On Christmas Day Jesus was born and some thirty years later, on Good Friday, he died. There are two principal ways in which it is possible to tell his story and one of them is to tell it as perhaps the greatest, the most bitter and ironic of all human tragedies, a tragedy which somehow sums up all tragedies. To understand fully what I mean, you must think your way back from Good Friday to Christmas, the day he was born.
Whatever you choose to make of the legends that have grown up around his birth—the angels appearing to the shepherds and singing their great hymn of joy, the three magi and the star—however you want to interpret these stories, the jubilation and the mystery that the gospel writers were trying to convey is clear enough and there is not one of us who in one way or another doesn’t respond to it. Think of what The Church of the Good Samaritan is like at Christmas time—there’s an excitement, a kind of wild hopefulness and gladness in the air that makes it different from any other time of the year.
No matter how cynical or unreligious you may think of yourself as being, you can’t escape the feeling that something extraordinary and beautiful and glad is breaking into the world. You read the news as usual with the same accounts of international tension and crime and disaster, yet on the birthday of this child who died so long ago you get the feeling, despite all evidence to the contrary, that at last somehow there will be peace on earth and good will among men.
You get a sort of intensified version of the feeling you have whenever a child is born: that here is a new life unacquainted with grief and compromise; here perhaps is the child who will grow tall and strong and save the world because that is what we’re all waiting for, you know— someone to save the world, whether we think of him in religious terms or political or scientific, someone who will bind up the wounds, who will set things straight again. And we think these things particularly about this child because we view his birth from the perspective of his whole life, and we see him as a man who of all men might have actually had the wisdom, the gentleness, and the power to do the job. And this is what he set out to do—to save the world, teaching and healing and proclaiming to men and women the love and forgiveness of God.
But then jump from Christmas to Good Friday and think of how he died—deserted by his friends, mocked by his enemies, strung up on a cross between two thieves. If ever we want indication that love is powerless in a world of envy and fear, that goodness is inevitably
THE CRUCIFIXION:
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS
See, as they strip the robe from off his back And spread his arms and nail them to the cross, The dark nails pierce him and the sky turns black, And love is firmly fastened onto loss.
But here a pure change happens. On this tree Loss becomes gain, death opens into birth.
Here wounding heals and fastening makes free Earth breathes in heaven, heaven roots in earth.
And here we see the length, the breadth, the height
Where love and hatred meet and love stays true
Where sin meets grace and darkness turns to light
We see what love can bear and be and do,
And here our saviour calls us to his side
His love is free, his arms are open wide.
MALCOLM GUITE, SOUNDING THE SEASONS
Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses Rembrandt van Rijn, 1653
overcome by evil, that belief in God is a tragic absurdity, then here it is. And telling the story this way you can take his last words of all, as John reports them, the words he spoke just as he was dying, and make them the almost unbearably pathetic epilogue to the whole thing. “It is finished.”
Finished, defeated, done with, and nothing to show for it but a few broken hearts. I would be less than honest if I didn’t say it is always possible that this is the truth of it, and I believe there is no Christian anywhere who has not had moments of fearing that it is, even Jesus himself whose last words according to Matthew and Mark were, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
And now you’ll expect me to tell you the other way of interpreting this story, but I would rather leave it as a question for you to answer for yourselves because in the long run it is only your own answer that you’ll really hear. If the story of Jesus of Nazareth does not mean that life is an absurd tragedy; if it is not the story of a good man who believed that he was the anointed one of God only to realize in the last moments of his life that there was no God; if this is not what the story means, then what does it mean?
“It is finished,” he said, and let me suggest just two things about those words. First, man’s work is finished. In crucifying this uniquely innocent man, this man who claimed nothing for himself but refused every chance for power that was given him, who was motivated entirely by his love for God and for us—in destroying him, man has really done his worst, and in the cross we are confronted by the ultimate expression of our folly, our self-destroying selfishness, our sin. If there is a God to judge us, then here is where his judgment must fall— where we took the purest ever to arise among us and killed him because his goodness was more than we could bear.
And secondly, the work of God is finished, finished not in the sense of being ended because it is never ended, but in the sense of being complete. Here in the death of Jesus, God has spoken his final word about himself and his relationship to us, and it is a word which Jesus spoke to his disciples on the night when he was betrayed: “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. This is my blood which is shed for you, and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.”
If you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
COLOSSIANS 3. 1 – 4 2024 THEME VERSES
HIDDEN WITH CHRIST
The early Christians practiced what they called the disciplina arcana, the hidden disciplines. They inhabited the same mysteries by which we live, the mystery of divine glory so profound that once, after the psalmist, it became like a child hidden at his mother’s breast; the mystery of divine power that hid itself deep in the womb of Mary and more and more is entirely given over into the hands of others.
The battle against evil is bloody and deeply sad, and anyone with the courage to stay in it will feel like he is losing much of the time. The poet of the Babylonian exile saw both the problem and its remedy, in the discipline of taking refuge in God: “And I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord’ (Isaiah 49. 4).
FROM THE RECTOR’S WARDEN
Vestry Update A Growing Church
BY WHITNEY T. KUNIHOLM, RECTOR’S WARDEN
At its first meeting of 2024, the Vestry began thinking about church growth. The primary reason was that Fr Ellsworth challenged us earlier this year with his essay entitled, On Church Growth (which he made available to the parish), and because he shared his initial thoughts on what growth might look like. As a Vestry, we are committed to a working partnership with our Rector, as together we plan for the future of this parish.
WHAT IS GROWTH?
But as we begin this journey, I believe it’s important to ask a simple yet strategic question: What is growth? Longtime members might remember “Bob Anewalt’s Chart,” the graph maintained by our muchloved Parish Administrator, which tracked attendance and giving over decades … before the prevalence of laptops! How thankful we are for Bob’s faithfulness.
One thing I’ve appreciated about Fr Ellsworth is that he has encouraged us “not to be afraid of the numbers.” At each Vestry meeting he shares the attendance tallies from the past month at the 7:30, 9, and 11:15 services; he wants them all to grow! Of course, we must be careful not to “worship the numbers,” but it takes courage to publicly trust God for growth.
THREE ASPECTS OF GROWTH
But beyond the metrics of growth which are easy to count, I’d like to suggest we focus on three additional, and perhaps more important, aspects of church growth that are not so easy to count.
The first is growth in Christian maturity. The reason we want to grow our attendance and budget is so that more people can meet Jesus and follow him. If we lose sight of “so that,” any success we achieve will be hollow. That’s why we encourage everyone to pre-read the Lectionary passages; it prepares us to hear God’s Word preached each week. Or, it’s why Fr Ellsworth has prioritized spiritual formation for all ages. As a Vestry, our desire is to see everyone growing spiritually. As the Apostle Paul said, “we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4. 15 NRSV).
The second is growth in Christian community. One thing came through loud and clear in our Parish Survey last fall; we want “more opportunities for people to form meaningful relationships.” It’s true we have work to do in this area, especially for those under 35, as the Survey found.
Recently, I’ve discovered volunteering is a great way to build community. I feel closer to my fellow Vestry members because I’ve worked in the trenches with them. Christian community happens both when we join a small group, and when we roll up our sleeves together.
The third is growth in Christian outreach. Throughout church history there’s been a debate about the mission of the church; is it evangelism or social outreach? At Good Samaritan we say, “It’s both!” because that’s what the Bible teaches. In the 21st Century, maintaining the evangelism/social outreach balance may be more important than ever. Why? Because in a secular society that is losing interest in hearing the gospel, one of the best ways to make God’s good news known may be sharing his love in practical ways with a world in need.
The reason we want to grow our attendance and budget is so that more people can meet Jesus and follow him.
JOIN US IN PRAYER
I’m happy to be part of an Episcopal church that’s firmly committed to the fundamentals of the Christian faith. In April, the newly elected Vestry will get away for a retreat at Daylesford Abbey. One of the things we’ll do is seek God’s direction for the future of the parish. I invite you to join us in praying that God gives us his vision for what growth looks like. We have an incredible opportunity!
Be Still and Know
BY CAROL KUNIHOLM
We are impatient people, in an impatient culture. We move fast, speak quickly, scroll past anything that doesn’t instantly grab our attention. We answer without fully hearing the question. We argue without acknowledging any value in alternate points of view. We want what we want as quickly as possible and object when lines are long or wait times infringe on our overly-full schedules. The world is a fast-paced drama with us always at the center.
Lent invites us to hit the pause button.
To stop and listen.
To set down our agendas, our expectations, and simply wait.
Lent invites us to be still, and remember: we are not God.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Day. It’s forty days if Sundays are not counted. As Fr Ellsworth likes to remind us, Sundays are little Easters. They are always feast days, even in the midst of fasting. So Lent invites us to forty days of fasting, prayer, and reflection, punctuated by the little Easters and ending with the greatest celebration of the Christian calendar, the day of resurrection.
Forty is a number found often in scripture. When God flooded the earth it rained for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7. 12). When Moses fled from Egypt to begin again in Midian, he spent forty years in the desert tending flocks (Acts 7. 30). When God called Moses onto Mount Sinai to receive the stone tablet containing the ten commandments, Moses stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24. 18). When the Israelites hesitated on the edge of the promised land, the punishment was forty years of wandering in the wilderness.
Lent nods at all of those, as well as others. If you want more, head to BibleGateway.com and search for “forty.” But the primary purpose of Lent is to remember Jesus’ own forty days of preparation before the start of his public ministry. That time is described in Matthew 4. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was tempted in the wilderness.
