How's Your Lent Going?

Mtr. Rebecca

The Anointing at Bethany

Come close with Mary, Martha, Lazarus,

So close the candles stir with their soft breath,

And kindle heart and soul to flame within us,

Lit by these mysteries of life and death.

For beauty now begins the final movement,

In quietness and intimate encounter,

The alabaster jar of precious ointment,

Is broken open for the world’s true lover.

The whole room richly fills to feast the senses

With all the yearning such a fragrance brings,

The heart is mourning but the spirit dances,

Here at the very centre of all things,

Here at the meeting place of love and loss

We all foresee and see beyond the cross.

- Malcolm Guite, from Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year

“How’s your Lent going?”

Mtr. Amy Heller posed this question this past Wednesday evening in her homily. The question – though not delivered as forcefully as the slap heard round the world – jolted me, bringing me face-to-face with the reality of my response: “Not as well as I’d hoped.”

“At this point,” Mtr. Amy continued, “I’m thinking many of us have run that cycle of keeping to our Lenten disciplines and then not and then taking them up again and then not …”

“Exactly,” I though in dismay, swatting away the shame demons buzzing around my head and heart.

Ever gentle in her care of our souls, Mtr. Amy reminded us that Lent is not over yet and, more importantly, that the invitation to a holy life is always open, unrestricted to a season of the church calendar. Like the father in the parable of the Prodigal last Sunday, God is watching and waiting for us to appear on the horizon, always ready to throw arms of love around our necks before we can even choke out our words of repentance. Grateful for Mtr. Amy’s words, I rose this morning and rededicated myself to one of a spiritual discipline from which I’d fallen away, with the intention of practicing that discipline every day for the remaining two weeks of Lent.

Read more here.

Experience Holy Week

at Transfiguration

Join us at for the holiest of weeks, when faithful Christians around the world will focus their minds and hearts on Jesus’ final days of mortal life. If we embrace it fully, the journey of Holy Week will change our lives. For in it we see just how far Love Incarnate went to defeat sin, evil, and death forever.

Schedule of Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday (April 9-10)

Saturday

5:30pm - The Table

Sunday

9:00am* - Choral Eucharist

11:15am* - Choral Eucharist

There will be no formation classes on Palm Sunday

4:00pm* - Passion Experience for Children

Join us to re-enact the Passion story in a meaningful experience for all ages. We will travel with Jesus and his disciples during his final hours and engage in role-play and storytelling.

Holy Week Eucharists (April 11-13)

Noon - Holy Eucharist

Eucharist will be celebrated on Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Noon, featuring stories from Jesus’ final week. Fr. Roper, Fr. Bradshaw, and Mtr. Heller preside and preach.

Holy Wednesday (April 13)

7:00pm - Tenebrae

An adaptation of ancient monastic liturgy that features the slow extinguishment of candles and the haunting beauty of chanted psalms and laments.

Maundy Thursday (April 14)

5:00pm - Soup Supper

Soup supper in Roper Hall hosted by Open Door

5:30pm* - Maundy Thursday for Children and Families

An age-appropriate Eucharist for children that includes footwashing and the stripping of the Altar

7:00pm - Maundy Thursday Service

An exquisite and liturgically-rich Eucharist including footwashing in obedience to Jesus’ instruction, stripping of the Altar, and procession of the Sacrament to an Altar of Repose

Good Friday (April 15)

Noon* - Good Friday Service

Honor the day of our Lord’s death by hearing St. John’s Passion sung, venerating the cross, and receiving Communion from the Reserved Sacrament.

In a tradition originating in the Book of Acts, and specifically going back 100 years in the Episcopal Church, the Good Friday Offering benefits the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East. To learn more, click here.

2:30pm - Stations of the Cross

5:30pm* - Stations of the Cross

Holy Saturday (April 16)

8:30am

Simple liturgy honoring the day Jesus was in the tomb

8:00pm - The Great Vigil of Easter

The pinnacle of the Christian year, this service features the lighting of new fire in the darkness, the ancient Easter hymn “Exultet,” stories from salvation history complemented by music, baptism of an adult, and the first Alleluias of Easter.

