Tag Archives: Lent

What Love is This?

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A song I wrote for Lent:

What Love is this                                                      David Jenkins
To come from glory to this world of sin and suffering;
To die upon the cross of shame, to give your life for me:
Oh what love is this whose power can hold the planets in their course.
Oh what love is this that’s strong enough to break upon the cross.
What love is this, oh what love.

To live a life of sacrifice, a King without your crown;
To be punished by the world that through your word was born:
Oh what love is this whose agony will put an end to pain.
Oh what love is this whose blood pours out in suffering for our gain.
What love is this, oh what love.

To know the end before your birth, still you chose to come;
Divinity to live as man: the Father’s only Son.
Oh what love is this that’s overcome the tyranny of sin.
Oh what love is this that broke death’s bonds to free you the third day.
What love is this, oh what love.
© 2003 David Jenkins

What love is this

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Another song I wrote for Lent:

Here are the words:

To come from glory to this world of sin and suffering;
To die upon the cross of shame, to give your life for me:
Oh what love is this whose power can hold
the planets in their course.
Oh what love is this that’s strong enough
to break upon the cross.
What love is this, oh what love.

To live a life of sacrifice, a King without your crown;
To be punished by the world
that through your word was born:
Oh what love is this whose agony will put an end to pain.
Oh what love is this whose blood pours out
in suffering for our gain.
What love is this, oh what love.

To know the end before your birth, still you chose to come;
Divinity to live as man: the Father’s only Son.
Oh what love is this that’s overcome the tyranny of sin.
Oh what love is this that broke death’s bonds
to free you the third day.
What love is this, oh what love.
© 2003 David Jenkins

A Church of England Green Lent

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The Nicene Creed has it wrong. Rather than:

For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven

It should say:

For us men and to rebuild our relationship with the planet
he came down from heaven

Because, you see, being reconciled with the planet is more important than being reconciled with God the Father. If you worship Gaia, that is.

From here:

Church of England’s first ever green Lent campaign launches
Launching the resources, Archbishop Justin Welby said: “We urgently need to rebuild our relationship with our planet. To do this, we need to change our habits – in how we pray and how we act.

“Lent is not just about discipline. It’s about allowing Christ to show us what’s keeping us from loving and serving Him – and joyfully letting it go.

“Whatever age you are, this Lent I hope you’ll engage with God’s plea for us to care for His creation, and that these campaign resources will help you on that journey.”

Just some of the questions posed during the series are:

‘How much water goes into making a pair of jeans?’

‘Could you twin your toilet?’

‘When was the last time you gazed at the night sky?’

‘What was the carbon footprint of the meal I just ate?’

If you don’t have a relationship with the planet – I must admit, I don’t – then pull yourself together, twin your toilet,  feel guilty about the carbon footprint of your dinner and google how much water was used in making your trousers. That should do it.

And bishops wonder why people are leaving the church of England.

Sorry, I see I used “men” above. I meant “members of the non-binary, gender fluid, LGBT+, androgynous community; (aka a CofE vicar).”

Primate Fred Hiltz goes on carbon fast for Lent

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From here:

Notable leaders who agreed to fast one day during this period include the Rev. Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (March 6); Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (February 14); Rev. Mark MacDonald, the National Indigenous Bishop, Anglican Church of Canada (March 16); Mardi Tindal, Immediate Past Moderator, The United Church of Canada (March 19); Joe Gunn, Executive Director, Citizens for Public Justice (February 1); Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (March 12); and Bill McKibben, author and co-founder of 350.org (March 30). Connie Sorio, KAIROS’ Ecological Justice Partnership Coordinator, will join the fast on February 28.

We don’t know what, exactly, these paradigms of piety have chosen to give up to reduce their carbon footprint.

Even the rarefied atmosphere that is home to this illustrious company is routinely contaminated by the demon Co2, since even they breathe in oxygen only to convert it to carbon dioxide, exhaling the filthy pollutant 28800 times per day. Here’s my suggestion for their carbon fast: hold your breath for an entire day.

One can only hope.

Fred Hiltz thinks churches should have a smudging ceremony every Sunday of Lent

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Yes, another peculiar way of keeping Lent, this time from the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Smudging – the burning of various herbs and immersing oneself in the resulting smoke (doesn’t sound very green does it?) – is supposed to drive out evil spirits, negative energy and balance energies. As such, the kindest thing one can say about it is that it is harmless nonsense, the unkindest, but perhaps more accurate, is that it is linked to the occult.

Still, at least it proves that the Anglican New-Age Church of Canada still believes in something other than inclusion and diversity.

From here (page 5):

In recent years I have come to deeply appreciate the rites of smudging conducted by indigenous peoples.

[…..]

This entire act is a rite of purification of body, mind and spirit in the service of the Creator.

As I think about this rite, I ask: isn’t that what Lent is all about—a clearing of our eyes, an opening of our ears, a renewing of our minds, a cleansing of our souls and a reorienting of our lives as stewards of God’s creation, followers of Jesus and ambassadors of the compassion and peace he wills for all people?

While I appreciate the significance of imposing ashes at the outset of Lent, I have come to wonder if smudging might not be an equally powerful reminder of the true character of these 40 days. I wonder what the impact might be if there was a ceremony of smudging on each Sunday in Lent….

Diocese of Montreal Lenten study: “It’s not all good”

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After months of prayerful discernment, the Diocese of Montreal has developed a Lenten series that provides new and penetrating insights on what Lent is not about. Never before has the church presented a Lenten study that is this irrelevant to Lent.

A proud moment:

diomontreal

An Anglican Lent: welcome to your Carbon Fast

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You may be under the impression that Lent is a time of spiritual and mental preparation for Easter. Not according to contemporary Anglican dogma; Lent has a “deeper challenge” than preparing for such trifles as the atonement and resurrection. What it’s really about is using less fossil fuel so that we can create a “sustainable world”, the only world left to clergy who have ceased to believe in the next.

From here:

The Anglican Communion’s Environmental Network (ACEN) is encouraging Christians around the world to take part in a “carbon-fast” this Lent.

The network is calling on Anglicans to take a deeper challenge than fasting from coffee, alcohol or chocolates this Lent, by reducing the use of carbon based fuels on which we all depend.

“We will take small steps for a more sustainable world, and by doing so rediscover a different relationship with God, with Creation and with one another,” the group says on its website, adding: “I can change the world a little in 40 days, but I can change myself a lot!”

For the truly green, terminal Anglican there is the Eco Container, as advertised in that bastion of anti-transcendence, the Niagara Anglican. In my Angligreen house there are many mansions – they all look like boxes, though.

21-02-2014 10-38-38 PM

Anglican Church of Canada does the Stations of the Cross

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Here is the production for Station 1, Jesus is Condemned, in which the Rev. Scott McLeod sees a homeless man and overhears another passer-by say: “They should just gas them all”.

The worthy McLeod, having rashly jumped to the conclusion that the remark was directed at homeless people rather than ACoC clergy, was filled with self-righteous anger and moved, not so much to help the homeless man but to congratulate himself on not being as other men: a sinner.

Droning on sanctimoniously about the sins of others is an odd way to begin the church season in which one should be pondering one’s own sins and how they resulted in the sacrificial death of God Incarnate.

At least the video is true to its liberal, social justice roots: monotonous and boring.