Short Epiphany and Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - Rector's Rambling for January 18, 2025

     Today is our one and only green Sunday for the season of Epiphany in 2026.  Because Easter is set by a lunar calendar, this year it is relatively early, occuring on April 5th.

Once Easter is set, we then start counting backwards.  40 days for Lent and Holy Week, three Sundays of pre-Lent before that (the quesima Sundays) and the Season of Epiphany is only three Sundays.  But on top of that next week is a Prayer Book Holy Day, the Conversion of St. Paul, which takes precedence to be celebrated on Sunday instead of the 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany.

This week is also the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  Starting today through next Sunday the church prays with special intention for the unity of the Church.  Jesus prayed that we all be one as He and the Father are one, but we are divided because of human sinfulness.  May God have mercy upon us.  More information on this week of prayer is found in the teaching note on page 4.

The holy water stoups have now had a full week of use and it has been interesting to see folks, myself included, walk past one, pause when we see it out of the corner of our eye, and reach back to dip a finger in it and make the sign of the cross with it.  It will take time to develop the new habit  here in our church that I and so many other do in other Episcopal and Romans Churches.