6th Sunday after Epiphany

24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[c] for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” 

Genesis 32:24-28

Holy One, as we prepare for our annual congregational meeting, we ask for your continued guidance for our church leaders and members. May we be faithful in our discipleship. May we be innovative with our ministries. May we continue to be open hearted and open minded in all that we do. May we serve the community and each other with passion and kindness. May we continue to strive to grow in faith and service. In the name of the Risen Christ, Amen.

This week, we are fortunate enough to have Soprano, Nadira France singing at both services. You can read more about Nadira below. Each service will open with her singing the Marvin Mills arrangement of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Marvin Mills is a former colleague of mine at Morgan State University, and an incredible organist and composer. The origin of the song is not known for certain, but it is believed to have been composed in the late 1800s by Wallace Willis, a Choctaw freedman who lived in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma. According to legend, Willis wrote the song while working as a sharecropper on a cotton farm. The lyrics of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot express the singer's hope for salvation and deliverance from the struggles and hardships of life.

The Offertory is another arrangement by Mills- Give Me Jesus. The accompaniment changes meters, for an unexpected twist on this traditional spiritual that has been a staple of African American gospel music for many years.  

Next week, we will have our very own Rae’tta Bond singing two pieces, and she will lead the chime choir. More about that next week!

Rebecca

Director of Music

rechols@arkanddove.org



Musician Spotlight

Nadira France is a classically trained operatic soprano with a Bachelors degree in vocal performance from Morgan State University. She is well versed in many genres of music including classical, opera, jazz, contemporary R&B, barbershop quartet, and gospel. Nadira is also a song writer and recording artist. She is currently employed as a singer for weddings and corporate events in a top 40 band called Jukeboxx Band. In addition, she sings as a soprano section leader at Saint Francis Episcopal Parish and Community Center.

Composer Spotlight

In addition to being an organ and vocal composer, Native Philadelphian Marvin Mills is organist at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Kensington, Maryland. He is also music director of the acclaimed National Spiritual Ensemble, and guest artist with the Ritz Chamber Players, based in Jacksonville, Florida. Previous positions include Associate Minister of Music at National City Christian Church, Director of Music at All Souls Church, Unitarian, and University Organist at Howard University, all in Washington, DC.

Active with the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists since 1984, he has served as dean (1990-1992), board member, Foundation trustee, Regional Convention secretary, and chairman for regional and chapter competitions, exemplifying his commitment to the mission of the Guild and his belief in the expressive power of the organ as an instrument for use in worship and concert. Since 1995, he has also participated in the Guild’s Pipe Organ Encounters for Youth and Adults, helping all ages to experience various aspects of pipe organ study.

Mr. Mills has performed for numerous chapters of The American Guild of Organists, was a featured recitalist in the Guild’s 1992 National, 1996 Centennial National conventions, and appeared at its 2010 Convention in Washington, DC. He opened the 1989 Wendell P. Whalum Concert Series at Morehouse College, performing for the entire student body. Presented in recital by the Washington National Cathedral in observance of Black History Month 1989, he was invited back for its 1995 and 2002 Summer Festival Series.

You can read more about Marvin Mills HERE

Children & Youth Music Rehearsal Schedule

Youth Percussion and Hand Chime Choir Rehearsal

Every Sunday from 9 AM to 9:45 AM

Children & Youth Choir Rehearsal 

Every Sunday from 9:45 AM to 10:15 AM

Our young people will share We Shall Overcome on hand chimes on Sunday, February 19th, 2023! We have been working diligently to prepare this special music selection in honor of Black History Month.  

Blessings,

Rae'tta

Director of Music for Children and Youth

raetta.bond@arkanddove.org

The youth are hosting the Souper Bowl of kindness. You can donate cans of soup by putting them by the signs in the sanctuary. The teams are middle school vs. high school, so make sure you put your soup by the sign for the team that you want to win!

Please contact me if you have any questions. 

