This year we will keep the Feast of the Annunciation with a special Eucharist that will also serve as the occasion for blessing our new icon.

The Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated each year on March 25th, commemorates the moment the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would bear the Son of God. It is a feast of mystery and grace, marking the beginning of the Incarnation—God taking flesh and dwelling among us. In the stillness of Mary's “yes,” heaven and earth are joined, and a new creation begins.

St. John’s has commissioned a new icon to be written: Our Lady of the Sign. This icon was written and prayed over to mark the 30th anniversary of Mother Mary Jane Oaklands ordination which we will celebrate more fully latter this year.

This ancient image portrays Mary with her hands raised in prayer, the Christ Child shown within her, radiating light from a medallion over her womb. It is an icon of deep hope and intercession—a visual proclamation of the mystery of Christ dwelling in our midst and of Mary as the Theotokos, the God-bearer. The icon will be installed in our chapel, a space for prayer and contemplation, and a sign of the Word taking root among us.

Please join us for a special celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Monday, March 25th at 6 PM. We will give thanks for the Annunciation, bless the new icon, and ask God's grace to overshadow us anew. All are welcome.

See the video below for more information on the artist and icon writer, The Rev. Anjel Scarborough.