Thursday Memo: March 2014

March 27, 2014

Spring? Hmmmmm…

Wonder what’s going on under the snow…

Services for this coming Sunday, March 30th, The Fourth Sunday in Lent, will be at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. This is Laudate Sunday, also known as Mothering Sunday or Refreshment Sunday – a “little Easter” before the walk towards Holy Week. So (at the later service)… a lessening of the austerities of Lent – wonderful music courtesy of “The Treblemakers,” Ginger Heard’s recorder group, augmented by Val May, with harp and voice, maybe a few blossoms amidst the budding branches on the altar, and with a little luck, a traditional Simnel Cake. If you don’t know about Mothering Sunday or Simnel cake, come Sunday and find out. We will continue in our dialogue sermon series as we engage together with another passage from John’s Gospel – the healing of the man born blind. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship.

Readings for this Sunday: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23, Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41.

Peg Cade with visitors from New Jersey: Liz, Liz's mother, Rose and Peg's granddaughter Beth Ann.

Liz was Beth Ann's first baby sitter.

This team did the baking for last Sunday's 10 a.m. coffee hour.

Baptismal Preparation and Inquirers’ Class will continue this Sunday, beginning at about 11:25 in the Prince Room. Some people are preparing for baptism; others are preparing to godparent; others are ready for a refresher in Bible, the church, prayer, and exploring how our faith prepares us to be “People of the Way.” We plan to meet each Sunday during Lent at this time slot (after church on Sundays for about 45 minutes). All are welcome!

Our Wednesday 5:30 Simple Lenten Suppers continue: Eleven of us gathered last night as we indulged in delicious soups, salad, and bread, fresh baked and hot from the oven. We ate in silence, savoring our food, as we listened to passages from the 1912 classic, Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter. If you think schlock when you think “Pollyanna” (as I did), think again! It is the story of an orphaned girl whose “secret of life” is always, in every situation, to make a game out of finding something to be glad about – a young girl’s contagious approach to the apostle Paul’s “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! And in everything, with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” [Philippians 4:6] The readings led to some thoughtful and significant sharing and conversation. We closed with an informal table eucharist. We will meet this coming Wednesday, April 2, with a similar format but different readings and different soups. Please talk to Carolyn Boldt (767-0533) if you would be willing to provide soup, bread, or salad. We gather at 5:30 and are out by 7:00. Please join us!

Plan ahead for Wednesday of Holy Week, April 16. We will share our Simple Lenten Supper, as we have been throughout the season, but we will have a “talking meal,” followed by a viewing of the film The Way, starring Michael Sheen. Sheen plays an irascible American doctor who comes to France to deal with the tragic death of his son. Rather than return home, he decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage “The Way of St. James” (also known as “El Camino de Santiago) to honor his son’s desire to finish the journey. Through unexpected and often amusing experiences along “The Way,” Tom discovers the difference between “the life we live and the life we choose.”

April is National Poetry Month. What about a “field trip” to Laconia `the evening of Thursday, April 3, to see a dramatic production of the Women at the Well, a collection of poetry by Grace Bauer, directed by Sharon Paquette? These poems bring to life the women from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. You will see and hear their perspectives on what happened to them, their loved ones, their psyches and souls. Carole Simmons Oles says "Wry humor is only one element of Bauer's illuminating re-vision as she inhabits her women in their longing, sassiness, rebellion, compassion, wavering and triumph." Five talented and dedicated actresses will be bringing to life the poems within this collection.

So far, three of us from Saint Andrew’s plan to attend. If you’re interested, talk to Carolyn Boldt (767-9237). We will need to make reservations.

Players wanted for the Easter Vigil production of the Deliverance form the Fiery Furnace!!! This will be a seven-minute dramatization of Chapter 3 from the Book of Daniel (in the Bible). It will require only ONE rehearsal, has no lines to memorize (they will be read), and will feature only minimal costuming. Both adults and young people are welcome. Talk to Heidi or Lisa. The Easter Vigil begins at 8 PM on Saturday, April 19… And it’s guaranteed to be a lot of fun.

