Lent is a perfect time to consider how our faith leads us to work for social justice. Read, meditate, and join us for thoughtful and stimulating discussion.
The daily work of a Christian is thoroughly grounded in the Bible, which mentions poverty 2,100 times and sin only 1,610 times! The Sunday Lenten program this year offers you an opportunity to explore how the Bible treats such subjects as poverty, hunger, displacement, and the care of widows and orphans, and how to engage them in your spiritual life.
The award-winning Social Justice Bible Challenge is organized into
40 very short chapters. $10 paperback bought at St. Paul’s; $13 online; $10 ebook. Financial assistance is available.
Each consists of a few verses from Scripture, a brief reflection written by someone in the Church who is involved in social justice work, a couple of thought questions, and a prayer. We encourage you to purchase the book, read, and reflect each day of Lent.
As a group, we will gather each Sunday during Lent after the 10 a.m. service to discuss one of the week’s chapters.
No opportunity to read daily because of your crazy schedule? Come anyway to read and reflect upon the chosen chapter with members of the social justice ministry and a clergy person.
For your daily reflection, the 40 days of readings are listed HERE, as a pdf, with links to the readings.
The daily work of a Christian is thoroughly grounded in the Bible, which mentions poverty 2,100 times and sin only 1,610 times! The Sunday Lenten program this year offers you an opportunity to explore how the Bible treats such subjects as poverty, hunger, displacement, and the care of widows and orphans, and how to engage them in your spiritual life.
The award-winning Social Justice Bible Challenge is organized into
40 very short chapters. $10 paperback bought at St. Paul’s; $13 online; $10 ebook. Financial assistance is available.
Each consists of a few verses from Scripture, a brief reflection written by someone in the Church who is involved in social justice work, a couple of thought questions, and a prayer. We encourage you to purchase the book, read, and reflect each day of Lent.
As a group, we will gather each Sunday during Lent after the 10 a.m. service to discuss one of the week’s chapters.
No opportunity to read daily because of your crazy schedule? Come anyway to read and reflect upon the chosen chapter with members of the social justice ministry and a clergy person.
For your daily reflection, the 40 days of readings are listed HERE, as a pdf, with links to the readings.
We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit itself prays within us.
- Romans 8:26
- Romans 8:26
Palm Sunday and Holy Week
CDC, local government, and Diocesan directives regarding COVID-19 are changing daily, so please check back for the latest schedules and locations.
PALM SUNDAY - APRIL 5
Procession of the Palms, reading of the Passion.
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist 10:00 a.m. Choral Eucharist 4:00 p.m. Evensong HOLY MONDAY APRIL 6
12:10 p.m. Holy Eucharist in the Chapel.
HOLY TUESDAY APRIL 7
No services today.
HOLY WEDNESDAY APRIL 8
12:10 p.m. Holy Eucharist in the Chapel.
7:00 p.m. The Service of Tenebrae, Extinguishing of the Light in the Church. Sung chants, hymns, readings, and the gradual extinguishing of candles to complete darkness. MAUNDY THURSDAY APRIL 9
12:10 p.m. Holy Eucharist in the Chapel.
7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday Liturgy in the Church. Commemorate the Last Supper, ritual Washing of Feet, and Stripping of the Altar. Anthems: With St. Paul's Chancel Choir. GOOD FRIDAY APRIL 10
12:00 Noon-3:00 p.m. Good Friday Liturgy, in the Church.
Traditional three hour service. The Passion Gospel, with Veneration of the Cross. 3:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross in the Church. A devotion to the Passion of Christ, recalling a series of events at the end of Jesus' life from his condemnation to his burial. HOLY SATURDAY APRIL 11
8:00 p.m. The Great Vigil of Easter in the Church.
With kindling of New Fire, Exultet, the First Mass of Easter. EASTER SUNDAY APRIL 12
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist in the Church.
10:00 a.m. Festival Eucharist in the Church. CHRIST IS RISEN! Join the Celebration! I am not long for this world. I am passing through, holding on to nothing, grateful for everything.
- Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, Meditations for Lent Open Thy fount, eternal Dove,
And overflow this heart of mine, Enlarging as it fills with Thee, Till in one blaze of charity Care and remorse are lost, like motes in light divine. - John Keble (1792-1866) |
Let our journey be a perpetual one. Let us die to the world daily. Let us say with the apostle, “I die every day.”
- 1 Cor 15:31. The Season of Lent
In the season of Lent, we enter into the 40-day fast that Jesus undertook in the wilderness. Through this dedicated period of prayer and self-examination we invite, we open ourselves to God - to allow him to further shape us into the image of Christ. Moving ever closer toward Holy Week and the event of the crucifixion, we surrender our hearts to God to better know Christ's suffering, his surrender and his ultimate sacrifice, for our sake.
The season begins with Ash Wednesday, when we receive the imposition of ashes and are reminded we are but dust and to dust we shall return. During this season, we observe chosen forms of fasting, prayer, service or charity for 40 days, except Sundays, which are considered feast days, year-round. Figuring out how to keep a holy Lent can be a challenge, but if we move beyond the popular conceptions (and misconceptions), Lent holds the possibility for real change — or to use the church’s word, conversion — in our lives, as well as for rich and lasting spiritual growth. Lent emerged in our history as a season of final preparation for those who would be baptized at the Great Vigil of Easter. The entire Christian community was highly invested in walking alongside those who were about to commit their lives to Christ. In time, the season took on some extra layers of meaning, and many people now associate it with listening for a deeper awareness of our own failings — how we fall short of the ideals God sets before us — and the need for ongoing repentance and amendment of life. In Lent we step back and consider the ways we need to repent, to turn around — to be converted. The word “lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencton, referring to the springtime of the year when the days grow longer and warmer and brighter. Lent, then, is an opportunity to deepen our spiritual practice and accountability in preparation for the renewal of spirit and life, through Christ our Lord, that is to come. How are we living Christ’s teaching and example in our own lives, in our homes, our churches, our cities, our schools, our places of work? In what ways have we fallen short, grown stagnant or cold-hearted, or failed to love God by embracing each life as a Divine life, whenever and however we encounter it? And finally, once we have taken sober and truthful stock of our current spiritual life, we ask with a clear heart: What growth or signs of renewal in our life, in the world, can we whole-heartedly celebrate with gratitude and joy? These are the kinds of questions we ask ourselves in prayer, in meditation, in quiet reflection during the weeks of Lent. SOURCES Daily Prayer for All Seasons - The Episcopal Church’s abbreviated BCP (free download) https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/document/daily-prayer-all-seasons Sacred Ordinary Days - by Jenn Giles Kemper https://sacredordinarydays.com/ |
Take a walk in St. Paul's natural garden Labyrinth.