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Good Word 3/19/21

MARCH 19, 2021

How’s Your Spring Cleaning Going?

In Home By Another Way, The Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor, a popular Episcopal preacher, reminds us: “Do not bother looking for Lent in your Bible dictionary, because there was no such thing back then. There is some evidence that early Christians fasted forty hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending forty days in prayer and self-denial did not arise until later, when the initial rush of Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten very ho-hum about their faith.” Lent was designed by the church, she writes, to be a spring cleaning for our souls–a time for us to wake up and remind ourselves of God’s grace and love for us. If you’re a little behind on your spiritual spring cleaning, do not panic. Instead, consider engaging one of the following spiritual practices each day for the next two weeks:

  • As the weather continues to improve, go for a neighborhood walk without electronics and simply listen to the sounds of nature. What do you see and notice?
  • Pray the daily one-page “short prayer services” in the Book of Common Prayer on pp. 137-140.
  • Attend our online concert on Saturday, March 27 (link to below) and listen to the lamentations of Jeremiah.
  • Keep a journal of five daily gratitudes from now until Easter morning.

Whatever you do, may you find some escape from the ho-hum, so that when Easter comes—even an Easter still in pandemic times—you can connect with the joy that God intends for each of us.– The Very Reverend Gray Lesesne, D.Min.

Holy Week
Sign Up Soon for In-Person Worship

Christ Church Cathedral will host multiple in-person worship options during Holy Week that will complement our continuing online worship services. To ensure the safety of all, capacity will be restricted to 50 attendees at each service. Participants will be required to register in advance and bring their own lawn chairs. As always, masks must be worn at all times.

Palm Sunday Holy Eucharist
March 28
8 am teleworship
10 am in English on our lawn and online
1 pm in Spanish on our lawn and online

Maundy Thursday Worship
April 1
7 pm in English and Spanish online

Good Friday Worship liturgy
April 2
12 pm in English on our lawn and online
6:30 pm in Spanish at Riverside Park and online

The Great Vigil of Easter
April 3
7 pm in English and Spanish on the lawn at Episcopal Church of All Saints, 16th and Central Avenue

Easter Sunday
April 4
8 am teleworship
10 am in English online
1 pm in Spanish online

All in-person Holy Week services are contingent upon temperate weather and a continued decline of COVID-19 cases and positivity rate in Marion County. Any changes, cancellations, or updates to our Holy Week worship services will be communicated by email to registered attendees, and we do ask that you check your email for any updates prior to attending.

Questions? Call (317) 636-4577 x100

Sunday Lenten Coffee Talk

SUNDAYS @ 11-11:45 AM

As we walk together through the wilderness, we need the energy and joy of good companions to accompany us. Pour yourself a second (or third) cuppa and join us for a lively Zoom conversation about each Sunday’s Scripture lessons and sermon from 11-11:45 a.m. What did you hear? What sticks with you, and where are you still pondering? What is God inviting you to do next?

Centering Prayer at the Cathedral

Do you seek the still, quiet voice of God? Contemplative prayer is a way to experience God in quietness of spirit. It is God’s personal and unique gift to us, and has been a part of our Christian heritage for centuries. If we are open to the gift of contemplation, it may profoundly affect our daily life.

Centering prayer is a particular type of contemplative prayer that connects us with God in sacred silence. Christ Church Cathedral is pleased to offer both a weekly group practice of centering prayer, and a half-day workshop to introduce you to centering prayer if it is new to your experience of spiritual practice.

Centering Prayer Workshop

SATURDAY, MARCH 27 @ 9 AM  – 12:30 PM

This half-day workshop will:

  • present the method of the Centering Prayer
  • help us to understand the indwelling Presence of God within each of us and our intimate relationship with that Presence
  • explore its benefits in ordinary life

Time will be allowed for the practice of centering prayer. All are welcome to attend and participate!

In the Wilderness: Trois Leçons de Ténèbres, François Couperin

SATURDAY, MARCH 27 @ 6:30 PM

The Book of Lamentations tells the story of the grief of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah is thought to be the author, and in Hebrew poetry he describes the pain and loss suffered by his people when they are separated from their city and forced into exile when Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC.

François Couperin’s setting of this text is intended to be sung at the service of Tenebrae, observed on Wednesday of Holy Week in the Episcopal Church. Tenebrae, meaning darkness or shadow, is a service that represents the calamity of being separated from Jesus through his death. Couperin sets the first three lessons from this service, and while Jeremiah’s text focuses on Israel’s grief at their loss of a physical connection with God, Couperin’s music foreshadows the end of the story: the restoration of Jerusalem, the triumph of Jesus, and the fulfillment of God’s promise that not even death can separate us from the love of God. Enjoy the sneak peek below.

Sacred Space Yoga

MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS @ 5:30 – 6:30 PM

Sacred Space Yoga classes are accessible and welcoming to everyone regardless of experience level. Updates can be found on the Sacred Space Yoga Facebook page, as well as videos of past yoga classes.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications when we update!
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