FROM THE RECTOR

March, 2005

And Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping.

And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matt 26:40)

Within classic Anglican spirituality, we often speak of the threefold discipline of prayer, study and service. My experience has been that, of the triad, prayer is most often the one to get short shrift.

Can this be any surprise? Our culture moves at such a fast pace that the very notion of taking even ten minutes to be in prayer seems counter-intuitive. At least with study and service we feel we are doing something. Maybe, just maybe we might be able to justify to the boss a Lenten class or church service project.

But spend a whole hour in private prayer? Forget it. There's just not enough action involved, not enough work being accomplished. What's more, not only would the boss not understand, but we would be hard-pressed simply to find a place where we could be left alone to be with our God. And even if we could, what in heaven's name would we do for an hour?!

But therein lies the problem. Prayer is not much about doing. It is about being. More than anything else, prayer is simply being with our God. To be sure, there are usually words involved, whether they're spoken from the heart or read from the Bible or some other devotional. But these are simply a means to a greater end: deepening our relationship with God by being in his presence.

Needless to say, in our 24/7 go-go-go existence, we're not very much practiced in just being with someone. In fact, when we are with someone we usually feel we have to be doing something!

Still, if we think of the people with whom we've been closest in our lives, chances are that our most meaningful times have been spent not necessarily doing anything, but just being with them, enjoying their friendship.

That is the type of relationship God desires to have with us. In contemporary parlance, God wants us to find some time to “hang-out” with him.

Lent provides us with a good opportunity to do just that: to renew our spiritual relationship with God. Each year we offer a Lenten Quiet Morning to this end. This year it will be on Saturday, March 5, from 10 to noon. We'll offer some brief Lenten reflections within those two hours, sending everyone off to their “prayer corners” during the time in between. And, of course, the church will remain open all afternoon (as it does every day) for any one wishing to spend more quiet time in prayer.

In addition, this year we will be adding a practice that has been adopted by many congregations: A Maundy Thursday Prayer Vigil. Here's how it will work. At the end of the Maundy Thursday service, the Reserve Sacrament (consecrated bread and wine) will be taken from the Church and placed on a special table in the Vestry House, along with a lighted candle.

The entire night will be divided into one-hour time slots for parishioner individuals or couples to spend in prayer in the Vestry House, with one team relieving the previous at the end of each hour. A Prayer Desk and devotional materials will be available to help each worshiper enter into a meaningful quiet time.

The Vigil carries great meaning, for it allows participants to spend an hour watching and praying with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and continuing the watch during the hours Jesus spent imprisoned in the dungeon of the High Priest.

This all leads into our commemoration of Jesus' three hours on the Cross, noon to three o'clock, on Good Friday. This provides yet another opportunity for prayer and reflection, as we walk the Stations of the Cross and engage in the Good Friday Liturgy.

I hope that all members of the congregation will avail themselves of one or more of these opportunities to be with God in prayer during the Lenten Season. By so doing, I think you will find—as I have found—that, far from detracting from our varied ways of doing ministry both in the Church and the world, our time spent being with God will enliven our spirits, strengthening us throughout our week in our several callings.

Faithfully,

Donald D. Binder+

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