Seasons of the Spirit | Lent-Easter 2022

S A I N T S T E P H E N ’ S E P I S C O PA L C H U R C H

L E N T /E A S T E R | S P RIN G 2 0 2 2

INSIDE: ICONS: Writing them, praying with them

Deeper

encounters with the

Word A REQUIEM FOR THE LIVING

The Ahmadis are flourishing

& more

God is infinitely interested in us A focus for weekly Lenten reflections by St. Stephen’s clergy A breakthrough of faith occurs when we recognize that our desire for God originates not in ourselves but in God. It is God who gives, kindles and fuels the desire for God. What we feel as our desire is the effect of God desiring to be desired, knowing that our responsive desiring will bring us to life.

FROM THE WORD IS VERY NEAR YOU BY MARTIN SMITH

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can still recall when I “got” the spirit of these words for the first time. As I was growing up at St. Columba’s in Washington, D.C., the Rev. Martin L. Smith was one of my clergy. Before I knew anything about his being somewhat famous in the Episcopal Church, I just saw him as the associate rector who had a penchant for saying provocative By the Rev. William S. Stanley truths with a British accent!

Martin has the rare ability to invite you into a deep and wide place—to reflect upon what really matters in your relationship

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with God—but without any semblance of pretension. And years and years ago, at a pivotal age of exploration and learning, I had a breakthrough. The passage I cite above comes from his work, The Word is Very Near You: A Guide to Praying with Scripture. It is an invitation to see in our sacred scripture an infinite well of opportunities to meet the living God. In a 1930 letter written to the Most Rev. Cosmo Lang, archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican laywoman Evelyn Underhill implored him not to forget that “God is the interesting thing about religion, and people are hungry for God.” Yet her words speak to all of us, I think…clergy and laity alike. Too often in the life of the church our focus strays far from expecting to be in relationship with this God at all.

We get so easily distracted. Yet how exactly do we think that relationship is constructed in the first place?

It was in high school when—for the first time in my life—I came to see that God was interested in me long before any interest I had going the other way. After years of trying to grasp and control this relationship, I came to see that God was, in SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

fact, always seeking out relationship with me. My work went from grasping to acceptance. God, it turns out, was even more hungry for me. And this shift was akin to a Copernican revolution. Instead of visualizing myself as the center of the universe—reaching out to try to get God’s attention and energy—it was actually the opposite: God was the center, reaching out in love and with a desire to be present in my life.

Every year, Lent is a time of intentional exploration. It’s an annual opportunity to reengage, to go deeper, and to seek God afresh. The Word of God is one of the central places where we as Christians encounter and explore the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And this is the grounding for one of our offerings this year: “Deeper Encounter(s) with the Word: A Lenten Series of Preaching & Teaching.”

For the first four Sundays in Lent, four St. Stephen’s clergy will engage in a series of preaching and teaching. Drawing upon the appointed lectionary texts for each Sunday, our preaching series will focus on the riches of the Psalms in our morning liturgies; our teaching series will engage the depths of the appointed Gospel in the context of the Sunday Forum.

Both parts will lean upon Martin Smith’s aforementioned book. And in an effort to help you move into deeper relationship with God, each session will end with a concrete practice to help you pray with scripture even more deeply.

The Rev. Will Stanley is vicar of St. Stephen’s Church.

L E N T /E A S T E R | S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 Issue Number 42

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Easter joy Music, icons, contemplation Masterworks concert will feature a beloved work Consider a Lenten fast Allison Seay’s poetry published in renowned journal The icon workshop returns this summer Gather around the table Farewell All the feels Why reparations?

The Ahmadi family thrives Youth transitions

Deeper encounter(s) with the Word A Lenten series of preaching & teaching SUNDAY, MARCH 6

Two ministries for children and their families The discernment process: on track Two groups for Lent Another ReWork success

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Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16, Luke 4:1-13 Morning preacher: John Jenkins Forum teacher: Pat Wingo

So much is happening in outreach

SUNDAY, MARCH 13

Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter

Psalm 27, Luke 13: 31-35 Morning preacher: Will Stanley Forum teacher: Cate Anthony

Seasons of the Spirit

SUNDAY, MARCH 20

Contributors: Curtis Almquist, SSJE, Cate Anthony, Lisa Antonelli Bacon, Ron Brown, Doug Buerlein, Briget Ganske, John Jenkins, Anna Jones, Claudia Merritt, Jay Paul, Deb Lawrence, Jay Moore, Shelley Spalding, Will Stanley, Brent te Velde, Julianne Tripp, Janet Vincent, Pat Wingo Copyright © 2022, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia

Psalm 63:1-8, Luke 13:1-9 Morning preacher: Pat Wingo Forum teacher: Will Stanley SUNDAY, MARCH 27

Psalm 32, Luke 15:1-3 Morning preacher: Cate Anthony Forum teacher: John Jenkins

Come to the mountain!

Advent and Christmas photos

Sarah Bartenstein, editor Steven Longstaff, art director

Requests to reprint material from Seasons of the Spirit should be addressed to Sarah Bartenstein at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 Grove Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23226, or sbartenstein@ststephensRVA.org.

On the cover

Photo from Easter 2021 by J. Scott Finn

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Joy that can be ours

We are witnesses and inheritors, come what may broke the bread with them at dinner later that evening. Those two disciples, according to Luke, said that their “hearts burned” in Jesus’ presence.

We all have different experiences of Jesus, and perhaps this year those experiences (or lack of them) are even more profound. As we have moved through this pandemic, it may be that some of us have felt a deepening of Jesus’ presence, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the safety of being held in God’s loving arms. It may be that the power of the resurrected life, when peace and joy defeat despair, has become clear, as it suddenly did to the witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. Or perhaps you have been unable to find hope, feeling the loneliness and fear of what we have all been forced to endure.

The four Gospels give us different accounts of the same story of Jesus’ resurrection.

In St. John’s telling, Peter and another disciple were there and saw the empty shroud that had been Jesus’ burial cloth, but in St. Mark three women were the witnesses and the disciples were not in the vicinity. St. Matthew writes that a great By the Rev. Patrick earthquake rolled the stone away. St. Luke J. Wingo tells us that the disciples viewed the women’s report of the resurrection as “an idle tale,” but he alone tells us the story of the walk to Emmaus, when Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road and was not made known to them until he

As I write this reflection in January, before we have arrived at the beginning of Lent, and certainly long before Holy Week and Easter, we do not yet know what our world will be like when we walk the way of the cross in Holy Week and wait for the glorious Easter celebration.

My greatest hope is that we will be able to worship in all the ways that give us peace and joy, if it is safe to do so. If that is to be the case, we will come together to break bread so that our hearts may burn with the love of Christ. However we have (or have not) experienced Jesus in our lives this year, what people of faith have learned over the course of Christian history is that the joy of the original Christians can be ours. While circumstances can make us despair, and the challenges and pain of life can bring us grief, nothing can change the fact that the Lord is Risen indeed! May you experience his power and joy in your life this Easter.

The mission of the church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.

AN OUTLINE OF THE FAITH, THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

St. Stephen’s Church is A Village Green: Inviting Since ancient times, Benedictine communities and parish churches have served as centers of village life, embracing friend and stranger alike. We strive to be a beckoning, welcoming, and centering presence today, offering hospitality, belonging, and life-giving practices for all people.

A New Abbey: Grounding In a culture that can be overly distracted and enamored with the new, we are focused on preserving enduring wisdom, spiritual insights, and ancient liturgical practices of prayer and contemplation that nurture the soul and lead to eternal life. In an age of electronic engagement, virtual connections, and increasing loneliness, we continue ancient practices that attune human beings to the Divine, to one another, and to our own souls.

A Healing Community: Serving Though Jesus was known as a prophet, a rabbi, a teacher of wisdom, and the leader of a social movement, he was known primarily as a healer. As individuals and as a church community, we seek to incarnate the One who binds, heals, and nurtures, especially where forces in our society tear, wound, or divide. As Teresa of Avila put it, we seek to be Christ’s hands, feet, and eyes in the world; we are Christ’s body on earth.

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SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

A series on icons and music offered in Lent

‘Music, Icons and the Contemplative Life’ adapted from Virginia Seminary course

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The course will take place on Wednesdays in Lent, March 9 through April 6, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Palmer Hall.

The Tenebrae service will take place April 13 at 7 p.m. in the church, and will be open to all, regardless of whether you have taken the class.

THINGS TO KNOW

• Attendance at all sessions, proof of full vaccination, and masking required • We will use light incense during the class • Registration will be capped at 25 participants; a waiting list will be available; go to ststephensRVA.org/music-icons • Class members will purchase their own books OUR TEACHER

The Rev. William Bradley Roberts, D.M.A., is Emeritus Professor of Church Music at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. Prior to going to the seminary he was Director of Music at St. John’s, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C. He has held similar positions in Tucson, Newport Beach, California, Louisville, and Houston. While in Bill Roberts California Roberts sang with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, a professional ensemble resident at the L.A. Music Center. He is a composer of choral and liturgical music, published by Augsburg-Fortress, Church Publishing, Hope, MorningStar, Paraclete, Selah, and St. James Music Press. He is author of the book Music and Vital Congregations. A

Penny Nash

ow can we learn to “be still and know that I am God?” (Psalm 46:10) This class, originally taught at Virginia Theological Seminary by the Rev. William Bradley Roberts, emeritus professor of church music, explores entering the contemplative life through the windows of chant and iconography. The class will gaze upon icons, listen to and sing chants, and explore the beauty of silence. The two primary reading sources will be Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird—a frequent St. Stephen’s guest speaker and teacher—and Praying with Icons by the late Henri Nouwen. The course will conclude on the Wednesday of Holy Week with a contemplative worship service called Tenebrae.

recording of his choral music is published by Gothic Records in a series from the Washington National Cathedral. Active in the work of the Episcopal Church, Roberts has served as chair of the Standing Commission on Church Music, the Leadership Program for Musicians, and Alice Parker’s Melodious Accord. Roberts has done sabbaticals at Solesmes and Taizé in France with composer Alice Parker, and in England, Scotland, and Argentina. He is a frequent presenter at workshops and conferences and has conducted numerous major works with chorus and orchestra. Roberts is a priest of the Episcopal Church. He and his husband are members of St. Paul’s in Richmond and regularly attend the Celtic service at St. Stephen’s.

