How Some St. Patrick's Parishioners are Keeping Lent

Several St. Patrick's parishioners responded to our Ash Wednesday survey:

*  This year I am going to focus on finding one beautiful thing each day and taking time to appreciate it, which I hope will keep me mindful of the joy of creation and of how my own behavior can add to that.

*  Reading Finding our Way Again [Bishop Mariann’s recommended reading for Lent]

*  I am going to spend an extra 20 minutes each day

"Where your treasure is..." The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, February 22, 2012

Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6.21)

Traditions often carry the deepest of meanings, some painful and some joyful. They elicit deeply profound emotions that sit at the heart of being human. There are Thanksgiving traditions, and Fourth of July traditions, St. Patrick’s Day traditions, and Christmas traditions.

One tradition that has been around much longer than any of those is Lent and Ash Wednesday. It has been around so long that other long-held traditions have developed around and because of it (Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday, Palm Sunday, and even Holy Week). I am not going to describe how the forty days of Lent ended up beginning on Ash Wednesday; I do hope to describe why Lent is important. When Lent first came into being, it was considered a time for converts to prepare for baptism. After a period of fasting, prayer, learning, and dedication to a community, at the Easter Vigil, the first service of Easter, the converts would be baptized into the community of faith. As Christianity grew and there were fewer and fewer converts (because a majority if not all the people in a community were already baptized), Lent changed.

"Good to be here." The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, February 19, 2012

Listen to the Audio Version

Mark 9.2-9

Raphael's Transfiguration

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, it’s good for us to be here this morning at St. Patrick’s. This is a place filled with the joy of God. The chairs are comfortable, light shines through the windows (maybe even creating a rainbow), the warmth of heart emanates throughout our gathered community, and the love of God exists in the midst of this place. Not only is it good for us, but our kids are also nurtured and loved in this place. Right now, they are preparing casseroles for So Others Might Eat (SOME!). And soon their smiling faces and boundless energy will rejoin us here in the nave for communion.

We have it pretty good. Our friends in Haiti live in cardboard boxes in the medians of the highway or in the ruins of single room homes on the hillsides near our mission partner St. Etienne. When I visited Haiti during my first summer at St. Patrick’s, the living conditions proved to be the most vivid example of the poverty that exists there. So yes, it is good to be here.

This Week at St. Patrick's February 15, 2012

Lent begins next week on Ash Wednesday! Prepare by coming to our annual Pancake Supper on Shrove Tuesday (Feb. 21st) from 6pm to 8pm.

Click here to read more about that and other events at St. Pat's!

"I am because we are" - Henry McQueen, February 12, 2012

Listen to the Audio File

1 Cor 9:24-27

There was a big impact in our household in May 2009. We were still living in Lancaster PA and the paper contained a book review by a local author. The book title “Born to Run” caught my attention.

You see, since our son Parr was an infant he wanted to be barefoot. He would get in his car seat and promptly remove his shoes. And in second or third grade he had teacher who confirmed what he had been asserting, that people should not wear shoes, and that they should run barefoot. It was natural and healthy.

Using all my fatherly wisdom I had explained that Nike spends lots of money exploring running and shoes and they must know what they are doing.

Proposed New Sunday Evening Worship Service

Dear St. Patrick’s,

Grace and peace. As you know, the traditional view of religion has changed dramatically since the 1960s. The evidence of these changes is that fewer people join mainline Christian denominations like the Episcopal Church. This is unfortunate because the spiritual practices passed down from our ancestors through the Church deepen our spiritual fulfillment and provide a path to explore the meaning of life as it relates to God. A cultural tide is difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. That does not mean that we cannot continue to fulfill our mission at St. Patrick’s in different ways that address the core causes of the decline in membership. If we don’t, we will cease to exist or become so marginalized that our ministry together will be insignificant in the face of the great need that faces future generations.

One core cause, I believe, is that we practice the traditions of the historical Church, but we don’t understand why they are powerful and transformative experiences. Instead, we hold onto the traditions because they are traditions. When we cannot express the purpose (the why) of what we do, we cannot persuade those who are new to the traditions (or those on the margins)

This Week at St. Patrick's February 1, 2012

Welcome to St. Patrick's! Hope you will join us this week . . . here is our weekly email link.