At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me."

I scanned the headlines early this morning. A familiar name caught my eye: Duluth doesn't make the New York Times much. And certainly not for this reason: There was a mob lynching of three black men there in 1920. . . .

I remember asking my mother in the 1960s about racial prejudice in Minnesota when she was growing up. She didn't remember any. We didn't really have any Negroes there, she said. Well, I guess they had three. And then they had three fewer.

She was five when the lynching happened. Ten thousand people came out to see it. Men had broken into the city jail and hauled the three out. Men? My grandfather was a man and he lived in Duluth. Was he there? Did he go? Did my grandmother go, and did they watch? Did they take my mother? We didn't really have any Negroes there.. . .

My kind forebears. My good family. That good city, full of good people. Ordinary people. Impossible. But anything is possible for ordinary people. Any goodness, and any evil. They can allow themselves to be led either way. They can visit the church and the killing fields on the same day. They tell themselves that it is their leaders who take them astray, but they are the ones who raise up the leaders, and they are the ones who follow them.

So who killed Christ? Ordinary people. Like you and me. It is not enough to bemoan this evil age. I do not control this age. But I do control myself. Start there.

From Let Us Bless the Lord, Year One: Meditations on the Daily Office, Vol. 1, Advent through Holy Week by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton. Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com

A service commemorating the "Last Supper" of Jesus with his disciples, taking place at the Passover Seder. At this Seder, Jesus again affirms the two great commandments: "Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," and "Love your neighbor as yourself." In the Gospel of John, he also performs another act: the washing of the disciples' feet, providing yet another great example of service to others. Jesus then commands his disciples to serve others as he has been willing to serve them. Jesus' command-the mandatum-is the source of the name "Maundy" Thursday. The final acts- the Stripping of the Altar and the singing of Psalm 22-remind us of the conflicts of Jesus as he saw the events of his life's end unfolding. A Vigil continues through the night in Bradley Chapel

Good Friday - April 22

8:00am   Mass of the Pre-Sanctified  (Bradley Chapel) 

Communion from  reserved Sacrament.

12:00pm Stations of the Cross

Prayer, short sermon, hymns and  music observing the journey of Christ to the cross.

With the First Reformed Church of Nyack.

8:00pm  Proper Liturgy & Veneration of the Cross

The story of the events of Good Friday with the Grace Church Choir.  A time to meditate and pray on this day when one may experience most fully the sacrifice of Jesus.

Holy Saturday - April 23 

8:00pm  Great Vigil of Easter & Baptism

Readings, prayers, first Easter Eucharist, and Renewal of Baptismal Vows. With congregations of St. John's Episcopal Church of New City, St. John's in the Wilderness, Stony Point, Trinity Garnerville, and St. Paul's of Spring Valley.  Followed by a reception.

Easter  Sunday - April 24

8:00am   Holy Eucharist (Rite I)    

9:30am   Holy Eucharist (Rite II; Parish Choir, Joyful Noise Gospel Choir, & St. Cecilia Choir)   
 11:00am  Festal Eucharist (Rite II; Senior Choir)

Monday, April 25 - Grace Church Office is Closed
 6:00pm RPCC/Family Connections Mentors meeting

PARISH FORUMS - between 9:30 and 11:00am services

Easter Sunday, April 24 - No Parish Forum
Sunday, May 1 - The Season of New Life

TRAVELING TABLE

Starting this April, the Fellowship Commission invites everyone to join us at our "traveling table": through a variety of gatherings and activities, we hope to extend the idea of the "table" and invite people to find their place in new ways.  

This month, we will take an excursion to the NyackCenter on Wednesday, April 27 for Rivertown Film's screening of the inspiring film Today's Special and stay for a Q&A with the filmmakers.  The screening is at 8:00pm, but we can meet at 7:30 and take advantage of the great treats offered by the Rivertown Film cafe. Visit: todaysspecial.com  for more about the movie, and contact

THE COMMISSION ON ADULT SPIRITUAL FORMATION
Biblical Matriarchs Come to Life at Grace
 On Mother's Day, May 8,  ASF presents Miriam's Well production of  "In the Voice of our Mothers" http://www.inthevoiceofourmothers.com/  which tells the intimate, powerful, personal narratives of our Biblical matriarchs, as imagined by Woodstock playwright, director, and acting coach Carol Fox Prescott (www.CarolFoxPrescott.com). The performance will be held at 4:00 pm in Memorial Hall at Grace Church Nyack, 130 First Avenue, Nyack.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. 

"In the Voice of Our Mothers" is an interactive theatrical event.  Actors and audience dance, sing, talk and sit together in an unbroken circle. Time folds in on itself as we move effortlessly through the ages and back again. Out of the silence, Miriam arises to find her voice.  Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah join her as our ancient biblical traditions come to life, only this time in the voice of the women. A discussion with the playwright and professional cast will follow the performance. "In The Voice of Our Mothers" is appropriate for people of all or no religious tradition; for men as well as for women; and for mature teens.  The production at Grace Church is one of many taking place in synagogues, churches, colleges and prisons in our area and throughout the country.

"In a startling and provocative theatre piece..........Prescott has managed to be true to the ancient texts -with all those tents and concubines and dusty herds of goats-and yet absolutely convince us that we know these people as intimately as we know ourselves, the emotional lives described are variants of our own, the descriptions of how and why choices are made are completely understandable, and recognizable, and the  actions taken--whether bold or surreptitious-those too we  almost remember, and the consequences are the consequences we live with." - Naomi Rothberg, Jewish Currents

MEDIEVAL CIRCUS FESTIVAL  Saturday, May 21

Calling all squires and ladies, join the Amazing Grace CIRCUS! for a Medieval Circus Festival on Saturday, May 21, 2011 from Noon - 6:00pm.  Don't miss this opportunity to see amazing feats, colorful costumes and fabulous stunts by young performers led by instructors from Big Apple Circus, Acrobrats Inc. and Lux Entertainment under the 150 year-old Gothic cathedral of Grace Church Nyack.  Rockland's own circus performers are sure to dazzle your eyes and inspire your imagination.  Special guest Ringmaster is Bishop Catherine Roskam. This family event offers interactive entertainment for everyone including comedy jousting, acrobats, aerialists, artisans, crafts, face painting, period music and food.  Tickets are available by calling (845) 348-8740 or sending an email to carlo@amazinggracecircus.org. Adults $35, Children $15 and youngsters under 3 are free.  Proceeds benefit the community outreach programs of Grace Church Nyack including services that feed and provide shelter to the homeless in Rockland and NYC and the safe youth and educational initiatives offered by Amazing Grace CIRCUS! For more information about the Amazing Grace CIRCUS!, and to buy tickets for the Medieval Circus Festival, please visit www.amazinggracecircus.org.

FELLOWSHIP  TO BEGIN SUMMER WITH A ZANY FARCE

The Comedy of Errors, believed to be one of Shakespeare's first plays, is a terrific choice for our thirteenth season attending The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at Boscobel. This madcap comedy follows the misadventures of two sets of identical twins who were separated in their infancies and each grew up sharing the same names: Antipholus and Dromio. They find  themselves in the same town and much mayhem ensues over the course of just one day.  

It will be a rollicking good time and we invite you to join us for the 6:00pm performance on Sunday, June 26^.  When the box office opens, the Fellowship Commission will reserve 50 seats for our Grace Church family and friends. So mark your calendars now. Details will follow in the next Messenger and reservations will be accepted beginning in May.     Barbara Cross, Fellowship Commission