Preparing Disciples through Formation
Father Dion writes, “our wonderful Scholars on Scripture series has led us into the sacred world of God’s Word where we meet Jesus Christ. This Eastertide finds us reading through the Psalms. This beautiful collection of hymns of praise, lament, and thanksgiving, is a blessing to every disciple who, in the words of one of my favorite Collects, takes the time to “hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them.” Here we find Christ as well as ourselves. Here we pray and converse with God.”
Being a Disciple
Tempest Strunge, St. Anne’s Director of Children and Youth, writes about what being a disciple means today in our parish, and Colin Pascal, St. Anne’s parishioner, shares what the Family Cooking Ministry means to him.
An Eastertide Reflection
The Rev. Dr. Manoj Matthew Zacharia shares an Eastertide reflection about the importance of community.
Blessed are the Women
Claire Miller, Communications Associate, writes a Lenten Reflection, “Blessed Are the Women”, about the role of women in the Gospel of John and beyond. She invites you to read the 7 Lenten Reflections on the Ministry Blog as you prepare to travel the path with Jesus during Holy Week.
“Reading and Meditating on God’s Holy Word”
Our Ash Wednesday liturgy invites us to experience Lent in many ways, among them “reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” Entering scripture takes us into our sacred story. We encounter God’s grand narrative of salvation and find deep resonances with our own lives.
Covering the Crosses
I had a parent ask me to “kidify” the meaning behind covering the crosses during the Lenten season. I really started to think deeply about the reason the crosses were covered and not just the answer that they were able to give which is “it is lent”.
Trail of Souls
The Trail of Souls is a project of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland that invites churches founded before 1864 (the year Maryland abolished slavery) to research and acknowledge their history with slavery and its legacies. The charge, as articulated at the 2006 Diocesan Convention, is “specifically to research and report on the historical role of the Episcopal Church in these systems of slavery and racism, so that we as a people of God can come to make a full, faithful and informed accounting of the legacy we inherit and better understand how we can work, both individually and collectively, to ‘repair the breach.’ (Is.58.12)” (2006 Diocesan Convention). Parishes around the Diocese have been actively engaged in this work for several decades.
Truth & Reconciliation Ministry Overview
The foundational work of St. Anne’s Truth & Reconciliation Ministry (TRM) commenced in 2019 following the Diocese of Maryland Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton’s pastoral letter on reconciliation which calls us to “acknowledge that there can be no love without justice, and there can be no justice without some form of repairing an injustice.”
Truth and Reconciliation Ministry Oral History Project
In a time when the Episcopal Church, and the Diocese of Maryland in particular, is deeply devoted to reconciliation work among its congregants, we feel that it is our responsibility as members of St. Anne’s to do that work in our own community as best we can. To that end, we are launching an oral history project to hear stories about what St. Anne’s was like during the 1960s and 1970s, a time of civil and racial unrest.
Community Outreach and Reconciliation
Ministry leader, Sharon McElfish, shares her experience participating in two ministries that speak to St. Anne’s journey in building community relationships in reconciliation: ACT (Anne Arundel Connecting Together) and the Stanton Community Center Homework Club.
A Cemetery for All
Ginger DeLuca shares the history of St. Anne’s cemetery, “A Cemetery for All”.
Lenten Reflection: “Of the Imitation of Christ”
The Rev. Dr. Manoj Mathew Zacaria’s reflection on Thomas Kempis, “Of the Imitation of Christ”.
Introduction
Welcome to St. Anne’s Ministry Blog! This is a space for sharing stories about our ministries by liturgical season. Our first offering is for the season of Lent.