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Lent at Transfiguration
Since ancient times, Christians have prepared for Easter during a 40-day season of repentance called Lent. It's the time of year when we take a careful look at everything that fills our lives, and ask ourselves, plainly and simply, if these things are helping us love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves. It's that basic and also that hard.
Throughout this Lent, we are focusing on the false idols that demand our worship and devotion. We welcome an all-star lineup of speakers to help us be on the lookout for a few of these false idols during our Wednesdays in Lent. We invited you to join us because in troubling and complicated times, it's essential that we put the fullness of our faith, love, and devotion in the only one who truly deserves it: God.
Regular Services
Our regularly scheduled worship services on the Weekends and Weekdays continue unchanged during Lent. View Service Times Here
Sunday Formation
Each Sunday at 10:15am throughout Lent, we invite you to join us for a small group Bible study on scripture related to our Modern Idol series topics. See below for details on each Wednesday Lenten Program and our Modern Idol guest speaker.
Wednesdays in Lent
February 25 – March 25, 5:00pm – 8:30pm
Click here for Childcare options
STATIONS OF THE CROSS | 5:00pm
You are invited to the solemnly beautiful liturgy of Stations of the Cross each Wednesday in Lent at 5:00 p.m. The service traces the final hours of Christ's life, from his condemnation by Pilate to his burial in the tomb, and involves prayers and readings from Scripture as we move from image to image around the church. This is a perfect preparation for the Eucharist that follows.
HOLY EUCHARIST | 6:00pm
Make a midweek Eucharist a regular part of your Lenten observance. Each Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. we celebrate the Eucharist, and during Lent these services include music and instead of our regular homilies there will be brief meditations on components of Andre Rublev's classic icon, The Trinity. We also offer unction (anointing with holy oil) afterward.
LENTEN FELLOWSHIP MEAL | 6:30pm
You are invited to join us Roper Hall for a light Lenten dinner of soup, salad, and bread after our Wednesday Eucharist. Each week at 6:30pm a different ministry group will host dinner, giving you an opportunity to gather with fellow parishioners and meet ministry leaders.
MODERN IDOL GUEST SPEAKER | 7:00pm
Join us for an outstanding slate of guest speakers who will help us explore the Idols that compete for our worship and devotion in our modern life. The slate of guest speakers is detailed below. If you miss a session, you can view recorded classes here.
COMPLINE | 8:00pm
The Wednesday evening program in Lent concludes with the service of sung Compline at 8:00 pm in the church. This is a simple yet beautiful service from the ancient church intended for the close of the day. Members of the Transfiguration Choir help lead the singing, and it lasts about 15 minutes. This service of Complain will be streamed on both Facebook and YouTube in place of our regular online Compline office. [ Click here to View ]
The Idol of Technology
March 11 | 7:00pm
The Rev. Andrew Van Kirk, Rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, McKinney
We are heavily dependent on technology to navigate the world, a reality that the AI revolution will expand greatly. People now look to AI for meaning, counsel, and companionship, which is a troubling trend. It's essential that we notice the ways technology is taking on divine-like importance, and step back before it's too late.
Fr. Van Kirk has served St. Anderew's in McKinney since 2013. Under his leadership, the church-plant has experienced tremendous growth and is preparing to build a new Nave to support the expanding community. Before discerning his vocation, Fr. Van Kirk wrote software for Amazon and studied Computer Science.
The Idol of Family
March 18 | 7:00pm
Melody Wilson Shobe, Chief of Staff & Ministry Operations at Forward Movement
Our family is a gift from God, people with whom we share our lives most intimately. There is virtue in being devoted to our family, but there is also danger when we confuse our devotion to our families with devotion to the Almighty. How might we be loving our children or our parents in ways that are actually a barrier to loving God more wholeheartedly?
The Rev. Melody Wilson Shobe is an Episcopal priest who has served churches in Rhode Island and Texas. A graduate of Tufts University and Virginia Theological Seminary, Melody serves as the Chief of Staff and Ministry Operations at Forward Movement and as Associate for Children and Families at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Dallas. Melody spends her spare time reading, quilting, hiking, playing board games, and being with her spouse and amazing kids.
The Idol of Politics
March 25 | 7:00pm
Brian Zahnd, Author and Sr. Pastor of Word of Life Church, St. Joseph, MO
Jesus was political. He advocated for the vulnerable, condemned injustice, and opposed empire. For Christians, faith informs politics. But for many today, their politics drives their faith, rather than the other way around, and political party is more important than church.
Pastor Zahnd is a pastor, theologian, and author of eleven books. After coming to faith in the 1970's, he founded Word of Life Church. In the midst of prayer and service, Zahnd's faith was publicly transformed by the conviction that Jesus deserved a better church. Today, Zahnd's ministry embraces Christianity's "Great Tradition."