Sheng Zhen Gong - re-invigorated

Sheng Zhen Practice

Thursdays, 5:30 to 6:30 PM

Six sessions, Sept. 6, 13, 20 & 27 and Oct. 4 & 11

Upper Farnham Hall, Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton St.

On Thursday evenings this fall, certified teacher Peter Van Buren will offer a Sheng Zhen class in the Upper Parish Hall. During the six 1-hour sessions, participants will learn a graceful and powerful form called Heaven Nature Contemplation (formerly known as Kuan Yin Standing, see this YouTube video), as well as some related standing and sitting forms.

The Heaven Nature standing form involves a series of eleven movements that are both easy to do and to learn. As the gentle movements stimulate qi to flow in the body, the practice calms the emotions, reduces stress, enlivens the spirit, and energizes the person.

Sheng Zhen is Chinese for "unconditional love". Arising from the ancient practice of qigong and the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sheng Zhen Meditation is a comprehensive system of moving forms, meditations, philosophy, and contemplations that tap into the body’s natural ability to heal itself. 

The weekly classes are open to everyone, and beginners are welcome to drop-in any time. As a creative fundraiser, 100% of the class proceeds go to Memorial Episcopal Church for their building & grounds fund.  We suggest a donation of $10/class, or the 6 class package for $50.

Please wear loose, comfortable clothing. Qigong can be practiced in shoes, socks or bare feet. No equipment is needed - just bring yourself and enjoy the practice of unconditional love.

Peter was first introduced to tai chi practice in 1978, studying with Paul Gallagher in Hadley Massachusetts. Over the years since then, he studied and practiced tai chi regularly, including locally with the Great River Taoist Center in Washington DC in the 1990's, and the Baltimore School of Tai Chi, at which he was an assistant teacher in the mid-2000's.

In 2005, he was introduced to Sheng Zhen and gradually turned all his attention to this new form of meditation, eventually becoming convinced that he wanted to become a teacher and share this powerful practice with others. 

After logging hundreds of hours of training with Master Li, and teaching classes himself for hundreds more, Peter received his Teacher Certification in June 2016. He now teaches weekly classes in Baltimore, including a Thursday evening session at Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill.

For more information, visit Baltimore Sheng Zhen Gong here.

Baltimore Ceasefire Weekend Block Party! - August 4 11 am to 5 pm

The next Baltimore Ceasefire Weekend is coming up August 3-5. We will be joining with St. Katherine of Alexandria to host a block party over at St. Katherine's on Saturday the 4th from 11 to 5. There will be food, drink, fun and lots of new people to meet and get to know better.

If you are interested in coming - just show up! If you are interested in helping, either through time or talent (volunteering to staff or provide food, fun or games), or treasure (helping offset costs of the food, fun, and games!), all support is welcome. Please contact Bill Roberts for more details.

Combined service at St. Katherine of Alexandria - July 22

Directions to St. Katherine of Alexandria Episcopal Church - 2001 Division St. (The corner of Division and Presstman)

This Sunday, July 22, is ArtScape weekend. Bolton Hill will be mostly closed off, so instead we're going to St. Katherine of Alexandria, who are graciously hosting us for a second year in a row. Last year the coffee hour spread was, in a word, impressive. In addition our new Deacon, The Rev. Natalie Conway, will be preaching. So don't miss this great opportunity to get to know our neighbors better and enjoy some good food and great preaching.

Seeing the Face of God training

We Invite congregants to consider participating in this Training.

Seeing the Face of God Training

The Seeing the Face of God in each Other Antiracism Workshop (SFG) is in an interactive and experiential workshop created by the Episcopal Church. It is not a lecture. The curriculum includes, power, privilege, race, racism, class, internalized racial opposition and next stops. A meaningful experience is a program priority. That is best achieved with a minimum of 12 participants and a maximum of 30. Racial diversity of 25% is ideal. When the workshop has been racially homogeneous , participants lamented the absence of people of color. SFG is open to all Episcopalians. Training .

Members of the Justice Committee are planning to attend and we have room for 4-5 more participants.

The training will take place at St. Stephen’s Crownsville (Severna Parish)

Part I: August 17, 2018 (5:00-9:00 pm)

Part II: August 18, 2018  (9:00 – 5:00 pm)

Please let Lois Eldred (loiseldred12@gmail.com) know if you are interested by July 25. There is a one page application and all applications must be submitted to the Diocese by August 1, 2018

The Vestries of Memorial and St. Katharine’s are participating in the training at another time.

Switch to 100% Green-E Windpower

Switch to 100% Green-E windpower through Groundswell.  You’ll reduce your carbon footprint and Memorial gets $10 for each parishioner or friend who makes the switch!

If you tried this unsuccessfully after seeing last week’s notice, please try again.  The old link had changed, and the procedure to follow is just slightly different:

It’s easy and economical to make the switch.  Just click on this link to enroll.  https://groundswell.org/wind-power/ Scroll down and choose the FOR YOUR HOME tab:

Fill in your personal information and then select Memorial Episcopal Church on the drop-down list, check the permission box and hit “submit”. 

You will see the screen below (check out the Frequently Asked Questions) and then click the GO TO WGL Energy Box.

Once you’re on the WGL site, select BGE from the drop down list and hit submit. 

You will see the prices available for BGE customers.  Choose a 1-year contract, currently priced at 8.6 cents per kilowatt hour, or a 2-year contract at 8.4 cents. 

Anyone who pays an electric bill, regardless of whether they rent an apartment or own a home, can sign up for a 1 or 2-year contract.  You will NOT receive a second bill and you will simply see a change in your electricity supplier from BGE to WGL.  If you are currently under contract with an electricity supplier other than BGE, you may not be able to enroll until your contract is up.

