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C January 2013
CALENDAR January 27—Sunday
12 noon: Annual Parish Meeting Please note only one service this Sunday - 10:45 am
February 9—Saturday Mardi Gras: 6:30 pm
February 12—Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper: 5:30 –7:00 pm
February 13—Wednesday
Ash Wednesday: Imposition of Ashes & Eucharist 12 noon & 7 pm
February 17—Sunday,
First Sunday in Lent: Rite I – Morning Prayer & Eucharist 8:30 am Rite II—Celebration Service 10:45 am
February 20—Wednesday
Stations of the Cross & Communion 12 noon Simple Supper & Lenten Study 5:30 – 7:30 pm
February 24—Sunday
Second Sunday in Lent: Rite I – Morning Prayer & Eucharist 8:30am Rite II—Celebration Service 10:45 am
February 27—Wednesday
Stations of the Cross & Communion 12 noon Simple Supper and Lenten Study: 5:30 – 7:30 pm
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The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2) Each of God’s children walks in darkness from time to time: the darkness of emotional anxiety, of physical or mental illness, of vocational disappointment, of spiritual desolation, of financial destitution, of shame or resentment or regret. And some justly feel they live, in Isaiah’s word’s, in a land of deep darkness. Deep darkness lives in Israel and Palestine, in Libya and Mali, in Syria and Sudan, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Deep darkness lives in the homes of first graders in Newtown, Connecticut and daily within countless other cities and towns. Deep darkness lives wherever the soul is hungry or homeless or afraid or alone. In the midst of that darkness it is our baptismal vocation as Christians to witness to the light. Light is a prevalent theme of the Epiphany season. The word epiphany, means “manifestation,” “revelation,” or “unveiling.” As it follows Christmas, it is the time of the year in which Christians consider how God has appeared to us, where is God seen, and how God is made manifest in the world. Epiphany, its primary symbol is the star, is about seeing the light. What does this light demand? Light heals, especially the psyche. Our biological system needs a certain amount of light. Prolonged lack of light can result in Seasonal Affective Disorder, whose treatment often requires light therapy. Light generates and sustains life. The vast majority of plants in the world, both on land and underwater, depend on light for photosynthesis. Leaves are solar collectors that convert that light into chemical energy, which is stored in sugars. Light warms by transferring energy, both physically, warming the body, and emotionally, warming the heart. Light reveals truth. When we shed some light on a thing, we understand it more fully. When we bring something into the light, we expose its nature. In light of that revealed truth, we say that we have been enlightened. The great light of the Christ shines on you and in you. It heals your soul, it sustains your life, it warms your heart, and it reveals your truth. There is no dark place in you or me that it does not illumine. And it demands of all of us a humble self-examination, an honest accounting, and repentance