 |
|
|
|
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TURNING POINTSAll find a welcome: For this, much thanks: We will exalt you, O God, our King: May they know God's healing power:
We ask God's protection of:
Blessings on: May they rest in peace: Deepest sympathy: AROUND ST. PATRICK'SST. PATRICK'S CELEBRATION There is, of course, no charge for the supper! But there will be a "White Elephant" fundraiser. Please bring an item to be raffled off. Everyone should get a phone invitation. If no one calls you, please call the office (833-4228). See you there! March 2: Lent 4, the middle Sunday of Lent, is called Laetare Sunday (Mothering Sunday in U.K.). Traditionally this Sunday was a break from the Lenten discipline. Healing Sunday. We will offer the Laying on of Hands and anointing with oil for healing for any who wish. You may seek healing for physical ailments or for emotional or mental pain or for another reason. Please come forward after the Prayers of the People. March 9: Sunday of the Passion. We make palm crosses in preparation for Palm Sunday next week. Please come and help. Daylight savings time begins. We lose an hour of sleep. The clocks "spring" forward. March 16. Palm Sunday: Blessing of palms at the 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. services. At 10:30, the procession of palms begins outside the main doors of the church by the St. Patrick's Cross (weather permitting). The reading of the Passion story according to Matthew. March 18. Holy Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. potluck supper. Please sign up in the Parish Hall. A DVD of the St John Passion (sung in a staged version by the English National Opera) follows at 7:00 p.m. More information is provided on Page 6. Holy Wednesday: March 19, at 9:00 a.m., Midweek Eucharist and Healing. Maundy Thursday: March 20. Eucharist at 7:00 p.m. only. The service is followed by the stripping of the altar, followed by a vigil. Stay as long as you can. Theme: "The Paschal Lamb." Good Friday: March 21. Good Friday Liturgy (Prayer Book, p. 276) at noon. The church will be open for private prayer from 9:00 a.m. onwards. The offering goes to the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem & Middle-East. Theme: "Rest Calm." The church is barren with no adornments and there is no communion on this day. Holy Saturday: March 22, the Altar Guild will decorate the church at 9:00 a.m. Would you like to help them? Easter Day: March 23 8:00 a.m. Lighting of the Paschal candle and the Easter vigil. We conclude with the singing of "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." 8:45 a.m. The Flowering Cross. Before the beginning of the 9:00 a.m. Family Eucharist. Please bring flowers for the children to decorate the flowering cross. 9:00 a.m. Family Eucharist with the Baptism of Maile Chapman. The choir will sing. 10:00 a.m. Easter egg hunt 10:30 a.m. (Note Time). Festal Eucharist including Holy Baptism. The choir will sing. Do you know of more children or adults to be baptized? Easter Parking - overflow parking on the "front 40." Please do not block the entrance leading from the church driveway. There is also additional parking at the rear of the church. Easter Flowers. Will you give Easter decorations in memory of or in thanksgiving for a loved one? Please sign the Flower Book in the Church entrance by Palm Sunday (March 16). BOOK OF GOSPELS WANTED ~ VACUUM WANTED ~ COFFEE MAKERS ROBERT YOUNG & FRIENDS EASTER LAMB OR EASTER BUNNY? So you see the Lamb is a wonderful symbol for Easter and Jesus. This year try to find a stuffed lamb toy for your child or grandchild. And a chocolate lamb for the grownups! A chicken is ok too (see Matthew 23-37 or Luke13:34). And eggs have always been a symbol of new life, which is what we celebrate at Easter. (The "Paschal Lamb" will be the theme of the Maundy Thursday homily, 7:00 p.m. March 20.) JESUS SEMINAR
DIOCESAN MEETINGSVINE AND BRANCH SOCIETYCelebration at St. Patrick's The celebration of the Vine and Branch Society will be held at St. Patrick's on Saturday, May 10. There will be an afternoon reception with Bishop Beisner and a string quartet sponsored by a youth program of the Santa Rosa Symphony. The celebration will conclude at 4:00 p.m. with choral Evensong led by Cantiamo, directed by Carol Menke. Bishop Beisner is the officiant. The Vine & Branch Society was created by The Episcopal Foundation of Northern California to recognize and thank all those whose estate plans include their local churches or the Diocese. The Vine and Branch Society recognizes all types of future giving, such as making a