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You can view the parish calendar here.
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Wednesday of Holy Week (April 16) Eucharist w/ Healing Service @ 12 Noon
Knitting and Prayers (Stitches) @ 12:30 PM
Maundy Thursday (April 17)
Agape Meal @ 5:30
Holy Eucharist w/ Foot Washing and Stripping of Altar @ 7:00 PM Good Friday (April 18)
Holy Eucharist and Veneration of Cross @ 12 Noon
Stations of The Cross @ 3:00 PM  Holy Saturday Preparation and Preparation for Easter @ 12:00 Noon Easter Vigil @ 8:00 PM
Vigil Celebration @ 9:40
Easter Sunday Festival Eucharist and Celebration @ 10 AM
Easter Egg Hunt and Coffee Hour (Outdoors - Weather Permitting) @ 11:15 AM
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| St. James Episcopal Church Westwood
Weekly Epistle - April 16, 2014
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ
At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. (John 13: 21-22) Read today's and upcoming Holy Week Lessons here.
for our Christian life. It's rather ironic that yesterday was Tax Day. I've had my taxes dones for awhile but I dilly-dallied in sending my return in because I knew that I had to write a check to the IRS. I did so and then went to the Post Office to mail it yesterday morning. Death and taxes...
Then, I drove up to Procter Camp and Conference Center to reaffirm my ordination vows with Joyce and dozens of other clergy members from the Diocese of Southern Ohio.
It's rugged enough to have to pay income taxes. It's truly a humbling experience for me to consider and recommit to the vows I took as a priest seven and a half years ago. I swore then and I swear now that I'll do my best with God's help to be a faithful pastor to everyone I interact with in my ministries. I've committed myself to be diligently mindful in prayer and scriptural studies. I devoted myself to becoming an inspiring and righteous preacher. I promised that I would take part in the Episcopal Church's governance as a presbyter in this denomination. I have vowed that I will endeavor to minister the Word of God andv the sacraments of the New Covenant, so that the reconciling love of Christ may be known and received?I have assuredly been imperfect in fulfilling these vows. It is with a great sense of humility that I renewed them yesterday while taking an account of what it means for me to be an ordained priest of the Christian Church. There's plenty of room for Christ's forgiveness & redemption in my life. I will humbly approach Good Friday's Cross. I invite you this Holy Week to check out how you're relating to God and the people around you.
For me, to believe in Jesus is to understand that I have knowingly and unknowingly betrayed him & the people who believe in him. For me, to follow Jesus for the next three days is to know that The Christian Life whether it be as an ordained or lay person is entirely impossible without letting go of much of our self-interest while allowing Jesus' sacrificial love to re-create us. Each and every hour offers opportunities to move more deeply into our Christian faith and doubt. Personally, I will sit down at table with him tomorrow not fully comprehending what's happening as we break bread with one another. I'll wash the feet of other people pondering our shared and secret emotions. I'll feel a sense of amazement of what it means to commune with one another while recalling Christ's first Eucharist with his disciples.
I'll leave church tomorrow night and return home to a warm bed even as Jesus sleeps alone on the street with other homeless and betrayed people. I'll venerate The Cross on Friday afternoon still pondering why evil is so prevalent in our world and why transformative dying is core to Jesus' horrible execution and central to every human being's life. I'll be really happy when the Easter Vigil arrives Saturday night. The question for me is: will I have completed an honestly repentant accounting of my Christian faith so that I will gladly shout Alleluia with a renewed heart, body, and soul when the lights come up and Alex plays a magnificent organ fanfare! What about you? What thoughts and actions seem most important this Holy Week? Today is a great day to take such an account.
It's Wednesday - Day 3 of the Holy Week Pilgrimage. May God bless you and abide with you through this day's moments and those that lie ahead in The Upper Room, Caiaphas' courtroom, Pilate's Porch, Golgotha's grizzly hill, and Holy Saturday's uncertainties. May you earnestly travel with millions of Christians who are wandering this pathway with you and Jesus.
Blessings Along The Way, Jim+ |
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Upcoming Special Events at St James:Easter Sunday is THIS SUNDAY! Invite your friends and family to be our guests. Activities include an Easter Egg hunt for children, and a especially tasty fellowship time following Church. In addition, we'll be taking photos for everyone who wishes to receive a personal, couple, or family photo for memory's sake. The weather is supposed to be terrific. Be here and bring some friends and family members with you!
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Springtime Music Series is in Swing
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St. James 2nd Annual Springtime Music Series continues on Saturday May 3rd at 7:00 PM. Cincinnati's Collaborative Ringing Project comes to St. James! Learn more about the Series here.
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Concluding Thoughts
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Last week I preached about the dramatic situation that was the backdrop for Jesus' entry in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The tension surrounding Holy Week still exists in Jerusalem. Thousands of pilgrims still travel there to commemorate the events of Jesus' last week or mortal life as well as his resurrection. This documentary video highlights what it is like to celebrate Holy Week in the Holy Land today.
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