This Week at St. Paul's - March 17, 2011

We are offering a service of Evening Prayer on Wednesday evenings in Lent. Evening Prayer is one of the services that make up what is known as the Daily Office. It is a service of Psalms, Scripture and Prayer. The service will be Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. The Wednesdays are March 23 & 30 and April 6, & 13. We will also have an Evening Prayer service the Wednesday of Holy Week - April 20.

For our education offering this year we will be using Brian McLaren's book A New Kind of Christianity. Brian McLaren is one of the most insightful thinkers about Christianity and the issues it is facing in this time. The book explores the challenges and opportunities faced by Christians and churches as the world around us changes. The book is both challenging and interesting and raises a lot of questions for all of us. You do not have to buy the book to participate in the class. If you want to buy the book, we encourage you to follow the link from St. Paul's web-site to Amazon.com to buy it - that gives the church a little bit of your purchase price back.

We will work through one chapter of the book each week. The program will consist of a brief presentation on the chapter and then a conversation about the issues raised in the chapter. There will be four ways to participate in the Lent Program -

· Wednesday Evenings from 6:30 - 7 p.m. - March 23,& 30 and April 6, & 13

· Sunday Mornings from 9:15 -9:45 a.m. - March 20, 27 & April 3 & 10

· Saturday Afternoons from 3:30 - 4 p.m. at Tully's at the corner of Transit & Main - March 19, 26 & April 2 & 9

· Or check Pastor Vicki's blog every Monday for the overview of the chapter and join the discussion there. You can reach Pastor Vicki's blog from St. Paul's web-site.

Let's Bowl! - Sunday, March 27

Kids, parents and friends - Come on down to the alleys for St. Paul's annual Sunday afternoon bowling at the Transit Lanes (7850 Transit Road) from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday March 27, 2011. For a low price of $13 a person, you will get your shoes, have 1 1/2 hours of bowling fun, and snack on a slice of pizza and soda. Not up to bowling? Watching (but not laughing) is also allowed. See Ron Stefanski to make reservations and prepayment.

Episcopal Community Services

With the beginning of our Lenten season, we have also begun our annual ECS drive. Our parish goal this year is $7,500. We are sending out an additional email each week throughout Lent, that highlights some of the agencies that our donations to ECS support, and the good works that they do.

In addition, a mailing should come to your house directly from the diocese that includes a pledge form. If you do not receive it, we have additional forms here in the parish office, and would be happy to provide you with one.

As the drive continues, don't forget to check the thermometer poster in the kitchen hallway to keep track of our progress towards our goal!

Diocesan Center Open House - April 9

You are cordially invited to an open house on Saturday, April 9, from noon to 4 p.m. at the new Diocesan Center (1064 Brighton Rd., Tonawanda).

Tour the diocesan offices
Explore the ministry center
See the transformation
Help vision for the future

Bishop Garrison and Bishop-elect Franklin will be in attendance from approximately 1-4 p.m.

Consecration Weekend

Friday, April 29 - Sunday, May 1 is Consecration weekend, and there are several events going on that you should be aware of.

The Youth Lock-In will take place on Friday night into Saturday morning. See the article directly below this one for more details about that.

The ordination & consecration of R. William Franklin as the 11th Bishop of Western New York, will take place on Saturday, April 30 at 11 a.m. at the Center for the Arts on UB's North Campus. Tickets are free, but you must request a ticket in advance. If you wish to attend, please sign up on the poster in the Parish Hall. Tickets will be distributed in early/mid April.

The next morning (Sunday, May 1), Bishop Franklin will be visiting us right here at St. Paul's for both of our regular Sunday morning services.

That same afternoon, all are invited to attend the new bishop's installation at the Cathedral downtown, at 4 p.m. There is no need to pre-register for this event.

The office will be closed on Monday, May 2.

Overnight Youth Lock-In - April 29

There will be an overnight youth lock-in on the eve of the bishop's consecration, at the new Diocesan Ministry Center (1064 Brighton Rd., Tonawanda). This is a chance for middle and high schoolers to spend time with Bishop-elect Franklin, Bishop Michael, and our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori. It will start at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 29, and conclude the next morning at 9:30 a.m. The cost to participate is $5, payable on arrival at the event. To register, visit www.eyouthwny.org, and click on the "Consecration Overnight" link. Youth attending the lock-in and their parents will receive tickets to the consecration. Questions? Email pbresponsewny@gmail.com. The deadline to register is April 15. We hope to see you there!

Do you have yarn hanging around your house?

Well, bring it to St. Paul's. The Outreach Committee is collecting yarn for several projects. There is a bin in the kitchen hallway for your yarn - partial skeins welcome

Submissions for "This Week"

If you have information to submit for this newsletter, please send it to Liz at paulspals@gmail.com, no later than 9 am on Wednesday of the week in which you would like it to appear. Thanks!