The Prayer of St. Ephrem for Lent
O Lord, Master of my life, preserve me from the spirit of sloth and distraction and the spirit of envy and vain speaking.
Grant instead to me your servant the spirit of purity and humility
and the spirit of patience and love.
O Lord and King, give me grace to know my own sins and not to think evil of my brothers and sisters for you are blessed for ever and ever. Amen.
Origins of Lent
Originally the period of fasting before the great Easter feast was reserved for those candidates for baptism- the final leg of their long preparation for Christian initiation at the Easter liturgy. Before long, though, it was deemed an appropriate discipline for all Christians to enter more deeply into the Lord’s suffering. The forty days mirrors those spent by Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. They have been variously calculated, but essentially they are from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday, excepting the Sundays (every Sunday is a memorial of the resurrection). The meaning of the word “lent” has associations with spring, so it is a time of growth, fresh birth and renewal.
5th March Ash Wednesday
10am Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes
4.30pm The Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes
8.00pm Sung Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes
Sunday sermons this Lent with discussion in the week
The liturgy of Ash Wednesday states this:
I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.’
Therefore our sermons this Lent will focus on these Lenten themes as below,
9th March Lent 1 – Prayer, fasting, and self-denial
16th March Lent 2 – Self-examination and repentance
23rd March Lent 3 – Reading and meditating on God’s holy word
30th March Lent 4 (Mothering Sunday) – Pastoral Care
6th April Lent 5 (Stewardship Sunday) – Almsgiving
Wednesdays 7.30pm
Discussion group on the Lenten sermon beginning with Stations of the Cross. Also, daytime discussion group following the 10am communion on Wednesdays
Opportunities this Lent
Attend a morning or evening prayer (Monday-Thursday 9.20am/5.20pm; Friday 8.30am/4.30pm, Saturday 9.20am)
Attend a midweek eucharist (Tuesdays 7pm, Wednesdays 10am)
Join an ecumenical Lent group studying the York Course, “Build on the Rock”
Read a spiritual book, such as The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent book “Looking Through the Cross,” by Graham Tomlin
Make your confession or seek spiritual direction with one of the clergy
Other dates this Lent
Friday 7th March 3.00pm Women’s World Day of Prayer service
Sunday 16th March 6.00pm Taize
Sunday 23rd March 4.30pm Choral Evensong
Thursday 27th March 7.30pm Chichester Voices concert
Sunday 30th March 6.00pm Stations of the Cross
Friday 4th April National Day of Fasting for End Hunger Fast campaign
Sunday 6th April 6.00pm Informal Worship
Wednesday 9th April 12noon at the vicarage Super Soup lunch for Christian Aid
Saturday 12th April 9.30am Quiet morning
My Lent
I,…
undertake these Lenten resolutions to grow in faith and devotion to our Lord:
…
…
Holy Week
Palm Sunday (13th April)
8.00am Holy Communion
9.45am Parish Eucharist with blessing of palms, procession & dramatic reading of the Passion
6.00pm Evening Prayer (BCP)
Monday
9.00pm Compline
Tuesday
10.30am Chrism Eucharist in Eastbourne
7.00pm Seder (Passover) meal concluding with the Eucharist
Wednesday
10.00am Holy Communion
7.30pm Stations of the Cross
Maundy Thursday
8.00pm The Eucharist with foot-washing, followed by the Watch of the Passion overnight
Good Friday
10.30am Ecumenical Walk of Witness
12noon Children’s Way of the Cross
2.30pm The Liturgy of Good Friday, including veneration of the cross & dramatic reading of the Passion
Easter Day (20th April)
5.00am Easter Vigil & Dawn Eucharist, followed by champagne breakfast
8.00am Holy Communion
9.45am Family Eucharist
6.00pm Evening Prayer with hymns
Eastertide
Friday 25th April Day pilgrimage to Merton College, Oxford
Sunday 25th May Rogation Sunday, followed by Beating the Bounds
Thursday 29th May Ascension Day
Sunday 8th June Pentecost