January 14, 2016 
In This Issue
2015 Holy Land Pilgrimage:
Life-Changing Memories
by Tom Getman

The reminiscences of the 2015 pilgrims to the troubled holy land are as varied as the individuals and their backgrounds. Only three participants, as well as Tom and Karen Getman, humanitarian workers and residents of Jerusalem from 1996 to 2001, had previously visited this iconic place.
                                              
At a reunion dinner in early December, 43 travelers from the 2013 and 2015 journeys compared their experiences, revealing both similarities and differences in their life-changing memories and perceptions. The recent pilgrims were joined by four who had made a similar trip during Rector Jim Adam's tenure, as well as several spouses of travelers.
 
"I was struck with the many times we saw how a strong historical or religious attachment to 'place' can lead to giving the location an overblown importance, resulting in behavior that can be strange, selfish, and sometimes violent. We saw this in many places, but nowhere so evident as the Temple Mount, as the Jews call it, or the Noble Sanctuary, as it is known to Muslims," observed David Willson. "It is the assumed site of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed in the year 70 CE, where extremists would like to build a Third Temple. It is also the place from which the Prophet Mohammad is said to have made a trip to heaven. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, it is now managed by the Jordan government. Questions and challenges about its use and access have led to the current widely reported unrest."
 
On the other hand, Susan Thompson was inspired by the challenge: "The McLaughlins and I visited a kibbutz bordering Gaza and met Alon Dagan, an Israeli therapist. This kibbutz was the target of a Gazan rocket the day after our visit. Previously several deaths and injuries had occurred from rockets. Days later, we met 'the Gandhi of Palestine,' Mubarak Awad, also a psychologist and leader for social justice who has guided many Palestinians to nonviolence. Both men talked about the longstanding trauma experienced by Israelis and Palestinians. The goodness of these two men, raised in the same country with culturally very different backgrounds, was inescapably present as they expressed a deep desire for nonviolent solutions to a wounded Israel and Palestine. Alon lives in Israel and cannot travel to Palestine. Mubarak was deported in 1987 from Palestine, with only limited visiting rights. Yet these men both want the same outcome -- a just peace. I now carry their deep challenges and concerns with me."
 
Of our many emotional encounters during the trip, three stand out for Marjorie Wellman: 
  • In the children's Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem -- a small, darkened room with a center column of mirrors that multiply the flame of a single candle into infinity. It represents murdered children, their lost futures and descendants. A soft recording recites their names, and it still gives me chills.
  • Two fathers from the Parent's Circle, one Jew, one Palestinian, who had lost daughters to the violence, are working despite their loss to stop the seemingly endless cycle of violence and revenge.
  • At the Freedom Theatre in Jenin we watched a film in which a teenager said: "Before the theatre the only thing I wanted was to become a martyr. But now that I have the theatre, I want to live a normal life and die a normal death."
"These memories encapsulate my conflicted view of Israel and Palestine -- so much history of loss, violence and revenge, yet with small glimpses of hope," Marjorie continued. "Will there ever be enough to overcome this history?" 
 
David Trissel, who blessed us all by bringing along his mother, who lives in Oklahoma, contributed these lines from a U2 song:
 
"I believe in the Kingdom come, 
Then all the colors will bleed into one
But yes I'm still running
You broke the bonds and you loosened the chains
You carried the cross, of my shame
You know I believe it
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
 
David added: "The lyrics pulsed from my headphones as I ran around the Old City walls at dawn, alongside kids walking to school and vendors delivering produce, with guards wary and watchful. This Jerusalem, a city shared by many faiths with walls separating its inhabitants for centuries, still hosts the sacred history of Christ. Yet human weakness now causes all colors, all races, to bleed into one. While we acknowledge that our Christ loosened the bonds of death and carried our shame to the Cross, the people of this region -- and we too -- still haven't found what we're looking for."
 
Bill Jordan bemoaned the search by observing, "For nearly 50 years, the government of Israel has controlled most of the West Bank, the land west of the Jordan River seized in the 1967 War. The kinds of services that a government typically provides -- roads, schools, sewage treatment, hospitals, water -- to the Palestinians in the West Bank are much poorer than in Israel or even in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Yet, most of the Palestinians we met (who have to pay taxes to Israel) were hopeful despite their unjust treatment. That would be hard for me." 
 
