February 21 marks the beginning of our 2018 Wednesdays in Lent series, Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John. We will gather for the five Wednesdays of the season–February 21 and 28, and March 7, 14, and 21) at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall for a communal meal prepared by Chef Dave and his team. There will be a program each evening at 6:30 p.m. when we will reflect together on God’s word as found in the writings of St John the Evangelist, followed by a closing service of Compline at 7:30 p.m.

On the third Wednesday in Lent, March 7, we will have a special treat –The Rev. Dr. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton will be our guest speaker. Dr. Crafton is an Episcopal priest, spiritual director, and author of many books as well as of the celebrated “Almost Daily eMo from the Geranium Farm,” read by thousands worldwide. She was rector of St. Clement’s Church in Manhattan’s Theatre district. She was also a chaplain on the waterfront of New York, and served both historic Trinity Church Wall Street and St. John’s-in-the-Village. She was a chaplain at Ground Zero during the recovery effort after the attack on the World Trade Center. She spent a year in Italy at the American Church in Florence. An actress, director and producer, she has worked for many years in combining the lively arts and the life of faith, and has been profiled extensively in electronic and print media throughout the world. Her video discussions of forgiveness, prayer and many other topics are found at www.beliefnet.org and many other sites. Her many books include Called (about vocation), The Also Life (about the life that lies beyond this one), The Courage to Grow Old (about aging), as well as books of essays, daily meditations and poetry. She has also written Mass in Time of War about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of the World Trade Center Bombing. Barbara Crafton is married to Richard Quaintance, sometimes better known simply as “Q,” a professor of English literature. She has two children and six grandchildren.