Rollo Casiple, Senior Pastor of La Vina Community Church (Miami, FL) and former Youth and Worship Pastor at Lake Murray Kirt Edwards, President of Freedom in Truth Ministries (trips to Turkey and T'stan)and former Pastor at Lake MurrayĬhris Rader, Youth Pastor of Journey Community Church and former Associate Pastor at Lake Murray Seth Clark, Youth and Worship Pastor of Lake Murray Community Church Nathan Hogan, Associate Pastor of Lake Murray Community Churchīob Benthin, Pastor to Seniors of Lake Murray Community Church Stephen Sammons, Senior Pastor of Lake Murray Community Church (La Mesa, CA) So tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, I will pray for these pastors for whom I pray on a daily basis:įather Keith Acker, Rector of Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity (Alpine, CA)īishop Richard Boyce, Diocese of the West, Reformed Episcopal Churchĭr. Physically I cannot fast completely because of my various health issues, but I will do an "oatmeal fast" (eating unsweetened oatmeal only) instead, an idea a former pastor suggested as he also has hypoglycemia. Yes, the evangelical branch of Christianity has its informal "Pastor Appreciation Month" each October, but it's simply not the same as fasting and praying for our pastors and for future pastors and priests who are called to the vocation. I think that this application of Ember Days to fast and pray for our priests and pastors is of the utmost significance. Quite often these "Four Times" are set aside for the ordination of clergy, and I recall Father Acker stating that it is a time to fast and pray for our clergy as well. And living in this spirit is nothing less than living out the New Covenant. 5:18), but every part is to be embraced and continued, albeit on a spiritual, or figurative, level. Thus, not one iota of the Law is to be neglected (Mt. 5:17) by following the spirit of the Law rather than its letter. Christianity does not abolish the Law but fulfills it (Mt. The Ember Days thus perfectly express and reflect the essence of Christianity. Later, Christians from both East and West added their own commemorations of the seasons. (And we now know that this biweekly fast is actually older than some books of the New Testament). The first Christians amended both of these customs, fasting instead on every Wednesday and Friday: Wednesday because it is the day that Christ was betrayed, and Friday because it is the day that He was slain. There was also a Jewish custom at the time of Jesus to fast every Tuesday and Thursday of the week. The Old Law prescribes a "fast of the fourth month, and a fast of the fifth, and a fast of the seventh, and a fast of tenth" (Zechariah 8:19). The Embertides are periods of prayer and fasting, with each day having its own special Mass. The English title for these days, "Ember," is derived from their Latin name: Quatuor Temporum, meaning the "Four Times" or "Four Seasons." Autumn brings the September, or Michaelmas, Embertide winter, the Advent Embertide Spring, the Lenten Embertide and in summer, the Whit Embertide (named after Whitsunday, the Feast of Pentecost).
EMBER DAYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH SERIES
The Ember Days are four series of Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays which correspond to the natural seasons of the year.
I finally found a web site that explained Ember Days (and Rogation Days, too, but that's another post), and I copy from it this explanation of Ember Days: I understood what Ember Days were, but their explanations were quite complex, too much so to post here. I "Googled" (how did that become a verb?) Ember Days this morning, and I read the Wikipedia and Catholic Encyclopedia explanations with a little puzzlement. But some of the lesser-known Holy Days are still a bit of a mystery to me, and Ember Days fits firmly in that category. In the nearly five years that I have attended weekday services at the Anglican Church in Alpine (first at Christ the King and now at Blessed Trinity), I have discovered much to celebrate in the Church Year and in Biblical Saints' Days.
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