Angels in the Alley: An invitation to a very special Lenten Saturday

Join us on Saturday, March 2, from 9 a.m. until noon, for a day of grace and reflection. We will look for experiences of grace in unexpected corners, in out-of-the-way places, and in the alleyways of life that we sometimes experience as dark. Hilary will present a series of reflections, and leave time and space for quiet reflection. Hilary came through our University ministry program, was baptized here, and sponsored by St. Paul's for ordination. She was a final candidate for Bishop Suffragan in our diocese.

About Hilary... 

The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith: Hilary has been a parish priest in the Diocese of Virginia since June 2000. She recently left her position as rector of St. Paul’s on-the-Hill, Winchester, after serving there for over nine years, in order to have space and time to discern God’s call to her at this point in her life and ministry. She values silence, prayer, community, service, and the radical welcome of all. In addition to parish ministry, Hilary enjoys offering spiritual direction and leading retreats. Hilary received training to be a spiritual director at Richmond Hill, an ecumenical retreat center in Richmond VA. Since 2004, she has served as a spiritual director for lay and ordained persons and for seminarians at the Virginia Theological Seminary.

In addition to parish retreats, Hilary has led retreats for college students, those about to be ordained, seminarians, and the Virginia Seminary faculty. Her spirituality has been influenced significantly by her association with the Jesuit Center in Wernersville PA, where she has made an annual seven-day, silent, directed retreat since 2003. In the summer of 2011, while on a sabbatical funded by the Lilly Endowment, Hilary was able to do the 30-Day Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius at the Jesuit Center. During the sabbatical, she also did the 10-day Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat at Snowmass CO. Hilary loves to help people deepen their relationship with God, knowing that God is already at work in everyone's life. Her new blog," Angels in the Alley," focuses on experiences of grace in places or circumstances that are unexpected, out-of-the-way, or often experienced as dark.