BOOKS

We encourage you to support independent and local booksellers who can order books for you if they do not already carry the titles you want. Online sources that not only ship books but also support local bookshops are IndieBound.org and Bookshop.org. The Bookshop @ St. Stephen’s has a small number of copies of Into the Silent Land.

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A MASS FOR THE LIVING

GABRIEL FAURÉ’S REQUIEM

Masterworks Concert–moved to April 1–features beloved work

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s the Omicron variant led to an increase in the spread of COVID-19, we’ve made a number of changes to our plans at St. Stephen’s. One of those changes was to reschedule our annual Masterworks Concert which will now be held on Friday, April 1, at 7:00

By Brent te Velde p.m. We hope very much that we will be able to keep this date, but the delay has offered the gift of a bit more time to reflect on the music that we’ve chosen for the program. The centerpiece will be Gabriel Fauré’s exquisite Requiem. While it is today one of the most beloved masterworks of the choral repertoire, it was composed and premiered in a way that was less auspicious, but with an authenticity that has come to truly distinguish it.

During a study trip to Paris, I visited the church of La Madeleine to hear its brash and assertive Cavaillé-Coll organ that, with its batteries of horizontally-mounted trumpets, fired down the length of the nave like the cannons of Napoleon’s army, to which the building was originally to have been dedicated. In complete contrast, the high altar at the opposite end of the church is surrounded by a large sculpture of Mary Magdalene—to whom the church came to be dedicated—being raised to heaven by two angels. The long, curved lines of the angels’ wings in white marble form a luminous frame for the altar. I was amazed to learn that the high altar was the setting for the first performance of the Fauré Requiem. The choir and

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orchestra had surrounded the altar, just under the gaze of the marble figures. Absent any sound, I marveled at the beautiful intimacy of this setting for the first performance of such a great work of music.

Although the death of Fauré’s parents may have given impetus to the composition, Fauré said the Requiem was not written for any particular occasion, but, in his words, “for the pleasure of it.”* In its original version, which he called his “little Requiem,” Fauré chose for his sound palette the warmth and richness of violas, cellos, and string basses; a single violin is included only for its radiant solo line in the Sanctus. Its first performance dignified the funeral of the architect Joseph-Michel le Soufaché, whose work in aristocratic and bourgeois residences would have starkly clashed with the neo-Classical and monumental style of La Madeleine. Fauré had already been a church organist for over 20 years, and, as he knew the funeral mass by heart, he wanted to write something different.

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. ISAIAH 43:1-2 SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

His Requiem would be “different” in many respects: it was a conscious departure from the tradition beginning with Mozart, and continued by Berlioz, Verdi, and others, of highly dramatic settings of the Requiem typified by theatrical depictions of judgment and terror, especially for the text of the Dies irae. The German Friedrich Blume wrote in 1962 of Mozart’s setting that it was “a Gabriel Fauré Requiem with no peace.” Fauré instead wrote music imbued with gentleness, and a sense of timelessness and eternity. To the last repetition of the Agnus Dei text “O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest,” Fauré added “sempiternam requiem,” “eternal rest.” From the lengthy Dies irae sequence, Fauré retained only “Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem, sempiternam requiem,” “Merciful Jesus, Lord, grant them rest, eternal rest.” * Some information here is drawn from the preface to John Rutter’s edition of the Requiem, which will be used for the concert.

Himself a veteran of France’s bloody conflicts, it seems fitting that Fauré would write his Requiem not in response to a particular death, but, as it were, to life, bringing to mind a phrase borrowed by John Rutter from the English Book of Common Prayer to add to the text of his own Requiem: “in the midst of life, we are in death.” In the same sentiment as Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem, Fauré’s masterpiece is a mass for the living, intended to impart comfort to those burdened by the paradoxes and pain of earthly life. In its gentleness, it reminds us of the voice of God, as in Isaiah: “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.”

COMING IN MAY

Friday, May 20, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Organ recital by Brent te Velde (freewill offering) The final installment in our presentation of Franck’s complete works for organ, presented by our own director of music.

Fasting as a Lenten practice Fasting group offered this Lent

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n the liturgy for Ash Wednesday, the Book of Common Prayer calls us to observe “a holy Lent” by “self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” Fasting is a doorway to all the other spiritual disciplines. People of faith have practiced fasting for millennia as a way to grow closer to God. It enriches our prayer life, takes us out of ourselves, and opens us up to the Spirit. By refraining from our normal diet, our focus shifts and our awareness heightens. Our connection to one another deepens. Fasting as a means of spiritual growth is a part of all major religious traditions. Jesus himself fasted before he began his ministry and John the Baptist ate nothing but locusts and honey.

There are many ways of fasting and we will explore several. In the past we at St. Stephen’s have supported groups of people undertaking a three-day Lenten fast. Other times we have chosen one day, say a Tuesday, and fast every Tuesday for all six weeks of Lent.

If you would like to explore the practice of fasting, to see if it is something you are being called to do this year during Lent, please come to an introductory meeting on Tuesday, March 1 at 7:00 p.m. in Room 14. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Claudia Merritt (cmerritt@ststephensrva.org) or sign up online at ststephensRVA.org/fasting.

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Acclaimed journal publishes two poems by Allison Seay

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n 2016, Allison Seay joined St. Stephen’s staff as associate for religion and the arts.

Among her many roles on the staff, she has brought celebrated poets to St. Stephen’s (Jane Hirshfield, Natasha Tretheway, Lisa Russ Spahr, Temple Cone, to name just a few) and wrote a weekly reflection on poetry Allison Seay (Photo by Jay Paul) with particular attention to matters of faith. Despite these contributions, what many of us forget (or maybe didn’t know) is that Allison is herself an award-winning poet.

Two of Allison’s poems were published in the most recent edition of Image, an acclaimed journal whose admirers have included Madeleine L’Engle, Bill Moyers, Henri Nouwen, and Annie Dillard, to name a few. The journal “fosters contemporary art and writing that grapple with the mystery of being human by curating, cultivating, convening, and celebrating work that explores religious faith and faces spiritual questions. Image is animated by our vision to be a vibrant thread in the fabric of culture, contributing to mainstream literary and artistic communities by demonstrating the vitality of contemporary art and literature invigorated by religious faith.”

In addition to writing poetry and essays, Allison has taught English literature in college and secondary school. She was poet-in-residence at the University of Mary Washington and taught English at Collegiate School in Richmond—experiences that also made her an especially insightful member of our family ministry team. She designed a unique Confirmation preparation program for St. Stephen’s three years ago, and has been integral to the flourishing of our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd offering. During the pandemic, she provided Catechesis presentations on video for families at home, and video reflections on art and poetry as part of the Friday Arts Series introduced during “lockdown.” She’s been a gifted preacher and reflector in our worship services and a popular speaker in the Sunday Forum.

With Allison’s permission, we share the two poems published in Image.

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Thou (the well) It is late last night the dog was speaking of you; The snipe was speaking of you in her deep marsh.

—ISABELLA AUGUSTA, LADY GREGORY

I have carried everything down and I’m talking to you from the inside It is late the dogs and the sniper speaking of you I carried them with me even the deep marsh I carried it and my entire life I have carried down the city of you the continent the fields of corn the fields of you a grove of olive trees moon sky wind you I have carried the entire thing my love I carried us both down and from here the view is really of no view only light as a pinprick precise as my memory in the dark I know I have what I need and all I need is the climate of you who are the climate of well who are the water and stone of well the dog the snipe the marsh the echo of you who are you who are I carried you I carried all that speaks all that speaks of you of you

Thou (a feather) It was not a dream.

Into the silk underdress of a country I disappeared like a moth in fabric, a garment of God whose hem I followed forgetting the other world away from here was crumbling.

I fell in love and said it aloud to no one.

It was in the late morning and I sat in a field of bright-faced poppies.

Then, in the fold of my dress a feather.

Which meant somewhere else, I could not see, a pretty creature was flying, unaware anything had been lost or anything given.

Allison Seay © 2022

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Julianne Tripp

The popular workshop will return this summer (but this time participants will be wearing masks).

Icon workshop to return this summer Suzanne Schleck to lead popular week-long offering Before the pandemic, St. Stephen’s church hosted an annual weeklong icon writing workshop. Unfortunately, it was not safe to hold the class in 2020 nor 2021. The good news is that we are making plans to bring this popular offering back this summer, July 25-29.

While students use paints and a brush, artistic experience and painting skills are not prerequisites. The willingness to let go and trust are much more important for this prayerful activity. In fact, painters are said to be “writing,” rather than “painting” the icon.

Using the traditional materials of egg tempera and gold leaf on gessoed panels, students in this workshop employ techniques developed at the end of the Iconoclast period (before the year 1000 A.D.), in which, through a gradual, step-by-step process, the writer sees a face gradually emerge from the darkness, a face glowing with an internal light.

Each day begins at 8:10 with Morning Prayer and concludes at 5 p.m.

Iconographer Suzanne Schleck teaches this class. The retired public school art teacher has studied for more than 20 years with the Rev. John Walsted, master iconographer and expert on 14th to 16th century Russian icons, and has taken additional workshops with Robert Lentz and the Prosopon School of Iconography.

Her work has been published in national Episcopal media and by Princeton Theological Seminary.

Participants in the previously-offered icon workshops—lay people and clergy who have come from the parish and beyond—have found it a deeply enriching experience and many are repeat students.

This workshop is extremely popular. We will open registration on March 15 at 11:00 a.m. You may register online at ststephensRVA. org/icon-registration or by calling the parish office at 804.288.2867, but not before 11 a.m. March 15.

All participants must show proof of vaccination (including booster), and all must wear N95 or KN95 masks while indoors.

Tuition ($375) covers instruction and materials, and some scholarship assistance is available. Participants are responsible for their own meals, and those who come from outside the area are responsible for their own overnight accommodations.

We are excited to be able to offer this wonderful opportunity again. Of course, if the public health picture changes as the dates approach, we will adjust our plans to keep everyone safe.

