Grace Notes: April 2012

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Life-everlasting Now

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

26 April 2012

In Psalm 61 we read (in the prayer book translation) that the psalmist calls upon the Lord “from the ends of the earth” (v. 2). The original Hebrew can also be traslated as “from the edge of the netherworld,” in other words, from the gates of death, and this reading changes how we understand the psalmist’s recitation of trust in God, “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy” (v. 3). When we understand the first reference to be to the netherworld, we understand that the enemy is the final enemy, Death, and it is then that we can better appreciate that the resurrection of our Lord has removed from every tyrant his or her last weapon.

Our faith is much more than an ideology. It is power! We may agree or disagree with doctrine, with theology, but when we have faith we live it, because in this life we live in intimate and constant contact with our risen Lord, and our risen Lord has triumphed over all. Note the temporal marker: It is not that Jesus will triumph, but that He has. We do not expect to one day “meet our Maker” because we do. The life-everlasting is not something we are born into when we leave this world, but life that we live now, as those reborn by water and the Spirit; those who, having died with Christ has risen with Him.

How did the disciples witness to Jesus? All of the disciples (including Matthias, who replaced Judas) except for John suffered violent deaths; deaths such as being crucified upside down, being flayed, or being beaten to death with clubs. And let’s not forget that Paul was beheaded and Barnabas stoned to death. Looking just at the evangelists, Church Tradition informs us that Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed with sword. Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead. Luke was hanged in Greece. And John? He faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. (He still had writing to do.) John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation. He was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

The disciples could not have faced torture and death as they did for an ideology. They faced death because they were alive in Jesus Christ, and He faced death with them, having triumphed over death once and for all. A strong tower, indeed. When we have faith we are “Easter people” who live in the resurrection of our Lord now, and for all time, in the certain knowledge that even death cannot separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8.38-39). The Lord is risen indeed! Alleuia!

Thanksgivings: Thanksgivings are due to all of the members of the Vestry for their organization of the installation, to Dcn. Michele for he extra work in preparing and executing the liturgy, to Bernie Markevitch for preparing and coordinating the reception, to the Fabbianos and Kochs for serving as acolytes, and to Ben Dobey and the choir for their extra work. What a joy it is to experience and witness the people of God working together!

Please take the opportunity to notify the office of any member or friend of the parish to whom we owe thanks, in order that we can publicize this in the weekly newsletter.

Vacation Bible School: VBS will be offered this summer at St. Dominic Catholic Church and at St. Peter Lutheran Church. Morning and evening programs are available. Contact the parish offcie for program details.

Music this week:

Prelude Pastorale J. S. Bach

Entrance Hymn #495 “Hail, thou once despised Jesus” In Babilone

Offertory Hymn #645 “The King of love my shepherd is” St. Columba

Communion Motet The Lord’s my Shepherd arr. Gordon Jacob

Comm. Hymn #312 “Strengthen for service, Lord” Malabar

Closing Hymn #208 “The strife is o’er” Victory

Postlude Acclamations sur ‘Christus vincit’ Jean Langlais

Parish Notices

§ Church Flowers: We do not have anyone signed up for church flowers all through May as well as various other Sundays throughout the year. If we have no memorials or thanksgivings for those weeks we will not have flowers in the church, this is not a budget item and must be funded by the congregation. Flowers can be donated for $50 payable to Grace Church with a memo “flowers”. There is a sign-up sheet on the Narthex table. This is a wonderful way to participate in the beauty of Holiness in our weekly worship.

§ First Communion Instruction: will continue at 9:00am during Sunday School, for children ages 4-7 who are ready to receive Holy Communion. This is a good refresher for those who already receive and a good introduction for those who may not yet receive. First Communions will take place May 20^th during the Bishop’s Visitation.

§ Christian Formation: Adult formation at 9:00am continues with “liturgics show and tell,” in which we will tour the parish for instructed discussion in matters such as the origin and significance of church architecture, vestments and vessels, the iconography of stained glass, statuary, and Church customs.

