at 7pm for our Lenten programming. We’ll look at what it means to be an Episcopalian and cover topics such as Sacraments, Liturgy, the Bible, The Book of Common Prayer, and Anglican ethics. Gatherings will be both in person and via Zoom.
3) Take on some devotional reading. There are many great options out there. Some are even perfectly designed for Lent with 40 days of readings.
2) Bring your coffee and lunch from home during Lent. Donate the money your save to worthy organizations like CHOW or Canteen.
1) Attend worship.
Faithfully Yours,
Dawn-Victoria+

Pope Francis
DO YOU WANT TO FAST THIS LENT?
Fast from hurting words and say kind words
Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
Fast from anger and be filled with patience
Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
Fast from worried and have trust in God.
Fast from complaints; contemplate simplicity.
Fast from pressures and be prayerful
Fast from bitterness; fill your hearts with joy.
Fast from selfishness and be. Compassionate.
Fast from grudges and be reconciled
Fast from words; be silent and listen
Faithfully Yours,
Dawn-Victoria+
Rev. Dawn-Victoria Mitchell
Cell Phone: (607) 221-0686
Email: revdvm.stmarks@gmail.com