This past week at Christ Church was both unique and not unique. It was unique because on Thursday night, we welcomed strangers into our sanctuary - in fact, we can't recall there being a day like Thursday, when we had people from so many walks of faith united under our roof. The reason for gathering - our "Lift Us Up" Prayer Vigil for Non-Violence - was not a particularly happy reason, but it was absolutely necessary. It was also not-so-unique because we always embrace those whom we haven't seen for a long while. Whether with Frank Brightwell from Somos Amigos on Sunday, the Reverend Richard A. Ginnever, our Rector Emeritus, on Wednesday, or Archdeacon Denise and Bishop Ihloff on Thursday, along with many others, we were able to catch up with old friends. But what's so special about Christ Church is that we always welcome the stranger. We always open our hearts to others. And whether unique or not-so-unique, it was a week we won't soon forget. Thanks so much to everyone who came down to our campus this week or joined us on Zoom for one of our many sessions - you made this past week at Christ Episcopal Church one to savor, and one to build on. Come down this morning for worship at 8:00, 9:00, or 10:30, and gather tonight for Lenten Taizé at 6:00. YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE.   #weareonecommunity   #welcomethestranger   #WelcomeBack   #welcomebackhome   #episcomd   #lent

Lent III at Christ Church We have three services this Sunday morning: Holy Eucharist in Old Brick at 8:00, Family Worship in New Brick at 9:00, and Choral Eucharist in New Brick at 10:30. Collect for Today: Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. This Sunday's Readings: Exodus 17:1-7 Psalm 95 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-42 Sermon for This Sunday: Father Manny delivers this Sunday's sermon, and you can view it in the video below once the service has begun. Sunday Worship Livestream: Our service livestream begins just before 10:30 a.m. The service leaflet for this worship is here .

Gather with us tonight, as we welcome those of every faith into our sanctuary, joined together by a shared heartache - and a shared hope. LIFT US UP: A PRAYER VIGIL FOR NON-VIOLENCE AT A TIME OF CRISIS was borne from a need to heal, to understand, and to act. Lifting our collective voices in speech and song, we unite not as strangers, but as neighbors united in our rejection of violence and a deep desire for healing in our community and our world. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors, and come to Christ Episcopal Church tonight at 7:00 p.m. - 6800 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia Maryland. Google Maps link - https://cecevents.org/LiftUsUpVigil If you cannot join us in person, you can watch the livestream below. The service leaflet is found at https://cecevents.org/Lift-Us-Up #liftusup   #prayervigil   #PrayerVigil   #nonviolence   #interfaith   #YouAreWelcomeHere   #youarewelcome   #episcomd   #howardcounty   #howardcountymd   #columbiamd   #columbiamaryland