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Breaking bread

How eating together makes us whole

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esus was vilified because of his seemingly-indiscriminate eating habits. One issue was what he was eating, and whether this compromised the Jewish dietary laws.

More significant was with whom he was eating: with everyone. Though I don’t think Jesus was “a glutton and

By Curtis Almquist, SSJE drunkard,” as he was branded by his detractors, he did not spurn a feast. Jesus shared many-a-meal, and used the occasions of feeding and feasting, of gardening and farming, as venues and symbols for much of his teaching.

If you read the scriptures with an eye for food, drink, and feasts, you will hardly miss a page. The scriptures begin in the garden of Eden, full of “plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind” (Genesis 1:11). The Scriptures end with the promise of a banquet in heaven (Isaiah 25:6; Luke 14:15). In between the beginning and the end are countless stories about people hungering, panting after, thirsting, longing for both the food of this earth and what Jesus calls “the bread of heaven,” food that will last forever. We often have a taste of both from the same table.

The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all have stories of Jesus feeding a multitude of people. These miraculous accounts of Jesus feeding the crowds with bread and fish come after he has fed their souls. The reason the multitudes had gathered in the first place was because of their hunger for healing, and help, and hope … and they also turn out to have hungry tummies. Jesus addresses the hunger on both planes. In the Gospel of John we learn of Jesus’ meeting up with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. The woman is 10

quite literally thirsty for water; however Jesus also speaks to her, metaphorically, about “living water,” and she is thirsty for that, too. This mutual longing of body and soul is inseparable. What makes for a meaningful dinner party is not just the delicious food, but also the conviviality of the shared conversation. One without the other will not completely sate our longings.

In our world today—just as in Jesus’ day—“sitting at table” with someone, sharing food or drink, makes a social statement about yourself and your guest. Eating and drinking is our most basic human need, one that is shared across gender, race, culture, language, orientation, religion, education, or age. While the need to eat is universal, we most often tend to sate that need in closed groups. Perhaps you once experienced the proverbial high school lunch room, with its highly defined and stratified groups, each sitting at their own table. In our grown-up lives, the groupings might be less obvious, but can be no less present.

We eat within family groups, friend groups, work groups. Eating together solidifies our bond with those with whom we are familiar.

But the invitation of the table can invite us beyond our boundaries. To share food is an experience of being one with another. This opens a possibility to find commonality with those with whom we might disagree. To sit at table with others is to experience the humanity that we share, even with those whom we might consider as “other.” A conversation at table can be a disarming, delightful venue for meeting our neighbors. We are all neighbors to one another. At table with one another, we begin from a point of unity: our common need for our thirst to be quenched and our hunger to be satisfied. I remember sharing tea with someone with whom I had had an adversarial relationship. In the course of tea, the way opened for us to share SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Jay Paul

The Sunday Community Supper

We may not find ourselves very articulate about what all we believe—and why—about so many topics that are the currency of life. On some themes I find myself quite clear; on other themes I often stumble and sometimes find myself greatly puzzled. Perhaps you, also? What about sharing a drink or sharing a meal? With whom? People you know well, and those whom you do not. With the people very familiar to you, you may know their biases, their priorities, their reactions, their beliefs, their politics. Whatever. You know them so well, you’ve got them in a box you could label. And then there are people in your life whom you don’t know well.

So many people navigate their days having to engage in or to avoid a tyranny of small talk. A space in which to share conversation with someone on substantial matters can be so satisfying. It’s not unlike the difference between fast food eaten on the run, and a proper dinner that is shared. I have often found it an amazing experience to meet with someone at table, a kind of “level ground.” A shared meal or drink can quite literally open a portal of discovery, as we meet one another in our full humanity. Enter those conversations as a learner, especially when this person is someone you might call “other” from yourself.

In our world today—just as in Jesus’ day—‘sitting at table’ with someone, sharing food or drink, makes a social statement about yourself and your guest. Eating and drinking is our most basic human need, one that is shared across gender, race, culture, language, orientation, religion, education, or age.

Ask inviting questions, such as: • When you were growing up, what were you taught was most important?

• Who are your heroes?

• How do you celebrate?

• Where have you discovered beauty?

These moments we share with one another “at table” can be such tangible experiences of oneness. The goal is not to agree, but to find the freedom, welcome, and delight in making space for one another in our hearts, which is surely an anticipation of the hope of heaven.

Reprinted from Cowley Magazine with permission.

Parish suppers return!

Wednesday, March 9 and Sunday, March 13 We have not had a mid-week parish supper–called “Wonderful Wednesdays”–at St. Stephen’s since the pandemic began. Happily, that will change March 9! Wonderful Wednesdays suppers will resume that evening (time TBA) with tables indoors and, weather permitting, outdoors as well.

And on March 13, the Sunday Community Supper will also resume.

This offering joined our Sunday evening schedule soon after we introduced the sung Compline service, providing a bridge between the 5:30 p.m. Celtic service and Compline at 8. Many chose to make an evening of it, coming for the Celtic service, then eating together, and concluding with Compline. Since this supper was held outdoors in warm weather, we were able to offer it as the pandemic eased last summer. Once it began to get dark in the early evening and it became impractical to be outdoors, we paused the supper. Happily, we plan to bring it back on Sunday, March 13 when Daylight Saving Time resumes, with both indoor and outdoor seating.

John Jenkins

Jay Paul

life together, respectfully, thankfully, hopefully. It was the lemon pound cake. The first forkful did it for both of us. We both hummed with delight. It was so delicious. And with a twinkle in our eyes and smile on our faces, we began our conversation from a common vantage point.

These parish suppers are donation-based. Pay what you can. If you can pay a little more, please do—this makes it possible for us to offer it to those who can’t always afford to donate. Volunteers are needed in the kitchen to assist paid staff. To volunteer, please be in touch with Stan Barnett, sbarnett@ststephensRVA.org.

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The parish says farewell to two staff members Budget decisions touch every area of our community’s life

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s first announced in the fall, the leadership of St. Stephen’s Church made several difficult staffing decisions in the face of financial challenges, including the elimination of two positions. We will say goodbye to Allison Seay and Liz Bartenstein in the coming weeks and months.

Allison Seay, associate for religion and the arts, joined St. Stephen’s staff in 2016. The award-winning poet and essayist has taught English literature in college and secondary school. She was poet-in-residence at the University of Mary Washington and taught English at Collegiate School in Richmond. In addition to writing the weekly poetry guide Wellspring and bringing renowned poets to St. Stephen’s Church, Allison has been a frequent reflector in the Celtic service and lay preacher in our morning services, and has been involved in planning the liturgy for the evening service. She presented in the Sunday Forum, and led retreats and classes, such as an Advent retreat and a year-long survey class of the Hebrew Bible. She designed and guided the Confirmation preparation program for youth which we began using in 2018, as well as an in-town mission trip for young people interested in learning about the complex issues in their own city.

Allison has been deeply involved in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program. Not only is she herself a catechist, she has coordinated the program here and has served as the primary liaison with Anna Hurdle, who has trained our catechists for many years. During the pandemic “lockdown,” Allison provided a series of videotaped Catechesis lessons for children and families at home. She is a published poet and has been a prolific writer for Seasons of the Spirit and other St. Stephen’s communications.

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Allison Seay

Liz Bartenstein

Allison has been an important presence in pastoral care, tending to parishioners of all ages from baptism to death.

Seattle. Her work there included producing materials for a successful capital campaign and designing and building a new Web site.

Her work in formation for children and youth has attracted attention to St. Stephen’s, and she is scheduled to lead the clergy/spouse conference for the Diocese of Wyoming this year after their bishop took notice of her writing, sermons, and reflections on our Web site.

You can read about the inclusion of two of Allison’s poems in Image, a renowned journal, on page 8.

Liz Bartenstein has provided hospitality as well as administrative and communications support during her most recent time at St. Stephen’s, and worked closely with the clergy on pastoral care. This is Liz’s second time on our staff, the first coming in 2012 as interim farmers market manager, leading eventually to her working full time in the front office.

When she left St. Stephen’s, it was to become communications director at St. Paul’s Church downtown, where she revamped their communications and launched a new Web site.

She was then called to be communications director for St. Mark’s Cathedral in

When Liz returned to Richmond in 2019 to be closer to family and friends, Gary Jones asked her to join the staff— again as interim market manager and later full time in the front office. Liz has assisted with social media and web site maintenance for St. Stephen’s in addition to her front office duties, written Advent reflections and Seasons of the Spirit articles, and launched and maintained the online ordering site for the Café @ St. Stephen’s. Liz has written reflections for Forward Day by Day, and served two terms on the board of Forward Movement (the publisher of Forward Day by Day), including a term on their executive committee. The Polly Bond Award winner has continued to do freelance communications work for churches and non-profit organizations.

A graduate of Hollins University with a degree in art and a certificate in arts management, Liz is now working on her certification to teach art.

The people of St. Stephen’s are deeply grateful for the contributions of these members of our staff.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Feeling what we feel The first step in the practice of ‘reckoning’

Last May, the Rev. Cate Anthony, one of St. Stephen’s associate priests, was named an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow. The ECF fellowship supports Cate in imagining and implementing a ministry project within the context of St. Stephen’s and the broader church. Cate’s project focuses on reckoning: the Christian discipline of truth-telling and reconciliation.

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hen I first wrote my application for the Episcopal Church Foundation fellowship, I imagined that through the months of the project our community would grow together in the work of reckoning, or the work of remaining with one another even as we disagree, even as

By Cate Anthony we experience conflict, even as we cause each other pain. My hope was that we would learn to name the elephant in the room, as it were—to face the twists of this life and the inevitable conflicts of shared community, and to seek reconciliation through them.

What I’ve learned in the months since I began creating and implementing my project in earnest is that I missed a foundational first step, and that we cannot begin to reckon, quite yet. Instead, first, we need to do something even harder: we need to feel our feelings.

Imagine the last time you had tell someone you love that they’d hurt your feelings. It doesn’t need to be a big incident—maybe they simply said a passing remark that was more pointed than you expected, and it poked your heart just a bit too sharply.

