By Neva Rae Fox Correspondent Ash Wednesday 2022 marks another annual observance amid the COVID pandemic. While 2022 will mirror 2021 in numerous aspects — regional restrictions, mask requirements, no or limited in-person gatherings — this year many seek a more reflective Ash Wednesday. The pandemic isn’t the only social concern affecting everyday lives. Environmental … [Read more...] about Ash Wednesday in Another Pandemic Year
Ash Wednesday
Creative Ideas for a COVID-19 Ash Wednesday
By Neva Rae Fox Correspondent The beginning of Lent 2021 is mere weeks away, raising questions about how to approach Ash Wednesday during a pandemic. What will the day look like? Will churches be open? Will there be the imposition of ashes? Will the imposition of ashes be safe? Will there be restrictions? Will the vaccine be available in time? On-line services are … [Read more...] about Creative Ideas for a COVID-19 Ash Wednesday
Poetry From the Age of Pandemic
By Marly Youmans Plague-spell The village streets abandoned, save for deer That, brazen, dare to nibble at our trees… At sunset’s hour, a mild, uncanny light Beckons us to west windows, curious. Rain pelts the house, as sudden as a strike, And just as swiftly drains and dies away. Will we dismiss the strangeness of this year, When breath or brush of hand … [Read more...] about Poetry From the Age of Pandemic
Undeniable Death
Review by Philip Turner It’s been almost 40 years since Dr. Ernest Becker published his Pulitzer Prize-winning study, The Denial of Death. Unlike Becker, three recent books do not attribute the denial of death to more or less universal psychological mechanisms. They lay death’s denial at the feet of sociological and technological developments characteristic of the modern … [Read more...] about Undeniable Death
Politics, Ashes, and Easter
By David L. Holmes On February 22 the Republican Party held its presidential debates in Arizona. I watched the debates on a treadmill at my sports club. It was Ash Wednesday. Of the four candidates, three had backgrounds in Christian churches known to hold special services on that day. Only Mitt Romney, whose Mormon faith does not commemorate Ash Wednesday, did not. Late … [Read more...] about Politics, Ashes, and Easter
Outward and Visible Penance
By Nicholas Porter and Dawn StegelmannLent has been considered a time of turning, that time when we personally break from the old and deadly patterns in our lives that are no longer life-giving. This year, our parish clergy decided it was not only a time to turn personally from those patterns but for the Church to turn in some new directions as well. So at 6 a.m. on Ash … [Read more...] about Outward and Visible Penance
Lent Light
By Patrick Barker Sometimes Anglican Christianity is said to be “Catholic light.” I take that to mean Anglicans are perceived to have some of the Catholic ethos and traditions, but are not heavy-handed about it. We go easy on the ecclesiastical expectations. There are many treasures to be found along this road. I do not consider “ashes to go” to be one of them. “Ashes to … [Read more...] about Lent Light