As we walk our Lenten journey, we rest in that sometimes uncomfortable in-between place.  We journey through the wilderness, waiting on the Holy Spirit to clear out what is not of God to make space for what is growing within us.  The 2nd Saturday Center for Spiritual Nourishment (CSN) provides opportunities for us to be in closer relationship with God by offering an array of experiences that engage the mind, body, and spirit. Programs for March center around the theme “Letting Go to Make Room” and include: Meditation, Spiritual Direction, Sacred Art, and discussions on journeying in the wilderness. You can learn more about the 2nd Saturday CSN at our website www.christchurchcolumbia.org/spiritual-nourishment . If you want to learn more about future Center for Spiritual Nourishment events, submit your email address below to receive regularly updated information (we will not share or sell your address to anyone). Whether you've joined us before or are a first-timer, we are sure that there's something special waiting for you here. Everyone is welcome, and we hope to see you there! Schedule of Events: 8:30 – 9:00: Breakfast and social time 9:00 - 9:10: Greeting; Outline the day's sessions 9:10 – 10:05: Setting Down What We Carry                     Drawn to God : Praying Through Art (Desert Art) Spiritual Direction Circle 9:10 - 11:15: Movie and Discussion: Amistad 10:15 – 11:15: Christian Meditation · Contemplative Christianity                       Fr. Manny: Journeying through the Wilderness 11:30 – 12:00: Reflection Circle Join us on Saturday, February 14 as we offer: Drawn to God: Praying Through Art led by Deacon Mike and Leah Chrest Create beautiful colored pencil desert drawings as we reflect on what is growing and blooming within us during this time in the wilderness.  God gave everyone a gift-  a special aptitude, ability, power or talent. And gifts are meant to be an act. A verb  - to bestow, share and connect. “ Drawn to God” is a place for spiritual nourishment through the practice of creating.  Creating ways to engage with God. A short session of fellowship in process-oriented art projects. Art as Prayer and Prayer as Art. No matter what gifts or talents you bring, you will be inspired to become a maker- and enjoy a moment of creative flow. Plus it is just fun to make things. The joy is in the journey, your creation your reward. Setting Down What We Carry: Decluttering Spiritual Debt led by Toni Summerell Join us for a reflective and engaging session exploring the many ways Divine Love is expressed in our lives. Rather than viewing love as a single experience, this session invites participants to discover love as a sacred spectrum—friendship, family care, self-love, romantic connection, and unconditional love—each offering a unique window into the heart of the Divine. Through gentle reflection and interactive moments, we’ll consider where these forms of love are present, where they may be calling for growth, and how they work together to deepen our spiritual lives. This session is welcoming, thoughtful, and designed to help you recognize Divine Love already at work within and around you. Contemplative Meditation led by Leah Chrest Examine the life example and ministry of Ginny Owens and listen to her song and reflect/discuss the lyrics of “If You Want Me To”.  Finally, be led into a guided meditation on faith in the desert before resting in the enriching silence of God’s presence.  In a mixture of teaching, discussion, and practice, strengthen your ability to engage in the equally important side of the conversation with God--if prayer is talking to the Lord, meditation is listening to God’s voice, and being changed by God’s presence. Journeying through the Wilderness: Transformational Knowing of Self and God led by the Rev. Emmanuel Ato Mercer How well do you know yourself? How well do you know God? This is an invitation to the kind of transformation that is possible only through the knowledge of self and then of God. Using the Apostle Peter as a case study, we will explore how knowledge of the self, led to the knowledge of God which then spurred his transformation. Film Screening: Amistad led by George Toth A true story of a Spanish-owned slave ship, La Amistad , which experiences a revolt in 1839 of Mende captives during which members of the crew are killed.  The disabled ship is captured off the coast of Long Island, and then the legal struggle beings: the courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves and property, or free men and kidnapped victims by the ship’s company - as well as their guilt or innocence of the killings which occurred. Laws governing the slave trade of the U.S. and diplomatic U.S.-Spanish relations heighten the conflict. Don't miss this classic. Have Questions? Wish to Help Lead Future CSN Sessions?   #nourishyourspirit   #SpiritualNourishment   #allarewelcome   #RefreshYourSpirit   #divinelove   #hocomd   #episcomd   #columbiamd   #columbiamaryland

Christ Episcopal Church invites everyone to a very special prayer vigil this Thursday, March 5th, at 7:00 pm in the New Brick sanctuary. Gather with us as our parish welcomes participants from other congregations supporting our Refugee Ministry, Columbia, and Howard County. "Lift Us Up" will feature meditations, music, reflections, and prayers from many in our Interfaith community in response to recent and ongoing violence across cities and around the world. We will unite in prayer for God’s will for mercy and peace - two qualities we need much more of - and your participation is most welcome. And please share this invitation with your family, friends, and neighbors, as everyone is encouraged to join us for a much-needed gathering of prayer and song in the name of peace and unity. #episcomd #interfaith #InterfaithHarmony #loveyourneighbor #nonviolence #prayervigil #PrayerVigil #howardcountymaryland #columbiamaryland #columbiamd

The WOCC will have its monthly meeting this evening, so log on to Zoom at 7:30 (we'll send the link later today). With more than a handful of wonderful gatherings and events this month, we'll discuss the details and ways to take part in them all. We'll also be looking at other upcoming Christ Church activities, so it's safe to say that there's no better time for you to join the WOCC!

A Celtic Morning Prayer   Christ, we rise today Knowing that you, alone, Know our hearts. You alone can change Our sadness into joy. Forgive us our shortcomings. Teach us patience. Teach us kindness. Help us to forgive, Those who have injured us, And keep us from injuring others. Keep our way lighted, With your steadfast love. Amen.   ~ prayer by Beth Maxwell Boyle   #lent   #lentenseason   #lentenmeditation   #reflection   #MorningPrayer   #episcopal   #episcopalchurch   #episcomd   #howardcounty   #columbiamaryland   #columbiamdchurch

Each day during the season of Lent, Christ Church publishes a Daily Meditation on our website and social   media , submissions from our parish family that help inspire them or provide a moment of reflection as they begin their day. We hope that these Meditations provide a new and special way for you to experience Lent. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud.  Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not become angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it.  Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices over the truth.  Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always continues strong. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7  (From International Children’s Bible) When I saw the theme and accompanying picture for Christ Church's 2026 Lenten Meditation Theme, I remembered a project I had done with my 4-year-old students.  We were learning about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the messages he shared, hoping that all can live in peace and that our actions come from a place of love. I can tell you it was not an easy assignment, having a group of children all place their hands in a heart shape and be still while I took the photo - yes, it could be compared to herding an adorable group of kittens! My assistant and I were very light-hearted while doing this, and there were plenty of laughs, I can tell you! My students were fully engaged, though not all at the same time - once they got close enough to take this photo, I snapped it quickly before the moment passed! This was about learning to make loving choices together and why that is so important. It was a team-building exercise, and we talked about how what each of us does shows love and caring. It was a way to show my students that they are what is good in this classroom and the world. ~ Pam F.

