February 25, 2010

A few reminders for the coming week:

This sunday, the Second Sunday of Lent, we will have services at 8:00 and 10:00. The Rev. Ellie McLaughlin, former rector at St. Barnabas, Berlin NH, a close friend of mine and of this church, will be preaching and presiding. Ellie has been with us a number of times in the past and is very much looking forward to being at Saint Andrew's.

We trust (hope) that the snow and power-outages will be taken care of by Sunday. If you are in doubt about whether there might be a necessary change in the service schedule, Sammie Wakefield (our Sr. Warden) will post a message on the church's phone service by 6:30 on Sunday. As always, if the weather doesn't seem safe to you, use your good judgement.

Duane and I will be taking a few days of vacation. I will be back in the office on Thursday, March 4th. If you have questions or pastoral concerns or emergencies in my absence, call Sammie (476-3246), Sally DeGroot, Jr. Warden (323-2050), Peg or Tom Reinfuss (367-8498), or the church office on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Holy Living: Approaches to Prayer, our Lenten study group, will be meeting on the following schedule. (Please note this reflects some changes, due to the weather this past week.)
Tuesday sessions:  March 9, 16, and 23 at 5;00 pm
Wednesday sessions: March 10, 17, and 24 at 10:00 am, followed by eucharist at 11:30.

Between the two groups about 23 people have signed up to participate! There is no "assigned text." The best preparation for the first session is to be in touch with prayer as you know and experience it, remembering that there are no "experts" in this business and the only "right answer" for you is your own experience! Of course, the best way to be in touch with prayer is to pray!
Photocopied handouts will be available in your mailboxes on Sunday March 7th. Additional participants are welcome, and it is fine if you  need to trade off between the Tuesday and the Wednesday meetings.

And some food for thought that I came upon recently, relating to Sunday's Gospel...

Lutheran professor David Sersen shares this experience from Tanzania:
"I spent several months in Tanzania where each day and night I passed the chicken house on the way to and from the campus. Regularly, mother hens had new broods of downy chick that stayed close as they pecked around in the grass. At night, one by one, they'd climb under her breast and you could see nothing but the hen on guard, her chicks lost somewhere under her feathers. When a fox attacked by night, she could not run away. Not a mother hen! She bared her breast and the fox took her first. In the morning, there was nothing but a cluster of of feathers here and there, and little chicks running around on their own. 
"The mother hen represents a new form of power and leadership, the one for others, the servant leader, the one whose extravagant love considers the welfare of her own foremost thus the means of survival over against the attack of the wily foxes of this world is  provided, not by retaliation or brute force, but by gathering the innocent, the victims, into a community in which the love of the mother hen lives on even after her death!"

(I'm curious, all you hen-keepers. Does this fit with your experiences?)

Blessings,
Heidi+
February 18, 2010

A few reminders for the coming week:

This Sunday, February 21, is the First Sunday of Lent: Regular service schedule with Holy Eucharist at 8 and 10. Let Lent make a difference in your life. Join us for worship.

Sunday afternoon at 1:30 the Tamworth Arts Council will host a concert at Saint Andrew's: The Boston String Quartet.

Our Lenten Series Holy Living: Approaches to Prayer  will begin on Wednesday, February 24th at 10:00, followed by eucharist at 11:30. Other Wednesday  sessions will meet on March 3*, 10, and 17.
There will also be a Tuesday 5 pm section that will meet on March 2*, 9, and 16.
* Correction:  The rector will be taking March 2nd and 3rd off, so neither of these groups will meet on those days.  The correct schedules:
Tuesdays at 5 pm: March 9, 16, and 23.
Wednesdays at 10 am: March 10, 17, and 24.

 This series is designed with the hope of supporting and deepening (or beginning) our prayer lives in the context of living our regular lives in the world! Remember, there is no such thing as an expert in prayer. We are all beginners on a journey of learning and discovery. God is already there to meet us. 

Enjoy some pictures from the Pancake Supper!!!
In spite of the snow, almost 50 people attended and we brought in $325 for Haiti Relief and the Good Samaritan School! Thank you all.

Food  for thought....
A reflection from Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Workers' Movement on Sunday's Gospel account of Jesus' temptation:
"St. Bonaventure said that after the long fast of our Lord in the desert, when the angels came to minister to him, they went first to the blessed Mother to see what she had on her stove, and got the soup she had prepared and transported it to our Lord, who relished it the more because his mother had prepared it. Of course!"

See you in church.
Blessings, Heidi+



February 11, 2010

A few reminders for the coming week:

TONIGHT (Friday):  Movie Night!!!
7 pm in the Prince Room for "Millions" -- or a possible alternative depending on the audience! 

This Sunday, February 14th, the Last Sunday after the Epiphany: Regular service schedules with holy eucharist at 8 and 10. 
Happy Valentine's Day ..... "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God." [1 Jn 4:7]

PREPARE FOR A HOLY LENT

Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 16: Pancake Supper
Mardi Gras spirit! Join us for pancakes, sausage, homemade applesauce, and "our own" Grace-South" maple syrup. Proceeds will go to Haiti relief. Invite your friends. Masks welcome but not required.

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17: Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist.
Services at noon and 7 pm. If you have last year's palms at home, bring them in on Sunday or Wednesday. The evening liturgy will begin with the burning of palms.

An Anonymous sixteenth century poem
to send you on your way:

Now have  good day, now have good day.
I am Shrovetide, and now I go my way.

But often times I have heard say
That one is loath to part away
That often biddeth "have good day,"
   Now have good day.

I take my leave of king and knight,
And earl, baron, and lady bright,
To wilderness I must delight,
   Now have good day.

And from the good lord of this hall,
I take my leave, and of guests all:
Methinks I hear Lent doth call,
   Now have good day.

Blessings, All!  See you in church.
Heidi+

February 4, 2010

A few reminders for the coming week:

This Sunday we will again have ONE service only at 9:00. Dana Cunningham, well-known area pianist, composer, and a good friend of this parish, will be our guest musician, providing the music for our liturgy and co-preaching as well!

Following the service, join us for a continuation of our Mission and Outreach  discussion of January 24th as we hear about a number of possible projects for our involvement. One particular project with an Episcopal school and clinic in Haiti has attracted our attention for possible short or long-term partnering. We will hear about that and others. [If you are someone who agreed to look into and put forward and organization, please bring in your materials.]

Lent is coming! Plan ahead! The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held on Tuesday, February 16th, serving pancakes and fixings from 5:30 to 6:30. Proceeds will go to Haiti Relief efforts. 
Ash Wednesday services of Imposition of Ashes and Holy Eucharist will be held on February 17th at noon and 7 pm.


For your enjoyment, in case you'd like to revisit the entertainment at the beginning of last week's Annual Meeting, click this:
Then, click on the "Read more" in the Annual Meeting entry and follow the instructions below the picture.  (DON'T try to enlarge the pictures in the slide show. That is likely to stop the show!)  Enjoy!

And Food for Thought 
from the Wednesday Group discussion on the topic of 
"What is God calling you to do?". . .
An important step in using your gifts for ministry is to claim them and be confident that, indeed, you have enough. What might your gifts be?
Two questions to ask when discerning your gifts (as an individual or as a group): What do you long for? and How do the things you long to do fit into God's Dreams? 

See you in church.
Blessings,
Heidi+



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