March 18, 2010

There's lots going on! Come and be part of it!

Services this Sunday, the 5th sunday of Lent, will be at 8 and 10 AM.

Happy belated Saint Patrick's Day! Come for dinner and join in the festivities tomorrow evening, Friday, March 19th, at 6 PM. Wear your green or your orange. We're all on the same team! 85% of the proceeds will go to three terrific local organizations that work hard to support healthy families in our area: the Ossipee Children's Center, Carroll County Child Advocacy, and the local chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Enjoy the good food and the fellowship of strong community.

Saturday morning, March 20th from 7:30 to 11:30 at Mocha Rising (the coffee shop in Center Sandwich) enjoy Booty Farm Maple Syrup and Hot-Off-the--Griddle Pancakes and make a donation to support the Booty Family Farm. Save a tree BYOP (Bring your own plate)!  This is not a St. Andrew's event, but John and Kitty Lou Booty are loyal members of our parish and their son Peter and his family run the Booty Family Organic Farm. The Sandwich community has organized this event to provide some financial support to them as Peter recovers from successful, but major lung surgery.

Sunday afternoon, March 21st,  from 2-4 in Meredith: top off this sociable weekend of community outreach with Bowling for Haiti! So far only three of us from St. Andrew's (Jonathan Bradey, Judy Grace, and I) have agreed to bowl, but there's room for you as well. This is an event organized by the Lakes Region Convocation of our diocese. If you can't bowl, will you make a modest (generous) donation to Haiti Relief Efforts? The three of us will be at church on Sunday, welcoming your contributions. Sponsor envelopes are available at church.  Think about it.....When was the last time you bowled with a bunch of Episcopalians?

Envelopes for Easter Flower contributions are in the pews. We count on you for our Easter flowers! Gifts may be made in memory of loved ones, to honor someone special, or in thanksgiving for events or people. There is no set dollar amount. A splendid array enriches our Easter worship.

Holy Living: Approaches to Prayer continues this week with session 3 as we continue to explore contemplative prayer and a "Rule of Life." If you've missed session 1 and 2, the handouts are available on the table in the Parish Hall. Tuesday at 5 PM and Wednesday at 10 AM, followed by eucharist at 11:45.

Reminder: Next Sunday (March 28th) is Palm Sunday; Holy Week follows. Easter is April 4th, with services at 8 and 10.

Food for thought:
          from Gerald Vann
Without the sense of God's will we narrow down our lives to the material world. We are like misers crouching over their hoards and never seeing the skies; indeed we may narrow our prison still further, seeing in everything only the image of ourselves.

But once we are made aware of the greatness of events as expressions of God's love, once we see and live their sacramental value, then we are liberated into a greater life; the winds of eternity blow about us, and the infinite skies are our home, and we too walk the eternal hills.

See you in church!
Pax, Heidi+