Kind regards,

Whitney Grimm

Interim Director of Youth Ministry

whitney.grimm@arkanddove.org



Dear Members and Friends of Ark and Dove,

The 2022 Renewed in God Stewardship Team would like to sincerely thank everyone who has already submitted a pledge card for 2023. We are excited to share that 75 of 160 households have pledged so far and many have increased their pledges to help meet the needs of our church and community! If you have not submitted your pledge card to the church yet, either via USPS, in the offering plate, or giving@arkanddove.org, there is still time to do so! We are so grateful for your generous giving to support our mission and ministries at Ark and Dove.

Separately, we are all individuals. But together, we are connected in renewed and supportive community, and we flourish as one body of faith in Christ. With each gift we give, we multiply Christ's work in our world through our mission and ministry efforts. Every pledge counts, no matter how big or small, and every gift is sacred. If you are a regular giver through EFT or PayPal, we would like to invite you to fill out a pledge card this year. Our pledges are important because they help us plan how much of the vision put forth by our Elders and Deacons we can fulfill in the new year. As we embark on this journey of a new year, we ask that you pray for each other, our church, and all the good that we do together to bring hope and healing to each other and to those most vulnerable. Thank you!

-Tricia Gray from The 2023 Renewed in God Stewardship Team

We will have Ash Wednesday service on

Wednesday, February 22nd at 7:00 PM

in-person service and Livestream.

The meeting will take place on Sunday, February 12th around noonish after worship. Fellowship time after 10:30 worship will be a smorgasbord of finger foods. You are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting and the smorgasbord. To sign up to bring an item for the smorgasbord, please click HERE. Contact Elder Katie Nilson-Johnson at knilsenjohnson@arkanddove.org to RSVP---Healthy options encouraged, sweets not forbidden. And we need people to clean up too.

2022 Annuel Report has be emailed to members.

Please contact admin@arkanddove.org

if you have not received the report or have an updated email.

Equipping the Saints Class - The Six Marks of Discipleship

Pastor Tim will be offering a 90-minute Class on The Six Marks of Discipleship on Tuesday, February 28th at 7:00 PM in the Ark and Dove Room. If you have not yet taken this course, you are warmly encouraged to sign up HERE.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Pastor Tim at tstern@arkanddove.org.

The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper is back!

After a brief hiatus, we will be returning to the sanctuary once again for pancakes and fellowship on February 21st at 6:00 PM. The pancake-flipping contest is returning as well. We will provide the pancakes (including a gluten-free option), you just need to bring your favorite toppings to share! RSVP at arkanddove.org/ShroveTuesday and contact outreach@arkanddove.org if you have any questions.

During this Lenten season we will be offering a variety of ways to study during the Lenten season. Please see the descriptions of each below. 

There are a variety of dates and times to choose from. Please indicate your interest in joining a group by filling out this form. Books will be purchased (for studies that require them) for anyone who indicates interest in joining by February 19th. Books may also be purchased by clicking on the link in the description. 

Group A*: Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent, Richard Rohr 

Paperback $11, Kindle $7, Audiobook too

We will be reading Richard Rohr's Wondrous Encounters, Scriptures for Lent. Father Rohr wrote this devotional during a Lenten time of silent and solitary retreat, (hermitage).  Rohr often writes about the paradoxes in and the mysteries of faith. With these short readings, one for every day of Lent, he invites us to examine our assumptions about the life of faith. Given his blessing of 12 step groups, I am not sure Rohr would appreciate that these words come from the song Closing Time:  "Closing time, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" but they fit. We will meet in-person on Thursday evenings at the home of Tim and Kelly Stern. The first gathering on 2/23 will be soup and salad at 6:30 PM thereafter 7:00 PM. For more information, contact Pastor Tim at Tstern@arkanddove.org.

