Once again we are about to begin our annual journey through Lent and Holy Week to Easter. Although Christmas is a more popular festival, which is in various ways celebrated even by those who do not see in the Child born of Mary our God and Savior, it is Easter that is for Christians the Feast of Feasts, the Holy Day of Holy Days, the Crown of the Christian Year, and all the seasons and festivals of the Christian Year (including Christmas) only make sense in the light of the Day of the Lord’s resurrection.From ancient times Christians have felt the need to prepare for Easter and that is why the Church has always the holy season of Lent in preparation for the glad feast of the Lord’s resurrection.

On Ash Wednesday there will as usual be Divine Service with imposition of ashes at 7:30 P.M. On the following Wednesdays there will be Vespers and Litany at 7:30 P.M. preceded by a soup supper at 6:30. Offerings given at the soup supper will be used to provide gift certificates for needy families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year the meditations at the Lenten Vespers will be based on the Passion as narrated by Saint Matthew. In using the Litany at Lenten Vespers we remember that Dr. Luther once said that after the Lord’s Prayer itself the Litany is “the best prayer that can be made” It was Pastor Wilhelm Loehe (1808-1872), that great 19th century father of the faithful Lutheran Church who founded the Seminary in Fort Wayne and then gave it to our Synod, who had this to say about the Litany: “Beginning with adoration, confessing Christ in its heart, it ends with the lovely Agnus [O Lamb of God…have mercy] which leads our thoughts to eucharistic heights…how evangelical, how entirely agreeable to our Church.”

The A Capella Choir of Concordia University Nebraska will give a concert of sacred and secular music at Immanuel Church, Loch Raven and Belvedere, at 7:00 P..M. on Thursday, March 7th. This choir of 72 auditioned voices has performed both internationally and throughout the United States. The Upper School Choir of Concordia Preparatory School in Towson will open the evening and will sing with the A Capella Choir. There is a need for people willing to provide lodging for members of the choir on the night after the concert. If you are interested, you may email
averykaser@concordiaprepschool.org.

The Epiphany Choral Vespers on January 21st, was a wonderful celebration of the new organ console which had been dedicated to the memory of Joseph Silver last October. I am sure that everyone will agree that Cameron Kuzepski, our guest organist for this service, is a remarkably gifted organist, composer, and choirmaster. It was a real treat to hear him play and to hear the quartet which sang settings of Psalm 72 and the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) which he had composed. This service was well attended and the reception that followed was delightful. We are much indebted to everyone who helped make this happen. I am hoping that we can from time to time have such choral Vespers on Sunday afternoons. Such services provide a good opportunity to invite our friends who attend other churches and those who are unchurched to worship with us.

Helen Gray, our dear sister in Christ, fell asleep in the Lord early in the morning on Thursday, January 11th. She was given Christian burial following the funeral service here at church on Saturday, January 20th. May the Light perpetual ever shine upon her and may the risen Lord comfort all who mourn with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection!

Remember in your prayers all those for whom our prayers are desired: Bridget Bauman, James Bauman, Louis Bell, Dana Carmichael, Timothy Doswell, Quilla Downs, Bunny Duckett, Steve and Joyce Eaves, Albert Ford, Frank Ford, Iris Ford, Yolanda Ford, Sean Fortune, Sherry James, Gloria Jones, Althea Masterson, Chris Mokris, Marion Rollins, Elaine Schwab, Julia Silver, Robert Siperek Jr., Lawrence Smallwood, George Volkman, Gary Watson, Dennis Watson. Yolanda Ford remains at Future Care, 1046 North Point Road, Baltimore, MD 21224. Louis Bell remains at Autumn Lake Healthcare, 700 Sudbrook Road, Pikesville, MD 21208.

When we see terrible suffering in so many parts of the world, such as the ongoing wars in Ukraine and in the Holy Land, we can have a sense of helplessness in the face of so much needless suffering. But one way to provide help is through Synod’s LCMS World Relief and Human Care. You can give online through this secure website: lcms.org/givenow/mercy or you can call Synod’s Contributor Care Line: 888-930-4438. Or you can send a check to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, PO Box 66861, Saint Louis, Missouri 63166-6861. Make your check payable to “The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod” and write “LCMS World Relief and Human Care” on the memo line.

We learn in Holy Scripture that the Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry in this way: “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14,15). Lent is a “penitential season” when we are especially conscious that – as Dr. Luther said in the first of his 95 Theses – “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says, ‘Repent,’ he intended that the whole life of Christians should be one of repentance.” Both the Greek and the Hebrew word for repentance show that repentance is a change of heart, a change that God alone can work in us as we listen to His word of judgment and mercy. For Christians every day is a day of repentance. Lent is the season of the Christian Year that we are most especially conscious that this is so, and therefore we are called to examine our lives in the light of God’s Word. So consider your life in the light of the Ten Commandments or in the light of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7) or in the light of Saint Paul’s catalog of “the works of the flesh” and “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatins 5:19-24). And then confess your sins to the Lord. And remember that – as we are taught in the Fifth Chief Part of the Catechism, The Office of the Keys and Confession – pastors are always willing to hear the confession of penitent sinners. The hymnal we use in fact provides a form for individual confession and absolution at page 292. I am always willing to answer any questions about this. Call me at (410) 554-9994 or email me at charlesmcclean42@gmail.com. As a dear friend of mine likes to say: “In private confession we learn not so much how sinful we are but how forgiven we are.”

The Lord’s People are in the Lord’s House at the Lord’s Own Service every Lord’s Day. May it be said of us as it was of the first Christians: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

Affectionately in our Lord,

Pastor McClean