Letter writing ministry with the women in the Goffstown prison: A month ago our liturgy was enriched by the preaching of the Rev. Beth Richeson as she reflected on the power of names and naming to build up on to tear down. Beth met with us after the service for a lively conversation about the ministry of letter writing. If you have an interest in this and feel you can remain committed to it, please let me (Heidi) know directly. I am overdue to get back to Beth and get the project rolling.

Updates on birthdays and anniversaries: As you know, we always include birthdays and anniversaries in the Sunday bulletin and in the Prayers of the People. This is a way that assures that we as a community can offer to God prayers of gratitude for your presence in the world and that we can have the opportunity to greet you with our love and best wishes. If your birthday or anniversary seems to have passed unnoticed, that is probably an indication that the office does not have that information about you. Please email Debra, or jot it down and leave a note in her basket in the office.

See you in church!

Blessings, Heidi+

March 20, 2014

Spring comes to St. Andrew's?

Services for this coming Sunday, March 23rd, The Third Sunday in Lent, will be at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship.

Readings for this Sunday: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42.

Baptismal Preparation and Inquirers’ Class will continue this Sunday, beginning at about 11:25 in the Prince Room. Some people are preparing for baptism; others are preparing to godparent; others are ready for a refresher in Bible, the church, prayer, and exploring how our faith prepares us to be “People of the Way.” We plan to meet each Sunday during Lent at this time slot (after church on Sundays for about 45 minutes). All are welcome!

Wednesday Lenten Simple Suppers: Eight of us gathered for the first of our Lenten Suppers. We ate in silence, savoring our food, as we listened to passages – some humorous, some startling, all quite poignant – from Godric, by Frederick Buechner, which in turn led to some thoughtful and significant conversation. We closed with an informal table eucharist. We will meet with a similar format but different readings and different soups. Please talk to Carolyn Boldt (767-0533) if you would be willing to provide soup, bread, or salad.

Boy Scout News: Troop 151, the local troop that we support and for whom we provide a meeting place, took third place in the cooking competition at the Abnaki District Klondike — a one-day event. That night, the troop was invited to camp with Troop 150 of Conway at the CCC camp. They also won, for the second time in seven years, the Honor Award for cooperation and organization among themselves.

Stations of the Cross: Many churches have a matched set of images of the “Way of the Cross,” representing fourteen stopping points for prayer traditionally associated with our Lord’s passion and death. To the best of my knowledge, St. Andrew’s has never had such a set. What we do have, and which we set up each year on Good Friday, is a set of mounted photo-copied evocative block prints. It occurred to a few of us last year that it might be interesting to put together our own set, using copies of works of art (from any era) depicting the fourteen traditional stations, which are listed below. If this project speaks to you and you have any images (perhaps postcards from museums or travel, reproductions, or contemporary images that evoke one or more of the stations, bring them in and I will scan them to a uniform size and we can create our own, unique set for use during Holy Week and for our walking of the Way of the Cross on Good Friday.

I Jesus is condemned to death
II Jesus takes up his cross
III Jesus fall the first time
IV Jesus meets his afflicted mother
V The Cross I s laid on Simon of Cyrene
VI A woman wipes the face of Jesus
VII Jesus falls a second time
VIII Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
IX Jesus fall a second time
X Jesus is stripped of his garments
XI Jesus is nailed to the Cross
XII Jesus dies on the Cross
XIII The body of Jesus is placed in the arms of his mother
IXV Jesus is laid in a tomb

Food for thought … from our Wednesday evening reading
from Godric, by Frederick Buechner [Goderic was an 11^th century Celtic saint]

Godric’s View of Prayer
What’s prayer? It’s shooting shafts into the dark. What mark they strike, if any, who’s to say? It’s reaching for a hand you cannot touch. The silence is so fathomless that prayers like plummets vanish in the sea. You beg. You whimper. You load God down with empty praise. You tell him sins that he already knows full well. You seek to change his changeless will. Yet Godric prays the way he breathes, for else his heart would wither in his breast. Prayer is the wind that fills his sail. Else waves would dash him on the rocks, or he would drift with witless tides. And sometimes, by God’s grace, a prayer is heard.

