Lent Unplugged

Lent is usually observed as a penitential season, but it is also a time to “prepare with joy for the Paschal (Easter) feast” (BCP: 379). The stories that prepare us to recognize Easter moments are not only in the New Testament. They are also in the Hebrew Bible or “Old Testament.” The retelling of those stories is a centerpiece of the Easter Vigil (BCP: 288-291), when they are read and reflected on in the pre-dawn hours before Easter sunrise. They are about chaos and creation, bondage and liberation, sacrifice, renewal, doubt and despair, death and new life.

The Sundays in Lent at UnPlugged will be part of a five-week long “Easter Vigil.” In the 5:30 p.m. Sunday service we will reflect on one of four Vigil stories along with the gospel appointed for each Lenten Sunday.

Lent 1: Feb. 13 - Creation
Lent 2: Feb. 20 - The Great Flood
Lent 3: Feb. 27 - an Interactive Reading by UnPlugged’s young people
Lent 4: March 6 - Sacrifice of Isaac
Lent 5: March 13 - Crossing the Red Sea

On Palm Sunday, March 20, after a brief service in the church beginning at 5:30 P.M., we’ll move upstairs to the Great Room for our Third Sunday Potluck and spend our time together talking about where we hope to find liberation, renewal and new life for ourselves this year. Jesus and his disciples may have had a similar conversation when they talked about what Passover meant for them in the meal we remember as the “last supper.” We will conclude our meal together with a Eucharist.

All are welcome on at any Sunday evening service and at our Third Sunday Potlucks, including the Potluck/ Eucharist on Palm Sunday. For the potluck, bring a dish of food and a hope for renewal and new life to share! Easter is about Jesus and the experience his disciples had, but it is also about us: our lives, our experience and the places in which we hope to find the spirit of God alive and at work today. May our Lent-Easter journey together be filled with joy and renewal!

Faithfully,

Lily DeYoung, Priest for UnPlugged

A New Sound for Advent II—Copus at UnPlugged

"Creation of Peace Under the Stars" (Copus) is the name of the spoken word and music ensemble that will be performing as part of the UnPlugged 5:30 pm. service on the Second Sunday of Advent, December 5. UnPlugged's Music Director, Wendy Loomis, is also Copus’ musical director, pianist and co-producer. With Monica Williams (flute), Greg McRay (drums) and Royal Kent (poet, spoken word artist), Copus brings a new sound to the service through their original compositions and improvisa-tion on the classics. Wendy says, “Copus is a little like Gil Scott Heron meets Chick Corea, Maya Angelou meets Stravinsky, Peter Tosh meets Debussy!” Reviewer Tom Kidd of Music Connection Magazine called a recent Copus album “one of the most intriguing, challenging and ultimately satisfying albums of the year.” This will be Copus’ second visit to UnPlugged. All are welcome!

Deadline Change for April 2005 Issue