The Dove: Lent 2022

The Dove PUBLISHED FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF ST. DAVID’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Lent: February, March, & April 2022 An Interview with Theologian in Residence The Rev. Jenifer Gamber

Eliminating Period Poverty

Roads & Mushrooms: Notes from Uganda

What does Baptism have to do with Lent?

Lenten Book Suggestions

Ash Wednesday through Easter Worship Schedule

CLERGY The Rev. W. Frank Allen | Rector The Rev. Elizabeth W. Colton Associate Rector The Rev. Maurice A. Dyer, II Associate Rector The Rev. Emily Zimbrick-Rogers Associate Rector The Rev. Kenneth McCaslin | Deacon STAFF Buff Barnes | Spiritual Direction Margaret Biester | Head of School, SDEDS Jamie Boult | Childcare Coordinator Steve Boyes | Groundskeeper Geoff Chamberlain | Broadcast Manager Amy Van Sciver Darst Asst. Head of School, SDEDS Roe DeRitis | Receptionist Amy Dolan | Spiritual Direction Diane Dowlin Office Manager & Calendar Coordinator Jo-Ann Funkhouser | Finance Manager Shannon Garland Communications Assistant Emily Given Director of Christian Formation Nereida Gordon Director of the Gift Shop & Art Gallery Matt Grove | Grounds Supervisor Natalee Hill | Director of Communications Chris King | Parish Custodian Maria Leal Director of Children’s Education Eileen Myers | Wedding Coordinator Josiah Pizzo | Groundskeeper Leslie Robertshaw | Parish Administrator Dr. Clair Rozier | Director of Music Heather Sill | Receptionist Paul Smith | Parish Custodian Dr. Elaine Sonnenberg Whitelock Associate Director of Music Holly Vicki | Music Administrator/Librarian Kurt Zampitella | Groundskeeper

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Walking in Faith Jesus says, “And whenever you pray . . .”

— Matthew 6:5-14 Dear people of St. David’s, The season of Lent is upon us and with it a new opportunity to live our lives as though our Faith Matters and I hope and pray that you will walk with us.

Along with Christians all over the world, St. David’s is entering into the forty days of Lent to shed those practices and lifestyles that draw us away from God and to take up new practices and ways of living that open the way for God to feed our faith and build up our lives in love. Thankfully, like Jesus we do not have to accomplish any of this on our own, but with the power of the Holy Spirit guiding us and empowering us.

This issue of the DOVE has some beautiful content to help us all walk in faith during Lent, but I am particularly interested in inviting you to physically walk with Jesus through Holy Week in our worship. Palm Sunday starts us on the journey of Holy Week with the celebration of Jesus entering into Jerusalem in triumph even as He faces opposition to God’s plans. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper and Jesus’ command to love one another as He has loved us. Good Friday is the stark liturgy where we stand at the cross of Christ, remembering God’s great love for us and desire to take away our sins.

The Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday evening and the Easter Day celebrations remind us that not even death can separate us from the love of God and that death is no longer our end.

Physically walking though Holy Week in worship and community together instills a deeper sense of the majesty of God and God’s love for us and I encourage all of us to make a special effort to be present in-person or on the livestream as we walk together in faith.

See you there.

Grace and Peace,

The Rev. W. Frank Allen, Rector

ST. DAVID’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 763 S. Valley Forge Road, Wayne, PA 19087 610.688.7947 | www.stdavidschurch.org

2

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Theologian in Residence

The Rev. Jenifer Gamber Friday, March 25—Sunday, March 27 Director of Communications Natalee Hill sat down and talked with The Rev. Jenifer Gamber, this year’s theologian in residence at St. David’s. The Rev. Gamber serves as the director of the School for Christian Faith and Leadership and the director of the Tending Our Soil Thriving Congregations Initiative in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

They discussed Jenifer’s work, her journey to ordination, how she became an author, and what we can expect from her visit in March.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Natalee Hill: Thank you for joining me today for a conversation. We’re expecting to have you as our theologian in residence here towards the end of March and we’re definitely looking forward to that. Before we go too much further I’m curious about your work in the Diocese of Washington, can you tell us a little bit about what the school for Christian faith and leadership is and the initiative that you lead?