§ Bible Study and The Bible Challenge: We will resume a schedule of 5:30 p.m. Mass, followed by a light, pot-luck supper, with study commencing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday sessions will follow the weekly readings from The Bible Challenge. Lessons will be reviewed for the week ending the prior Saturday (e.g., on 1 May the lessons for week 9 will be reviewed.
We will also resume Thursday morning sessions, which will follow the Sunday lectionary lessons. Study will commence at 9:30 following 9 a.m. Mass. Lesson summaries for both the lectionary lessons and for the weekly Bible Challenge readings continue to be posted on the parish website.

§ Sunday School Bake Sale: Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 9:00-3:00, in conjunction with St. Luke Methodist rummage sale, the Sunday School will be selling baked goods with proceeds going to outreach.

§ Plant Sale: Grace Church gardens will be selling plants Saturday, April 28, in conjunction with the Bake Sale. The following plants will be available for Sale: Hydrangea, Sedum, Iris, Primrose, Obedient Plant, Gooseneck Loosestrife, and more. All plants to be sold have been grown in the Grace Church Cutting Garden located between the Church and the Rectory.

§ Healing Weekend: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 312 E Main, Plymouth is hosting a healing weekend with Fr. Paul Feider. He will be teaching on the healing power of Jesus and ministering God’s healing love. Saturday, May 5^th will begin at 6:30pm with Worship, teaching and healing prayer. Sunday, May 6^th 9:45am Praise and Worship, 10:00am Holy Eucharist followed by lunch.

§ Sign-Up to Host Coffee Hour in 2013: A sign-up sheet for hosting coffee hour in 2013 is on the table in the narthex. Please sign-up for dates you would like to host. A final schedule and reminders will be generated from the sign-up sheet and distributed in November 2012. Please consider signing up for 2-3 Sundays to help us cover the year! Contact Katy Prange at 920-889-1252 or katyprange@hotmail.com with questions.

§ Parish clean-up: Mark your calendars for parish clean-up day on Saturday, 5 May, beginning at 9 a.m. A Cinco de Mayo taco and snack bar will be available starting at noon.

§ SCIO Spring Luncheon & Fundraiser: Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization is once again honoring women at their Spring Luncheon & Fundraiser which will include Social, Silent Auction, Lunch and Program. Saturday, May 5, 2012 from 11:00am -1:00pm at Pine Hills Country Club, 4914 Superior Ave. Sheboygan. The cost is $40 per person or $320 for a table of eight. Please contact SCIO at 457-7272 ext. 14 for reservations.

§ SCIO Silent Auction: Each member church is asked to provide a themed basket to be added to the silent auction at the Spring Luncheon & Fundraiser. If anyone is interested in putting together a basket for Grace Church there is additional information and basket ideas on the bulletin board in the narthex or please contact the office.

§ Celebration of Marriage Banquet - Great Marriages will be hosting its annual “Celebration of Marriage Banquet” as an opportunity to honor and celebrate marriage! Some couples will renew their vows or honor marriages of friends and family. The evening will be filled with entertainment, dinner, and dancing! In addition, you will have an opportunity to bid on a variety of silent auction items. Special “church discount” of $95 per couple. Please join us at the “Celebration of Marriage Banquet” on Saturday, May 12th, 2012 at The Bull. Call (920) 783-3660 for an invitation and for more information or to make your reservations today! Please RSVP by May 1^st.

§ Stewardship/Fundraising Committee: The Vestry has approved the creation of an on-going Stewardship / Fundraising committee that will be responsible for our annual pledge campaign as well as developing multiple fundraising events. The goal is to charter this committee at the May Vestry meeting. If you are interested in serving on this committee or have suggestions / comments please contact a Vestry member. We appreciate your consideration.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A Call to Service

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

19 April 2012

At the beginning of the year we held a discussion about ways in which this parish is called to outreach and ministry in the community. The Vestry agreed to my request to have the Ministry Expansion Committee undertake an inventory of unmet needs in the community, and I have had the opportunity to explore needs and ideas with representatives of SCIO, the Department of Family Services, other congregations, and The Salvation Army. Most importantly, each day in Lent we also engaged in intentional prayer, asking our Lord for guidance to discern His will for us.

