Ash Wednesday is one of my favorite services and Lent is one of my favorite seasons of the Church year. I pray that each of you experience a Holy Lent filled with life-changing encounters and breakthroughs in Christ. You will be in my prayers constantly.
We are a three streams Church! Not just because we like the three streams, but firstly because we believe in them. We believe in them because we know that when they flow together they create a mighty river of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Living in that river was the original vision; and it still is the vision of the CEC. In light of this, I want to invite you to join me during this season of Lent in a fast. I know that many of you will be doing your own form of spiritual discipline during this time. I certainly don’t want to distract you from that. However for about five months, the house of bishops in America fasted together two days a week as we prayed about who the next Primate of the church in North America would be. We fasted from after dinner on Tuesday night until dinner on Wednesday and again after dinner on Thursday night until dinner on Friday.
I will be fasting the same way during Lent this year and I invite you to join me as we pray for the CEC (especially in North America) to flow in the river of the fullness of the Holy Spirit! If you can’t do two days then maybe you can do one. If you’re not able to do either for various reasons then maybe you could give up lunch or something else extra those two days besides your normal Lenten discipline. If nothing else, then simply on those two days spend a little extra time praying for the CEC to be a Church of fresh oil.
My heart sings with expectation when I think of the clergy all over North America praying for this movement called the CEC; to fulfill her destiny as a church with “Ancient Altars and Pentecostal Fire.“
If you feel lead to, then please share this with your congregations so that we may also have our laity participating in our common longing to fully be a church in revival. Because if God’s vision for us is going to be realized, it will impact every one of us from the the House of Bishops to each person in our congregations.
Please keep me in your prayers so that in this time of Lent (which as you know means “lengthen”) my growth in Christ with lengthen so that I, in a Christlike way will fulfill my assignment as your Primate.
Bless you all,
Bishop Chuck