Each year, the WELS at Christ Church is one of the most enriching experiences of the season, offering five weeks of insightful, life-transforming seminars. Kicking off the series this Wednesday, February 25, is the Right Reverend Robert Ihloff. Bishop Ihloff will share his thoughts on our 2026 Spiritual Life Theme, "Building Relationships through Love." We begin each evening at 6:30 p.m. with a communal supper in the Great Hall - each week, a different Christ Church ministry group provides the meal (this week, it's the WOCC (thank you!)) - followed by our guest presenter. The evening then concludes with a brief, informal Eucharist. There's no other series like this at Christ Church throughout the year, and we highly encourage you to gather with us for this unique discussion and fellowship.   #lent   #Lent2026   #episcomd   #howardcountymaryland   #newperspective   #love   #loveislove

Oh God, we put our trust in You. Enhance my understanding of You. Help us count the blessings that we want. We are ever grateful for Your Presence in our lives. Let us show Your love. Open our hearts to always be ready to accept the Word into our lives. Teach me to take care of my heart, so Christ can live there. Watch over those who are suffering and help them find Your peace. Help us to hear you. Thank you for seeing something worthwhile in us. Emmanuel - “God with us” - we yearn for Your Presence, especially when we think that we don’t need it. Lord, let me experience Your Grace with our words. Grant us the faith and wisdom to better do Your will. Thank you for the gift of the meeting of hearts in this space. Help us to grow and change to be closer to you. We thirst for your love. Let us not forget how to recognize Your ongoing Presence. Give us joy in our service to others. Bring unity, justice and peace to our community, our country and our world. Give us the courage to stand up for what is right. Enable us to see with Your eyes, feel with your heart and serve with your hands. All this we ask in Your Holy Name. Amen ~ created by participants at Christ Church’s Advent Quiet Day retreat - December 6, 2025

Building Relationships through Love: The Christ Church Youth Perspective   Paul gives us a clear template for doing just that in his letter to the Corinthians, and in 1 Corinthians 13 v1-7 he describes the type of Love God calls us to, calling out the hollowness of acting without love, no matter how amazing the action.   In Youth Formation Class, we talked about Love and about how we might retell the lessons of Paul today.   If I put people down, gossip, or speak about them behind their backs, or pretend to be supportive while actually being overly critical and condensing, I do not act with love. If I lie or don’t show my true self, or do not allow others to be themselves around me, I do not act with love. If I do not listen to others or act dismissively towards them, if I do not value their relationship or put conditions on my love, I do not act with love. If I do not respect other people’s boundaries, only take from a relationship, or cause other to fear me, I do not act with love.   Love is kindness, trust, honesty, and transparency. Love is a balanced connection between people, giving and taking fairly, respecting boundaries, accepting each other for who they are. Love is sacrifice, it is putting in time and effort to truly care, listening without judgement and working to understand each other with clear, honest communication. Love is selfless, it is caring for someone else no matter what, despite how you feel in the moment. Love is a feeling of warmth, of acceptance, of connection when you know someone truly cares for you, but it is also an action in that we actively play our part in completing the relationship. Love is easy when it is with a family member or someone we already know and have a strong connection with, but love is much harder when we do not know the person well, or worse, that person has hurt us in some way.   Still, we strive to love.   ~ submitted by Stacey Frith & the Christ Church Youth

LIFT US UP: A Prayer Vigil for Non-Violence at a Time of Crisis Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. Christ Episcopal Church invites all parishioners and community neighbors to attend a special prayer vigil next Thursday, March 5th, at 7:00 pm in the New Brick sanctuary. Gather with us as we welcome participants from congregations supporting our Refugee Ministry, Columbia, and Howard County. Lift Us Up will feature meditations, songs, reflections, and prayers from many in our Interfaith community, in response to recent and ongoing violence across American cities. We will mourn those of all ages killed, injured, or cruelly deported to unknown fates. At this time of major political division, we will unite in prayer for God’s will for mercy and peace - two qualities we need much more of in our communities and our world. Please share this with your family, friends, and neighbors, as everyone is welcome to attend and take part.

Lent I 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, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. This Sunday's Readings: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 Psalm 32 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 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. You can also read his sermon's text here . Sunday Worship Livestream: Our service livestream begins just before 10:30 a.m. The service leaflet for this worship is here .

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO PREPARE YOURSELF Lenten Reflection Day - This Morning at Christ Church This morning, Christ Church’s Spiritual Life Commission presents Lenten Reflection Day, and we hope that you'll join us for this very special start to the season. We are proud to welcome Reverend Kirk Kubicek, who will lead us as we prayerfully reflect on our 2026 theme, "Building Relationships through Love." Give yourself this gift of song, prayer, and inspiration to help prepare your mind and spirit for Lent. Lenten Reflection Day includes a light breakfast, followed by the day’s program. Our morning then wraps up around noon with an informal Eucharist. Family, friends, and neighbors are welcome to gather at Old Brick at Christ Church at 8:30 a.m. #lentenseason #lent #reflection #everyoneiswelcomehere #episcomd #howardcountymd #lent2026

