Raised in an Evangelical world where answers were given before the questions were asked, Rachel Held Evans has spent her life discovering that being a faithful Christian is about living the questions of faith. Central to her faith is a love of and devotion to Christian scripture, and in leaving a world where questioning scripture was unwelcome, she consistently has been drawn back to the beauty of discovery and of grace in a mature understanding of scripture that invites and gives life, rather than dictates and prohibits.

Join us for this incredible opportunity to hush the active world during Lent and to spend time with Rachel Held Evans as she invites us into our own deep and prayerful journeys with scripture, and helps us navigate biblical understanding in a contemporary world.

Cost is $40.00 per person. Full-time students with ID, $15.

Includes lunch.   Click here to register .

SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2018

Preacher (8:00 & 11:00 a.m.): Rachel Held Evans

Preacher (9:00 a.m.): Greg Knight

*8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist

5:45 to 6:30 p.m. | Community Supper | Parish Hall

The cost is $10 for adults; $5 for children under 12; $25 family max (payable at the door). 

This week's menu: quartered rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, coleslaw, mixed vegetables, garden salad, and chocolate chip cookies. Kindly  RSVP here or call Ayana at (561) 655-4554. 

*In order to properly plan and prepare the supper, we need your reservations by noon on Monday.

FEATURED CLASSES

6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Listening to the Heartbeat of God; A Celtic Spirituality  | Guild Room

We will spend these four weeks during Lent reading and discussing J. Philip Newell's seminal text describing the history and theology of Celtic spirituality.  Regarded as the preeminent scholar his field, Dr. Newell's text offers a spirituality for today drawn from the deep and rich well of Christianity from the British Isles based on the inherent principles of the goodness of creation and the imago Dei, that we are made in the image of God.

6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Journey Back to God; A Lenten Discipline with the Society of St. John the Evangelist | Library

Sometimes it's difficult to slow down in these active weeks leading up to Easter, so we invite you to be a part of this weekly meditation and conversation using the Lenten curriculum from the brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

RECURRING CLASSES

6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Liturgy Group| Sunday School Hall

F or all children in Kindergarten through 5th Grade who are interested in learning more about what we do on Sunday mornings in our worship services, the Wednesday Liturgy Class will teach them more about what we do and why. Over the course of the year we will explore elements of the Holy Eucharist more in-depth with our young people and also train them to become worship leaders for Sunday services. Topics will include communion, acolyting, music, the liturgical calendar, and saints. If you've ever wanted a class to teach your child about what we do in worship, don't miss this wonderful opportunity.

6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Bethesda Youth Group | Youth Room

The Bethesda Youth Group will move from our traditional Thursday night meetings to Wednesday nights to join our Middle Way ministries. Come for dinner at 5:45 p.m. and stay for Youth Group until 7:40 p.m. The Bethesda Youth Group is a fellowship group open to all those in 6th through 12th Grade. Members also participate in monthly special events including our annual lock-in, service day, and camping trip to Peanut Island.

6:30 to 7:40 p.m. | Yoga | Parish Hall West

Physical therapist and yoga therapist, Emily Large, invites all adults for an evening of holistic worship through Christian yoga practice. Physical postures, relaxation, breath techniques, and mental focus create a holistic approach for worship as we will reflect on the themes associated with the liturgical calendar. A requested donation of $10 per class (payable at the door).

CLOSING PRAYER

7:45 to 8:00 p.m. | Compline | Church

An ancient, brief, and contemplative liturgy of the Christian tradition, compline offers an opportunity to give God thanks for the day behind us and pray for rest and safety in the night ahead. A fitting end to the day, compline offers a peaceful and meditative sacred time in the middle of our often frenetic weeks, as well as a beautiful conclusion to our Wednesday evenings together.

For more information on our classes,  click here .

Guided Retreat at Holy Cross Monastery 

O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength. By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (The Book of Common Prayer - 1979)

Born  from the leadership of Bethesda Cares out of a desire for a holy contemplation and prayer, we have asked the Benedictine brothers of Holy Cross Monastery to lead a small group in a guided retreat in April at the Monastery in West Park, New York. Retreatants will arrive on Tuesday, April 17th, and spend three days under the guidance of a spiritual director in both group and individual meditation and prayer, joining the brothers for daily offices and meals, as well as observing the Great Silence from compline to breakfast. Space is limited to 13 retreatants, male and female. The cost is $300 with travel arrangements not included. West Park is easily reached from any metro New York airport, but especially from Westchester/White Plains, where JetBlue flies direct from Palm Beach. (If interest in traveling as a group is significant, a group reservation is easily made.) Scholarships are available. Please contact Father Burl for more information at salmon@bbts.org.

The festivity of Mardi Gras has come and gone, and we find Lent upon us already this year.  But don't fret if you haven't located reading material to accompany your forty-day journey, because The Shoppe at Bethesda has stocked itself with several really wonderful texts specifically for Lent. Click here for these and more  titles that you'll find on the shelves as well as short blurbs about each one. I have no doubt that you find a suitable book, guide, or bracket(!) that will be great company for you as we travel in the wilderness toward the cross. You may also click on the images of each book above to get more information. 

Parishioner Tom O'Brien, a Canon and Examining Chaplain for Scripture of this diocese, writes brief background descriptions of the Sunday readings. We thank Tom for sharing his learning and love of Scripture with us in this way.