Seasons of the Spirit, Lent/Easter // Spring 2017

SPIRIT LENT/EASTER | SPRING 2017

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

Do not waste the good life Gary wrote about the novel Breakfast with Buddha and the character Rinpoche on his blog in September 2015. With the retirement of Sun Ho Nuon, and increasing attention on the refugee crisis, he revisits the book and offers these reflections.

Breakfast with Buddha is a delightful novel laced with humor and wisdom. It tells the story of Otto, a middleaged, Protestant family man from Manhattan, a food writer and critic, who finds himself driving across the country with his flighty sister’s guru, a smiling, crimson-robed monk who is a migrant of Tibetan descent. The monk is a pleasant man. But he is not a typical traveling companion; he doesn’t talk much, and when he does talk, he speaks in broken English that is plain enough but not so great for rambling conversations on the road.

By Gary D. Jones

In fact, the amiable monk, Rinpoche, not only speaks very little, he does nothing in excess (except perhaps meditate). Rinpoche is the picture of moderation. Otto, on the other hand, has a tendency to overindulge in good food and drink now and then, particularly when he is stressed, and sometimes wonders if the monk judges him for his indulgence, even though Rinpoche has only kind words for Otto. It’s a fascinating ride, as Otto decides to show the appreciative Rinpoche some of what makes America great, from the Hershey factory in Pennsylvania, to Major League Baseball, to bowling and miniature golf. Rinpoche is at times like a beaming child in a candy store, but at the end of each day, he always returns to his quiet and contented life of moderation.

These very unlikely companions seem to grow in respect and affection for each other as they cross the United States, and Otto is given the opportunity to see his American life through fresh eyes. The constantly smiling Rinpoche absolutely delights in good, American fun. And Otto, the food critic and editor of cookbooks, becomes a little quieter in spirit somehow, more peaceful and less judgmental.

When Otto one day presses Rinpoche on his thoughts about eternal life, Rinpoche explains simply that this life we are living now is a very small part of a whole.

“You have the good life now,” Rinpoche tells Otto. “Do not waste, okay?”

It was a scene that reminded me of Jesus saying, “To whom much has been given, much is required.” In other words, don’t waste it by hoarding it. And it made me ponder again the tragic refugee crisis in the world today. It’s a crisis close to the hearts of Christians, as we recall that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were themselves refugees who spent the first years of Jesus’ life trying to find a safe place to live, while Herod terrorized the world.

Hard work and self-made people rightly inspire our admiration. But the truth is that much in our lives is determined by the circumstances of our birth, something over which we had no control whatsoever. I know that if Cherry and I had our children in a dangerous part of Syria, say, or Iraq, we would do all we could to move our precious family to a safer place, not thinking twice if crossing a particular border was illegal. When it comes to choosing between keeping your family safe and respecting national boundaries, there’s no contest, of course. Refugees know this in their bones. The challenge is for those of us who “have the good life” to realize that we waste it when we keep it only for ourselves.

Recalling that Jesus was a refugee, St. Stephen’s Church has a rich history of welcoming refugees and helping them to make a home in our great country.

Reading about the sometimes-cynical Otto and ever-grateful Rinpoche in Breakfast with Buddha reminded me of our parish’s relationship with one of the most endearing souls many of us have ever met, Sun Ho Nuon, a quiet and humble man who fled to a refugee camp in Thailand from Cambodia, barely escaping with his life. Eventually he was able join his wife and son in another camp, and in 1981, the family arrived in Richmond and the warm embrace of St. Stephen’s Church. Sun Ho speaks halting English and has a heart full of gratitude.

He is my Rinpoche, and his retirement celebration January 22 was one of the most moving events I have experienced in my 11 years at St. Stephen’s.

Sun Ho is a deeply spiritual man who has had to make do with very little, compared to many of us whom he has so lovingly served for over 35 years. Yet, Sun Ho’s cheerful demeanor has always conveyed that he has all that he needs and more. During Sun Ho’s first years here, when a longtime parishioner was appointed to help him with his finances, the parishioner was astounded to learn that Sun Ho’s simplicity of life and moderation in all things had allowed him to save enough to buy a small house for his family in Richmond. I cannot imagine a finer illustration of Jesus’ teaching that “the last shall be first” than Sun Ho. Just by being himself, he has taught us all so much.

I have sometimes had a hard time understanding Sun Ho’s English, but God has spoken very clearly to me through this man’s life. Sun Ho really doesn’t have to say much; his smile alone regularly reminds me that the circumstances of our birth can determine so much, including whether we must spend our lives seeking asylum or granting it. Whichever it is, in this troubled world of ours, I’m convinced that God hopes we’ll do it with all our hearts, so that nothing is wasted. ✤

in this issue From the killing fields to the blessing fields The global refugee crisis Mi familia Calming the storm: a young person’s story Mindful parent, mindful child Healing prayer ministry grows Speakers for Lent and beyond Lenten practices: what are yours?

Suggested reading Thank you A soothing addition

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In due course, Sun Ho was notified that St. Stephen’s would sponsor him and his family. While waiting for clearance to leave for the United States, Sun Ho and Sophany’s daughter Sophia was born.

On January 15, 1981, the Rev. Raby Edwards wrote to Sun Ho to say that “a warm welcome awaits you and your family here in Richmond and the members of St. Stephen’s are prepared to provide assistance in many forms as you become adjusted to your new home.”

The Nuons were not the first refugee family that St. Stephen’s had rescued from dire situations, nor even the first Cambodian family. A year earlier the church had resettled the Son Vieng family, providing assistance to them as they transitioned to their new circumstances here. In the aftermath of World War II, in the early ’50s, St. Stephen’s sponsored and resettled the Dubrovsky family from the Ukraine. At the same time the church was helping the Cambodian families, it was also providing assistance to the Okoth family who had fled Uganda to escape the horrific regime of Idi Amin. And currently the parish is helping the Ahmadi family, refugees from Afghanistan.

From the Killing Fields to the ‘blessing fields’

Matthew Oltmann

Sun Ho Nuon reflects on his life in Richmond as he retires after 35 years on the parish staff

O

n April 17, 1975, Sun Ho Nuon was peaceably working as a lead school teacher in the city of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Fatefully, that same day the Khmer Rouge, the murderous radical Maoist-MarxistBy Tony Anthony Leninist insurgency, captured Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, and took total control of the country. The killing began first with officials of the former government and any of its army the Khmer Rouge could identify.

Not long after, Sun Ho and 10 of his fellow teachers were separated from their families, herded onto a truck and driven into the remote countryside to undertake agricultural labor. That was the beginning of Sun Ho’s hair-raising and miraculous odyssey to Richmond and St. Stephen’s Church.

It was fortunate for Sun Ho and his fellow teachers that the Khmer Rouge at first focused on eliminating former high officials of the government and army, because he and his colleagues were technically government employees. By the time the Khmer Rouge decided two years later to go after anyone they classified as intellectuals, Sun Ho was living in a remote village growing rice. But he was rounded up anyway. Knowing he was as good as dead if he admitted that he had once been a teacher, Sun Ho told his captors he had been a taxi driver. A cousin vouched for him, he was released and went to live at his cousin’s house for a couple of years.

In 1979, having fallen out with their neighboring fellow-communist regime in Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge unwisely started a war that would lead to their downfall. In the confusion following Vietnam’s retaliatory invasion, Sun Ho decided to make a break for Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge caught him, accused him of aiding the enemy, threw him in jail and interrogated him for days. Somehow, Sun Ho convinced his jailers that he was not a collaborator, and they released him to a village near the border with Thailand.

Late one night, Sun Ho snuck out of the village heading for Thailand. But to get there he had to cross the notorious “killing fields,” a region near the

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We are of course enjoined by scripture to do these things: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:33-34) And, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me…” (Matthew 25:25-36) Accordingly, Raby Edwards organized a group of volunteers to help Sun Ho and his family, headed at first by Rita MacNelly, Harriet Schnell and Isabel Bates. Harriet Schnell says that when she had to step back to care for a newborn, Mary Hunton and her mother stepped up, providing key support and becoming very close to the family. Sun Ho remembers this with affection and gratitude. Many others helped as well, providing transportation for the family to the grocery store, dentist’s and doctor’s offices; helping the Nuons learn English; helping Sun Ho find work, and much more.

Sun Ho’s first job was at Rehrig International, the shopping cart manufacturer. In November 1981 when an assistant sexton retired, Sun Ho began working at St. Stephen’s. For much of the time that he worked at St. Stephen’s Sun Ho also held parttime jobs at Steward School, Godwin High School and Franklin Federal Savings Bank (now Towne Bank).

Sophany and Sun Ho with Soksan in a refugee camp in Thailand.

border the Khmer Rouge had sown with land-mines both to deter invasion and prevent escape by their starving, brutalized subjects. Astonishingly, Sun Ho threaded through the minefields without harm, and after walking for 36 hours, he made it to the Khao I Dang refugee camp just across the border in Thailand on January 1, 1980.

As Sun Ho says of the whole experience, “It’s a miracle I survived.”

One year after their arrival, the family wrote a letter of thanks to the people of St. Stephen’s, saying, “It is a wonderful life to be in the new country!” But the first year for them was “something new, strange and surprising. It was also very hard… [but] by your support we are saved from sadness…this is my second life. We are reborn among St. Stephen’s because we both have the same blood.”

Over the years the Nuon family has adapted well to what was for them a completely new culture.

Sun Ho and Sophany have put their three children

A miracle indeed. During the Khmer Rouge’s four catastrophic years of power, it is estimated that almost 2 million people died from execution, starvation or disease. Some who died were members of Sun Ho’s extended family.

Safe at last, Sun Ho was able to send for his wife Sophany and son Soksan, from whom he had been separated for so long. Shortly after his arrival, Sun Ho began teaching again at the camp’s Education Development Center. Sun Ho and his family moved through several refugee camps in Thailand, arriving finally at the Panasnikhom Transit Center in late 1980.

The relief organization handling their case offered Sun Ho the choice to go to Portland, Oregon, where he had extended family, or Richmond. Sun Ho chose Richmond because, he says, he liked the name of the city.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

through college and all are pursuing careers. Their older son Soksan graduated from the University of Virginia and is working for the Navy Federal Credit Union in Fairfax; their daughter Sophia, who arrived here as an infant, graduated from George Mason and has been working as a paralegal; Stephen, the youngest who was born after the family’s arrival, attended J. Sargeant Reynolds and is working at a restaurant in Glen Allen. The three children, and now two grandchildren, all attended St. Stephen’s Preschool.

Sun Ho says that every day he wakes up feeling blessed that he found St. Stephen’s. When he reflects on all the possible outcomes of his journey: becoming a victim of the Khmer Rouge, ending up in Portland instead of Richmond, he asks himself, “Why did God send me here? I went from the killing fields to the blessing fields.”

