Dear St. James’ Parish Family, May is the month that truly brings spring here in Maryland. In April we enjoyed the first flowers and showers of the season, but now is the time when we see the deep green of new life spring forth. It is no mistake that this is when we celebrate the…
This week ends National Poetry Month. In case you haven’t learned this about me yet, I’m a poetry hound. I find so often in poems the images or words that either escape me when I try to articulate a thought or feeling – or the images and words that open up something new and set…
Friday, May 13 may seem far off, but it will be here before you know it, so this Sunday tickets go on sale for our final Arts on the Hill Concert! Grab your favorite island attire and plan to enjoy Caribbean tunes played by the 25-member Catonsville High School Drum Band, directed by Jim Wharton. It will be a fun evening for…
Dear St. James’ Parish Family, Alleluia! Christ is risen! We are now in Eastertide, the great 50 days in which the Church celebrates the resurrection (notice it’s longer than the puny 40 days of Lent!). In Lent, we gathered on Monday nights to explore different ways of praying and what it means to create a life of prayer. In Eastertide, you are invited to join…
This Sunday we celebrate the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, and with it we enter Holy Week. For centuries upon centuries Christians have been gathering together to retrace the last steps of the Christ. This is what we do when we gather on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday to prepare for the joy of Easter Day. We believe that…
As Christians we are people of story. A few weekends ago your Vestry and I met and made retreat, and a part of the work we engaged in was their role as leaders in this community as storytellers. Storytellers re-member (as in literally put together) our stories – stringing them together like a pearl necklace to create a bigger story. This is…
Let my prayer rise up like incense before you, the lifting up of my hands as an offering to you. ~Psalm 141 The use of incense in worship goes back to our earliest scriptures. Within the Episcopal Church the use of incense is varied – from “Smokey Mary’s” in New York City to “low churches” where the word ‘thurifur’ sounds like…
Dear St. James’ Parish Family, The warm weather as February is turning into March is a reminder that spring always follows winter, just as the empty tomb always follows the cross. We are deep in Lent, and our eyes are being turned toward the three great days and the day of the resurrection. For as much as…
“I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time – waking and sleeping. It does not change God, it changes me.” ~ C.S. Lewis ~ You are invited to join an exploration of five different prayer practices as we journey through the holy season of Lent this…
Dear St. James’ Parish Family, The holy season of Lent is nearly upon us. Yes, it is early this year! Ash Wednesday is February 10th, which means Easter will be March 27th. But before we get to the empty tomb, we must first encounter ashes on our journey to the cross. One of my favorite prayers is the Invitation to Observe a Holy Lent…