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Sunday

Preschool & Middle School meet at 10:15 AM.  Preschool through grade 5 meets in the Good Shepherd Atria on the Lower Level of Pillsbury House; the Middle School class in the Undercroft Classroom.
 
Ponticus, the St. Paul’s group for high school students (grades 9-12), meets at 10:15 AM in the Undercroft Youth Room. 
 
Today is the last Rector’s Forum of the year: we have six months on and six months off to keep 50% of people happy 50% of the time!  Today we shall conclude The Wound of Knowledge by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.  Looking at heresies and the voices of great saints of the Church through the 16th Century, Williams explores the profound contradictions that give rise to an authentic life of faith and prayer. Click here to buy from amazon.com.  Join us from 10:30—11:10 AM in the Dining Hall.  

More of the Wright Stuff:  Today the Adult Discussion Group meets in the Guild Room at 10:30 AM to discuss Bishop N.T. Wright’s study guide on 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.  Each week we discuss a chapter or so of these Epistles based on Bishop Wright’s guide.  All are welcome. Click here to buy the book from Amazon.

Carpe Deum meets tonight at 7:00 PM  in the Common Room.

This Week

The Inner Room meets Monday at 6:30 PM in the Dining Hall and Undercroft.
 
Religion & Science Book Study meets Monday from 7:00 to 8:00 PM in the Common Room.  We are about to start a new book, God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution, by John F. Haught. Click here to buy the book from Amazon.

Pilgrims in Christ meets Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Guild Room.

Pilgrims Alumni Bible Study Group meets Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Carwithen Parlor.

The Vestry meets Tuesday at 6:30 PM in the Guild Room.
 
Education for Ministry meets Tuesday at 6:30 PM in the Common Room.

The George Washington Canterbury Club meets Tuesday at 7:00 PM; meeting at St. Mary’s, Foggy Bottom.
 
Thursday, March 25 is the great feast of the Annunciation, the beginning of the Christian story.  Our principal celebration will be a Procession and Solemn Mass at 6:30 PM.  Our own Fr. Humphrey will be the preacher.  The music will be Mozart’s Missa Brevis C-dur, K. 220 and Hans Leo Hassler’s Dixit Maria ad angelum. The altar flowers for the feast of the Annunciation on Thursday are given by Natalie and James Rathvon to the greater glory of God.

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE:

• Palm Sunday, March 28:  Please note time changes: early Mass will begin at 7:30 AM (preceded by Morning Prayer at 7:15 AM); the two later Masses will begin (weather permitting) at Washington Circle for the blessing and procession of palms at 8:45 AM and 11:15 AM respectively. 
• Maundy Thursday, April 1:  Solemn Liturgy Mass at 6:30 PM
• Good Friday, April 2:  Stations of the Cross at Noon and Solemn Liturgy at 6:30 PM
• Holy Saturday Vigil, April 3: the Great Vigil of Easter and First Solemn Pontifical Mass of the Resurrection is at 9:00 PM.  The celebrant is Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Archbishop of the West Indies, retired.

 
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday represent essentially one great liturgy which commemorates the central defining and saving events of the Christian Faith. This one liturgy provides not only the means of commemorating the Paschal Mystery but also of our very participation in our time and space in those events.  Fr. Sloane therefore urges everyone to make attendance at these three evening liturgies an absolute priority and promises that, with open hearts and minds, there will be transformation corporately and individually.  He pleads guilty to putting all eggs in the Holy Week basket!  Child care will be available at all these services.

Easter Flowers: The Flower Guild will be working during Holy week to help prepare the church for liturgies of the Triduum.  On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be creating the Garden of Repose in the Angel Chapel, on Friday working quietly in the undercroft youth room and on Saturday will be busy in the main space of the nave and sanctuary.  Your help, even for a few hours, is needed and welcome; no prior experience is required and there are tasks, including sweeping the church up on Saturday afternoon, when truly “many hands make light work.”  The same is true after the 11:15 AM Mass on Sunday, April 11 when we will be taking down the displays.  Call or email David Boulet with questions at 202-586-9030 or dvdboulet@hotmail.com. Envelopes for Easter flower contributions can be found in the pews.

There will be a reception following the Easter Vigil.  Cash donations would be much appreciated and checks should be made payable to St. Paul’s with the notation “vigil reception” on the memo line.  Help is needed on Saturday for food preparation, set up, serving and clean up.  Also welcome are finger foods such as deviled eggs, ham biscuits or finger sandwiches.  If you can volunteer time, food or both, please contact Anne Windle, anne.windle@montgomerycountymd.gov; work phone 240-777-6746, home phone 202-338-0178.

BISHOP SEARCH, TRANSITION COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS INVITED: Following Bishop John Bryson Chane’s January 30 announcement of his plans to retire, the diocese’s Standing Committee has started the process leading to the election and consecration of the ninth Bishop of Washington. The committee’s first task is to select a Search Committee and Transition Committee, and applicants interested in serving on either committee are invited to apply.  Job descriptions for both committees and an application form are available at http://search.edow.org.  The deadline for applications is MARCH 26. 
 
St. Paul’s Parking:  Thank you to all who have looked for street parking and/or made use of Metro these past few months.  It has helped significantly!  During this Lenten season parking  spaces  behind church are often at a premium.  Sunday activity is  especially busy during this time, particularly between the services, so we ask your continued patience as we help people departing and arriving.  Weekday services will also be very demanding with the parking lot often full by 5:30 PM for a 6:30 PM Mass.  We can only suggest that you arrive early or use street parking or utilize the Ritz-Carlton garage as discussed below. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel at 1150 22nd Street NW has kindly agreed to offer discounted parking to St. Paul’s parishioners on Sundays (and on Saturdays when there is a special event, such as the Great Vigil of Easter, Saturday, April 3rd at 9:00 PM)!  The cost is $5.00 for up to 6 hours of parking on Sundays, and the vouchers for the garage may be purchased from the St. Paul’s parking lot attendants; feel free to purchase multiple vouchers so that you do not need to come to the Snows Court lot every Sunday (or Saturday the 3rd, when you will doubtless be attending the Great Vigil of Easter).  Please try to have dollar bills for payment, though the attendants can make change if necessary.  

To get to the garage (avoiding Washington Circle), turn right out of Snows Court onto 25th Street, then right onto the K Street access road in front of the church.  Turn left at the light onto 24th Street, then right on L Street and finally left onto 22nd Street, turning left into the first driveway you come to, which is the entrance to the parking garage.  Once at the parking garage it is necessary to push the button to receive a ticket to enter the garage.  When it is time to exit you will need both the ticket from the garage and the voucher to exit.  Put the ticket into the machine and then the voucher.  If you have parked for 6 hours or less, the voucher will cover the full cost and you can exit the garage.  Should you need to stay at the garage for more than 6 hours, you will need the voucher plus an additional $2.00 in cash to exit the garage.  

The hotel is about a five minute walk from the church, and about a three minute drive from Snows Court.  Please consider using the Ritz-Carlton regularly so that the Snows Court lot may be utilized primarily by our less mobile parishioners and families with small children.  Many thanks to the Commission on Evangelization, seminarian Charles Smith, parish administrator Melva Willis, and the parking lot attendants for arranging and coordinating this parking solution for our parishioners.