On 22 April I will discuss with the Vestry the results of our investigations and prayer, but most telling is the fact that there is a large overlap between the results of the inventory of needs and the approach which has been made to us by on organization known as LoveINC (Love in the Name of Christ, http://www.loveinc.org/). The LoveINC model is one designed to get Christian churches to work together effectively. My own experience in Mississippi, struggling for five years to get congregations in a town one quarter the size of Sheboygan to work together in addressing basic needs, was sort of like trying to herd cats. Churches just don’t often work well together. The LoveINC model is designed to address the structural flaws by taking all of the information sharing and coordination needs into one resource, making the churches sources of data on needs, and resources for labor and goods. Crucially, LoveINC is very focused on the fact that love is provided in the Name of Christ. This is not a “social service” organization, but a Christian ministry.

I will be serving on the nominations committee of LoveINC for Sheboygan. This group will identify people in the community who have the skill sets necessary to form the organization (e.g., people with legal and tax experience, to form the organzation is an exempt corporation; people to source goods). It will take time to get the new model in place. In the meantime, consider ways to serve now:

–Emmaus Meals at The Salvation Army.

–Meals on Wheels.

–SCIO Bridge House support.

–SCIO lunch backpacks for weekends. Each summer the Boys & Girls Club partners with Head Start, the school district, United Way and the Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization to provide free lunches to kids in the area who have a demonstrated need. This program would not be able to operate without the generosity of volunteers, and this is a great opportunity for Grace to make a real difference in the community. A description of this program can be found at http://www.sauw.org/.

–Support to the ministerial discretionary funds of the parish, for relief in cases of unmet medical needs, emergency shelter, food, etc.

–Boys and Girls Clubs (see the next item).

Most importantly, pray and ask God how He is calling you to serve.

Don’t forget the Family Fun Night this Saturday, 21 April, starting at 6:30 p.m. Drinks and snacks provided; supper is pot-luck. Join the fun with board games, live games, contests!

Thanksgivings: Thanksgivings are due, of course, to Fr. McQueen and Sarah, for their years of faithful service in this parish, and for their Christian grace displayed during transition.

Please take the opportunity to notify the office of any member or friend of the parish to whom we owe thanks, in order that we can publicize this in the weekly newsletter.

Music this week:

Prelude Chorale on ‘This is the day the Lord hath made’ Widor

Entrance Hymn 199 “Come, ye faithful, raise the strain”

Offertory Hymn 305 “Come, risen Lord”

Communion Motet Most glorious Lord of life Harris

Communion Hymn 343 “Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless”

Closing Hymn 194 “Jesus lives, thy terrors now”

Postlude Prelude & Fugue in G Major J. S. Bach

Parish Notices

· Church Flowers: We do not have anyone signed up for church flowers next week or all through May as well as various other Sundays throughout the year. If we have no memorials or thanksgivings for those weeks we will not have flowers in the church, this is not a budget item and must be funded by the congregation. Flowers can be donated for $50 payable to Grace Church with a memo “flowers”. There is a sign-up sheet on the Narthex table. This is a wonderful way to participate in the beauty of Holiness in our weekly worship.

§ Christian Formation: Adult formation will begin April 22^nd at 9:00am. Our first program will be a two week “liturgics show and tell,” in which we will tour the parish for instructed discussion in matters such as the origin and significance of church architecture, vestments and vessels, the iconography of stained glass, statuary, and Church customs.

§ Bible Study and The Bible Challenge: Bible study resumes on Tuesday, 24 April. We will resume a schedule of 5:30 p.m. Mass, followed by a light, pot-luck supper, with study commencing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday sessions will follow the weekly readings from The Bible Challenge. We will also resume Thursday morning sessions, which will follow the Sunday lectionary lessons. Study will commence at 9:30 following 9 a.m. Mass. Lesson summaries for both the lectionary lessons and for the weekly Bible Challenge readings continue to be posted on the parish website.

§ First Communion Instruction: will begin April 15^th at 9:00am during Sunday School, for children ages 4-7 who are ready to receive Holy Communion. This is a good refresher for those who already receive and a good introduction for those who may not yet receive. First Communions will take place May 20^th during the Bishop’s Visitation.

§ Adult Formation on Sundays (9:00 a.m.) will resume on 22 April. For the first two weeks we will build on our instructed Eucharist with an “Instructed Liturgics” class (2 weeks) in which we will walk around the parish as a group, examining and talking about things like vestments, windows, sacred vessels, church architectural design and fabric. The idea is to have “show and tell” to allow all parishioners to know why we use particular articles in worship, what is of special interest about the organ, what is the warrant in Scripture and Tradition for the vestments and liturgical gestures, etc. Sessions will be facilitated by Fr. Karl, Deacon Mike and Deacon Michele, Betty Potter, Bernie Markevitch and by Dr. Dobey.