Jesus had no doubt been preparing all of his life for the work he came to do. He told his mother as much when he was just a boy, lingering in the temple in Jerusalem when his family headed home without him. Yet, immediately after his baptism by his cousin John the Baptist, he spent the
next forty days alone. No phone. No crowd. No agenda other than prayer.
The liturgical calendar consistently invites us to live in a strange uncharted space, oriented toward events of the past, promises of the future, and a present that looks toward past and future but also outward, toward the work of God in the world, and inward, toward the work of God in the deepest, least explored parts of our own hearts.
In the Biblical wilderness experience, there are repeated strands of deprivation, testing, uncertainty, and humility. And the one overarching question: will you set down your own plans, your own ideas, your own perceptions, and trust yourself to God?
Check Jesus’ answers in the face of temptation. Invited to demonstrate his own power, he refuses:
• “It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
• It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
• It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
It’s curious. In many ways, in all the important ways, Jesus IS the center of the story of scripture, what TS Eliot called “the still point in the turning world.” Yet when tempted to make that visible, he chose not to. He chose to fast, to pray, to wait, and then to set God the Father, and his word, in the center of the story. We fast during Lent to remind us: we do not live on bread alone, but on the word of God.
Bread is a placeholder for whatever it is we rely on more than God, whatever it is we turn to for comfort, pleasure, that dopamine feeling that things are okay. How can we step back from that? How can we limit or eliminate it? How can we ask God to lessen its grip so we can find space to listen better?
We pray during Lent to rearrange our priorities. Our prayers are too often little tests for God. Can you heal me? Can you help me? Can you fix this mess I’m in? Those prayers are all valid, all needed, but Lent invites us to see ourselves on God’s eternal timeline instead of caught in the troubles of today. Where have we been so intent on our own solutions we’ve forgotten to ask for God’s? Where have we been so focused on our own problems we’ve forgotten to focus on God instead, and the love we’re called to share with others who grieve and doubt and suffer?
We wait during Lent. We wait remembering all the times God moved and acted in the lives of his people throughout the sweep of scripture. We wait remembering God’s faithfulness across the many centuries since. We wait remembering all God has done in our own lives, and the lives of those we love. And we wait, remembering that Jesus died, rose again, and will return one day to dry our tears and establish a never-ending kingdom of grace and justice and joy.
We can ask
ready to judge sinners, conquer enemies, and reward the pious leaders with positions of political power.
Instead, Jesus came to bring good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. The power he wielded was not of this world: not political or military force, but something very different, an unexpected, inexplicable spiritual power able to change human hearts and restore broken lives.
Some who had been waiting for the Messiah saw and rejoiced. Some who had been waiting missed him entirely, so angry at his failure to meet their expectations that they plotted together to kill him.
Lent reminds us: we are not God. And we are not the ones who set the course, solve the riddles, hold the answers. We are people on a journey, waiting for direction. There is joy in taking time to listen well. There is danger in expecting we know what’s next and hurrying forward too quickly.
This Lent, take time to listen more deeply. Few of us can spend forty days—or even one day—in silence. But we can start our days with quiet prayer, scripture and reflection. Before we check the news, we can read the gospel passage for the day, and ask God to show us something new. Before we plunge into work and action we can spend time in prayer, asking God to show us ways to listen and love better. We can ask God to help us orient to what’s most important, what’s most eternally real, rather than what’s most urgent, or most in line with our own immediate agenda.
Whatever your current practices, maybe add a little extra time. Spend a morning journaling in a quiet place. Spend an afternoon walking somewhere unexpected. Visit the stations of the cross in the church, or on the grounds of Daylesford Abbey. Ask God to show you what matters most: the great love Jesus gives us, every one of us. The undeserved grace and forgiveness, far beyond what we could ask or imagine.
God to
help us orient to what’s most important, what’s most eternally real,
There’s a growing body of research exploring the value of uncertainty, wait times, and pauses. If we think we know exactly what comes next, we fall into something called cognitive entrenchment. We think we know the ending. We believe we control the outcome. We see exactly what we expect to see and discount what doesn’t fit the map already present in our minds.
rather than what’s most urgent, or most in line with our own immediate agenda.
When we think we already know what’s next, we miss the new, the unexpected.
Which may mean we also miss seeing God at work. We’re already so sure what God should be doing, we miss what’s unfolding right before our eyes.
The Pharisees knew their scriptures cold. They had studied, memorized, debated, analyzed. For most of them, Jesus simply didn’t fit. Their messiah would be a military leader,
We’ve been invited this year to focus on Colossians 3. 2: Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Let’s use Lent to make that part of our times of stillness and listening. Even during the day, when we’re feeling overwhelmed, when we’re dashing toward the next priority, or at night as we look back on the day, how can we set our minds on things above?
Pausing allows us to rest, to reflect, to reorient, to gather what we know and consider how to apply it.
This Lent, practice pausing, in whatever way you can, to remember: we are not God. We’re not in charge. We are not the authors of our fate or the centers of the story.
That place is filled by the one who loves us, died for us, rose again, and invites us to find our rest in him. There’s great power, and peace, and joy in pausing to set our minds on that reality.
Carol Kuniholm has been part of the Good Samaritan community since 1997, and was associate, then director of Good Samaritan Youth Ministry from 1999 to 2010. She currently leads a non-partisan grassroots organization, Fair Districts PA, working to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to create an independent citizens redistricting commission. She also helps lead a weekly Thursday morning bird walk at Exton Park. You can read more of her writing at WordsHalfHeard.blogpost.com.
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STORYTIME HOLY TIME
BY CHRISTIE PURIFOY, WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
My father grew up on a North Texas farm where every member of the family—from mother and father to each of the five sons and daughters—was needed for the work of harvesting peanuts, pecans, and cotton. During certain seasons, brothers and sisters worked side by side, but generally men’s work and women’s work was sharply divided. My grandmother and her daughters ruled the house and kitchen. My grandfather and his sons worked the wider fields. When my father grew up and his family expanded one daughter after another, I think he worried he had nothing to give his three girls. Wouldn’t our mother teach us what we most needed to know? Instead, he gave us stories. Family stories from the farm, bedtime stories out of picture books, and most memorable for my sisters and I, a long made-up saga about monkey siblings with rhyming names who went on a series of adventures night after night until my father grew tired of our begging for “just one more story, please Dad.”
Universally, it seems, children love stories. In the gospel of Matthew when Jesus tells his disciples that unless they change and become like little children they will never enter the kingdom of heaven, I have always assumed Jesus meant we must become humble. Innocent. Trusting. Lately, I have wondered if becoming childlike might have something to do with remembering our love for stories. Do we enter the kingdom of heaven like a child fully immersed in a bedtime tale?
On Sunday mornings when I was a girl, our family arrived at church together and then parted ways for our various age-segregated Sunday School classes. When we reunited, my sisters and I would beg our parents to let us skip “big church,” as we called it, and instead head over to Shipley’s Doughnuts where I loved to order a Boston Cream and read the comics from my parent’s newspaper. Sometimes they said “yes,” but more often we stayed to worship together, and I used the tiny pew pencils to draw elaborate designs on the paper bulletin. Our church prided itself on loving the Bible. Only now do I see how thoroughly modern we were in the way that we read it. In Sunday School, I heard wild and wonderful stories: a burning bush, a lion’s den, and a few loaves and fishes miraculously feeding thousands. However, in “big church,” we generally only heard sermons on the epistles because as modern people we subconsciously believed we had long ago extracted all
of the meaning from the stories and now held the real treasure—ideas and doctrines—safe in our minds. Stories were for children. Abstract ideas were for grownups.
Modern North American people value ideas and concepts over stories and symbols, yet we are born loving stories. At The Church of the Good Samaritan we order our worship according to an ancient calendar that is itself an immersive story-telling tool. We begin every year with Advent and the longing for a savior and then cycle through seasons like Lent and Easter and Pentecost. Each season invites us to enter particular moments in the story of Jesus Christ and his church. Soon, we will journey through the climax of the story: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. But why retell a story we know so well? Would it be better to leave the “milk” of storytime behind for the “meat” of Christian doctrine?
When we journey together as a church from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, planting our feet deliberately in the experiences of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, we are changed into children who find themselves, not only standing in the House of God, but standing at the Gate of Heaven.
I have now worshiped according to the calendar of the church for so long that it is strange for me to recall how we had no Maundy Thursday foot washing, Good Friday preaching, or Holy Saturday vigil in the church of my childhood. Special worship services were confined to the candlelight Christmas Eve service and the extra joyous hymn singing we enjoyed on Easter morning before heading home for ham and biscuits and jelly beans. While there are complex historical reasons for the fact that we observed so few feast days, the simple truth
was that we had a very modern view of time. Good Friday had already happened—once for all. It was finished. Why look back when we could look forward to heaven? And so we sang: “Some glad morning when this life is over / I’ll fly away / To a home on God’s celestial shore / I’ll fly away.”
Here is a truth every child knows though they cannot put their knowledge into words: good stories stop time. They draw us out of earth’s time into some reality that is not bounded by the march of a chronological drumbeat. Good stories erase the distance between past and present. Good stories allow us to participate in past events and draw us a little nearer to those events still to come. Stories help us step out of chronos (clock time) and into kairos (meaning-full time). In Four Quartets, the Anglican poet T. S. Eliot describes an ultimate kairos moment as “the still point of the turning world … where past and future are gathered.” When we journey together as a church from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, planting our feet deliberately in the experiences of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, we are changed into children who find themselves, not only standing in the House of God, but standing at the Gate of Heaven.