The Rev. Jenifer Gamber: Of course, the school for Christian faith and leadership is a school, not in the brick and mortar sense of a school but a new institution that was launched with my hiring in 2020 to equip both lay people and clergy to lead toward greater vitality in their congregations, so that they can be stronger together and be vital bearers of God’s love in the world.

Then the Tending Our Soil Thriving Congregations Initiative is a five-year Lilly endowment funded initiative.

We’re working with up to 36 congregations to reimagine Christian practices for a rapily-changing context.

NH: The theme for our session when you’re with us in March is Faith Matters, and we’ll be talking about the idea of living discipleship practices. Can you tell me a little bit about the five core practices of faith?

JG: The Episcopal Diocese of Washington gathered a group of leaders two years ago to talk about what helps them grow in their faith. We gathered around and shared stories about pivotal events in our lives, pivotal people, then practices along the way, that help us to grow in faith. Through those conversations, which involved more than 30 people, we discerned five core practices: pray, learn, serve, give, and share. Those are practices that we believe that, when engaging faithfully, not just on Sunday, but during the week as well, that we will grow as followers of Jesus. We see those same five practices in the life of Christ.

NH: I know that the sessions we have planned for March are intended to be not just for adults, but for all ages.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you integrate all ages in in this kind of discipleship session?

JG: We all grow in faith when we learn from one another in an intergenerational 3

environment.

This move towards segmenting our children into one segment, adults in another, and then even within that age grouping people is really a modern idea. We’ve gotten away from the sense that our children to have something to bring our elders, everyone has a gift and a calling that makes that community whole. I’m committed to the idea that we are stronger when we are together and we when we draw out the callings and gifts of one another.

...continues page 10.

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

What Does

Baptism

Have to Do with Lent?

BY NATALEE HILL Baptism is one of the two most important sacraments in The Episcopal Church (the other being the Holy Eucharist, Communion). A sacrament is “an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace” or, a way to celebrate, make visible, and communicate things that we cannot see. In the case of baptism, the water and the oils are the outward signs. The welcoming into the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit is the inward and spiritual grace.

“Baptism is a choice,” explains Emily Given. “We have a couple different choices in our life in Christ and so baptism is one that parents and other adults often do for a child. We know that people of any age are welcome to be baptized. We often do it when children are younger so it’s an adult promise on behalf of a child.” However, that’s not the way that the early church practiced baptism. The information is somewhat unclear, but it is known that Lent was used as a time of preparation for

baptism.

“Well, some people say it was three years, some people say the preparation was 40 days,” says The Rev. Emily Zimbrick-Rogers. “The forty days of Lent was a time of preparation, really intensive preparation: Of fasting, and prayer, and education, so that when Easter came that was the moment that a community would welcome new Christians in baptism. This was a time in the early church when if you weren’t baptized you actually left church before communion. Communion was … sort of reserved for those who had made this big commitment to Christ. At that time adults were being baptized and so they were preparing in really intensive ways to say actually this Christian community is worth it and I want to pledge myself together in community to Christ’s church.”

Holy baptism is most appropriate at some of the big feast days of the church.

4

Traditionally, preparation for baptism was done in Lent so that there would be a lot of people getting baptized together at the Easter Vigil. There is also: The Day of Pentecost, when we recall the Holy Spirit coming down on the early church in the book of Acts; All Saints’ Day as we recognize ourselves as part of the communion of saints; and The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, when we recognize Jesus participating in baptism.

