Lent & Holy Week & Easter
“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent” Book of Common Prayer, p. 265.
Ash Wednesday
6:45-8AM Ashes to Go at the New Canaan train station
9AM-5PM Imposition of ashes & Rite of Reconciliation in the Church
12PM Holy Eucharist with Choir & imposition of ashes in the Church (Watch Live)
6PM Holy Eucharist with imposition of ashes in the Chapel
Evensong for Lent
Sunday, March 15, 5:00PM
Solemn Evensong is perhaps the most beautiful and uniquely Anglican/Episcopal service in Christian worship. This Evensong will feature works for the penitential season of Lent by Herbert Howells, Thomas Tallis, and Felix Mendelssohn, all sung by the St. Mark’s Choir and Soloists. (Watch Live)
Service is followed by a light reception hosted by The Friends of Music at St. Mark’s in Morrill Hall.
Holy Week
March 29, Palm Sunday
with reading of the Passion Gospel
8AM Holy Eucharist Rite I in the Chapel
9AM Outdoor Holy Eucharist
10AM Holy Eucharist Rite II with Choir in the Church (Watch Live)
5PM Holy Eucharist in the Chapel
April 2, Maundy Thursday
6PM Holy Eucharist with Choir & Footwashing in the Church (Watch Live)
7PM to 11:30AM All Night Vigil in the Chapel (Watch Live)
April 3, Good Friday
12PM Holy Eucharist with Choir in the Church (Watch Live)
6PM Holy Eucharist in the Chapel
April 4, Saturday
8AM Liturgy of Holy Saturday in the Chapel (Watch Live)
Easter
April 4, Saturday
7:30PM The Great Vigil of Easter with Festival Holy Eucharist (Watch Live)
April 5, Easter Sunday
7AM Outdoor Sunrise Eucharist
9AM Festival Holy Eucharist with Choir, Brass & Timpani in the Church (Watch Live)
10AM Easter Coffee Hour
10:30AM Church School Easter Egg Challenge
11AM Festival Holy Eucharist with Choir, Brass & Timpani in the Church (Watch Live)
Noon Easter Coffee Hour
Lenten Programs & Events
Lent with Leonard
Mondays, February 23 – March 30, 7-8:30PM in the St. Mark’s Library
Lent is a journey through wilderness and shadow, temptation and trial, and the dark places of the heart and soul. It is also a journey sustained by the Spirit and Word of God, the mercy of God, and our longing for God, which lead us to new life in Christ. Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), the celebrated songwriter and poet, was intimately familiar with this interior terrain, and so is an ideal guide for this pilgrimage.
Cohen was a master of the inner life, of longing as a pathway to the divine, and of the blessedness of brokenness. A deeply religious man—an observant Jew who studied Zen for decades and had a lifelong love for Jesus—Cohen’s poetry and music are saturated with spiritual and scriptural language and themes.
We will gather around Cohen’s prayers, poetry, and songs as a way of deepening our love and knowledge of God, and of the divine love and mercy that are always given. Throughout the season, Cohen’s Book of Mercy—a collection of psalm-like prayers published in 1984—will serve as our prayer book, alongside close listening to some of his most devotional songs, including “Hallelujah.”
A playlist and syllabus will be shared about a week before the class begins.
Centering Prayer
Thursdays, February 26 – April 2, 12:15-12:45PM, in the church
Join Rev. Elizabeth for a brief reflection, instruction, and 20-minutes of group Centering Prayer.
Centering Prayer is a Christian silent practice of releasing thoughts as they come, regardless of content, during a period of 20-minutes. The fruit of the practice is a deeper level of awareness of God’s indwelling presence, and spending time resting in that presence. This practice of ‘self-emptying’ (Philippians 2-11) aligns us with the self-emptying love that forms the core of Jesus’s own self-understanding and way of life.
No need to sign up. Please arrive on time in order to enter into silence as a group.
Soup Group
Wednesdays, February 25 – April 1, 12:15PM in the St. Mark’s Library
Back by popular demand! Join us for this casual noontime soup group with members of the clergy and fellow parishioners. No agenda, just a hearty soup, salad, bread, beverage, and some great conversation and fellowship. Perfect opportunity for newcomers and others to break bread together in a smaller setting. Six Wednesdays during Lent beginning February 25 at 12:15PM. If you would like to bring an offering of love in the form of a soup or salad, please contact Beth Ralston.
Church School Lenten Project: Bikes for Volunteers in Rural Communities
Throughout Lent, in partnership with Episcopal Relief and Deveopment
Help the church school provide a bicycle (or better yet, more than one!) to help local volunteers in rural areas of Africa cover greater distances to deliver aid to communities struggling with hunger, poverty, and disease. $95 funds one bike through Episcopal Relief and Development. Watch us build a bike in the hallway outside of Morrill Hall as we receive donations!
Matthew 25
“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me… just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” –Matthew 25:35-36, 40
In chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that we will be judged based on whether we serve him in “the least of these”–those who are overlooked and ignored. He tells us that whatever we do for them, we do for him. These are among the last words of Jesus’ earthly ministry, which give them particular weight.
In saying these things, Jesus makes it clear that “doing justice” (Micah 6:8) is not peripheral or optional to discipleship; it is central and essential. Further, he teaches us that this is not only a matter of justice, but also a matter of spirituality, for Jesus’ words here aren’t only commands; they are directions for where to find him. As Bono of U2 put it, “God is with the poor and the vulnerable, and God is with us if we are with them.”
This Lent, St. Mark’s will seek to follow Jesus in this way of love and justice as a community. Throughout the five weeks of the season, we will gather to serve through food, clothing, hospitality, presence, and more. There will also be opportunities to serve individually and on your own time. It is our hope that there will be something for everyone and, most of all, that through simple yet significant acts of love and service, you will experience a deeper communion with our Lord.