It isn’t enough to simply think about such things. We must enter in. It is like joining a dance or playing our part on stage. We must become a little foolish, as if we were awkwardly playing dress-up like children. We must not keep our distance. Through the liturgies of our shared worship, the story we believe and proclaim moves out of our heads and becomes the walls around us and the ground beneath our feet. We have, in some sense too mysterious to fully comprehend, actually shouted hosannas and cried out “Crucify him!” with the crowds from so long ago. We have resisted with Peter when Jesus tries to wash our dirty feet. We have cried with the women at the foot of the cross, and we have watched with the centurion as the water of life pours from Jesus’s side. When Easter Sunday returns each year, the day and the story are the same, but we are not. Our bodies are one year older, but we have grown younger.
I have been participating in Christian worship nearly every Sunday for most of
my life, and yet I am only beginning to understand that what happens in church is more real than the life I live outside of it. I do not say that the life I live Monday through Saturday is unreal, only that it is less real. On weekdays, I am generally a little more blind to the unseen world, I am more than a little distracted by the pressing needs of daily life, and without regular times for prayer and the reading of Scripture, I would surely struggle to recall the hope I have in Christ. That hope is an idea, and it is a point of Christian doctrine, but I cannot live in the bullet points of faith. I can only live in stories.
Once upon a time a little farmer boy grew up and had three daughters. He believed that daughters didn’t need practical guidance from a father and so he was free to offer them something extra: he told them stories. Except the stories turned out to be the most important thing after all. Even when he told them made-up tales about silly little monkeys, his oldest daughter discovered that her father loved his children enough to create something just for them. When he told them stories of his childhood and life on the farm, they met the grandfather who had died long before they were born. And when he told his daughters true tales about Jesus and how he lived and loved, died and rose again they learned the stories that could be the foundation of a whole long life. These Jesus stories added up to a great story that was and is still unfolding, a story in which they—in which we—all have a part.
In the final portion of Four Quartets, Eliot writes, “A people without history / Is not redeemed from time, for history is a pattern / Of timeless moments.” If our God is outside of time, we do not join him there by neglecting our past and our story. Instead, we move toward the timeless place where God is by re-entering the powerful moments around which our current reality pivots. The cross is not in the past. Not really. It is the ground on which we walk; it is the moment that completely altered reality forever. In the cross of Christ all of the rebellious powers of sin and chaos and death were defeated. So let us go together once more to the place of that victory. Let us enter holy time and behold the cross, for surely this man was and is and ever shall be the son of God.
Living THE EASTER SEASON
BY CHRISTOPHER A. HALL, THEOLOGIAN-IN-RESIDENCE
Do you think it’s possible to become anesthetized to Easter? What do I mean? We experience something so often that we become numb to its importance, wonder, and beauty. On Easter, for example, we might say, “Christ is risen from the dead!” smile at one another, and without further reflection speed off to Easter dinner.
None of us want to purposely neglect Easter. Yet we lead busy and sometimes cluttered lives. We say to ourselves, “I know things would change if I could just see the resurrected Jesus.” Yet “seeing” doesn’t always build faith. It depends on the kind of vision we’re developing.
Think of the nation of Israel. They saw the Red Sea parted (Exodus 14. 21 – 22), witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army before their eyes (Exodus 14. 23 – 28), and were led through the wilderness by a column of cloud by day and fire by night (Exodus 13. 21 – 22). Nonetheless, Israel struggled to believe and often worshiped lesser gods—idols of various types—which were really no gods at all.
Before Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles manifested the same, troubling pattern. Shortly after Peter saw Jesus transfigured only a few feet away
from him on Mount Tabor, he denied him three times. His sight was blinded by the horror of Gethsemane, the mock trial, and Christ’s disfigurement on the cross.
The apostolic band had witnessed Jesus’ power over the demonic realm. They had seen Jesus feed hungry thousands with just a few loaves and fish. They had watched as Jesus raised the dead (Matthew 9. 25 – 26, Luke 7. 11 – 17, John 11. 38 – 44). Yet still they failed to believe at the hour of Jesus’ greatest need. Easter morning, though, the disciple’s field of vision dramatically expanded. So can ours.
First, though, I suggest that we ask ourselves what is blurring our sight from seeing what Christ offers us at Easter.
What are some possibilities? Perhaps we’re watching too much news and need to take a break. We may have our attention diverted
by too much film or TV, or the barrage of messages racing across our screens and demanding our attention.
We might also reconsider time spent listening to music, our purchasing patterns, our level of commitment to our favorite sports team, how often we visit social media sites, and even our commitment to work. Are those nearest to us discerning workaholism?
Everything I’ve just listed—music, purchasing goods and gifts, sports, social media, and work—are good things. What is not so good is an inordinate or disordered attachment to any of them.
THE OPPORTUNITY OF EASTER
Easter provides the opportunity to expand our field of vision as we consider our attachments and increase our awareness, both of who we are and who Jesus is. Some may want to ponder the resurrection, setting up our tent at the empty tomb. We may want to camp in the gospels or in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul’s great chapter on the resurrection.
I don’t think one size fits all when it comes to practicing the Easter season. Each one of us has their own particular life experiences they bring to Eastertide. For example, some at Good Sam experience Easter as a very poignant season. Memories flood our minds and hearts of friends and family members who have died. We miss them and long to see them again.
I think of the invitation Good Sam offers for people to remember loved ones through gifts of flowers. These flowers visually remind us that death does not get the last word. God does. And that word is always life, wonder, and beauty.
My dear mom died a few years ago. Some of you knew her as a treasured friend. She was a valued member of The Church of the Good Samaritan community. Her ashes are buried in Good Sam’s churchyard. I miss her and lay flowers on her grave at Easter. Others of us have lost wives, children, grandparents, parents, and dear friends. When we remember them at Easter we look forward to resurrection reunions, and shed tears over partings we wish had never occurred.
Jesus knows. “Yes, my child,” I hear him saying. “I have experienced death and the
sorrow of your partings. I know they ache within you. Assuage your pain by remembering what I have accomplished for you. Remember at Easter that your dear ones have not been lost. They are with me. Ascend in your mind and heart into the future I have prepared for you. An eternal beauty awaits where all pain, suffering, and grief has been erased. No more death. No more suffering. No more separation from loved ones. I promise.”
I look forward to a happy reunion with my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, friends, and acquaintances. I see my mom, younger, her beauty restored. Her 93-year-old body has morphed into that of a 25-year-old woman in the prime of life.
“Hi honey. It’s me.”
“Oh mom, it’s so good to see you.”
“You, too!”
And we laugh. For we are what we were always meant to be.
This is not maudlin sentimentality, but spiritual reality. Our hope at Easter is grounded in truths as solid as the chair you’re sitting in, or the ground beneath your feet. We’re not whistling in the dark at Easter.
So, during the Easter season at The Church of the Good Samaritan, let’s expand our field of vision to encompass eternal, infinite glories and beauties.
TRANSFORMATION AT EASTER
During the weeks leading up to Easter, we’ve experienced a season of repentance, We’ve gone beyond the mind that we had when Lent began. These days of repentance have also been a time of growing expectation.
Now Easter has arrived. Together let’s invite the wonders of Easter to transform despair into hope, fear into courage, sin into holiness, sadness into joy. Perhaps we’ve hunkered down over the years. The wind was blowing so hard. Let’s join hands, get up, and broaden our field of vision to see REALITY.
Our sanctified vision expands and purifies as the Spirit breathes over our eyes, excising our spiritual cataracts. What was once blurry clarifies. Always remember that the Holy Spirit delights in using tangible means to heal our vision, and invites our cooperation.
What can we do to keep in step with the Spirit’s work within us this Easter? Let’s practice together the spiritual disciplines Jesus himself practiced. For some of us, we will practice Easter with Jesus by deepening our prayer life. For others, we will improve our study habits. For still others, we will experiment with a life of simplicity and deeper service.
We practice Easter by inviting Jesus to expand our field of vision. Can you see Jesus smiling?
“Thanks for doing that. Now let’s head toward home. I know the way!”
And finally, after a life of faithful following, with his hand always clasped to ours, we arrive at home, our real, eternal home. We enter fully “the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have heard in the gospel that has come to you” (Colossians 1. 5 – 6).
An Ascension Season to Taste & See that the Lord is Good
BY STÉPHANIE ROUSSELLE
I believe our kind and matchless God has a special blessing for us this season, a blessing he has been waiting 1,700 years to unleash on our Good Sam congregation in 2024. I am not being dramatic; I am simply remembering Saint Augustine who, in the fourth century, opened his Ascension homily with Colossians 3. 1 – 4, our very own 2024 theme verses: “Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth.” See? God has a special message for us this Ascension season, if we will ponder the things above with holy expectancy of his goodness.
Ascension has become one of my most cherished treasures, because it speaks of a hope that is certain, and a future that is glorious. First, Ascension means that a human body is present in the Throne Room of God right now—that is Jesus Christ today. His incarnation made Jesus a member of humanity; his Ascension made his membership permanent. I cannot wrap my head around this, but one thing I can do is fall on my face to worship in awe and wonder.
