April 10, 2014
 
At long last, spring comes to Saint Andrew's (by-the-Lake)!

 
One Service only at 10 o'clock for this coming Sunday, April 13, Palm Sunday: We will gather in the Parish Hall for the Liturgy of the Palms, with the Blessing of the Palms and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and then process into the church for the Passion Liturgy and Holy Eucharist. We hope you will join us for worship and fellowship as we begin this holiest of weeks together.


Our Holy Week and Easter Services Schedule is below, at the bottom, after the photo gallery.
Readings for this Sunday: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:36-27:66.

Our Wednesday 5:30 Simple Lenten Suppers continue: On Wednesday of Holy Week, April 16, we will enjoy our supper, as we have been throughout the season, but we will eat during our 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.” We will follow the film with a brief discussion. Since this is a two-hour film, our ending time may be as late as 8:15. If you would like to come but need a ride, please call Carolyn Boldt (767-0533).
Ten of us gathered last night for delicious soups and fresh-baked bread as we listened to passages from Jennifer Lash’s book, On Pilgrimage, in which she reflected on her time at Rocamadour, a convent and pilgrimage site in France on the way to Compastela. The readings led to some thoughtful conversation, appropriately whetting our appetites for this week’s film. We closed with an informal table eucharist. Please join us!
Special thanks to the participants in last Sunday’s chancel drama of the The Raising and Unbinding of Lazarus: Chris Boldt, Christine Mills, Marty Cloran, Gretchen Behr-Svendsen, Patti Rau, Carolyn Boldt, George Rau, and Lisa Thompson. There is a picture gallery posted below.
Players wanted for the Easter Vigil production of the Deliverance from 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.
Reflections from the Rector, as we prepare for Holy Week and Easter…
Who doesn’t love Easter morning, with it’s hymns, fragrant flowers, and sunshine? But that is an incomplete Christian Easter. We need the liturgies of Palm and Passion Sunday and the days of Holy Week, with their stories and messages, to fully enter into the resurrection joy of Easter. You’re correct if you think these are provocative accounts, but please don’t turn away from them. They work together to hold and support us through “the hard stuff,” and give meaning and power to the empty tomb and the resurrection.
Henri Nouwen in his book, Life of the Beloved, speaks of God’s foundational call to each of us to love and be loved:  "To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different [from our culture’s usage of the word which involves comparisons]. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice. Our minds have great difficulty in coming to grips with such a reality. Maybe our minds will never understand it. Perhaps it is only our hearts that can accomplish this. Every time we hear about 'chosen people', 'chosen talents', or 'chosen friends', we almost automatically start thinking about elites and find ourselves not far from feelings of jealousy, anger, or resentment. Not seldom has the perception of others as being chosen led to aggression, violence, and war. But I beg you, do not surrender the word “chosen” to the world. Dare to claim it as your own, even when it is constantly misunderstood. You must hold on to the truth that you are the chosen one. That truth is the bedrock on which you can build a life as the Beloved. When you lose touch with your own chosenness, you expose yourself to the temptation of self-rejection, and that temptation undermines the possibility of ever growing as the Beloved.” (p.46-47) 
The message that Jesus leaves with us as we walk these coming days of Holy Week together is one of our own belovedness and the call that we should love as He loved. The Maundy Thursday liturgy calls us deeply into that love: After he had supped with his disciples and had washed their feet, Jesus said to them, “Do you know what I … have done for you? I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done… I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples [John 13:12-13, 34-35].
For many of us (and this may surprise you, especially if you have never attended on Maundy Thursday), this is a favorite liturgy of the church year. Its gentle warmth and intimacy – whether or not you choose to have your feet washed and to wash those of another – brings us into the circle of friends with Jesus at his last meal. It is with joy that we then share the Eucharist together. And, as Jesus and his disciples headed for the Garden of Gethsemane, with great love we strip the chancel of everything that is not bare wood, reserving only enough of the consecrated bread and wine for consuming on the evening of Good Friday. Those who wish are welcome to remain for a period of candle-lit reflective prayer. I invite you to venture out and join us at 7 on Thursday evening.
Blessings in this holy season,
Heidi+

The Picture Gallery of the Raising and Unbinding of Lazarus follows [John 11].

Jesus said, “Lazarus is dead… Let us go to him.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him.

Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”

When Mary came to Jesus, she knelt at his feet, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
“Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.


“Unbind him,”


“And let him go!”

 

Holy Week and Easter Services 2014
Palm Sunday, April 13 - ONE service only
10 AM Blessing of the Palms,
            the Passion Narrative & Holy Eucharist

Wednesday, April 16
9 AM A service of Morning Prayer
5:30 PM Supper and film viewing of The Way,
            followed by discussion.

Maundy Thursday, April 17
7 PM Liturgy of the Day with foot washing,
            Holy Eucharist, and the stripping of the altar

Good Friday, April 18
Meditations on the Seven Last Words
12-2 PMCome and go as needed
2 PM  Stations of the Cross
7 PM Liturgy of the Day with hymns and
            communion from the reserved sacrament

Holy Saturday, April 19
8 PM The Great Vigil of Easter, with kindling of the
            new fire, Vigil readings and
            the First Eucharist of Easter

Easter Sunday, April 20 - ONE service only
10 AM Rite II Festival Eucharist with
             hymns, choir and organ