See you in church!

Blessings, Heidi+

March 13, 2014

Services for this coming Sunday, March 16^th, The Second Sunday in Lent, will be at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship. (It is rumored that the coffee hour may have a St. Patrick’s Day flare.)

Readings for this Sunday: Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, John 3:1-17.

Baptismal Preparation and Inquirers’ Class will meet this Sunday, beginning at about 11:25 in the Prince Room. Some people are preparing for baptism; others are preparing to godparent; others are ready for a refresher in Bible, the church, prayer, and exploring how our faith prepares us to be “People of the Way.” We plan to meet each Sunday during Lent at this time slot (after church on Sundays for about 45 minutes).

Our Wednesday Lenten Simple Suppers will begin on March 19th at 5:30. (Last Wednesday’s was cancelled due to weather.) Please talk to Carolyn Boldt (767-0533) if you would be willing to provide soup, bread, or salad. We will hear an engaging reading for about 15 minutes during our eating, then we will converse about for a bit, and close with an informal table eucharist. We will meet in the Prince Room.

Participating in LoveLife: Living the Gospel of Love: To sign up, go to www.SSJE.org/lovelife You will receive a two-minute on-line video, followed by a reflection question for the day. With this, you are invited to join in a sequential reading of the Gospel of John. This particular gospel, engaged in thoughtfully and reflectively, can help us all live more abundantly the life of love we are called to live. The 9 a.m. Wednesday services of Morning Prayer will be anchored in John’s Gospel and our daily reflections. Yesterday’s conversation was definitely spirit-filled … and please know that you’re are welcome, even if you are not following the LoveLife series!

Adults, do you sometimes wonder what your children “get out of” their time in church? Lots! I received an email from Kathy this week telling of their family’s recent acquisition of a goodly collection of Lego figures, a gift from a family with older children who had outgrown them. Albert set to creating the assemblage to the left. When asked if this was some sort of a meeting, Albert said, "No, it's church. Everyone is waiting for communion.” How many adults, offered an opportunity to play with Legos, would think to create the altar and chancel of their parish church, with the congregation gathered around the table in a full circle (well, square, since it’s a Lego board) expectantly and eagerly awaiting the bread and wine – God-with-us as food for the journey of life! Thank you, Albert, for sharing this with all of us!

Have you discussed with your family making a household practice of Generosity and Sharing with others during Lent? For full description Click Here .
Here are some alternative suggestions:
Put aside one item of food each of the 40 days of Lent and donate them to our food pantry.
OR Provide “a meal a day” for a person in need by calculating the per person cost of your family supper and put that in bowl each night, giving the money to the food pantry.
OR Surprise some people and invite them to supper. Remember generosity and sharing is fundamentally about building a broad community of equality in which no one goes hungry and no one is lonely.

Food for thought and reflection … and perhaps an invitation…
Last Sunday a multi-generational group of us gather for the first of our Inquirers’ classes. As a way of bridging the variety of life and church experience that was reflected in the group and of beginning to talk about how we experience God, we were invited to tell about a time when our “hearts were warmed.” Here’s what the question evoked:
“When I am welcomed home with eager affection after a long day of work.”
“When I was hiking in a beautiful place with a group of friends, and we dove into a pool under a huge waterfall.”
“When I look at my grandchild and remember being that age myself and have a wonderfully deep sense of connection.”
“When I’m in the grocery store and I see that someone needs help [They’ve dropped all their oranges on the floor and they’re rolling everywhere.] and I turn to help and discover someone’s gotten there before me!”
“When I’m in the grocery store and I can’t reach something and someone volunteers (without being asked and with a smile) to get it for me.”
“When I was walking at the top of a cliff on the island of Iona and was able to scramble down a ways so as to peer into the nest of a family of puffins, observing at close range their astonishing beauty.”
“When I visit a friend and know that my day and hers will be better for the time together.”
“When something that was a chaotic mess has been put to rights.”
“New fallen snow,” (although maybe we’ve had enough lately!)
“When the words of a hymn melt something inside of me.”
“When my spouse creates yet another tasty meal for us to share.”
As each of us shared, I realized that our experiences covered a wonderful breadth of biblical themes, metaphors, and encounters with the holy. The list that follows pairs directly with the list above: homecoming;
the beauty of nature, baptismal water, and the joy of friendship;
family love and the power of ancestral connection;
the joy in responding to another’s need and the joy of seeing others respond as well;
gratitude and the willingness to be vulnerable
and accept help from another, even from a stranger;
the power of sacred places, the awesome beauty and variety of creation;
the power of deep friendship;
being co-creators with God in bringing order out of chaos and the gift of beauty and order;
the spellbinding beauty of the natural world made “new” before our eyes,
and the fact of infinite variety (in snowflakes);
prayers sung are prayers prayed twice (!) and the gift of music and poetry to touch our souls; being fed.
When have you experienced your heart warmed?
Where have you experienced God’s presence in your life?