For When People Ask by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer   I want a word that means okay And not okay More than that: a word that means devastated and stunned with joy. I want the word that says I feel it all all at once. The heart is not like a songbird singing one note at a time, more like a Tuvan throat singer able to sing both a drone and simultaneously two or three harmonies high above it— a sound, the Tuvans say, that gives the impression of wind swirling among rocks. The heart understands swirl, how the churning of opposite feelings weaves through us like an insistent breeze leads us wordlessly deeper into ourselves.   Blesses us with paradox so we might walk more openly into this world so rife with devastation, this world so ripe with joy. The preceding prayer was one of my favorites from the Sacred Ground Circle I participated in in 2025.  The Sacred Ground Circle is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith.  Small groups of 8 to 10 people in eleven sessions are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.  Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community , The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation and justice in our personal lives, our ministries and our society.  The series is open to all but is especially designed to help white people to talk with other white people about these hard issues while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love.    ~ Jan D

I am not sure about my first Super Bowl experience. It was held on January 28, 2001, about a month after my arrival in the United States. I don’t remember anything about it, and even if I watched the game, I don’t remember anything about the game or the half-time show. My memory of the Super Bowl at that time is murky at best, but over the years I have come to really enjoy the aura, hype, energy, and excitement surrounding different aspects of the Super Bowl. It isn’t all about the game itself; it is about showcasing American culture. A few years ago, I was in Ghana during a Super Bowl clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. I lived in Philadelphia, so I rooted for the Eagles. I knew I wanted to watch the game, and so I went to an English pub broadcasting the game. Interestingly, I found a gentleman from Massachusetts wearing a Patriots shirt who had come to the same place to watch. It was fun watching the game with him, but we also spent time explaining the game to other patrons in the pub who didn’t understand the game or the fuss about the Super Bowl. In a profound way, the gentleman and I became cultural ambassadors for our country. For those of us who may not know, American culture sells. American culture transforms. American culture influences. American culture brings excitement. American culture celebrates excellence and talent. American culture brings out the best in the people of the world. The best of America is what the world needs right now, and the Super Bowl is one event that showcases the broadest, most creative, and lively culture, one that has broken down cultural barriers around the world. There have been times when the cultural showcase has generated significant controversy, not for the best of American culture, but for the gross display of sexual images. But apart from that episode, all the half-time shows that I have watched have always been entertaining. And the joy is that they represent some of the best of American culture. It was therefore surprising to hear that an alternative halftime show was being planned, one organized by those who argued that Bad Bunny, the music star for this year’s Super Bowl show, wasn’t the best representative of American culture. Worse still, they felt, was that he speaks Spanish and is from Puerto Rico. I was therefore compelled to ask myself, "Isn’t Puerto Rico an American territory? And isn’t Spanish spoken by over half of Americans? So, what is the big issue here?" I think the most important question is this: Who gets to decide who and what is representative of America, or of American culture? One of the important lessons I have learned since I emigrated to the United States is that America is a melting pot. We all come from different ethnicities, countries, backgrounds, religions, cultures, and what-have-you, but we lose some of that identity for the sake of our unique American identity. This unique American identity is dear to all of us, and we all hold together, call it the superstructure. To an extent, the truth that seems to be missing from the melting pot idea is that you may lose your identity, but you don’t lose who you are. Indeed, much as we all embrace the superstructure, it doesn’t require that we lose the sub-structure: that is, the uniqueness of who we are. It doesn’t say you lose a second language, you lose your cultural food, your religious tradition, or ethnicity. You keep as many of the sub-structures as you can and drop those that conflict with the superstructure . But collectively, we all pay allegiance to the superstructure. Here is an example: when kids arrive at school early in the morning and pledge allegiance to the flag, any individual cultural identity melts away. We all pledge allegiance. When we sing the national anthem, we all rise and sing. It doesn’t matter where you come from. We all rise and sing. These acts express our allegiance to the superstructure. And so, the question shouldn’t be whether Bad Bunny sang in Spanish or English; the question should be, Was it beautiful? Was it entertaining? Did it represent the best of America? To ask this question is to move the conversation from identity to beauty, a performance which is so captivating that we all can appreciate without looking through particular lenses. We may not have understood his words; I certainly did not. And we don’t have to understand a particular language in order to appreciate beauty. I was focused on the beautiful display, which conveyed an essential part of what the halftime show is about. It is about you, the super you who has the capacity to see beauty for what it is and to celebrate that beauty, not because of where it comes from but simply because it is beautiful. What is un-American about showing the other side of the coin? What is more American than the exposure of a subculture that is part of our fabric and invites us to further explore its harmless beauty? I learned that death isn’t the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside of us while we live. And the controversy over Bad Bunny’s selection and performance is indicative of the growing intolerance for parts of our sub-structure that don’t align with what some believe the superstructure should be. This is the kind of intolerance that is causing the greatest loss - and it is killing us. There are three things that matter in life: truth, beauty, and music - but it is beauty that will save the world. As we begin our Lenten journey, it is important to remember that the beauty of Lent lies in its ability to hold in tension the dust of the earth that we all are and the unconditional love of God that has been bestowed upon us. The Super You isn’t so much about you being a Super Man or Super Woman; it is about the deepest recognition that You and I, unworthy as we are, have been set free, not only to be the best representatives of the gospel of Jesus Christ which teaches about tolerance, but that we can appreciate beauty for what is. The Super You is a sacred recognition that sees and calls out things for what they are - after all, the halftime show has always been entertainment. And the last thing that should divide us is the beauty of entertainment. This Lent, learn to be a champion of beauty. And remember, beauty doesn't divide, it draws us into sublime appreciation of every gift with which God has blessed us.  Manny+