10:00pm - Break the Fast

A joyful celebration in Roper Hall following the Great Vigil

Easter Sunday (April 17)

9:00am* - Choral Eucharist

A joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection in a Choral Eucharist with Imperial Brass

9:15am* - Children and Family Eucharist

An Easter liturgy especially appropriate for families with young children

10:30am* - Butterfly Release

Children are invited to share in this Easter tradition beneath the Bell Tower.

11:15am* - Choral Eucharist

A joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection in a Choral Eucharist with Imperial Brass

*Childcare is available by our professional, fully-vaccinated nursery staff

for infants through 4-year olds.

See the full schedule of worship services, fellowship, and service opportunities at transfiguration.net/holy-week

Holy Week Volunteers Needed

Holy Week requires the help of the whole Transfiguration community.

Bring Bread and Wine for Maundy Thursday

Bring loaves of bread and/or bottles of wine for Maundy Thursday (April 14 at 7pm). The bread is donated to Austin Street Center, and the wine is uncorked after the Great Vigil.

Keep Watch before the Altar of Repose

Keep watch for an hour before the Blessed Sacrament through the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday (April 14-15).

Break the Fast is Returning!

After a two year hiatus, we are happy to announce that there will be a Break the Feast following the Great Easter Vigil on April 16. As in years past, the food and drinks are supplied by our generous parishioners.

We also need help setting up, serving and cleaned up for Easter Day.

If interested, contact Judy Loveday Corbett jlovedaycrbett@yahoo.com

or Liz Kerner at ekernermd@gmail.com

Wednesdays in Lent

Wednesdays in Lent include additions to our regular eucharist service. Learn more at our Lent page.

5:00 p.m. - Stations of the Cross in the Nave
6:00 p.m. - Wednesday eucharist in the Nave
6:30 p.m. - Simple meal in Roper Hall
7:00 p.m. - Lenten Wednesday Formation
8:00 p.m. - Compline in the Nave

A Celebration of Spiritual Disciplines

This week we will be joined by Shane Claiborne. Shane is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author whose books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, and his classic The Irresistible Revolution. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.” Shane’s work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.

This class will be livestreamed and previous classes from this series may be accessed here.

Youth Pilgrimage Fundraiser

Our fundraiser for the Fig Youth pilgrimage to Ireland will be up in the Gathering Space for one more Sunday. Grab an envelope from the wall and donate the amount listed and fill out a card with a prayer request that will be prayed for by one of our pilgrims. If you have already taken an envelope, don't forget to bring it back this week! Online donations may be made below.

Click Here to Give Online

Parish Nurses Blood Pressure Screenings

Meet one of our Parish Nurse Ministry volunteers in the Library for a free blood pressure screening this Saturday, from 5:00pm - 6:30pm or Sunday, from 8:30am - 11:00am

Faithful Departed

Transfiguration mourns the loss of our dear friend, Charlotte Hallett. Although not regulars in our pews, Charlotte and her husband, Bill, continue to enrich our prayers and praises with their artwork, which includes our beloved Triptych, Altar, and Stations of the Cross. In the days ahead, please keep her, Bill, and their family in your prayers.

Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon her.

May Charlotte's soul, and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

A funeral service for Judy Drotman will take place Friday, April 1, at 1:00pm. The service will be live-streamed here.

A funeral service for Ted Hole will take place Saturday, April 2, at 2:00pm. The live-stream for the service may be found here.

Foyer Groups Kick-off April 3

Foyer groups is a great opportunity to connect with fellow parishioners by sharing and hosting meals together in small groups. After a long hiatus, we will Kick-Off our next season in the Parlor, April 3 at 4pm. Comntact Sheila MacLennan Runnels at sheila.s.runnels@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.

We look forward to seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and sharing good meals together!

Easter Outreach for Children

at Gateway of Grace

Help us bless refugee children by providing an Easter basket and/or stuffing Easter eggs for their celebrations! Drop off baskets on the table in the Tower Cloister area from March 19 through April 3, 9am to 4pm (Monday-Friday), or Saturday, March 20th between 8-9:30am.