§ Plant Sale: Needed: flower pots to be used for the Grace Church Plant Sale Saturday, April 28, in conjunction with the Bake Sale. The following plants will be available for Sale: Hydrangea, Sedum, Iris, Primrose, Obedient Plant, Gooseneck Loosestrife, and more. All plants to be sold have been grown in the Grace Church Cutting Garden located between the Church and the Rectory.

§ New to You Sale: St. Peter Lutheran Church will be holding its annual New to You Sale Saturday, April 28th, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 2104 Geele Ave. Sheboygan in the Fellowship Hall. Enter through the North doors directly from the parking lot. Wheel chair accessible. You will find a large variety of gently used items will be available. (No Clothing) Proceeds will go to support community outreach. Thank you, if you have questions, please feel free to call St. Peter Lutheran Church at 452-4771.

§ SCIO Spring Luncheon & Fundraiser: Saturday, May 5, 2012 from 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. at Amore, 18 W. Mill Street, Plymouth. Sheboygan County Interfaith Organization is once again honoring women at their Spring Luncheon & Fundraiser which will include Social, Silent Auction, Lunch and Program. The cost is $35 per person or $280 for a table of eight. Please contact SCIO at 457-7272 ext. 14 for reservations.

· Healing Weekend: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 312 E Main, Plymouth is hosting a healing weekend with Fr. Paul Feider. He will be teaching on the healing power of Jesus and ministering God’s healing love. Saturday, May 5^th will begin at 6:30pm with Worship, teaching and healing prayer. Sunday, May 6^th 9:45am Praise and Worship, 10:00am Holy Eucharist followed by lunch.

§ Parish clean-up: Mark your calendars for parish clean-up day on Saturday, 5 May, beginning at 9 a.m. A Cinco de Mayo taco and snack bar will be available starting at noon.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Who Matters?

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

12 April 2012

A television advertisement for a large congregational church in a nearby community now features the phrase “The church where people matter”. Contrast this phrase to the mission of the Church as defined in the prayer book Catechism: “The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and with each other in Christ.” This mission is pursued in prayer, worship, proclammation of the Gospel, and the promotion of justice, peace, and love (BCP 855). Where is the contrast? It is directional in the sense of whether we would describe the Church as a holy mystery in which God matters, or in which people matter, or both.

People do matter, of course, because we matter to God. This is why He gave His only-begotten Son for us. This is why the Church, as a holy mystery (i.e., as something which must be experienced in order to be understood), offers God worship and service in how she reaches out, that others may become members of our Lord’s Body. This is why when we read St. Paul’s words at 1 Cor. 15.58, “... thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” we may see the cross as the symbol for this victory.

In contrast to a cross, a circle is a closed thing. But a cross is open, and reaches out, just as our Lord “... stretched out [His] arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of [His] saving embrace ...” (BCP 101). The vertical beam of the cross keeps us focused on God, the horizontal on each other, and they come together in the cross, in Jesus Christ. People can’t “matter,” and we cannot be restored to unity with each other, if we are not in right relationship with God. God must matter first. This is why our Lord, in summarizing the Law speaks of love of God first, and only then of love of neighbor (Mtt. 22.34-40; Mk. 12.28-34; Lk. 10.25-28). When we are in right relationship with God this is reflected in right relationship with each other, and when we mistreat or ignore each other this reflects a defect in our relationship with God.

In this Eastertide, as we shout “Alleluia!” in the victory shout of those saved by Jesus, let us never forget that when we know and love and serve our Lord we are changed in who we are, and it is because of who we are that we can make people “matter”. Oh, and while we are worrying about how things matter, let us ever remind ourselves that people must matter to us–even people whom we don’t like–because they matter so much to God that he gave His Son for them.

Thanksgivings: There are many people to thank this week!

Please remember all of the thanksgivings offered last week for Holy Week. In addition, this week we need to again thank Bernie Markevitch for all his work on the Easter Gala.
Thanksgivings are offered to all of the acolytes and master who were so busy over the past week: Scott, Noah and Isabella Fabiano, Caleb and Eli Klinzing, Kaleigh Kraft, Stuart Schmidt, and Doris and Dustin Yang.
Thanksgivings are offered to Wes and Barb Jung for their ongoing work in the cutting garden.