All God's Children Update

ALL GOD'S CHILDREN camp update.  Many thanks to those who have contributed to the "campership" fund for the 5-night residential camp at Claggett. Memorial has sent children to Claggett since 1998! Contributions are still needed and are welcomed gratefully.

We provide transportation out and back, Sunday afternoon Aug. 5 and Friday morning Aug 10. We have 4 children registered and maybe a 5th child, so 2 or 3 drivers will be fine. All information is on the back table at church. I will have a clipboard at the picnic this coming Sunday, July 8.

Pam Fleming  410-982-9869

The View from Bolton Street

This Week is General Convention in Austin, Texas. What IS General Convention? 

Good Question!  I am aware that for many Memorialites, the politics and organization of the larger Episcopal Church is somewhat of a mystery. But this is a very important week! General Convention is more or less like the ‘Congress’ of the Episcopal Church. Only they meet once every three years for less than two weeks.  Imagine if our state legislature only met once every three years?  Or our vestry? (Don’t get any ideas Vestry!) 

During General Convention all kinds of decisions are made. Like where the National Church should spend their budget. They will allocate somewhere close to $133M to be spent over the three years on many things, including mission, evangelism, disaster relief, youth and children’s programs, anti-racism work, church planting, as well as just the regular operations and administration of a nationwide organization with more than 2 million members. Other important discussion points are ‘should we begin to draft a new prayer book’, ‘how do we respond to the #metoo movement and the long history of sexual abuse in the Church’, ‘what role should the church play in Israel-Palestine issues’ and ‘whether we should re-unify the Diocese of Cuba with the Episcopal Church.’ 

It is a hurcelean effort. Hundreds of resolutions, thousands of delegates and lots of work to get done that can ONLY be done once every three years.  It is all important, but sometimes when we have so much we HAVE to do, we forget to do the most important things.  One of the biggest challenges confronting General Convention and the Episcopal Church in General is how should the Church re-make itself for the 21st century?  Over the last ‘triennium’ (the three year cycle the Episcopal Church operates on) the National Church has done a lot of work spreading its staff across the country, de-centralizing it’s work and putting more money towards outreach, evangelism and church planting. A lot of that conversation continues this week in Austin. How can the Church better prepare itself for a world that is increasingly more online, connected, and un-churched? And how does a body (and a tradition) that is decidedly older, whiter and more affluent than America at large present a Gospel narrative that resonates with those we would like to see in our pews - but haven’t quite made it here yet? 

This is an equally important conversation to have at the Diocesan and Parish level. How do we remake ourselves in order to continue to share Jesus’ message of compassion, salvation and love and care for neighbor and stranger in Baltimore in 2018,19 and 20?  

In three years, we will be lucky to have a front row seat to General Convention because it will be here in Baltimore! So if you have some time check out www.episcopalnewsservice.org or www.episcopalherald.com for updates on what is transpiring at General Convention, or if you are on social media you can search the hashtag #GC79 as we get ready for #GC80 in 2021 right here in our backyard. 

Sunday in the Park - July 8

Sunday, July 8, we will be in Sumpter Park for the first time this year. It's shaping up to be a special event with live music from the BSA jazz group, chicken tenders, vegetarian options, and beautiful, cooler, weather. 

We are asking everyone to bring something with them, but we're not going to assign anything! Just bring something you like - that way you know there will be at least one thing there for you to eat.

To get to Sumpter Park, you can follow the map below.

All God's Children Camp - Drivers needed

DRIVERS NEEDED!! Out and back to All God's Children camp

The Camp dates are August 5th through August 10th. We have 5 children this year and we will need  2, maybe 3 drivers! for the children and their gearThe camp is at Claggett, in Buckeystown south of Frederick. The children gather at Memorial on Sunday the 5th at 2:30 PM. They are due at camp at 4 PM. The return trip is Friday, August 10th. They need to be picked up at Claggett at 10 AM and returned to Memorial where the family is waiting.

The drive is easy. Please sign up for driving!   Sign up sheet will be on the back table,

Pam Fleming 410--982-9869

The View from Bolton Street

“So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed.”

Genesis 37:23-27

There are not a lot of biblical stories about a government ripping children from the arms of their mothers and locking them up (perhaps even the biblical scribes couldn’t imagine such cruelty), but the story of Joseph comes close.

Brothers conspiring to first kill, and then “humanely” imprison and sell their own brother because they were jealous of the freedoms he enjoyed, they felt, at their expense.

Joseph suffers at the hands of his brothers, but because of God’s good grace, the kindness of the Ishmaelites and then Potiphar, and then the jailer and finally Pharaoh, Joseph survives. And thrives.

While he remains angry with his brothers, he also has compassion for them, and for his father and his youngest brother —  and so seeks to care for them when they come to him in need.

Through such a lens, it is helpful to ask our selves, “Who are we?” Most of us, lucky for us, are not Joseph. We are not trapped in a well. We have not been abandoned by our government in a cage or a tent city on the border.

And, I hope, most of us are not the brothers, callously casting our fellow man into the pit out of jealousy, bitterness, or resentment.

Perhaps it is up to us, then, to be the kind-hearted people on the way — the traveling caravan, the temporary host, the supportive jailer, the empowering leader — doing what we can to support, uplift and show God’s love and care for children and families in need so that one day they may turn and say, in spite of everything, “Look at those Episcopalians, how they showed love for us.”

Imagine how the Joseph story might have ended otherwise. Not only the end of Abrahamic lineage, but the end of our story, and our relationship with the Divine. Now imagine how the story of these children at the border might otherwise end.

If you’d like to make a donation now: 

Pueblo Sin Fronteras 

The Florence Project - to support legal services and humanitarian services at the border

CASA of Maryland - to support legal services for families facing detention and separation here in Maryland