1st Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2021

Lent began on Ash Wednesday following our Shrove Tuesday Conflagration of the Palms.  Many thanks to Anthony LaFata and his official "Palm Burner."  Quite a sight!
    The Lenten banner now hangs out front, and the penitential purple hangings now adorn the altar, pulpit and lectern.  The celebratory candles that we lit against the darkness of the past months are gone, and the span of daylight "lengthens" each day (the origin of "Lent.")  To remind us of Lent's penitential agenda, our worship begins with the Penitential Office, and concludes with seasonal solemn prayers.

Lenten Sunday Morning Forums & Tuesday Evening Discussions resume online this week with "A River Through the Desert."  We will be taking advantage of a "Virtual Lenten Pilgrimage" from St. George's College in Jerusalem.  Each week's topic highlights holy geographic place(s) within our Holy Land; this week's focus, drawn from Sunday's gospel, is Desert.  The College's Dean Richard Sewell leads the videos and has provided discussion guides for the next six weeks.  He provides an introduction to the series, here.  Here's the link for the 9a.m. Sunday Forums, and  for the 7p.m. Tuesday Discussions. 

Prayers in the Garden service will NOT meet again this Sunday, February 21:  Still too much snow and too cold! 

Digital Sunday School resumes this week with an introductory video from Children & Youth Ministries Director Tyler Jarvis mostly about Noah and the Flood.  Check it out here for a helpful preview of his sermon this Sunday at 10a.m. As usual, Tyler poses some great questions for your consideration in the email that went out on Friday about noon..

Virtual Coffee Hour... is a great opportunity to "see" one another.  The link to YFNR's Personal Zoom Room seems to work well.  So, join the conversation via Zoom this Sunday, February 21 at 11:30a.m. by clicking this link.

High School Group participants and parents:  This Monday, February 22 is already the Last Monday of February (and George Washington's actual birthday); so it is the date for our monthly High School Group chat.  I'm looking forward to Tyler's discussion of the story of Noah & the Ark with us.  Please let me know whether 6 or 7p.m. would work in your schedules; I understand there've been some changes with the season.

Wednesday is a Lenten Ember Day -- one of the days when the Church asks us to pray for all of us in our various callings.  It's also the day when the Church remembers Matthias, who was called to take the place of Judas among the apostles.  Join our livestream Prayers Wednesday Evening, February 24, at 7p.m., for all the above.
 
Thursday Bible Study continues with songs of celebration following the Israelites' deliverance at the Red (or Reed) Sea.  Join the conversation, at 9:30a.m. Thursday, February 25.  Look for the Zoom link in next week's "Let Us Pray" letter.

Intercessory Prayer: Please help shape the Prayers of the People, by replying to this message with the people, birthdays, anniversaries, and concerns you would like included in the Prayers of the People.

Chancel Door Open for Prayers in the Church:  We are continuing our experiment with leaving the door closest to the Guild Room unlocked between 10a.m. and at least 3p.m.  Please enjoy a quiet moment of prayer, likely alone, in the church, and pick up a candle stub to light during your prayers at home.  Help yourself to frozen Belgian, "Mickey Mouse," and/or 8* waffles in the Parish Hall kitchen freezer.  These were all made for Shrove Tuesday by Susan & Tony Leonard and YFNR.  

Thanks to all who are mailing in your offerings!  
Although our in-person connections remain severely limited, the routine of the parish continues in the new year.  Thanks to your faithfulness, we are able to continue our shared life of worship and witness -- even while maintaining appropriate distances.  Please continue your financial support of our common life by bringing your offering to the altar, or the parish office, or by mailing to Christ Church, PO Box 574, Guilford, CT 06437.  Your offering will be presented at the altar; it will be physically present, while you remain safely at home.
In the faith, hope and love of Christ,
Harrison+
YFNR