In light of the pain we observed, Josie Jordan reported, "At the end of each day, many of us gathered for compline and hymns. I found that this time of reciting ancient liturgy, hearing others' prayers, and singing helped me face both the great despair and the glimmer of hope embedded in this region. The power of this short liturgy, offered in community, was stronger than during any other time of my life."

For the Getmans, an unforgettable and inspiring experience was staying with the same Canaan 
      The Jarar family in Burkin, Palestine
olive oil cooperative family, the Jarars, as 2013 participants Mark and Susanne Allen, and Kenn Allen and Maureen Shea. Their son, Mahmoud, a third year dental student at Al Quds University, had been imprisoned without charges shortly before the earlier visit
ors had arrived. In 2015, however, "When we were delivered by farm tractor to their gracious hospitality we were surprised to discovered Mahmoud at home," said Karen. "He had been recently released from three years in an Israeli prison detention for questioning government polices on a blog. What a joy to be a part of the reunion. We understand Mark had a role in facilitation of release through advocacy with diplomats. It reminds that justice is not only achieved in our strivings but by living relationships."
   
"I will never forget the children we met and interacted with on our pilgrimage," said David Deutsch. "They are the hope of the future for this war-torn land. I think of Isaiah:

The wolf shall live with the lamb, 
  the leopard shall lie down with the kid, 
the calf and the lion and the fatling together, 
   and a little child shall lead them.       --Isaiah 11:6"
 
Conclusion
 
All 2015 pilgrims expressed deep appreciation for their amazing guides -- Palestinian Christian Faraj Lati and Israeli Jew Yuval Ben Ami. Their loving support and respect for one another's heartbreak and hopes was one more transporting witness to the power of the healing action possible for people of our shared monotheistic faiths. Their care for us and for their conflicted Abrahamic "living stones," as well as their guidance through the ancient stones and stories, gives us hope that more important than a forced political co-existence is faithful partners for co-resistance to the evils of oppression and violence.
 
The arc of history's journey to justice cannot be slowed or blocked forever, but we as God's creation will be led to deeper expressions of the peaceable kingdom on earth as in heaven by His and His peoples' grace, mercy and love of neighbors.
 
We pray and work together for that Day...and in this the dark time of the year in the world and our fears we reflect on the lines of the Song of Zechariah regarding the Light
A Syrian Refugee school girl in Ailoun, Jordan
of the World to reinforce the pilgrimage lessons:

"By the tender mercy of our God
the dawn from on high will break upon us
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."
                                                  --Luke 1:78-79
 
 
 
 
 
Remembering St. Mark's:
A Conversation with Lilly March and Erin Riley
by Jessie Babcock
 










On a recent Sunday afternoon, I joined Lilly March and Erin Riley for a conversation about their paths to St. Mark's. Lilly, who celebrated her 94th birthday this year, has been at St. Mark's for more than 50 years. Erin, 35, has been at St. Mark's for one year, and sings in the choir. Lilly, who grew up in Chile, has played many roles during her time at St. Mark's. Their backgrounds and stories about coming to this community are each unique, but they share a feeling that St. Mark's is home. Below are excerpts from our conversation.
 
 
Jessie: Where are you from, how long have you been in Washington, and what is your faith background?

Lilly
: When Rector Bill Baxter came, I was not at St. Mark's. I was dealing with a difficult divorce and trying to rebuild my life. I was heading up cooperative nursery schools, so my world was full of mothers and children. Subsequently I wandered into Trinity Church, and I had an amazing experience of finding a church that really drew me in. But I was still wobbly about whether I believed anything or not.

I wandered into Trinity, and by sheer miracle [my coming] coincided with a new Sunday School series, the Seabury Series. I didn't know anything about it. Suddenly the Rector of the church, whom I'd turned to for counseling and support, invited me to go to a weekend event down at Rehoboth, Del. I had never experienced anything like that. So I went to the weekend, and met people who were involved in Christian Education. Bill Baxter had come to St. Mark's, and someone suggested that I should meet him because he was going to look for somebody [to teach Sunday School]. The upshot of this was that I was open for new experiences, and Bill was looking for someone. So we met, and here I am.

Erin
: My parents are Evangelical Christians, and I was brought up in the Southern Baptist church -- my parents' church split off because they thought the Baptist church was too liberal. My family is very, very conservative. I am a musician and I went to a special high school for musicians, in Virginia Beach. In that school I met people who don't fit into that narrow worldview, and I'm so grateful I did because it meant that I was constantly questioning. And it was not O.K to question [in the church]. So I went to college. And because I was a musician, I sang in different churches as a job. I got my first job that I loved in an Anglo-Catholic Church, Grace and St. Peter's in Baltimore, which did a pre-Vatican II style of service.