What did that feel like? Did you know immediately you were

hurt? Did it take longer to realize that you had pain? Did your anger or surprise come out sideways before you were able to recognize them? When you did name your feelings out loud to your loved one, how did you feel just before you spoke? Was your heart pounding? Were your hands steady?

The ability to notice our emotions, name them, and own them is the foundational first step in reckoning. It is reckoning with ourselves so that we can be fully alive to this life, in the moment entirely, able to move and dance and flow with the journey of these days. When we feel our feelings, we become more flexible, more agile in our responses to the changes and chances of this life, and we become more practiced at creating vulnerable and deep relationships with friends and family. This is the place we have to start, if we want to become reckoning and resilient Christian humans.

And so my fellowship project is shifting just a little bit, to focus more on cultivating practices of noticing emotions both intellectually and in our bodies, and to learning how to name those feelings to one another with confidence. We will begin by looking to the stories of our ancestors, studying the emotional experiences narrated in the Bible in our Thursday Bible Study during Lent. I will also curate a daily digital worship and feeling experience for Holy Week (more details to come). These are first steps, and I hope that they will help us begin to feel fully, and together.

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Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, the largest seminary in the Anglican Communion, recently announced a plan for reparations, acknowledging the role that slaves played in building the institution.

Churches of the Diocese of Virginia plan endowment fund for reparations The biblical origins of reparations

By the Rev. Cate Anthony

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ast November, the annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia—composed of lay representatives and clergy from each church in the diocese—voted to establish an endowment totaling $10.5 million to begin the next phase of the work of racial justice and healing: repair and reparations. These funds will be used for grants and loans that directly benefit communities, organizations, and institutions of color, especially Black and Indigenous communities. This is a very significant step in the process of Episcopalians in Virginia reckoning with the role of the church in perpetuating and benefiting from slavery.

If you’ve never heard of reparations before, you may wonder what the point of this new endowment truly is. As a principle, reparations are understood as “material and social repayment made as acknowledgement and restitution by an offending party to an aggrieved party for wrong(s) done in order to repair the injuries, losses and/or disadvantages caused by the wrong” (Thabiti Anyabwile, “Reparations are Biblical” 2019). In many ways reparations parallel restorative justice models. Each have three main goals: acknowledgement of the wrongs done, payment for the wrongs done, and closure for both parties.

Beyond a philosophical or political grounding, reparations are actually an ancient practice with biblical foundations in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In the Hebrew

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Bible, Exodus 21-22 (directly following Moses’ delivery of the Ten Commandments in Chapter 20) outlines a series of laws given by God to the people of Israel to shape their communal life. Among these, people are instructed repeatedly to make material or social repayment to those they harm or whose lives they affect negatively.

In Luke’s account of Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10), Zacchaeus is so moved by his encounter with Jesus that he pledges the following to Jesus: “I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

While none of us own slaves in 2022, the reparations fund acknowledges that the system of slavery used to build and support the diocese in its early years has contributed to the modern-day economic, social, and cultural oppression of people of color (and particularly of Black Americans). The traumas of the past continue to echo in these days. The diocesan reparation fund seeks to address these echoes, even if only through a particular means.

Of course, monetary reparation cannot and does not erase the emotional, spiritual, or mental traumas experienced by people of color living under oppressive laws and culture in Virginia.

However, establishing these endowments enables the diocese to make real and tangible amends that directly promote flourishing in the lives of people of color. Tangibility is key to

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the kind of healing reparations seek.

The Rev. Colleen Schiefelbein, associate priest at St. Andrew’s in Burke and one of the authors of the resolution which established these reparation funds, shares that she hopes their creation “will continue to stir conversations about race, oppression and reconciliation in our churches throughout the diocese. We are all members of the one body of Christ.

There is so much work to be done to repair relationships, to open all our hearts to the wrongs we all have done to one another and begin to walk side by side with Jesus... [This step] gives us the opportunity to be reconciled with our siblings of color and to renew the fullness of God’s creation within the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.”

WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM? HOW WILL IT BE DISBURSED? The funding for this endowment will not come from the diocesan budget nor parish pledges to the diocese. The resolution adopted by the diocesan convention states: “This Convention requests the Executive Board to establish with the Trustees of the Funds an endowment over the next five years of $10 million to be set aside as an initial investment to begin reparations. The Trustees of the Funds shall, acting with their legal obligations as fiduciaries, and in consultation with the Task Force, the Executive Board, and the Bishop....

The proceeds ...shall be disbursed by the Task Force, subject to review and veto by the Executive Board for grants and loans in furtherance of such reparations [whose objective] is to provide direct benefits to BIPOC communities, people, programs, business, and institutions with preference for any which may have been specifically harmed by past unjust actions by the Diocese of Virginia, its institutions, or churches.”

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Good-bye (and hello) In late 2021 and early 2022, we said goodbye to three valued staff members, and welcomed one back.

Christi McFadden, our finance manager, resigned effective at the end of 2021. Christi has been a valued member of St. Stephen’s staff since 2015. She was a key figure in bringing the financial operations of several ministries under one umbrella as recommended by our auditors. She was instrumental in helping launch two e-commerce sites, the Café @ St. Stephen’s and May Fair House, to provide online ordering during the pandemic. Christi has been involved in stewardship and budgeting, providing crucial continuity following the retirement of Janet Allen. Christi kindly provided ongoing assistance as we sought a replacement for her—though she can never be replaced!

When Christi accepted the position with St. Stephen’s, she had been working at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ginter Park as their financial administrator since 2012. She is a 2000 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she studied systems engineering, gradually finding her way into finance. Christi and her husband Trent have two children, Ashley and Bowen, and they are members of St. James’s Episcopal Church.

Coco Provance, who was a long-time member of St. Stephen’s before she and her family moved to Maryland, returned to Richmond just over a year ago and was immediately recruited to join the staff. Her work has focused primarily on membership and scheduling volunteers for Sunday services. Coco has taken a position with James River Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the river. We’re glad that she will continue to be involved in our community as a parishioner. She has served in a variety of volunteer positions here, including with our farmers market and bookshop, on a May Fair house cooking team, as a Sunday school teacher, and as a St. Stephen’s volunteer at Peter Paul Development Center. The Johns Hopkins graduate has over 25 years of experience in university, non-profit, and foundation operations.

Greg Vick has served on our music staff several times over the past 15 years, beginning when Dan Moriarty was director of music. Greg played for Sunday morning liturgies, Evensong, and the Celtic service here. He holds a bachelor of arts in economics and business from Randolph-Macon College and has pursued graduate study in organ and choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He has served several churches and was the Lee Hastings Bristol Organ Scholar at Trinity Church (Episcopal), Princeton. Greg works full-time at St. Christopher’s School as Director of Upper School Choral Activities. He’s decided that the time has come for him to have only one job! We are so grateful for Greg’s significant contributions to St. Stephen’s and trust he will not be a stranger.

We are happy to announce that Kerry Court is serving as the pianist in Palmer Hall on Sunday mornings, a service she and her family had been attending since their return to Richmond from Washington, D.C. Kerry, who is now the inaugural Director of the Arts at St. Christopher’s School, was Director of the Middle and Upper School Choral Ensembles at St. Catherine’s School and director of the Virginia Girls Choir here at St. Stephen’s before she and her family moved to Washington. Kerry holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Bucknell University and a master’s in conducting from the Eastman School of Music. We’re delighted to have Kerry back along with her husband Ben and their son James.

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Sarah Bartenstein

The Ahmadi family at their home in Henrico County

Ahmadi family continues to make strides The family of three who arrived here from Afghanistan has grown to five In 2011, when Sultan Ahmadi began receiving strange phone calls and texts, he didn’t take them very seriously. They were more warnings rather than threats.

But that would change.

Living in Taliban-controlled Kabul, Ahmadi worked in logistics for a large U.S-based government contractor. “If

By Lisa Antonelli Bacon you know English and technology, you could get a well-paying job,” says Ahmadi. All went well until 2013 when things took an ominous tone. The phone calls and texts became more menacing, and taunts turned to threats.

“They said that I had to stop working for the American infidels,” Ahmadi says. His managers encouraged him to break his routines, change times and routes wherever he went. His work entailed going from village to village to determine just what was needed to get special immigrant visas for local people who were working or had worked for the Americans in Afghanistan.

“People were getting beaten,” says Ahmadi, and kidnappings began accelerating to killings.

Sultan Ahmadi was a logical target. In his job with the U.S. contractor, he helped obtain special immigrant visas for people who had worked for American concerns in Afghanistan. His facility with languages and his willingness to informally serve as an interpreter made Ahmadi doubly valuable to the insurgents.

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“Regular people like our families have no life there,” says Ahmadi.

“They don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow. They are looking for someplace to go if there is any possibility of getting out.”

Ahmadi realized it was time for him and his family to leave Afghanistan.

“It took me three years to get here,” says Ahmadi, sitting in the living room of the West End townhouse he and his wife Nooria recently bought. “We were afraid the whole time.”

When the necessary paperwork finally came through, elation was quickly followed by heartache. Ahmadi could only take immediate family, in his case, Nooria and their toddler daughter Sana. It was painful leaving family behind.

“Somehow, the people of St. Stephen’s appeared as we began our third week here,” says Sultan. The “somehow” was actually through St. Stephens’s affiliation with Commonwealth Catholic Charities, which has a long history of successful refugee resettlement in the Richmond area. James Price, now a member of St. Stephen’s vestry, and Deb Lawrence, who at that time the parish’s director of outreach, were among the first to come to the Ahmadis’ aid, providing a full range of necessities from transportation to school registration.

“Both Sultan and his wife Nooria seemed nervous and anxious at first but were happy to be safe in the U.S. They faced such danger and threats to their lives in Kabul,” says Lawrence. “Sultan’s English was SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

good, even with a heavy accent, but Nooria was very shy and reserved and spoke no English. In addition to being eight months pregnant with the Ahmadis’ second child, she was scared to leave home and family,” says Lawrence.

“She lacked confidence and seemed so very sad and afraid at times.

I can’t imagine coming to a foreign country where you don’t know the language, being homesick, and know you’re going to give birth in a month.”

Sarah Bartenstein

The Ahmadis welcomed their second child, Yousef, on schedule shortly after they arrived in the states. Their third, Farhan, recently turned three.

