Dragon Tales for March 5, 2019

Dragon Tales

E-News

March 5, 2019

Have you seen the new playground?

The Day School students are enjoying their new equipment after it was installed on campus last week.

THANKS to all the parishioners who attended the school's auction on Saturday night. Over $30,000 was raised to help with the playground cost! The school and their PTO is appreciative to all who gave for the cause!

A Note from Peter

One year, I shaved my head on Ash Wednesday. I was 23, intense and serious about my religion. I was substitute teaching in Providence, attending services at the Cathedral when I didn’t get called in to school. I guess I felt like my hair was a vanity that I wanted to give up for Lent. I don’t recall it getting me any closer to God, but I do remember taking the step to do it, so I guess it meant something.

A few years later, I was flying back from a mission trip to Central America with my priest. It was Ash Wednesday, and I was fasting. He got a drink on the plane, and told me to lighten up. I remember desperately wanting this newfound path of mine (to becoming a priest myself) to be holy, virtuous and true. I felt like God was watching me, wanting me to keep a promise (to fast, to pray, whatever it was), and again, it was serious and intense.

After seventeen years as an ordained priest, my feelings around religious observance of Lent have waxed and waned. I go from wanting people to mark the season with acts of penitence and prayer to taking Matthew’s exhortations not to let our deeds be seen by others to the extreme. There have been years when the demands of parish ministry have completely overwhelmed any personal preparation for the season of Lent. Shame ensued, with many hopes of doing better ‘next year’.

What I want to say to you, as parishioners and fellow travelers on the way, is that it’s not important how you mark the season. But it is vitally important that you mark it. It must mean something to you, in whatever spiritual form you mean it to connect you to your God that demands your best. As I’ve said before, God loves us as we are, but God loves us too much to leave us where we are. We must always be drawn closer, to hew closer to the road to Jerusalem, to self-denial and being broken open to bless the world. To me, that’s the point of fasting, of extra prayer, of daily meditation, of giving up chocolate.

Whatever way you choose to mark the season, do it to the best of your ability. Seek support; don’t let anyone, much less the priest, tell you to “lighten up”. Instead, know that your God sees you, and loves you and loves who you are becoming.

Don't Forget!

Sunday's Service - March 3, 2019

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper Tonight

The Brotherhood of St. Margaret's will host their annual Pancake Supper on tonight from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Besides pancakes, the menu also includes sausage and applesauce. Tickets are available at the door.

Ash Wednesday Tomorrow

Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of prayer , fasting , and repentance on the first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants to "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations.

Services will be held at 7:30 a.m., (Fellowship Hall), and Noon & 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary.

Following the noon service, the Women's Guild will host a soup and bread luncheon in the Parish Hall. All are welcome.

Silent Movie Concert on Sunday

We are excited to announce that notable organist Michael Britt will return to St. Margaret's on Sunday at 4 p.m. to accompany the classic silent comedy Sherlock, Jr. starring Buster Keaton, right in our sanctuary! Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to this annual popular family-friendly event!

Preview of Sherlock Jr.

WINTER RELIEF IS COMING!

St. Margaret's will be hosting our local homeless brothers and sisters in March for winter relief. Over a hundred volunteer slots are required! Please begin signing up on Sundays during coffeehour or sign up HERE (or on our website under "Quick Links").

My Brother's Pantry Volunteers Needed

MARCH is St Margaret's month to help with My Brother's Pantry!

Our church is part of an effort by local churches in the area throughout the year to provide a monthly food supplement to more than 100 local families who could use a little extra help. This requires one evening of packing grocery bags and then one morning of delivering grocery bags. In particular:

1. Packing - 6:30 pm on Thursday March 14 , at the Pantry * (~1.5 hours)

We'll set up a joyful little assembly line in the Pantry to pack the bags for our big monthly distribution.

2. Delivery - 8:45 am on Saturday March 16 , meeting at the Pantry (~2 hours)

We'll send a big group of volunteers loaded with packed bags of groceries to our families at College Parkway Place, while a smaller group stays at the Pantry to help our other families who come to pick up their food.

And... if those two chances aren't enough for you, there are smaller opportunities available all month long : responding to emergency requests on the hotline, checking inventory, collecting the food at our donation bins, helping with the big food runs from Graul's Market and the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. Or... if you're interested, you can even serve all year long as St Margaret's representative (or alternate) on My Brother's Pantry's Board of Directors!

For more information, contact St. Margaret's parishioner Russell Jackson at

[email protected].

Celtic Service on March 17

Our annual Celtic Mass led by the Third Sunday Band and special guests will be held on Sunday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day, at the 9:00 & 11:15 a.m. services! Join us as we celebrate with lively music and special liturgy.

Celtic attire optional!

Diaper Drive on March 17-21

Our Missions Commission will conduct a Diaper Drive for Immigrant Families on behalf of AIJN - Annapolis Immigration Justice Network. AIJN assists local undocumented immigrants and their families. Parishioners are invited to participate to buy diapers [sizes 3, 4, 5] and/or baby wipes and leave in the narthex. For questions, email [email protected].

This Saturday's Diocesan Events

Resting in God: The Art of Being

A Centering Prayer Retreat led by the Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, bishop of Maryland, March 9, St. Martin’s in-the-Field, Severna Park.

Reflect on the nature of prayer as relationship with God, and explore the levels of relationship that you can grow into. Learn and practice centering prayer as a way of contemplation - being guided by the Spirit beyond thoughts, words and emotions. And rest in the interior silence which is the root of all prayer. Learn more and register online here.

Youth Event with the Bishop

The annual Bishop Unplugged event with Bishop Sutton and diocesan youth will be held March 9 at St. Martin's-in-the-Field, Severna Park, 2:00-4:00 p.m. It is a great time for youth to meet their peers, get to know the bishop, and grow their faith.

Cost: $5. Learn more and register online.

Tanzania Travelers

Our Tanzania travelers leave on Thursday for their two week trip and visit with the staff and students of the Dageno Girls School (that has received grant awards from St. Margaret's Church as well as other support from parishioners).

Please keep the travelers in your prayers for their safety and for their growth in faith as they represent the spirit of St. Margaret's and Christ's love across the world.

This Lent @ St. Margaret's

Compline by Candlelight (Wednesday evenings)

Each Wednesday at 7 p.m. enter the sanctuary for a short, contemplative candlelit service that builds each week from spoken to all liturgy sung. It will be the perfect way to observe the Lenten season and to close your day.

Starting March 13

Sunday Mornings

Join the Rev. Peter W. Mayer on Sunday mornings during Lent from 10:20 to 11:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall for discussions from the book "Hanging by a Thread" by Samuel Wells. The book reflects on the challenges of understanding Christ's crucifixion that arise today using contemporary ideas in history, biblical studies, and philosophy. Books are available on Amazon.com here or can be purchased from independent book sellers at www.biblio.com.

Starting THIS Sunday

Thursday Mornings

Our Thursday morning study has begun a new book just in time for Lent titled "The Last Week" by Borg/Crossan that centers on w hat the Gospels really teach about Jesus's final days in Jerusalem. The study begins at 9:15 a.m. on Thursdays in Classroom E. Childcare in the nursery is provided. All are welcome! There are a few books left that are being sold during coffeehour on Sundays at the winter relief table or you can purchase one online. NOW MEETING!

Monday Evenings

On our Monday night Faith & Fellowship formation nights in Lent, we provide a study for both the music lover and the biblical seeker exploring the scriptural texts of Handel's Messiah. This study offers careful examination of the texts as we listen to the musical lines. NOW MEETING!