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Third Thursday of March 2015
The Call
is a published twice each month by
St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church

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The next Call will be published on April 2nd

 

 

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Youth News!! 


Below are a few of our upcoming events.  We hope you can come & invite some friends!  For additional dates click here.

 

This Sunday, March 22

is

Family Youth Lunch - after church at the Church House

Learn about our work building a school in Le Pretre Haiti

Contact Person:  Julie Sponagel, [email protected]  

 

WEMO News Link

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Empty coffee cans are needed for the garden, and a youth project.  Metal, 1 lb. cans are preferred, but large fruit cans could also be used.  Contact Kary Mann if you have donations or questions.

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Click here.

to read the report on our mission trip to Haiti. 

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  Women's Book Club

 

The Women's Book Club will meet on Monday, April 6th at 7:00 p.m. at the home of Ida Cox (12323 Ash, Overland Park, KS).

We will be discussing "The Year of Living Biblically" by A. J. Jacobs. All women are encouraged to attend, including women from outside our church. No commitment is required. You may come anytime you see we will be discussing a book that interests you. Dessert will be served. Contact: Susan Petrakos, 816-810-4362.

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      Benedictine Prayer & Study Group

 

Tuesday, April 14th

6:30 - 8:30 pm

(Compline starts at 8 pm)

 

House of Grace Upper Level

Contact Arnetta Johnston at 816-331-7015

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     Evening Prayer

  

Monday, April 20

6 pm

 

House of Grace Upper Level

Contact Lisa Inman at [email protected]

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Intercessory Prayer Ministry

 

Every Sunday, during communion, intercessory prayer will be offered by members of the prayer team for anyone with a request. If you would like the prayer team to pray with you, just go to the narthex at the back of the church and a member of the prayer team will meet with you.

 

Contact Celia McElhany at 816-589-7950 if you have questions or would like to join the team.

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 St. Mary's Kitchen

 

Everyone's participation in the past few years and commitments for 2015 have been extraordinarily successful.  This is a huge reflection on Saint Mary Magdalene for reaching out to help and serve others.  As a church community we are very well known and appreciated at St. Mary's.  It is a very rewarding experience. 

 

If at any time, if anyone wants to assist at St. Mary's please contact Cyndi Troyer or Mike Barnes to schedule a date to help on.  Remember, our normal rotation is for the third Saturday of every month. 

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 House of Grace Library

Open to all 

Stop by and browse. 

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Fr. Marshall's Blog

 

Episcopal Chaplain at the Bedside

 

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In our journey through Lent, it is my prayer for all of us that we can step outside the routine of our days and take in the refreshment of God's spirit.  Even in my practice as a priest, I have to consciously set aside time to be with God in prayer and to meditate on what God is planning for my ministry.  Too often I want to rush through my prayers and get on with the business of other stuff only to realize that this "other stuff" is trivial in comparison to my time with God in my prayers.  I have been blessed by the time spent on Fridays with Deacon Peisha and others who have come to lead and participate in praying the rosary and in walking the Stations of the Cross.  My daily Lenten devotions have helped me to appreciate just how important it is to stop and reflect on Christ's journey out of the wilderness and on the road to Jerusalem, teaching, healing, sharing the Good News and living among people as the Son of man and the Son of God. 

 

As we prepare for Holy Week, I want to impress upon all of us the need for prayer and reflection.  I will soon meet with a priest associate to give my personal confession as part of my religious discipline.   And as I consider my confession and prayers for healing and absolution, I commend to all who are able to consider a similar o pportunity either with me, or another priest with whom you can have confidence.   If you have never made a personal confession, or if it has been a very long time, the experience you may have is uplifting and renewing.  Confession in the Episcopal Church is an act of renewal and reconciliation versus penance.  It is meant to be a time of personal reflection and confirmation that, in confidence, you have been able to share parts of your life with someone who is non-judgmental and with one who can pray with you and provide the blessing of absolution with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  Confession in our tradition is never mandatory. Even confessing with another person that you have complete faith of confidentiality in is a refreshing and renewing spiritual experience.  The difference in confessing with a priest, versus a lay person, is the total confidential relationship required by the canons of the church to protect your privacy and confidentiality, along with the prayer of absolution and reminder of God's forgiveness.  

 

I commend to all to read the Rite of Reconciliation for a penitent found starting on page 447 in the Book of Common Prayer.  There are two settings in forms one and two that speak to the reader differently.  Each form leads the penitent to asking God for grace and forgiveness.  The priest participates only to reassure the penitent of God's grace of healing and forgiveness that only God though Christ can give.  The priest will also lay their hands upon the penitent's head and perhaps anoint them with holy oil as a sign of God's sacramental actions of grace.  I pray that those who can and are willing will participate in their personal confessions.
Holy Week at St. Mary Magdalene will be a time for which any and all can participate each day.   There will be services every evening, Monday, March 30, through Saturday, March 4, at 7:00 pm in the church.  The schedule is as follows: 

