“You know Lent comes early this year” I heard someone say as the clergy were vesting for Fr. Green’s Requiem Mass. WHAT? “How early is early?” I wondered. As soon as I could get to a calendar I checked it out. Yee Gads! Three weeks! Maybe Epiphany would like to skip Lent this year. One year I had unknowingly scheduled a cruise right in the middle of Lent. Mary Gardner (our Assisting Priest at that time) suggested that I call it my “Lenten Pilgrimage.” It worked, but I took a lot of razing over it.
During announcements this past Sunday, I asked if anyone really wanted a Lenten Program this year. I was so sure there would be a chorus of Lenten Boos. No such luck. As everyone bounced happily in their pews, I knew I had lost this one. “What would you like for a program?” I asked. “Food” was the choral answer. One would think that Epiphany’s congregation waits in bread lines for meals. Actually, I long ago decided that it’s the fellowship that goes with the food that is special.
Well, that offers a setting. Now I need five programs. HELP JULIA! What I should have done, if I had been watching the calendar, is put together a Lenten Program Committee. That would have been refreshing. Clergy are good at committees. But then one of Buddy Pate’s adages crept into my ear: “If you want it done, do it yourself. If it needs to be done and you don’t want to do it, assign it to a busy person. If you don’t want it done, give it to a committee.” Sometimes there is some wisdom hidden in there. But Sunday, several people came up with some pretty good ideas. The most requested was “Stump the Clergy.” It’s actually fun. Julia and I will try to answer any question that’s on anyone’s mind. The best part is that we don’t have to plan for it. It’s purely off the cuff. So – we’ll be sure to include a “Stump the Clergy.”
The rest is going to have to wait a week or two to publicize. But the programs AND POT LUCK MEALS will be on Thursdays at 6 pm. Watch your email for details. But there will be a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on February 21st from 5 to 7pm. Tickets are on sale. We will have two Ash Wednesday services – one at noon and one at 6pm. From 1:00 to 1:30, we will offer “ashes for drive up.” This was one of those things we tried during the pandemic when the churches were closed. We’ll see if it remains popular. The rest is still in the planning stage. We do know that Michael Hardin is decorating, and Wes, Molly, and Chris Boswell are cooking. Our teenagers are serving. All without a committee. Wow!
Well – I wish you a Blessed Lent. And I pray that it will be late next year.
Richard+
February 1, 2023
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A compilation of The Rev. Richard O. Bridgford’s most memorable articles from his nearly 25 years at Church of the Epiphany. Enjoy history, humor, nature, travel, and wacky experiences with Fr. Bridgford, his two-legged and four-legged friends! Recall:
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