See you in church! (The forecast is for fair weather on Sunday!)
Blessings, Heidi+

March 6, 2014

Reset your clocks ahead!
Just before you go to bed.

Burning last year's palms for our Ash Wednesday ashes

Services for this coming Sunday, March 9^th, The First Sunday in Lent, will be at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship.

Readings for this Sunday: Genesis 2:15—17; 3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11.

We had a wonderful Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper! See picture gallery below.

We are in need of volunteer coffee hour hosts. Have you hosted recently? Sally DeGoot, our hospitality chair, would be happy to work with you. Thank you.
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

Baptismal Preparation and Inquirers’ Class: Our first meeting of the group will be this Sunday, beginning at about 11:25 in the Prince Room. Some people are preparing for baptism; others are preparing to godparent; others are ready for a refresher in Bible, the church, prayer, and exploring how our faith prepares us to be “People of the Way.” We plan to meet five times during Lent at this time slot (after church on Sundays for about 45 minutes).

Our Wednesday Lenten Simple Suppers will begin on March 12th at 5:30. Please talk to Carolyn Boldt (767-0533) if you would be willing to provide soup, bread, or salad. We will hear an engaging reading for about 15 minutes during our eating, then we will converse about for a bit, and close with an informal table eucharist. We will meet in the Prince Room.

Have you discussed with your family making a household practice of Generosity and Sharing with others during Lent? For full description Click Here .
Here are some alternative suggestions:
Put aside one item of food each of the 40 days of Lent and donate them to our food pantry.
OR Provide “a meal a day” for a person in need by calculating the per person cost of your family supper and put that in bowl each night, giving the money to the food pantry.
OR Surprise some people and invite them to supper. Remember generosity and sharing is fundamentally about building a broad community of equality in which no one goes hungry and no one is lonely.

The kitchen dishtowels are looking very old and decrepit. If you have any in good shape to spare, please drop it off next time you come to church. The Dinner Bell cook teams and other kitchen help “thank you"!

As we journey into Lent and keep altar decoration to a minimum, just a word of thanks to Dale Appleton for her faithful tending of the altar flowers each week. She is the person who makes sure that flowers are either ordered or provided, and very often Dale arranges them. How grateful we are for this important ministry.

Thanks to all who made the Pancake Supper such a success – with special gratitude to David Manley (organizer-in-chief), Brooks South and George Rau (pancake chefs extraordinaire), Patti Rau, Chris Mills, Carol Tubman (expeditious, cheerful servers and kitchen crew), and Duane for his photos!

Connor and Preston tended the Pancake Tossing flawlessly with no adult assistance!

Young and old and in-between delighted in receiving tattoos!

And the hall was full of masked guests from the parish and the wider community.

SEE MORE PICTURES BELOW!

Food for thought and reflection…
A prayer after Saint Anselm, 1109

Lord, you speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.” Your face, Lord, will I seek; hide not your face from me. Raise me up from myself and dray we to you. Cleans, heal, quicken, enlighten the eye of my mind that it may look to you. Strengthen my soul that with all the power of my understanding it may strive to know you: for you are life and wisdom, truth and beauty, and everything that is good. Amen.
See you in church!
Lenten blessings,
Heidi+