From the Rector – Attend to the breath
The Beloved knelt down and scooped dust up from the earth
and bent down and kissed that dirt,
laid tender lips on yours
and breathed into you and there you are,
dirt breathing, breathing God.
Attend to the breath…
The image of attending to the breath from the poem above, by Pastor and Poet Steve Garnaas-Holmes, is what anchored Ash Wednesday for me this year.
Ash Wednesday is our yearly reminder of our mortality – that we came from dust and that we will return to dust. But as the second creation story in Genesis tells us, after God formed us from the dust, God breathed the breath of life into us.
It is the breath that both separates and connects the dust – that from which we came and that to which we will return.
And so as we make our earthly pilgrimage – as we again make our Lenten journey – the invitation for us all is to attend to the breath…
breath in love and healing, breath out fear and brokenness
breath in the spaciousness of God’s presence, breath out the busyness of the world
breath in compassion, breath out selfishness
Lent is the season that we are called into self-examination and repentance by prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. Let your breath be your guide in these practices – breathing deep to center and ground your body, your mind, and your spirit.
Attend to the breath…
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Formation
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
9:30 – 10:15 a.m. Lower Level
Preschool through High School
Lent is here! In preparation, our Sunday School children enjoyed their 4th Sunday group activity with Mary Anne and Rick Smith, the A is for Africa representatives from Mt. Airy. What a joy! Once again our mite box coins will benefit the children of the Matim Primary School in Tanzania. Our previous coin donations have helped with providing breakfast (porridge) for each child at the beginning of the school day, the opening of a library with our book donations, and assistance with the installation of a water pump near the school.
All Sunday School students will receive their own mite box to decorate and use during Lent. Please encourage your child to be thoughtful in giving to children who are less fortunate by sharing their coins during Lent. We invite all parish members to do the same. As a family, you may wish to read the following Biblical stories about a “mite” (the smallest of coins): Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4.
As we share each mealtime during Lent,
let us give thanks for our blessings
and pledge our willingness to help carry
the burdens of others less fortunate.
St. James’ Teaching Team:
Yvette Allen – Preschool Bible Stories
Betsy Davis and Jessica Bahorich – Kindergarten-2nd Grades
Natalie DelRegno – 3rd-5th Grades
Joan Fader and Peter Sabonis – Middle-High School
Nancy Nanavaty – 4th Sunday Group Activities
Mara Snyder – Children’s Music
Lenten Series: Holy Living & Holy Dying
One of the best gifts you can give your family is planning ahead for the end of life – and as morbid as it may sound, it can be joyful and bring peace of mind. Beginning this Sunday, we will host a four part Sunday series where you will have the opportunity to consider financial directives, medical directives, burial choices, and planning your memorial service. Please join us for any or all sessions.
Youth
Youth Group continued to explore another set of “Big Questions”. The discussion at our 2nd Sunday meeting in February was focused on the Bible. We took a mad dash through the good book and learned how to find our way around before diving into our list of questions. We not only learned about the different versions of the Bible, but also discussed several other great questions, including who put all the different stories into the Bible, what it was like to be a disciple, and some suggestions on how to study the Bible. We also read several parts of the Bible together and learned that, yes, some parts can be boring, but it is also full of some really great stories and people dealing with some of the same issues that we deal with today – which is part of what makes the Bible so timeless. Our March 2nd Sunday meeting will be tackling Church History and Denominations. This meeting will feature action figures – you won’t want to miss it!!
Youth Group 4th Sunday fellowship activities included duck pin bowling at Mt. Airy Lanes in January and ice skating at Skate Frederick in February. We all had a great time!
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office Schedule for the week of March 10.
Monday – Thursday 10-4.
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Robert and Carol Buckley
Jim and Patty Bullington
Rebecca Carbis (Will)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
Readings for the 1 Lent, March 10, 2019 :
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-14
| This week’s Commemorations (A Great Cloud of Witnesses, 2019, Church Publishing Group)
March 12 Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, 604 March 13 James Theodore Holly, bishop of haiti and of the Dominican Republic, 1911 |