I only sang there for a year, however. I ended up in D.C., where I sang for a while at St. Alban's. My boyfriend lived on Capitol Hill at the time. Although he is not a churchgoer, he told me about a church in the neighborhood where they brew their own beer."

So I came to St. Mark's, and it was completely different. It just felt right. I kind of found a place. But I didn't want to sing in the church choir, even though someone came up to me practically every week to urge me to join the choir. It got to where I thought I was going to make a business card to explain because I didn't want to be rude. I just wanted a year to see if it was the place. And I guess it's the right place because my boyfriend does not live on Capitol Hill anymore, and I live in Petworth and don't drive. It's a hassle to get here every Sunday, and yet I still come. So clearly something works.
 
Jessie: Lilly, what was St. Mark's like when you first were coming?

Lilly
: It was so different you could not believe it. I was coming in to be trained in Christian Education. Bill Baxter comes in, a big breath of fresh air -- new things, new ways -- and one of his big ones was having a woman on the staff. So Bill hired me on a training level. The morning I came to be interviewed by the Vestry, I got here for the early service. And it was just a tiny scattering of ladies, each one sitting like an island.

Jessie
: Was there worship in the round?

Lilly
: No, there were big pews and the high altar. There were these ladies and I'm sure they all wore white gloves and hats.

Erin
: Was this a very formal church back then?

Lilly
: It changed very quickly. That was changing in society as well as St. Mark's.

Jessie
: Now Lilly, what year did you come to St. Mark's?

Lilly
: 1956, a year after Bill Baxter came. He hired me to take over the stuff with Sunday School, children and families, and that led me into music also. And here I came to this church full of these older people. The 11 a.m. service had an organist who played everything like a German military march.

Erin
: The church at that time was not integrated?

Lilly
: Not at that time. That came in the '60s. But right from the start, Bill Baxter was open to anything that was change. He arrived, and immediately began changing things. He didn't waste a minute. Right from the start, he told me he did not want me to be a "yes" person, that he wanted me to develop my own theology. He was a hard taskmaster, but I learned a tremendous lot. He had me go to seminary and take classes.

Jessie
: Erin, how has St. Mark's been since you came?

Erin
: For the most part, everybody was friendly. Because of the different services, you can be here and not be known to everybody. People will come up and insist we haven't met before, and I know I've met them. It struck me that the church seems integrated in a way that works for St. Mark's. Coming in, there's a variety of people here, and the service music shifts to reflect that. If you come here, over the course of several weeks, hopefully you will see something that you can [identify with]. Even though I no longer really identify as Baptist, there's music that comes through that I remember as a child. That was a great experience.

Jessie
: What has kept you at St. Mark's?

Lilly
: At the beginning it was the job. But then things changed. Erin asked about integration. We started out "pure white," and the whole neighborhood was as well. The first African-American person who came here -- this is a legend -- was Verna Dozier. And there's one story very few people know. There was a family that lived on 11th St. that had a whole bunch of kids. One daughter married a man who was not a church person, but he joined and became active. When the question of Verna joining came up, there was a big meeting, all these old timers gathered, and they were going to protest the idea of African-Americans coming in the church. And the man who had married the daughter stood up, and who was of course respected, said, "When I began to join St. Mark's, nobody questioned whether I was the right person. I fail to understand why we are questioning this lady." It made a very big difference.

Bill was right [about the changes]; it [the church] wasn't going to grow unless there was change. Bill had the strength to push that. And so I was on the fringes of all of that, and it was so fascinating and so interesting and so challenging.

Erin, I hope someday you'll look back and count the years and say you spent 50 years here.

Erin
: I hope so -- that would mean I'm 85!

Jessie:
Erin, what has kept you at St. Mark's?

Erin
: That's hard to quantify. Maybe a better thing is to relay [my experience] at the Earth Mass. I always stick out in society as a musician; I'm always "left of center." Normally I'm a little more colorful than other people. There was a moment in that service when everyone had their animal. And I thought, I'm in a room full of people that probably all in their own way are a little "left of center." And I don't mean that as an insult. It's more about being who you are. And it just hit me, "I belong here."
 