“So often we do talk about infant baptism or baptism of young children and how parents are making these promises on behalf of their family,” describes The Rev. Zimbrick-Rogers, “but many adults come into the church through baptism.” If you’re interested, you might work one-on-one with a clergyperson or Emily Given, as the director of christian formation. You also might start with a Welcome & Connect class which talks about baptism, Holy Eucharist, a life of prayer, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

AN INVITATION FOR LENT If you’ve been baptized, Lent is the perfect season to think about maybe wanting to make some reaffirmation of your faith. You might also consider reflecting on baptism as a Lenten practice. “Perhaps you might take on a practice this Lent to return to the [Book of Common Prayer].

The service of baptism begins on page 299,” describes The Rev. Zimbrick-Rogers. “Perhaps you use that as a devotional practice this Lent: What does it mean to be baptized? What does it mean to know yourself as a beloved child of God? How does this life of baptism then translate out into how you live and work in the world? There are these beautiful baptismal promises, and so perhaps you take these for your prayer time this Lent. How do I serve God and all people? How do I love my neighbor as myself? How do I practice prayer and fellowship and the breaking of bread joining together in communion with one another?”

doing something a little bit different,” explains Given. “Historically we’ve had a chance the week before or the day before to gather and to be able to talk about why [baptism] is important.

But we know that more than just the moment, but actually the community is important.”

How do you choose a godparent? How do you make these baptismal promises for yourself and for your children that you’re baptizing? “This is going to be an opportunity for families to get to know one another and keep gathering over the next couple of years as they get involved in the life of faith at St. David’s.”

The new quarterly baptism preparation class held its first session via Zoom on January 15, 2022. (pictured below) There is one more coming up before the end of Lent on Saturday, April 9th. Additional classes are scheduled later in the year. You can learn more and register at stdavidschurch.org/life-events/baptism/ or click through under About: Life Events in the navigation bar on St. David’s homepage.

...we know that more than just the moment, but actually the community is important.

A NEW CLASS Today, Episcopal churches still do adult baptism, but the focus has shifted to children. St. David’s just started a new baptismal preparation offering. “We’re

“Four times a year we’re going to have an in-person class where parents, and godparents if they’re close by, can come in community with one another and us and get to know each other,” The Rev. Zimbrick-Rogers continues. The classes will focus on such questions as: What does baptism look like in your own life, in the life of your family? What do you hope for baptism to look like for your child and moving forward in a family of faith?

The Rev. Emily Zimbrick-Rogers describes the first class, held January 15, as being a time of discussion and discovery. They talked about things like: What was your baptism experience?

5

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

How some churches are working to alleviate period poverty Menstruation supplies are expensive—and stigmatized. So many people just go without.

BY DAWN ARAUJO-HAWKINS St. David’s has been working on the issue of period poverty since the creation of Project Ensonga in 2016. To connect St. David’s work with work being done by other churches, Episcopal and otherwise, around the nation, we bring you an excerpt of this recent article from the Christian Century.

gotten the idea to fundraise for period products at St. John’s after touring a nonprofit organization that provides hygiene items to Boston youth. There was plenty of deodorant, soap, and shampoo, but organizers told her the demand for period products was so high they could not keep them in stock.

... Today, commercially produced period products—pads, tampons, menstrual cups, and so on—are a multibillion-dollar global industry. Yet some core facts remain unchanged: menstruation is still highly stigmatized, and commercially produced products are still too expensive for many people.

Figuring there might be a similar need in Hingham, Blackwell started calling local organizations last spring to gauge their level of interest in accepting period products collected by St. John’s.

According to a popular online calculator built by two Polish scientists, the average menstruating person spends $1,946 on period products over their lifetime. That does not include the cost of other period-related items like new underwear, heating pads, or medicine for pain management.

In the United States, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that public aid for purchasing groceries or health care cannot be used to buy period products.

In fact, according to the US Department of Agriculture, trading food stamps for tampons or pads is a prosecutable offense.

Kenzie Blackwell, a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Hingham, Massachusetts, was astounded to learn how many people were going without period products just in a small radius around Hingham, a town of about 24,000. Blackwell had

“Within a few phone calls, I had 700 people in our immediate area that needed supplies each month,” Blackwell said. “I had to stop calling.”

