The Rev.
Andrea L. Wight
The Rev. Andrea
L. Wight graduated from one of the Episcopal
Church’s eleven seminaries, the Church
Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley CA, in
May of 2003, and her position at St. Mary’s
marks the beginning of her active, ordained
ministry.
She is a
lifelong Episcopalian, being born and raised in
New Jersey. As a teenager her family moved to
Wyoming where she continued her life in the
Church. She graduated from the University of
Wyoming in Laramie with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Pharmacy. Shortly after graduation she
moved to Las Vegas NV where she lived and worked
as a hospital pharmacist for close to 28 years.
She was
ordained to the Transitional Diaconate in
February of 2003, and was ordained to the
Priesthood on October 25, 2003.
She is very
active in the American Association of University
Women, a member of the Kiwanis, with the Diocese of Chicago, is
a member of the Greater Rockford Clergy Association, and is a
volunteer reader at Spring Creek Elementary School. She enjoys running and yoga. She has
two grown children, and two younger sisters.
Ten Essential Steps
for a Godly Life
- Confess often, get rid of
your sins: use the formal BCP confession,
prayers from the prayer book or make up
your own. Don’t feel you always have
to be right.
- Get in the habit of using
the name of Jesus often: think in his
name and use it in prayer.
- Don’t blame others when
you are sinning: when you know you are
sinning stop it as quickly as possible.
- If you are unhappy more than
you are happy, find out why and change
your life-it is inside you. We are
responsible for our own peace, our own
happiness. No one else can make us happy
and we can’t make others happy.
- Spend more time in prayer:
the more you pray, the easier things
come. Talk to yourself-Jesus is in you.
- Don’t hold a grudge;
you will be the one who ends up sick:
give it up. Let God given music flow
through you instead of the grudge.
- Do not agree with criticism:
this is the pivotal point in our
spiritual growth. When someone is
criticizing, especially the church, bow
your head and silently pray for the
person.
- Stay loyal to worship. When
you stay away from church you stop
praying and you are open to Satan: it is
not possible to be lukewarm.
- Don’t complain because
things end-let’s rejoice because
they happened.
From an article by The Rev. Lewis
O. Tanno,
St. Clement Episcopal Church, Tampa, FL
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Lenten rhythm provides opportunity
to deepen spiritual
journey
With all the ups and downs of the past three
to four months, I’m really ready to sink into the rhythm of
Lent. Lent is
helpful in that way -- to set a rhythm to help us focus and
dedicate some time every day to prayer, meditation and
reflection on the readings from devotional booklets or other
sources.
Besides a daily rhythm of prayer and reflection, on Wednesday mornings we
are walking the Stations of the Cross using a setting from the
Iona Community. We
started that last week, and the feedback was very good.
On Sunday Feb. 28, we resumed our ‘Lost Christianities’
series for four weeks.
So, there are things happening to help us embrace the
spirit of Lent.
When I was a child, it was always about figuring out what I was going to
give up for Lent -- usually it was chocolate or something like
that. Now in my
later years, the greatest sacrifice seems to be time related --
specifically to be even more diligent in keeping to a daily
routine of prayer and devotion and really work at deepening my
spiritual journey.
There is an equally great benefit to keeping such a routine as I
find myself feeling more content and much less stressed.
With daylight hours lengthening every day, the promise of warmer
days inches closer and closer.
I must say I am ready to shrug off the winter blues and,
along with it, my cocoon -- all the bundling it takes to keep me
warm on cold winter days. It can’t come soon enough -- days when
we can throw open the windows and doors and let the fresh air
breeze through the house.
I don’t know exactly why, but the cold days of winter
always feel longer than the warmer days of summer.
In the
meantime the Lenten journey is at hand.
And, hopefully, as we walk that journey for the rest of
the month, we will continue to prepare ourselves for the promise
of a glorious Easter celebration!
I’m counting on that…and of course for good weather and
brighter days ahead.
Pastor Andrea
This
page prepared by St. Anskar's,
Rockford
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