Called to Worship. Sent to Witness. Led to Welcome. | | |
Preparing for Sabbatical
Through Our Wednesday Lenten Soup Supper Class
Thanks to all of the parishioners who turned out this Wednesday for our first Lenten Soup Supper Class as we reflect on the spiritual practices that I am planning to make central to my upcoming sabbatical -- Prayer, Pilgrimage, and Sabbath. And special thanks to Riley Owens -- and those who helped him -- for the wonderful Irish Colcannon Soup that they prepared (and the rest of us enjoyed).
The parishioners that are participating are playing a very helpful and supportive role as I seek to set aside some time to prepare intentionally for my upcoming time away. If you were not able to join us, I hope that you will in the weeks ahead. This coming Sunday, we will be reflecting on the spiritual practice of pilgrimage.
This past Wednesday, we reflected on the practice of prayer. After some consideration of prayer more generally, I was delighted to invite our own Cynthia Fore to share more about the practice of Centering Prayer, which is a particular prayer practice that I plan to explore during my sabbatical. Given her faithful commitment to this contemplative method of prayer, we are particularly blessed to be able to receive her wisdom. I commend to you the brief explanation that she prepared below. Perhaps, in the months ahead, we can find additional ways to incorporate Centering Prayer into our common life.
Grace & Peace,
Fr. Gary+
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WHAT IS CENTERING PRAYER?
by Cynthia Fore
Have you ever had an experience where you simply sat in the presence of someone you love in complete silence? Where, in the past, there had been lots of words and sharing of thoughts and ideas with each other, but this particular time you just remained in each other’s presence, for the sheer delight of a deeper kind of knowing? You may have even felt awkward, tempted to fill the silence with talk, but as you embraced the silence and allowed yourself just to be in the other’s presence, you experienced something deeply intimate. This, to me, is Centering Prayer.
Centering Prayer is a form of silent prayer without words. It is an interior, silent way of being with God and being present to God, to develop a deeper relationship with Him. In this sacred time, we come without words and let go of the interior noise of our thoughts and feelings, just for now. We set aside twenty minutes to be fully present to God. He is already present within us, and in this time of prayer we consent to that reality. We surrender control by letting go of thoughts and words and simply rest in God’s presence.
Of course, it is not humanly possible to have no thoughts – but when we notice a thought or feeling interrupting our silence with God, we use a sacred word that we choose for this silent prayer time to gently let go of the thought and return fully to God. For example, right before I wrote this article, I sat for twenty minutes in Centering Prayer. Guess what thoughts kept coming to mind? Yes, all my thoughts about a good way to write about this prayer. My intention in my twenty-minute prayer time was to be present to God, giving Him my full and undivided attention. So when the thoughts came, I returned mentally to my sacred word, “Abba,” to help
me return to my intention to remain present to God’s presence and action within me. The article would come later. Using the sacred word allowed me to let go of the ideas about the article for a time and just be present to God in the stillness and silence.
Many of us experience a deep longing to slow down and be still so we may listen to God. Over and over, the Scriptures invite us to a place of waiting and resting. “ Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…” (Psalm37) “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27) Centering Prayer is a form of contemplative prayer, an ancient way of listening to God, used by both monks and lay people for centuries. By practicing this way of silent prayer twice a day, for twenty minutes each time, we are taking our relationship with God seriously enough to meet Him, wait for Him and rest in Him for this deepening of our relationship with Him.
To learn more about this ancient, spiritual practice consider attending a weekly group that meets to support your practice. Feel free to reach out to Cynthia Fore when you sense an interest in participating in this prayer.
