Looking for a special way to observe the season of Lent? You are invited to spend Forty Days with the Psalms. We have updated the prayer booklet we introduced last year during Lent and it will be available in the lower lobby this week from noon-3pm or on Sunday, Feb. 14. The booklet features psalms assigned for reading in the morning, at noontime and in the evening over the course of forty days. So if you begin on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 and use it every day, you will have read through the entire Psalter consisting of 150 psalms by Palm Sunday, March 28. If you use it Monday through Saturday during each week of Lent, you will finish on the day before Easter.

 

I designed this booklet for my own personal use about a year and a half ago and have been using it every day since. The psalms I assigned to the morning are those in which praise and thanksgiving to God, for who he is and what he has done, are a prominent feature. I find this is a great way to begin my day. The psalms assigned for midday reading remind me that God is in charge (and I am not!) – a helpful reminder around lunchtime. At the end of the day, psalms which petition the Lord for protection, remedy, forgiveness or comfort are assigned, so that I close my day by placing in his hands all my cares.

 

The psalms are now a part of my life and phrases from them have found their way into my prayers. They provide me with a right understanding of who God is, in all his majesty and power, as the one to whom I should take all my problems and from whom I should expect a response. In the Gospels, Jesus quotes the psalms more often than any other book in the Old Testament and in the letters of the New Testament, the psalms are quoted more often, also. Clearly the psalms were on the lips and running through the mind of Jesus and his followers – an incentive for us to make them a part of our daily prayer discipline.

 

To highlight our booklet and to encourage its use throughout the season of Lent, we will hold a Psalm-A-Thon on Tuesday, Feb. 16 in the church.  It will also be livestreamed on Zoom. If you have never participated in a Psalm-A-Thon, consider doing so this year. Here is what you need to know:

  • We will begin at 1pm and read all the way through the Psalms.
  • It will take about five hours, so feel free to drop in at the church or tune in online any time between 1-6pm, even for a short while. Our safety protocols will be in place in church.
  • If you come to church, please bring your ESV Bible or use an ESV phone app so you can follow along in the psalms with us.

 

Resources for you and dates to remember!

  • Pick up your resources at Holy Trinity inside the courtyard door M-F between noon-3pm and on Sunday, Feb. 14 or download from our website.
    • Forty Days with the Psalms Booklet
    • Daily Reflections in the Psalms – This companion piece to the booklet includes observation, application and interpretation questions, and a short prayer for one of the psalms each day. We encourage families with middle and high schoolers to do this together.
    • Lent in a Bag – Written for preschoolers and grade schoolers, it is complete with readings, questions and activities that correlate with seven of the psalm readings in Forty Days with the Psalms.
  • Psalm-A-Thon on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1-6 pm in the church or via livestream. Please visit the website calendar for the Zoom link and passcode. Please bring your ESV Bible to church or use the ESV phone app in order to be able to read the psalms with us.
  • Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at noon and 7pm in the church – be sure to sign up in advance.
Category: Our Blog

Author: Claudia Greggs

Claudia grew up in Detroit, went to college in Boston and after moving to New York City, she heard the good news of the Gospel and turned in faith to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. She attended the Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, graduating in 1987, and was ordained the following year to the priesthood. In 1994, she married the Rev. Dr. Gil Greggs and moved to North Carolina, finding at last her true home. Claudia served in a number of churches before joining the staff of Holy Trinity Anglican in 2014. Helping people find abundant life in Jesus Christ is her passion in ministry. She and Gil have two children, Caleb and Emily, a son-in-law, Andrew and a grandson, Alex.