Group B: Inward Work for Outward Living-Daily devotionals

Participants will receive a daily devotion in their email each morning that invites them to explore the connection between internal contemplation and outward action. Although these meditations will focus on the Prayer of Examen, we will meet in-person Saturday mornings at the church at 9am to check in with one another, to discuss the readings, and to practice examen and other forms of contemplative prayer together as a small group. For more information, contact Kim Champagne at kim.champagne@arkanddove.org.  

Group C*: A Way Other Than Our Own: Devotions for Lent, Walter Brueggemann

Paperback $13, Kindle $8

We will be reading from Walter Breugemann's daily Lenten reflections in A Way Other Than Our Own. Lent recalls times of wilderness and wandering, from newly freed Hebrew slaves in exile to Jesus' temptation in the desert. God has always called people out of their safe, walled cities into uncomfortable places, revealing paths they would never have chosen. We too are called to walk an alternative path--one of humility, justice, and peace. We will meet in-person after church on Sunday at 12:00 PM. For more information, contact Richard Greydanus at richard.greydanus@arkanddove.org.

Group D: The Poetry of Lent - online study

Walk through Lent with a short weekly devotional that includes Bible passages, the poetry of Mary Oliver, meditations, and practices. An online discussion group led by Achsah Callahan will meet Wednesdays at 7:30 PM on Zoom. For more information, contact Achsah Callahan at achsah.callahan@arkanddove.org.

Group E: Lenten Lectionary Study: The Promises of God in the Hebrew Scriptures

Each week we will focus on key stories from the Hebrew Scriptures that will be featured in the Sunday worship services in Lent. This year the readings come from the books of Genesis, Exodus, 1 Samuel and Ezekiel. The common thread is God’s promises to us, and our promises to God. We will meet Wednesdays at 10:00 AM on Zoom. For more information and a zoom invitation, contact Pastor Stephen at stephen.pricegibson@arkanddove.org.

Ark and Dove Book Club

Join us on Friday, March 10th at 7:30 PM for our discussion of Louise Erdrich’s, The Sentence, a novel that “celebrates family, Native American identity, the importance of community spaces, and people coming together in love and support.” The novel, which is set in Minneapolis, incorporates important events of 2020, such as the murder of George Floyd and the COVID-19 epidemic.

For more information and Zoom details, email Kim Champagne (kim.champagne@arkanddove.org).

9:00 AM

Childcare

Middle School Chimes and Percussion Ensembles (9:00 to 9:45)

9:45 AM

Children’s Choir (9:45 to:00 to 10:15)

10:30 AM

Childcare  

Godly Play Sunday School Pre-K through grade 4

Middle School Sunday School grade 5 through 8

GLEAM class -

Trans*: The Forgotten Identities That Paved the Way

Join us on Sunday, February 19th for a class led by Cece Tardiff focusing on non-Eurocentric trans* identities and cultural expressions. Snacks and drinks served at 12:00 noon followed by class 12:30- 1:30 PM. Questions or to RSVP please contact Amy Tardiff Amy.Tardiff@arkanddove.org.

CAP Food Pantry

After the Souper Bowl competition ends at Ark & Dove, the CAP food pantry will still be seeking soup as the Item of the Month for the rest of February. We have bins marked for CAP food in the cabinet across from the lobby coat rack. Food can also be taken directly to the pantry at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Odenton, on Tuesdays 10:30am-1:30pm and Thursdays 1:30-5:30pm. Or contact Greg Makar (GLMakar@juno.com) to make other arrangements.

CAP also needs a grocery carrier for the pantry session on the 4th Tuesday of the month, 11am-1pm, from March through the end of 2023. This involves carrying groceries from the pantry up five steps to a nearby vehicle. For more information contact Greg Makar.

In “Silencing White Noise: Six Practices to Overcome Our Inaction on Race” author and pastor Willie Dwayne Francois III calls us to engage in six “rhythms of reparative intercession” to silence white noise and to develop lifelong Christian anti-racist practices. 

Please view our online catalog at for more details about these books, as well as other great books in our church’s library. For more information about the library, contact Kim Champagne (kim.champagne@arkanddove.org).