| | Worship & Formation Schedule with Links | | |
Sunday, March 1 - The Second Sunday in Lent
8:30 AM Low Mass, Rite II
9:30 AM Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
10:30 AM Sung High Mass, Rite I, with Great Litany (livestream available)
Tuesday, March 3
8:30 AM Morning Prayer, Rite II
5:00 PM Solemn High Requiem Mass, Rite I, for John Gilbert
*No Clergy Led Bible Study This Week
Wednesday, March 4 - Feast of Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (observed)
5:30 PM Healing Mass, Rite I
6:30 PM Lenten Soup Supper Class
Thursday, March 5
8:30 AM Morning Prayer, Rite II
11:00 AM Monthly Eucharist at Cascades
| | Prayer Requests & Resources | |
The following people have been commended
to the prayers of the parish:
| Bambi, Bob, Brian, Charlie, Christi, Chuck, Cleve, Don, Jane, Jay, Jerry, Jim, Jodi, Joyce, Karen, Kristen, Lyra, Margaret Lee, Margaret, Marvin, Mary, Nancy, Patt, Robin, Shawn, Sylvia, Terry, Theresa, Tom, and Wade | | |
To add someone to the Parish Prayer List, please contact the office.
To add someone to the Daughters of the King prayer list, please e-mail dok@standrewsgreenville.org
There is also wooden box in the Narthex where you can fill out prayer cards.
The Daughters will add your names to their prayers.
| | Episcopal Church Resources for Lent | | |
1. Living Compass: Living Well Through Lent 2026
Living Compass brings us a Lent Devotional, Living Well Through Lent 2026: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit In Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind, which can be ordered in print or downloaded in English and Spanish. They also offer a daily email of reflections, one for each day of Lent plus Easter.
2. Gratitude and Reciprocity by United Thank Offering
Each Lent, United Thank Offering offers resources for congregations, families, children, and individuals. Materials for 2026 are inspired by the book The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This book takes a look at how the natural world functions via a gift economy as plants, animals, soil, etc., share what they have for the common good.
3. 2026 Lenten Meditations by Episcopal Relief & Development
Written by Sister Monica Clare, an Episcopal nun, author and unlikely TikTok star, their 2026 meditations offer an invitation to rediscover—or deepen—holy habits of prayer, worship and engagement with Scripture. These "holy habits" provide a path to a life that is given shape, meaning and direction by being rooted in a deeper relationship with God.
4. The Episcopal Church Foundation
The Episcopal Church Foundation has also compiled a list of additional resources to explore.
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3/2 Buddy Gregory
3/5 Dan Randall
3/7 Terry Caldwell
3/8 Andrew Culbreath
3/9 Susie Woodard
3/10 Charlotte Lever
3/11 Gregory Campbell
3/11 Luke Henderson
3/11 Lydee Henderson
3/13 Jim Moody
3/14 Thomas Buck
3/15 Edmund Prosio
3/17 JoAnn Madden
3/18 Ellis Woods
3/18 Eliza Gower
3/19 Katie Pierson
3/21 John Conrad
3/22 Sharon Occhipinti
3/22 Jim King
3/22 Drew Peterson
3/23 Susan Holden
3/24 George Hull
3/24 Virginia Dumont
3/24 Laney Fenn
3/25 Kate Townsend
3/25 Hayes Santilli
3/27 Zach Broyles
3/28 Cynthia Fore
3/28 Sarah Hinds
3/29 Bryan Brooks
3/30 Kathleen Roberts
3/30 Gilberto Huerta
3/30 John Woodard
3/30 Jamie Hinds
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Book Club | This Sunday, March 1 | 12:30 PM | Parish Hall
Join our Saint Andrew's Book Club on March 1, following Coffee Hour in the Parish Hall, to discuss The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.
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Easter Lily Dedications | Due by March 22
Easter lily dedications are now open. You can signup online, or fill out the form that will be in your bulletin this week. Deadline for orders is Sunday, March 22. Suggested donation for each plant is $15. You may also email the Parish Office with your order and dedication. Payment can be made online, placed in the offering, or turned into the Parish Office. *Make checks payable to Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church with "Easter Lily" in the memo.
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Just Faith Study Group | Monday, March 2 | 6-7 PM | Parish Hall
Join us for Session 1 of our Just Faith meetings on Monday, March 2 at 6 PM. A light supper will be provided and to honor your time, we will start and end on time. If you are running a few minutes late, please come on in and join us!
Additional future dates:
- March 16
- April 6
- April 20
If you have any questions or ideas for supporting content, please send them to Anne Kaiser.
