March = Madness

 March is a very special month for me.  It is the month of my birth and also the month that our youngest granddaughter was born (one day after my birthday).  It is the month that some garden bulbs start too send forth small green shoots.  Days start to get noticeably longer, the average outside temperature starts to increase and more birds are visible.

March is also one of the oddest months of the year weather-wise.  One day it can be like a Winter day and the next a Spring day and once in awhile a Summer day appears.  So it is not surprising that so much of what happens in "My Month" is shall we say "quirky". 

As a child, I quickly realized that my birthday was always during Lent and as a result I never had any big birthday parties.  Lent was a time that we ate more simply, never any sweets and we never relented from that discipline, even on Sundays.  It wasn't until I was an adult and chose to become an Episcopalian that I learned that Lent is forty days long and Sundays are not counted in those forty and are a "feast day" so that fasting and abstinence was not necessary on Sundays...woo hoo!

 In the early 1980's, "March Madness" became a focus for my month.  The college basketball championships provide an opportunity for many to inject some joy-filled (depending on the outcome of the game) moments into the Lenten season.

Sadly, March 2021 marks one year of a different form of "March Madness";  living the "Lock-Down" life of Covid-19 and the unbelievable and unbearable loss of family and friends, neighbors and countless others to this pandemic. Our lives have been turned upside-down and so many "freedoms" that we took for granted have been suspended.  Our style of worship has needed to adapt and we have become dependent upon "electronic" options.  Our parish members are able to "attend" online Daily Morning Prayer Monday through Saturday and on Sundays music presentations and a Worship Service are available.  Bible study and book studies have also been held on line. Unfortunately however, those who are unable to utilize this option or are not comfortable using these resources have been cut off.  

Let us all pray that with the advent of new medical options and a more focused approach to getting the world's population protected, that we all will soon be able to join together in person to worship and share fellowship.  Let us also pray that we continue to to use the electronic tools we have for worship and explore new and even better ways to use them.  Amen