“Without their support from the very beginning,” he says, “we could not make good progress and most probably would not have the wonderful life that we have now.”

Lisa Antonelli Bacon, known locally for her work at STYLE Weekly, has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, CNN Traveller (UK), and Interior Design, covering a variety of topics from the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show to abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. Her broadcast news experience includes reporting for Dateline NBC and MSNBC Investigates. She is the author of Virginia: A Commonwealth Comes of Age. AFGHAN REFUGEES IN VIRGINIA

Nooria landed a job at a dry cleaner but worked there only a few months before COVID struck. On her own, Price says, she applied for and got a job at McDonald’s. Price was impressed: “She said she wanted to work the window in hopes of improving her English.”

The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban last year led to a new wave of refugees, particularly those who provided important assistance to U.S. forces and their allies during the war, putting their lives and the safety of their loved ones in jeopardy.

During the Rev. Raby Edwards’ tenure as rector, St. Stephen’s helped resettle the family of Sun Ho Nuon, whose life was in danger because the Khmer Rouge targeted teachers and others considered intellectuals. Once settled in Richmond, Sun Ho eventually joined the parish staff and was St. Stephen’s longest-serving staff member when he retired in 2017 (“From the Killing Fields to the Blessing Fields,” Lent/Easter 2017 Seasons of the Spirit). But it’s been decades since St. Stephen’s staff and parishioners helped a family resettle in the area with this level of involvement.

Last fall, you provided generous support to Afghan refugees housed at Ft. Lee here in central Virginia. Thanks to your gifts, we were able to provide warm clothing and other necessities— filling an entire bus! When other Episcopal churches in the area learned of our efforts, they joined us as well: All Saints’, St. Mary’s, St. Paul’s, and Holy Comforter. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Just before working with the Ahmadis, Lawrence says, “we did support a couple of other refugee families by collecting and delivering household items and furniture, but our involvement was limited.”

As time went on, Price and Lawrence helped the Ahmadis get their own home, enrolled the children in St. Stephen’s preschool, as well as providing all the needs that come with a major move from one side of the globe to the other.

“It was wonderful and heartwarming to see them flourish – especially Nooria,” says Lawrence. “She came out of her shell and smiled much more often, and both Sultan and Nooria began to find a life here.”

Lawrence says she learned a few things along the way.

“Directly supporting a family like the Ahmadis is intense, timeconsuming and expensive. Volunteer help from parishioners is critical and we were very lucky that a few parishioners became very interested in and attached to the Ahmadis and stay in touch with them to this day. There are so many levels of support needed– housing, employment, transportation, language assistance, medical care, childcare…the list goes on.”

Comfortably settled in their new surroundings, the Ahmadis have begun to build their still relatively new life.

“The people of St. Stephen’s were lifesavers,” says Ahmadi.

The Ahmadis, who are doing so well thanks in part to support from St. Stephen’s Church, now seek to assist members of their extended family who arrived in the United States last year.

These include Khusnood Nabizada, his wife, and their three young children. After arriving in the U.S., the Nabizada family was housed at two different military bases before relocating to the Richmond area, where they are in the process of securing an apartment and seeking employment. Khusnood is fluent in English and his wife is learning.

Like Sultan Ahmadi, Khusnood Nabizada assisted our government during the war. Sultan, as reported in the article

by Lisa Antonelli Bacon, received increasingly dire threats before he and his family fled to America. Khusnood was the target of a pipe bomb planted in the family car. Fortunately, he and his daughters—who were in the car with him when the bomb exploded—survived.

The U.S. government is providing some short-term assistance such as a rent subsidy, medical care, and a monthly stipend, but this will not be enough to sustain this family now that they are living in the United States. Ron Brown, our director of outreach, is seeking volunteers to help the family, as well as such things as a reliable car to help Khusnood get to work, and a computer for his school-age children.

If you would like to learn more about how to help, please contact Ron at rbrown@ststephensrva.org or 804.288.2867.

–RON BROWN

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Sacred Pause

Life in Christ, from Holy Baptism to the threshold of young adulthood

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By the Rev. John Jenkins

At every Baptism, the child’s immediate family and Godparents vow to bring up the child “in the Christian faith and life.” Moments later, the congregation vows to “do all in [their] power to support these persons in their life in Christ.” The congregation then share in renewing their own baptismal convent alongside those making it for the first time (and those making it on their behalf). We then administer water three times in the Trinitarian formula, “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” followed by the laying of hands on the candidate’s forehead, marking the sign of the cross with sanctified oil, and saying, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism, and marked as Christ’s own forever” (The Book of Common Prayer, Holy Baptism).

These vows are about intentionally orienting the life of our children into the life of Christ Jesus. The symbols and signs proclaim that through Christ, we are soaked in God’s love and named God’s own, God’s beloved, made children of God. From that point forward, as families in the community of the church, we strive to honor these vows to form and support our children in their life in Christ. The life of the church, therefore, is very much about remembering our true identity and supporting one another on the journey.

For our children, growing up is full-time formation. They are immersed day by day in the hands-on experience of learning how to become adult humans. Most of that formation happens by observing and absorbing the behaviors, attitudes, and habits of parents and other family. Their mind and body is trained in particular ways by schooling, but their character and personality grow primarily from daily life within the family, where the “how” of living continuously happens in real time and under real conditions.

In essence, every day we show young people how to be… [fill in the blank]! How to love. How to care. How to trust. How to forgive.

How to say yes or say no. How to be when in pain. How to listen and share. And while we may attend church with some regularity, the faith formation that matters most is absorbed and taught in the home. How to be faithful. How to pray. How to be compassionate, virtuous, kind. How to love. How to know and love Jesus Christ.

How to serve. How to see others. How to speak to and of God. In short, how to be the people God created us to be.

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Will Stanley

ast summer, St. Stephen’s Church introduced a new way to pause and acknowledge a momentous threshold in the life of our young people.

We called the event “Sacred Pause.” But before saying more about it, I’m going to begin at the beginning of the journey that leads to that threshold.

Last year’s ‘Sacred Pause’

All of this formation accumulates more rapidly than parents can believe! Suddenly, the child we baptized is graduating from high school. Many choose to pursue higher education and some choose other paths forward, but the end of secondary education for all is a monumental transition into a new phase of life: young adulthood.

It is a time for the church to pause and mark as sacred this momentous threshold in young people’s journey to adulthood. It is a time for a sacred pause to mark the occasion in God’s presence, to pray together in thanksgiving, and as a community of believers to bestow on these young people God’s blessing and assurances.

Last summer’s Sacred Pause, we must recall, took place after the most irregular senior year in living memory. Prior to the event, seniors were invited to craft private prayers to bring with them.

These prayers reflected on what needed to be said and offered to God in the midst of the pandemic. When we gathered outdoors for a special service of Celtic Eucharist, they placed their prayers on the altar as their offering. We burned the prayers and each graduate as well as parents and siblings were invited to add incense to the fire as the prayers burned and rose in fragrant smoke toward heaven. At the end of the service, after sharing Holy Communion, we spoke words of blessing for all our graduates, those present and absent, and sent them on their way with our love and the faith we proclaimed at their Baptism: remember always that you are God’s beloved and marked as Christ’s own forever.

We look forward to renewing this tradition with this year’s graduating seniors in May or June.

In the meantime, remember your vows to the Most High God, remember your true identity in Christ Jesus, and help one another along the journey of life, most especially our children and youth.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Youth Confirmation: a turning point

Jay Paul

Will Stanley

By the Rev. John Jenkins

Bishop Goff at Confirmation here at St. Stephen’s

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he way we think about the rite of Confirmation continues to evolve. Maybe this is because it is a tradition of the church rather than a Scriptural mandate like Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. For youth, those who were baptized as infants or young children, the promises affirmed in the rite of Confirmation simply echo the vows made for them by their parents and godparents. There is, however, a valuable difference and distinction to be made about how the promises affirmed in the rite of Confirmation differ from those of Holy Baptism.

Throughout the year leading up to the bishop’s visit, youth attend special presentations about key elements of the faith, and deepen their connection to our patterns of worship as well as connections with people in the parish community. This preparation is meant to equip them to consider the depth of the promises made in the Confirmation rite so that they may make a well-informed choice. As with all sacraments, we hold firmly to the maxim that all may, none must, some should. It is solely the young person’s decision whether to claim these promises for themselves.

Doing so means taking a substantive step

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forward into young adulthood because it claims responsibility for one’s own spiritual life and practice and honoring vows made to God in the midst of the congregation. For youth, the rite of Confirmation shifts responsibility for the spiritual life from parents to the agency of the young person. In this way, it is also another turning point on the winding journey from childhood to adulthood.

We look forward to our bishop’s next visitation, the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff’s, and celebration of this sacred rite on Sunday, May 15.

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Jay Paul

in an atrium is considered prayerful work. Among the work the children are invited to explore are models of church architecture, vessels, and garments. Other materials relate to the proclamations of our faith, our liturgy, and our communal sacramental life.

Catechists come from various churches to take the training at St. Stephen’s.

Training for catechists scheduled this summer Adults act as companions and guides to children in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd As this edition of Seasons of the Spirit was being prepared, plans were underway to offer training for adults who are interested in serving in one of our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atria. For many years, we’ve provided this training not only for our own parishioners but for those from other churches and denominations. Sessions are led by Anna Hurdle, one of the most effective and well-regarded trainers available.

WHAT IS THE CATECHESIS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD? The Catechesis (kat-i-KEE-seez) of the Good Shepherd is a religious formation approach for children ages 3 to 9. Based on scripture, liturgy and the educational and pedagogical principles of Dr. Maria Montessori, CGS began in Italy in 1954 under the guidance of noted theologians and educators Sofia Cavelletti and Gianna Gobbi. This manner of Christian education 20

is not primarily academic but instead seeks to be a religious experience rooted in celebration, contemplation and joy.

Children, even from the earliest age, have an enormous capacity for wonder and a deep and vital desire to develop a conscious and intimate relationship with God. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd seeks to nourish what is already present and indwelling.

WHAT IS AN ATRIUM? An atrium is a prepared, sacred space for children where they may meet and be grounded in the love of the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep by name.