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No Clergy-Led Bible Study This Tuesday, March 3
Due to the timing of John Gilbert’s Requiem Mass, our clergy-led Bible Study will not meet this week. We will meet again on Tuesday, March 10, at 4 PM, when we will continue our study of Matthew’s Gospel.
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Requiem Mass for John Gilbert, Our Organist/Choirmaster for the Past 17 Years | Tuesday, March 3 | 5 PM
As we mourn the loss of our friend and the faithful leader of music ministry for the past 17 years, we continue to pray for the repose of John’s soul and for the comfort of all of us who loved him, especially his children, Sarah and Drew, and his grandchildren, Thomas, Julie, and Elizabeth. On Tuesday, March 3, we will gather in the church at 5 PM to say a Requiem Mass for John Gilbert followed by his committal in the columbarium after which we will gather for a reception in the Parish Hall. Donald Duncan, who serves as Director of Liturgy and Music at Christ Church where John previously served as organist, has graciously offered to serve as organist for John’s Requiem Mass. Through all of us this, we give thanks for the rich abundance of gifts that John offered our parish—and for the blessed assurance that John has now been received into the heavenly choirs of the saints in light.
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Welcoming Mtr. Molly McGee Short as Our New Associate Rector | Sunday, March 8 | Both Masses
Mother Molly will begin her time as our new Associate Rector next week! Please plan to join us on Sunday, March 8, as we formally welcome Mtr. Molly as our new Associate Rector at both masses. We will also have a special coffee hour reception following the 10:30 Mass. We look forward to this opportunity to receive Mtr. Molly and her family into the life of Saint Andrew’s!
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Save the Date! ECW Gathering | March 10 | 6 PM | Parish Hall
Join us for our monthly ECW gathering on March! We are excited to be welcoming Mtr. Molly to our community, and we will hear from a guest speaker from AID Upstate!
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United Thank Offering & Gratitude Practice | Continuing through Lent
Our Episcopal Church Women (ECW) invite the parish to practice gratitude through the United Thank Offering (UTO) as part of your Lenten devotion. Gratitude guides and UTO envelopes were in your bulletin last week and can be found in the Parish Hall. The UTO Lenten Gratitude Offering will be collected on Palm Sunday, March 28. All funds will go to support mission and ministry in the Episcopal Church. More information can be found on their website.
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New Saint Andrew’s Parish Directory Available
The 125th Anniversary Edition of Saint Andrew’s Parish Directory now available. Please let us know if you have not gotten your copy yet! You can pick up one per household from the Parish Office.
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Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for 3-to-9-Year- Olds | Continues This Sunday | 9:30 AM | The Atrium (upstairs in the Parish Hall)
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd — an approach to Christian formation that builds upon Montessori methods of learning — continues each week. Please note that we will not meet Sunday, December 28.
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Preparing for Baptism | Easter Vigil, April 4
We are preparing for our next baptismal feast on Saturday, April 4, when Lent draws to a close as we celebrate the Great Vigil of Easter -- one of the four feast days that our prayer book designates as “especially appropriate” for Holy Baptism. If there is anyone desiring to be baptized, please let Fr. Gary know so that we can begin to prepare.
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Rebuild Upstate Work Day | April 11 | 8:30-5:00
Seeking Volunteers: Please consider being part of our next Rebuild project team! Rebuild Upstate envisions a future where everyone has the opportunity to live a life of dignity in a safe home environment in order to maintain and foster strong, sustainable communities. They provide a skilled Team Leader and supplies, and we provide the labor. The Saint Andrew’s team will work hard while serving God and showing love to our neighbors.
View this video for an overview of a build day:
| | Registering now will help Rebuild match us with a project perfect for our volunteer team. Email Ellen Mays (ellen.mays@yahoo.com) with any questions or to share your excitement about our partnership with Rebuild Upstate. | |
Coffee Hour
Volunteers Needed!
Please consider volunteering to assist with refreshments and set up for our coffee hour fellowship following the 10:30 AM Mass. A sign up sheet can be found on the “Welcome” bulletin board in the Parish Hall or online at the link below.