Period poverty is the term used to describe inadequate access to period products, and it’s a global issue.

Exact numbers are hard to come by—both because menstrual health has historically been ignored by researchers and because menstruation continues to be a source of shame, so period poverty often goes unreported.

In addition to causing stress, shame, and social ostracization, a lack of access to period products makes people sick.

Resorting to unsanitary, makeshift period solutions or extending the use of available items often results in an infection of the reproductive or urinary tract.

Period poverty also causes people to miss work or school when they are menstruating, which in turn can lead to loss of income, loss of employment, and underperformance at school. Early

Period poverty also causes people to miss work or school when they are menstruating, which in turn can lead to loss of income, loss of employment, and underperformance at school.

However, the World Health Organization estimates that “hundreds of millions” of women, girls, transgender men, and nonbinary people are unable to get the period products they need each month.

A 2019 study out of St. Louis, Missouri, found that 64 percent of women with low incomes reported that they had 6

been unable to afford period products at least once in the previous year.

research suggests that some students who stay at home during their periods fall so far behind at school that they end up dropping out entirely.

When Blackwell saw how prevalent period poverty was in Hingham, she immediately switched gears. She wasn’t going to coordinate a onetime

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Period Poverty, continued... fundraiser at St. John’s, she was going to start a permanent ministry dedicated to getting period products to the people who need them.

At first, some of Blackwell’s fellow parishioners were visibly uncomfortable talking about menstruation in church.

But the idea quickly caught on. In its first seven months, Free. (pronounced “free period”) collected and distributed more than 82,000 period products and inspired a second chapter at a church in Providence, Rhode Island.

Lenten Toiletries &

Menstrual Care Drive Since 2016, Project Ensonga has created over 3,600 menstrual care kits for Days for Girls, an international organization providing reusable menstrual care kits to those who need them, as well as supporting menstrual health education. Each kit (pictured below) is intended to provide five days of supplies and expected to last, with proper care, three years.

Blackwell describes her dining room as a veritable period pantry. “We eat at the kitchen island now,” she said. “When my kids have their friends over, it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s 5,000 pads in the house.

OK! Whatever!’ It’s just a thing now.”

And because Blackwell would like to see the ministry spread nationwide, Free.’s minimalist, robin’s-egg-blue-and-white branding is available to any congregation that wants to use it.

“Period poverty should not be an unmentionable issue in the church.

When we give voice to the reality that it exists, we are normalizing menstruating bodies,” Blackwell said. “The fact that many will ask for food and not pads deserves attention. Why? How can we, as communities of faith, address this shame and create change? Our bodies are divinely created, and every function is intentional. . . . There is no shame in creation.”

Copyright ©2022 by the Christian Century. How some churches are working to alleviate period poverty by Dawn Araujo-Hawkins is excerpted by permission from the January 6, 2022, issue of the Christian Century. To read the full article, click here https://www. christiancentury.org/article/features/ h ow - s o m e - ch u rch e s - a re - wo rk i n g alleviate-period-poverty

Republic,

While the initial intention of Project Ensonga was to distribute items to our partners in Uganda, through Days for Girls, and St. David’s other international outreach trips, kits have gone to Uganda, Guatemala, South Africa, Kenya, Haiti, Honduras, Syrian Refugees, Tanzania, Cuba, South Sudan, Liberia, Lebanese Refugees, Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominican and, in the last two years, right here in the Philadelphia Region.

A reality of period poverty, like other forms of poverty, is that people are not always in a stable living situation. The Days for Girls kits work particularly well where recipients have a stable location to clean and reuse the items.

When that is not the case, such as among homeless populations, disposable items are in high demand.

The Days for Girls kits work...where recipients have a stable location to clean and reuse the items.

When that is not the case, ...disposable items are in high demand.

This Lent, Project Ensonga is leading St. David’s Outreach commission in working with two Philadelphia organizations, No More Secrets and Redeemed for a Cause, to provide much-needed items to women and girls living through homelessness or without regular access to basic health-care necessities.

