The Alfred St. John Matthews

Lenten Series 2010

… faithful stewards of thy bounty is the theme of The Alfred St. John Matthews Lenten Series 2010. God’s gift of Creation is so huge! How do we begin to understand this mysterious gift from God? How do we know that we are a precious part of that Creation? And how can we learn to be good and faithful stewards of God’s Creation?

Children and youth will experience this mystery of creation in a variety of ways. “Each Wednesday night,” says our Associate for Youth and Children’s Ministries Lisa Fikes, “we will engage in different sacred stories from scripture, which help us understand that we came from and are God’s creation, and that we are called to care for and share God’s creation.” Using the senses, the children will experience ways to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch God’s Creation. Each week promises fun, active, entertaining surprises that will draw us closer to understanding our Creator.

Together adults will explore through our Christian lens the theological meaning of being faithful, caring stewards of God’s Creation. The Reverend Mary Jayne Ledgerwood, our Associate Rector for Adult Education and Formation, will interview each week at the five Sunday Forums special guests, including our Rector. These presenters will return each Wednesday night to continue our sacred theological dialogue. We are fortunate to have with us this Lent an astonishing array of presenters: Deborah Sokolove, Director of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary, and artist, whose pieces will be featured in our gallery through Easter; Ken McAlpine, award-winning travel writer from Ventura, California, author of Islands Apart, and son of St. John’s parishioners Betsy and Ken McAlpine; Ellen F. Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School, whose latest book Scripture, Culture, Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible serves as the theological backbone of our entire Lenten series; and Jordan Blevins, Assistant Director of Eco-Justice and Coordinator of Poverty Initiatives and Washington Internships for the National Council of Churches in Washington DC.

Before the Wednesday evening offerings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for both children and adults, we will share a Lenten meal together at 6:00 p.m. in Shears Hall. On March 10, the members of the newly created Stewards of Creation Committee will prepare a local, eco-friendly meal for us all, then will continue with a special presentation for the adults. As is our tradition, if you would like to help with the other Lenten meals by preparing soup, salad, and/or bread for any of the other parish Lenten suppers, please see the sign-up sheet in Shears Hall.

In addition to the Sunday morning and Wednesday evening programs, all are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch on Wednesdays at noon, followed by a special presentation featuring a scriptural journey through the Holy Land in keeping with the weekly Lenten themes. New this year is the 40 Days to Fitness, a 40-day Lenten discipline for our entire community that will help us to be good stewards of our own bodies. Pairs of parishioners will lead from Shears Hall through the surrounding neighborhood any who wish to participate on these 8:00 a.m. daily one-mile walks beginning Ash Wednesday, February 17 through Holy Saturday, April 3 (excluding Sundays).