How I Became an Episcopalian
by Grace E. Aspinall 
 
Dad, Mom and me at my Baptism 
The simple answer to the question "how did you become an Episcopalian?" is "I was born into it." Yes, cradle Episcopalian, that's me, a rarity these days. But I always add, "And I've stayed because it fits me." However, that's not true of the whole church.

Considering that I live in Northern Virginia and it's a 20-mile trip to St. Mark's each way, however, merely "Episcopalian" is not the answer; the answer is that I fit St. Mark's and St. Mark's fits me. I doubt I'd fit in the Virginia Episcopal church, and I certainly wouldn't want to be involved with any parish secession based on bigotry. Besides, even after joining St. Mark's I generally go to the Episcopal Church closest to my office for Ash Wednesday. If I ever wondered why I go to St. Mark's, seeing and hearing the boring service somewhere else makes me say, "Thank you God for St. Mark's!"
 
I was born into and grew up, and even raised my children, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Williamstown, Mass. In the '70s we added a female priest to our staff as an associate. This act was innovative at the time, but to me it just seemed logical.

Somehow I started teaching Sunday School at St. John's. I began with the little kids and then moved up to the 4th and 5th grades, which raised the money to travel to St. John the Devine Cathedral in New York for the Blessing of the Animals at the Bronx Zoo. Oh my gosh, did I learn a lot!

I decided my goal as a Sunday School teacher was to make children think of church as a nice place, where they are safe and where people care about them. Because when they get older they might need a nice place, where they are safe and people care about them, and if that's what they think of when they think of church, they'll come for help and not be afraid. This is possible because we are the Episcopal Church, and we know firsthand what life can deal out. 

The year I taught the 6-8th graders, we made stained plastic windows because we were renovating the church, and had church in the round (I loved it!) in the lower room. They also asked to keep coming to Sunday School when we were done for the year, and made me a stained plastic mini-window to remember them. 

Then, suddenly I decided to move to the Washington, D.C. area. My good friend Margie Ware, who loves D.C., brought me here to visit and, of course, to St. Marks.  

Three miracles happened to me on that day, which came just after the departure of Rector Jim Adams. First, Margie said, "I don't care where you live, I don't care where you work, but THIS is where you go to church." Then she mentioned as we prepared for communion, "See, no instructions"-- referring to how we were told at my home parish to line up and move and take communion. Finally, I received communion, returned to my seat to pray and burst into tears. I was home.

So here I was, still Episcopalian, and I never had to search for a church. I knew the first thing you did at St. Mark's was attend Confirmation Class, as the Life, Community and Faith class was at the time. In case you haven't heard of the Confirmation Class of 1999-2000, we were the last one. We ripped it apart. We were too well therapized to respond to the question, "How does that make you feel?" It's a tossup whether the Tom and Ann or grandmother role-plays pushed us over the edge. I thought Margie would disown me! But she didn't. After all, I followed all her instructions and then went into overdrive to start changing the church -- in less than six months! But I formally transferred my membership to St. Mark's and reaffirmed my Baptismal vows with the Bishop as my classmates were confirmed.

Then came Rector Paul Abernathy and Associate Rector Stephanie Nagley, and I KNEW I belonged here. Sometimes I have strong feelings over what I want at and from St. Mark's, but mostly I do a give-and-take process that works out well for both me and the parish. Being a member of the worship committee, acolyte and server at communion, and helping out with the service, exchanging the peace, singing hymns or meditating to the music at the 5 p.m. service -- it's all wonderful. There's always something new and yet the traditions remain, but not cast in stone. And the people and my friends and new friends I make along the way all add to my story of "how I became an Episcopalian."
 
Furthering Spiritual Development:
St. Mark's Guild for Transformational Studies Seminars

by Susan Thompson

The transformation of the heart is a wondrous thing, no matter how you land there.   
--Patti Smith
 
Shortly after becoming our Senior Warden, Peter Sherer asked us to consider the question: "How does St. Mark's contribute to my spiritual development?"

For me, one of the most significant spiritual experiences St. Mark's has offered is the Guild for Transformational Studies Summer Seminar. This seminar provides tools to encourage individuals to become more aware, more conscious of one's self and others; jumpstart and/or accelerate a spiritual journey; and develop a personal theology. The method is not associated with any organized religious doctrine, nor is it Functional Education, but it has proven invaluable to seekers of diverse backgrounds.

The Guild uses a spiritual and psychological approach in which ancient stories, including those from the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, are explored for the purpose of personal growth. A series of Socratic questions, journaling, art materials, meditation, music and other expressive tools are used to fully engage the self and help participants become better acquainted with their own truth and potential.

