ST. MARGARET’S IN DISCERNMENT
Our 2026-2027 Program Season
“Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.”
Psalm 25:4
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
A message from Rev. Richard Weinberg:
Over the past 18 months, I have heard from many of you a shared yearning to make sense of how to remain faithful in this particular moment. The current federal administration’s policies have brought real disruption to daily life here in Washington, touching members of our own community directly, layered on top of ongoing conflicts both at home and abroad.
These public pressures meet us in deeply personal ways as well: a demanding job market, rising costs, the rapid arrival of AI into our workplaces, the mounting weight of the climate crisis.
Some of us are discerning retirement. Some are caring for aging parents; others are becoming parents for the first time. Newcomers are discerning whether St. Margaret’s could be their spiritual home; longtime members are discerning what faithfulness looks like now, after years of showing up.
Discernment, we’ve come to see, touches every season of life and every facet of it — public and private, communal and personal.
Beginning this fall and throughout the coming program year, I invite us as a faith community to embark upon a shared season of Christian discernment.
As Christians, we believe that God is present and active in all people and the natural world, and that God desires to have an ever-closer, more loving relationship with every person. But how do we know what God wants for us? Put simply, discernment is the prayer-filled discipline, individual and communal, that we engage to listen for the Spirit’s answer. Discernment is simultaneously about “making a faithful decision” in one moment and then discovering even after reaching one, there is always more to discern. The question ever before us is: How is the Spirit calling us to be with God in the here and now?
Some of what we’ll take up this fall will be broad and outward-facing, such as how we engage our faith amid the world’s turmoil. Some will be closer to home, like with our Midyear Parish Meeting’s more focused discernment about how St. Margaret’s itself lives out its mission in this season. Throughout, I and the lay leaders who help curate our formation programming will offer practical tools for discerning and space for prayerful contemplation.
Here’s a list of related programming, along with a brief description. Follow the links to specific event pages to learn more and register (where necessary):
- St. Margaret’s Go!
Sundays, Sept. 13, 20, 27
Three-week series for newcomers
To register and receive class materials, please sign up here. - Midyear Parish Meeting
Sunday, Sept. 20
Join us after worship to hear updates from our Rector, Vestry, and church leaders regarding our 2026 impact and priorities. - Rector’s Book Launch & Forum — Unlocking the Power of Prayer
Sunday, Sept. 27
Join Richard for the launch of his new book and a forum conversation exploring prayer as one of our deepest tools for discernment. - Creation, Discernment, and the Plastics We Carry
Sunday, Oct. 4
Forum with guest speaker Dr. Diane Bild, a Washington-based physician who will present on the environmental and human health impacts of plastics, with practical guidance for what individuals, households, and congregations can do in response - Being With Church: An Inquirers Class
Sundays, Oct. 18–Nov 29
The class is open to all: newcomers, spiritual seekers, long-time members seeking renewal, and especially those who have participated in Being With. We cover foundational themes of Christian life, including Jesus, Baptism, Church, Communion, Prayer, Ministry, and Mission. - Bishop’s Forum, with Bishop Mariann Budde
Sunday, Dec. 6 - Annual Advent Retreat
Friday–Saturday, Dec. 11–12 - 2027 stewardship campaign: “Where the Giving Path Leads“
Sunday, Sept. 20-end of the year
Wherever you find yourself this fall — newly arrived or long rooted here, wrestling with the state of the world or the shape of your own life — I hope you’ll join us.
