Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrows the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying, “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake has become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on a cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by the cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

–An Ancient Homily, read at Matins of Holy Saturday

Good Friday Stations

@ 17^th Street Market

Friday, March 29, 2013 – 5:30pm

www.stpauls-episcopal.org

Watch Something:

Have you seen Busted Halo’s Lent and Ash Wednesday in 2 Minutes, or Si Smith’s moving short 40: ?

The Epsicopal monks at SSJE  also produce a daily video series called Praying Our Lives . 

If visual media is  your thing, then you’ll really love Videos for Your Soul  a daily movie post on a Lenten theme.

Read a Little Something:

Check out  Wisdom of the Wreck  for a modern daily meditation on the scriptures aimed at young adults.

Or be ambitious and read through all four gospels by Easter using Bible Gateway’s whole reading plan… You can do it at your desk at work.

Take a Hiatus from “First World Problems”:

Episcopal Relief and Development  does great work in places of crisis all over the world.  Pray with them during Lent and download, or sign up for daily reflections via email.

Or…* Give up that (soda/beer/coffee) for a higher purpose and drink in a new way towards Easter by joining the 40 Days of Water mission.  Sign up and keep track of your progress and potential gifts for those in need of clean water.

Carbon Fast is sponsored by the Tear Fund, and this ecumenical endeavor focuses on the people most impacted by climate change.  Each week read a prayer and complete an action for environmental justice.

Check Things Off Your List:

Fast Pray Give is an advent style calendar from the folks at the Roman Catholic Busted Halo. Each day has a prayer and action for Lent. You can’t peek ahead to the next day, but yesterday’s was: “FAST from takeout and fast food today. PRAY for restaurant workers and delivery people… GIVE the money you would have spent to a local food pantry.”

The Sarcastic Lutheran focuses on small life changing practices in her daily list of 40 ideas for keeping a holy Lent.  Day 12: “Pay some sincere compliments.”
Ship of Fools also has a great list 40 activities.  Some of the winners include: “visit another church”, “make a comment to the preacher after the sermon”, and “spend a day memorizing a psalm”. 

Get Competitive:

Vote for your favorite Saint in Lent Madness, the March-Madness style competition. Check in at #LentMadness each day for bios and discussion on each saint before you vote.

Get Centered:  

Last but not least… Drop by “Center” at St. Paul’s on Wednesday evenings to spend some quiet time in one of the new interactive meditation spaces Wednesday nights in Lent.

 Imposition of Ashes:

• In the church – St. Paul’s on 8^th and Grace – 7:30am
• Rev. Melanie – at the Bus stop on Broad and 9^th – 8:00am
• Rev. Roger and Anne – at the MCV entrance on Broad at 9:00
• Rev. Claudia and Marc – down by Urban Farmhouse in Shokoe Slip at 8:30

In the Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday marks the start of the holy season of Lent, a time for reflection and repentance in preparation for the celebration of Easter.  For centuries, Christians have received a cross of ashes on the face at the beginning of that season as a reminder of mortal failings and an invitation to receive God’s forgiveness.  Ashes to Go provides the opportunity to participate in that tradition for people who have lost their connection to a church, have never participated before, or for those who might be too busy to attend a weekday service.

We hope to invite our local community to journey toward Easter (March 31, 2013) in a mindful way, by offering prayers for people who cannot make it to church on Wednesday.  The ritual’s reminder that we are the creatures, not the Creator, helps us recognize grace in our lives and the lives of others

“Ashes to Go is about bringing the important traditions of our faith out from behind church walls and into the places we need them every day,” says the Rev. Emily Mellott, who maintains the website AshesToGo.org with resources and stories about this ministry. “We especially need reminders of forgiveness in the tough places of our working lives.  The people who accept ashes on the street are often people longing to make a connection between their faith and the forces of daily life, and Ashes to Go helps them feel that connection.”

To find St. Paul’s clergy and members on a street downtown today follow @MissionRVA or @StPaulsRVA on Twitter.

On any Sunday night you could opt to break bread with drummers and diners at Goree, on Main and 18th street in Shockoe bottom. Owner, Jabril, proudly tells me that he was pioneer in settling so far from his native Senegal. However, he confides, that he used to be a little lonely in downtown Richmond. So, Goree has turned into a de facto
community center for those drawn to West African arts. On Sunday evenings you can experience this place is creating community to fill that loneliness. The weekly jam ses- sion is open to all who walk in for a little musical fellowship. Jabril also opens his space to city churches and school groups for events, and
on Wednesday nights he shows movies and coaches anyone inter- ested in the Wolof language.
On these nights as the musicians start to take requests, the communal experience crosses the line from performance to partnership. There is a cultivated air of openness here among new visitors and familiar faces of all backgrounds, sitting for a drink of drink of bissap, and tak- ing in the beat.
Food and fellowship are no strangers to St. Paul’s. As inheri- tors of the Anglican tradition, we have deep roots in the theology of creating community while shar-
ing bread. St. Benedicts’ monastic rule instructed his community that “sharing meals together is essential to breaking down separation,” and the appropriate site of God’s new work “in nurturing the design of the life we seek.”
Always We Begin Again: A Contemporary Rephrasing of the Rule of St. Benedict (pp 55-56)
So in seeking community in downtown Richmond, we find fer- tile ground in making partners over breaking bread, and seeing the new flourishing of the kingdom of God over Sunday dinner.

Lent Madness is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds in which 32 saints are pitted against one another in a March Madness (i.e. NCAA basketball) style bracket. The goal is to pick the last saint standing who will win the “Golden Halo”.

New matchups are posted daily, and anyone can participate to vote on a champion saint.
To play, visit www.LentMadness.org every day. See the daily matchup (there are even bios for the two saints in contention), and vote for your favorite right there on the site. Each day, polls are open for 24 hours – beginning at 8:00 a.m.
Now is your chance to join this seasonal (and slightly silly) online community.

St. Paul’s participates in an annual Interfaith Vigil for Victims of Gun Violence on Martin Luther King Holiday of each year on the lawn of the State Capitol.

“So we have to get down now?” I said to no one in particular. My heels had been sinking into the soft cold lawn for the entire prayer vigil. I’d resorted to standing on my toes until the end of the service. But then our convener announced, “well, it seems we have some time left. I had decided not to announce this until I was sure we could do it… but we’re going to have a lie-in.” A lie –in is when you lay down in solidarity with someone for something. This was a little less emotionally manipulating than it could be. We were not advocating lying down to mimic someone felled by a gun. We were lying down to embody the actual amount of time it takes to secure a gun license in Virginia. A voice beside me said, “we’ll do it together.” And then some unknown woman stood next to me in her nice black pea coat, and got down in the dirt. She was a little younger than me, and her hair was done up nice for the occasion, but when she laid down she contorted on her side – and stretched her arm out in my direction. So we did it together. Me in my ridiculous heels, black tights, black dress, and clergy collar – we hit the ground. But then the real thing happened. The ground was cold, my coat was warm. I found her hand and rested it in the wool of my coat.  And I held hands with this unknown woman for what seemed like an eternity. The old rabbi lying on my other side in his nice khaki slacks and brimmed hat was working hard to deflect the nervous chatter of a woman behind him. “Is the rabbi lying down? Oh good, if the rabbi can lie down, then I can lie down… I have bad knees but the rabbi…” He breathed audibly and sighed, “Lying down gives you another perspective.” And then it got uncomfortably quiet.

I worked on holding this other hand. Not squeezing or letting go… not moving or removing my presence. Then I took a peek at the microphone stand past my feet. The event leader was walking up and taking a breath, “thank you,” But then he shorted all exclamations of relief or frustration, with, “believe it or not that was just three minutes.” Three minutes, that was it. I pulled my myself and my partner up. She had tears in her eyes. I too began to chatter nervously at her open emotion. I learned that this woman had lost someone years ago in a shooting, and she was scared everyday for her own son. She said she couldn’t get over the sadness for all the mothers she saw on tv. “All the mothers…” Then I just hushed up – I gave her a long hug. She was just my height. On my way back to the office following our lie-in. I saw an older couple sunning themselves on a bench. They wore the bright orange NRA stickers on their chests that indicated they’d been there since the morning’s gun rights’ protests. I slowed when I walked past them and turned my head, “Good afternoon,” I offered. “Good afternoon,” they cheered back. And then I heard the address I’m still not used to, “Reverend. Reverend!” Was that woman really calling me? Sucking in my breath, dreading a conflict or debate out here, I stopped and turned back. Her voice was so quiet I had to get close. “Come here”, she said. “Turn around, you,” now holding out her arms, “you have dirt on you.”

Sure there is lots of good work and beautiful worship going on inside the walls of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church…

But have you see where God is working out there in the city ?

Mission RVA is setting out to see what God is up to out among the people in downtown Richmond, VA.

Come share your ideas on Sunday, January 6, at 10:15 @ 185 East Grace Street.