Anglican Parish of South Carleton: Bringing Faith to Life

Discovered this playlist by the Church of England on Spotify called #LiveLent and I’m really enjoying it. They had one for Advent too that I loved throughout that season. The Advent one had a real variety of music. This one is a little more traditional...some beautiful well known hymns. Especially nice I think because we can’t be in our worship spaces right now. You can listen to it without a paid Spotify subscription. /Rev. Carolyn+ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/547pKgklvsCQeNpWtiN5Dt

May these ashes nourish our exhausted souls, instead of being one more burden to carry. May we give ourselves permission to show up halfheartedly, & some day...s not show up at all, because we’re imperfect people in an imperfect time. May we know that this isn’t a surprise or disappointed to God, & it doesn’t have to be a surprise or disappointment to us, either. May our Lenten disciplines be gentle, making space for where we are & who we are. May we release harsh practices born from an anxious need to control something, anything - especially our tender souls that need kindness, not rigidity, to grow good fruit. May we make space for the people that we are, not just the people we wish we were or the people we’re trying to become. May we be gentle with our dusty souls, even as they fail & try & fail to try. May we learn how to give up well - with gentleness & even laughter - and learn how to rest before we try again. May we trust that ashes are a gift, not a punishment, & that if they feel like a punishment, maybe they aren’t for us right now. And that’s OK. God will teach us what we need to know in other ways. We don’t have to worry that releasing some practices means releasing those truths. God finds Her way to us in so many ways. And God is not annoyed to do that. God is delighted to do that. God is a creative God. We’re just giving Them a chance to play. May we enter Lent with lightness, not self-importance; with gentleness, not self-hatred; with a courage that has give in its seams so it can stretch when it needs to; with a willingness to leave our old selves behind even if we’ve been told our Old Self is the best & most lovable part of us. May we trust that our deep self is already known & loved by God, & that we don’t have to be afraid to meet them. May we trust the nourishment of these ashes on the burnt out field of our souls to make good, dark soil out of dry places where new things can grow. May these ashes keep us humble in our smallness & keep us in awe of our sacredness. We are only earth, and the earth is holy. We are so small, and so Beloved. We are only dust, and God breathed into the dust, and saw that it was good. See more

Journeying through the land of the Holy One in Lent, listening to the Fifth Gospel as it is proclaimed by the sun, wind, water and stones of the places where ...the life, death and resurrection of Jesus happened, is a profoundly moving way to prepare for the celebration of Easter. On the first full day of my pilgrimages we journey to the desert, the wilderness where Jesus was tempted.... ....Soon, God willing, and with the best of human wisdom and compassion, all people on earth will see the end of this pandemic, this time of walking in sometimes foreboding desert lands, with dark valleys and steep inclines. Think of how we will rejoice when that happens, when the desert blooms for us and life begins anew.

Friends, remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. But, the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. #AshWednesdayFriends, remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. But, the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. #AshWednesday

Pause at 11 a.m. We will remember them.

A very nice act of remembrance put together by St. Mark’s, Ottawa. ‘We will remember them.’ https://m.youtube.com/watch

Join the Jesuits of Canada for an Advent journey into Ignatian spirituality with four webinars on finding God’s presence in our everyday lives. These four evenings will introduce the gift St. Ignatius gave to the world. Learn more and register: https://buff.ly/3mxiQ0g