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Lenten Study March 1st - 29th

It’s a tradition in Lent to practice some type of fasting – giving up something in order to make more room in our lives for God.  But there are also practices that we can add to our lives to help ground ourselves more firmly into the goodness of God.

For five Sundays in Lent (March 1st to 29th), we will dig into the practice of prayer. Over five session we will explore what it is; and practice some different forms of pray with the hope that one (or more!) of the many forms of prayer can help build up our own spiritual lives.

Week 1 (March 1) - Daily Examen

Week 2 (March 8) - Centring Prayer

Centring Prayer is the practice of attentive listening within silence.  Together we will practice resting our minds so that we can hear the inner voice of Love speaking directly into our hearts.

Week 3 (March 15) - Visio Divina

Visio Divina is an ancient form of Christian prayer that engages imagination within heart-focused contemplation.  Devotional images help us to discern God’s sustaining voice within Creation.

Week 4 (March 22) - Anglican Prayer Beads (aka Anglican Rosary)

Anglican Christians have used prayer beads for centuries to guide busy minds into a rhythmic meditation on the Triune life of God.  Prayer beads are a great way to ground spiritual practice in our tactile humanity.

Week 5 (March 29) - Breath Prayers

 Breath prayer is a Christian meditative practice combining the rhythm of our breath to syllables of prayer.  Breathwork calms minds, steadies nervous systems and provides us a natural way to 'pray without ceasing.'

If you’ve ever wanted to experience prayer beyond asking God for help, or been curious how prayer can make a difference to daily life, please join us in the Lounge at 11:30am on the Sundays in March, following coffee hour.  Soup and bread will be served.

PLEASE RSVP to (office@stmaryskerrisdale.ca) so we know how many people to prepare for.

You are welcome to attend every session or just those of most interest to you.

No matter where you are on your faith journey, we hope you will find something that can help support you in the practice of prayer.  If you have any questions about our Lenten Study you can talk to Matthew (mnichy@mail.ubc.ca) or Roberta (roberta@stmaryskerrisdale.ca).

“The Journey Through Holy Week”

The season of Lent is preparation for the most important week of the year for Christians– Holy Week. The week when we once again join in the events of the last few days of Jesus’ life in this world. While the events of Holy Week ‘hold up to a light’ the ways we, like all humans have failings and shortcomings, they also allow us to see that our brokenness is never the end! And that God is with us, holding us, and ultimately bringing us to new life.

So, as part of our preparation for Holy Week, on Saturday March 21st at 7pm we are offering a simple, reflective, candlelight worship service: “The Journey through Holy Week”. We will gather in the gym so we can incorporate our beautiful labyrinth into the service as part of a metaphorical ‘journey’ with Jesus. Come and join us for this gentle worship, which will explore the events of Holy Week with stations on the events of this week starting with the enthusiasm of the Palm Sunday parade, through the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and ending with the resurrection at the centre of a joyful labyrinth walk - ringing handbells as we journey to the centre with God at our side. This service is suitable for youth as well as adults and everyone is welcome. Walking the labyrinth will be optional, so you can still fully participate if that is something you can’t do (or don’t want to do). Talk to or email Roberta for more information (rfraser@stmaryskerrisdale.ca).