Moveable Feast

Not so long ago back in Britain, I was rushing along the road when I passed a food truck which made me chuckle—it was called ‘A Moveable Feast'. Its marketing worked, and I pulled off the road and enjoyed an unexpectedly delicious meal of Fish-&-Chips and a cup of tea. Perhaps, I began to ponder as I sat there enjoying my typically British roadside snack, the owners were especially well versed in the terminology of religious calendars, where certain festivals such as celebrations of Passover and Easter are ‘moveable', and that is how this van got its clever liturgically based name. It was at that point I realized I was being quite ridiculous, but it was nice to daydream for a moment.

This year our ‘movable feasts' of ash wednesday, Lent, holy week, Passover and Easter occur earlier than usual in our calendar. Ash Wednesday is on February 10th and marks the beginning of the season of Lent. For centuries, Ash Wednesday has been a day for Christians to have our foreheads marked with ashes as an acknowledgement of our mortality, and to reflect in penitence on our mistakes. Residents and staff are welcome to receive the ashes and spend some time in prayer and contemplation in the Life Center, 9:00AM-1:00PM, or at the regular Rosary gathering held at 10:00AM in the Plaza View Lounge. The forty days (excluding Sundays) which follow Ash Wednesday are known as the season of Lent. During this time many people make a conscious effort to focus on turning their hearts and minds back towards God. Sometimes people do this by practicing a little self-denial, perhaps by giving up a favorite food or treat (something I'm not very good at!) as a reminder to focus instead on our spiritual nourishment. Rather than giving something up for Lent you might like to undertake something new and will join us for our next Bible Study, looking at the ‘I am' statements of Jesus found in John's Gospel, beginning on Wednesday February 17, 1:00PM in the Boardrooms, led by Chaplain Peggy and myself.

Also during Lent we will be holding our next Taizé Service on Saturday, February 20th, at 5:00PM. This style of worship offers an opportunity for reflective prayer and contemplation set amongst beautiful music, and so please join us as we gather together at that time amidst the beauty of holiness. It has been wonderful to see how the Jewish Prayer Service here on Campus has grown into such a wonderful gathering of faith and fellowship, and all are welcome to join that group as they continue to gather on the Second Monday of each month at 11:00AM in the West Boardroom.

Keep a look out for more information in the coming weeks as we tell you about our exciting plans for this year's Passover Seder meal, Holy Week and Easter celebrations.
During these months of ‘movable feasts' there are many opportunities here at the Campus to find some spiritual nourishment. All we have to do is remind ourselves of the need to sometimes pull off the roads that we rush along to pause for a moment and be fed. *

Author Info: Andrew Moore

Chaplain Andrew is the Associate Chaplain here at the Campus. Before relocating to Arizona in 2014, Andrew lived and studied in the United Kingdom. Andrew was ordained in the Anglican Church and has worked in a variety of parishes.