Hello –
The great season of Lent begins a week from this Wednesday, on February 26th. Here’s what you need to know:
• Chloe and I are hosting a Mardis Gras party at our home in San Anselmo on Sunday, February 23rd from 4pm to 6pm. If you don’t already have our address, contact me at c.h.mrtn@gmail.com.
• Ash Wednesday services, on February 26th, are at 8am, noon and 6:30pm.
• With Gladness and Singleness of Heart begins that evening after the 6:30pm service. It continues in the Wednesdays of Lent, through early April, at 7pm.
• The Mom’s Mini-Retreat, put on by the Martha Collective, is Sunday, March 1st from 3:00pm to 4:30pm. Childcare and a light dinner to take home to the family will be provided.
• The PrayWorshipServe Seminar is Saturday, March 7th from 9am to 11am. We will be releasing the results of our Discipleship Groups survey and teaching on recommended steps forward.
And now, a word from our Renewal Works Group:
From RenewalWorks Group
Article 4
Landmark 1: Becoming spiritual leaders of our own faith.
Signpost a. Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures.
Signpost b. Embrace a life practicing the disciplines that Jesus taught.
Signpost c. Share our gifts and money with gladness and singleness of heart.
As the RenewalWorks Group gathered to do its work, Christopher used a phrase that stuck with each of us, “soaked in Scripture.” He particularly called our attention to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). As the RWG dove into the BCP we discovered how right he was. Every page rings with Scripture. For those in a Discipleship Group, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures is one of the Core Christian Practices members affirm at each gathering. Engaging the Holy Scripture is an essential part of our life here at St. Paul’s. It undergirds our Mission, “Following Jesus in worship, prayer and service.” Therefore, it is no surprise that the RWG as it crafted those activities that support this move from Growing in Faith to Deepening in faith and growing as a spiritual leader of our won faith began with the Scripture.
The Bible Study classes are reading the Gospel of John and you are encouraged to use this signpost activity as well. Join the study group or read on your own and talk with your friends it matters not the specific form just read and reflect on this rich and glorious testament to Jesus.
In Discipleship Groups we get the opportunity to reflect with friends on our spiritual journey. It is the place where our experience with the Core Christian Practices that Jesus teaches is tested and supported. In sharing we experience that assistive grace we seek in the final prayer at the Eucharist. So, if you are not part of a Discipleship Group join one or talk to Christopher about joining one.
What a joy it was to have leaders from our congregation guide us through the Commitment Sunday. In our gifts of money, we signal the integration of our life of faith with our everyday existence in the world. We link our “secular” work to our works of faith.
These Signposts are practical, doable and can become the practice that strengthens your internal spiritual leadership of your own faith.
Next: Lent, Gladness-Singleness-of Heart.