Dear friends in Algoma,

We are approaching the penitential season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday we will receive ashes on our foreheads as visible, tangible reminders of our mortality, confessing the hope of the resurrection. One day we will die but we know that Jesus has already lifted us from the clutches of death. Jesus walks before us through that death and into everlasting life. May this Lent be for us a time of personal and communal reflection, repentance and renewal of life.

The season of Lent begins with the recitation of Psalm 51 which for millennia has been unmatched as a prayer of confession. There are other Penitential Psalms which are used during this time. I am pleased that this Lent our diocese will have the opportunity to look more closely at some of these Psalms with the guidance of Pavani and Benjamin Paul who reside in Elliot Lake in the Deanery of Sudbury- Manitoulin. Pavani us a Ph.D candidate in Old Testament Studies at Wycliffe College. She has been actively involved in Christian ministry for over twenty years. Benjamin Paul is a mental health counsellor.

Pavani and Benjamin will be offering the online meditations every Thursday during Lent at noon for 30 minutes and you are warmly invited to register.   Registration details can be found in the attachment.

Bishop Michael Oulton, our Assisting Bishop will also be offering a Lenten study. Details to follow.

“On the eve of Ash Wednesday,

Of Spring and new life,

Of the Lenten journey,.

I am overwhelmed with too much.

Too many tasks, responsibilities, voices,

Too many distractions and demands.

Take this frozen and tired soul, loving God.

Nurture within me sustaining life.

Coax from me only that which is needed.

Let me shed the darkness

That I may reach toward your light.

Let me empty cluttered spaces

That there may be a home for you.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me

On this eve of Ash Wednesday.”

(Beth Richardson)

Blessings for a holy Lent,

+Anne

Online Lenten Bible Study from Penitential Psalms

https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/82825936091

Meeting ID: 828 2593 6091
Passcode: 441354