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NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF April 9, 2014
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Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Easter Message 2014
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The tomb is empty, and nobody knows where the body is. Mary Magdalene tells the others about the mysterious disappearance, but they give up and go home. Mary stays behind, weeping, and then fails to recognize the risen one before her. As the days pass, each resurrected encounter begins in surprise or anonymity - the disciples fishing all night without catching, Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach, the two on their way to Emmaus. Nobody recognizes him at first sight.
Clearly the risen body is not identical to the Jesus who was crucified. People mistake him for a stranger. He enters locked rooms. He walks along the path to Emmaus for a long time without being recognized. Crucifixion, death, and resurrection result in a transformed body - with evident scars, but changed nonetheless. When he reminds others of God's banquet, meant for the whole world - when human beings are fed and watered, delivered from prison, gathered from exile across the earth, and healed and reconciled into a community of peace - his companions discover that he has once again been in their midst.
What does that resurrection reality mean for the Body of Christ of which we are part? How does the risen Body of Christ - what we often call the church - differ from the crucified one? That Body seems to be most lively when it lives closer to the reality of Good Friday and the Easter mystery. In the West, that Body has suffered a lot of dying in recent decades. It is diminished, some would say battered, increasingly punctured by apathy and taunted by cultured despisers. That body bears little resemblance to royal images of recent memory - though, like Jesus, it is being mocked. The body remembers and grieves, like the body of Israel crying in the desert, "why did you bring us out here to die?" or the crucified body who cries, "My God, why have you forsaken me," or "why have you abandoned us?" In other contexts the Body of Christ is quite literally dying and spilling its lifeblood - in Pakistan and Sudan, in Iraq and Egypt - and in those ancient words of Tertullian, the blood of martyrs is becoming the seed of the church.
The Body of Christ is rising today where it is growing less self-centered and inwardly focused, and living with its heart turned toward the cosmic and eternal, its attention focused intently on loving God and neighbor. This Body is rising to stand in solidarity with criminals sentenced to death, with widows and orphans, with the people of the land who slave over furrows and lettuce fields to feed the world. This Body can be found passing through walls and boundaries that have long been misused to keep the righteous "safe" and "pure." The Body is recognized when the hungry are fed - on the lakeshore with broiled fish, on the road to Emmaus, on street corners and city parks, in food pantries and open kitchens, in feeding neighbor nations and former enemies, and as the Body gathers once again to remember its identity and origin - Christ is risen for the sake of all creation.
Where and how will we look for the Body of Christ, risen and rising? Will we share the life of that body as an Easter people, transformed by resurrection and sent to transform the world in turn?
Christ is risen, Alleluia! Alleluia, Christ is risen indeed!
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Photographer Tom Wyatt to exhibit Of Heaven + Earth collection at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Paris |
The newly renovated Dave Parrish/Norton Clay Parish Hall at St. Peter's Episcopal Church will be the setting for a unique exhibit of exquisite photographic images by renowned photographer, Tom Wyatt.
In answer to what inspires and drives him in his work, Mr. Wyatt states that he has always been surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. "I was born in the Kentucky Bluegrass Region but spent my childhood summers on the coast of Maine." Adolescence found him on an island in that area and college was spent in the Hudson Valley and again in New England.
He is an award-winning cinematographer and director for an independent film company and for the past decade, Mr. Wyatt has lived in Portland, Maine, where he has provided expertise in sound and lighting design for a number of theatrical companies.
"We are most fortunate that Mr. Wyatt has chosen St. Peter's as the venue for his first digital photography show in Kentucky," says The Reverend Chris Brannock. "He has returned to his roots - the place where he was baptized - to share his talents with the Bluegrass community from whence he came."
The exhibit will be on display from Sunday, April 13, through Sunday, May 18, 2014.
The public is encouraged to attend the launch of the show and a reception in Mr. Wyatt's honor at noon on Sunday, April 13, in the Church's Parish Hall at 311 High Street. For more information, please call the church office at 859-987-2760 or email at office@stpetersparis.org |
Lenten Pilgrimage
Church of the Resurrection, April 12
How Can I Keep from Singing: A Liturgy in Song
Our Saviour, Madison County, April 13
Holy Eucharist with Blessing of Holy Oils and Reaffirmation of Ministry Vows
Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, April 15
Trinity Covington Midday Musical Menu
Trinity, Covington, April 16
Unleashing the Power of Age: Diocesan Celebration of Older Adult Ministries
Christ Church Cathedral, 166 Market Street, Lexington, May 10
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Listening to Our Lives
Christ Church Cathedral, 166 Market Street, Lexington, April 2-April 9
"Come Together" - Diocese of Lexington Youth Lock-in
April 12-April 13
Children & Family Ministry Meeting
Trinity Episcopal Church: 320 W. Main St., Danville, KY, April 13
Diocese of Lexington presents: A Child's Walk Through Holy Week
Trinity Episcopal Church: 320 W. Main St., Danville, KY, April 13
Fauré Requiem
Christ Church Cathedral, 166 Market St. Lexington, KY, April 13
For Lent, paint a room at St. Agnes' House
635 Maxwelton Ct, Lexington, KY 40701, March 8-April 12
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Click on headlines for more information.
Upcoming
Ongoing
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Sunday of the Passion: Psalm Sunday
St. Philip's Church, Harrodsburg
The Rev. Peter Doddema, Priest-in-Charge
Easter
The Church of St. George the Matryr, the Cathedral Domain
The Very Rev. Dr. Ronald Summers, Dean
The Venerable Briyant Kibler, Priest in Residence
Lay Cannon G. Andrew Sigmon, Facilities Director
Anniversaries
16 April: Andrew Mepham D
17 April: Brent Owens D
18 April: Stephan Alexander P
24 April: Robert Sessum P
26 April: Marvin Suit P
We pray for beloved clergy experiencing medical concerns: Ron Summers, John Madden, Phillip Garland, Jay Pierce, and John Dews.
We pray for Bishop Doug and Kaye Hahn and their daughter Avery during their time of need.
Download the 2014 Intercessory Prayer List
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