A smile always creases the lips of clergy when they gaze upon the calendar for the New Year and see that Easter falls from mid to late April. That’s because there is more transition time between the seasons of Advent and Christmas and the start of Lent.

If you’ve had a chance to flip ahead in your Pohick calendar (free in the Parish House Common Room), you’ve probably noticed that Easter arrives on April 16 this year.

I’ll give you one guess as to the expression this brings to my face!

Yes, I am quite content to enjoy the extra weeks of Epiphany this year, not only because Ash Wednesday doesn’t arrive until March 1, but because it is truly a beautiful season.

Liturgically, we focus upon the various ways our Lord was “made manifest” to his disciples and the crowds. And so the season is filled with stories about stars and magi, water and baptism, radiance and light. They are all inspiring images for our journey of faith.

Coupled with these images is the message of discipleship. This is the season in which Jesus calls his disciples and begins the process of initiating them into the Christian walk.

Of course, we are concerned with Christian discipleship throughout the year at Pohick—witness my class last fall on Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. But this time of year we especially focus upon it with the start of our Adult Inquirers’ and Confirmation Classes. These each help prepare candidates for Confirmation or Reception at the bishop’s visit in June. They also help strengthen the faith of our members who have already made such a profession of faith.

This year, Jane Piver will be leading the adult class in the annex on Sunday mornings during the Sunday school hour (10:15 am - 11:05 am) beginning with an orientation on February 5. I especially encourage those who are new to Pohick and/or to the Episcopal Church to attend these classes, whether or not you are ready to make an affirmation of faith in June. Jane will be presenting a wealth of information about the Bible, Church History, Episcopal Worship, Christian Ethics and Theology, among other topics. Her presentations and the class interactions are certain to enrich all who attend.

For those who have already taken one or more Inquirers’ classes, I’m thankful that Jim Hayes will again be able to present a second Adult Education offering during the same time frame in the Vestry House. As many of you know, Jim is a graduate of the Education for Ministry program, and always does a thorough, thought-inspiring job in his class offerings.

For this course, he will be using materials from Willow Creek to explore Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. This extraordinarily meaty Epistle also deals with many aspects of Christian discipleship. Indeed, it may well have been a sermon addressed to baptismal candidates that was soon dressed up into letter form and circulated throughout many of Paul’s early congregations.

If you are interested in this course, Jim will also have an orientation on February 5. He’ll have coffee available in the Vestry House, so class participants can go directly there after the 9:00 am service or before the 11:15 am service.

I’ll be working with the Confirmation class for Young People, which will meet on Sunday evenings 5:00 - 6:00 pm in classroom A/B, starting February 12. Students who are aged 12 through high school (or their parents) should speak with me if they are interested in joining. During the weeks when there is EYC at 6:30, we will make arrangements for dinner for those staying.

This year, Bp. Ted Eastman, the retired bishop of Maryland, will be making the Episcopal visitation for Bp. Lee on June 11 at the 10:00 am service. Several years ago, Bp. Eastman published a well-received book, The Baptizing Community, which deals with preparation for Baptism (and by extension, Confirmation), and so I am sure he will have some interesting thoughts to share with us on that day.

In the meantime, I encourage all of you to enjoy these added weeks of the Epiphany season. More than that, I encourage you to deepen your own Christian discipleship by taking advantage of one of these Christian education offerings.