As the calendar turns and we stand at the threshold of a new year, it’s a natural moment for reflection and intention-setting. In our fast-paced world in Lethbridge and beyond, resolutions often focus on self-improvement: fitness, productivity, or habits. But within the Evangelical Episcopal Church, we are invited to approach this season differently—not merely as self-betterment, but as an act of spiritual devotion and response to God’s grace.
The turning of the year is a gift, a marker in time that can serve as a “thin place” where we consciously draw nearer to God. It’s less about crafting a perfect list and more about posturing our hearts toward the One who makes all things new.
What Makes a Resolution good?
Our tradition, a vibrant blend of evangelical warmth and historic liturgical depth, encourages resolutions that are both personally transformative and communally rooted. They are less about sheer willpower and more about creating space for the Holy Spirit to work. Here are a few pathways to consider as you pray over your coming year.
1. Resolve to Deepen Your Liturgical Rhythm
The Book of Common Prayer is a treasure trove of daily prayer and scripture. A powerful, manageable resolution could be to incorporate just one office—perhaps Morning or Evening Prayer—into your daily routine. This isn’t about legalism; it’s about allowing the ancient, tested words of the Church to shape your thoughts, prayers, and days. As I often share with our Lethbridge congregation, this rhythm turns our monologue with God into a dialogue, where we also listen through His Word.
2. Commit to Sacramental Intentionality
Our faith is incarnational. Resolve to participate in the Holy Eucharist with renewed expectancy and preparation. This might mean spending a few quiet moments in prayer before the Sunday service begins at your local parish, or intentionally practicing the examen on Saturday evening to receive Communion with a cleansed and open heart. It’s in the “ordinary” elements of bread and wine that we meet the extraordinary grace of Christ.
3. Embrace a Ministry of Presence (Locally, in Lethbridge)
Evangelical Episcopalian faith is active. Look around our Lethbridge community. Is there a specific, local need God is placing on your heart? Resolve to move from intention to action. This could be a formal ministry through your parish or a simple, consistent act of kindness: regularly visiting a shut-in, volunteering at the food bank, or being a prayerful presence in your neighborhood. Faith without works, as Scripture reminds us, is dormant.
4. Cultivate a Habit of Charitable Reading & Listening
In an age of quick judgments and polarized voices, resolve to practice “charitable reading”—engaging with perspectives, especially within the global Church, with a goal to understand before critiquing. Extend this to your home: resolve to have one faith-centered conversation per week with your family or a friend, not to debate, but to listen and grow together.
5. Pursue Joyful Repentance and Reconciliation
The new year is a fitting time for a spiritual inventory. This is the evangelical call to personal holiness meeting the Episcopal value of corporate confession. Resolve to seek reconciliation—first with God, and then, if possible and safe, with one person from whom you are estranged. It’s a daunting but profoundly freeing step that mirrors the reconciliation we have in Christ.
A Note on Grace
“As we in Lethbridge and across Alberta consider the year ahead, remember this: our resolutions are not a ladder we build to reach God. They are responses walked out in the power of the Spirit to the love He has already poured out. If you stumble—and we all will—the grace found in the sacraments and the fellowship of your church family is your constant renewal. Let your goal be not perfection, but faithfulness.”
This year, let your resolutions be anchors, not chains. Let them draw you deeper into the love of God, the fellowship of the saints, and the service of your neighbor right here in Lethbridge. May your 2026 be a year where your faith becomes more rooted, more joyful, and more visibly alive.
I serve and worship with the Evangelical Episcopal community in Lethbridge, Alberta, and I’m passionate about weaving historic Christian faith into the fabric of daily modern life.