Lent is a 40-day season (a tithe of the year) traditionally devoted to fasting, service, and honest self-examination. We invite everyone of all ages to enter this season wholeheartedly through special opportunities to worship, pray, learn, and serve together. All opportunities are on our Google Calendar and will be announced through our Friday e-newsletter (subscribe!).
SUNDAY CHANGES
Liturgy
The lively, participatory Kenyan liturgy has guided our Sunday worship since Advent. But during Lent we’ll switch to the Anglican Standard Text from the 2019 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), and you can follow along on the screen or from the BCPs in the pews.
Sermons: “One Thing”
We’ll be preaching throughout Lent on the “one thing” texts in scripture (“one thing I ask”; “one thing you lack”; etc). We hope this series will help us strip away what is unnecessary and focus each week on one simple thing God wants to do in and through us. As always, sermons will be available on the website, Apple Podcasts, and Soundcloud. Why not subscribe during Lent?
Fasting from alleluias
During Lent, we fast together from the word "alleluia" in the liturgy, and you may feel its absence from all the places it normally fills. Allow those absences to cultivate a longing for the God who fills our empty spaces.
Sunday images
We’ll trade our Epiphany stained glass for Lenten images that are dark, sparse, and simple—helping to focus our minds on just one thing each week. Don’t worry; we’ll return to light and color at Easter!
PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES
7:30am Wednesday Morning Prayer
Quauhtli Olivieri will lead Morning Prayer from the BCP every Wednesday morning in the chapel. Wednesdays, March 4 through April 1, 7:30am. Questions? Email quauhtli@incarnationanglican.org.
March 7 Prayer Walk
Come walk and pray for our neighborhood. Saturday, March 7, 10-11am at the church.
March 14 Lent Prayer Retreat
Ages 12 and up are invited to a morning of creative contemplation during our half-day prayer retreat. Saturday, Mar 14 at 10am at the church.
Men’s Power Hour
All men are invited for a time of morning prayer and fellowship from 7-8am every other Friday at the church: Feb 28, March 13, Marcy 27, April 10.
Holy Week Confession
Confession is a powerful opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness. Confession with Liz will be available by appointment between the hours of 12-2pm, Thursday and Friday of Holy Week (April 9-10). Please contact Liz to set up a time: liz@incarnationanglican.org.
OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES
We often think of Lent as a time of fasting from certain foods, drinks, or behaviors. But Lent is also a traditional time of service, the kind of fasting described in Isaiah 58:6: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” We are grateful for many opportunities for our minds, hands, and hearts to be formed for service throughout Lent.
Meals for RILA
Help provide a meal to an upcoming Restoration Immigration Legal Aid (RILA) clinic. This is a simple but meaningful way to extend hospitality to asylum seekers and the volunteers who serve them—and it's a great opportunity to see RILA in action! Sign up here to help on March 4, April 1, or May 13 (or all three!).
Jesus and the Disinherited Book Discussion
Join us for a discussion of Jesus & the Disinherited, a classic work on faith, race, and poverty that Martin Luther King, Jr, is said to have carried with him everywhere. Email Katherine with questions or to RSVP.
Saturday, March 7 at 7pm at the Vicarage (5614 1st St S)
L’Arche Solidariday (CANCELLED)
L’Arche is a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities sharing life together. Experience the joy of L’Arche and support its ministry here in South Arlington and around the world through its annual bazaar and talent show, Solidariday.
Saturday, March 14, 12:30-3pm at Our Lady Queen of Peace (2700 19th St S)
Holy Week Offering to Abara Frontiers
All offerings given during our Holy Week services will go to Abara Frontiers, an organization that supports shelters and practical needs for migrants on the Texas-Mexico border. Please plan to give generously to this important work!
SPECIAL EVENTS
Atrium for Everyone
Catherine Maresca of the Center for Children and Theology will provide an orientation to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the faith formation tool that informs our children's ministry and so much more of what we do at Incarnation. This session is for everyone—not just children's volunteers or parents—interested in cultivating a childlike faith in themselves and others. Questions? Email Josie.
Sunday, March 8 at 3pm
Men’s night
Join Incarnation men and invite a friend to a “ceilidh” (gathering) at the Vicarage, 5614 1st St S. Email Simon with questions or to RSVP.
Saturday, March 21, 7:30pm
Women’s night: wine, cheese, crafts, and conversation
Join Incarnation women for a relaxed night of wine, food, crafting (optional!) and good conversation at Kim's house, 1300 Army Navy Dr #414. Bring a snack, a favorite craft to work on, a friend, or just yourself. For anyone who is interested, we will also have a brief discussion about decorating the sanctuary for Easter and beyond. Questions? Email Kim.
Saturday, March 21, 7pm
LENT & HOLY WEEK SERVICES
Everyone of all ages is welcome at all Lent services, but there will be no nursery or Atrium on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, or Easter Sunday services. However, the nursery is always open and available for parents whose kiddos need a change of scenery during the service!
Ash Wednesday
On this day we humble ourselves before the God who formed us from dust and receive ashes on our foreheads as a visible reminder of our sin and mortality.
Wednesday, Feb 26: 7am (ashes only) & 7:30pm (ashes and Eucharist)
Palm Sunday
We re-enact Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, beginning the service outside waving palms, singing, and crying "Hosanna."
Sunday, Apr 5, 5pm
Maundy Thursday
We remember Jesus washing his disciples' feet and their last supper together through a foot-washing service. It sounds weird, sure, but trust us: it is beautiful and deeply moving. Thursday, Apr 9, 7:30pm
Stations of the Cross
We’re trying something new this year: a self-guided outdoor Stations of the Cross along our fence line. Each station depicts a different moment from Jesus’ journey toward the cross, along with scripture and questions for meditation. The Stations will be available to walk, read, pray, and contemplate from Thursday to Saturday of Holy Week. We hope this installation will also provoke the interest and curiosity of neighbors and passers-by. Watch this video by Scott Erickson, the artist whose works we will use for our stations.
Thursday, Apr 9 - Saturday, Apr 11 (24 hours; self-guided)
Good Friday - Tenebrae
We remember Jesus' suffering and death on the cross through a contemplative, experiential service called Tenebrae (Latin for "shadows").
Friday, April 10, 7:30pm
Holy Saturday - Easter Vigil
We await the resurrection through our Easter Vigil service. The vigil begins outside around the fire, where we burn our written sins and the branches from Palm Sunday. Then the light from this fire is processed into a darkened sanctuary, gradually growing as we retell God's redemption story. The service culminates in raucous cries of "Alleluia!" and a joyful late-night Eucharist, followed by a party when we break our Lenten fasts together. Please bring bells to ring and something delicious to share for the party!
Saturday, Apr 11, 8:00pm
Easter Sunday
Lent is over and Eastertide begins! Alleluia! We'll worship as usual at 5pm. Please bring cut flowers from your garden for our children to use to adorn the sanctuary that day; we'll have jars and vases available.
Sunday, Apr 12, 5pm
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