The corollary to Ascension, Pentecost, means that the Spirit of God is present in human flesh right now—that is you and me today. Ascension and Pentecost tell us that Christ reconciles God to man in his own body. He declares at Pentecost our ultimate reality: “on earth as it is in heaven!” He declares at Ascension the corollary, “in heaven as it is on earth!” Just as he was God on earth, he is now human in heaven. Just as he prayed as God on earth for us, he prays now as our Great High Priest in heaven for us. Ascension and Pentecost are Jacob’s ladder, a two-way relationship of body and spirit, earth and heaven, reconciled in One.
Upon his ascension, Jesus, in his glorified human body, received from the Father the Holy Spirit, whom he sent to us to inhabit our own not-yet-glorified bodies. Heaven will be intoxicatingly delightful. So unbearable for our current bodies, in fact, that we will be given brand new, glorified bodies—like Christ’s—so that we can withstand the intensity of delight and pleasure that awaits us. Our heavenly bodies will be like a chocolate masterpiece compared to our current cocoa-pod bodies: similar, but unimaginably more glorious. From starter seed to perfected fruit. We have yet to experience heavenly chocolate, so we struggle to see its connection to our humble cocoa podlike current body. It is ultimately a matter of time. We are the “body of Christ”—it means in some real way we are in the Throne Room with him already. It is ultimately a matter of space. Good thing heaven is beyond time and space.
Jesus described his ascension to Mary Magdalene as his going “to my Father and your Father; to my God and your God.” (John 20. 17). This is astounding. Jesus is irreversibly identifying with us: his Father is our Father; his God is our God. It means, in essence, that he represents God to man, and man to God: this is the role of the Great High Priest. Had Jesus not ascended to heaven, he could not officiate as our Great High Priest right now, fulfilling at least three primary missions for the church age: interceding for us, teaching us to pray, and making things above real for us. Let’s unpack, seeking continually the things that are above.
First, Jesus is interceding for you right now. In John 17, considered by many as the “Holy of Holies” of the New Testament, he gives us a glimpse into his current prayer on our behalf. If you want to know how Jesus is praying for
you right now, read John 17 again. And again. Jesus prays that we be one with him as he is one with the Father. Unity with Christ means unity of purpose and life—living like he lives, praying like he prays and, one day, ascending like he ascended.
His present intercession provides the continued effectiveness of his redemptive mission. He maintains his victory by the word of his mouth—in prayer to the Father even now. He bears forth into each one of us, members of his body, the deliverance he accomplished on the cross. He manifests the victory he obtained. His unceasing intercession gives our prayers a power we never had before. Which means, secondly, that Jesus teaches us to pray. He speaks through our prayers; we become the vessels to speak on earth his intercession in heaven, by the Holy Spirit. In him we join the never-ceasing, never-failing prayerconversation constantly weaving before the Father. In other words, what he prays passes through us, and what we pray passes through him. Mind-boggling.
the future that awaits us: “his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” Jesus, the Son of Man who identifies with humanity in his divinity, has carved a trajectory from the Incarnation to the Ascension that leads to his glory and our destiny in him. No wonder “Son of Man” was one of Jesus’ favorite titles for himself.
Speaking of what awaits us, let us keep on seeking the things that are above. Each year on Yom Kippur, the Great High Priest would atone for his people and, upon leaving the Holy of Holies to reenter the world, he would bring out with him a blessing for his people. Jesus will come back the same way he left, once his John 17 work of intercession in the Throne Room is accomplished. And he will bring out with him at least three blessings.
Ascension has become one of my most cherished treasures, because it speaks of a hope that is certain, and a future that
is glorious.
And thirdly, he makes it all real to us in experience. His birth, life, death, and resurrection secured our destiny and effected our reconciliation with God. And now he wields his limitless intercessory power to make this reconciliation real and personal to each one of us, members of his body. He is the head, we the body: which means we cannot be separated from him, since death is abolished. Ascension teaches this: Where he goes, we go; where he is, we are; that is heaven. Pentecost teaches this: where we go, he goes; where we are, he is: on earth, as it is in heaven.
Just as Acts 1. 6 – 11 describes Ascension from Earth’s perspective, Daniel 7. 13 – 14 describes it from Heaven’s perspective: “Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.” Jesus is this Son of Man, and he is now back in the Throne Room, as the reference to the cloud makes clear. “To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” Daniel describes what Jesus is doing right now, then ends with
The first blessing is ours already: his Holy Spirit becomes ours and brings spiritual gifts of his own, which Paul links directly to Ascension (see Ephesians 4. 8 – 10).
Second, Jesus inaugurated a reign that had never been exercised thus before. We are coheirs with him, training today for reigning tomorrow in the dominion of his Kingdom. Because human flesh sits enthroned in heaven, we will reign with him.
Thirdly, a wedding feast awaits us. The covenantal words Jesus shares on that final night are the verbatim words of a Jewish bridegroom to his bride during a traditional betrothal ceremony. “I am preparing a place for you, and I will come back so that you may be where I am.” (John 14. 1 – 4). Jesus is the Bridegroom poised to come back to fetch his bride, bringing heaven to earth for her. We the bride, the church universal, his body, are feast-bound. No wonder heaven will be intoxicatingly delightful. In French, my native tongue, the word “delight” is délice. But wait; this word délice means something else, too: it means “delicious.” In French, there is no difference between delight and deliciousness. While it might explain much of our French hedonism, it tells me this, too: God is both delightful and delicious. This will make the wedding feast of heaven the climax of delicious delightfulness.
Until then, Jesus invites us to speak his words of intercession from heaven to earth. That, indeed, is the glory of Ascension this side of creation. You can’t pray in his name unless you live in his name, too. Ascension and Pentecost together tell us it is now possible: we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. Saint Augustine would agree. He capped his Ascension homily thus: “While in heaven Christ is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.” Indeed, and Amen.
GOING FURTHER
Ponder the following texts in light of our observations.
Stephanie Rousselle and her husband Jonah have been attending Good Sam since the spring of 2023. A French native and former atheist, Stephanie is a Bible teacher, host of the Gospel Spice Podcast (ranked top one percent globally, all categories), and founder of Gospel Spice ministries, inviting Christians to taste and see that the Lord is good.
COME HOLY GHOST, OUR SOULS INSPIRE
Veni Creator Spiritus
BY JOSH GUENTHER, NEW CHAPEL MINISTER OF MUSIC
Put yourself in the disciples’ shoes for a moment. They spent three whole years with Jesus, experiencing his teaching and ministry face-to-face. The disciples saw Jesus holistically heal people—physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. It took time, but they were eventually convinced that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Holy One of God. The disciples, each in their own way, eagerly anticipated Israel’s restoration as they followed their rabbi around Judea.
But then they witnessed his painful death and joyful resurrection. The emotional whiplash of these events was only heightened following Jesus’ ascension. Three years of preparation didn’t leave them feeling prepared to carry on Christ’s work. Just as Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, the disciples were still trying to figure out the plan: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Their question isn’t unwarranted. Luke begins his Acts of the Apostles account by noting the number of disciples gathered together—120. This number is striking. At the height of Jesus’ ministry, there were at least 5000 people following Christ and hearing his teachings. Christ’s followers are now reduced to a faithful few. They’ve been charged to “go and make disciples of all nations.” How can 120 people fulfill a task of that magnitude? Are Christ’s disciples ready to build his kingdom?
Consider Peter—before Pentecost, he is, to say the least, inconsistent. We see glimpses of Peter’s courage throughout the gospels, but his faith and trust in Jesus is still developing. After he declares that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus calls Peter the “rock on whom I will build my church.” But shortly after, Peter is rebuked when he rejects Jesus’ foretelling of the crucifixion. Though he walks on the Sea of Galilee, Peter is admonished for his “lack of faith” when his eyes drift off Jesus and sink into the surrounding waves. Yet every time Peter falters, he is lifted up and dusted off again. Even after Peter denies Jesus, the disciple is welcomed back into the fold by his Good Shepherd.
As the 120 gather together into one room, the questions of readiness remain. But at Pentecost, everything instantly changes. These are different men. The Holy Spirit descends onto their house of prayer, and they are transformed. The disciples—no, apostles—begin to speak in other tongues as a mighty rushing wind fills the room. The Jews, dispersed among the nations, are gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate this harvest festival. As these Galilean apostles speak, the diasporic Jews hear the Gospel proclaimed in their native languages.
Here in Acts 2. 14, we see the greatest transformation. Peter begins to speak. Not as a Galilean who left Hebrew School to become a fisherman, but as a disciple of the Great Rabbi. Peter masterfully weaves together Old Testament prophecies to contextualize what these Jews are
witnessing. These were the dreams and visions Joel foretold. This was the prophesied Spirit poured out on God’s servants. And why are the Jews seeing these things now? Because Jesus, whom they crucified, now reigns as Lord and Messiah at God’s righteous right hand. Peter’s words cut through to their hearts and the Jews ask, “what shall we do?” Peter’s reply lays out the roadmap for any who join the way of Jesus: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you…and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Many refer to Pentecost as the birth of the church. To some extent, this is true. We see Christ’s church explode numerically, increasing to three thousand people overnight. Yet the message of Pentecost is lost if we simply focus on numbers. What’s most striking is the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. He changes the disciples’ hearts, confirming and maturing the grace-filled gifts that previously lay dormant. There’s a broader transformation happening at this moment, too. Throughout scripture, descriptions of God’s presence (particularly within his temple) are symbolized by fire. By visualizing the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire, God is communicating that His temple is no longer physically limited. Instead, it now lives within each of His people.
