Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (BCP p. 166)

With this Collect for Ash Wednesday, the observance of a Holy Lent begins. Some of you were with us as we prayed this Collect, some may have heard it in other places, but it signals the start of holy time for all of us. Please take the time to look over all of our Lenten events and join in where you are able.

As we continue through Lent you will notice a few changes to our Sunday services. This Sunday we begin with the Exhortation, and all following Sundays we will start the service with a confession at the beginning. We also switch service music and prayers, as is our custom when the seasons of the year change. We will be using Rite I, Eucharistic Prayer II this Lent. Canon James will continue his class on the Prayer Book this Sunday, and our Lenten series begins on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. I hope that you will find Lent this year to be a meaningful time of reflection and renewal.

I would also like to share a personnel change at the Cathedral. Our Associate Organist, Zaheer Popo, has resigned in order to pursue other positions. I thank Zaheer for his time with us and wish him all the best. A search for a new associate organist will begin soon. Please continue to pray for one another, for our Cathedral family, for our nation, and the world.