Journey with us from Ashes to Easter

Stack’em High, Lent is Coming!
Sunday, March 2 | 9:00–10:15 a.m., Parish Hall

Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras… all of these names apply to the last day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. At St. Paul’s, Ivy, we will celebrate this feast on Sunday, March 2, with a fabulous pancake breakfast served by our Youth and Master Pancake Flipper Matt Franz. Tickets will be available at the door, and proceeds will help fund the Youth Summer Service Trip to St. James School in Philadelphia: $10 for individuals, $15 for couples, $25 for families, or your donation.

Tickets can be purchased at the door: $10 for individuals, $15 for couples, and $25 for families (or your choice of donation). Enter the raffle that day for the chance to win your very own King Cake!

Ashes to Go | 7:30–9:00 a.m.
If your schedule won’t allow you to get to our Ash Wednesday services at noon or 7:00 p.m., Fr. Justin and Mthr. Amanda invite you to find us in Old Trail (Crozet) on the morning of Ash Wednesday for the imposition of ashes as a reminder of our mortality and our need for God’s forgiveness as we enter the season of Lent. The imposition and accompanying prayer only take a few minutes, so you can get right back on the road to work or school. Find us across from Grit Coffee in Old Trail, 1110 Old Trail Dr., Crozet, VA 22932

Ash Wednesday Worship | 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
The richest way to mark the beginning of Lent is by attending an Ash Wednesday worship service. This year, we offer Ash Wednesday services at 12:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Both will include Holy Communion, special readings, prayer, and the imposition of ashes to mark the beginning of Lent. Our 7:00 p.m. service will also feature special choral music, including Harold Darke’s Communion Service in a minor and the legendary shape note tune ‘Idumea’. Nursery care will be available at the 7:00 p.m. service.

Wednesdays,  March 12–April 9 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Neve Hall

Join Fr. Justin and Mthr. Amanda for a special Lenten Bible Study on Wednesday mornings at 11:00 a.m. Together, we’ll study five of the scripture passages traditionally read at the Easter Vigil, and consider how they speak to us today:

• March 12: The Flood (Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13)
• March 19: The Near Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18)
• March 26: Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:10 – 15:1)
• April 2: The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
• April 9: The Gathering of God’s People (Zephaniah 3:12-20)

For more information, please contact ">Fr. Justin or Mthr. Amanda.

Coming Back to Life: Devotions and Activities for Lent

In spring, after a long winter’s nap, an amazing thing happens: the world comes back to life!

Coming Back to Life, our Lenten Devotional for 2025 is full of ideas and activities that can help us wake up, too, preparing our hearts, minds, and communities for Easter’s great celebration. Each week, biblical texts and creation’s wonders inspire practices you can try yourself, with your family or friends, or with anyone who’s up for the adventure!

Click here if you would like to download this Lenten Devotional.

Seeing The Word on Instagram

Follow us on Instagram for a new word each week during Lent. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and on each Monday following (through Easter Monday on April 21) we’ll post a new Lenten Word. On your own Instagram account, post your photos reflecting the Lenten Word of the week to your account, adding only the word of the week as the comment, and using the hashtag #SPI_SeeTheWord. To see everyone’s photos, log in to your Instagram account and search #SPI_SeeTheWord.

Remember a loved one or give thanks for a joyful occasion by making an honorary donation for Easter flowers for our beautiful Easter services. Donation forms can be found at the back of the church, in the church office at Kirklea, or in the Parish Hall. You can also submit your form and donation online.

Donations in any amount are welcome and checks should be made out to “St. Paul’s, Ivy” with “Easter Flowers” in the memo line. Forms and payment are due by Friday, April 11. Your remembrance or thanksgiving will be listed in the Easter Sunday bulletins.

Holy Eucharist Rite I | 8:15 a.m.
Holy Eucharist Rite II* | 10:30 a.m.
Contemplative Evening Prayer | 5:30 p.m.
*Please note: Children’s Chapel takes a break this morning. Children will remain in the church with their families.

Palm Sunday begins our observance of Holy Week, as we remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the distribution of blessed palm leaves and a joyful procession into the church. The mood shifts quickly  when we turn to a reading of the Passion, where we remember the final moments of Jesus’ life and his death on the cross. The dramatic shift from joy to sadness on Palm Sunday serves as a frame and foundation for the rest of Holy Week.

*Please note: there will be no Children’s Formation, Rector’s Forum, or Children’s Chapel on Palm Sunday. The nursery will be available for the morning services only.

Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday Eucharists | 12:00 p.m.

Join Fr. Justin and Mthr. Amanda for simple noonday Eucharist services with piano music on Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week. New this year, these services offer a way to be engaged and still our hearts as we proceed into the last few days of Jesus’s life.

Tenebrae, A Service of  Darkness  | 7:00 p.m.

