Several
weeks ago we discussed the option of breaking into small groups following our
Sunday morning service, and agreed to try it on the first Sunday of the month
when our service is earlier. This Sunday is the first Sunday in March, so we
will have a brief time for announcements and then move into small groups.
Please stay for this and let’s see what we think.
I had
a lovely week off, with a lot of time for prayer and meditation and I return
feeling refreshed. I spent the week resting, snowshoeing, indoor biking and
catching up on things around the house, but spent a good part of every morning
in prayer. It was a much needed break
from my usual schedule, and felt like a mini-retreat.
I know
that there is a level of ongoing stress in my life, and that it is primarily
due to the pandemic. It is rarely in my conscious mind, but I know it is there.
I’ve talked to others who are experiencing the same thing, and it manifests
itself in various ways: poor memory; moving from one task to another and not
going back to complete the first thing; making mistakes, irritability,
frustration with oneself, depression, and loneliness, to name a few. I wonder
if you are experiencing some version of this, and if so, how you are coping. Is
this something you might be interested in as a topic for small groups to
discuss? Not this Sunday, but after church another week – perhaps on March 14
when we will mark a year since being in church in person. Please let me know if
this interests you.
I’ve
been so glad to hear that many of you have gotten your first dose of the
vaccination, and that the second dose is in the near future. I felt a real
sense of relief after getting my second dose. I continue to wear a mask, wash
my hands and maintain physical distance from others, as there is so much we
don’t know about transmission after receiving the vaccine and protection
against all the new strains. Even so, it is encouraging to know so many are
being vaccinated. We may be able to safely visit family before long, begin to
travel again, and have outdoor in person worship services when the weather
warms.
For
Easter we will distribute communion in the same way we did on Christmas Eve.
I’ve ordered communion kits that have a real wafer this time, and hope this is
more satisfying than the little hard squares in the last batch.
And
speaking of Easter, mark your calendars for our Holy Week services:
March
28 at 10 am – Palm Sunday
April
1 at 7 pm – Maundy Thursday
April
2 at 7 pm – Good Friday
April
3 at 8 pm – The Great Vigil of Easter
April
4 at 9 am – Easter
The remaining Sundays at 10:00 AM
This Sunday-March 7th
at 9:00 a.m.
The Third Sunday in Lent
via Zoom (email RectorSAITV@gmail.com for Zoom information)or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/standrewsinthevalleytamworth/
AND...
JOIN US FOLLOWING THE SERVICE FOR
A VIRTUAL
on ZOOM
READINGS FOR SUNDAY
The Third Sunday in Lent
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in
ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly
in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to
the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First
Lesson Exodus
20:1-17
In our first lesson Moses gives the people
the ten commandments that God spoke to him on Mount Sinai. These precepts are at the heart of Israel’s
law or Torah, and form the basis of the covenant with God established through
Moses. The first four commandments
prescribe Israel’s relationship with God.
Those which follow require fundamental responsibilities in human
relationships.
Psalm
19
A hymn which glorifies the Creator God, with special
praise for the law and a prayer for avoidance of sin.
The Second Lesson 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
In this epistle Paul directs the
Corinthians’ attention to God’s way of using what is weak and lowly–even what
the world regards as foolish–to accomplish God’s purposes. Paul emphasizes this understanding because a number
of these new Christians had come to think of themselves as especially gifted
and wise. Yet the cross has shown God
active in the world in a manner surprising both to the Jews’ expectation of
powerful signs and to the Greek’s desire for worldly wisdom.
The
Gospel John 2:13-22
Our gospel is the story of Jesus’s cleansing
of the Jerusalem temple of its commercial activities, and his prediction that
his body will become the new temple. The
fourth evangelist places this incident very early in Jesus’ ministry. It signifies the need to cleanse religious
practices of corrupting influences and to put in their place a new form of
worship. In the future Christians will worship God by sharing together in the
risen life of Christ.
For our First Nation people and those in this country who are living in impoverished areas of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and the inner city areas populated by some of our poorest citizens.
For all those who are on the front lines serving communities during these difficult times.
Updating the Prayer List
Please let Deb know if you want to put someone back on the prayer list going forward. Thank you for helping us keep our prayer list up to date.
Sunday, March 7th
If you like meeting new people, sharing your story and your faith with others, lively discussion about scripture and other authors, praying together, all from the comfort of your living room, EFM may be for you! If you need more information, Jen, Carol, Sammie, or Pat would be happy to answer any questions.
Safe Church Zoom Trainings 2021
Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 6:00 pm - Click HERE to register
Praesidium, the operator of the Armatus System that tracks and presents our safe church training is planning a major system upgrade. As a result of this upgrade your email address will now become your user/login name and your unique identifier effective Friday, February 26. Accounts with more than one person using a single email address and users without an email address will no longer be allowed. Please be aware of this change and report any problems to Marty Cloran.
A Lenten Prayer composed by the School of Ministry in Plymouth, NH
Almighty God, Source of all mercies: As your love protected Jesus during his time of isolation and trial, may it also strengthen us. Help us to trust in your love’s power to heal. Take away our pride, and give us the courage to seek your way, so that when this Lent is over, we might find ourselves renewed for the hard and holy work of living as one human family. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
13 Trudy Thompson
16 Caroline Hines
20 Albert Bunker
21 Chris Boldt
30 Kaitlyn Marshall, Barbara Lord
31 Claudia Kennedy