Please take the opportunity to notify the office of any member or friend of the parish to whom we owe thanks, in order that we can publicize this in the weekly newsletter.

Vacation Bible School: No one has stepped forward to coördinate VBS. VBS will therefore, not happen unless we identify a coördinator not later than 13 April. We cannot as a parish claim to consider children and youth to be a priority, and then fail to treat them as a priority.

Music this week:

Prelude Fantasy in G major J. S. Bach

Entrance Hymn #193 “That Easter day with joy was bright” Puer nobis

Offertory Hymn #206 “O sons and daughters, let us sing” O filii et filiae

Communion Motet This joyful Eastertide 17^th C. Dutch mel., harm. Charles Wood

Communion Hymn #209 “We walk by faith, and not by sight” St. Botolph

Closing Hymn #180 “He is risen, He is risen” Neander

Postlude Fugue on ‘O filii et filiae’ Jean Langlais

Parish Notices

§ Christian Formation: Christian formation for children will begin on April 15^thfor all ages. Adult formation will begin April 22^nd at 9:00am.

§ Plant Sale: Needed: flower pots to be used for the Grace Church Plant Sale Saturday,

April 28, in conjunction with the Bake Sale. The following plants will be available for Sale: Hydrangea, Sedum, Iris, Primrose, Obedient Plant, Gooseneck Loosestrife, and more. All plants to be sold have been grown in the Grace Church Cutting Garden located between the Church and the Rectory.

§ Parish clean-up: Mark your calendars for parish clean-up day on Saturday, 5 May, beginning at 9 a.m. A Cinco de Mayo taco and snack bar will be available starting at noon.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

One Flock under One Shepherd

Grace Episcopal Church

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Grace Notes

5 April 2012

Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

So we pray in one of the solemn collects of Good Friday. In this collect we both petition our Lord and remind ourselves that God reaches out always; He reaches out to those who do not know Him, to those who fight against or turn from Him, and he reaches out using us. We are confronted daily, and a Church and as individuals, with people who have yet to receive the Good News, with people who are at best indifferent to it, and with people who oppose their wills to God’s. In this outreach we have much work to do, but notice that the end sought is not just that people will receive the Gospel but live it as “one flock under one shepherd”. The answer to our prayer involves us accepting all those who are not now members of the Church, and in accepting them we cannot just look at ourselves to see the model of those who God seeks.

In our Passion account (John’s) heard on Good Friday, we encounter not the Jesus who agonizes over His Passion (as He does in Matthew, Mark and Luke), but the Jesus who exercises power; the Jesus who lays down His life knowing that He will take it back up. We have to combine these accounts to get a full picture, but when we do we see that the Jesus “... who was numbered among the transgressors” (Mk. 15.28) is the same Jesus depicted in John as crucified between two others (Jn. 19.32). In other words, the Jesus who acts in power in John is numbered among the transgressors because this is His will. This does not mean that God invites and then cares not over the response. One thief turns to Jesus, the other rejects Him (Lk. 23.39-43). It is the first who is saved, because he turns to God and accepts Jesus as his shepherd.

When we look outward from the Church to those who do not know God, we often don’t like those whom we see. But we are still called to love them as ourselves. Love involves transformation, but it always involves giving of self. As we relive the supreme self-giving of God, let us renew our commitment to express God’s love to all. Some will choose God; some will reject Him. In calling them He cares not where their hearts are now, but to where they turn, and He keeps calling them even when they turn away. Let the knowledge and love of God arise in all hearts, that all hearts may with joy cry, “Alleluia! the Lord is risen, indeed!”

Thanksgivings: There are many people to thank this week!

Thanksgivings are offered to the deacons of this parish, who do so much extra work in service that is often unseen. In this busy time of the Church year the work of Dcn. Mike and Dcn. Michele is a little more visible, but consider all that they do that you may not see (e.g., visits to shut-ins, instructing the Catechumenate) and take the opportunity to offer thanks.
Please thank, as well, Ben Dobey and all of the choir for all of the extra work (and fine offerings) in preparation for and throughout Holy Week and Easter.
Please thank all of the members of the Altar Guild for the work they do throughout the year, but especially at this time, to support the offering of worship in the parish. Members include Claudia Fischer, Bev Evans, Bobbi Kraft, Katie Maki, Mary Snyder and Gail Tyska.

