EL DORADO — Members of Holy Redeemer Church and St. Mary Episcopal Church in El Dorado observed their annual ecumenical prayer service and Lenten Quiet Day on Saturday, March 11 at Holy Redeemer.
Each year, one church hosts the Lenten retreat, offering lunch and accommodations, while the visiting church chooses a speaker. The joint effort is an attempt to bridge the gap of communication between the Anglican and Catholic churches.
The Rev. Robert Allen of St. Mary Episcopal Church chose the Rev. Canon Scott Lee of Trinity Episcopal Church in Little Rock to speak because Lee is chaplain to the committee that will nominate the next bishop of the Diocese of Arkansas.
Lee delivered two morning meditations on how prayer is expressed as a relationship with Christ and the various methods of centering prayer. In his afternoon meditation on thoughts and distractions while in prayer, Lee stressed to the congregation the importance of silence and how to develop the art of truly listening.
He reminded participants to remember the four R’s of handling intrusive thoughts while praying — resist no thought, retain no thought, react emotionally to no thought and return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
He also emphasized the ability to love oneself as an expression of Christ-centered prayer.
“All of this can culminate in the gift of service,” he said. “We cultivate a non-judgemental attitude toward others as we learn to be more gentle with ourselves.”
The day ended with Stations of the Cross, led by Father Gregory Pilcher, OSB, pastor of Holy Redeemer.
