Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!
When I was young, I liked to condemn Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark Holiday”. This was mostly my being angsty. But the funny thing is – I wasn’t wrong. More like half right.
Valentine’s Day obviously has Christian origins. But it isn’t one of our feast days. Not anymore. Which means we no longer celebrate it. So now, it actually does belong to Hallmark more than the church.
Of course, feast days for saints aren’t supposed to be that big of a deal anyway. Not compared to our Principal Feasts or the Feasts of Our Lord. This is not to say they are unimportant, just less important. But you have to dig pretty deep in your friendship circle to find people more into The Presentation (Candlemas) on February 2 than Valentine’s on the 14th.
I don’t think this is bad. Just…out of proportion. A little skewed. It’s not unlike the impulse to “put Christ into Christmas”. I think He does a pretty good job of that on his own. Maybe we can put some more rebellious love into our everyday lives.
In the coming weeks, we will be wrapping up this season after the Epiphany. And given this week’s COVID numbers, we anticipate the return of two beloved customs:
- Coffee Hour will return February 27th for both services.
- Our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is tentatively planned for March 1.
With love,
Drew