We say that everything we do in the atrium is a prayer and, likewise, every material in the atrium is meant as a means for pondering the mysteries and riches of our faith; just as the life and work of a monk centers on prayer, so the child’s engagement and experience

WHO IS THE CATECHIST? The word catechesis means oral religious instruction and a catechist (KAT-i-kist) is the one who shares presentations and scripture with the children—parables and prophecies, geography, history, and the life of Christ. Importantly, the catechists are not teachers but cowonderers, listeners and facilitators who have prayerfully prepared the space and who have undergone extensive formation themselves in order to better understand ways that biblical and liturgical themes correspond to the developmental stages of children in their care. Catechists work under the assumption that Christ is the only “teacher.”

TRAINING FOR CATECHISTS Training will be offered for Level 1 and Level 2; it begins at 9 a.m. and continues until 4:30 p.m. each day.

Level 1, Part 2: July 25-July 29 Level 2, Part 1: August 1-August 5 Levels refer to the children’s age groups.

Training for each level has two parts, and while both parts of a level are required to be certified as a catechist, they do not need to be taken consecutively. Level 1 should be completed before taking Level 2.

Space is limited and registration is required for these in-person sessions, all of which will be masked. Tuition for St. Stephen’s parishioners will be waived. In order to keep everyone safe, all participants will need to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, including boosters, and provide a negative COVID test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival.

Registration will be available at ststephensRVA.org/levelone and ststephensRVA.org/leveltwo.

Contact Betsy Tyson to learn more, btyson@ststephensRVA.org.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Solemn Communion series for children and adults Beginning Thursday, March 2

Parents of these children, and any interested parishioners, are welcome to attend a parallel series in which simultaneous presentations are offered for adults. We hope to offer this formation in person but will move to Zoom if needed.

concludes with an all-day retreat on Saturday, April 2 and participants will worship together on Sunday, April 3, at 9 a.m. in the main church.

These presentations will take place on Thursday evenings, 6:30-7:30 p.m., March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. The series

If you have questions, please be in touch with Betsy Tyson in the parish office, btyson@ststephensRVA.org.

Do you have a recently-baptized baby?

Come to a reception!

Briget Ganske

Julianne Tripp

Children age 7 and older are invited to participate in a fiveweek series that explores the mystery of Holy Communion.

As children enter what is known as the age of reason, they are highly capable of delighting in the mystery and wonder of receiving the bread and the wine. This series is rooted in what are known as the Parables of Mercy; sessions explore ideas such as forgiveness, reconciliation, and abiding love.

While Holy Eucharist is indeed a celebration, we are mindful of the solemnity of the sacrament and wish to be companions to children both in their questions and their delights.

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 5:30-7:30 P.M Parents of recently baptized children are invited to a reception in the church courtyard on May 5 at 5:30 p.m. (if there is inclement weather, we hope to be able to gather in the Large Fellowship Hall, depending on current pandemic conditions). We are blessed to have baptized so many children since the beginning of the pandemic (55 babies!) that we want to celebrate these families, especially since we have not been holding Sunday receptions as we did before the pandemic. Our New Baby Ministry is designed to care for and support young families with new babies, especially during such a difficult time when we can’t always come together. Please join fellow parents at this reception for fellowship and connection. Contact Betsy Tyson with any questions.

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A progress report from the discernment committee co-chairs

By Jay Moore and Shelley Spalding

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t. Stephen’s discernment committee is the group of parishioners charged by the vestry to guide our parish through the transition from our ministry with our former rector and our new one. For some people in our parish, this is an anxious time, and we’re glad to give you this written update. (In the January 9 Sunday Forum, we reported on the committee’s work thus far. Visit ststephensRVA.org/discernment to see a video of that presentation.)

We’re happy to say that through the yearend holiday season and ups and downs in the pandemic, we’ve been able to remain on track in this process, which typically takes between 9 and 12 months and includes three phases.

Phase 1 is the discovering/visioning/ planning phase and is typically the longest and most time-consuming part of the process. It involves a parish self-study along with the creation of a portfolio and then a posting of the position.

In Phase 2, the discernment committee receives applications and conducts interviews.

We’re happy to say that there are already a number of highly qualified priests who are eager to apply when we begin accepting applications.

In Phase 3, the committee presents a finalist to the vestry, whose canonical responsibility it is to issue the call. Once the person chosen accepts the call, we will

begin our transition to a new ministry led by him or her.

The committee began Phase 1 by thoroughly reviewing the important work done by many of our parishioners through the Envisioning Our Future process conducted before the pandemic.

This work involved 20 months of engagement coordinated by five parish leaders along with “ministry liaisons” for 24 ministry areas. Dr. Susan Wilkes, the project consultant, met with the discernment committee to review the findings. With this background, and knowing that the world has changed since March 2019, the committee engaged a firm to conduct a parish-wide survey late last fall. We had a fantastic response, with 687 people participating in the survey.

In January and February, the committee held listening sessions—some in person and some virtual—to give people an opportunity to share in a way that they could not with a written survey instrument.

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SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Sarah Bartenstein

The discernment process

Following the survey, the committee began listening sessions—some in person and some virtual—in January and February. These listening sessions give people an opportunity to share in a way that they could not with a written survey instrument.

Sarah Bartenstein

Using what we’ve learned from these three things, the committee turns its attention to compiling a Community Ministry Portfolio. The portfolio is the official document that lists the rector’s position in the database of the Episcopal Church’s national Office of Transition Ministry. It provides some basic background information about St. Stephen’s, but most importantly allows us to describe our ministry to prospective applicants.

As many know, in the past it’s been customary to supplement the parish portfolio with a printed publication, usually called a “parish profile,” to expand upon the information in the portfolio. More recently this printed document has been replaced with a video and Web profiles. These will convey who we are at St. Stephen’s, and the vibrancy and diversity of our ministries.

Our goal is to invite applications this spring.

We’ll return to the Sunday Forum on April 3 to provide another update.

Thank you for your prayers and support, and thanks to the members of the discernment committee for their dedication to this important task.

A prayer for the discernment committee The discernment committee begins its deliberations with a prayer composed by Bob Dibble, a member of the committee who serves as its chaplain. This is the full version. A briefer version is included in our prayers each Sunday during worship services.

O God, in whom we live and move and have our being, who knows us better than we know ourselves, guide us in our discernment processes, as we search for a new Rector for St. Stephen’s. Empower each one of us to use our unique gifts, to share openly and honestly our thoughts, to respect the opinions of others, and to encourage humility, patience, and joy. And as we progress through this discernment process help us, above all, to trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—and that it may take a very long time. And so it is with us; our ideas mature gradually—help us to let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste, trusting that God is shaping what this new spirit gradually forming within us will be. Let us give you, O God, the benefit of believing that your hand is leading us, and accept the anxiety of feeling ourselves in suspense and incomplete.

Instill within each of us a vision of this Church’s family; that guided by your Holy Spirit we will be united in love and joyfully accomplish our sacred charge, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

—ADAPTED AND INSPIRED BY A PRAYER OF PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, SJ

THE DISCERNMENT COMMITTEE Gussie Bannard Robert Birdsey Becky Boyers Bob Dibble Thomas Goode Richard Kay Sharon Machrone Jay Moore, co-chair Mary Ashburn Pearson Martha Proutt Shelley Spalding, co-chair

As we’ve been emphasizing in recent months, it’s important to ensure that the parish office has up-to-date contact information so that we can stay in touch with you about this process. We want everyone to be well-informed and to know when there is an opportunity for you to participate in this process. If you’ve moved in the past several months, or your phone number or email address has changed, be sure to let us know. And if you have not subscribed to the eSpirit, please do! It’s the best way to ensure you receive important communication.

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The ministry of healing prayer and anointing When will these practices return?

One of the hallmarks of St. Stephen’s Sunday evening service of Celtic Evensong and Communion is the presence of healing prayer ministers and anointers.

Following Jesus’ example they participate in healing through prayer—most of it silent—and touch. Before the pandemic, during the Celtic service people would approach the healing prayer ministers asking for prayers for themselves or on behalf of others. People could also go to the anointers, extend their hands, and have them marked with blessed oil. These are intimate moments drawing us closer to the heart of Christ.

Anointing at the Celtic service

As we were going to press, we were ready to bring back anointing, and continuing to discern the best way forward with healing prayer. For now, we are all invited to pray for healing for all God’s people.

–THE REV. CLAUDIA W. MERRITT

The Feelings Wheel of Fortune: A Lenten Bible study

Lenten study to use Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved

The Thursday morning Bible Study will regather beginning on March 3, for a special Lenten study series, “The Feelings Wheel of Fortune: Emotions Throughout Scripture.”

The group meets each Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Small Fellowship Hall.

No registration is needed; come whenever you can.

How often do we long for someone to walk beside us, as Jesus did with his disciples on the road to Emmaus, and interpret scripture for us…tell us how to apply it to real everyday lives? We ponder the words from the Bible. We read interpretations by theologians and spiritual seekers. We flinch when we feel condemned. We’re comforted when we feel our lives are, at least for a moment, in synch with our understanding of God’s will. Yet we remain hungry…hungry for spiritual truth and guidance. Henri Nouwen’s Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World is spiritual nourishment to help satisfy that hunger.

The Rev. Cate Anthony and other members of the St. Stephen’s community will gather to reflect on the breadth of human experience throughout the Bible and our own lives. The feelings wheel or wheel of emotions, created by Robert Plutchik, offers a visual representation of primary emotions, displaying the varying degrees and complexities of different feelings. Each week will dive into a different segment of the feelings wheel (wheels provided by Cate!) and its stories in Scripture.

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Jay Paul

Since the pandemic began, we have not been able to offer healing prayer, and it has been deeply missed.

Recently we were able to bring back anointers, a welcome return, until the Omicron variant began sweeping through the country.

Join Betsy Tyson in this Lenten study as we explore Nouwen’s belief in the truth of our belovedness and living into that truth by becoming the beloved. . . letting truth of our belovedness become enfleshed in everything we think, say or do.”

The group will meet on Mondays from March 7 through April 4, from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. Visit our Web site for registration, ststephensRVA.org/beloved, and to find sources for the book. If you have questions, please contact Betsy at btyson@ststephensRVA.org or call her at 804.288.2867.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

ReWork Richmond’s enrollment grows Success stories of East End adults

never reach a family-sustaining level. After enrolling with ReWork and completing our aptitude and interest assessment, John’s skills, talents and interests matched well with the electrical trade career field. ReWork’s staff contacted one of our wonderful employer partners, Davis and Green Electrical, and John is now employed in their electrician training program as an apprentice. In just two years, John will be a fully licensed electrician with a career that can support his family. In the meantime, he is going to work each day to a job he loves and is interested in, knowing that his career trajectory has drastically improved, and the future is bright.

MORE VISIBLE OFFICE SPACE We are excited to announce that ReWork has moved to a new office space, just a few blocks away from its former location at St. Peter’s Church. ReWork is extremely proud and grateful to have been housed at St. Peter’s since opening our doors in February 2019.

Having our own office space provides greater community awareness and visibility and allows us to work with our members more efficiently. The new office is located at 2123 Fairmount Avenue in the heart of the East End.

John at his new workplace.

ReWork Richmond, the workforce development program that came about through a partnership among St. Stephen’s, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Church Hill, the City of Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building, and Challenge Discovery Projects, continues to improve lives.

ReWork’s mission is to empower underemployed adults living in Richmond’s East End by helping them obtain the skills and support needed to qualify for, and ultimately gain, thriving living-wage careers.

By Deb Lawrence

Born of the capital campaign that St. Stephen’s conducted as part of its centennial observance, ReWork takes a unique approach to employment. ReWork is about employment support and job sourcing that create lasting career opportunities for East End Richmond families, as opposed to finding entry-level jobs. The program is structured to provide a comprehensive array of personal support and employment referral services tailored to meeting the individual goals of each ReWork member (not client or participant).

Each member works with the ReWork staff to design a strategic individual career plan.

With continuing financial support from St. Stephen’s and other invested community partners, ReWork Richmond is making a difference in the lives of East End adults and their families.

Member enrollment continues to grow each month and we are pleased to report that members are making great progress on their path to meaningful, family-sustaining careers.

AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE MAKING Member John M. is a recent example. John was recommended to ReWork by partner Anna Julia Cooper School and came to ReWork needing meaningful employment that would support him, his wife, and two children. John had long been working an hourly job at a local grocery store, but that position provided no upward movement and the wages would S A I N T S T E P H E N ’ S E P I S C O PA L C H U R C H L E N T / E A S T E R | S P R I N G 2 0 2 2

YOU CAN HELP Would you like to make a difference in the lives of ReWork members and support their rise out of poverty? There are several ways you can help. If you have a roadworthy vehicle to donate, please let ReWork know. Each car is thoroughly checked out and detailed prior to delivery and we assist with the paperwork involved.

For additional details, contact Mark Murphy, markmurphydmm@gmail. com or 203.249.2164. Donations are taxdeductible.

ReWork also seeks committed volunteers who are interested in career and financial coaching, assisting with resume writing and interview skills, or connecting us to potential employer partners. To explore how your generosity and skills can help, please contact me at deblawrence@reworkrichmond.org or 804.869.3704.

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Another successful Christmas Shop

Sarah Bartenstein

Three years ago, St. Stephen’s began working with Communities in Schools to provide a Christmas shop for families of students at Fairfield Elementary School, our longtime partner in the East End. This approach gave parents and grandparents of Fairfield students the opportunity to select clothing, books, toys, games, and other gifts for their children—things they knew their youngsters would use and enjoy.

The pantry is the way we meet many who are in need; we will now offer additional, ‘wraparound’ services for those who desire them.

Food ministry promotes wellness through partnerships St. Stephen’s provides holistic approach for those we serve St. Stephen’s food pantry supplies nutritious food to 20 to 30 families each week. Thanks to a partnership with our farmers market vendors, patrons of the pantry are able to choose from an abundance of fresh produce in addition to shelf-stable dry goods. Three additional partnerships aide our patrons, if they wish, in taking a more holistic approach to their health and well-being.

By Anna Jones First, insurance navigators from United Healthcare visit the pantry once a month to help shoppers choose from the dizzying array of the Medicare and Medicaid options available. Anyone enrolled in Medicare can appreciate how helpful it is to have a partner in this process.

Previously, generous parishioners had purchased gifts through an “Angel Tree” for children they did not know. Our staff and volunteers, along with representatives of the school, thought that a Christmas shop would be a welcome change for Fairfield families, providing a greater sense of dignity and self-determination—not to mention the joy of selecting and wrapping gifts for their families. Using this new model, parishioners consulted a list of gift suggestions in various categories and brought their purchases to the church. These items were transported to Fairfield where they were arranged by age and category in the gym. Just before the Christmas break, adults were able to come to the gym to shop for their children.

Even during the pandemic, we have found ways to make the shop work, and 2021 was no exception. Thanks to you, we were able to provide Christmas gifts for 278 students. Not only did our parishioners (and those of other churches) provide the merchandise for the shop, our volunteers assisted parents on-site with wrapping and transporting the gifts.

Thanks to all for your participation.

Second, our pantry is designated a “wellness pantry” by Feed More. This means that Feed More gives us extra discounts on healthy food items, attractive signage for fresh produce in the pantry, and other logistical support. This designation as a wellness pantry has also led to a partnership with the American Heart Association, who will soon send nurses to the pantry to check patrons’ blood pressure and refer them to participating medical providers if they are at risk for hypertension.

We are excited that through all these partnerships, we are able to provide patrons with shelf-stable pantry items as well as additional avenues to good health.

Anna Jones manages our farmers market and coordinates our feeding ministries.

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Parishioners brought items for the shop to church, where they were sorted before being transported to Fairfield.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Ingredients for Thanksgiving meals delivered to 343 families

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hanks to the good work of many parishioners, we were once again able to deliver the ingredients for a delicious Thanksgiving meal, including a whole turkey, to 343 families during the week of Thanksgiving. These are families of students at Fairfield Elementary School, Anna Julia Cooper School, and, new this year, Elijah House Academy. Last year, we were not able to have as much hands-on parish involvement because of the pandemic, so it was wonderful to have such wide participation this year.

The 2021 drive also emphasized fresh food for the first time. In the past, the meals included a turkey along with boxed and canned side dishes and dessert mix. This year we were able to include fresh produce such as potatoes.

Many thanks to all who helped pack and deliver the bags: Diane Andrews, Toni Baber, Brenda Bartges, Lynn Burgess, Kristi Canaan, Kimberly Craig, Nancy Emerson, Bruce Evans, May Fox, Thomas Goode, Alice Goodwin, Kitty Hardt, Lee Hatcher, Anne Hines, Melisa Hudson, Mary Lee, Patricia Lewis, Sharon Machrone, Carrie Marshall, Marty McIntosh, Susan Moore, Nan O’Connell, Alice Phillips, Amanda Prusek, Colby Prusek, Joan Putney, Sally Rathbun, Aidan Sangiray, Janie Satterfield, Josie Schmidt, Fran Smith, Wendy TenHoeve, Jed TenHoeve, Whitney Van Der Hyde, and Vivian White.

Jay Paul

Sarah Bartenstein

A holiday tradition

Ron Brown, outreach director

Outreach presence on Sundays Have you met our outreach director, Ron Brown? Do you know who serves on our outreach committee? Do you have questions about St. Stephen’s outreach ministries or want to learn more about how to be involved? Beginning this winter, our outreach team is providing an ongoing presence at church on Sunday mornings.

Since this is the day of the week when most parishioners are here, Ron and others who have a role in leading our outreach ministries are present and ready to chat with you before or after a service. Look for them near the outreach table, located between the parish office and the Large Fellowship Hall.

Rebuilding Together Richmond

Our team at the Gordon Avenue residence last fall

Many of our outreach opportunities have been negatively affected by the pandemic, preventing us from helping in classrooms, taking Communion and Bible study to the city jail, and permitting visitors to enter our food pantry to choose their own groceries. Rebuilding Together Richmond, however, takes place largely outdoors. So last October, we were able to send our HANDS Ministry team to a residence on Gordon Avenue to make repairs that will allow the owner to remain safely in her own home. The team painted, pressure washed, repaired a door, banister, and fence, and made other repairs. Thank you to all who took part. Another event will be held in April. If you’d like to participate, please be in touch with Ron Brown, rbrown@ststephensRVA.org or 804.288.2867.

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Ladies Night Out speaker is a ‘super swimmer’ Courtney Moates Paulk to speak May 3

Courtney Paulk swimming the English Channel

Several years ago, the Women of St. Stephen’s added a festive evening program to their regular line-up of speakers. Called “Ladies Night Out,” this event features an elegant reception, a delicious dinner, and a fascinating speaker.

Like so many things, Ladies Night Out was felled by the pandemic last year, but we’re Courtney Paulk excited that this year, it will take place on May 3, with the reception at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m.

Reservations are required, and they always sell out! Details about reservations will be communicated in the Spirit and eSpirit.

This year’s speaker: Courtney Moates Paulk, a “super swimmer.”

Courtney is an ultra-distance open water marathon swimmer. In August 2021, she conquered the mother of all swims: a two-way English Channel swim (from England to France and back) in 27 hours and 36 minutes. Upon completion of this swim, she became the first person in history to achieve what is known as the “Double Triple Crown.” The Triple Crown of Open Water

Swimming consists of a 28.5-mile lap around Manhattan Island, the 20-mile Catalina Channel, and the 21-mile English Channel.

Courtney completed her first Triple Crown in 2013. Never one to settle, she then set a goal to complete each of the Triple Crown swims as doubles. In 2017, Courtney swam two consecutive laps around Manhattan in 20 hours and 15 minutes and completed a two-way Catalina Channel swim in 33 hours and 13 minutes.

Courtney also is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest female to complete a two-way Catalina Channel swim.

Courtney blogs at—wait for it—swimandtonic.com.

On dry land, Courtney is the first female president of the 90-lawyer Hirschler law firm and a highly regarded construction lawyer.

