St. Paul's at Midweek

St. Paul's

at Midweek

February 17, 2021

Whoever you are,

and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith,

we welcome you to our inclusive faith community.

The Coming Week

at St. Paul's

While public worship in the church continues to be suspended, a number of services and opportunities for fellowship and study are being offered

February 21, 2021

The First Sunday

in Lent

10am Morning Prayer

via Zoom (find link here; passcode is worship)

Monday, February 22

Margaret of Cortona, Monastic, 1292

10.30pm Coffee (or Tea) Morning

Tuesday, February 23

1.00pm St. Paul's Book Group

Wednesday, February 24

Saint Matthias the Apostle

6.00pm Fellowship and Formation

Friday, February 26

Photini, the Samaritan Woman.

c. 67

5.00pm Stations of the Cross

February 28, 2021

The Second Sunday

in Lent

10am Morning Prayer

via Zoom (find link here; passcode is worship)

Morning Prayer will continue to be recited privately at 8.30am for the well-being of our city, the nation, and the world, and for all those living with the effects and consequences of COVID-19

Please note, that due to the present health crisis, our Food Co-op Ministry will be closed until further notice.

Finding the

Sunday Readings

Did you know you can always find the readings for Sunday by following this link?

Did you find two sets of readings for the Sunday? If there are two "tracks", at St. Paul's we are using "Track 2".

Getting in Touch

Although mail will be regularly collected, the parish office will be closed until further notice.

However, if you have questions or concerns,

you can reach Fr. Luis

by email

This Week

by The Rev'd Cathy Kline,

Parish Deacon

40 Days in the Desert!

Here we are a year later! I remember Ash Wednesday last year. We were still able to join together for worship but we were actually at the cusp of the pandemic. It was right around the corner and people were already getting ill and it was spreading throughout our country. It wasn’t long after we had those ashes placed on our foreheads that we were sheltered in and worship was soon to be held virtually. Our Lent truly ended up as a visit to the desert.

Well, this is where we will start our Lenten season this year and what better way to do so than as Jesus did. He was sent out into the desert right after being baptized to spend 40 days of solitude in the desert, to spend 40 days in silence, prayer, and reflection. It wasn’t easy; he didn’t take camping gear or any provisions. He was tempted by the devil and probably was missing interaction with people and the love and support they could give him, but he was also without the distractions, as long as he could shut out the temptations, he was alone with his thoughts, and alone with his Father. This is what I now realize Lent is all about. It is a time of reflection, a time for solitude, a time for us to put aside our distractions and focus on God.

The picture I chose for this post is of the Mojave Desert. It is a scene that could be taken right out my front door. I live right in the middle of this barren desert. I moved here in 1989 and when first arriving thought there was no way I was going to stay! Well, here I am 32 years ago and I am still here, far more than 40 days!!!! But, to the point, it turned out I loved the solitude. I love the beauty of the simple wide open land. I grew up in the east where there were trees everywhere. You could not see around the corner let alone miles down the road. It however, was in the desert that God called me to do His ministry. It was during the Lenten Season that I did my discernment to the Diaconate. God had a plan for me and it took the quietness of the desert for me to hear His call. Yes, it isn’t easy to have things taken away from us. It isn’t easy to be in solitude and isolation, but it is also that solitude and isolation that allows us to stop and listen. It is in that quietness that we can hear God’s call. It is only without those distractions that allow us to truly focus.

Even though we are unable to go to church and have the ashes put on our foreheads, we can still begin our Lenten Season this year with Ash Wednesday in prayer. Be sure to join us this evening for the Litany of Penitence in our Ash Wednesday Service and then take the following days until Easter to pray, reflect and focus on what God is calling you to do. As Jesus took 40 days before starting His ministry in this world, we too need to take time in silence, without distractions, to listen before we are to go out into this world to do his ministry.

Important Notice:

Email Scam

Did you get an email seemingly from Fr. Luis asking you to get in touch without detailing why?

IGNORE it!

