SPECIAL EDITION: Lent to Easter

SPECIAL EDITION: Lenten Services 2022

A Message from Rev. Paula

Beloved Community,

This coming Wednesday we enter into Lent, a season in which we are invited to prepare to experience Easter again as if for the very first time. It feels to me like an especially holy time because of the call to prayerfully reflect on what keeps us from moving deeper into the heart of God.

Over many years (decades, actually), I have learned that different spiritual practices move me depending upon what is happening in the world, my life, and my inner self. Sometimes being more intentional about worship, including daily prayer, has helped. Sometimes spending more time in prayer with Scripture has helped. Sometimes the voices of theologians and spiritual giants has helped. Books help all the time, as does a more playful, though spiritual, activity.

Two things that I have done for several years are to join the Lent Madness craze and to re-read The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach about Jesus' Final Days in Jerusalem by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, something I've done every Holy Week since 2006. I also find ways to gather with others, to enter into conversation, sometimes in worship, other times in retreat, and still other times doing both.

This year, as I have since our first shared Lent in 2019, I invite you to join me in being intentional in observing Lent as a way to prepare yourself to experience the love and grace of the Resurrection. This email gives you information about some options available to you here at St. Stephen's and with other sister parishes in the Evelyn Underhill Region. Take a look. Ask yourself what you need or what will open your heart more or a bit differently. Do one thing new, or a couple. Or turn to something that is not on this list. I promise it will be worth your time.

Peace & Blessings,

Paula+

Ash Wednesday and Holy Week Services

Ash Wednesday Offerings from the Evelyn Underhill Region

Holy Week at St. Stephen's:

All of these services will be in-person and livestreamed to our YouTube channel and Facebook page

Monday and Tuesday, 7:30 pm - Evening Prayer

Wednesday, 7:30pm - Tenebrae with Christ Church in Short Hills

Maundy Thursday, 7:30pm - Holy Eucharist with Foot Washing and Stripping of the Altar

Good Friday, 12:00pm - Prayer Service

Good Friday, 7:30pm - Liturgy for Good Friday with the Solemn Collects

Holy Saturday, 10:00am - Liturgy for Holy Saturday

Easter Services

The Great Vigil of Easter, 7:00pm at Christ Church in Short Hills

Easter Day Festival Eucharist, 10:00am

Daily Meditations and Noonday Prayer

Daily Devotion with Rev. Paula

Rev. Paula will read from Lent for Everyone: A Daily Devotional by The Rt. Rev. N.T. Wright.

About the book:

"Popular biblical scholar and author N. T. Wright provides his own Scripture translation, brief reflection, and a prayer for each of the days of the season, helping readers ponder how the text is relevant to their own lives today. By the end of the book readers will have been through the entirety of Luke, along with Psalm readings for each Sunday... Wright's Lenten devotional will help you make Luke's gospel your own, thoughtfully and prayerfully, and your journey through Lent a period of rich discovery and growth."

These readings will be posted to our YouTube channel before 6:00am each morning, beginning Ash Wednesday and continuing through the First Week of Easter.

Evelyn Underhill Region

Noonday Prayer

Join neighbors from our Regional Ministry Network as we mark together each of the days in Lent with a time of communal prayer. This brief service will be led by clergy and laity from across the region. We will gather via Zoom.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 874 7000 5903

Passcode: CCSH

Children & Youth Ministry

Scratch-off Daily Prayers

Each family was sent at least one copy* of a fun way to mark the days of Lent. Scratch off the circle for the day to see a prayer prompt.

Thanks to Jay LaNunziata, Director of Christian Formation at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greenville, NC and blogger at formedbyexperience for this activity. Though sent to the families with children, we'd be happy to give to anyone who would like to try this spiritual discipline.

*Families with older children received one per child. If you would like your younger children to have their own copy, please let us know.

Praying in Color for Kids

There are lots of different ways to pray, including in color. Here's the link to a great website that talks about how you and your family can explore prayer in ways that tap into imagination and creativity in ways that praying with words may not.

Lent Madness

Lent Madness is a fun and educational online activity, that may be fun for you and your family, especially if you have older children or young adults at home. Check it out in the "A little more lighthearted" section.

Adult Formation

Here at St. Stephen's

We will be reading Witness at the Cross: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Friday by Amy-Jill Levine as our annual Lenten study. The book is available at Amazon, Cokesbury, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org, with prices ranging from $16.19 to $17.99. We purchased eight copies and have them available on a first-come, first-served basis. If purchase price is an issue, give what you can.

There are two ways to join this conversation:

Join us in-person or via Zoom from 10:30am to noon on the following Thursdays: March 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and April 7th, and 14th. NOTE: There is no meeting on March 31st because Rev. Paula will be at the diocesan clergy retreat.
Join the Facebook Group. Each of the six weeks we meet, there will be a couple of discussion prompts. Whether or not you are able to participate in the Thursday discussions, you are welcome to share your thoughts (comments, questions, learnings). The link to the group is here.

With the Evelyn Underhill Region

These include some opportunities for worship in addition to adult formation

Calvary Church, Summit:

Tuesdays, 5:00pm, in-person Evening Prayer (March 8th and April 12th with sensory

prayer)

Tuesdays, 6:00pm, in-person "Tell Me the Truth About Racism" intergenerational

storytelling series

Sunday, March 27, 5:00pm Sung Stations of the Cross Service, in partnership with St.

George's, Maplewood

Christ Church in Short Hills:

March 8th and April 15th, 1:00pm, Zoom Book Discussion, The Last Week: What the

Gospels Really Teach Us About Jesus' Final Days in Jerusalem by Marcus J. Borg and

John Dominic Crossan

Grace Church, Madison:

Wednesdays, 8:30am, in-person Holy Eucharist

Wednesdays, 10am and 7:00pm, Zoom Bible Study, "Challenging Sayings of Christ"

Wednesdays, 6:00pm, in-person outdoor Stations of the Cross prayer service

Fridays, 12:15pm in-person and livestreamed Lenten Organ Recitals,

St. George's, Maplewood:

Wednesdays, 7:00pm, in-person Bible Study, A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church

by Wil Gafney

St. Paul's, Chatham:

Wednesdays, 7:00pm, Zoom Book Discussions

March 6th-April 9th, Sensing God: Learning to Meditate During Lent by Laurence

Freeman, OSB

April 13th, The Silence of Calvary: Meditations on Good Friday by Christopher L.

Webber

Outdoor Stations of the Cross

Christ Church in Short Hills, Daily, Dawn to Dusk

Grace Church, Madison, Daily 3:00pm to Dusk

A little more lighthearted

Lent Madness

This is a fun way to adopt a Lenten practice and learn more about some of the most influential people in the Christian Church. Learn more about it here.

Praying in Color for Adults

There are lots of different ways to pray, including in color. Here's the link to a great website for adults who want to explore prayer in ways that tap into imagination and creativity in ways that praying with words may not.

Giving with Tithe.ly

TITHE.LY

Giving with Tithe.ly is easy with options for recurring donations or one-time use for when you are away or not able to be in church (like all of us now due to COVID restrictions).

You can access Tithe.ly via their website or their app on your smart phone. Be sure to search for the correct account - "St. Stephen's Church Millburn." Once you have accessed the account page with our address, you will be instructed to follow the prompts.

Office Notes

Due to COVID restrictions, only teachers and staff are allowed to be in the building during school hours. If you need to visit the parish office/building for any reason, please contact us for an appointment. Thank you.