A collection for the following toiletries and menstrual supplies will be held beginning Ash Wednesday, March 2 through Palm Sunday, April 10.

Donations may be left in labeled bins in the Chapel narthex.

• • • • • • • •

tampons and/or pads lotion (travel size) toothpaste (travel size) toothbrushes (travel size) shampoo (travel size) conditioner (travel size) hand sanitizers (travel size) combs and/or brushes 7

• • • • • • •

soap deodorant razors make-up pouches underwear (all sizes) tank tops (all sizes) socks (all sizes)

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Notes from Uganda St. David’s Road, Mpigi

St. David’s Road in Mpigi, Uganda was completed this past fall of 2021.

This access road connects the main road to the new Double Cure Hospital whose construction is funded by ECHOES, an organization founded by St. David’s parishioners. Our contact in Uganda, The Rev. Romans Serunjogi, told us that the road is hand-made stone and that they contracted or hired local people to do the job so that they too benefit from the project in their area.

This work for the local residents was vital because “they have been starving for a long time since the beginning of COVID-19 and its consequences like the lockdowns.” As of November, the hospital was vaccinating 240 people per day against COVID-19, for free. They conducted over 2,500 people in just two weeks. This work happened thanks to your continued support of St. David’s International Outreach though the Gift Shop & Art Gallery (and the online bookshop!) and World Gifts.

8

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Mushroom Farming Supports Ugandan School In 2021, St. David’s also sent capital for the creation of a mushrooms project at Trinity Children’s Centre in Mpigi, initiated by the teachers.

As The Rev. Romans Serunjogi reports: “This project has been tested and proven to be self-sustaining, profit-making, and side-income for the teachers. It has boosted the morale of our teachers who have suffered miserably throughout the lockdown until recently when I thought of [the] mushrooms project to supplement their meager salary when the schools re-open.”

This project...has boosted the morale of our teachers who have suffered miserably throughout the lockdown...

“I am glad to inform you that now the teachers have started harvesting mushrooms and the demand of which is far higher than the harvest [supply]. Even when schools re-open at the beginning of January, the project will continue and hopefully the teachers will supply the mushrooms to our school.”

WHERE IN THE WORLD? Mpigi is in southern Uganda, about 36km (just under 23mi) west and slightly south of the capital city of Kampala (30km or 18.5mi as the plane flies).

This is approximately equivalent to going from Philadelphia to the Delaware state border, or from Wayne to just past West Chester.

(Image: Google Maps, adjusted)

Left page top three images: St. David’s Road construction. Left page: cars using the completed roadway. This page top: Romans presents the gift money to teachers. Right, middle, the mushrooms are grown in hanging bags, connected in groups of three. Above: teachers assemple the mushroom bags for hanging.

9

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

The Rev. Jenifer Gamber, continued from page 3...

We enact it in our in our families, all the time, don’t we? Around the dinner table, during those holiday gatherings, one of

when you take that information and you make it your own. You start embodying the life of Christ, you take what you’ve learned and then practice it, and it’s in that practicing that creates that opening for intergenerational relationship building.

... we all grow in faith when we learn from one another in an intergenerational environment. our elders will share a story from their own life and then hear the curiosity of a child and then share that curiosity. It is really through that intergenerational sensibility that I think that we can grow in our faith and see God’s fullness.

NH: I wonder how to actually be intergenerational.

JG: It takes setting spaces and invitations very carefully. It means moving away from the model of lecture style and teacher giving information to young people. It’s rooted in an understanding that a community holds wisdom that is shared through relationship. It’s creating more flexible spaces: Spaces in which we’re not centered around a priest or a teacher, but instead centered around a ministry and the engagement.

Through that engagement, relationships are strengthened. No longer is it the teacher with one information pointing this direction, it’s the Body of Christ in a circle looking at one another, seeing Christ alive in one another and Christ actually at the center.

So it can look like gathering around a table with some particular questions that every member is invited to answer.

It can be a space of creativity, of drawing.

