The Last Week
The last week of March this year is Holy Week, the time that we remember the last week of Jesus’ life. Many of us have heard the stories of that week so often that we can easily become immune to their horror. We let the joyous news of Jesus’ resurrection erase the devastating news of his death.
But the truth is that Jesus’ death was horrifying and devastating to those who knew and loved him. The disciples were terrified and grief stricken. For them, there was no skipping from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the joyous news of the resurrection on Easter. The disciples lived the pain and grief and fear of the horrible, holy week between those two events.
For us, the temptation may be strong to come to church and wave our pond fronds on Palm Sunday and shout “Christ is risen!” a week later on Easter, while skipping the events in between. But I urge you not to give into that temptation. Instead, join us for the most beautiful and powerful services of the year.
Be with us on Maundy Thursday (March 29 at 7 p.m.) as we remember the last night of Jesus’ life. Hear the story of his last command to his disciples – to love one another as he has loved them. Hear how he enacted that love by washing their feet and sharing a last meal with them. Join with us in recreating those acts. Be with us as strip the altar at evening’s end, letting its bareness remind us of Jesus’ desolation as he prepares for what is to come.
Join us on Good Friday (March 30) at 7 p.m. to hear the story of Jesus’ agonizing crucifixion and death, in one of the starkest, most somber services of the year.
Be with us at the Easter Vigil (March 31) at 7 p.m. as by candlelight we hear the stories of God’s mighty acts of salvation throughout history. Be there with the women as they discover Jesus’ empty tomb and rejoice in the proclamation that Lent is over and Christ is risen. Celebrate as we baptize new members into the body of Christ. Then join us for a cake and champagne reception to celebrate the resurrection.
By deliberately walking through the events of that week we may recapture some of what that week was like for Jesus’ disciples.When we do, we may truly sing with joy on Easter morning, “Christ is risen. The Lord is risen, indeed!”
Grounded & Grateful
Do you have authors whose books you automatically will buy and read, knowing that you will like anything they write? Diana Butler Bass is one of those writers for me. In the past years we have used her books for vestry study, as the basis for Sunday, and for in-depth discussion in our Tuesday morning study group.
We are delighted to have Diana at St. Dunstan’s this month, March 10-11/
Grounded & Grateful: A Spiritual Path for Difficult Times is the weekend’s theme. We will begin Saturday, March 10, from 9 a.m. – Noon, with coffee and registration at 8:30. The Cathedral Bookstore will be present with copies of Diana’s books for sale.
Diana will then teach Sunday School on Sunday morning and preach at the 10:45 service (No 8:30 service this day).
Diana is a noted scholar and author, specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a Ph.D. In religious studies from Duke University. Her tenth book, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, will be published on April 3. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and The Washington Post on issues of religion, politics, and culture.
The weekend is open to the wider community, We encourage you to invite your friends to what promises to be a thought-provoking and stimulating event.
Lenten Speaker
I am delighted to announce that one of my favorite authors, Diana Butler Bass, will be at St. Dunstan’s for a weekend series of lectures in March.
Grounded and Grateful: A Spiritual Path for Difficult Times is the weekend’s theme. We will begin Saturday, March 10, from 9 a.m.- Noon, with coffee and registration at 8:30. The Cathedral Bookstore will be present with copies of Diana’s books for sale.
Diana will then teach Sunday School the following day and preach at the 10:45 service (No 8:30 service this day).
Diana is a noted scholar and author, specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a PhD in religious studies from Duke University. Her 10th book, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, will be published on April 3. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and The Washington Post on issues of religion, politics, and culture.
The weekend is open to the wider community. We encourage you to invite your friends to what promises to be a thought-provoking and stimulating event.
As Lent Continues…
So does our Tuesday night Bible study on the Gospel of Luke, led by Susan Hauser, at 7 p.m. in the parish hall.
Wednesdays in Lent, join us for an informal Eucharist in the parish hall at 6 p.m., followed by a potluck supper.
Adult Sunday School during Lent focuses on pilgrimages, journeys of the spirit. Come at 9:30 on Sunday mornings in the Founders’ Room.
Help for Tanzania. Each year since 2006 during Lent we have collected money to replenish the St. Dunstan’s Medical Fund at Msalata Theological School in Dodoma, Tanzania. The money buys mosquito nets, medicine, and prescription glasses for those in the community, and pays for a nurse to be at the school each day. You may collect money in your “Hope Chest” throughout Lent (there are still a few in the narthex), and bring it back on Easter, or make a donation by writing a check to St. Dunstan’s and mark it for Tanzania.
March For Our Lives
On Saturday, March 24, marches for stricter gun laws and regulations will be held across the country, including in Atlanta. The Atlanta march will begin at 1 p.m. at the State Capitol.
We had a good contingent from St. Dunstan’s at a rally for common sense gun laws at the Capitol in February. Let’s turn out in force for this march.
We will have a sign-making party on Wednesday, March 21, before and after the 6 pm. Eucharist.
Look for more details in the coming weeks. Here is what the march planners have to say:
Not one more. We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school, We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of a firing assault rifle to save the lives of students. We cannot allow one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes. Our schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our top priority to save these lives.
March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students across the country who will no longer risk their lives waiting for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass school shootings that has become all too familiar. In the tragic wake of 17 lives brutally cut short in Florida, politicians are telling us that now is not the time to talk about guns. March For Our Lives believes the time is now.
On March 24, the kids and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets of Atlanta to demand that their lives and safety become a priority. The collective voices of the March For Our Lives movement will be heard.
School safety is not a political issue. There cannot be two sides to doing everything in our power to ensure the lives and futures of children who are at risk of dying when they should be learning, playing, and growing. The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is to demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before Congress to address these gun issues. No special interest group, no political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country.
Every kid in this country now goes to school wondering if they are safe.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Change is coming. And it starts now, inspired by and led by the kids who are our hope for the future. Their young voices will be heard.
Stand with us on March 24. Refuse to allow one more needless death.
MARCH FOR OUR LIVES!
Thank You!
Thanks to all who helped prepare and serve dinner at Holy Comforter on February 28, including Gilda Morris, Lucy Kaltenbach, Claudia Gimson, Erik Kleven, Martha O’Brien, Bob Longino, Bill Hancock, Daria Jones, Michele Smither, Suzanne Van De Mark, Christine Bird, Nancy Dillon, Pam Weed, Mary Kathryn Wolfson, Ben Kee, Lindsey Reece, Deborah Reece, and Elizabeth Wong Mark.
A Prayer for Lent
Merciful God, we come to you heavy hearted, for we have heard the cries of the slain. We come remembering all the lives lost to the weapons of war that have flooded our communities. And we ask for your mercy. We cry out to you, heal our nation from this scourge of violence, and the idolatry of weapons. Give us the courage to stand up to forces of evil that hold us in their thrall, and to work ceaselessly until justice reigns. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.