Reflecting God’s presence

March 18, 2021
A close-up of a blue, yellow, orange, and white section of stained glass in the Chapel of All Saints at Trinity Church Wall Street
Photo: Colin Winterbottom

Every once in a while, a theological lightbulb comes on and I metaphorically smack my forehead.

This week, it showed up in my imagination as a book title: “Glorification for Dummies,” an instructional manual that I wish I had read a long time ago. The readings together this week are both a poetic and didactic cartography of faith, as engraved by God, first on stone tablets, then upon our very hearts, endowing our capacity to reflect or “glorify” God’s presence. Jeremiah’s description of God’s new covenant and John’s gospel of Jesus’s pre-game Christology take us right back to the beginning, to the garden — our incarnation — and the gift of free will as one with our own natures, both literal and figurative, in our mortal flesh and transformable spirits. 

We tend to tighten up or brace ourselves for Holy Week and its passion. But as we emerge from the wilderness, I think it would be well for us to soften and open eagerly to the possibility of the green shoots that will emerge from our cracked seeds. 

Peace be with you, 

Kathryn

Kathryn Carroll
Program Manager, Children and Family Formation
Faith Formation and Education

Children’s Time

Sundays at 10am

Join us for Children’s Time on Zoom. We’ll start with a brief opening assembly together and then, each week, children can choose from two different breakout groups.

Godly Play (Preschool and older)
Story: The Faces of Easter 5
Response Time: Drawing and collage materials

Whole People of God (2nd Grade and older)
Lesson Theme: The Seed Who Lived
Activities: Scripted Story and Easter Symbol Tree 

Register to join on Zoom, if you haven’t already.

Children’s Time will be on hiatus on Palm Sunday, March 28, and Easter Sunday, April 4. We’ll continue to send resources for your Holy Week and Easter observances at home. Everyone of all ages is invited to join a Palm Sunday Holy Week at Home online workshop on Sunday, March 28, at 10am. Register here.

Discovery

Psalm for the Wilderness
Sundays at 10am

The Season of Lent leads us through changing, and sometimes challenging, spiritual landscapes. Through the close examination of several beautiful and beloved examples, this Bible study will consider how the superlative Hebrew poetry of the Psalms might accompany us and enrich our journeys. Parishioner and poet Chester Johnson will discuss his work on the drafting committee for the retranslation of the Psalms contained in the current Book of Common Prayer. 

Learn more and register to join.

Discovery will be on hiatus on Palm Sunday, March 28, and Easter Sunday, April 4. We’ll continue to send resources for your Holy Week and Easter observances at home. Everyone of all ages is invited to join a Palm Sunday Holy Week at Home online workshop on Sunday, March 28, at 10am. Register here.

Spiritual Resources