We often think about children as the ones who draw but many adults draw closer to God through creative means ... it’s also creating with your hands, and walking, and reflecting. When you think about transformation of the heart, it’s less likely to happen when you’re receiving information. Not that information is not important, but it’s

NH: Tell us about what you’ve got planned for your in-person time with us in March.

JG: We’re going to have opportunities to share one another’s faith stories from the very young to the very old. We will also have opportunities to gather around prayer stations, learning stations, stations of sharing our faith that draw on each of those five practices.

mostly as a lay person. I had said, “Well, I’m not sure, whether my resume makes sense in a traditional way.” And the interviewer, he interrupted me and said, “You know it makes all the sense in the world to me. It looks like you followed the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s call in your life.” I actually think that’s the invitation for all of us.

When I think back about, why is it that I was so committed, and continue to be committed, to the ministry of the lay people? I think that is the core of who we are, as Christians, is the laity.

I had a very strong church home. I

... everyone has a gift and a calling that makes that community whole.

I’m committed to the idea that we are stronger when we are together and we when we draw out the callings and gifts of one another.

I would say the invitation for adults might be to allow some of the messiness of life to enter in and let the Holy Spirit speak in the little pitter-patter of feet and the messiness of young hands. Actually, that’s the invitation for us too, to enter into the space with the heart of a child.

Sometimes I forget that I love to dance.

Sometimes I forget that I love to draw, because I’m asked to read and speak a lot. It really is in those times of creativity, when I break down those boundaries that I’ve set for myself, that I open up the possibilities that the spirit is inviting me into new ways of learning and being.

NH: You talked about faith story sharing; are you willing to share a little bit about your journey?

JG: It’s a great question. With a very long answer. (laughs) Interesting.

There was a time when I was interviewing for a job and, if you look at my resume, I’ve become a priest just two years ago, so I’m a young priest but with a long history with The Episcopal Church, 10

had inspiring teachers; we would act out the Bible stories so that they came alive. The church family, and it truly became a family for me, became that place when I sometimes needed help or needed to discern my next right choice.

There were people in my faith community I had built relationships with whom I knew that I could have faithful

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

conversations. I think that that’s what faith communities today can offer, if we can build that intergenerational faith community is for our young people to have a place of meaningful conversations, where we actually know that faith does matter in every part of our life and the decisions that we make.

NH: Can you tell me a little bit about the books that you’ve written and how you came to be writing those?

themselves, because it talked about The Episcopal Church in plain language and the publisher asked me to write a version for adults. That became Your Faith, Your Life.

I’m a member of Forma, which is a large group of people committed to the ministry of Christian formation. As we were sharing resources, we realized

going to do this then it’s going to be honest to the lives of teenagers as I’ve experienced them and in my own life.

So there are prayers for...thanksgivings for a good life, but there are also prayers for depression. Prayers about being angry at your parents, or getting in a car accident, and prayers for milestones such as getting your driver’s license.

Then came Common Prayer for Children and Families, written with Timothy J.S. Seamans, and the invitation was, you’ve written something for youth, what about children? The reason why it’s children and families, is it’s really meant to be a book for families and households to engage with together, again circling back to that commitment that faith is something that is traditioned from person to person. I wanted a book that would gather people. I found that some families, perhaps your own, have found that as a place of wondering, a place of affirming God’s presence in our lives at any time during the day.

I think that that’s what faith communities today can offer, if we can build that intergenerational faith community, is for our young people to have a place of meaningful conversations, where we actually know that faith does matter in every part of our life and the decisions that we make.

JG: I had never considered ... myself to be an author. The first book that I wrote was My Faith, My Life: A Teen’s Guide to The Episcopal Church. I wanted a resource for teenagers that would affirm them as having theological authority of their own on the basis of being children of God and having grown up in this church. There wasn’t a resource written for teenagers that they could read themselves and that together we could gather around and say: What out of this do you believe? What do you question? What do you hold on to?