We at St. Stephen’s believe that his presence here has been a blessing for us as well. Isabel Bates says: “Sun Ho was always behind the scenes keeping St. Stephen’s running smoothly. Through the years Sun Ho became a friend who always greeted me with a hug and a smile. We would chat about our families as our children were the same ages. I will miss his quiet manner, steadfastness and friendship.”

The Rev. Thom Blair, who served as rector from 1994 to 2005, says, “The thing I valued so much in him was his faithfulness to his work through all sorts of good times and bad times…I remember the two of us shoveling one hell of a lot of snow together one Sunday morning, trying to get the walks open…I can’t say enough good things about Sun Ho as a person and a staff member.”

David Knight, senior associate on the clergy staff from 1995 to 2005, recalls Sun Ho as a wonderful part of the St. Stephen’s team. “The incredible journey of his family to this country, to Richmond, and ultimately to this parish became a rich blessing for St. Stephen’s Church. He has been a vital part for these many years of the ministry in which we have all shared, was always dependable and cheerful no matter what, and willing to help in any way he could.

It was a pleasure to work with him.”

David continues, “I shall always remember his warm laugh and his interest in all of our lives. It will be hard to imagine this place without Sun Ho’s daily presence here, but a new chapter in his life in retirement is well deserved. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

“Sun Ho is one of the most grateful people I’ve ever met, even on his worst day,” says Gary Jones, the current rector, who has worked with Sun Ho for 11 years. “His title was ‘sexton,’ but he was so much more. For me, he is a spiritual teacher. He would laugh and wave off that idea, but the best spiritual teachers are humble like that.”

Gary continues, “I’ve learned more from Sun Ho and his way of life than I can express. For me, his smile was his clerical collar.”

Sun Ho says he is sad to be leaving the staff: “It’s like saying goodbye from my country.” Except for a few rough patches here and there, he appreciates the good times, the jokes, the smiles, the friendliness.

“I love the church,” he says.

“It’s like my family.”

Sun Ho says he’ll come back from time to time, and when he does, we’ll have an opportunity to reassure him that even though he’s retired, he, his wife, his children and grandchildren will always be part of this family. ✤

Sun Ho and some of his colleagues, past and present, at the reception given in his honor January 22.

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

The global refugee crisis St. Stephen’s has a history of helping refugees escape life-threatening situations in their home countries and settle in the United States.

These have included a Ukrainian family escaping the Soviet Union in the 1950s, Sun Ho Nuon and his family and one other Cambodian family during the reign of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge; a family fleeing the regime of Idi Amin in Uganda, an Iraqi family who came to Richmond in the fall of 2015, and the Ahmadi family of Afghanistan, who also came here in the fall of 2015 after their lives became threatened because of Sultan Ahmadi’s work on behalf of the United States. The current global refugee crisis is historic, and includes millions of people displaced by the civil war in Syria. The following information comes from Episcopal Migration Ministries; a fuller explanation is posted at ststephensRVA.org/refugee.

WHO IS A REFUGEE? Nooria and Sultan Ahmadi and their Refugee is a legal term used to define an individual who “...owing to children are the most recent refugees to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, arrive here with help from St. Stephen’s. nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” Refugee status is conferred on those whose refugee claim has been definitively evaluated by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) or by the country of first asylum. During situations that cause mass flight of people from conflict or violence, where it is generally evident why they fled, refugee status is conferred prima facie.

An asylum-seeker is a person who has fled their home and has crossed a border seeking safety and protection. Asylumseekers enter the Refugee Status Determination process and may be conferred refugee status once their asylum claim has been adjudicated by the UNHCR or by the country of first asylum.

Refugees and asylum-seekers have fled their countries on account of persecution and because their home governments are unable or unwilling to protect them. They are distinct from other vulnerable migrant populations in that they have crossed an international border seeking protection. When individuals are displaced by conflict and violence within the boundaries of their home country, they are known as internally displaced persons (IDPs).

CURRENT REFUGEE CRISIS At the end of 2015, the UNHCR reported that there are more than 65.3 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people worldwide–the highest level ever recorded. Of that number, 21.3 million are refugees, over half of them children. The United Nations has deemed this the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II. While the crisis in Syria has dominated the media, it is important to remember, hold in prayer, advocate for, and support refugees from conflict zones across the globe—as well as the countries that host them.

The largest refugee populations are from Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan and South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The largest internally displaced populations are found in Colombia, the DRC, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria. The top refugee-hosting countries include Chad, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Turkey, and Uganda. Developing countries bear the greatest burden in international humanitarian response to refugee crises. Western, developed nations host a minuscule percentage of the world’s refugees. Many refugees remain in camps for decades before they are able to repatriate, integrate locally, or be resettled to a third country.

DURABLE SOLUTIONS After a refugee has fled persecution in his or her native country, there are three durable solutions that will allow the refugee to rebuild his or her life in peace and dignity: • Voluntary repatriation to his/her home country; • Local integration into the country of first asylum; • Resettlement to a third country.

Resettlement is the third and last option for any refugee, when it is not possible for the refugee to return home or to integrate into the country which first offered asylum. Resettlement is a long and arduous process, an opportunity available to only a tiny fraction of refugees. In fact, at current rates of resettlement, less than 1 percent of refugees will ever be resettled.

RESETTLEMENT COUNTRIES The number of refugees resettled to the United States is determined annually through the “presidential determination,” after conferencing with Congress, administration officials, and refugee/migration experts about admissions levels. In October 2015, the Obama administration announced an increase in the presidential determination for the next two years: 85,000 refugee arrivals for fiscal year 2016, and 110,000 refugee arrivals for fiscal year 2017. On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order suspending the entire U.S. refugee resettlement program for 120 days; banning Syrian refugees; and reducing the overall number of refugees who will enter the United States this year from 110,000 to 50,000. As this edition of Seasons of the Spirit went to press, that order had been delayed and was under review by the courts.

Along with the United States, traditional resettlement states are Australia, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom established resettlement programs in the last decade, and more recently, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Romania and Uruguay have formally announced the establishment of resettlement programs.

THE UNITED STATES RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM The U.S. resettlement program–the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)–is an interagency effort involving many departments of the federal government, as well as domestic and international NGOs, including faith-based organizations, a strong model of public-private partnership. The nine domestic NGOs are Episcopal Migration Ministries, Church World Service, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, International Rescue Committee, US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and World Relief Corporation. ✤ More at ststephensRVA.org/refugee

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Michael Sweeney

Laura Taylor Hopper and Charlotte Thornton (sunglasses perched on her head) and friends in Azua

Mi familia

By Charlotte Thornton

On Sunday, April 30, St. Stephen’s Church will honor and bless the class of 2017. In the Forum that morning, a handful of seniors will share stories of how their faith has been shaped through these formative years at St. Stephen’s. The event will also highlight the many ways this parish has been enriched by such an amazing group of young adults. The following story provides a taste of what you will hear. It is Charlotte Thornton’s account of her life-changing experience on a youth mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

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want to go back. I want to get back on the plane. I want to be back in the clouds overlooking the dollhouse-life below me. I want to go back to the twostory, flamingo pink hotel, to my room with the white tile floor and metal slots for windows, a rock-solid bed, a dresser, an old, bulky television with almost all Spanish channels. I want to be in the shower when the water cuts off and I have to yell for a friend to get it turned back on. I want to have no concept of time or need to rush or stress. I want to sweat in the scorching, equatorial sun. I want to get back on the old bus with fancy curtains on the windows and stare at the wild activity of the little town around me. I want to hear the cars and buses and motorcycles honk as they pass one another. I want to see the pastel houses across from the cream-colored church. I want to eat the fried, sweet plantains, the pineapple, the orange rice. I want to pull over on the side of the road and get out for a soda break with plastic cups and ice. I want the little girl in the red silk dress to carry her baby brother over to me during church and let me hold him. But most of all, I want to go back to the people.

The people changed my perspective. Each morning, our bus driver, Leo, arrived to pick up our group anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes later than we asked. This is what we called “Dominican time.” Not only is it a concept–it is a way of life. This is how the Dominicans live–laid-back, unstressed, no obnoxious iPhone alarm set to tell them when to leave or a family member screaming to hurry up.

The people are simply the friendliest I have ever encountered. They wave and blow kisses to total strangers, particularly to us strange-looking Americans. Our Dominican friends at the church always gazed back at us with smiling, contented faces. Whenever I would thank the head cook, Nicolasa, for the meals, she would pat me on the back, smiling, and say “siempre,” which means “always” in Spanish.

During the church services, Padre sang and danced as he preached; his enthusiastic love and passion for God came through. When he called for “la paz” (the peace) during the service, the Dominican people stood and hugged each person in the congregation, a 10-minute process involving people going from row to row. Here at St. Stephen’s, the peace is not as intimate; it lasts about 20 seconds and people just shake hands.

As we left to return to the States, the Dominican people came to our hotel for an early-morning farewell. They sang songs, held posters, and hugged us goodbye.

Padre told us that we were always welcome back and that we were now familia.

The seven days I spent in the Dominican Republic deeply affected me. Since I returned to my home in Richmond, I have had a different outlook on life. I try to be in the moment, to listen to others, and to smile more. I try to convey simple signs of affection and kindness like the Dominicans showed me. This is an important aspect of the Dominican culture. I am going to work to make kindness a part of my culture, too. The friendliness of the Dominicans and the love they showed me, a complete stranger, is something that will stick with me forever.

I hope someday I will return to mi familia in the Dominican Republic and be reminded, once again, of the magic of kindness. I must go back. ✤

Jan Locher

JESUS RECEIVES HIS NAME IN THE TEMPLE

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Catechist Allison Thurber presents a lesson from the Gospels’ infancy narratives. She is focusing on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple with Mary and Joseph, when Jesus receives his name. This activity took place in the Level II atrium on January 1 (the Holy Name).

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is the spiritual formation program we use for children age 3 through grade 3. This unique approach is based on the work of Sofia Cavalleti and Maria Montessori, and recognizes that children are already in touch with God in their deepest being. It is not ‘Sunday school,’ in the traditional sense of the word, with adults imparting information to children. Rather, adults serve as guides or companions—called ‘catechists’—who accompany children on their spiritual journey. The adult is said to ‘wonder with the child.’ Adults who take part find that it enriches their own religious lives in a profound way. Families whose children spend Sunday mornings in the atrium (their sacred learning space) are similarly enriched. To learn more about Catechesis (kat-eh-KEEsis) of the Good Shepherd, and how you can receive training to volunteer in the atria, visit ststephensRVA.org/catechesis, or contact the Rev. Gene LeCouteur, glecouteur@ststephensRVA.org.

SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Calming the storm

I pulled up to our destination. So many thoughts raced through my mind. After parking the car, I thought hard about how to respond to this rare glimpse into the heart of my 14-year-old.

The parent and confirmand in this article have given their permission for its publication.

A few weeks ago, my 9th grader and I were in my car talking about something unimportant. Then, unexpectedly, he changed the subject: “Mom, something happened to me in the confirmation group this Sunday.”

“Someday,” I said, “those kids will understand the way you do now.”

Surprised by the unforeseen twist in our conversation, I held my breath. These revelations into the mind of my teenager were growing increasingly rare.

One false move and his urge to share with me might spontaneously vaporize.

As the mother of a young person going through the process of confirmation, it is my hope that he will have ‘aha’ moments and, if I’m lucky and keep my mouth shut, I might catch wind of one or two. As I write this, my son is walking away from childhood and towards adulthood. The journey has already presented some dark, terrifying obstacles.

There was a long, quiet moment of silence before he said it. “I almost told them. I almost told my group how hard this year at school has been. How difficult a time I’ve had–with my anxiety.”

I focused on my hands, silently gripping the wheel.

This year had been a real struggle for my child and had required the help of experts and medication to manage. But, he had made us promise to keep our lips shut, to keep his secret, because he didn’t want anyone–most importantly his peers–to know that he was battling demons. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“What made you almost want to share with them?” I asked, knowing it had to be something profound for him to have had such a change of heart.

He hesitated and said, “Today’s discussion was about Jesus and the disciples when they got caught in the storm. We were supposed to think about who we would count on during really scary times, who we would want in the boat with us. Mom, that story was so true to me. I really got it. I don’t know if these

“I know, Mom. And maybe one day I’ll be able to tell them. But not yet,” he replied. “I’m not there yet.”

other kids have been through what I’ve been through, but I was so close to saying why that story with Jesus calming the sea meant something to me.”

I was listening so closely that I forgot to turn left at the light. I asked, “So, why didn’t you share your experience? What stopped you?”

He looked at me from the passenger seat. Right then, I was sure I’d said too much, or the wrong thing.

Probably both. My son sat quietly and then said, “Those kids would judge me. They would never see me the same way again... they’d think ‘There’s the kid with anxiety. Keep your distance—he’s weird.’”

“What are you talking about?” I interrupted. “Those kids wouldn’t think you’re weird–you’re not weird.”

“Mom!” he insisted, “I know they would... I was one of them. Before this year, I was one of those judging kids. I heard things through the grapevine and avoided people. Not in a mean way, but because I didn’t understand them. I put those kids all into one box. I judged them, Mom. So, I know what I’m talking about.”

I am reminded that confirmation marks the beginning of my son’s individual faith experiences and choices, which will be different from mine and those of others. He’s learning how to walk with God and talk with God, using his own feet and voice. He’s learning about Jesus’ unconditional love for him and how Christ is present even when he’s not visible. He’s learning that following Christ requires looking deeply into ourselves, admitting our weaknesses and being open to change.

How wonderful to know that my son and his peers are exploring the Gospel together and discussing how it applies to their own lives. He’s learning in his own way that Jesus doesn’t expect him or his faith to be perfect, but that his love for my son is. Perhaps it’s time to hand my own expectations of my son’s faith journey over to him and his Lord.

May God bless each of the confirmands as they grow within their own faith community and learn to trust themselves, their God and each other. ✤

Mindful parent, mindful child

By Michael Sweeney

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ast year a good friend of mine was going through a difficult time: facing a mysterious health crisis that forced him out of work for months, while struggling to save an increasingly strained marriage. He was under a great deal of stress, and experiencing more pain, emotional and physical, than he could possibly process. I thought he needed to discover meditation. Whatever name he might use for it—contemplation, mindfulness, centering prayer—I knew that such a practice would help him to still his mind and find some peace in the midst of the storm.

It is always easier to see what we think will help somebody else. Even as I was suggesting meditation to my friend, I had strayed from my own practice. I could come up with some decent excuses—fatherhood turning my life upside down would probably earn a knowing nod from parents—but they’d still be excuses.

In the fall, when I rededicated myself to spending time each day in silence, I heard something. Yes, most of what I heard was my own unceasing, unbearably annoying inner monologue. But one day I heard something different. In a moment of interior quiet, something drifted into my mind, as a breeze through an open window. It was the clear sense that I needed to write a letter to my friend. I didn’t know why, or what I would write, but I sat down anyway and soon found myself writing an apology.

I was sorry, I wrote, that I had been unable to see past my own biases and opinions. That I’d been so attached to particular outcomes—he and his wife staying together, for example—that I hadn’t been able to truly listen to him. I didn’t give him my simple, loving presence, and I was sorry.

This happens sometimes when we care about people. We can’t help but get our

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

LENT/EASTER | SPRING 2017

Briget Ganske

‘Many Parents, One Vine’ meets on Sunday mornings at 10:10 in Room 14. It is an opportunity for parents to make new friends, reflect on their lives from a spiritual perspective, and share the joys and challenges of parenthood.

The suggested reading is entirely optional, as weekly discussion guides present prompts for conversation. One parent describes Many Parents, One Vine as a time to “slow down and talk to each other, be fed by each other.” Another calls it “a community to walk alongside” and “what attracted me to St. Stephen’s.”

ideas mixed up in our caring. This is perhaps especially true with children because we care about them so much.

This spring (April 2 – May 17), Many Parents, One Vine will offer a series on mindfulness, following the work of Susan Kaiser Greenland and her book The Mindful Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate. Despite the title of the book—and the now well-documented benefits of mindfulness for children—the series will focus equally on helping us become more mindful parents. Because we can’t really help anyone else, even our own children, without first recognizing and letting go of our desire to help, with its limited, personal agenda.

The title of the book itself—a how-to for making someone else mindful—is ironic, if not absurd. Greenland, quite aware of the apparent contradiction, writes: When I started working with kids more formally, parents sought me out to help their children with specific issues: some parents wanted their children’s academic performance to improve; others wanted to give their kids calming skills; others hoped to instill conflict resolution skills; still others wanted to introduce a spiritual dimension. All of these goals were laudable, but they also attached a purpose to the practice, which, if left unacknowledged, could make mindfulness simply another enrichment activity to further our own (and our children’s) ends. (The Mindful Child, p. 40) As our children’s lives become ever more driven by specific purposes towards particular outcomes, I hope that you will join us for this series on mindfulness, that we might know the peace that exists beyond purpose, the peace that surpasses understanding. ✤

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Briget Ganske

Healing prayer ministry grows at St. Stephen’s

“W

hen I received my diagnosis, I couldn’t think straight,” a Celtic service participant whispered to a healing prayer minister. “But I felt instant relief when you placed your hands on my shoulders. I was able to relax and open myself to God’s healing love.”

Healing prayer ministers frequently receive comments like these which affirm the importance of this ministry of St. Stephen’s Church. The ministry

By Sam Davis has been in place since 2007 and is an integral part of the Celtic service that takes place each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. It serves to connect those desiring a prayer for themselves or someone about whom they care deeply to the presence of the Holy Spirit for comfort, strength and guidance.

Healing prayer, which is conducted almost entirely in silence in two chapels— the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit—provides a fitting complement to the lighting of candles and celebration of Holy Communion during this contemplative service. Healing prayer ministers are lay members of St. Stephen’s who go through a period of discernment and training before committing themselves for a period of at least a year.

People ask what these lay ministers do when they pray with people, as though there were something magical about it. Instead, as healing prayer ministry leader Catherine Whitham says, “It is less about doing something than about simply being present with those who come seeking comfort and guidance.”

Or, as Gayle Royals puts it, “Being a healing prayer minister requires no special talent, only a willingness to be present with another person and listen to them. It’s a very personal, one-on-one ministry.”

Another seasoned healing prayer minister says that when we touch another living thing—human, animal, or plant—something passes between the two organisms that is akin to divine energy connecting us in a holy and healing way.

Another minister, Susan Albert, reports, “Serving on the healing prayer team is a deep privilege and responsibility. To be trusted with a stranger’s most intimate thoughts, to be invited into another’s most vulnerable soul, requires one to be respectful, sensitive, gentle and tender.”

Healing prayer ministers prepare before each Celtic service by reading a passage of scripture, reflecting on its message, and praying together before entering the church. After the service, they gather to offer support for one another and conclude with a prayer. In this way, the ministers affirm God’s presence with those who have come forward and ask God’s peace for all who remained seated.

Confidentiality underpins every aspect of this ministry.

Other healing prayer ministers affirm the importance of this offering. Bill Mears, who participated in a similar ministry in his parish in New York City, spoke of the benefit he receives from serving as a healing prayer minister here: “Not only have these prayerful experiences been profound and essential to my spiritual life, they have helped me grow as a Christian. I thank God for this continuing opportunity to enhance my spirituality.”

Each week, more people come forward seeking healing prayer. Soon the desire for this healing touch could exceed the numbers of those already committed to the ministry. Catherine Whitham invites others to consider contacting her to begin the process of discerning whether they might be called to this vital and rewarding ministry. To learn more, send an email to her at cwhitham@comcast.net, or call the Rev. Penny Nash in the parish office at 804.288.2867. ✤

Food for the journey

D

id you know that St. Stephen’s offers weekly Bible study guides and poetry guides by email? Both guides are free and available to anyone, not just to members of St. Stephen’s or to those participating in a Bible study or other small group.

These guides, which are distributed weekly during the three “covenant periods,” are also posted on our Web site. (Covenant periods are three distinct 10week periods when Emmaus Groups meet in the fall, winter, and spring.) Printed copies are available at Information Central.

The Weekly Bible Study provides background and commentary on the Gospel reading assigned for the coming Sunday’s worship, along with a series of questions for individual reflection or group discussion.

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Similarly, the poetry guide, titled “Wellspring,” features a different poem each week—classics by Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost, as well as work by contemporary poets, including those visiting St. Stephen’s—followed by suggestions for individual reflection. Wellspring is the work of Allison Seay, a poet and a member of St. Stephen’s staff.

by groups here for the past several years, and Allison has been refreshing the questions on each of the Gospel readings. Emmaus Groups are also invited to send suggestions to Allison based on their discussions of these scripture passages.

Allison has also been working on the Bible study guides originally written by the Rev. Gary Jones and the Rev. Gene LeCouteur. Those guides have been used

To see examples of the guides and sign up to receive them, visit our Web site at ststephensRVA.org/biblestudy and ststephensRVA.org/wellspring. ✤ SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Poetry as a bridge to God In my sophomore year in college, I wrote a poem.

Though I had no idea how to go about doing this, I composed a page and half of hifalutin mumbo jumbo that I was quite proud of and eager to show one of my teachers. He asked me to read the poem out loud to him.

