Lent and Holy Week at St. Anne’s

Contemplating Those Mighty Acts: The Journey From Holy Week to Pentecost

The Rev. M. Dion Thompson

By Way Of Introduction

The technical term for Easter in the ancient Church was Pascha, a Greek word derived from the Hebrew pesakh, or ‘Passover.’ Our English name for the feast is borrowed from an old pagan festival of the Anglo-Saxons in honor of their goddess of spring, Eostre. Although the Jewish Passover celebration lasted but one week, the early Christians extended their observance over the whole fifty-day period to and including Pentecost. The season was considered a commemoration not only of the Resurrection, but also of all ‘those mighty acts’ by which our Lord brought redemption to men – the new Passover from the bondage of sin and the assurance of new life and eternal victory in the Kingdom of God. Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary.  To read the full text of Dion’s forum, please click here.

Mondays in Lent – Hanging by a Thread: Questions of the Cross, by Samuel Wells

Join us for five Monday nights in Lent to consider what the cross means and does not mean for us as people of faith today.  There is no need to purchase the book to participate in the sessions. Tim Mulder will lead our discussion of things we have often taken as required givens, but may have chaffed at our thinking, feeling and believing.

Mondays in Lent – 7:00 – 8:15 PM.  Room 102 of the Parish House, 199 Duke of Gloucester St.

• March 11 – “It is finished.” What is? A lot of our notions of the cross.
• March 18 – Some modern world-views of the cross: Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Michael Foucault and the cross’s alternative.
• March 25 – Six Questions of the Cross: History of Covenant, Trust, Morality, Purpose, Power and Love
• April 1 – More Love
• April 8 – Why is “with” the most important word in theology?

Centering Prayer

Evening Prayer

St. Anne’s will offer the Daily Office of Evening Prayer Saturdays at 5:30 PM throughout Lent. The rest of the year, services take place Monday through Friday in the Chancel, also at 5:30 PM. On Fridays during Lent, the service concludes with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, with congregants meeting in the Holy Family Chapel. While there are some records of evening prayer at St. Anne’s going back to the 19th Century, the current iteration has been offered continuously each weeknight since 1987, as part of a venerable tradition. Services are lay-led, as is customary throughout the Anglican Communion. For more information, contact Jer Chambers, *protected email*.

Easter Memorial Flowers

Beginning March 17, Easter Memorial Flower cards can be found in each pew and may be filled out for Easter flowers in memory or in honor of those you wish to have included in the list for our Easter bulletin.  The deadline for turning in these cards and donations is by end of business on Tuesday, April 15.

Lenten Dinner with Missionaries from Kenya

The founders of Naomi’s Village Children’s Home and Schools, Bob and Julie Mendonsa, are visiting St. Anne’s again on Tuesday, April 2 from 6:00-8:00 PM at St. Anne’s Parish House located at 199 Duke of Gloucester St.  All are welcome to join us for dinner and conversation about their following God’s call to empower and love orphaned children and poverty stricken families in rural Kenya. Food will be provided at 6:00 PM, so your RSVP is appreciated. To sign up, click here. Contact The Rev. Jess Sexton at*protected email* if you have any questions.

April 18 – 6:00 PM –  Parish Hall

All are welcome to join in our Simple Supper and Service on this holy night as we remember with one another the love shared by Jesus at his last meal with his friends. 

“A new command I give you: Love one another.” John 13:34

Come and be nourished as we remember. 

During our supper we will share Holy Communion together at our tables as Jesus did with his friends.  At the end of the meal there will be an opportunity to witness or enter into foot washing (optional) and proceed as a group to the church for stripping of the Altar. Click here to sign up!

For information contact:
Heather Strang at 443-995-3820 or  ten.n1553528968ozire1553528968v@tsa1553528968efeht1553528968peek1553528968.

Maundy Thursday All-Night Vigil

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” – Matthew 26:36

Will you watch with Jesus?  Spend some time in thoughtful prayer at St. Anne’s overnight vigil. The observance of Maundy Thursday doesn’t end with the service … it continues throughout the night into Good Friday.  For these powerful hours, we are invited to watch and wait with our Lord through his painful struggle and then stand with Him outside the gates of Pontius Pilate’s palace, again watching and waiting.  In this quiet time, we can reflect on Jesus’ path, feel his lonely struggle to accept the will of God, the danger he faced and the terrifying events of his ultimate act of love and redemption.  For these hours, the Holy Family Chapel serves as the altar of repose, where we may stay and watch with our Lord through the night.  Details, hours and how to sign up for the vigil are here. On-site security will be available all night.