I shoehorned some other resources and then someone just suggested, why don’t you write the book yourself? So, that’s how My Faith, My Life came to be and it turned out to be a well-needed resource in The Episcopal Church.

Adults started using that book for

that there were not many resources for youth about prayer that come from the perspective of The Episcopal Church, being welcoming and affirming and recognizing the fullness of life. I was asked, would you write this book?

That invitation led to Call On Me: A Prayer Book for Young People, written with Sharon Ely Pearson. I said, if I’m 11

NH: Do you have anything else in your sights to work on next?

JG: No one has suggested a book to me yet.

NH: And the Holy Spirit hasn’t brought something to you another way?

...continues page 12

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

The Rev. Jenifer Gamber, continued from page 11...

JG: She has not spoken to me about this yet. She might have designs. I’ve thought, I’m learning a lot about what it means to be a thriving congregation.

Now that we’re in a time of declining religious affiliation in our country, we’re finding that we’re having to exercise new muscles and with those new muscles come new joys. So, it’s possible that I might write a book about what it means to thrive as a congregation. I have more to learn before I have something to say yet, though.

with me today. I know I’m looking forward to the weekend, I’m putting it on my calendar!

JG: Well, know that you and the entire family at St. David’s are in my prayers as I discern what God is saying is needed here and what will speak to your hearts. I’m eagerly awaiting to be with you.

My recommendation is, bring your wholehearted self.

NH: Is there anything that you would recommend to people either as they’re considering joining us for this weekend, or is there anything that folks should consider?

JG: My first recommendation is, bring your wholehearted self.

This is really a journey for you, either as an individual or as a member of a household, to show up and start reflecting: Where is God in my life? We know that God has been acting in our life and continues to act in our lives. To come with that wholeheartedness and an open heart of listening to both your own story, as well as the story of others.

As far as preparing, I would just suggest taking some time in the days leading up to the weekend to ask God for that wholeheartedness and a sense of curiosity. I would look at your calendar and keep it open. I have found that the work that we do often spills over in different parts of our life if we just make the space for it. So, if you come on Friday night and that’s all that you’re able to give, I will suspect that [some of what you experience] is going to show up again on Saturday, even if you don’t continue to engage with what’s being offered over the weekend. Setting that extra space will help you be attentive to where God is moving in your life.

You can find The Rev. Jenifer Gamber’s books, and two she recommends, on The Gift Shop & Art Gallery at St. David’s online bookstore at stdavidschurch.org/bookshop.

So, make space and come with a wholehearted curiosity.

NH: Thank you very much for speaking 12

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Theologian in Residence Weekend

Fall’s New

Family Worship Thrives!

March 25—27, 2022 St. David’s will host The Rev. Jenifer Gamber as our theologian in residence from Friday, March 25 to Sunday, March 27.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Friday Night – March 25 6:00pm | Fairgrounds Tent All-ages “Sharing Our Faith Stories” Dinner may be provided. Stay tuned.

SUNDAYS AT 9:45AM | ST. DAVID’S HALL Intended for families with children through first grade, this service includes storytelling, prayers, and Holy Eucharist in a “come as you are” atmosphere.

Registration Open

Sign Up Now!

Saturday Morning – March 26 9:00am | Chapel & Livestream “Growing Faith Along a Path of Discipleship” Intergenerational exploration of the five core practices in the Path of Discipleship. Continental breakfast may be provided. Stay tuned.

Sunday Morning – March 27 9:15am | Chapel & Livestream Holy Eucharist with Music led by St. David’s Choirs. The Rev. Jenifer Gamber will preach.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL & MUSIC CAMP June 27 – July 1, 2022 | Grades Pre-K through 5th

VBS: 9am-12pm – Step back in time to where Jesus walked to the Cross. Engage all your senses as you transport back to a different time and a fresh experience— and walk with Jesus today!

Music Camp: 12pm-3pm – (begins with BYO Bagged lunch) Come learn and sing a short musical based on the story of Jonah and the Big Fish. Your week culminates in a final performance for family and friends

Register at stdavidschurch.org/2022camps Early bird rates end April 15. Register by May 31.