I once heard poet Li-Young Lee say, when addressing a group of graduate students: “Language is not the thing. Language is the means toward getting at the thing.”

By Natasha Oladokun

He said some kind things. Then, after a few moments of quiet, he asked, “Would you talk like this to God?” I shook my head.

He smiled. “Well, if you wouldn’t say it in a prayer, don’t put it in a poem.”

What my professor did not know is that he’d touched a raw nerve in my view of the sacred. The truth is, my prayers often were stock, mechanical laundry lists, dusted with a few O Lords and Father Gods to remind me whom I was addressing.

I believed—or intellectually assented, at least—to the concept of God being near and ever-present. There is a saying that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. But in prayer I spoke to God with more distance than I would toward a stranger.

And yet, with study, poetry has become my rickety bridge from desolation to the divine. As it is for many others, I am sure, my default setting is often that of detachment: a proclivity for thinking of God as distant, obstructed—intensified when I’m feeling lonely and anxious or condemned by my own failings.

There is some degree of reality in this perception of obstruction: brokenness is a wall that both contains and deflects, while that which once seemed intimate and knowable becomes closed off, wholly unfamiliar.

This piece first appeared in Good Letters, the blog published

by IMAGE (www.imagejournal.org), a publication based in Seattle. It is reprinted with permission. Natasha Oladokun lives in Virginia and frequently attends St. Stephen’s regular poetry readings.

Whether in writing or in prayer, trust remains intertwined in the creative movement: There is the vehicle, there is the destination, and there is a force that pushes the one to the other. And in it all, a kind of faith that one is heading toward something of consequence.

Attempting to write creatively—by opening the self to the beguiling terror of possibility—seems counterintuitive as a spiritual practice. I still don’t know what poetry is, or isn’t—only that the craft of it is unpredictably alluring, frustrating, and sustaining.

It is difficult not to worship what one adores. But however analogous spiritual searching and the creative process may be, poetry is a poor substitute for the divine. Still, I wonder if our tendency to worship idols is often less a matter of defiance and more a kind of impatience, coupled with a blinding ache for something authentic.

There’s an old cliché that makes its way onto billboards and church marquees: “FEELING FAR FROM GOD? GUESS WHO MOVED?” I find the taunt here unsettling, an oddly uncompassionate approach toward those who are at best questioning, and at worst, truly in agony and desperate for a sacred presence.

Even Christ, in death, felt far from his Father. “My God, my God,” he cried, “why have you forsaken me?”

In his agony, Jesus chose to borrow language, quoting the poet-king David who began a psalm of anguished inquiry with those very same words.

And here lies the question of whether or not God actually abandoned his son—or if, in his son’s absorption of the world’s brokenness, Jesus could not (for a time) know the presence of the Father.

I’m inclined to believe the latter.

As poetry has caused me to reevaluate the way I think about language, so has Christ caused me to reevaluate how I think about God. I understand God even less

Speakers coming in Lent and beyond

than I understand poetry. Still, I’ve often found myself thinking of faith in terms of what I know, as though whatever convictions I hold spring entirely from the strength of my own conjured abilities or intellectual posturing.

I try to be more cautious now. Not out of a belief that God is unknowable, but because I am daily coming to see faith as a way of actively recalibrating—un-learning, if you will—my humanly skewed view of him: a reductive view, a view that exalts my own belief instead of the source of it. “[I want] not my idea of God, but God,” C.S. Lewis writes.

Here, again, we may think of Christ. There is John the Apostle’s rhapsodic—dare I say, poetic—prelude in the New Testament: The Word was God…and the Word became flesh. His gospel and the three others in concert with it render a composite portrait of someone profoundly baffling, unpredictable, compassionate, witty, provoking, and powerful—the embodiment of God, a living ekphrasis.

What we are offered is a moving portrait of the divine disclosed: God known not merely by human imagination or preconceived expectation, but by embodiment and recorded language.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth. Here God’s character is revealed, God beyond our circumscribed conceptions: a plain-as-day imparting, yet full of mystery. And it is this mysterious nature of grace—and of writing—that continues to challenge my assumptions about the divine.

Over time, my prayers have become less poetic, while poetry—however I encounter it—has come to feel more and more like urgent prayer: whether in invocation, heartache, or ecstatic praise.

Yes, words will often fail. They will fail to do justice to our deepest longings, betrayals, and wounds. And yet, in that faltering, may we seek mercy for what language cannot touch.

May we yet seek the strength to pursue the Word, full of grace and truth. ✤

Saturday, April 1, 9 a.m. I Greg Garrett Is This Heaven? How stories of the afterlife shape our present

Several speakers will be here in the coming weeks and months. Additional details, including registration, are available at ststephensRVA.org/speakers.

What is heaven? Will it look like a baseball diamond in an Iowa cornfield? Will it be like dancing cheek to cheek? Will it have streets of gold? Although we explore possibilities about this life and the next in our faith traditions, Greg Garrett argues that we frequently do so in literature, art, and popular culture as well. In this Saturday Lenten retreat, we’ll ask what stories about heaven, hell, and purgatory have to teach us about this life. Suggested donation: $25

Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18 I Pittman McGehee Lenten Retreat You may attend either session (suggested donation $25 for either), or both (suggested donation $40).

Friday evening, 6-9 p.m.: The Integrated Life This lecture/dialogue will focus on the four corners of the human organism. We are bio/psycho/social/spiritual beings. Each quadrant will be defined and resources will be made available to weave the four functions into an integrated “whole person.”

Friday, May 5, at 5:30 p.m. I Marjorie Thompson Grounded in Compassion: Fostering Spiritual Practice in an Age of Terror and Twitter As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care is presenting a speakers series, including this presentation by Marjorie Thompson, the author of Soul Feast. Thompson’s talk is co-sponsored by St. Stephen’s, the location of VIPCare’s first satellite office. An audience question-and-answer session and reception will follow her talk, which is free and open to the public.

Thompson is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. She has served as director of the Pathways Center for Spiritual Leadership and has exercised a ministry of teaching, writing and spiritual guidance for many years.

Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon: A Healthy Spirituality for the 21st Century The zeitgeist, or spirit of the times, dictates that a healthy spirituality must include a healthy psychological worldview. Through lecture, dialogue and experiential exercises, this workshop will attempt to help fashion a healthy spirituality for the 21st century.

McGehee is an Episcopal priest and Jungian analyst in private practice in Austin, Texas. He is widely known as a lecturer and educator in the field of psychology and religion, as well as a published poet and essayist. He is the author of The Invisible Church: Finding Spirituality Where You Are and The Paradox of Love.

Books by our speakers are available in the Bookshop @ St. Stephen’s.

This poet has been described by the New York Times as “radiant and passionate” and by other reviewers as “insightful and eloquent.” Her subjects range from the metaphysical and passionate to the political, ecological, and scientific to subtle unfoldings of daily life. Suggested donation: $25

A word about suggested donations We suggest a donation of $25 to attend most events (unless noted otherwise); this usually covers the expenses of our bringing these outstanding writers, teachers and thought leaders to you. We want our speakers to be accessible to all; please do not let the suggested donation keep you from attending an event.✤

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

LENT/EASTER | SPRING 2017

Curt Richter

Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m. I Jane Hirshfield Poetry Reading

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Holy Week and Easter services

Maundy Thursday, April 13 7:30 p.m., Holy Eucharist and Stripping of the Altar followed by all-night vigil

Briget Ganske

Good Friday, April 14 8:10 a.m., Morning Prayer and Communion from the reserved sacrament, 8:10 a.m.

Noon, Liturgy for Good Friday 5:30 p.m., Stations of the Cross, led by St. Stephen’s youth

Holy Week services All services take place in the main church.

‘Could you not stay awake with me one hour?’

Maundy Thursday Vigil On Maundy Thursday (April 13 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.

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

Evensong, 5:30 p.m.

............................................................................................................................

Easter services Holy Saturday, April 15 7:30 p.m., Holy Baptism and the Great Vigil of Easter

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, April 9 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 in Large Fellowship Hall 8:00 p.m., Compline

Easter Day, Sunday, April 16 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)* 11:15 a.m., Holy Eucharist: Rite Two, followed by reception* 5:30 p.m., Celtic Evensong and Communion* 6:30 p.m., Sunday Community Supper in Large Fellowship Hall 8:00 p.m., Compline Child care available during 9 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 5:30 p.m. services (age 4 and under)

Lenten practices

M

any who grew up in the Episcopal Church (or another faith tradition that gives particular attention to Lent) are accustomed to “giving something up” during this penitential season. As a child, you

By Sarah Bartenstein might have given up chocolate or soda or television. Adults might give up alcohol or sugar or cursing or even coffee. (I tried the coffee thing one year. I don’t care how strong your English Breakfast Tea is, it’s not the same.) Some people try giving up things that are more difficult to measure, and perhaps even more difficult to practice, like giving up gossip—harder than it sounds. I’ve observed friends signing off of Facebook on Shrove Tuesday. I’d love to try that, but monitoring social media is an occupational requirement for me.

The idea of “taking something on” is popular, as well.

When I was a child, we did this with the Church School Missionary Offering, dropping coins into a small, red and white cardboard box. We’d bring these offerings to church on Easter Day along with daffodils and azaleas to flower the cross, and our coins would go to support missionary work.

Perhaps you’d find it helpful to read a devotional book or Forward Day by Day, or take on a new spiritual practice, such as daily prayer, meditation, attendance at our weekday services of Morning Prayer or Evensong.

You might pray for people in other parts of the world using the Anglican Cycle of Prayer. A bigger stretch might be committing to praying daily for someone you find difficult to like or understand.

Giving something up and/or taking something on are not mutually exclusive. You can do both. The point of giving something up might be to understand what it means to hunger and thirst; to identify more deeply with Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, or with people who have less than we have; or simply to get in touch with how greedily and mindlessly we reach for certain things in our lives, something we don’t recognize until we try to give them up. When we

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empty ourselves and our lives of certain things, when we remove certain distractions or barriers or clutter, we make more room for God. Taking something on might help us replace an unhealthy or unconscious habit with something more life-giving. It might help us recognize something beautiful in the world or in other people (even in ourselves). It might help us learn something. It might move us to make lasting changes in our lives.

Whatever the practice, though, it’s not simply a spiritual version of a New Year’s resolution, but a way of drawing closer to God. Here are a few things that clergy and lay staff at St. Stephen’s plan to try.

