Ashes, ashes, we all…

…grow up!

Today I’ve been reflecting on Ash Wednesday that took place yesterday. When I was at St. Peter’s in Savannah, the rector, Sam Buice, my friend and mentor, decided to offer the Imposition of Ashes in the afternoon for anyone who might not be able to come to the 10:00am or 6:00pm service. This service would be brief, but meaningful. And another bonus to offering it was if people didn’t come, we would have that time set aside for our own personal time to sit in the silence and prepare our own hearts for Lent.

So I’ve been in the habit of doing that, so coming to St. Nicholas, I decided to offer the same and see if people would take me up on it. I also encouraged the time for people to come and do the Rite of Reconciliation of a Penitent and explained the importance of confession. I set two chairs up behind the altar rail, grabbed my purple stole, and even sparked some incense to get myself in the mood. I said my own prayers, sat in the silence, and listened to God’s voice, as still as it tends to be. 

And a part of me felt like I was growing. It was marvelous.

But that’s not all! About 45 minutes into my time, the door opened and someone came in to receive the Imposition of Ashes. Soon after, someone else came in. Later, I could hear people waiting outside to come in. Before I knew it, 2 hours had passed and almost 20 people came in to pray, confess, and sit in the silence. And another cool thing? People of all ages came!

And we all grew. God, with mercy unbounded, enveloped that place with love and grace. People were absolved, reconciled, and sent out as new creations. As the prayer at the end of Reconciliation of a Penitent says, “Now there is rejoicing in heaven, for you were lost, and are found, you were dead, and are now alive in Christ Jesus our Lord” (BCP p. 451).

Later that night, we had our regular Ash Wednesday service, and a great crowd gathered there, too. 

And we all grew too. 

It was a wonderful start to a beautiful season of Lent. Thanks be to God!

Pastime Pardon

One of my very dearest friends is Fr. Matthew Moretz. Matthew and I grew up in Augusta together and became friends through a variety of youth programs. He also read at my wedding. Matthew is now a priest in Rye, New York and has created the unbelievably popular YouTube series “Father Matthew Presents.” His videos are always thought-provoking, creative, and fun, and I always gain insight from them. Here is his latest piece, which is a timely one as we enter the season of Lent.

Trees, Walking

 Welcome to St. Nicholas’ new website!

Our hope in developing this new site is two-fold:

1. To create a window for new people to quickly peek into to see what St. Nicholas is all about so that they may join our happy country parish.

2. To provide communication and resources to those currently going to St. Nicholas in order to bring them closer to God and closer to one another. 

When I first heard about St. Nicholas, way before I even considered being the rector, I immediately searched the web. First, I couldn’t find it. When I googled “St. Nicholas, Hamilton,” I was sent to a Greek Orthodox church in some other country. When I finally found St. Nicholas on the web, I couldn’t learn much. This is in no way a slight to the fine people that worked on the website in those days. They did the best they could with the format they had. I found service times, and some directions, and a tiny little picture of the outside of the church.  While this told me a bit about St. Nicholas, it didn’t quite provide me with the information I needed to make a life decision to go there. 

When people search for a church home, they should do so with the intention of making a life decision. 

It’s kind of like the blind guy that Jesus heals in Mark 8:

22 They came to Bethsaida. Some people^* brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’ ²⁴And the man looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ ²⁵Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

When the blind man came to Jesus, he did so expecting to be completely have his sight restored and his life changed completely. He went with the intention of having his life changed. These days, I wonder if we seek churches and communities with the intention of having our lives changed. Instead, we tend to go because “the preacher’s good,” or “they’ve got good music,” or “the liturgy speaks to me” or “that’s where my friends go.” Do we go because we are seeking to have our lives changed? Do we go hoping to have our sight restored?

On first touch, Jesus doesn’t completely restore the blind man’s sight. He says he sees people, but they look like “trees, walking.” I love that phrase because it reminds me of life. We can never see things completely clearly, but our vision makes us see a lot of trees walking. The same is true of searching for churches. Do church websites draw people in or just give information? Do they help them see, and if so, is it full sight, or just fuzzy images? 

I pray that this site helps you see just a little better. I pray it helps you see what St. Nicholas is all about. I pray it helps you see the many things out there that can draw you closer to your Creator. I pray it helps you deepen your relationships with other people, whether they’re here at St. Nicholas or across the world.

Working with technology is never perfect, so sometimes you’ll see things perfectly, and other times it may be like trees, walking. Either way, I hope it helps change your life.