  • Palm (Passion) Sunday (10:30 am) begins the week of Holy week with the blessing of the palms and festal procession from the Memorial Garden into the nave.  This service starts with the festivity of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem and ends with the solemnity of his passion.
  • Monday and Tuesday will be spoken Holy Eucharist in the Rite I tradition.  Beautifully set in Olde English, this traditional early Episcopal setting of the service reflects the solemnity and grace of the Holy Week services. 
  • Wednesday will be a service of Tenebrae. The name Tenebrae (the Latin word for "darkness" or "shadows") has for centuries been applied to the ancient monastic night and early morning services (Matins and Lauds) of the last three days of Holy Week, which in medieval times came to be celebrated on the preceding evenings. Apart from the chant of the Lamentations (in which each verse is introduced by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet), the most conspicuous feature of the service is the gradual extinguishing of candles and other lights in the church until only a single candle, considered a symbol of our Lord, remains. Toward the end of the service this candle is hidden, typifying the apparent victory of the forces of evil. At the very end, a loud noise is made, symbolizing the earthquake at the time of the resurrection (Matthew 28:2), the hidden candle is restored to its place, and by its light all depart in silence.
  • Maunday Thursday is traditionally a Eucharistic service where we experience the servitude of Christ in the washing of his disciple's feet before the Passover meal (the Last Supper).  I commend to all to participate in this service as we will ceremonially wash either each other's feet or hands.  My sincerest desire is that all will participate, and even though the washing of hands is less a part of this sacramental act that Christ demonstrated to his disciples, it is still an act of servitude.  Stations will be prepared for us to wash either hands or feet, one person to another.
  • Holy Friday (Good Friday) will be a Eucharistic service from the reserve sacrament and a time of reflection for the crucifixion of Christ.  Veneration of the cross and meditation on Christ's ultimate sacrifice for all of humankind will be our devotion.  I pray that everyone will take time on this day to contemplate and meditate on Jesus, his life, suffering and death, as we are reminded why God sent his son to this world on our behalf.  It is customary to remain in doors and in prayer from the noon hour until 3:00 pm in observance of Jesus way of the cross, his crucifixion and burial.  It is also a tradition to fast and not consume any meat during this day and until Easter.  Knowing that such observances are not possible for many, it is my prayer that during this time each of us can remember the importance of the day, even if for a short period of time during the day.
  • Holy Saturday and the Great Vigil of Easter is both a time when we consider what happened to Jesus after the crucifixion and before the resurrection.  Old traditions and stories describe this time as the "Harrowing of Hell".  In our creeds we make the statements that Christ was crucified, died and was buried, and that he descended to the dead.  Scholars have interpreted this to mean that Christ actually descended to that place spiritually to offer salvation to all those people who died before his life on earth.  The belief is that, even beyond the grave, Christ has given the opportunity for salvation for those that would believe.  The Great Vigil of Easter is the late evening service or the very early morning service of the Resurrection.  Traditionally this service would start at such a time in the evening that it would culminate around midnight and herald in the first Easter service.  Some traditionally conduct this service before dawn where in its culmination happens, as the sun rises and the Eucharist begins.   Either way, this is the triumphal and pivotal service of the entire Christian year.  It is the service that celebrates who we really are as Christians.  This will be very festive, with great music, incense, and the bringing back of the long missed "Alle....".  (not to be proclaimed until that glorious time)

10:00 am Easter Sunday will bring back the great festivities of our Christian worship, with a pre-service musical interlude to celebrate the Easter festival of Resurrection.  Our music team and the congregation will participate as we bring in the Easter season with songs and anthems.  The Eucharistic service will start at 10:30 and will end with a reception and Easter Egg hunt (weather permitting-outside)

 

This is a glorious time in our parish and we have the opportunity to experience Easter in its fullest settings.  I hope and pray that we can participate in all the offerings that will be presented in Holy Week, and if only to attend a few, may we be blessed beyond all expectations.   

 

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious
to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them
again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ
your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

 

Blessings to all, 
Fr. David 

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Gift cards to Johnson Farms for the YOUTH, ANNUAL FLOWER & PLANT SALE are now available! 
  
Beautify your home for a good cause!  Stop by and see us in the narthex. Take some gift cards to sell to family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.  Ask them to beautify their yard for a good cause! 

 

Gift cards can also be donated to SMM for the Community Garden, Remembrance Garden, or Landscaping Committee.  $10 and $25 cards are available, and they can be used all year long. 

 

Johnson Farms, our neighbor (177th and Holmes Rd.) have a variety of family friendly activities during the year.  They have U-pick vegetable patch, farm raised mums, pumpkin patch, farm animals.  Visit johnsonfarms.net  for more information.

 

The proceeds from our gift card sale will benefit our Mary Mag youth in their various activities, ministries, and mission support.

 

Contact Anet Stevens [email protected]

 

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St. Mary Magdalene's Men's Fellowship Group
 
  

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Did you miss the "Love Concert"?  Well maybe next year...  But, if you were unable to attend and you would still like to make a contribution to our music program - well - wait for it - yes, you still can!!  Just deliver your contribution to the church office or drop it in the Sunday collection plate.  Just be sure to clearly note on the check or contribution "For the Music Program".  Thanks Music Team.

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The All Church Annual Garage Sale

Saturday, May 2nd 

 

Plan to bring your donated items on Sun., April 26 or Thurs. evening, April 30.  Our storage capacity is limited, so please contact Anet Stevens about making arrangements for items. Volunteers are needed for setup, sales, cashier, and to help load the truck at the end of the sale on Saturday.

 

SMM Youth will be selling beverages, and hot dog lunches. 

 

Contact Anet Stevens at [email protected] to volunteer, or if you have questions. 

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St. Mary Mag Basics Classes

A Foundation for Faith


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St. Mary Magdalene Basics is a series of 3-6 week courses that give us a foundation for the faith we live together as a parish in the Episcopal Church. It's not an indoctrination, but a chance to roll up our sleeves, learn, discuss and apply the core pieces of who we are as Christians and Episcopalians. These classes are important-and so we ask a commitment to attend the all days in each series

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Classes will be held on Wednesday evenings and will include a light supper at 6:30 pm, class from 7 - 8:30 pm and we will end with Compline. Childcare will be provided if needed. Registration for all classes is open. Please email the rector at [email protected] to register.


 

Click here to see details for each class.
 

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