When I was going through my divorce in 2001, a friend urged me to take a Guild class at St. Mark's. I explained that I was more than overwhelmed, and that fitting one more commitment into my life was not high on my agenda. She told me she believed the course would prove to be important -- that it could potentially help me through the difficult time I was experiencing. Then, she offered to pick me up, drive me to the city, and return me to Southern Maryland after each class. That got my attention. I signed up and drove myself to my first Guild class at
St. Mark's.

Working through the material of that course was a life-changing event. My friend was right. Now, 15 years later, after six Guild Summer Seminars and participation in two Home Guilds (one for 15 years), I am actively on a spiritual journey and am developing a personal theology that works for me.

I was raised in the Episcopal Church, and am the great-granddaughter of an Episcopal priest. Bit I never "got" Jesus -- never fully understood the importance of Jesus's life and teachings -- until I began attending Guild seminars and Home Guild meetings, which are study groups that meet once a month in members' houses. The Guild method allowed me to take in Biblical teachings in palatable bites, and through the work of the seminars, I eventually came to own these words at a personal level. Now, when the Lessons are read during the service and sermons refer to passages in the Bible, I understand their significance with great personal depth and meaning. This is not a process that happens overnight, however. By accretion, the method has led to a deep, personal truth as I continue to understand myself through these ancient words. When I encounter a "big question" in my life, I use the tools of the seminars to pursue that question further. My spiritual journey continues to develop. I am better able to know and act upon my longings and mine my potential. I feel a greater sense of my inner authority -- my core that guides me. And, all the while, I continue to make close bonds with scores of people at St. Mark's who are on similar journeys.

This is not always easy work, but it is exhilarating work. Personal journeys ask us to set out on unfamiliar ground, open, take new risks, and grow. Instead of continuously asking ourselves the same questions -- "Who/what is God to me? How can I make my life more meaningful? More joyful? How can I get through this next life transition? What must I do before the lights go out? Why don't I right an old wrong? When am I going to take that trip I've always wanted to go on?" Guild offers the tools and opportunity to pay attention to the desire behind these questions and the stimulus to act upon them. Almost every question, when pursued, leads to a modification of beliefs, a change of heart, and new horizons.

More than 60 parishioners from St. Mark's have taken the Guild Summer Seminar. Following are what some of them have said about their life-changing Guild experiences:
 
I've been involved with the Guild for over a decade and it has become the primary context for my soul work. The Guild has helped me explore and develop a personal theology that frames my relationship with God and my search and commitment to embrace the whole of me--my self. In my remaining years I want to live fully and experience the rapture of life. The Guild supports me in acting on this intention. Pursuing this in the community of others has helped me as I listen to the insights and stories of others. I benefit enormously from both the intellectual inquiry and the experiential modes of our Guild work. The latter has been especially important in unlocking doors to the great and mysterious unconscious. My soul work stirs up curiosity, excitement, angst, fulfillment and hope. For me, the Guild has proven to be a deepening of St. Mark's Christian Education; it has expanded my own understanding of Christianity. --Matthew Black 
 
Guild is the place where I am working on truth -- my truth. --Betty Foster
 
The Guild has shown me ways to look deeper inside, to reject the status quo and look at my thoughts and behaviors through a new eye, to discover the real "I" along with a group of other like-minded explorers on this life adventure. The readings and the work keep me alive and questioning, with new discoveries and glimpses of the soul when least expected. --Karen Falk 
 
I was drawn to the first Guild study group at St. Mark's at a time I was feeling spiritually undernourished by the institutional church. Almost 20 years later, this creative and challenging approach continues to feed and sustain my search for meaning. --Barbara Black 
 
The Guild for Transformational Studies has expanded my mind and therefore my world. I am always challenged by our work together. Like life, Guild work is awash in complexities and demands my best.
--Marilu Sherer

Guild nourishes me.  Belonging to a Guild group takes me way beyond myself -- into the light and dark of infinity -- and at the same time leads me inward to a place of growing clarity and belonging.  --Hester Obi

For me, participating in Guild work is time set aside to pause and examine how three key threads of my spiritual life are woven together: my understanding of the human condition, the life and teachings of Jesus, and my current concerns in daily life. Engaging in this kind of exploration regularly for several years has led me to feel more grounded and integrated as a person and in my faith.  
--Josie Jordan
 


____________________________________________________________________________ 
If you would like more information on this summer's Guild for Transformational Studies Seminar, please contact me at susanthompson045@yahoo.com or Betty Foster at bettywesfoster@earthlink.com.  
 
