Evening Prayer in Lent
Wednesdays at 7:30 pm

The tone of these midweek services are quite different from our Sunday morning services.

Evening prayer is carried along by an order of singing, silence and prayer. There is no communion. Over the weeks of Lent we will sing some of the evening hymns that are seldom heard in the course of the year.

Coronavirus

Thank you to those of you who have sent health information, and shared insight into the unfolding Coronavirus story, with me. As the story develops, through uncertain days, I hope (as always) that the church will be a place of of comfort and strength for you and your family.

Words of peace and joy will be spoken at the services. When you attend, you will be supported in prayer and meditation. You will take part in rituals and listen to testimonies and histories in which courage, hope and faith are rooted deeply against the surface struggles and fears.

When you attend services and activities at Peace, make any accommodations that seem right to you and that make you feel comfortable.

For example, at the passing of the peace, refrain from shaking hands, if you wish. Give an elbow tap or make some other gesture of peace. Look your neighbor in the eye and speak a word of peace.

At communion, take the bread only, or come to the altar, kneel and pray, without receiving bread or wine. Cross your arms in front of you so that the server knows that you do not wish to receive the bread and/or the wine. Do not be anxious. Let the word and the presence of the sacrament nearby comfort your heart and bring peace into your life.
Christ is present to us in the bread alone or in the wine alone. Christ is present to us in the words of the scripture and in the gospel promises of forgiveness and eternal life. Christ is present for us whenever we gather as his people, in his name.

The imposition of ashes on the forehead is an odd, earthy ritual. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” As we keep this traditional Ash Wednesday practice, at the beginning of Lent, we walk with Christians, through the ages, who have done the same thing.

The color of Lent is purple. In a sadistic masquerade, the Gospel writers tell that Roman soldiers put a robe of royal purple on Jesus before putting him to death. The joining of suffering and salvation makes purple an appropriate color to accompany our Lenten services and meditations. Death is the doorway to life. Repentance is the key to overcoming of death, in all its forms, by Christ’s kingly power and grace.

Throughout the Ash Wednesday service, think about turns and changes in your life that will be part of your Lenten discipline. What can you do that renews or increases peace and joy in your life? How can you go deeper into the kingdom of God, that is your inheritance through baptism. The kingdom of God is around you and deep within you.

Ash Wednesday  7:30 pm

Evening Prayer in Lent
March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1
7:30 pm

Sunday, December 8 Christmas program rehearsal  9:30 am

Sunday, December 15 Christmas program rehearsals  9:30 am

Saturday, December 21  Christmas program rehearsal and caroling  10 am

Tuesday, December 24  Christmas Eve candlelight service 7:30 pm

Sunday, December 29  Worship with Christmas Hymns 9:30 am

Sunday, January 5  Worship and Epiphany Procession 9:30  Epiphany Potluck following the service.

Liam and Abigail affirmed their baptismal promises and became adult members of the church. They join Maddie, Lucas, Madeline, Veronica and Allison as the latest confirmed members of the congregation.

Today, on the Sunday of Michael and all Angels, we prayed for police officers in our towns. Michael is the patron saint of police officers. Corinne helped some of our faith formation students make a thank-you banner, with a drawing of St. Michael in the middle, for the police officers in Wayland. One of the officers who received the banner, and the food we brought, showed us the St. Michael medallion he wears around his neck. It was a gift from his father, a police officer in Connecticut. Thank you to our talented, creative students, to Corinne, and to Carrie and Chris, for their help and support.

Ruth Maxant is sharing her goats with us. The goats are clearing the underbrush around the edges of the property! This is an experiment in underbrush and invasive plant clearing, and an exercise in the care and appreciation of animals.