What took place on the day of Pentecost continues on in the lives of Christ’s disciples today, thousands of years later. In the Anglican tradition, we express this strengthening and renewal through the sacrament of confirmation. Each act of confirmation is a reminder of the original confirmation that took place at Pentecost. The grace-filled gifts imparted through the waters of baptism are quickened by the Holy Spirit. We are continually called to live into the Spirit-filled life to which Christ inspires us.
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire and lighten with celestial fire; thou the anointing Spirit art, who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.
Q&A The Resurrection
How has the Resurrection changed your life?
Jonah Rouizem: I grew up a devout Muslim, so I used to think the Resurrection was a complete hoax, even blasphemy. Islam teaches that God protected Jesus from dying by replacing him with a substitute humanoid before he was nailed to the cross. In other words, if Jesus didn’t really die, then he didn’t resurrect, either. When I later accepted him as my Lord and Savior, the Resurrection took on a sweetness that has never left me. Its historical roots anchor my faith when I am shaken; its spiritual depths invite me to worship my glorious King when I am worried; and, finally, its timeless message of guaranteed hope gives me wings to soar when I despair. I have placed my entire life in the hands of a risen King who is alive today. My present and my future are both firmly secure in those hands, and I can sleep at night. The Resurrection teaches me to rest in the grace of a fully human, fully divine Savior who knows me fully, loves me deeply, and rescues me daily. He has promised good to me, and I know his Word is true. The Resurrection is both truth and love—it is grace embodied in Christ and, day by day, in me, too. To trust and to follow my resurrected Lord is my joyful calling, something I would never have imagined possible before I believed.
Stephanie Rousselle: I grew up fiercely atheist. So, when I was confronted with the gospel claims of the Resurrection, Easter morning became my battleground. The more I sought to debunk that “myth,” the more I found myself accumulating mounting evidence for the historical truth of the Resurrection—until the intellectual tension turned spiritual crisis for this stubborn French atheist: if Jesus had truly resurrected, then I owed him my life in worshipful surrender—much to my dismay. I was a control-freak: no one had any right to interfere with my life. But his Resurrection gave Jesus the right to do just that. I was out of options. So, I struck a martyr’s pose and surrendered, expecting gloom and hardship—a most reluctant convert indeed. This was over 30 years ago. I’ve never looked back. Joy and peace unexpectedly invaded this resistant heart and have remained through the hills and valleys of life with my precious Lord. Jesus is increasingly becoming the absolute delight of my life. I surrender every day in joyful, giddy awe that he would choose to woo me to himself. The crazy part is, he invites us to change lives alongside him. That’s where our stories catch purpose—for his glory, and our delight! So, I invite you to ponder these two questions: Does the Resurrection lead you to ever-growing worship and delight in the glory of God? How can you express these facts in genuine love with unbelievers around you?
How does the Resurrection impact how you live daily?
Barri Alexander: For me, the Resurrection means anything is possible with God. The Resurrection is a bold claim, but his word tells us there were many people who saw Jesus after his death and that the Resurrection changed everything. As we women studied in 1 Corinthians this fall, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15. 13).
The Resurrection represents victory, victory over death eternally, but in my day-to-day, victory over sin and worry and my weakness. The Resurrection also represents God’s love—God’s love cost his Son’s life so we could be brought into a relationship of knowing and loving Jesus. The love of God is the gift of a relationship with him.
Mike Defina: To me, the Resurrection means that Jesus wasn’t just some cool dude with a nice philosophy. For me, Jesus dying on the cross means that I don’t have to beat myself up in my thoughts all day. Jesus died, then rose to show me he’s actually God. He went through that for us. If he can forgive me for my sins and shortcomings, which are many and often repeated, then maybe I can forgive myself on occasion. I am truly blown away by the depth of that forgiveness and the odd beauty and symmetry of such a horrible way for Jesus to die. So I live out the Resurrection daily by trying to accept the grace given.
Why does the Resurrection give you hope?
Ian MacDonald: If it were proved that Jesus died and was buried and was never raised from the dead, then I would have no hope at all. It would be meaningless for me to call myself a Christian. The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth from the dead is the only reason that I have hope for a new life. Why is this? I believe in a living God, the living God who speaks throughout the Scriptures. The living God became a man, Jesus. If Jesus was not raised, then how can anyone be raised from the dead? Hope means “to cherish a desire with expectation of fulfillment.” My hope is that I will be raised from the dead to live a new life, in a new body, in a new world where there is no sin. I have this expectation because the Bible teaches that Jesus rose from the dead. I agree with the apostle Paul, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15. 13 – 14).
Our History of Renewal
THE RECTORY
BY CHRISTIE PURIFOY, WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
If the church is the house of God, what is the Rectory? As the house intended for the Rector and the Rector’s family, it is just like any other home cared for by a follower of Jesus Christ. It is nothing less than one more place where God dwells; it is an outpost of the kingdom of God. Yet it is also something more. It sits near to the sacred spaces where we gather together in God’s presence, and this proximity allows the Rectory to occupy a uniquely meaningful middle place in the geography of our church life.
I am convinced that the spiritual vitality of The Church of the Good Samaritan has roots that spread all the way back into Friday night meetings that took place in the Rectory for only a few months during the 1970s. In our recent Parish Profile, Fr Dan Sullivan is described as “a man of contagious vision and conviction,” and it was he who invited a small group to gather for Prayer and Praise in the Rectory.
transformed. People were healed. The powers of darkness were broken, and a midnight Eucharist was offered on New Year’s Eve simply because parishioners were already together in the Rectory, and they asked for it.
Renewal within the church may take different forms in different generations, but Glenna’s memories and the wisdom she shared helped me more clearly see what makes Church of the Good Samaritan uniquely good and also helped me imagine what renewal might look like for us today. “Good Sam is a very special place,” Glenna kept reminding me. The charismatic renewal movements of the 1960s and 70s were not felt only at Good Sam, but an Episcopal church like ours, rooted in the larger Anglican Communion, is uniquely positioned to offer the kind of wide and hospitable embrace offered so long ago in Parkesburg and then the Rectory. It is an embrace that welcomes the buttoned-up and the down-and-out. It welcomes the Catholic, and it welcomes those Baptists Glenna told me about, who longed for something more than occasional grape juice. In this light, the middle place of the Rectory appears symbolic of the middle way of Anglicanism. A church that intentionally occupies a middle place, a church that is both open to newness while holding fast to tradition, is more important than ever in an American culture that is increasingly tribal and focused on the differences that separate us from one another.
I recently spoke with Good Sam parishioner Glenna Geiger who was one of the guitarists helping to lead music at those Rectory gatherings. Fr Dan had been inspired to host them after visiting the Prayer and Praise meetings held each week at a church in Parkesburg. At those prayer meetings, Glenna told me, you might see an otherwise formal, buttoned-up Presbyterian pastor dancing for joy in the church aisle or a busload of nuns arriving to join the chorus of praise. It was a fountain of God, and it poured into our church through the welcoming door of the Rectory.
Friday night Prayer and Praise quickly outgrew the Rectory, and Glenna and all the others moved right on over into the church where for years they gathered on kneelers and witnessed every gift of the Holy Spirit to the people of God. Lay people ministered. Lives were
In Glenna’s words, the people of The Church of the Good Samaritan consistently care for one another just like our namesake. She spoke of past successes and past mistakes in a way that left me feeling hopeful. We have navigated transitions and changes together before. We will go on doing that. It may not look like success following upon success and mountain-top moment after mountain-top moment. Instead, there will be mountains, there will be valleys, and in every place and every season Glenna says we must only “stay steady,” remembering the value of our vibrant and diverse middle way. Physical renewal is coming to the Rectory in the form of fresh paint and new trees. No doubt there will soon be a welcome mat outside the front door. May these things be for us a tangible sign that together we are praying for and working toward renewal.
Glenna Geiger
Our Hope for Renewal
ROGATION DAYS
BY CHRISTIE PURIFOY, WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And everything was perfect, right? Actually, if we read Genesis carefully we find a creation that was ordered and good because God had separated it from chaos and darkness. The darkness was still there, but now it was splashed with God-light. While the sun and moon were set in the sky to order the day, the night, and the seasons, we—God’s imagebearers—were invited to fill the earth, bringing God’s order and light to every place. You know how that story goes. We failed, and the darkness came near in the form of sin crouching at our door. Driven east of Eden, we’ve been living intimately with disasters and their disorder ever since—both the kind we call “natural” and the kind we should probably call “our fault.”
In fifth-century Gaul, a community of Christians was struck by a series of disasters from earthquake to fire to an invasion of wild animals. Their penitential and prayerful response has borne fruit every year since wherever Christians remember and keep the Rogation Days. In spring, just as seeds were being sown in the fields, Mamertus, bishop of Vienne, called his people to walk the land together, praying and singing and repenting. They asked for forgiveness. They asked for protection. They asked for God’s blessing on the soil that would grow their bread. These three days following the sixth Sunday of Easter became a little season of fasting within a larger season of feasting. Rogation, then and now, recalls to mind our absolute reliance on God and the invitation God has always extended to us to partner with him in blessing the physical world.
