Hello – An ancient Christian practice is to read the entire Psalter, all 150 psalms, at one time. I first heard about the practice in an account of Little Gidding, which was a small community of devoted Christian families in England in the 17th century. They would start reading the psalms after Compline, at night,…
Hello – I’m now two weeks into my Lenten discipline of fasting from contempt. I’ve just gone back to the article that inspired me, a column in the New York Times by philosopher Karen Stohr, and I am only more convinced by both the timeliness and the difficulty of this discipline. I commend the article…
Hello – 4 brief things: 1. Tomorrow morning is the Discipleship Group focus groups. I believe this will create the platform for the next stage in the growth of this essential ministry. Please pray for all those who are participating. (9am to 12:30pm in Duncan Hall.) 2. Tomorrow night is daylight savings. It’s “spring ahead”…
Hello – This Saturday morning will be, I believe, one of the most important gatherings in the thirteen years I have served you as Rector. Essentially, we are hosting focus groups for anyone with experience with either Discipleship Groups or with Basic Discipleship. For Saturday, I have hired an excellent facilitator to lead a process…
Seven words for you to begin the purple season of Lent. 1. The PrayWorshipServe rhythm of 20 minutes of prayer a day, an hour a week of worship and an hour a week of service of the poor is classic. Go to PrayWorshipServe.com and sign up to receive a short daily email of encouragement. 2.…
Restoring Ourselves and Our Communities through Seven Core Christian Practices Dear Friend of The Restoration Project, Each year, Lent provides an opportunity to go deeper into the mystery of Jesus. This email gives you two invitations to go deeper, on for next year and one for this year. Next year is the greatest invitation our…
Hello – We have a full Lent planned at St. Paul’s. What follows is a brief rundown of some of the highlights. Ash Wednesday is this coming Wednesday, March 1st. Services are at 7:30am, Noon and 6:30pm with the imposition of ashes. Basic Discipleship begins on Saturday, March 4th at 8:30am. This one hour class…
Hello – How will you observe Lent this year? It is the Anglican tradition to do something different to mark the season. Here are three things we’re encouraging at St. Paul’s. Fast From Contempt. Contempt has leaked into our culture and politics in a big way in the last two years. It comes from the…
Hello – At the Annual Meeting on Sunday I surprised everyone by my final remarks. People were expecting a sort of run down of events and challenges to come in the next year. Instead, I delivered what was almost a sermon about our needing to take a more prominent and public role in our culture.…
Hello – The Annual Meeting is this Sunday. It starts at 11:15am and ends no later than 1pm. Lunch will be served. This is where we elect new members of the Vestry, our governing board, and also representatives to wider church bodies such as Deanery and Diocesan Convention. We review our finances and the past…