New this year, we’re offering a service of Tenebrae on Holy Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. with special music and readings. This service takes us from the light into the darkness, in preparation for the Three Holy Days ahead. As readings are read and music flows forth, a set of seven candles is extinguished, one at a time, until the only thing that remains is the darkness. This service’s final dramatic move involves a loud noise to mark the moment that the earth shook when Jesus died on the cross.

Maundy Thursday Worship with Foot-washing and Stripping of the Altar | 7:00 p.m. 

On Maundy Thursday, we enter the The Holy Triduum with Jesus and his disciples on the night before his death, through our remembrance of the Last Supper and the ritual of foot-washing (optional, but encouraged). The name ‘Maundy Thursday’ comes from the Latin mandatum, or mandate, and is used for this holy night because this is the night Jesus gave a mandate to his disciples: to love one another as he loved them. The Stripping of the Altar happens at the end of this service and provides us with a brief but powerful reminder of Jesus’ humiliation before his death. During this portion of the service, the lights are turned down as the clergy remove all decorative items from the chancel area and wash the bare altar. At the end of the service, we all leave in silence as we prepare for the darkness and solemnity of Good Friday. Our sisters and brothers in Christ from other Ivy churches will be invited to join us for this special service as we remember that we are all one in Christ.

Nursery care will be available from 5:15–7:30 p.m. for children ages birth through 3 years old.

Good Friday Worship Service | 12:00 p.m.
Good Friday Worship Service with Choir | 7:00 p.m.

In this service, we enter into the mystery of God’s love revealed on the hard wood of the cross, “a perfect sacrifice for the whole world.” Join us as we remember what Jesus suffered for us, and experience the feelings of sorrow and regret that arise for our share in the brokenness of the world. It is a day of intense sorrow, but it is a sorrow that holds tightly to Christian hope.

Good Friday Children’s Stations of the Cross | 4:00 p.m., St. Paul’s, Ivy Campus

On Good Friday, we continue the tradition of recounting each step of Jesus’ final journey to the cross. Children and their adults are invited to join us as we enter into the mystery of God’s love revealed on the hard wood of the cross through our intergenerational of Stations of the Cross. We’ll process through the church grounds as we recount each step of Jesus’ final journey to the cross. If you are interested in learning more, please email " data-enc-email="nhqv[at]fgcnhyfvil.bet" data-wpel-link="ignore">Audi Barlow, Director of Children and Youth Formation.

Holy Saturday Worship | 10:30 a.m., St. Paul’s, Ivy Graveyard

Experience the “in-between time” of Holy Saturday morning, a threshold day of waiting, when all is still and death seems to have had the last word. We will gather in the graveyard to remember loved ones who have died in the Christian hope. This service will be a time for quiet prayer, where, in the midst of the budding flowers of Spring, we will hope to catch a glimpse of resurrection life to come. Nursery care will not be provided for this service.

The Great Vigil of Easter | 8:00 p.m.

The most significant church service of the whole Christian year, this dramatic service of extraordinary depth and beauty leads us through the profound shift from the darkness of Good Friday and Holy Saturday and into the beauty and light of the resurrection of our Lord on Easter. It begins in the darkened church, and consists of four parts: The Service of Light (kindling of new fire outside the church, lighting the Paschal candle); The Service of Lessons (the telling of the story of our salvation history); Baptisms, Confirmations and Receptions into The Episcopal Church (on occasion); and the very first Eucharist of Easter. After the service, join us for a cake and bubbly reception in the Parish Hall. Please note: this service lasts about 2 hours. Incense will be present, and nursery care will not be provided.

Traditional Easter Service (Rite I) | 7:30 a.m.
This early morning Easter service is the perfect place for a quiet celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. Using traditional Elizabethan language, this service will help you center yourself in the joy of the day.

Flowering the Cross
We invite you to bring store-bought or fresh flowers from your home gardens to help flower our Easter cross. Covered with fresh, living flowers, the cross serves not only as an emblem of Jesus’ resurrection but also of the continuing presence of Christ among us.

Family Service with Children’s Homily (Rite II) | 9:00 a.m.
This joyful and boisterous service will feature music from our choir and organ, as well as an Easter children’s homily. An Easter egg hunt on the lawn will follow. Nursery care will be provided.

Easter Sunday Children’s Easter Egg Hunt | 10:00 a.m., St. Paul’s, Ivy Lawn
Bring your baskets to the 9:00 a.m. service and stay for our beloved Easter Egg Hunt on the lawn!

Traditional Easter Service with Choir and Brass (Rite II) | 11:00 a.m.
Our final service on Easter morning will again feature special music from the choir, organ, and a brass ensemble. Nursery care will be provided. No children’s chapel at this service, and no Youth Gathering this evening.