Rogation, from the Latin rogatio or “asking,” is prayer on the move. This is prayer with dirt under its nails. To parade and pray together is to step out of our seemingly safe, pretend Edens and move out toward places touched by disaster and threatened by disorder. We may no longer feed our families or celebrate Communion with bread made with grain we grow in fields bordering our church, but this fact does nothing to negate the vital importance of places, of soil, and of seeds. We may no longer know the name of the farmer who grows the wheat for our bread, but we can and do still know the power of a church’s prayers to unleash goodness into the world.
The ancient Rogation days of Gaul stuck to our calendars like seed-bearing burrs because they worked. The people of Vienne were not only delivered from their troubles, they became known for their faithfulness. We also pray because it works—not because God is a vending machine in the sky, but because God has never been in the fruitful business of creation all on his own. He has always wanted partners. He has always wanted friends. He has always wanted sons and daughters to help him tend his fields.
On Sunday, May 5, in celebration of Rogation Sunday, The Church of the Good Samaritan will hold Rogation processions to the garden and to the cemetery after the dismissal of the 9 am and 11:15 am services.
Good Sam News
Christmas Eve 2023
What’s the Church of the Good Samaritan like at Christmas time?
As the Rector wrote earlier, “there’s an excitement, a kind of wild hopefulness and gladness in the air that makes it different from any other time of the year. No matter how cynical or unreligious you may think of yourself as being, you can’t escape the feeling then that something extraordinary and beautiful and glad is breaking into the world.” And verily, verily you can’t escape that dazzling feeling when, in the dark with the house lights down, you look out at a nave packed from stem to stern, from crossing to balcony, and every face is lit by candle fire.
January Men’s Breakfast
At the first Men’s Breakfast of the year, roughly sixty men gathered for food, conversation, and teaching. Following a brief testimony from George Scheffey, Dr. Jeff Dill, parishioner and professor of Sociology and Liberal Studies in the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, spoke on “The Age of Anxiety: Are the Kids Alright?” His engaging talk revealed some of the root causes driving today’s crisis; the wide age range that is being affected (not only the younger generation); and how the Christian story of resurrection and redemption can provide the antidote.
TO LISTEN TO GEORGE’S TESTIMONY AND JEFF’S TALK, PLEASE SCAN THE QR CODE.
January Baptisms
Want to know who you are? Look at the people you spend time with, the people you walk and eat and drink and laugh with. Contemplate them. What that contemplation does is not just give you nice consoling visions of God, it sets you free to see other people clearly and freely, to see other people without the distorting lens of your own script. So I look at another person, rather than thinking What can I do with them? How can I make them actors in my drama? I just look at them and see them more clearly, more honestly, and so more lovingly. And for me this is never easier to do than when baptizing someone, as when I baptized Isabel Parker, Mariah Dixon, Theodore Dixon, Theodore Fullen, Grace Miller, William Miller, Hazel Tate, and Sienna Winston on Sunday, January 7, the Baptism of our Lord. — PCE Jr
Our next baptisms will be Easter Vigil, Saturday, March 30, and also these Sundays: April 7, May 19, and November 3.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING BAPTIZED OR IN BAPTIZING YOUR CHILDREN, PLEASE EMAIL BARB AT BARBARA.HOHORST@GOOD-SAMARITAN.ORG.
GOOD SAM NEWS
Adult Christian Formation: Journey Through Lent
Encouraging conversation and sharing of experience as we walk through the Lenten season together, we are currently offering a five-week class series referencing our new devotional resource Journey Through Lent 2024. Each week a panel of contributors to the devotional book leads us in conversation that aims to inspire and equip for the journey ahead. Discussion leaders include Brian Williams, Stephanie Rousselle, Whitney Kuniholm, Kent Sparks, Jonathan Yates, Christie Purifoy, Jeff Dill, Carol Kuniholm, Chris Hall, Heather Dill, and Bonnie O’Neil.
Welcome Bishop Greg Brewer
WELCOME MISSY FREILING, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE RECTOR
Missy grew up in Vermont, with dreams of a career at ESPN. This led her to Oral Roberts University to study journalism. There she met Bob and soon after they decided to relocate to the Philadelphia region for new career opportunities. They’ve called Berwyn home ever since.
Former Rector of The Church of the Good Samaritan Bishop Brewer will be visiting with us for a number of dates this spring, including Holy Week and Pentecost Sunday. Bishop Brewer retired from serving as diocesan bishop in June of 2023. Since then he has continued teaching homiletics at Nashotah House. He has preached in parishes in California, Minnesota, Tennessee, Florida, New York, and Texas. He has served as a part of an international Anglican bishop consultation outside London and is currently president of Communion Partners—an international Anglican organization committed to building international partnerships within the Anglican Communion.
Missy loves to share Jesus with the younger crowd, even if it means she has to feed them. Moms in Prayer is near and dear to her heart and has been instrumental in the upbringing of her daughter and son. She is a member of Great Valley Presbyterian and has been blessed by the Woman’s Ministry of Good Sam. Her career has spanned the fields of journalism, human resources, and public relations. She is excited to assist Fr Ellsworth in his new role as Rector.
New Email for Fr Ellsworth
One of Missy’s many duties will be helping to manage Fr Ellsworth’s calendar. If you need to schedule a meeting or have a nonconfidential matter to discuss with him, please email rector@good-samaritan.org, an account that Missy will be monitoring. You may also email Missy directly at missy.freiling@good-samaritan.org. For correspondence that is personal, sensitive, or confidential, Fr Ellsworth will continue to use his email phillip.ellsworth@good-samaritan.org.
InSight For Life: Women’s Bible Study
Last fall over fifty women gathered over Zoom on Tuesday evenings and at the church on Thursday mornings to study 1 Corinthians. Each week we began by worshiping God in song and prayer then received dynamic teaching on the text from our team of gifted teachers, followed by engaging discussions in smaller groups. Small groups are the heart of this Bible Study, where women have the freedom to be vulnerable, are encouraged, and challenged. Most of all, women know they have a group who loves them and will support them in prayer and in practical ways. Our study of 1 Corinthians just resumed in late February and we would be delighted to receive newcomers.
PLEASE REGISTER AT GOOD-SAMARITAN.ORG/EVENTS/INSIGHT OR EMAIL GOODSAMINSIGHT@GMAIL.COM WITH ANY QUESTIONS.
“Insight for Life is a tremendous blessing. This time of teaching, fellowship, and prayer is a can’t miss in my schedule each week.”
MISSY FREILING
Good Samaritan Day School
Playground Unveiled
With over 10 years of fundraising, hours spent consulting with teachers, and a year of planning, the Good Samaritan Day School is proud to announce that our “new older” playground is open.
After many years of enjoying the playground, it was time to renovate and rejuvenate. We started with a new block stone retaining wall and resized our sandbox. The side of the sandbox was applying pressure to the existing retaining wall and had become unsafe. We removed wooden play pieces and the old play equipment. A large tree stump and roots were ground and removed. Our lovely oak tree was pruned and fertilized. Church staff replaced our stage area with compressed decking, installed safety fencing and added new mulch. Working with Recreation Resources in Kennett Square, we selected a unit built of color compounded roto mold plastics, aluminum and stainless steel from Burke Play Systems.
Our primary focus when designing the new playground was to improve gross and fine motor skills. Post-pandemic, we as educators have continued to see a lack of grip strength, balance, and gross motor skills in our littles, so we focused on playground items that would work grip strength, upper body strength, crossing the bodies midline, core strength, and general balance. Ever seen the show The Floor Is Lava!? Well, our students love that show. We modeled the equipment in a flowing way that allows students to start anywhere and navigate their way throughout the equipment and back again. This allows for more participation and inclusion.
Our next fundraising goal will help us continue to make improvements on our “new older” playground. The 18-year-old poured-in-place rubber surface is well past its prime and the wooden storage sheds, gazebo, and bench are showing their age. We hope to install a shade cover and plan to reconfigure the area for more open free play.
The Day School would like to extend our appreciation and admiration to all the Church staff that helped us make this happen. Thanks to Maintenance Director Connor Gisel and his staff for the demolition, clean up, and mulch prep, Rusty Smith for his guiding hand, Betsy Wolford for cutting the checks, and Tad Turski for all the hands-on engineering work to rebuild the sandbox, stage, and fencing.
Entering its 69th year, the Day School provides a nurturing environment, with a play-based hands on curriculum. We foster diversity with families from all over the world, and are especially proud of the inclusion of students that may need support services and work closely with public and private service providers to offer the best personalized experience for each child.
From our Parent/Toddler class to our fun-filled Kindergarten, 233 students are served by 40 dedicated teachers and 3 full-time administrative staff. Working together with 180 families, we provide a loving, faith-based atmosphere for students and families.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DAY SCHOOL OR A TOUR, PLEASE CONTACT BARB CONDIT AT 610.644.6181.
“It’s the small steps that lead to the big steps. Thank you for being part of her foundation.”
PARENT, GOOD SAMARITAN DAY SCHOOL
Goodness in Community: Small Groups
Good Samaritan is blessed to have many small groups meeting regularly, and we are committed to supporting and increasing them. Whether gathering on campus or in homes in our local area, by meeting in small groups we encourage and better pray for each other, and we pay attention to the constant flow of goodness that is coming from God. The following small groups are open to new members and would welcome a conversation if you are interested in exploring their group.