Life’s busy. Sometimes God gets crowded out by all the things in my life that have to be done immediately. Lent, for me, is a time to re-center, to be reeled in, to feel God tugging on the cord that connects us. Fasting is a practice that does just that. I fast for three days at the beginning of Lent and then one day a week during Lent. This is not so much a discipline as an opportunity to leave all that distracts me and turn toward God. Every time I think about food or find I am reaching for it, I pray to be more present to God; I pray in thanksgiving for the life that I have. I find that I grow closer to God and am more awake to the Spirit at work around me.

CLAUDIA MERRITT I have always liked the idea of having my own vegetable garden but I especially loved it when my parents, or my neighbors, actually had one—it meant I could enjoy its gifts without having to do any of the hard parts—no sweat, no dirt. It’s not easy to motivate myself in winter, when the ground is difficult, the air is cold, and it’s simply much more comfortable to not. Or to hope somebody else will do the work and then share with me the fruits of their labor.

But I’ve decided this is the year. (I’ve already bought some seeds!) I’m almost ashamed to admit that I didn’t connect the work of a garden with the work of Lent until now—but what an obvious relationship!

All these rich ways of thinking about fertility, new life, fruit, the slow invisible drama happening beneath the surface. I can sow many seeds indoors

Groups for Lent Several groups will meet during Lent to study particular books or spiritual practices.

Visit St. Stephen’s Web site at ststephensRVA.org/lent for information about groups, retreats, Ash Wednesday services and more. as early as mid February—and in the meantime prepare—o dirt! o toil! o labor!—for whatever is to come. ALLISON SEAY Early in my life I would give up sweets. That might seem simple but it actually required discernment and awareness: what is a sweet? Is it limited to dessert or candy? Could it be a treat, like peanut butter?

Regardless of what I decide, I have to be aware of what I am eating, to not simply pop something into my mouth without thinking. The most instructive times for me were when I accidently broke my fast.

At those times I pondered most carefully what the fast meant, why I was doing it, and what it meant to break it, even accidentally. I learned not to castigate myself but to give thanks for God’s love and care. It was a powerful way to deepen my spirituality.

I have also taken on disciplines during Lent. One year it was attending Morning Prayer on a weekly basis. Other times I chose a book or practiced more intentional personal prayer. Each of these contributed to how I practice at times other than Lent.

This year I intend to do a modified version of past practice, giving up a food as a way of reminding myself of the abundant gifts that God has given me, and taking on some spiritual reading. I may use A Season for the Spirit by Martin Smith or Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. I may read both! Whatever practice you choose, may you have a holy Lent that is rich in spiritual growth.

GENE LECOUTEUR ✤ SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Lenten reading

T

he Bookshop @ St. Stephen’s offers a wealth of books suitable for reading during Lent (and at other times). The shop is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., on Sunday mornings, and during special events.

DAILY DEVOTIONALS

By Gene LeCouteur A Season for the Spirit: Readings for the Days of Lent by Martin Smith: This classic, written by a great Anglican teacher and former superior of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, is my personal go-to book for Lent.

Wondrous Encounters is by Richard Rohr, a popular Franciscan brother and teacher on spirituality. Fr. Rohr is an important writer on contemplation and overcoming dualism in our lives.

All Shall be Well: Readings for Lent and Easter features writings from a variety of teachers and authors including Joan Chittister, Pope Francis, John Updike, Mary Oliver, Phyllis Tickle and many more.

Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter is the predecessor to All Shall Be Well, and includes work by St. Augustine, Wendell Berry, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Merton and many more. Both titles are exceptional for their breadth and depth.

Lent with Evelyn Underhill is another classic. This noted British writer on the interior life uses a clear, perceptive and distinctive style.

Lent and Easter Wisdom from Thomas Merton is from the great mystic and writer of the mid-20th century. These are excerpts from his oeuvre relating to the days and spirit of Lent.

OTHER TITLES APPROPRIATE TO LENT THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE The Grace in Living is the latest book from Kathleen Dowling Singh, a visitor to St. Stephen’s and author of The Grace in Dying and The Grace in Aging. Learn to recognize the grace in our lives through your own spiritual biography. Learn to trust the presence of grace and to live in it and live from it. This book also includes intimate first-person accounts from teachers such as Cynthia Bourgeault and the late Ellen Kympton (who was a member of St. Stephen’s).

An Altar in the World is by Barbara Brown Taylor, a recent visitor to St. Stephen’s, who writes, “I have no idea what you will see when you look at your life—but if you are tired of arguing about religion, tired of reading about spirituality, tired of talk-talk-talking about things that matter without doing a single thing that matters yourself, then the pages that follow are dedicated to you. My hope is that reading them will help you recognize… some of the altars in this world.”

In A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life, Parker Palmer writes of our yearning to live undivided lives—lives that are congruent with our inner truth—in a world filled with the forces of fragmentation. Mapping an inner journey that we take in solitude and in the company of others, Palmer describes a form of community that fits the limits of our active lives. Defining a “circle of trust” as “a space between us that honors the soul,” he shows how people in settings ranging from friendship to organizational life can support each other on the journey toward living “divided no more.” ✤

The Connection (the sequel)

By Sarah Bartenstein “I know it in my gut.”

“My stomach just flipped over.”

“That makes me sick.”

How often do you think or say things that assign prescience or thought or emotion to an organ we normally associate with receiving and digesting our food?

Briget Ganske

That’s no accident. The connection between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract isn’t just metaphorical. It’s biological.

The brain/gut connection is beginning to receive widespread attention in the medical community, and understanding the “microbiome”—the delicate balance of bacteria living in the gut—is the new frontier in gastroenterology. Clinicians are seeing more and more gastrointestinal problems that are attributable in part to stress and the way that 21st century humans deal with it. Our western diets contribute to the problem.

As a result, some gastroenterologists are pursuing their specialty in a more integrative and holistic way. Though this approach is more common on the West Coast than it is here, Savita Srivastava, M.D., is establishing an integrative gastroenterology practice especially for women in Richmond, and is working with JoAnn Bibb DeForge on incorporating mindfulness skills to reduce stress in their lives and improve their GI health. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction has been shown to benefit cardiac patients; Dr. Srivastava believes it can ameliorate many gastrointestinal issues as well.

JoAnn introduced mindfulness meditation classes here at St. Stephen’s several years ago as part of the parish’s wellness ministries (which also include yoga, tai chi/chi kung, nutrition classes, our Farmers Market, and our Sunday Community Suppers), and she continues to offer them three times a year. Each course lasts six weeks, and there are sections for beginners and continuing students.

Dr. Srivastava—who studied at Yale University and who has worked as a gastroenterologist at Duke University and the University of Virginia—and JoAnn will present a panel discussion on this approach and the science behind it at St. Stephen’s on Thursday, March 30, at 7 p.m. Also participating will be Tina Shaver, a registered dietician. For those who attended “The Connection,” a documentary film followed by a panel discussion here last spring, JoAnn calls this the sequel. There is no charge to attend this event which is open to the community. ✤ 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

LENT/EASTER | SPRING 2017

CHRISTMAS AT ST. STEPHEN’S Christmas pageants were presented at St. Stephen’s by children (Saturday, December 17) and youth (Sunday, December 18), marking the anniversary of our return to the renovated nave. Thousands attended our Christmas Eve services. Many thanks to all the children, youth, and adults, the choirs, altar guild, flower guild, and other volunteers who made these services so beautiful and meaningful for all.

