FROM THE RECTORLent is almost here! An Ash Wednesday service will be held on Zoom and Facebook Live at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 2.
Ashes Available for Pick Up
If you would like to have a packet of ashes for imposition at home during our Ash Wednesday service, please pick one up at the Church on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon between 1:00 and 4:00. If those hours are not convenient for you we will also leave some in the mailbox by the office door.
Update on returning to in-person worship: Our plan is to return to in-person worship on March 13. Services will continue to be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook Live. Masks will be required and the Vestry asks that you maintain physical distancing as indicated by the round yellow stickers in the pews. Please, for the safety of others, plan to attend church on Zoom if you have recently traveled and/or been present at large gatherings, or if you are not feeling well, or coughing or sneezing.
Lenten Book Study
This year’s Lenten Book study will begin on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:30 pm and run through April 13, the Wednesday in Holy Week. Please let Caroline know if you plan to join this book study. Attendance at every session is not required; come as you are able.
The book is Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week by Amy Jill Levine, Ph.D. It is available on Amazon for $13.19. We have studied other books by Amy Jill Levine and thoroughly enjoyed them, along with the accompanying DVDs.
Here is a blurb on the book from Amazon:
Jesus’ final days were full of risk. Every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward.
Jesus risked his reputation when he entered Jerusalem in a victory parade. He risked his life when he dared to teach in the Temple. His followers risked everything when they left behind their homes, or anointed him with costly perfume. We take risks as we read and re-read these stories, finding new meanings and new challenges.
In Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story. She shows us how the text raises ethical and spiritual questions for the reader, and how we all face risk in our Christian experience.
Entering the Passion of Jesus provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike. The book is part of a larger six-week study that is perfect for Lent and includes a DVD, and a comprehensive Leader Guide.
Blessings, Caroline
Lent is almost here! An Ash Wednesday service will be held on Zoom and Facebook Live at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 2.
Ashes Available for Pick Up
If you would like to have a packet of ashes for imposition at home during our Ash Wednesday service, please pick one up at the Church on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon between 1:00 and 4:00. If those hours are not convenient for you we will also leave some in the mailbox by the office door.
Update on returning to in-person worship: Our plan is to return to in-person worship on March 13. Services will continue to be livestreamed on Zoom and Facebook Live. Masks will be required and the Vestry asks that you maintain physical distancing as indicated by the round yellow stickers in the pews. Please, for the safety of others, plan to attend church on Zoom if you have recently traveled and/or been present at large gatherings, or if you are not feeling well, or coughing or sneezing.
Lenten Book Study
This year’s Lenten Book study will begin on Wednesday, March 9 at 1:30 pm and run through April 13, the Wednesday in Holy Week. Please let Caroline know if you plan to join this book study. Attendance at every session is not required; come as you are able.
The book is Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week by Amy Jill Levine, Ph.D. It is available on Amazon for $13.19. We have studied other books by Amy Jill Levine and thoroughly enjoyed them, along with the accompanying DVDs.
Here is a blurb on the book from Amazon:
Jesus’ final days were full of risk. Every move he made was filled with anticipation, danger, and the potential for great loss or great reward.
Jesus risked his reputation when he entered Jerusalem in a victory parade. He risked his life when he dared to teach in the Temple. His followers risked everything when they left behind their homes, or anointed him with costly perfume. We take risks as we read and re-read these stories, finding new meanings and new challenges.
In Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story. She shows us how the text raises ethical and spiritual questions for the reader, and how we all face risk in our Christian experience.
Entering the Passion of Jesus provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike. The book is part of a larger six-week study that is perfect for Lent and includes a DVD, and a comprehensive Leader Guide.
Blessings, Caroline
via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)
or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/
AND...
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL
on ZOOM
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL
on ZOOM
The Collect
O God, who before the passion of your only ¬begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Lesson Exodus 34:29-35
In our first reading we hear how Moses’ face shone after he had spoken with the Lord. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai after again receiving the Ten Commandments, the people were afraid to approach him because of the radiance of his face. Whenever he talked with the people, he had to wear a veil.
Psalm 99
The holy and mighty Lord reigns on high. God spoke to Israel’s leaders from a pillar of cloud and has forgiven them their misdeeds.
The Second Lesson 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
In our New Testament reading Paul celebrates the freedom and boldness that comes to believers through Christ. Moses veiled his face when leaving the Lord’s presence, but now the veil is removed and open access is given to God in Jesus. The spirit brings transformation through God’s mercy, therefore right conduct and transparency are to characterize the dealing of God’s people, commending themselves to all with clear conscience.
The Gospel Luke 9:28-36
Our gospel is the story of Jesus’ transfiguration. The narrative is richly woven with themes and symbols drawn from Israel’s past and its hopes for the future. Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets whose promises Jesus fulfills. While Jesus is praying, divine glory is reflected in his human person. The chosen disciples hear a voice from the cloud declaring that this is God’s beloved Son.
The Bishop’s Curates fund provides support for congregations to help them hire promising, newly ordained clergy—clergy that they otherwise would not be able to afford. Curates bring new ideas, energy, and vision to the congregation and the Diocese. Permanent funding would ensure that the Diocese and congregations could continue to attract talented clergy and would benefit from the energy, talents, and perspective of newly ordained clergy.
Consider: How might adding a curate to your church’s staff help strengthen ministries in your congregation?
Watch a video of the curate from The Church of the Good Shepherd, Nashua at https://www.givingsites.com/deeproots/our-plan.php
Parish: Kelly Antonelli, Audrey Berry, Carolyn Boldt, Marty Cloran, Judy Grace, Bev Hammond, Sue Huckman, Joan Marshall, John McGowan, Elizabeth Pease, Grete Plender, Becky Riley, Steve Thompson, Carol Tubman, Gabriele & Bob Wallace.
For those celebrating anniversaries: Valerie and Bill May.
Please let the Parish Office know if you would like to add or remove someone
on the prayer list. Thank you.
Introduction
to Mindful Living
A six session
program, April – May 2022
offered
online
Are you curious to learn what mindfulness is and how it can benefit you?
Are you wishing for a mindfulness refresher?
This six session, 90-minute class, will introduce various types of mindfulness meditations and practices to support you in incorporating mindfulness into your daily life. Each session will provide a supportive environment with time for instruction and practice and a question and response period. The program will assist you in building and deepening your own meditation practice. You will also learn informal ways to bring mindfulness into everyday life.
Topics covered will include:
· Mindfulness of breath and body
· Mindfulness of emotions
·
Understanding
thoughts & beliefs
·
The
wise heart -- nurturing joy &
compassion
·
Bringing
your practice into the world
Practices will include:
·
Walking
meditation & mindful movement
·
Self-compassion
practices
·
Mindfulness
of thought meditation
· Offering compassion for self and others
· Working with difficult emotions
Facilitator -- Christianne Humphrey MDiv is a student within the Mindfulness Meditation
Teacher Training Certification program offered by Sounds True, in association withThe AwarenessTraining Institute and the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Christi has supported others in practices of the heart for over 20 years.
For more information or to register, contact Christi by phone (508) 633-7466 or email cchumphrey1@gmail.com.
Food for Thought
Blessing
the Dust
All
those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners
or
swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—
Did
you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?
This
is the day
we freely say
we are scorched.
This
is the hour
we are marked
by what has made it
through the burning.
This
is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.
So let
us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are
but
for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made,
and the stars that blaze
in our bones,
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.
~
Jan Richardson
