Almighty God, you have given us this good land as our heritage. Make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will. Bless our land with honest industry, sound learning, and an honorable way of life. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Make us who come from many nations with many different languages a united people. Defend our liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom, that there might be justice and peace in our land. When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful; and, in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail. We ask all this through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   - The Right Reverend Ann M. Ritonia    Bishop Suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, The Episcopal Church

Inviting You to Join Our Monthly Outreach Meeting on Monday, March 9 Learn many ways to help others by joining us remotely for the Outreach Commission meeting on Monday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. Our mission has a local, national, and international scope. Look for our email on Monday for the Zoom link. Christ Church Gets an Update from Somos Amigos’ Founder Frank Brightwell Progress is being made to expand the number of patients served in the Dominican Republic by Somos Amigos Medical Missions , whose founder visited Christ Church on March 1. Executive Director Frank Brightwell delivered the sermon during worship services and conducted Sunday Circle, taking the opportunity to express gratitude. “On behalf of all of our patients, I want to thank all of you,” he told the congregation, referring to residents of a rural, mountainous area where the nearest health care is more than two hours away. “You’ve helped us restore health and allowed people to smile again. Quite literally, you helped us save lives.” One of the lives saved is that of Euclides, a father of six who is a staff member. Last spring, he accidentally pricked a finger while sterilizing instruments. The required blood tests showed no danger from the puncture wound, but other results were concerning. A Somos Amigos physician ordered a colonoscopy that revealed colon cancer. Somos Amigos raised funds to send Euclides to specialists in the city, where he underwent surgery and subsequent cancer treatment. Christ Church, through the Outreach Commission, contributed $500 toward his specialty care as well as an additional $500 during 2025 for the clinic’s Referrals Fund. It pays for patients’ mammograms, cataract removal and other procedures. Euclides recovered and was back at work in January, when Somos Amigos held the first of its quarterly clinics. Th ere, working alongside him were v olunteers Dione and Jim Mahoney and Dione’s sister and brother-in-law, D esiree and Jorge Arce, as well as the Arce’s nephew, Ivan. All are in a video about Somos Amigos’ plans for the future that Brightwell discussed during Sunday Circle. You can view the video, “Opening New Doors,” on the Somos Amigos portion of the church website. Dates of future clinics are April 11-18, July 11-18, and Oct. 10-17, 2026. Go here for volunteer information. Or ask p arishioners who have volunteered, including Outreach member Shahra Toth and physicians Ellen Boudreau and Preethi Jackson.  Help Grassroots by Providing Food for the Homeless on Monday, March 9 On the second Monday of each month, Christ Church serves a hot midday meal at the Day Resource Center (DRC) that is operated by the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center . A team led by Outreach member Shahra Toth makes side dishes and desserts that we serve in person after car-pooling to the Leola Dorsey Center in Jessup.   To help on Monday, March 9, please check our DRC online signup form , which describes the procedure. Drop-off time is 12:45 p.m. in the parking lot near Old Brick for DRC’s side dishes. We last participated on Feb. 9 (see photos). Your donations and Vestry-approved funds pay for the fried-chicken entree. Thank you!   Your generosity has eased the lives of our homeless neighbors, who rely on both the food and clothing available at the DRC. The Outreach Commission recently approved spending $506 to replenish its shelves in response to staff requests. We supplied 180 pairs of men’s and women’s underwear, 25 pairs of men’s jeans, 150 razors, and more than 500 pods of laundry detergent. These were purchased with funds donated to the church by parishioners. A hearty thanks!   During the winter months, Christ Church has paused our previous delivery of an evening meal at the Grassroots Emergency Shelter. Other congregations involved in the Code Blue and Cold Weather Shelter programs are handling those duties. Our next date for evening meal drop-off will be Monday, April 13. To plan ahead, go to our Grassroots online signup form . Please Bring Diapers, Non-Perishables for CCC/FISH, And Consider Volunteering from Home to Take Phone Calls From Neighbors in Need FISH and Columbia Community Care (CCC) partnered last year and merged their pantries. CCC continues to hand out food at three sites on Saturday mornings and by home delivery to Howard County residents. For information, go online to Get Help . Find CCC updates on its Facebook page . FISH continues to pick up donated goods from Christ Church and others. Please put non-perishable food and personal care products in the altar basket or in a bin just inside the Parish Hall. Look for a combo label “FISH/CCC”. Please bring baby wipes and diapers, especially large sizes. FISH will continue to provide telephone support to Howard County residents, offering guidance and financial assistance, because the personal touch is very important when people are in crisis. For information, ask parishioner and FISH treasurer Andy DeLong (above photo) or email him at andydelong.fish@gmail.com . You could be the one to lend a helping hand by lending an ear! As a phone volunteer, you can help from your home by giving just one day a month to assist those who could benefit from financial assistance from FISH. Training is provided. Thank you always for your support. Kenya Connect 5k Run - March 28 Kenya Connect, an outreach partner of St. John's in Ellicott City, is holding its 12th annual 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, March 28th, at St. John's. The 5K builds community while supporting the work of  Kenya Connect  to provide children with options and new pathways in rural Kenya.  We welcome individual participants or a team from Christ Church. We will have post-race goodies, including a Kenyan crafts market with items made by women and men in our village. We also provide hand-carved medallions from Wamunyu to the top three women and men in all age categories.  In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org . Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.

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

God, grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it. Trusting that You will make all things right If I surrender to Your will. So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

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

May you be blessed with good friends. May you learn to be a good friend to yourself. May you be able to journey to that place in your soul where       there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness. May this change you. May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold in you. May you be brought in to the real passion, kinship, and affinity of belonging. May you treasure your friends. May you be good to them and may you be there for them; May they bring you all the blessing, challenges, truth,        and light that you need for your journey. May you never be isolated. May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your anam ċara.   ~ from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue

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.