YOUTH MISSION TRIP TO KENTUCKY July 3 – 8, 2022 | Rising 9th thru graduated 12th Graders

10:30am | Chapel & Livestream “Living Faith: Growing Together” Adult Forum with The Rev. Jenifer Gamber

Wear an explorer’s hat while using your servant’s muscles! With time dedicated to venturing in the forests, mountains, and canyons, you can breathe free and enjoy the beauty of creation. Serving in the communities of Appalachia provides opportunities to understand poverty and the need for environmental stewardship.

How do we grow as a community where faith matters in everyday life?

Registration is required for Friday and Saturday events. Please register at stdavidschurch.org/2022theologian/

Register at stdavidschurch.org/ youthmission22 by February 20.

13

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Clergy & Staff

Lenten Book Recommendations We asked St. David’s clergy and staff to suggest books for Lent. Below are a variety of selections and who recommended them.

You may see the selections at right as pictured on our online bookshop.

“May I recommend the book that the Vestry is using this year: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Also A Season for the Spirit by Martin Smith” – W. Frank Allen, Rector Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week

by Amy-Jill Levine Lent with Evelyn Underhill Edited by G.P. Mellick Belshaw – Emily Given, Director of Christian Formation Living Lent - Meditations for These Forty Days

by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton – The Rev. Elizabeth W. Colton, Associate Rector May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord's Prayer and Prayer: Forty Days of Practice

by Scott Erickson (Author) & Justin McRoberts (Author) – Natalee Hill, Director of Communications The Interior Castle (Revised)

by Teresa of Avila – The Center for Spiritual Growth

St. David’s 2022 Lenten Devotional by selected parishioners, clergy, and staff FREE! Pick up beginning Feb. 20.

St. David’s 2022 Lenten Devotional by selected parishioners, clergy, and staff – The Rev. Emily Zimbrick-Rogers Additional selections by The Gift Shop & Art Gallery at St. David’s volunteers.

Order now at stdavidschurch.org/bookshop 30% of your order returns to St. David’s to support International Outreach 14

Lent worship

THE DOVE | LENT | FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL 2022

Lent events

A FULL HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SCHEDULE MAY BE FOUND ON THE BACK PAGE OF THE NEWSLETTER.

ORGAN CONCERT SERIES SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS

Tuesdays in March at 12:00pm In-Person & Livestreamed

John Walthausen March 1st

Emily Dawn Amos March 8th

Clair Rozier March 15th

Hannah Albrecht Mary Elizabeth Campbell March 29th March 22nd

stdavidschurch.org/livestream

STDAVIDSCHURCH.ORG/LENT 15

Lent, Holy Week, & Easter Services Ash Wednesday, March 2nd

6:30am | Ashes to Go | Wayne Train Station 7:00am | Church 12:00pm | Chapel 6:00pm | Chapel & Livestream

Fridays in Lent

Sundays in Lent

Guided Stations of the Cross 5:00pm | Old Churchyard Unguided Stations of the Cross available daily

"Night Prayer" (Compline) 8:30pm | Zoom

Wednesdays ongoing Healing Eucharist 7:30am | Chapel

Palm Sunday, April 10th

8:00am, 11:30am & 5:00pm | Church 9:15am | Chapel & Livestream 9:45am | Family Worship| St. David's Hall

Maundy Thursday, April 14th 6:00pm | Family Worship| St. David's Hall 7:00pm | Chapel & Livestream 8:00pm-8:00am | All Night Prayer Vigil | Church

Good Friday, April 15th 12:00pm | Church 6:00pm | Chapel & Livestream

Holy Saturday, April 16th

9:00am | Egg Hunt & Flowering the Cross | Fairgrounds 7:00pm | Chapel & Livestream

Easter Sunday, April 17th 8:00am & 5:00pm | Church 9:15am & 11:30am| Chapel & Livestream 9:45am | Family Worship | St. David's Hall