The First Week of Lent

The first week of Lent is upon us, and, to make sure we are off to a good start, there's a church service for every day of the week!

• Sunday: Forgiveness Sunday Vespers will be held immediately after our usual post-liturgy Agape meal (probably just after noon). This service includes the rite of mutual forgiveness, which is both a spritual and physical workout! The best possible way to begin Lent is to forgive one another, so I would strongly encourage everyone who possibly can to stay and participate in this very important service.
  
• Monday to Thursday: The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete will be held at 7:30pm each night from Monday to Thursday. Note that Tuesday evening the Great Canon service will be held out at UBC in St. Mark's Chapel (5935 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC) as part of our usual Tuesday-evening campus ministry. This service is a scriptural tour-de-force, inspiring in us a spirit of true repentance by taking us through the entire Old and New Testaments. The Great Canon services on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be held at St. John's and St. Nina's (1967 Napier Street).
• Friday: Presanctified Liturgy will be held at 7:00pm in St. John's Monastic House. Come fasting from noon onwards if you intend to receive Holy Communion.

Services on Saturday and Sunday will be as per usual - the one difference being that, for the duration of Great Lent, the liturgy served on Sundays will be the (slightly longer) Liturgy of St. Basil.

Repentance is hard work! The first week of Great Lent gives us every possible opportunity to, by the renewing of our minds, "lay aside all earthly cares" and re-focus the whole of our being - body, soul, and spirit - on the One who is the author and source of our life: our Lord Jesus Christ. May God grant us the gift of true repentance this Lent!

Concerning Fasting

Just received a very good question from one of our catechumens: Are we allowed to eat eggs this week? The answer is yes!

For those interested learning all the ins and outs of our fasting regimen, an excellent resource can be found on the OCA website at http://www.oca.org/OCFasting.asp?SID=2

BC Deanery Meeting

On Saturday, Feburary 21st, the BC Deanery meeting will be held at St. John's and St. Nina's, from noon to 2pm. All the parish clergy from across BC have been invited, and all members of the parishes in the deanery are welcome to attend. The deanery meeting is a great opportunity to find out what is going on in the BC Deanery, especially with St. Arseny Camp and the upcoming Archdiocesan Assembly to be held here in BC (Victoria) in 2010.