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THANK YOU TO THESE INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES WHO HAVE MADE THEIR PLEDGE FOR 2017: Chris & Valerie Abbott, Ben & Lucile Ackerly, Cabell & Lucy Ackerly, Cassel & Pearl Adamson, Dave & Marion Addison, Ned Addison, John & Mary Frances Aiken, Susan Albert, Al Albiston, Tom & Elizabeth Allen, Litt & Carol Allen, Robert Allen, Janet Allen, Rachael Ambler, Lang & Lisa Ambrose, Chris & Carroll Andrews, Jason & Kathryn Angus, Sal Anselmo, Tony Anthony, David & Becky Anthony, John & Barbara Apostle, Janie Armfield, Fran Armstrong, Bill & Ellen Armstrong, Susan Armstrong, Carol Armstrong, John & Toni Ashworth, Jackie Atiyeh, Carl & Nancy Atkins, Margaret Austin, Charley & Sally Ayers, Mason & Marie-Claire Ayers, Bob Aylor, Marc & Julia Ayscue, Jim & Mary Beth Baber, Glenna Bailey, John & Violet Bain, Bill & Mabel Baldwin, David & Gussie Bannard, Ben & Mary Barbot, Gene Barham, Angela Barksdale, Robert & Mary Elizabeth Barnes, John & Patsy Barr, Larry & Sarah Bartenstein, George & Laura Baskerville, John & Bev Bates, Mac & Isabel Bates, Lee & Kate Batten, Beth Baylor, Kevin & Beth Beale, Caro Beebe, John Bennett & Joan Putney, George & Kay Best, Rick & Mary Holly Bigelow, Cheryl Blackwell, Pat Blair, Chris & Kimberly Blair, Beth Blair, Jack & Sue Blair, Eldridge & Erika Blanton, Doug & Lisa Blouch, Doug Blue, Roger & Anne Boeve, Lew & Anne Boggs, Chris & Caroline Boggs, Genie Borum, Debra Bosko, Skip Bottom & Susan Bell, Julian & Melissa Bowen-Rees, Peter & Jakie Bowles, Gene & Cynthia Bowles, Jim Boyd, Scott & Becky Boyers, Martin & Ellen Boyle, J. Christian Bozorth, Margaret Bradley, Thomas & Maggie Bradshaw, Pat & Tricia Branch, Read & Jody Branch, Caroline Brandt, Gini Bray, David & Nancy Breeding, Liz Brengel, Don Brennan & Brooke Davila, Barbara Brierre, Cordell & Ginny Briggs, James & Ibbie Britton, Allen & Sydney Broaddus, Kathy Brock, Joe & Leslie Brockman, Judy Brown, Bill & Suzanne Brown, Hill & Peggy Brown, Rod & Pat Brown, Glennie Brown, Kirk Brown, Orran & Ellen Brown, Paul & Gere Brown, Brian & Beth Brubaker, Sara Bruni, John & Joan Bruns, Pat Bryant, Mary Brydon, Michaux & Judy Buchanan, Robert & Ingrid Buell, Blissie Buford, Wads & Wendy Bugg, Paul & Betsy Bullock, Jeff & Kathleen Burden, John Burgess, William & Lynn Burgess, Mary Anne Burke, Archer Burke, John & Mimi Burke, Marshall Burke, Henry Burke, James Burke, Mark & Anne Burnett, Barbara Burrows, Bob Burrus & Adrienne Hines, JB Burtch, Dianne Butler, Bob & Edie Cabaniss, Ed & Lauren Caldas, Tim & Chris Call, Gigi Calvert, Michael & Beverly Campbell, J.B. & Lois Campbell, Jerry & Kristi Canaan, Courtenay Cann, Jack & Anne Cantile, Marygrace Cantilo, John & Lisa Caperton, Tom & Sandy Capps, Doug Carleton, Linda Carpenter, Judy Carpenter Hawthorne, Trace Carson, Hugh & Marie Carter, Paula Carter, Ashley Carter, Cabell & Marion Chenault, Evan Chesterman, Bob & Anne Chewning, Tom & Sarah Chiffriller, Nathan & Dawn Childs, Polly Christian, John & Sandra Christian, Dixon & Kate Roy Christian, Billy & Lisa Claiborne, Cole & Macon Clarkson, Richard & Kay Clary, Steve & Joan Clement, Noel & Meg Clinard, Clark Cockrell, Anne Cockrell, Ted & Claire Cole, Ron & Stephanie Coleman, Bob & Jean Collins, Bobby & Barbara Cone, Liz Cone, Angela Constantino, Barbara Cook, Elliott & Gale Cooper, Patsy Cooper, Robert Copeland, Christopher Corts, Tommy & Claire Cottrell, Jim & Margie Couch, Tom & Carpie Coulbourn, Tom & Sterling Coulbourn, Clark & Amanda Coulbourn, Brian Couturier, Chris & Meredith Covert, Ned & Sharon Cox, Tom Cox & Penny Nash, Beese Craigie, Glen & Karen Crawford, Hatcher & Spot Crenshaw, Hatcher & Leslie Crenshaw, Beth Crews, Michelle Crim, John & Mary Crowder, Todd Culbertson, Anne Gordon Curran, Martha Curry, Bill Dacey, Steven & Barbara Dalle Mura, Jane Daly, Teddy & Lucy Damgard, Christa Daniel, Natalie Daniels, Claude & Mary Meade Davenport, Tudie Davenport, Ken & Ann Davis, Gordon & Virginia Davis, John & Cami Davis, Sam & Susan Davis, Michael & Dianne Del Bueno, Jere & Paula Dennison, Lou Dent, Brian Dent, Martha Dent, Sam Derieux, Sara Deringer, Vijay & Peggy Dhande, Bob & Clarice Dibble, Ken & Sherlyn Dibble, Earl & Carol Dickinson, Robert Dilday, Hartwell & Keith Dillard, Preston & Blair Dillard, Jennifer Dockum, Carter Doswell, Bill & Leslie Douthat, Betsy Downey, Mimi Dozier, James & Catherine Driscoll, Harley & Laurie Duane, Dan & Paula Dukes, Keith & Susan Dull, John & Debbie Dunlap, Mary Catherine Dunn, B.J. Durrill, Dick & Nancy Page Edmunds, Berkeley & Cheney Edmunds, Gilmer Edmunds, Jan Edwards, Christopher & Whitney Edwards, Dottie Eichner, Jim & Lynne Einhaus, Paul & Anne Ellett, Larry & Rhonda Elliott, Bob Ellis & Aleta Richards, Ben & Nancy Emerson, John & Lea Emory, Karen Emroch, Matthew & Morgan Engel, John & Kristen Estes, Susan Estes, John & Bruce Evans, Tom & Mary Margaret Evans, Anna Evas, John & Jane Fain, Gail Fairbanks, Amanda Faircloth, Currie & Martha Anne Fairlamb, Ted & Ashley Farley, Mack & Mary Faulkner, Ted & Alison Fauls, Bobby & Betsy Fauntleroy, Wilda Ferguson, Ben & Maureen Field, Randolph & Caren Fields, Karen Fisher, Herbert & Marian Fitzgerald, Mary Fleming, Garland & Betsy Flippen, George & Alice Flowers, Jack & Cheryl Fockler, Vicki Ford, Mary Foster, Bruce Fountain, Jay & Anne Fox, Charlie & May Fox, Leigh & Justin Frackelton, Guy Frank, Walter Franklin, Harriet Franklin, Gay Fraser, Marcia Frazier, Nancy Frazier, Doug Freeman, Susan French, Peter & Nini Frey, Ann Fry, Larry & Betty Fuccella, Steve & Kirki Fuller, Roger & Lynne Fuller, Liz Galloway, Bill & Tibby Gardner, Rod & Betsy Gardner, Graham & Jennifer Gardner, Ruth Garrett, Heath & Bea Gates, Bill & Carol Gay, John & Lora Gayle, Don & Celie Gehring, Randy & Debbie Gibbs, Richard & Amanda Gilbert, Vinny & Key Giles, Les & Dusty Gillenwater, George Ginn, L.H. Ginn, Holmes & Kim Ginn, Doug & Karen Glasco, Steve & Sarah Glass, Stephen & Cheryl Goddard, Ann Goddard, Preston Gomer, Thomas & Missy Goode, Bill & Alice Goodwin, Matt & Kirsti Goodwin, Allen & Louanna Goolsby, Kim Gottwald, Mark & Ellie Gottwald, Norruth Graham, Hatch & Rachael Grandy, Winston & Mary Gravely, Lawrence & Freddie Gray, Neal & Melanie Green, Kevin & Mary-Stuart Gremer, Skippy Gronauer, Peter & Julie Grover, Charlie & Beth Guthridge, Ashby & Lori Hackney, Bruce & Sandra Hague, Polly & Nan Hall, Jane Hall, Brent & Lindsay Halsey, Jerry & Brenda Ham, Dick & Bonny Hamrick, Doug Harbert, Anne Hardage, Kitty Hardt, Tom & Margo Hardy, Melinda Hardy, Eva Hardy, Marion & Sara Hargrove, Reno & Pat Harp, Eric & Courtney Harper, Peggy Harrelson, Beth Harris, Gib & Pam Harris, Dot Harshbarger, Jerry & Sandra Hart, Pat Hartsock, Diann Hawks, Betty Hayter, Darrell Headrick & Bill Allen, Katie Hellebush, Reed & Micki Henderson, Tucker & Jann Henley, Bob Henley, Tiny Herron, Bitsy Hester, Ruth Hill, Brack & Katja Hill, Bitsy Hillsman, Bob & Anne Hines, Mac & Joan Hines, Steven & Carroll Hippeard, Roy Hoagland, Bill & Nancy Hofheimer, Cam & Dixie Hoggan, Rick & Molly Hood, Bill & Mikal Hoofnagle, Patrick Horne & Elizabeth Williams, Stuart & Linda Horsley, Waller & Cookie Horsley, Maria Howard, Knox & Shirley Hubard, Happy & Kenzie Hubard , Gary & Joanne Hudson, Matt & Melisa Hudson, Marnie Huger, Robert & Betty Hull, Betsy Hunroe, Chris & Margaret Hunter, Eppa & Mary Hunton, Gibboney Huske, Will & Suzi Hutchens, Randy & Rossie Hutcheson, Molly Hyer, Ann Hyer, Claiborne & Michelle Irby, Lynn Ivey, Charlotte Ivey, Clay & Lynn Jacob, Bettie Jacobsen, Sidney & Janet James, Donna Jarvis, Jack & Tracy Jebo, Alma Jenkins, Hunter & Sheryl Jenkins, Jay & Jane Jenkins, Martha Jenkins, David & Caroline Jennings, Frank & Sharon Johns, Jim & Molly Johnson, Margaret Johnson, Craig & Leigh Johnson, Lunsford & Marian Johnson, Charles & Patricia Johnson, Claiborne & Carter Johnston, Skip Jones, Basil & Susan Jones, Marietta Jones, Gary & Cherry Jones, Bill & Carolyn Jones, Dustin & Younga Jones, Conor & Katherine Jones, Doug & Frances Jones, Molly Jordan, Nona Kahn, Bill & Carol Kamm, Richard & Robyn Kay, David Kean, Gordon & Gloria Keesee, Carroll Keiger, Mark & Helen Kemp, John & Carolyn Kendig, Anne Kenny, T & Greta Kidd, Tommy & Judy Kidd, Bob & Dana King, Melissa King, Brent & Anna King, Roger & Louise Kirby, Barry & Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Jack & Barbara Kling, Tyler Klink & Erin Garbett, David & Jeannie Knight, Pret Kopecky, Mike & Allison Koschak, Mark & Emily Krudys, Cy & Molly Kump, David Kympton, Rodney & Sheri Lambert, Leitch & Clare Lancaster, Ed & Mary Lane, Martin Lane, Jean Lane, Rick & Deb Lawrence, Lewis & Mary-Gill Lawson, Chris & Joan Layne, Carter & Leesie Leake, Gene LeCouteur, Mary Lee, Betsy Lee, James & Linda Leigh, Rob & Pat Leitch, John & Sally Lester, Patricia Lewis, Garlin Lewis, Christopher Lindbloom & Nancy Powell, Liza Little, Mike & Jan Locher, Bobby & Barbara Jean Long, Steve & Georganne Long, Rev. Barry & Susan Loop, Katie Lowden, Kevin & Pamela Lowe, Fletcher Lowe, Ann Lowry, Charles & True Luck, Andy & Calle Luke, Pamela Lynch, Amanda Macaulay, Sara Mackey, Rita MacNelly, Shane & Sarah Maley, Virginia Maloney, Michael & Kara Mann, Justin & Megan Marriott, John & Hope Marshall, Dick & Penny Marshall, Emma Lou Martin, Douglas Martin, Anne Martin, Tucker & Emily Martin, Ed & Tovia Martirosian, Morgan & Joan Massey, Barbara Massey, Jim Mathers, Matt Mathews, Weston & Hannah Mathews, Hank & Tara Matthews, Nancy Matthews, Cary & Missy Mauck, Bev & Louise Mauck, Chris & Jean Mauck, Jack & Adrienne Maxwell, Adelia Mayer, Hank & Sallie Mayer, Bill & Laurie McCarthy, David McCombs & Julie Simonton, Tim & Dabney McCoy, Tim & Christina McCoy , Carol McCoy, Gary & Brenda McDowell, Mac & Anne McElroy, Margaret McGehee & Anne Owens, Steve McGehee, Sally McGill, Marty McIntosh, James & Marty McMullin, Jim & Alice Meadows, Mary Ellen Meadows, Bill & Pate Mears, Molly Meem, Andrew & Whitney Melton, Eric & Sue Melzig, Craig & Claudia Merritt, Matthew Mika, Hank & Gayle Miller , Scott & Connie Miller, Mike & Benita Miller, Todd & Michelle Miller, Jeff & Elizabeth Miller, Hank & Kristin Miller, B & Tina Millner, David & Susan Mills, Warren & Martha Ann Mills, Bill & Lorraine Mitchell, Richard & Mollie Mitchell, Ginny Moncure, Bernard & Cynthia Monroe, Reilly & Julia Monroe, Joan Moody, Ann Moore, Jay & Martha Moore, Freddy & Beth Moore, Mary Ellen Moore, George & Anne Taylor Moorman, Dewey & Nancy Morris, Ed & Betty Morrissett, Dennis & Jan Moseley, Leith Moss, Michael & Katherine Mueller, Dave & Amy Mulholland, Lee & Sarah Mumford, Lew Mundin, James & Karen Murphy, Don & Janet Murray, Don & Myra Nagel, Daniel & Wendy Naret, Ron & Joyce Nash, Andy & Margie Nea, Dorrien Neild, Blair Nelsen, Jack & Katherine Nelson, Reingard Nethersole, Bill & Sue Newman, Jack & Fern Newsom, Bob & June Nicholson, William Noe, Lossie Noell, Rob & Janie Norfleet , Rob & Beth Norfleet, Maurice & Reid Nottingham, Sun Ho Nuon, Wendy O’Brien, Stewart & Donnan O’Keefe, Kristen O’Sullivan, John & Jean Oakey, Chris & Molly Oakey, Jay & Cynthia Oakey, Susan Oakey, Pam O’Berry & Vincent Robertson, Sylvia Oliver, Susan Olyha, Mim Oman, Tatyana Omdahl, Jan Orgain, Marshall & Beth Orr, Jim & Karen Orville, Candace Osdene, Thierry Ott & Lisa Cuseo-Ott, Julian & Haley Ottley, Kathi Overbay, Duncan & Tia Owen, Evan & Margareth Owens, Ben & Margaret Pace, Ronald & Susan Gray Page, Doug Palais & Hazel Buys, Jacqueline Palmatier, JoAnne Palmore, Barbara Parker, Mo Parrish, O.H. & Sally Parrish, Thomas & Liz Parrish, Sarah Parrish, Terri Parsons, Ruth Partlow, Peter & Ann Bray Pastore, Lane & Mary Ashburn Pearson, Robby & Elizabeth Peay, Ted & Anne Peck, Darla Perry, Sarah Peterson, Carlos & Christina Petrus, Rick & Brooke Pettitt, Charles Pfister & Molly Moncure, John & Eddy Phillips, Scott & Karen Phillips, Ben & Kim Phillips, Cotes & Helen Pinckney, Paul & Mary Beth Poggi, Marilyn Pohlig, Anne Pole, Suzanne Pollard, Martha Pollard, Tom & Carter Pollard, Burt & Ginny Poole, Renny Poole, Bob & Molly Pope, Vara Porter, Patsy Porter, William & Liz Poston, Mark & Kathy Powell, Gayle Presson, Ruth Prevette, Jim & Jan Price, Paul & Ruth Prideaux, David & Crystal Pritchard, Jean Proffitt, Sally Protzman, Bobby & Martha Proutt, Michael & Coco Provance, JoAnn Pulliam, John Purcell , Riker & Ginny Purcell, Mac & Dale Purrington , Rusty & Molly Rabb, Hugh & Kee Rabb, Huda Rahal, Karen Ramey, Susan Ramsey, Malcolm & Livy Randolph, Sally Rankin, Jim & Donna Ransone, Bruce & Taylor Raquet, Monica Rawles, Leigh Redford, Tom & Kaye Redford , Frank & Sue Reichel, Bagley & Kathleen Reid, Tim & Alice Reiniger, Ann Reiss, Kay Remick, Leslie Remington, David & Susan Reynolds, Dick & Pat Rheutan, David & Betsy Richardson, Pat & Victoria Riendeau, Dick & Anne Riley, Frasia Riner, Peter & Maria Rippe, Richard Ritter, Tom & Pam Roberts, Chip & Michael Robertson, Agustin & Coleen Rodriguez, Penn & Laurie Rogers, Greg & Ellen Rogowski, Phil & Camilla Rohrbach, Earl & Sandy Roney, Hart & Genie Roper, Ruddy & Amy Rose, Tim & Emily Rose, Billy & Claire Rose, Kaley Rosenthal, Eddie & Carole Ann Ross, Pres & Jane Rowe, Susanna Rowe, John Rowe, Art & Gayle Royals, Mack & Pat Ruffin, Ray & Jane Ruth, Bunny Saine, Jon Lee Salmon, Lonnie Sams, David & Iva Samuels, David & Helen Sarrett, Robert Sass, Anne Satterfield, David & Janie Satterfield, James Saunders & Harriet Covey, Brad & Elizabeth Scaggs, Thomas & Frances Scales, Ned & Frances Schaaf, Mary Ann Scherer, Elizabeth Schmidt, Jon & Bonnie Schmidt, Steve & Jorie Schmidt, James & Harriet Schnell, Jim & Bee Schnell, Ed & Stacia Schoeffler, Patricia Schultz, Cathy Sckinto, Mary Virginia Scott, Robert & Lena Scott, Carter & Ann Scott, Bobby & Cyndy Seal, Allison Seay, Dick & Patty Sedgley, Luke & Meghan Semple, Stuart & Jane Settle, Chuck & Julie Seyfarth, Dabney Shackelford, Claire Shaffner, Scott & Paige Shaheen, Rebecca Shaia, William & Lynneth Shands, Sallie Shepherd, John & Martha Sherman, Pen & Bette Shiflett, Betsy Short, Bob & Anne Shotwell, Alice Siegel, Mary Lucy Siewers, Ashley Silverburg, Carl & Robin Simms, Jerry Simonoff & Sharon Machrone, Buddy Simpson, Sam & Margaret Simpson, Michael & Megan Skrocki, Mark & Stephanie Slack, Barbara Slack, Harvard & Blair Smith, Hallie Smith, Jane Smith, Tom Smith, Tom & Beth Smith, Brad Smith, Matthew & Ferebee Smith, Jim Smith Parham, Warren & Brenda Snead, John & Carolyn Snow, Jim Snowa, Scotty & Karrie Southall, Richard & Stephanie Sowers, Brandon & Shelley Spalding, Julia Blair Spalding, Carter & Jill Spalding, Elizabeth Spell, Bruce & Anna Spencer, Drew & Julee Spitzer, Vernon & Laura Spratley, Mary Stagg, Lissie Stagg, Charlie & Jeanne Stallings, Hal Starke, Jim & Betsy Stevenson, Linda Steward, Jimmy & Macy Stikeleather, Hew & Regena Stith, Kendalle Stock, Lucy Stockdell, Thomas & Carol Stokes, Billy & Mary Stone, Virginia Stone, Carolyn Street, Deborah Streicker, Willard Strickland & Betsy Perkins-Strickland, Robert Strohm, Susanne Sturges, David & Sandy Suskind, Matt Suttle, Michael Sweeney & Briget Ganske, A.J. & Alice Szumski, Mayo Tabb, Chip & Dee Dee Tarkenton, David & Carol Taylor, Annabelle Taylor, Jim & Margaret Teachey, Peter Thacker & Sarah Moyar-Thacker, Bruce & Julie Thomas, Beth Thomas, John & Linda Thomas, Steve & Bobbie Thomas, Matt & Janet Thompson, Matt & Nancy Thompson, Hunter & Nell Thompson, Frederick & Leezie Thompson, Beth Thornton, Wood & Kemper Thornton, Tim & Allison Thurber, Ed & Beth Thurmond, Richard & Alice Tilghman, Jeff & Nella Timmons, Chris & Deborah Timmons, Carol Todd, Chip & Betsy Tompkins, Seldon & Donna Tompkins, Louise Toms, Rogers & Josie Toms, Becky Trader, Guy & Helen Tripp, Ivan Trittipoe, Carter & Peggy Tucker, Giles & Tracy Tucker, Meg Tucker, Greg & Elizabeth Tune, Rob & Anne Turnbull, Stephen & Allison Twente, Bill & Betsy Tyson, Granville & Peyton Valentine, Thomas & Deborah Valentine, Stukie & Mary Blair Valentine, Eric & Whitney Van Der Hyde, Nancy Vaughan, Bob Vaughan & Mary Jo Sisson-Vaughan, Greg Vining, Tony & Holly Vinson, Mac & Sarah Wade, Bill & Gail Waechter, John & Sara Waechter ,Tom & Roszie Walker, Eileen Walker, Fleet & Elizabeth Wallace, Scott & Ashley Wallace, Ray & Douglas Wallace, Gordon & Lizzie Wallace, Gordon & Caroline Wallace, Pierce & Betsy Walmsley, Linda Walter, Cameron & Cathy Warner, Bill & Eleanor Washburn, Johnny & Rosalind Watkins, Rob & Marianne Watkinson, Louise Watlington, Lisa Watlington, Michael & Katie Watrous, Gary & Martha Waynick, Gene & Katharine Webb, Susan Weis, Travis & Shannon Weisleder, Tenny & Eleanor Wellford, Gene & Bebe West, Rudolph West & Karen Gould, Robbie & Townsend Westermann, Jacqueline Westfall, Betsy White, Wayne & Catherine Whitham, Katherine Whitney, John & Zan Wick, Chris & Rebecca Wickham, Bill & Mary Kay Widhelm, Dick & Carol Wiegmann, Doug Wigner & Nancy Hein, Susan Wilkes, Dan & Jackie Wilkins, David & Laura Wilkinson, Nelson & Meade Williams, Pete & Elizabeth Williams, Mason & Pattie Williams, Bruce & Melissa Williams, Hilda Williams, Mark & Alston Williams, Jack & Betty Williams, Lee Williams, Colin & Cary Williams, Dean Williams & Allison Baylor, Lou Anne Williamson, Bill & Janet Wilson, Steve & Laura Wilson, Dave & Suzanne Wilson, Susie Wiltshire, David & Karen Wise, Isabel Witt, Ann Witt, Luke Witt, Bettie Wood, Ward & Kathy Wood, Andy & Cheryl Wood, Carol Woodward, Noell Woodward, Doug & Anne Woolley, Sue Wootton, Blair Worden, Wesley & Elise Wright, John & Lindy Wyatt, Peter & Liz Wyeth, Church & Nanny Young, George & Jane Young, Mitt & Peggy Younts, George Zehmer ✤

