Dear People of Gloria Dei - 

I hope you're all staying warm and dry in this winter weather! I pray that you are able to take some time to rest, and for safe travel for those who have to travel in the midst of snow and ice. 

In the spirit of taking time for rest, and in response to how snow days complicate the best of plans, we have decided to postpone the start of our Lenten Discussion series. Rather than starting this week, we will now begin next Tuesday, March 3. Please join us then for soup and great conversation (more details about the series below). We are also cancelling Musical Meditation for tomorrow evening (February 24). As of this time, we expect Jazz and Joe to happen as planned on this coming Thursday evening (February 26). 

Finally, I want to let you know that we were just able to schedule some time for this coming Sunday for thre congregation to hear about a major project that will be happening on our property in the coming months. Again, see below for more details. 

Many snowy blessings to you all!

Rev. Chris

Join us for the return of our annual SOS (Sense-Making at Old Swedes) Lenten Discussion Series, held in partnership with Root Quarterly. This year, we will be talking about how stories help us to make sense of the world, for good and ill. For example:

• What are the stories that we tell about relationships? Do we expect to find fulfillment in a perfect romantic partner? And what are the benefits or harms of the rugged individualism prized in so many American stories?
• What are the stories we tell about value? How are we affected by stories that treat capitalism as an inherent good, and communism as a constant threat? What value do we place on age or on youth? Is faster always better? 
• What are the stories we tell about meaning and purpose? How do we think about the theoretical balance between life and work? Why are so many people captivated by conspiracy theories like Q'Anon? What stories motivate us to get out of bed? 
• How do we distinguish between good stories and bad stories? What are common elements in stories that are used to manipulate or control people? What kinds of stories lead to hope or to despair? Do we more often define ourselves by what we are "for" or by what we are "against"? 

This discussion series will be held on Tuesday evenings, beginning on March 3 - at 7pm in Riverside Hall. All are welcome to join us beforehand for our weekly Musical Meditation series, and a light supper will be provided at the disucssion series. Participants are welcome to drop in and out as their schedules allow - you don't need to attend every session to be part of the discussion. 

As you may have heard, Gloria Dei was awarded a grant of nearly $500,000 from the city of Philadelphia to support a new stormwater management system on our property. This system, which will include the creation of two raingardens and the resurfacing of our parking lot, will direct rainwater into the ground rather than into the city's overtaxed sewer system - thereby helping to better care for our natural world. 

We have been blessed to partner with Brandywine Stormwater on this project, and as we draw close to breaking ground (hopefully this April), representatives from Brandywine will come to present the design to our congregation and community. Join us for the presentation on Sunday, March 1, in Riverside Hall (following our usual Sunday service).