ADULTS
Balsan Small Group
Meets in the Paoli/Malvern area on alternate Sundays from 4 – 6 pm. Contact Andy at jabalsan@gmail.com
Defina/Sparks Small Group
Meets in the Malvern area on first and third Thursday evenings. Contact Tracy at tdefina@comcast.net or Cheryl at cheryl@cherylsparks.com
Ernst Small Group
Meets in the Western Main Line area on second and fourth Tuesday evenings. Contact Mary at maryernst284@gmail.com
Henderson Small Group
Meets in the Downingtown area on alternate Sundays from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Contact Gary at gshenderson@comcast.net
Nicholson Small Group
Meets in the Bryn Mawr or West Chester area on alternate Fridays from 7:30 – 10 pm. Contact Emily at emilynicholson@comcast.net
Smith Small Group
Meets in the Paoli/Malvern area on second and fourth Tuesday evenings. Contact Rusty at rustysmith@verizon.net
WOMEN
Insight for Life Women’s Bible Study
Spring and Fall sessions: Tuesday evenings via Zoom or Thursday mornings in-person at church. Currently studying 1 Corinthians. Contact Janet Licci at goodsaminsight@gmail.com
Women’s Bible Study
Meets via Zoom on Wednesdays at noon. Currently in Romans 8 with a study called “Awakening to the Holy Spirit.”
Contact Roxy Dunning at roxydunning@gmail.com
MEN
Monday Men’s Study
Meets in the Narthex (back of the church) on Mondays from 8 – 9 am. Contact Joe Palmer at 610.647.0170
Wednesday Men’s Group
Meets via Zoom on Wednesdays at 6:30 am. Contact George Scheffey at gscheffey@msn.com
Friday Men’s Group
Meets in Room 223 on Friday mornings from 7 – 8 am. Currently studying Hebrews. Contact Andy Balsan at jabalsan@gmail.com
Bellis Breakfast Boys
Meets at Our Deli in Paoli on Fridays at 7 am. Contact Kevin Hicks at kbhicks@comcast.net
YOUNG ADULTS & MILLENNIALS
Young Adult/Millennial Group
Meets in the Western Main Line area on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm in members’ homes. An eclectic group of young adults from ages 24-36, from different area churches, and in a variety of life seasons! Contact Dan Garrison Edwards at dan.edwards@good-samaritan.org
YOUNG FAMILIES
Would you be interested in starting a small group gathering in your area?
Please contact Missy Freiling at missy.freiling@ good-samaritan.org and let her know of your interest! New gatherings will be announced as additional groups are formed.
We recognize the importance of community for families with children and know how valuable it is to parent alongside each other for support and encouragement.
Looking to provide young families the opportunity to connect with each other, we are planning to host two separate dinner and conversation evenings that will meet at least quarterly:
• Families with littles (infants – Kindergarten)
• Families with elementary-aged children
Childcare with fun, age-appropriate activities will be offered during the gatherings allowing parents to enter into conversation and connect with others while allowing the children to enjoy time with friends! Contact Kimberly Lindquist at kimberly@good-samaritan.org
Nurturing Growth
CHRISTIAN FORMATION FOR EVERY AGE
Creating Spaces of Belonging
BY KIMBERLY LINDQUIST, DIRECTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES
Our Sunday morning classes have gotten into a wonderful rhythm over the last several months. All of our students, regardless of age, have been enjoying lessons related to the week’s readings. We’ve also implemented a response time after our lesson or Godly Play to allow children to respond to the story in a way that feels helpful to them. As we have worked to redesign our classrooms, we’ve created stations to allow for a variety of activities. The areas that are always available are art, reading, and a lego/tactile station. We have loved seeing the ways that children are able to continue to understand and process the information we learn in a variety of ways.
We have also loved seeing the friendships growing among our students as they have settled into their classes this year. It has been a joy to watch the ways they help each other, support one another, and play and laugh together! Our group of children has continued to grow, and we are always looking for individuals who are interested in volunteering with us so we can continue to grow and provide care and teaching to the younger members of our church.
LOOKING BACK….
This winter there were a lot of opportunities for our students to participate in the life of the church. We were excited to partner with Marcia Wilkinson and the pastoral care team to prepare Christmas cards to accompany the flowers taken to parishioners who were homebound during the holiday season. The children worked hard to make more than 50 Christmas cards! We have received lots of beautiful responses about the impact of these gifts.
We welcomed over 400 people to our Family Christmas Eve service and had amazing participation from students of every age to make that service meaningful and fun. Our students contributed through reading, dancing, and music, and it made for a wonderful start to the Christmas season.
Family Events
Spring 2024
March 29
Good Friday Family Service, 9:30 am
March 31
Easter Day, No Sunday School
April 5
Elementary Movie Night and Parent Dinner, 5:30 pm
June 24-28
VBS 2024
SCUBA: Diving Into Friendship with Jesus, 9 am – 12 pm
IF YOU HAVE A LOVE OF TEACHING AND ARE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO SERVE, CONTACT KIMBERLY@GOOD-SAMARITAN.ORG.
As Good Sam Kids and Youth alumni ourselves, we both know how important having dedicated spaces in the church was to our growth. Having space that feels like it was designed just for you can help you know you are a valued member of the church family. We are unbelievably grateful to everyone in this community who continues to invest in updating kids and youth spaces here at Good Sam—from David Baldwin Painting, furniture donations, and everyone contributing to Amazon wishlists. Every minute of donated time and every dollar of donated material has come steeped in prayer for our kids and youth—a feat we will never be able to repay! Kimberly Lindquist and Jessica Campbell
YOUTH MINISTRY
Exciting and Terrifying Ministry in Generational Shift
BY JESSICA CAMPBELL, DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MINISTRY
When someone suggested that I should take on the role as the female co-leader of EPYC (the Eastern Pennsylvania YouthMin Connection) this fall, I thought he was a little crazy. Taking on a co-leading role with a youth minister’s network I had only attended once, in the first six months of my role at Good Sam, again, it sounded a little crazy. Yet the Holy Spirit was at work in my heart, stirring things up and refusing to let the idea drop. So, feeling ill-equipped to lead my peers on their journey alongside youth, I dove in anyway—telling the Lord he better know what he is doing (story of my life, really—can you relate?).
A few weeks ago, we were facilitating a conversation about teen mental health at our monthly EPYC meeting. If you aren’t aware, mental health crises—particularly related to anxiety and depression, have exponentially increased from the Millennial generation to Gen Z (hitting affluent, adolescent females the hardest). As we discussed some of our ministry contexts and experiences with teens struggling with mental health, I posed a thought that elicited groans from the room—“I feel like I am still learning exactly who Gen Z is and how to most effectively minister to them, and Gen Alpha is already here. The oldest Gen Alpha students are currently in eighth grade … they will be in high school next year. If we aren’t already thinking about how their generation will start differentiating themselves from Gen Z, we have been missing it with our middle schoolers already.”
According to the Barna study and report on Gen Z, “six trends have been powerfully at work to create the ethos” of Gen Z: they are “digital natives,” their worldview is post-Christian, “safe-spaces” are normal, real safety is a myth,
they are diverse, and their parents may be overbearing in some areas while offering too much freedom in others. The implications have been fascinating, heart-breaking, and also encouraging (check them out in Gen Z Volume 1, 2017, and Volume 2, 2021, published by Barna). Did you know that over half of Gen Z expresses that they feel motivated to learn more about Jesus? They are curious in a way we haven’t given them credit for.
As Gen Alpha continues to progress in identity formation there are a few trends emerging that may or may not become defining characteristics for a generation. They are more digitally-oriented than any prior generation, and are used to getting immediate responses. They seem to have the earliest onset of global awareness and the concept of interconnectedness, which might also lead them to be more collaborative than the fiercely independent Gen Z. They seem to be more optimistic than Gen Z and appear to be more trusting of institutions. And while the pandemic left an unforgettable mark on Gen Z and their late adolescence, its effects on the earlier years of Gen Alpha are truly yet to be measured.
This is an exciting and terrifying time to be in youth ministry (or to parent a teenager). Approaches that have been helpful with your current high school or college student might not prove to be effective with your middle schooler as they grow—and that will be challenging for everyone. The way we meet the needs of our high school students might just be the most different from the way we will need to meet the needs of our middle school students in the church, resulting in difficulty programming grades 6 – 12 together.
As Good Sam’s youth ministry team (we have some pretty amazing volunteer leaders!) spends time with students this spring semester we are leaning into creating unique spaces for our high school and middle school students. Small group discussions at youth group continue to be a high priority so they can wrestle with age-appropriate questions alongside a trusted adult. Our Middle School Mystery Tour will partner with several other local churches to create a collaborative, energetic, and relational space. The Alpha Youth video series, culminating with our spring retreat, will provide a more thoughtful, slower-paced time for our students in grades 8 – 12. All the while, we will continue to ground our young friends in the orthodox, Anglican tradition that spans the test of time and generation. We can offer the indelible/invariable Good News on their level, in their language, for their unique context, rooted in a longestablished succession of believers.
YOUTH MINISTRY
Youth Events Spring 2024
February 25 – May 19
Youth Alpha
Sunday evenings, 6 – 8 pm
March 3
Sharing our Stories: Confirmation Testimonies 10:15 am, Ashton Hall
March 17
Episcopal Visitation & Confirmation Service 10 am, Church (one service only)
March 31
Easter Day No Club 56, SAM Group, or Youth Group
April 12
Middle School Mystery Tour
5 pm – 12 am starting in Walton Hall, and then it’s a MYSTERY! Cost $50 per student, scholarships available.
April 26-28
Spring Retreat for Grades 8 – 12
Ocean City Tabernacle, Ocean City, NJ. Cost $150 per student, scholarships available.