A Lunch-Time Dream Comes True
by Susan Sedgewick 
 
(Since June 2014, St. Mark's volunteers have delivered lunches on Monday mornings for a weekly parenting class conducted by Capitol Hill Group Ministry's Wellness Coordinator, Carolyn Starks. See below how you can sign up.)

The tradition of having St. Mark's Shelter Ministry volunteers provide the lunch for Capitol Hill Group Ministry's Parenting Class can, surprisingly enough, trace its roots back to our link to Lichfield Cathedral in England.  

This story starts in 2005, when Doris Burton encouraged my husband, John, and me to visit Lichfield while on an upcoming trip to Britain. I was unsure, but Doris got the ball rolling by calling her Lichfield Link partner, the late Hazel Baker, who of course insisted we stay with her.  Our U.K. itinerary had an open week, so we took the opportunity to go to Lichfield, where we spent three very enjoyable days. We wined and dined with a variety of Lichfield folk, attended a cathedral confirmation ceremony, enjoyed watching medieval folk dances on the cathedral grounds, and were welcomed at the Sunday service with applause. We grew to understand the strong connection between Lichfield Cathedral and St. Mark's.

You may ask what all that has to do with providing lunches for CHGM's Parenting Class. The answer is that, while having a grand time at a dinner Hazel hosted for John and me, I happened to overhear as a man give Hazel, a retired child psychiatrist, an update on their joint activity. I learned they ran a weekly "Mother's Club" for single mums that included a very important draw: lunch and fellowship. The real payoff was that while conducting discussions or while participants chatted over lunch, Hazel used her professional skills to observe behavior issues and arrange help for those who might need it. Her friend coordinated the lunch, which was a key ingredient to the success of their program.    

Upon returning, I thought about the need here in our own Capitol Hill neighborhood, but had no idea how to organize such a Mother's Club and make it sustainable. I longed for this, and when I talked to others about this dream, they concurred with the need. I knew Capitol Hill Group Ministry had several initiatives to support young client moms, but at that time, there did not seem to be a good fit for what I envisioned.

In 2013, however, I went with Marlan Green, as part of his Outreach Board leadership, to meet with Ms. Starks to find out more about her program of Life Skills workshops on such topics as budgeting and health. Almost as an aside, she mentioned she had started a Monday noon parenting class that included men and women, some who are grandparents. "Do you serve lunch?" I asked, and learned that while they used to, sadly the city no longer reimbursed them for this expense. Here was my chance -- organizing lunches was definitely in my skill set! St. Mark's Shelter Ministry immediately signed up to provide lunch for the class.

Today on Capitol Hill, St. Mark's volunteers are providing an important element for CHGM's professionally run parenting class. We all know food helps any meeting. CHGM staff members report that these nutritious lunches have provided the catalyst for increased participation, but more importantly, the building of trust necessary for some of the participants to address hard issues. Because of the effectiveness of the class, case managers have asked Ms. Starks to increase the number of weeks in each running of the class.

You can participate -- it's easy. Just drop off lunch for eight (sandwiches, oranges or bananas, and cookies) at Shirley's Place, 1338 G Street, S.E., on a Monday morning. Please check out http://bit.ly/1Qe6RBr for the on-line sign up, and/or talk or email me at jssedgewick@gmail.com. If the drop-off is inconvenient for you, we can figure out some other way for you to participate in this important ministry.
 
A Birth in Bethlehem
St. Mark's Christmas Pageant, 2015
Photos by Chuck Divine




 
 
 
About the Winged Lion Review

Most submissions, especially those focused on parish life, will be published.

Submissions can be of any length, but as a general rule should be no more than 750 words. Submit submissions to: harhath@gmail.com, karen@karenfalk.net.

Editing  - Submissions will be edited for grammar, punctuation, editorial style and readability, but significant changes will be made only in consultation with the author. Most submissions, especially in the first two categories, will be published. A standard of kindness will be strictly enforced, and good taste is encouraged!

Deadlines - Materials are due the 15th of the month before the beginning of the issue month (which is currently bimonthly--September/ October, November/December, etc.) Submissions after the deadline will appear in the next issue.

The Winged Lion is archived online at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs180/1108958702238/archive/1116389439140.html.