Fr. Luis would and will never send an email like.

If you ever have a question or concern

about something like this

get in touch with him directly.

Prayer and Worship

Sunday Worship at St Paul's

Beginning this coming Sunday, the First Sunday in Lent, there will be several changes to our Sunday worship. Firstly we will shift to 10am with the recitation of Morning Prayer offered via Zoom. This will allow for a more immediate experience as those gathered will be able to interact with each other in "real time". Afterwards, we are will have a coffee hour and fellowship. If you joined us for worship at our Annual Meeting in January, it will be very like that. So be sure to mark your calendar for 10am Sunday mornings and join us by clicking here. The passcode is worship.

Today is Ash Wednesday

Join us for the Liturgy for Ash Wednesday tonight at 6.30pm. You'll find all the details here.

Lent at

St. Paulʻs

Today is the first day of Lent, and we begin our communal observance of the season tonight at 6.30pm via Zoom with the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. From the First Sunday in Lent (February 21) our Sunday service moves to 10am and we go "live" also via Zoom. Beginning this Friday (and all Fridays during Lent) we will "walk" the Way of the Cross via Zoom, and on Wednesdays during Lent (beginning February 24) we will have an opportunity for fellowship, formation, and reflection centered on Henri Nouwenʻs book, The Return of the Prodigal (again, via Zoom). Full details of our Lenten program can be found here.

Collect of the Week

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In Our Prayers

Remember in your prayers Kammie, Scott, Gwen, Michelle, Ethan, Penny Jan, Tanya, the Toia/Gonzales family, all those living with the effects of COVID-19, and all who are in sorrow, sickness, or any kind of need.

Remember all the recently departed, among them, Veronica Zaccaria and also all those whose year's mind falls at this time. among them Zena Godwin.

Monthly Prayer Diary

You can access the

Prayer Diary for February here

Education and Formation

Interfaith Scholar Weekend

Webinar Series

ISW invites you to join them for six weekly interfaith Zoom conversations. Together with persons of various faith traditions, they will consider what it means to “Bear Witness” to Fresno’s history of racism and redlining. All sessions are free and will be recorded! Click here for more details and registration information.

Poetry Corner

A Silencing Song

by Jack Hernandez

Abusive voices lash

the air and souls

of those

they despise.

Amid the endless rancor

words like peace

hide behind doors

of despair.

Yet ready to pounce

with love

forgiveness begins

her silencing song.

She does not avert

her eyes,

her lyrics tell those

whose tongues

are whips

she will not

strike back,

will stand strong

without hate,

waiting and singing

waiting and giving.

February Birthdays

William Cooper

Sandra Gamboa

Tanya Brown

Patricia Wiesner

Ada Asher

Joel Haney

Phillip Holt

February 1

February 3

February 6

February 11

February 12

February 13

February 18

Community News

and Information

Community TRUSTT

Community TRUSTT is committed to improving relations with local law enforcement. TRUSTT is an acronym for “Together, Rebuilding Unity, Seeking Trust and Transparency.” Members of the community and representatives of each branch of local law enforcement, including BPD, KCSO, Probation, KC District Attorney, Juvenile Court and KC High School District Police, participate. We advocate for best practices in 21^st Century Policing and highlight the experience of those most negatively affected by law enforcement, including communities of color and all minority groups. Our dialog is civil and direct. We are currently advocating for Independent Expert Review of law enforcement, juvenile justice and training and justice in gang enhancement charges.

Please see our FaceBook page for further information.

Kern Welcoming and Extending Solidarity to Immigrant (KWESI)

Through KWESI those living at the Mesa Verde Detention Center right here in Bakersfield find fellowship and hope. KWESI volunteers are regular visitors to those detained at Mesa Verde and are also an important link for them to world outside. Consider giving some of your time to this the important work. To volunteer call either call Jeannie Parent at (661) 877-1894I or Eddy Laine at (661) 345-4736. To get a better sense of the work being done by KWESI, click here to see a recent update newsletter.