“The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” From Mark's gospel, the 12th chapter   God made my enemy my friend.   Love is hard enough. Loving our neighbors? Even harder. Especially the ones who hate us, who slander us, who disregard us. The world tells us to hate them, to shame them, to expose the error of their ways & to define ourselves by what they’re not. Just think about how much time and energy was spent this week criticizing & separating ourselves from the awful Christians who want a more "Christian" coffee cup. We love to perpetuate our divides & to expose our neighbor’s flawed perspective. God, though, invites us into a different way of relating to our neighbors - all  of our neighbors.   We are to love God with our whole lives . And, then he adds a second most important command that is intricately linked to the first: Love your neighbor as yourself. We love God by loving God’s creation - all of it - including ourselves.   Loving ourselves as God loves us is natural and good and yet, it is one of the most difficult things we can do. Pause for a minute and imagine this: How different would our world be if we all loved ourselves? If we believed that we were worthy of love and belonging? If we knew That God’s desire was not to shame us, but rather to renew us? According to Jesus, loving our ourselves is connected to loving our neighbor.   The world does not need more hostility. It needs more love. Only love has the power to transform.   That is why we come together - to confess our deep need for God’s help. And, to once again look to Jesus as the source & imitator & perfector of God’s love. It was that love that refused retaliation and chose instead to die for Love's sake. Excerpts from LOVING YOUR ENEMIES NADIA BOLTZ-WEBER, 2025

Bridges for Housing Stability Gets Funds to Help Families in Need Christ Church has had a meaningful partnership with Bridges to Housing Stability for nearly a decade, ranging from participation in chili-cookoffs to a volunteer project last fall to refurbish Bridges’ Guilford House. In response to community needs, the Outreach Commission, at its February meeting, approved a $1,000 donation to Bridges and became a sponsor of its annual Heroes for Housing fundraiser . The donation will go toward the nonprofit organization’s housing stability programs to help people keep a roof over their heads, as described in Bridges’  online client stories  post . These are Vestry-approved funds derived from parishioners’ pledges and contributions. Thank you! At the Heroes for Housing event held this week at a Merriweather District restaurant, Christ Church was represented by Jan DeBoissiere and Beth Johnson (see photos). Civic leaders were honored in three categories: Advocate for Change: Kelly Cimino, director of Howard County Housing & Community Development; Housing for All: Grace Morris, executive director of Heritage Housing Partners Corp., and Pillar of the Community: HCAR Cares. DeBoissiere was among the Christ Church volunteers who performed landscaping, painting, drywall and stairwell repairs at Guilford House (see photos). A team led by Outreach members George and Sharha Toth also included Cathy Gold, Eileen Harlee, Dave Lanczynski, and Outreach member Michon Semon. Read about their work in the Outreach Blog of Dec. 18, 2025 . Guilford House is home to several returning citizens who have gotten their lives on track after incarceration. Bridges operates this transitional housing in partnership with the Howard County Department of Corrections. Bridges’ programs are intended to prevent and end homelessness in Howard County. These include  Bridges Alliance , which offers a “Circle of Support” for low- to moderate-income tenants of its properties; an initiative that collaborates with landlords; and its new  HoCo Home Share program,  which could benefit empty nesters. Family Home Start aims to reduce the number of homeless students in county public schools. 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 .   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 to provide guidance and financial support because the personal touch is very important when people are in crisis. 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 assisting those who could benefit from financial assistance from FISH. Training is provided. For information, ask parishioner and FISH treasurer Andy DeLong or email him at andydelong.fish@gmail.com . 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.

Ash Wednesday reminds us of our mortality and of what we are made of. To get our thoughts and ourselves prepared for Lent, Christ Church offers worship with the Imposition of Ashes today at 7:00 a.m. in Old Brick, and then at 12 noon and 7:00 p.m. in the New Brick Sanctuary. We'll also offer Ashes to Go, a brief stop at Christ Church for working commuters, students, and early risers to receive ashes as they start their day. Clergy will offer a short prayer and administer the ashes to those who cannot be with us in worship that morning, but who desire ashes nonetheless. Simply follow the Ashes to Go signs on the lawns, and stop by beginning at 6 a.m. If you want to come later in the day, email us at info@christchurchcolumbia.org to let us know what time, or stop by; we will administer the ashes to you then. YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE.   #AshWednesday   #ashwednesday   #episcomd   #hocmd   #cometochurch   #lent   #Lent2026