Please take the opportunity to notify the office of any member or friend of the parish to whom we owe thanks, in order that we can publicize this in the weekly newsletter.

Music this week:

Maundy Thursday

Prelude Prelude on ‘Sacramentum Unitatis’ Sowerby

Opening Hymn “Zion, praise thy Savior, singing” (Lauda Sion)

Gloria in excelsis Gregorian Mass X adapt. Wildman

At the Foot Washing: Ubi caritas Durufle

God is love, and where true love is Proulx

Offertory Hymn 315 “Thou, who at thy first Eucharist didst pray”

Communion Motet Ave verum Plainsong

Comm. Hymn 204 “Humbly I adore thee”

Procession to the Altar of Repose:

Hymn 329 “Now, my tongue the mystery telling”

Good Friday

Sung Passion Gospel Plainsong

Veneration of the Cross:

The Reproaches Vittoria

Crux fidelis John of the Cross

Easter Vigil

Gloria Mathias

Offertory Christus vincit (Christ has conquered) Noyon

Communion Motet Most glorious Lord of Life Harris

Comm. Hymn 305 “Come, risen Lord”

Closing Hymn 208 “The strife is o’er”

Postlude Grand Choeur Dialogue Gigout

Easter

Prelude Air from the Orchestral Suite in D J. S. Bach

Processional Jesus Christ is Risen Today

Gloria in excelsis (choir) Missa in C (the ‘Organ Solo Mass’) W. A. Mozart

Sequence (choir) Victimae Paschali Plainsong

Offertory Anthem Regina Coeli W. A. Mozart

Sanctus & Benedictus (choir) W. A. Mozart

Fraction Anthem Agnus Dei W. A. Mozart

Communion Motet Jesus, Sun of Life G. F. Handel

Communion Hymn 174 At the Lamb’s High Feast

Closing Hymn 210 The Day of Resurrection!

Postlude Toccata from Symphonie V Charles-Marie Widor

Holy Week Schedule (remaining):

April 5 6:00 pm Maundy Thursday Solemn Mass with foot washing and vigil

April 6 1:00 pm Good Friday

April 7 9:00 am Holy Saturday Liturgy

April 7 7:00 pm Easter Vigil

April 8 8:00 am Easter Mass

10:15 am Easter Solemn Mass and Gala Reception

Parish Notices

§ Maundy Thursday Foot Washing: Everyone will have the opportunity to have their feet washed following the example of Jesus washing his disciple’s feet. Please wear socks and shoes that are easily removed.

§ Good Friday Offering: Every year since 1922 the Church has taken a collection for the Church in the Middle East during Holy Week. This year our loose plate offering on Maundy Thursday will go to support the church efforts in Jerusalem and throughout the Middle East. Please be generous as you are able.

§ Vigil before the Altar of Repose: Please sign up to watch and pray for an hour at the Altar of Repose beginning immediately following the Maundy Thursday Mass April 5 and concluding Friday, April 6 as the Good Friday Liturgy begins. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex, more than one person can sign up for any given hour.

§ Easter Gala Reception: We will continue our Easter celebration with a Gala Reception after the 10:15 a.m. Mass on Sunday, April 8^th. Please sign up to bring sweets or savories and to help clean up afterwards. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Narthex.

§ Office Closed: The office will be closed Monday, April 9. There will be no Mass that day.

§ Christian Formation: There will be no Christian Formation for adults or children on Easter, April 8^th. Christian formation for children will begin on April 15^thfor all ages. Adult formation will begin April 22^nd at 9:00am.

§ First Communion Instruction will begin April 15^th for children ages 4-7 who are ready to receive Holy Communion. This is a good refresher for those who already receive and a good introduction for those who may not yet receive. First Communions will take place May 20^th during the Bishop’s Visitation.

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Life-everlasting Now

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A Call to Service

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Who Matters?

Thursday, April 5, 2012

One Flock under One Shepherd

Sequence (choir) Victimae Paschali Plainsong

Communion Hymn 174 At the Lamb’s High Feast

Closing Hymn 210 The Day of Resurrection!