She’ll tell us what it’s like to swim through the Pacific Ocean in the dark, how she handles the cold water without a wetsuit, the types of sea life she has encountered (she has been bitten by sea lions and seagulls), and what motivates her to accomplish these amazing feats.

Don’t miss a fun-filled evening with an amazing presentation.

Are you new to this community? Come to a reception!

Are you new—or newish—to St. Stephen’s Church? Welcome! We know that, despite the pandemic, many folks have joined this parish over the past two years. We are honored that you have chosen to be part of this community and want to get to know you better and give you an opportunity to learn more about St. Stephen’s.

Jay Paul

Please come to a reception on Thursday, April 28, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., in the Large Fellowship Hall. This is an informal time when you can meet the clergy and lay staff, meet one another, enjoy some simple refreshments, and learn more about the parish. It is a “drop-in” event so please feel free to attend for all or part of the time. Children are welcome. We are excited to be able to once again invite newer people to this event; it has been two years since we’ve been able to gather to welcome people this way.

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We ask that you RSVP so we can have plenty of refreshments; you may either call the parish office at 804.288.2867 or use the online RSVP at ststephensRVA.org/newcomer-reception. If you have questions, please contact Claudia Merritt, cmerritt@ststephensRVA.org.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Women of St. Stephen’s award grants Each year, the Women of St. Stephen’s award grants to organizations that address human need in our community. Most of the funding comes from sales in the May Fair House. Remarkably, even though the shop was closed to in-person shopping for most of 2020 and 2021, these grants totaled $30,000 in 2021! Thanks to all those who shopped at May Fair House, and to the shop volunteers and church staff who worked so hard to make it possible for operations to continue, if in different ways, including e-commerce, phone orders, curbside pick-up and outdoor sales.

A list of the grants is available at ststephensRVA.org/woss and in the May Fair House.

OUTREACH GRANTS The outreach grants committee of the vestry will soon begin receiving grant requests from community organizations and our outreach partners. Visit ststephensRVA.org/grants for details.

St. Stephen’s jail ministry on hold—for now One of the many unfortunate casualties of COVID-19 has been our jail ministry.

Before the pandemic, we sent volunteers into the Richmond City Jail every week for Bible study and Communion for those who desired it. COVID cases in jails and prisons across the country have been high, and the staffs in these settings are understandably cautious. St. Stephen’s outreach staff and volunteers continue to stay in touch with the jail administration to make them aware that we are eager to return as soon as it is safe to do so. We continue to keep the men and women of the city jail in our prayers every week.

A tradition resumes

Briget Ganske

Volunteers and staff worked in the face of numerous obstacles

Individuals, couples and families invited to gather at Shrine Mont For many years, St. Stephen’s parishioners of all ages, individuals, couples, and families, have gathered for a weekend together at Shrine Mont, the diocesan camp and conference center in western Shenandoah County. This has been a time for rest and relaxation, reflection and reconnection with God and one another. It’s also been a way to get to know fellow parishioners better. Like so many other cherished traditions, this one has been pm hiatus during the pandemic.

We are delighted to announce that the parish weekend is scheduled to return, Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26!

The 2022 weekend will also be an opportunity to get to know our newest clergy: the Rev. Will Stanley, our vicar, and the Rev. Cate Anthony and the Rev. John Jenkins, associate priests.

This is a wholly intergenerational event—all ages welcome!

The theme for this year’s weekend is “Homecoming: A Time for Reconnection and Rest.” After the past two years of isolation, we want to focus on strengthening longstanding relationships and building new connections within our community of faith. The weekend will include Saturday morning formation for adults, youth, and children facilitated by St. Stephen’s clergy and staff. Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening will offer an abundance of time for fellowship, conversation, play, and rest individually or in small groups. The special time together will end on Sunday morning with Eucharist in the Cathedral Shrine of the Transfiguration.

Registration is open and is available at ststephensRVA.org/shrinemont. There is a 10 percent “early bird” discount for those who register by March 6. The final registration deadline is March 13.

Please note that there is a cap on the price for a family to attend. A family bringing two parents and more than three children will not need to pay fees for those additional children.

If you have questions, please be in touch with Cate Anthony in the parish office, 804.288.2867, or canthony@ststephensRVA.org.

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ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS AT ST. STEPHEN’S CHURCH The Rev. Michael Sweeney, our former director of family ministry and now middle school chaplain at St. Christopher’s School, was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests during Advent, and celebrated the Holy Eucharist for the first time here at St. Stephen’s on the Fourth Sunday of Advent (top left and bottom right). While we did not have a white Christmas, we did get snow soon after Christmas Day (top right and middle left). The youth pageant returned after a year off (center photo, middle row). The flower guild did their usual stellar job of decorating the church for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, and our dedicated altar guild prepared the church for the whirlwind of services in Advent and Christmas (right photo, middle row). In 2020, we didn’t have a children’s pageant because of the pandemic, but held a live nativity outdoors. It was so lovely and well-received, we repeated this practice in 2021 (left photo, bottom row).

Photos of Michael Sweeney and youth pageant by Jay Paul. Photos of snow by John Jenkins. Photos of baptismal font and and live nativity by Sarah Bartenstein.

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SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Services for Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Easter Maundy Thursday, April 14: The Institution of the Lord’s Supper 7:30 p.m., Holy Eucharist and Stripping of the Altar* followed by all-night vigil Good Friday, April 15: The Crucifixion of Our Lord 8:10 a.m., Morning Prayer, Communion from reserved sacrament Noon, Liturgy for Good Friday* 5:30 p.m., Stations of the Cross Briget Ganske

EASTER SERVICES

All services take place in the main church.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, March 2: Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes 7:30 a.m.

Noon* 5:30 p.m.

HOLY WEEK SERVICES

Saturday, April 16 7:30 p.m., Holy Baptism and the Great Vigil of Easter* Easter Day, Sunday, April 17: The Resurrection of Our Lord 7:30 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite One (note earlier-than-usual time) 9:00 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite Two, followed by reception (two services, one in the church, one in Palmer Hall) No education hour on Easter Day 11:15 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite Two, followed by reception* 5:30 p.m., Celtic Evensong and Communion* 8:00 p.m., Compline* *Services with an asterisk will be livestreamed.

Monday through Friday Morning Prayer and Communion, 8:10 a.m.

Wednesday, April 13 7:00 p.m.: Tenebrae (see page 5)

Sarah Bartenstein

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, April 10 7:30 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite One (note earlier-than-usual time) 9:00 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite Two All gather at the Three Chopt entrance to the church for the Blessing of the Palms before processing to separate services in Palmer Hall and in the church.

11:15 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite Two* 5:30 p.m., Celtic Evensong and Communion* 6:30 p.m., Sunday Community Supper outdoors 8:00 p.m., Compline*

Doug Buerlein

‘COULD YOU NOT STAY AWAKE WITH ME ONE HOUR?’

Maundy Thursday Vigil On Maundy Thursday (April 14 this year), we remember Jesus’ commandment to his disciples, “Love one another.”

It is the day we remember the institution of the Lord’s Supper before his betrayal, passion and death. At 7:30 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, there will be a service of Holy Eucharist, followed by the Stripping of the Altar and Procession to the Altar of Repose. This service is one of the most deeply moving liturgies of the entire year. An all-night vigil follows in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, and you are invited to take part for an hour, anytime between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

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SPIRIT

Presorted First Class Mail U.S. Postage PA I D Richmond, VA Permit No. 320

LENT / EAS TE R | SP RI NG 2022 I s s u e N u m b e r 42

ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 6000 Grove Avenue l Richmond, Virginia 23226 ststephensRVA.org

To reach a staff member, call 804.288.2867 or send an email using the initial and name provided in parentheses, with @ststephensRVA.org.

The Rev. Cate Anthony (canthony), Associate Priest Stan Barnett (sbarnett), Director of Kitchen Ministries Liz Bartenstein (lbartenstein), Hospitality and Pastoral Care Sarah R. Bartenstein (sbartenstein), Director of Communication Larry Bidwell (lbidwell), Facilities Manager Ron Brown (rbrown), Director of Outreach Phin Generelly, head barista Dillon Gwaltney (dgwaltney), Communications Associate/Video Producer Melissa Hipes (mhipes), Finance Chris Holman (cholman), Sexton The Rev. John Jenkins (jjenkins), Associate Priest Anna F. Jones, (ajones), Farmers Market Manager Betsy Lee (blee), Office Manager The Rev. Claudia W. Merritt (cmerritt), Associate Priest Allison Seay (aseay), Associate for Religion & the Arts The Rev. William S. Stanley (wstanley), Vicar Brent te Velde (btevelde), Director of Music Betsy Tyson (btyson), Chaplain to Palmer Hall Ethan B. White (ewhite), Assistant for Family Ministry Tyronn Wilkins (twilkins), Sexton The Rev. Patrick J. Wingo (pwingo), Interim Rector Our Missionaries Heidi Schmidt Monica Vega Vestry Serving until 2/2023 Bill Armstrong Alison Fauls Barbara Massey Benita Miller Blair Nelsen Jim Price

Serving until 2/2024 Richard Hamrick David Hodge Anne McElroy Penn Rogers Martha Sherman Nancy Thompson

Serving until 2/2025 Steven Dalle Mura Jeff Johnson Andy Luke Brenda McDowell Anne Pinion Whitney van der Hyde

Worship schedule now, and later Summer schedule begins May 29

Janet Vincent

Parish Staff

The current worship schedule will continue through May 22: 8 a.m.: Holy Eucharist: Rite One 9 a.m.: Holy Eucharist: Rite Two (in the main church and in Palmer Hall) 11:15 a.m.: Holy Eucharist: Rite Two* 5:30 p.m.: Celtic Evensong and Communion* 8:00 p.m.: Sung Compline* The Sunday Forum* and formation for children and youth will conclude on May 8.

The annual visit from our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Susan E. Goff, will take place on Sunday, May 15.

The summer schedule will begin on Sunday, May 29, Memorial Day weekend.

8 a.m.: Holy Eucharist: Rite One 10 a.m.: Holy Eucharist: Rite Two* 5:30 p.m.: Celtic Evensong and Communion* 8:00 p.m.: Sung Compline* *Indicates that this is available via livestream