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SEASONS OF THE SPIRIT

Thank you

An Enduring Legacy Why we’ve joined the Legacy Society

WHO WE ARE John and Beverly Bates: John is a retired attorney and a volunteer. Bev is a homemaker, volunteer, and a former teacher.

Every day when we open the doors of this church, the world comes streaming in: • • • • •

Little children come to our preschool; Adults go to Bible Study or small groups; Healing prayer ministers prepare for those who come to them for healing; People coming to worship drop off contributions for our food pantry; Volunteers prepare for our weekly food distributions, serving hundreds of clients each month; People who rely on us to help feed their families queue up on Mondays to receive bags of groceries donated by parishioners, and fresh food donated by farmers market vendors; Men and women gather in our kitchen to prepare food for a community meal or to sell in the May Fair House, which will use the proceeds to support vulnerable women and children; Mission groups prepare for ministry in Richmond and around the world; Hundreds come to our farmers market each Saturday to support local farmers and buy healthy food; People dealing with addiction meet here for life-giving support; And people struggling with a relationship or a medical diagnosis see our sign on Grove Avenue and accept our invitation to “come inside, light a candle, be still, say a prayer, and go in peace.”

• • • • • •

The flow goes the other way, too. Through our doors, hundreds of people go forth every day to love and serve the Lord: •

A hundred mentors, tutors and classroom assistants move out to the East End of Richmond to schools and the Peter Paul Development Center; Fruit ministry volunteers go to subsidized housing to deliver nutrition and kindness; Volunteers travel to the city jail to conduct Bible study and share Holy Communion with incarcerated men and women; Youth deliver cookies to firefighters, work with our East End outreach partners, and conduct vacation Bible school for children in the Dominican Republic; Volunteers perform manual labor to help elderly citizens remain in their homes; Pastoral caregivers take communion, casseroles, prayer shawls, and the assurance of love to people all over the city; Mission teams flow out to the poorest of the poor in the Dominican Republic and South America to provide medical and dental care and other assistance; Rebuilding teams head out to storm-ravaged areas of the United States; And countless people leave our church after a time of peaceful, private prayer, feeling a little less stressed, a little more encouraged, and assured that God is indeed with them, helping them face what they previously feared.

• • • • • • • •

This is the tip of the iceberg. Every day, people leave St. Stephen’s in peace, determined to “have courage, to hold onto what is good, to return no one evil for evil,” determined to “strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the suffering, and honor everyone, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.”

WE JOINED ST. STEPHEN’S CHURCH in 1950 (John) and 1966 (Bev).

WHAT DREW US TO THIS PARISH John was drawn by his parents; Bev was drawn by John.

WE USUALLY ATTEND the 9:00 a.m. service in the main church.

WHEN WE RECOMMEND ST. STEPHEN’S TO OTHERS, WE TELL THEM that the parish has a breadth of offerings—there is something for everyone—as well as great clergy and staff, and a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

ST. STEPHEN’S MOST IMPORTANT MINISTRIES FOR US are highquality worship services, educational opportunities and outreach.

OUR MOST MEANINGFUL INVOLVEMENT has been (for John) leading Bible class, vestry service and Boy Scouts; (for Bev) various courses, especially Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC), and involvement with the Women of St. Stephen’s as a volunteer and in leadership roles. (John has been on the vestry several times and has served as senior warden; Bev is a past president of the Women of St. Stephen’s.)

THE LEGACY SOCIETY IS IMPORTANT TO US BECAUSE it helps us carry on the ministries of St. Stephen’s Church after we are gone. We have already endowed John’s parents’ annual pledge, and have made provision in our wills to endow ours.

WHAT WE WANT OTHERS TO KNOW If St. Stephen’s Church is important to you, you should provide for its ongoing support. Our hope is that the endowment can grow to the point that the parish’s operating costs are covered and annual contributions can go exclusively to programs. ✤ Anyone can join the Legacy Society of St. Stephen’s Church, ensure the future of this parish, and enjoy the benefits of being a member of the society. This opportunity is not limited to people with great material wealth nor to those of any particular age. To learn more, visit ststephensRVA.org/legacy; pick up a Legacy Society booklet in the parish house; or contact John Sherman, chairman, 804.382.5109, or Janet Allen in the parish office,

804.288.2867.

Briget Ganske

It happens 365 days a year at St. Stephen’s Church: we open the doors, the world pours in, and the love of God pours out. Thanks to everyone who comes and goes in that flow of this life-giving Holy Spirit. Thank you to all who make it possible. ✤

OUR FAMILY INCLUDES two daughters, Elizabeth Bates and Kathryn Russell; three grandchildren, Jack and Claire Kimbrell and Ginny Russell.

WELL-KNOWN (AND VERY DIFFERENT) FAITH LEADERS SPEAK HERE St. Stephen’s nave was packed November 14 for the joint visit of John Philip Newell (left, wearing glasses) and Rob Bell (right). Though John Philip had been here several times, it was Rob’s first visit to the parish. The two had met earlier in the year when Rob interviewed John Philip for his ‘Robcast’ (podcast), but this was their first joint inperson appearance. The format they agreed on was an interview conducted by Rob, a choice that made for a fascinating, profound, and often hilarious exchange. These two teachers-writers-preachers come from very different traditions. Rob’s work—from books such as LOVE WINS, VELVET ELVIS, and HOW TO BE HERE, to the Nooma video series and the Robcast—re-envisions Christianity for our time. He is the founder of Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, which during his tenure was one of the fastest-growing churches in America. But the publication of LOVE WINS led to a falling out with the congregation that sent Rob on a ‘search for a more forgiving faith.’

John Philip also re-imagines the Christian faith and our understanding of God, but from a different vantage point as one of the world’s most influential teachers and writers on Celtic Christianity, both its ancient roots and its fresh expressions. A recording of this stimulating conversation is available at ststephensRVA.org/bellnewell.

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

LENT/EASTER | SPRING 2017

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Seasons of the Spirit Lent/Easter 2017 St. Stephen’s Staff

To reach a member of the staff, call 288.2867. Extensions are listed in parentheses. Email may be addressed to a staff member by using the first initial and last name @ ststephensRVA.org (e.g., jallen@ststephensRVA.org).

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church 6000 Grove Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23226 ststephensRVA.org

Presorted First Class Mail U.S. Postage

PAID

Richmond, VA Permit # 320

Sarah Bartenstein

Janet S. Allen (305), Associate for Development & Operations Stan Barnett (320), Coordinator of Kitchen Ministries Sarah R. Bartenstein (346), Director of Communications Marion S. Chenault (316), Preschool Director Dawn Childs, Assistant for Children’s Music Ministry Donald Clements, Sexton Kerry Court, Director, Virginia Girls Choir and Virginia Boys Choir Sarah-Keel Crews (326), Youth Ministry Coordinator Sean Dobb, Sexton Kyle Dosier, Assistant Market Manager Chris Edwards, Interim Director, St. Stephen’s Choir Melissa Hipes (310), Financial Administrator Chris Holman, Sexton The Rev. Gary D. Jones (308), Rector Greta Winn Kidd, Wedding Coordinator Deborah Lawrence (329), Director of Outreach The Rev. Gene LeCouteur (324), Associate Rector Betsy Lee (300), Office Manager and Pastoral Care Assistant Becky Lehman (338), Assistant for Hospitality & Communications The Rev. E. Weston Mathews (339), Associate Rector Christi McFadden, Finance Assistant The Rev. Stephen Y. McGehee (337), Associate Rector The Rev. Claudia W. Merritt (301), Priest Associate The Rev. Penny A. Nash (311), Associate Rector Ben Nelson, Sexton Matt Oltmann, Sexton Paige Reisenfeld (352), Music Assistant Kate Ruby, Market Manager The Rev. William L. Sachs (306), Priest Associate Allison Seay (307), Associate for Religion and the Arts Steven Simon (321), Facilities Manager Michael Simpson, Director of Celtic Service Musicians Lamonté Smith, Sexton Wei-Li Suen, Palmer Hall Accompanist Michael Sweeney (306), Director of Family Ministry Greg Vick, Principal Organist Other numbers May Fair House, 282.3004 St. Stephen’s Preschool, 288.6401

Memorial garden expanded

Class of 2018 John Barr JB Burtch, Senior Warden Mac Purrington Taylor Raquet Laurie Rogers, Junior Warden Beth Smith

St. Stephen’s Church is deeply grateful to all who participated in our centennial capital campaign. Thanks to the generosity of so many, and the excellent stewardship of campaign leaders, the renovation project came in under budget, and most of the project was completed in time for us to return to the nave by Christmas 2015.

Class of 2019 John Bates, Treasurer Judy Buchanan Marie Carter Calle Luke Mac McElroy David Wise Class of 2020 Melinda Hardy Braxton Hill Richard Kay Martha Orr Proutt Cyndy Seal Chip Tompkins Bill Armstrong, Assistant Treasurer

Seasons of the Spirit Sarah Bartenstein, editor Steven Longstaff, designer

Contributors: Tony Anthony, Sam Davis, Briget Ganske, Gary D. Jones, Gene LeCouteur, Jan Locher, Claudia Merritt, Natasha Oladokun, Matthew Oltmann, Allison Seay, Michael Sweeney, Charlotte Thornton

Among the work that continued in 2016 was the design and placement of the new baptismal font, and the restoration of the reredos, the organ, and the altar in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit (the latter made possible by a special gift to the campaign by the Women of St. Stephen’s). All of these are now complete. Work also continued on the expansion of the memorial garden, which is very nearly done. This lovely fountain graces the garden and symbolizes our eternal life: As Jesus said, “The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) All that remains to be done on the memorial garden expansion is to add new plantings when winter is over, and restore those already in place.

These improvements are visible, while some – such as improvements to major systems – are not. Still, anyone who walks the grounds or even church interior may wonder why some items which had been discussed during early conversations about the campaign were not tended to. In most cases those choices were deliberate ones, made well before construction began, as we pared back the budget so as not to exceed projected income.

Thanks to the generosity and timely payments of parishioners, however, it is possible we may be in position to tend to some of those items over time. With that in mind an extended group of church leaders has toured the campus with an eye toward what items still need tending – so long as those items were consistent with campaign objectives of tending to aging systems, restoring sacred spaces, enhancing accessibility, and increasing outreach. Most items noted were small in nature (but visible) and can be remedied for little or no cost. The rector and campaign steering committee are prioritizing those items for consideration by the vestry. Except for any that are no cost/low cost or any which are safety related (e.g., courtyard pavers, lighting), items will not be considered until we see meaningful progress towards fulfilling the outreach component of the campaign.

We are blessed by the faithfulness and generosity of this parish. Together we are leaving a legacy for generations to come. ✤

NEW CHOIR OFFERS CHANCE TO SING ONCE A MONTH Do you love to sing but don’t have time for weekly choir rehearsals? You may be a perfect candidate for our monthly Hymn Choir! One Sunday each month, the 9:00 a.m. service features an instrumentalist at the offertory and communion, and adult volunteers help lead the singing of hymns for those services.

The Hymn Choir rehearses the hymns just before the service and sits in the chancel during worship. It’s a wonderful opportunity to participate in the music ministry at St. Stephen’s Church without a significant commitment of time. If you are interested in signing up or learning more, please contact Chris Edwards, Interim Director of St. Stephen’s Choir, at cedwards@ststephensRVA.org. ✤