gift in a will or trust, or naming the church as beneficiary of a life insurance policy or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The amount of the gift is not important and it can be either a certain gift or a contingent gift (a gift that the church receives only if primary beneficiaries have died). You do not need to "prove" that your estate plan includes the church. And you may remain anonymous if you wish. All are invited to take part in Choral Evensong, whether members of the Vine and Branch Society or not. Mark your calendar. Make Pentecost and Mothers' Day weekend special this year! Have you included a gift to the church in your estate plan? The Foundation would like to honor your commitment to provide resources for future ministries here in Northern California. But we need to know who you are! To learn more about planned giving, the Vine and Branch Society, or the May event please contact me or Rick Harrison Smith, Executive Director of The Foundation, at 1-800-442-6918 extension 16 or episcfndn@dncweb.org. Karen Steelman (538-3970), President JUBILEE CELEBRATION There will be a silent auction, raffle and a wine tasting; and we look to you for support in the form of a donation for our event. Any item, large or small, will make a difference. If you can offer an item for the silent auction, pick up a donation form from our parish office by Thursday March 13, 2008. Arrangements can be made to pick up your generous donation. CAMP NOEL PORTER Most camp sessions run for seven days, beginning on Sunday and ending on Saturday. The exceptions are the Beginner Camp session for ages 6-8 (June 29 to July 2) and the Alumni Camp session (July 3 to July 6). To be a counselor, you need to be 15 ½. There are separate camps for juniors (going into Grades 4-6), Junior High (Grades 7-9) and Senior High School (Aug 3-9) Counselor Training - $250.00 For more information see: www.campnoelporter.com/camping_2008.html ST JOHN PASSIONOn Tuesday in Holy Week, March 18, I am showing a DVD of a performance of the St John Passion. The Passion begins at 7:00 p.m. and lasts about 2 hours. It's sung in a new translation in English by Neil Jenkins. When J.S. Bach was found theologically sound (!) and elected Cantor at Saint Thomas's, Leipzig in April 1723, he was not their first choice. They really wanted Telemann from Hamburg. One of the city councilors remarked with a sigh that they "must make do with mediocrity." The score was written in Leipzig and presented on the following Good Friday 1724. The more elaborate Saint Matthew Passion was written a few years later. The libretto is based on the Passion story in St John's Gospel, using Martin Luther's German translation. The congregation would have been very familiar with the passion story. Bach added arias for didactic and religious purposes. These would have been new to the ears of the first listeners. They are devotional and tell the meaning of the story. Bach's chorales came from 16th and 17th century hymnals. Perhaps the whole congregation joined in singing these (as happened in this performance). The work begins with the great chorus, which is repeated, "Lord and Master." This is a song of praise to God, unlike the opening chorus of the St Matthew Passion, which is penitential. The climax of the piece is when, Jesus on the cross sings, "All is accomplished," a descending scale echoed by the viola da gamba (outstanding in this performance, say the critics). Mendelssohn's Elijah echoes this when in the wilderness he sings, "It is enough." Here Jesus departs from his cross. The mezzo, moving towards the cross, picks up the same descending scale. But suddenly a vigorous allegro interrupts the sorrow, "The Lion of Judah fought the fight/ And hath prevailed." In Lutheran theology, the moment of deepest tragedy was also the moment of triumph and victory. This staged performance was sung during Holy Week 2002. We shall see a copy of a copy! We lose nearly a minute of the performance in the penultimate chorus. The star is Mark Padmore as the Evangelist. One critic wrote, "Every word he sang could be heard beautifully articulated, but more than that he managed to invest the part with a kind of wondering sincerity." Padmore is transformed from being an objective observer to an active participant in the drama. Near the end he weeps and we weep with him. As we watch the performance, we too become more than spectators; we are involved in the action and the evangelist speaks for us as a Greek chorus. More than a musical production it is a devotional experience. Vestry Notes The vestry discussed its responsibility for keeping the premises secure. The decision was made to have the Education Center re-keyed, but not all the doors of the church and hall. The vestry needs to know who has keys to which doors. If you have keys, especially master keys, please contact Vickie Ward. Vickie Ward, Cynthia Pennington and Sarah Phillips have volunteered to organize the Easter Egg Hunt. It will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Easter morning, March 23 in the "Back-40." We will need fillings for the Easter Eggs. Can you bring candy for the Easter Eggs to the parish office, to arrive no later than Palm Sunday, March 16. Please spread the word to children about the hunt. The Outreach Committee met on January 30. The vestry wanted the congregation to know that the Outreach Committee made distributions in the first quarter to the following:
DAUGHTERS OF THE KING
What We Like About Being Daughters of the King It is a privilege to be part of a spiritual group that is concerned for the welfare of those in need, or in giving thanks for blessings for people who are grateful for blessings in their lives. The camaraderie with those who are like-minded is also special. Talking to God and Jesus every day brings us closer to the Lord. I like being a DoK because of the prayer connection with God and sharing concerns and prayers of family and friends. Being a DoK provides the discipline for me to begin each day in prayer. This joyful opportunity causes me to focus on God and carry that calming presence forward throughout the day. I like being a DoK because it not only allows me a prayer connection with many people for many reasons, but it also causes me to re-think and re-focus my heart and soul in service to God. When I first became a Daughter, I thought it would be a good discipline for me and provide a closer walk with Christ. It has proven to be true; however, I have received an unexpected additional blessing of love and trust with the other daughters in our chapter. I love and trust each of them as true sisters. I like being a DoK and sharing prayers for parishioners, friends and family and seeing how faithful God is to hear and answer us. As a DoK, I receive spiritual growth as I pray each day for those who are in need of comfort, guidance and support. It is a privilege to be able to serve the Lord, Our Savior and King, in this way and to feel part of this grace-full community of women. Joining the DoK has enriched my spiritual life in so many ways. I have the opportunity to be a servant and disciple for Christ and I also have, along with my sisters in the St. Hilda's chapter, the opportunity to share meaningful fellowship in truly loving and trusting relationships. It makes me feel good to know that others are entrusting us to join in praying for their particular needs or situation. We Daughters often hear comments that praying daily for others and meeting monthly must be a commitment requiring a lot of time. In answer, we meet monthly at church to work up our prayer lists for the coming month and then we pray independently on our own schedules in our own personal way, so it's a commitment that even women like me who have demanding job responsibilities can work into their schedules. Being a Daughter is another example of how we can become part of the body of Christ's church. We often do not know the circumstances of the people on the DoK prayer list. Starting and ending each day in prayer for them causes me to step outside myself and realize, in the stillness of the moment, that we are all members of God's family. FOCUS ON WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMONEditor's Comment to: Focus On What We Have In Common I know that we Christians are all called to the same task for, no matter which Bible version we use, we can find the text, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But I didn't know what the Gods of non-Christian religions called their followers to do. Fortunately, the Internet was able to supply the answer (see the table below). The world's major religions represent almost 63% of the world population. What a powerful force for justice, love and peace this group could be if it could just find a way to agree that, however we define God, we are all called to the same purpose.
As a good friend of mine often says, "Debating our differences instead of focusing on God's call to love one another makes as much sense as the crew of the Titanic arguing over how to rearrange the deck chairs after they hit the iceberg." HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE? Here are just a few of the answers people gave:
|