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UPDATED: Parking at Saint Andrew's
For detailed parking instructions, click here.
***PLEASE NOTE - West End Baptist Church, which owns the parking lot around Saint Andrew's, has reduced the parking lot area available on Sundays to the area closer to South Main Street--with the back part of the parking lot (against Rhett Street) no longer available. As a result, please enter the parking lot via South Main Street. The map linked below has been updated to reflect that change.***
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Note: You need a parking decal to park in the designated lots. They can be found on the shelf to the left of the doors as you exit the church.
| Sunday Altar Flower and Presence Candle Dedications | |
On Sundays, we have the opportunity to offer a special dedication of the altar flowers or presence candle in honor, memory, or celebration of loved ones. The cost to the church for altar flowers is now $100 per Sunday, so we are suggesting that donations for dedicating altar flowers be in the range of $50 to $100 to help us cover those costs. The suggested donation for a presence candle dedication is $10.
If you would like to sign up for a Sunday, please see the sign up sheet on the bulletin in the Parish Hall or click on the button below. You may place a check in the offering plate with "Altar Flowers" or "Presence Candle" noted in the memo.
We will continue to only have Altar Flowers if someone has signed up and paid for the arrangements. As a result, we will need to know by the Tuesday prior to the upcoming Sunday if you would like to sign up.
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Invitation to Submit Future Parishioner Postings ...
If you have news of important milestones or work that you would like to share with the parish, please let us know!
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News from the Wider Church
and from Our Ministry Partners
| | Notes Along the Way | The Bread of Life | Some passages of Scripture simply rise above the rest. is one of them. It is the longest chapter in the Gospel and contains two unforgettable moments-the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus walking on the water-followed by a challenging teaching about the bread of life. | | | Come enjoy "Coffee with the Bishop" | EDUSC Launches New Podcast | | | | |
PLEASE NOTE: The Diocese just announced a Six Month Delay for the Diocesan Day of Discernment (previously set for March 14)
NEW DATE IS SEPTEMBER 12
(Sorry for any inconvenience caused for those who plan to attend.)
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St. Andrew's, Greenville Calls A New Associate Rector | For the past seven years, The Rev. Molly McGee Short has served as the Chaplain at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School, an Episcopal boarding and day School in Sewanee, TN. Molly's spiritual formation first took root as a student at St. Paul's Episcopal school in Mobile, AL. | | | | From Episcopal Relief & Development... | |
Build Holy Habits This Lent | | | |
LETTER FROM THE CEO Dear Project Host Friends and Supporters, February is a month rooted in connection, care, and reflection, and at Project Host, we always welcome any season that celebrates love. This Valentine's Day, we are especially grateful for the compassion and commitment of our volunteers who show up week after week to serve our neighbors. | | | |
Rally Tickets-Nehemiah date correction | I hope everyone is doing well today. The Rally is right around the corner and it’s time to start reaching out to your network members. Below you will see the Rally tickets button, please hand these out in the weeks to come. If you have any issues with accessing the tickets let me know at oscar@thedartcenter.org. | | | |
Altar Guild Volunteers Needed
The Altar Guild is currently looking for people who may be interested in serving with them. If you are interested, or have questions, please reach out to Lesley Moore or Linda Fitzsimmons.
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Choir | Rehearsal on Sundays at 9:30 AM
We are always seeking additional volunteers for the Saint Andrew’s choir, which currently gathers on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM (and not on Wednesday evenings) to prepare the music for the 10:30 mass. This more limited time commitment provides an excellent opportunity for prospective new members to “try us out.” If you have questions, contact the Parish Office—or just show up on Sunday morning!
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Volunteers Needed
Feed Thy Neighbor
Founded in 2010, Feed Thy Neighbor is a cooperative effort of the Episcopal community in Greenville. Parish volunteers from Saint Andrew’s, St. Peter’s, St. James, and Christ Church feed the hungry each Saturday from 7:30 to 8:30 AM. We are seeking volunteers to help serve and clean up. Please contact the office if you would like to volunteer: office@standrewsgreenville.org.
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