Have you seriously thought and reflected on the fact that our daily existence depends upon the nature of our decision-making? Invariably, we make decisions from the rising of the sun to its setting. Decision-making requires constant action, and more often than not, it involves others.  Decision-making becomes the ever-evolving hallmarks of our daily lives. Being human, we ask these questions: “Did I make the right decision?” or “Did I make the wrong decision?” The long and short of a response is, we will never know until we do so and witness the effects. Decision-making is the rhythm of life.   A consult from Google for another perspective on decision-making revealed that “to make a decision  is to make up your mind about something.  To  act with decision  is to proceed with determination, which might be a natural character trait.”  The term decision-making  originally comes from the Latin decernere  (to decide). The shortened definition from the Britannica Dictionary is “a choice that you make about something after thinking about it.”   Perhaps, at this point, you might think that this sounds a little elementary, or trite. The intent is to emphasize the importance of “decision-making in building relationships through love,” as part of a backdrop for pondering this year's Lenten journey.  Lent is a solemn and sacred season, one that entails deep spiritual reflection and preparation for the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter.  Lent lasts for 40 days and provides a framework and the opportunity to journey inward by examining our decisions, thereby seeking God's grace. Lent is a time of transformation which entails rediscovery, renewing, and readying ourselves for the joy of Easter.  It is a call for decision-making, self-examination, prayer, self-control, giving, and loving ourselves and one another.  This is a time to become more resolute, elimination of distractions, and seeking a deeper relationship with God.  The act of decision-making embodies steadfastness in our thoughts and actions during this holy period.   Throughout the Lenten season, we will face making decisions on various matters, but not limited to these examples: When should I retire from my career or service? How old should my teenage daughter be before starting to date? Is it time to remove myself from a toxic relationship? Should I start speaking to my neighbor after ten years? What should I eat for healthy meals to control my cholesterol? Did I make the correct choices for certain ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)? What must I do better to save my marriage? Should I rely solely on AI to complete a research project narrative?    Is it time to consider a retirement home for my parents?   Notwithstanding these questions, we must make daily decisions involving certain matters we take for granted, such as when to get up, what to eat, what to wear, who to contact, and where to go. Even when making tough decisions, we do not have to carry the burden alone.  Trusting in God's promises and holding onto faith creates a divine support system. The underpinning of faith in the following verses of scripture supports us in acts of decision-making: Proverbs 3: 5-6 : "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight." James 1: 5 : "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." Proverbs 16: 9 : "In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Psalm 32: 8 : "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." Philippians 4: 6-7 : "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." There are many poignant stories in the Bible that draw attention to decision-making and building relationships through love.  Highlights of some of these stories focus on Adam and Eve's choosing disobedience, Daniel refusing to alter his faith in the lion's den, and the story of Ruth exhibiting loyalty, faith, courage, and value-based decisions in difficult circumstances leading to unexpected blessings and long-term positive impact. In summary, using the key quote from the film, Conclave , it puts the spotlight on faith and decision-making:   "Certainty is a great enemy of unity.  Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance.  Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt.  If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith."    Without faith, decision-making is like walking in the dark without a flashlight. Something to ponder!   #decisionmaking   #decision   #choices   #meditations   #lent   #episcomd   #hocomd   #lentenmeditation

Lenten Taizé Vespers Sundays at 6:00 p.m. in New Brick Vespers is a liturgy of Evening Prayer that combines scripture readings, prayer, silent meditation, and rich music. Each Sunday evening, Christ Church offers a service of contemplative prayer and music in the tradition of the Taizé community of France. It offers this special service on Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. in New Brick, offering different opportunities for prayer, music, and reflection. This worship of reflection offers a chance to meditate on God's love and presence in one's life, to offer prayer for oneself and others, and to share in a supportive community of fellow pilgrims on the way.

Lent II at Christ Church We have three services this Sunday morning: Holy Eucharist in Old Brick at 8:00, Family Worship in New Brick at 9:00, and Choral Eucharist in New Brick at 10:30. Collect for Today: O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. This Sunday's Readings: Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 John 3:1-17 Sermon for This Sunday: Frank Brightwell at Somos Amigos delivers this Sunday's sermon, and you can view it in the video below once the service has begun. Sunday Worship Livestream: Our service livestream begins just before 10:30 a.m. The service leaflet for this worship is here .