Our services for this coming Sunday, the 22nd of March and
the Fifth Sunday of Lent, will be at 8 and 10. Due to the plaster fall in
the nave, the 8:00 service will be in the Prince Room and the 10:00 service in
the Parish Hall. Thank you for your flexibility and faithfulness as we proceed
with repairs. Special thanks to Duane for making headway on our next steps.
Readings for
this Sunday: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Psalm 51:1-13, Hebrews 5:1-13, John 12:20-33.
On Wednesday, March 25th, we
will gather at 5:30 for our final Lenten Simple Supper. We’ll enjoy soup,
salad, and fresh bread, along with reading and discussion, closing by 7:00 with
prayer. We will continue with our exploration of how we live into the gift of Time, focusing next week on play and love. While there is no assignment in advance, if you would like to
tap into the source of the material for this, go to www.SSJE.org/time.
Trinity Church, Meredith, will be
hosting a "quiet day" this coming Saturday, March 21st,
from 9 to 12:30 entitled "Space to
Encounter the Holy: A Quiet Morning.” If you are yearning for a time of rest
that includes time to read, knit, write, or sew, you are welcome to bring a
small project to work on during the retreat. A profound sense of joy and grace
await all who share quiet moments in the presence of others and of the holy.
Contact Gretchen Behr-Svendsen if you would like to car-pool.
From last Sunday's service: Numbers 21:4-9
From last Sunday's service: Numbers 21:4-9
And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live."
On the evening of Wednesday of Holy Week
(April 1st) you are invited to gather promptly at 7 o'clock in the Prince
Room – evocatively transformed into a place of mystery – for a shared reading
of the Gospel According to Mark. Mark is the gospel we are primarily hearing
from this year and it is the shortest of the gospels, told in straightforward,
down-to-earth language. We will read it aloud from start to finish, taking
turns around the circle. This offers us a very different perspective on it as a
complete story, taking a little more than an hour and a quarter to complete. We
did this a number of years ago, and it is back by popular request. See
below for Holy Week Schedule.
2015 Lay
Leadership Institute Saturday, May 9th. It is now time to get ready for
this annual diocesan event on
Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the Rundlett Middle School in Concord. This full and
exciting day is your chance to meet and network with folks from other parishes,
while learning new skills and coming to a fuller understanding of how our church
works, it's structure, and your role. Originally designed just for Vestry
members, this year it is open to all interested parish members. The rector and
a number of Vestry members will be attending. If you'd like to join us, the
registration is on-line. If you have questions, talk to Heidi or a Vestry member.
"First-timers" do an informative basic course, then in subsequent
years, folks can select from an interesting array of topics. Just click here
for more details:https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14c2904ff1e01c9e.
SUMMER CAMP
OPPORTUNITY: The Barbara C. Harris Episcopal Camp in Greenfield NH, has
sessions for young people entering grade 4 through grade 12. There are one- and
two-week sessions available, as well as a long weekend for families. It is an
excellent camp program run by the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, but open
to New Hampshire kids as well, with campership/scholarship support available.
Info brochures are on the parish bulletin board or chick out their website: www.bchcenter.org/camp .
Have you
read this month's Episcopal Journal? There are multiple copies on
the table in the Parish Hall. Feel free sit down with one for "a
read" or take a copy home and enjoy it there. It's a great way to follow
what's going on in the wider church, especially as we head up to General
Convention that will take place this summer.
Participating
in Holy Week liturgies: The stories and liturgies of Holy Week and Easter
are at the heart of who we are "Jesus people." They are also
highly participatory, from the waving of palms on Palm Sunday and the
shared reading of the Passion Narrative, through the intimacies of Maundy
Thursday and the Last Supper, the silence and meditations of Good Friday,
to the multiple readings (one to be dramatized) of the Great Vigil of Easter,
and the joy of Easter morning! We need readers, greeters, vested LEMs and
acolytes. Why not block them all out on your calendar now, and
plan to come to all. Liturgy is the work of the people, but it is equally true
that liturgy "works" within us – opening our hearts and souls,
transforming us, cell by cell, to be more and more the fullness of who each of
us is called to be.
 |
| Snow and ice are slipping away! |
Food for thought as we
continue our Wednesday evening Lenten exploration of TIME…
On the topic of Prayer –
realizing that prayer is often a spontaneous response that may very well not
even have words…Where do you find God in the ordinary?
How might being attuned to those around you shape your prayer today?
What is God presenting to you in prayer today?
And on the topic of WORK, to which we in the West are seriously prone to develop a disordered relationship, whether we are at-home parents, students, full-time workers, or retired people…
For many, work has supplanted community life and this has had an adverse effect on happiness. Often, the case is even more extreme: our overwork is killing us…Our difficulties with work arise because we are dominated by the “performance principle”, with our sense of value as a human being is determined by our performance….When we carry our work with us (think computers, cell phones, etc.) we risk having work infiltrate our entire lives.
Suggestion: You might find it helpful to put “frames” around your work, giving full attention only to what is at hand (rather than always multi-tasking).
And so we asked ourselves, “How can I be more intentional in my work life?
“Homework”: Make a list of three intentions for your work today. What difference would this make for you?
And join us next Wednesday evening as we explore PLAY and LOVE!
See you in church,
Blessings, Heidi+
Holy Week and Easter Services 2015
Palm Sunday, March 29 (No 8:00 service)
10 am Blessing of the Palms, the Passion Narrative and Holy Eucharist
Wednesday, April 1
9 am A service
of Morning Prayer7 pm A shared complete reading of the Gospel According to Mark
Liturgy of the Day with foot washing, Holy Eucharist and the stripping of the altar
Good
Friday, April 3
12-2pm Psalms, scripture and silent reflections, (Come and go as needed)
2 pm Stations of the Cross
7 pm Liturgy of the Day with hymns and communion from the reserved sacrament
12-2pm Psalms, scripture and silent reflections, (Come 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 4:
8 pm
The Great Vigil of Easter,
with kindling of the new fire, Vigil readings and the First Eucharist of Easter
Easter Sunday, April 5 (ONE
service only)
10 am Rite II Festival
Eucharist with hymns, choir, and organ