June 2
Senior Send-off
Honoring our seniors at the last youth group of the school year.
June 24-29
Middle School Week on Mission
During the morning we will serve at VBS, and each afternoon we will serve at a different local outreach ministry. Every evening we will debrief and worship together. Students will stay in their homes, but be introduced to missions in a meaningful way. On Saturday, we will have a day of fun at Dorney Park.
July 5 or 6 through July 13 or 14
High School Mission Trip:
Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota
Our students who have completed grades 9 – 12 are invited to participate in running a VBS in Fort Yates, ND, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. This cross-cultural ministry experience will be a unique glimpse into a vibrant culture with much to teach us about God, as well as serving in areas of our country plagued by cycles of generational trauma.
“We have to make a choice. Either help this generation become certain they are right about everything they believe, or confident enough to keep following Jesus.” RETHINK ORANGE
COLLEGE MINISTRY
Gen Z and the Lonely Quest Thoughts on Communicating with Young People
BY DAN GARRISON EDWARDS, COLLEGE / CCO CAMPUS MINISTER
I am not yet a parent. If the Lord blesses my wife and me in this way, those children will be an entirely different generation and require a divergent reflection than what follows.
I am writing as someone who has worked closely with Gen Z since they were in middle school and have now entered college. I do not have the responsibility of raising them as parents do, but central to my role as a campus minister is trying to answer the question “What helps you see Christ?” I have no strategies or recommendations. What I have are some observations, some professional insights, and a handful of reflections that (I hope!) will help anyone reading this feel a little more confident or comfortable in communicating with the Gen Z in their life. It can feel daunting to talk to a 16-year-old who seems to live on TikTok, or is disinterested in the communal life of church or family.
As I speak with college students on campus or teens around the church, I find that what is needed is a posture of empathy. This empathy can be born of our shared desire to be known, a desire for identity.
Theologian Andrew Root, drawing on the work of philosopher Charles Taylor, frames the identity conversation in terms of the pursuit of the good life, and that the good life is defined by finding your thing. In his book The End of Youth Ministry?, Root writes “Your thing is what you’re about, and to represent is to state your identity through your thing. And what you’re about is believed to be essentially who you are.” This is reflected in the singular focus that defines the lives of many young people and their families. You may know a family, or are a family, whose weekly, monthly, and annual rhythm is set to a continuous regiment of soccer teams and off-season camps, or theater programs that run all year round. Or maybe you know a college student whose passion for piano seems to transcend hobby into something that draws all of their time and resources.
to discover who you most fully feel like you are.” The search for identity, for the first time in Western history, is an isolated interior journey. All travel companions are merely there to affirm one’s self-discovery.
“Dan, I thought I was going to read about how to better communicate with Gen Z.”
The beauty of the Body of Christ is that his identity does not turn us all into uniform creatures, each a carbon copy of the other. Rather, our identity in Christ draws the particularities of personalities and gifts into sharper focus.
Right you are. I share all this to say that I think communication must begin with the empathy born of recognizing this bizarre cultural moment. In conversing with college students, I am quickly reminded that the Surgeon General declared loneliness an epidemic in May of 2023. How can it not be when we have reduced something as central as identity to a solo journey into our own souls? My hope is that when we are in relationship with a member of Gen Z, we are listening for the spots of loneliness. Christ calls to the lonely. Zaccheaus in his tree, Hagar fleeing into the wilderness, Job wrestling with the tragedy about himself; God meets them and many others.
It is too easy to evoke feelings of guilt from families over such priorities. Doing so overlooks the greater burden at play: in a secular age, identity formation is an internal journey of self-discovery. Identity, while affirmed within a community, is now something derived from within.
To be clear, I am describing our current cultural norm in the West, not the Truth of personhood. Now consider the loneliness that a teen or college-aged young person is likely to experience under such an existential burden. Root describes the quest as “almost completely internal …
We should all strive for, and encourage others, to seek their identity in the person of Jesus Christ. The beauty of the Body of Christ is that his identity does not turn us all into uniform creatures, each a carbon copy of the other. Rather, our identity in Christ draws the particularities of personalities and gifts into sharper focus. Each of us having our “thing” is not in and of itself contrary to Christ. But our cultural moment that insists that we discover this alone, is. Maybe together we as the Body of Christ can help younger generations not go on a journey of self-discovery alone, and better yet show them that Christ calls to them and walks with them. Amen.
Q&A
Confirmation at Church of the Good Samaritan
Our Bishop, the Rt Rev’d Daniel Gutiérrez, will be visiting us on Sunday, March 17, presiding, preaching, and confirming those presented to him at our one combined worship service that day at 10 am. When a bishop confirms people, he puts his hands on their heads and says, “Strengthen, O Lord, your servant (name) with your Holy Spirit; empower her for your service; and sustain her all the days of his life.” I am always moved to see this, the bishop himself having had consecrating hands laid on him in apostolic succession stretching back to the apostles. You won’t want to miss this service. — PCE Jr, Rector
RESPONSES FROM YOUTH CONFIRMANDS
Who has had the most impact on your faith journey and why?
• My parents—they bring me to church every Sunday.
• My sister! She set the model for me of what it looked like to interact with one’s faith— laughing with God, asking questions, etc.
• My parents because they introduced me to the church.
Going into confirmation class, what was the biggest question you had about faith, Jesus, or the life of the church?
• If God was real.
• I didn’t really enter with any questions that I needed answered by the class. It just seemed like a good idea!
• What is the Holy Trinity?
What in particular has stuck with you from our conversations in confirmation class?
• That the Christian faith is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• That “the good news of the Gospel” is redundant. (the Greek word for Gospel euangelion literally means “good news”)
• The lesson about the Holy Spirit.
What excites you about serving in the church?
• Hanging out with friends.
Where do you plan to serve in the future?
• In some way in the church.
• For the past two years I have helped with Tech. I will probably continue to be involved there. I enjoy clicking the buttons for God.
• I plan to continue volunteering as an acolyte and with Good Sam Kids.
RESPONSES FROM ADULT CONFIRMANDS
Why are you choosing this time in your life to be confirmed at The Church of the Good Samaritan?
Amber Skinner: My baptism in early adolescence was an important moment for me to take personal ownership and responsibility of my faith, but faith is not an individual endeavor, so it was also a chance for a public declaration to the faithful brothers and sisters who were raising me in Christ, and most importantly, for me to join them as a member of the body of Christ. Now that I am more actively integrating into the body of Good Sam, it is time to confirm to my newer brothers and sisters in Christ that I was baptized into the same Spirit as they were and want to participate with them in the joyful work of the kingdom that this community is doing.
Mark Dixon: I echo the words of the psalmist, “By You I have been upheld from birth …” I am grateful to have been raised in a family committed to honoring Christ in every area of life. My wife, Cara, and I, along with our children, have been attending Good Sam regularly since 2018. As a school administrator raising four school-aged kids, I have found it challenging to share my time and gifts at Good Sam with consistency in recent years. I am seeking confirmation as a means of deepening my commitment to serve Christ and his people in a church that has become a home for my family. Additionally, confirmation expands the ways in which I can serve within my local church. I am excited about the Spirit’s work in our midst at Good Sam, and I look forward to seeing him continue to draw people to himself.
Diana Lanchoney: I’ve meant to get confirmed for some time for a few reasons. First, I am home at Good Sam, and I guess I’d like to make the relationship official! Second, I am curious about what is unique to the Episcopal church vs other protestant churches, and I am learning more about that. Third, I’ve wanted to make myself available for certain acts of service, such as serving as a eucharistic minister or on the vestry, which can only be performed by confirmed members of the church. And finally, my kids are older, and my schedule a bit lighter, so it’s a great time to just do it. If not now, when? I thought. So, it’s now!
We invite you to journey in this Lenten season with this collection of meditations in our newly released Journey Through Lent 2024 booklet, written by 25 of our own Church of the Good Samaritan parishioners. Pick up your copy at the Welcome Table in our atrium. Features art by parishioner Anna Kocher.
Upcoming Events
Sunday March 3 | 10:15 am
Sharing our Stories: Youth and Adult Confirmation Testimonies
Wednesdays March 6, 13, and 20 | 6 pm
Weekly Dinner & Lenten Series
February 25 – May 19 | 6 – 8 pm
Youth Alpha Video Series
Sunday March 10 and 24 | 10:15 am
Adult Christian Formation: Journey Through Lent
Sunday March 17 | 10 am (one service only) Episcopal Visitation & Confirmation Service
Sunday March 24 | 7:30, 9, and 11:15 am
Palm Sunday
Thursday March 28 | 7:30 pm
Maundy Thursday Eucharist
With Foot Washing and the Stripping of the Altar
Friday March 29 | 9:30 am
Good Friday Family Gathering
Friday March 29 | 12 – 3 pm
Three-Hour Devotion
Saturday March 30 | 9 am
The Holy Saturday Office
Saturday March 30 | 7:30 pm
Easter Vigil: The Great Paschal Liturgy
Sunday March 31 | 7:30, 9, and 11:15 am
Easter Day: The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ No classes for children or adults
April 12 | 5 pm – 12 am
Middle School Mystery Tour
April 26 – 28
Youth Spring Retreat for Grades 8 – 12
June 24 – 28 | Daily 9 am – 12 pm
VBS 2024 | SCUBA: Diving into Friendship with God
July 5/6 – 13/14
High School Mission Trip: Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota
