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Below are three versions of the Stations of the Cross that were displayed in the Church’s yard Holy Week: Audio, Text, or Video:

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Audio & Text:  This audio version can be used to listen to while reading along with the text and images immediately below:

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The images you will see in these stations of the cross were painted by men on death row in the state of Tennessee. Let’s begin with some thoughts about the project from one of the artists, Derick Quintero:

This piece of art is a commentary on the continuing battle for our collective moral worldview. It is a collaborative effort with several of my fellow artists, all of whom reside on Tennessee’s death row. Not all are Christians or even religious. Several chose to be anonymous. I asked my fellow community members to help create this project to begin a conversation about what Justice looks like. 

When Jesus was executed, Justice looked different than it does today. However, Justice today has some of the same components as it did back then. The guilty, as are the innocent, are subjected to this state-sanctioned process. As we understand it, state-sanctioned means that “We the People” — collectively speaking — uphold this system of Justice. So, based upon our support, this system of Justice reflects our community’s sense of morals and values. 

One of the biggest issues my sense of the “Christian” world has is dealing with the fact Jesus was not a caucasian. This is also true here on death row, a microcosm of the larger “free-world” community. So we decided not to limit one another’s understanding of Jesus’ death or appearance. 

During the two-plus months it took to complete this project, we accepted criticism and positive critique from other non-participating community members. Some were fellow prisoners. Some were religious and secular volunteers. Some were correctional officers. It turned into a true community project. 

I do not know how many opinions we changed inside during this project, but the dialogue was open and honest, beyond what even I imagined. Safe, open dialogue is a prerequisite for the community model created on this death row. We invite dialogue from anyone on how to change the paradigms of our collective lives with those that promote healing and reconciliation within our diverse communities. 

In the Spirit of Love, Mercy, and Forgiveness,

Derrick Quintero 

Derrick died while awaiting the death penalty in Tennessee in 2021.

As of January 1, 2022 2,436 prisoners are on death row.

I would like to challenge us this year when we think of Jesus to think of 2,346 Americans also facing the reality of a death sentence. These stations are designed to reflect that reality… These stations are designed so that we might not escape that reality. That just as our Lord was condemned to die so to are others. Let the voices of those living on death row as well as those fighting to end it wash over you. Let their words lead you into greater understanding. Let their words lead you into a great lament of our time.

I have made no distinction between guilt and innocence in prisoner voices. This is a reminder that after the defeat of death on the cross we are called to a new sort of justice. A reminder that we now come “to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

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The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Die.      

Jesus stands in the most human of places.  He has already experienced profound solidarity with so many on this earth, by being beaten and tortured.  Now he is wrongfully condemned to punishment by death.  His commitment to entering our lives completely begins its final steps.  He has said "yes" to God and placed his life in God's hands. We follow him in this final surrender, and contemplate with reverence each place along the way, as he is broken and given for us.

In 82% of the stud­ies [reviewed], race of the vic­tim was found to influ­ence the like­li­hood of being charged with cap­i­tal mur­der or receiv­ing the death penal­ty, i.e., those who mur­dered whites were found more like­ly to be sen­tenced to death than those who mur­dered blacks.”

– United States General Accounting Office, Death Penalty Sentencing, February 1990

The death penalty in America is a “direct descendant of lynching.” Racial terror lynchings gave way to executions in response to criticism that torturing and killing Black people for cheering audiences was undermining America’s image and moral authority on the world stage.

 41%

African Americans make up 41% of people on death row and 34% of those executed,¹⁷  but only 13% of the population is Black.¹⁸ 

 8 in 10

More than 8 in 10 lynchings between 1889 and 1918 and legal executions since 1976 have occurred in the South.¹⁹ 

 75%

75% of executions for murder were in cases with white victims.²⁰

44

At least 44 people with intellectual disability were executed before the Supreme Court banned such executions in 2002.²³ 

366

366 people who were children at the time of their offense were executed before such executions were banned in 2005.²⁴ 

20%

Mental health experts estimate at least 20% of people on death row today have a serious mental illness.²⁵

– The Equal Justice Initiative

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross. 

Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die. It represents the weight of all our crosses. What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders! With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience. He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and experiences its crushing weight.

These isolation walls...
The creep
And they crawl.

Lurking for
That single moment of
Mental weakness to befall.

If you become hopeless,
Or spiritually fall

This walls they'll have
A feast for you soul

-Kenneth Reams, Death row prisoner Arkansas

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time.

The weight is unbearable.  Jesus falls under it.  How could he enter our lives completely without surrendering to the crushing weight of the life of so many on this earth!  He lays on the ground and knows the experience of weakness beneath unfair burdens.  He feels the powerlessness of wondering if he will ever be able to continue.  He is pulled up and made to continue.

On the day I die...
I wonder if anyone will pray to God for me
and ask Him to open the gates for the coming of my soul.

-Kenneth Reams, Death row prisoner Arkansas

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets his Mother. 

Jesus' path takes him to a powerful source of his strength to continue.  All his life, his mother had taught him the meaning of the words, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.”  Now they look into each other's eyes.  How pierced-through her heart must be!  How pained he must be to see her tears!  Now, her grace-filled smile blesses his mission and stirs his heart to its depth.  Love and trust in God bind them together.

“A civilized country — and that is what we are supposed to be — should NEVER be in the business of murder. I cannot begin to describe the horror of having my son murdered by the State of Mississippi and to not be able to stop it from happening. I watched as the hearts of my entire family were shattered.

We were all victims, as sure as the family of the murdered girl was.
Except Matt’s murder could have been stopped before it was too late. There are so many cases of innocent people being exonerated in the news, more than 155 from death row alone. I think about how I would have felt if Matt had been exonerated and come home. He can’t do that now, even if we were able to prove his innocence, because you cannot bring someone back from the grave. I want this world to be a better place and there is no room for the death penalty or murder in that better world.”

- Mary Stennett Sellers 

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross. 

Jesus even experiences our struggle to receive help. He is made to experience the poverty of not being able to carry his burden alone. He enters into the experience of all who must depend upon others to survive. He is deprived of the satisfaction of carrying this burden on his own.

“The first time I visited Death Row, I wasn't expecting to meet someone the same age as me... from a neighborhood just like ours coulda been me.”

- Bryan Stevenson, ‘Just Mercy’ (2019).

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes Jesus’ Face.

Jesus' journey is at times brutal. He has entered into the terrible experiences of rejection and injustice. He has been whipped and beaten. His face shows the signs of his solidarity with all who have ever suffered injustice and vile, abusive treatment. He encounters a compassionate, loving disciple who wipes the vulgar spit and mocking blood from his face. On her veil, she discovers the image of his face - his gift to her. And, for us to contemplate forever.

“Over the past twelve months, I have researched and compared housing policies for death-sentenced and non-death sentenced prisoners throughout the United States. I chose this topic because the death penalty and circumstances on death row have had my interest for many years. I am from the Netherlands, where the death penalty is forbidden by Protocol No. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The use of prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement in European prisons has mostly been banned as well. My seven-year friendship with Clinton Young, a death-sentenced individual in Texas, motivated me to move to Texas to study at the University of Texas School of Law and become an attorney, to help those on death row, and to research conditions on death row. Countless times I visited death-sentenced prisoners in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas and observed the devastating effects of indefinite solitary confinement on death-sentenced prisoners, their families, and their friends. These prisoners are confined to a small cell for at least twenty-two hours a day and unable to hug their loved ones for years. These confinement conditions add inhumane treatment to the most severe and irreversible punishment that exists. “ – Merel Pointer

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time. 

Even with help, Jesus stumbles and falls to the ground.  In deep exhaustion he stares at the earth beneath him.  “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.”  He has seen death before.  Now he can feel the profound weakness of disability and disease and aging itself, there on his knees, under the weight of his cross.

On the day I die...
I wonder if anyone will pray to God for me
and ask Him to open the gates for the coming of my soul.

-Kenneth Reams, Death row prisoner Arkansas

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.

The women of Jerusalem, and their children, come out to comfort and thank him. They had seen his compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. He had broken all kinds of social and religious conventions to connect with them. Now they are here to support him. He feels their grief. He suffers, knowing he can't remain to help them more in this life. He knows the mystery of facing the separation of death.

“Our direct experiences with the criminal justice system and struggling with grief have led us all to the same conclusion: Connecticut’s death penalty fails victims’ families…. In Connecticut, the death penalty is a false promise that goes unfulfilled, leaving victims’ families frustrated and angry after years of fighting the legal system. And as the state hangs onto this broken system, it wastes millions of dollars that could go toward much-needed victims’ services.” - A letter signed by 179 Families of Murder Victims sent to the Connecticut Legislature

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time.

This last fall is devastating. Jesus can barely proceed to the end. Summoning all this remaining strength, supported by his inner trust in God, Jesus collapses under the weight of the cross. His executioners look at him as a broken man, pathetic yet paying a price he deserves. They help him up so he can make it up the hill of crucifixion.

On the day I die...
I wonder if anyone will pray to God for me
and ask Him to open the gates for the coming of my soul.

-Kenneth Reams, Death row prisoner Arkansas

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped.   

Part of the indignity is to be crucified naked. Jesus is completely stripped of any pride.  The wounds on his back are torn open again. He experiences the ultimate vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects him. As they stare at him, his eyes turn to heaven.

 Of the 185 death row exonerations from the modern era 100 Black people were exonerated.

At least 18 people have been executed despite serious doubts about their guilt.

Official misconduct is the leading cause of wrongful conviction.

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.

Huge nails are hammered through his hands and feet to fix him on the cross.  He is bleeding much more seriously now. As the cross is lifted up, the weight of his life hangs on those nails. Every time he struggles to pull himself up to breathe, his ability to cling to life slips away.

October 28, 2021. Oklahoma. John Marion Grant. (Lethal Injection). After the first drug was administered (midazolam), Mr. Grant convulsed and vomited for several minutes, leading members of the execution team to wipe the vomit from his face and neck. Associated Press media witness Sean Murphy said that “Grant’s body shook and jerked nearly two dozen times before vomit spurted from his mouth and spilled down his neck.”[79] Prior to the execution, Mr. Grant’s legal team (along with attorneys for some two-dozen other Oklahoma death row inmates) had argued that the state’s three-drug lethal injection protocol would cause unnecessary and excruciating pain. Said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, “Oklahoma knew full well that this was well within the realm of possible outcomes in a midazolam execution. It didn’t care … and the Supreme Court apparently didn’t either.”[80]

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross.  

Between two criminals, a mocking title above his head, with only Mary and John and Mary Magdalene to support him, Jesus surrenders his last breath: “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

The Names of those executed in the united States in 2021

Lisa Marie Montgomery

Corey Johnson

Dustin Juhn Higgins

Quintin Phillippe Jones

John William Hummel

Rick Allan Rhoades

Ernest Lee Johnson

Willie B Smtih III

John Marion Grant

David Neal Cox Sr.

Bigler Jobe Stouffer II

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross. 

What tender mourning! Jesus' lifeless body lays in his mother's arms. He has truly died.  A profound sacrifice, complete.

“The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, Do we deserve to kill?” – Bryan Stevenson<

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb. 

They take the body of Jesus to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final sign of the permanence of death. In this final act of surrender, who would have imagined this tomb would soon be empty or that Jesus would show himself alive to his disciples, or that they would recognize him in the breaking of bread? Oh, that our hearts might burn within us, as we realize how he had to suffer and die so as to enter into his glory, for us.

Executions scheduled for the month of April

April 21^st Oscar Franklin Smith TN

April 21^st Carl Wayne Buntinon, TX

April 27^th Melissa Lucio, TX

All:        We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

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Video Version: This option is inclusive of Audio Text, Station Images and Music:

10 am Service ONLY

Dear Friends in Christ,

This week we arrive at the 2-year anniversary of the initial lockdown and our long journey in the COVID-19 desert. From the beginning, we have said that we will never regret being too cautious and having as our central shared value that in loving our neighbor, we will do what we can to protect each other from harm.

We may feel weary from all our precautions over the last two years; and just this week the City has loosened masking and vaccination requirements - some of us may be rejoicing, but some of us may be nervous and anxious.

Bishop Provenzano has issued his updated directive on COVID-19 protocols, leaving it to the discretion of the priests-in-charge to make the decision about what is best for our individual parishes taking into consideration our communities. On Sunday, March 6th, we met with the members of the Bishop’s Committee to discuss how to move forward in light of low infection numbers in the City, high vaccination rates in our community, the comfort of the community and recognizing that Easter Sunday is our highest attended service of the year.

• We will move SLOWLY with a transition for the 10 am service;

• Our target date for MASK OPTIONAL is April 24th, the week after Easter Sunday – we will make a decision the week before based upon numbers;

• Starting March 13th readers, soloist, preacher and presider will have the option of removing their mask while they are at the lectern and the altar; clergy will remain masked while distributing communion and offering prayers and blessings;

• Our youth will be masked for their participation in the Lenten art project with Traci;

• Coffee hour will continue outside;

• Masks continue to be optional outside.

We understand that we all have strong feelings about masking, and we may not agree - to be the church, we don’t have to agree, and no one has to ‘win.’ One of the many wonderful attributes of the Episcopal Church is that we can hold a wide spectrum of beliefs and still sit side by side in worship and on journey together in Christ. It makes us stronger and more loving.

We are, as always, here to answer any questions and talk. If you have strong feelings, we really encourage you to reach out to us so we can talk – it is better for us to talk than to have any of us sitting with strong feelings. You can reach us at the church Tues-Wed-Thurs typically from 9-4 (if we don't answer, leave a message and we will call you back) 718-871-1615.

Faithfully yours,

The Mothers

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On Ash Wednesday, we are asked to commit ourselves "to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word." (BCP 265) This commitment is done individually with the understanding that we are in community and is meant to be relational – because it is meant to deepen and renew our relationship with God and each other.

Below we offer descriptions of the Lenten offerings and ask you to formally make a commitment to a Lenten practice. Sometimes when we commit and make that commitment known to someone else it makes it easier for us to follow that commitment - because we all know from lots of New Year's resolutions, it's not always so easy even when our heart is in it. Making new habits takes time. So we've made it easy by creating a form! we invite you to fill it out once you've figured out what spiritual practice you would like to take up this Lent.

In peace with love,

The Mothers

Lent Sign up & Commitment Form:

Click: https://forms.gle/CiQU78W2qx4g2wy4A

Weekly Contemplative Prayer

7:30am Wednesday mornings March 2nd (Ash Wednesday) through April 13th.

Every Wednesday morning in Lent we will engage in the ancient prayer of Lectio Divina at 7:30am via Zoom.
In Christianity, Lectio Divina is a traditional Benedictine practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word. It does not treat Scripture as texts to be studied, but as the Living Word that reveals its relevance in our lives today. We will pray seasonally relevant scripture. No previous experience necessary. Sessions will last approximately 30 minutes.

Daily Reading/Praying/Reflecting on the Lenten reflections

For the past few years, parishioners have engaged in reflecting on a piece of scripture and offering their thoughts in the form of a daily Lenten reflection that gets emailed out. This year we will continue this practice along with our audio component so that you can listen to the scripture of the day, the reflection and end with the Lord's Prayer. As a practice, this would mean to commit to reading or listening to the daily scripture and reflection and spending some time with it yourself.

100 Days of Scripture

Reading of Luke-Acts from February 26 through June 5 (Pentecost)

During Lent we are specifically called to read and meditate on scripture. We will begin this practice just before Ash Wednesday and finish on the Feast of Pentecost. This cycle of our Sunday Gospel readings are from Luke, so this way we get to read the whole Gospel, and continue along with Acts which was written by the same author. We will meet before the start virtually to give everyone some historical context and answer questions. We will provide the books from Forward Movement that gives us the reading for each day, along with a reflection and some questions for consideration. Already 20+ parishioners have signed up. Please sign up by February 20th.

Lenten Book selection

Our two recommended books are meant to get us to reflect on where God is moving in our lives, how we journey through wilderness and suffering, and how we experience joy and healing.

The Book of Joy by Archbishop Desmond Tutu & the Dalai Lama

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness’s eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering? They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy.

A Spring in the Desert by Frank & Victoria Logue

Jesus stepped out of the water of baptism into uninhabitable wilderness, emerging forty days later to offer the water of life for those thirsting for God’s presence. A little more than two centuries later, a group of Christians withdrew from a spiritually barren Roman Empire to find their faith blossom in the stony soil of the Egyptian desert.

Frank and Victoria Logue offer a Lenten journey inspired by the many passages of scripture that use images of water in the desert as a sign of the healing and wholeness that come through God alone. To this they add the distilled wisdom of the Desert Mothers and Fathers and the surprisingly rich inspiration of the plants and animals that thrive in an arid land. Along the way, they will share the ways our faith speaks to the barren places in our lives and how those times of drought can be a source of strength.

Deacon John will lead weekly discussions on this book Saturday mornings.

Devotional Art Class: Meditation on Resurrection with Fr. Regan O'Callaghan

5 Sundays at 4pm via Zoom starting March 5. Cost $50 for the 5 sessions to cover supplies. Space is limited.

Art has long been a spiritual practice, especially the ancient practice of Icon writing. Join Regan O'Callahan for 5 Sundays in Lent where you will create your own mixed media meditation on the Resurrection with painting. Supplies will be provided and distributed prior to March 5.

Regan O’Callaghan is an artist/priest presently living in France but originally from New Zealand. Previously he lived in the United Kingdom where he studied art and religious studies including the technique of icon writing (painting). In 2001 Regan was ordained into the Church of England. He combines his religious ministry with art leading many art projects and workshops as well as painting a number of commissions including icons for Saint Paul’s Cathedral London and Sherborne Abbey, Dorset. He believes in a ministry of encouragement where art is the facilitator. Today Regan’s art practice has built on the technique of icon writing combining contemporary themes with traditional techniques. He is also inspired by the natural environment and humankind's relationship/connection with their surroundings.

Lenten Craft: Tin Crosses

Sunday, March 13th following the 10am service

Join us as we craft and create beautiful tin crosses inspired by Mexican folk art. All materials and instruction are provided. Please sign up in the back of the church. Materials fee $5/person.

Lenten Craft: Ukrainian Eggs

Thursdays 11am-1pm, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, April 7.

Join us for the traditional Ukranian craft of pysanka, a form of prayer similar to icon writing. You will learn to design a pattern, transfer to an egg, wax and dye your egg. No previous experience necessary. Please sign up in the back of the church. Materials fee $10/person for the 6 weeks.

Giving Up something

Traditionally, we hear of folks, or maybe we have, given up chocolate or meat or alcohol for Lent. This practice aims to go deeper to reflect on what is getting in your way to being closer to God - is it gossip? envy? anger? jealousy? etc...This practice asks you to spend some time before Lent begins to figure out what might be getting in the way of a closer relationship with God and committing to "giving it up" for these 40 days.

A little help from a friend, a Lenten Friend

Like any athlete who trains to perform their feat, like any artist who wakes early to create, in order to be Easter people, we must practice. This is what Lent is all about. Lent is a time to stop, to clear our noisy lives, and focus in on our call—our call to seek Justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

We hold Lent for 40 days. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, preparing for his ministry and being tested by the devil. During Lent, we join Jesus in the wildness. By simplifying our lives, we open ourselves to the inner wildness we spend so much time avoiding. Be it grief, or longing, shame, or disappointment. By clearing out space in our lives we open ourselves to the unknown. This is a time of mystery—we commit to spiritual practices seeking to see what we do not see and hear what we do not hear, so that we may encounter buried truths about ourselves, about life, about God. And we truly have no idea what we may find.

Which is why Lent can be intimidating! But take heart; we are not alone. We travel through the wilderness of Lent with the One who knows the wilderness well, the One who endured it, the One who created it. But this year at Holy Apostles, we also have an opportunity to travel through Lent with a friend. This year, if you would like, we will pair you up with a “Lenten Friend,” someone from Holy Apostles community, to go through Lent together. So once you have selected your practice and filled out the form, the last question will be, do you want a Lenten Friend who will travel these 40 days with you. If you say yes, we will pair you up with someone else who has also signed up for your same practice.

Youth Art Project Sunday School for Lent

During Lent the youth (grades 1-9) are invited to join teaching artist, Traci Molloy for a 5 week exploration of making art based on stained glass windows. They will get to create work together that shows images of the last week of Jesus’ life and contemplate this ancient tradition. The earliest known stained glass in a church dates to 675 in Monkwearmouth, North East England. In our offerings for the youth this year we are hoping that the practice of making art (in different form and mediums) is helpful for them to be co-creators with God. No sign up is necessary for these sessions. While your child does not need to attend all classes ideally your child would attend a minimum of 3 sessions so that they would be able to complete their own project.