|
VOICE of St Luke's
March 17, 2013
|
An Invitation to Holy Week and Easter
| |
This Sunday, starting with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the waving of the palms, we enter into the holiest time of the entire church year, the entire drama and passion and feast that is known as Holy Week and Easter.
Don't miss a minute of it!
But if you have to miss some of it, at least know what you are missing.
We begin with two discordant notes on Palm Sunday. Everything starts out joyful, with Jesus riding into town on a donkey (your first hint that something big is about to happen), as people throw their cloaks onto the road to pave the way for the new king of the Jews. Forget that Jesus never wants this for himself. He indulges their celebration, because he knows what lies ahead. This is what he has been preparing for for the last several weeks.
And we are asked to walk with him, as Palm Sunday abruptly changes tone from the singing of "All Glory, Laud and Honor" to the somber notes of "Were You There?" as we read the Passion play, describing Jesus' trial and execution on a cross. We will leave the church in silence, and there will be no coffee hour this day so that we can maintain silence until we have returned home.
I invite you to walk that long, lonely road for Jesus by observing Holy Week. Monday through Thursday we will have Holy Eucharist, and on Thursday we begin the Triduum (Latin for "three days") that precedes Easter. The observance of these three days is an ancient practice that goes back to the first century of Christianity.
Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin word "Maundate" which means "remember," and is a reminder of when Jesus asked us to break bread and drink wine to remember him. He also asked us to "love one another as he loves us" and we wash one another's feet for that reminder. We end Maundy Thursday by stripping the altar area in the church of all beauty and symbols, as a reminder of how Jesus was stripped of his garments before they whipped him. It is a solemn and emotional time in the church space which is usually joyful and celebratory.
The evening of Maundy Thursday, and the early hours of Good Friday, we invite watchers to maintain a prayerful vigil over the reserved sacrament -- the blessed body and blood of Christ -- reminiscent of the time the disciples waited with him (falling asleep, and leaving him alone) in the Garden of Gethsemane while he prayed. Only an hour is asked of you, and if you are able to watch, please sign up by calling the church office.
The vigil will end with Communion from the Reserved Sacrament on Good Friday. At 7 p.m. on Good Friday we will hold a service of Tenebrae, which is Latin for "shadows." This service of readings and candlelight is a powerful reminder of how our own sin and disobedience of God ultimately left us in the darkness, until our loving God banished even death from his kingdom.
Holy Saturday at 9 a.m. we will enter the silence of what could have been a world without God, that space between the Crucifixion of God before his Resurrection, by observing the liturgy for that day, a very simple prayer service.
That night, we will begin our evening around a fire, not unlike the fire the disciples might have gathered around, wondering what is next for them, now that their Lord had seemingly left them. We will enter a darkened church, and re-tell stories, much as they might have done, to reassure ourselves that God has always been there even at the darkest moments of our lives. As more and more candles are lit, we will hear the first "Alleluia!" of the Easter season and proclaim that "Christ is risen!" You are encouraged to bring noisemakers and bells to ring at this most important acclamation of our faith. We will celebrate the first Easter Eucharist at this Great Vigil of Easter, and then share a feast of champagne and ice cream sundaes in the undercroft afterwards.
Easter day will dawn with the bright promise of a God so incredibly forgiving that he forgave those who tried to kill him, and the celebration of the Power that kept that from happening! I promise you that if you can join us for as much of these eight days as possible, it will transform your understanding of Easter, and the sacrifice Jesus made.
|
|
| Join our list |  |
|
WEEKLY
CALENDAR
| |
SATURDAY, March 169:30 - 4:30 SAFE CHURCH Training 10 am - 1 pm Thrift Shop Open5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I - Chapel 6 pm Dinner Theater - Freud's Last Session - undercroft SUNDAY, March 17 - 5 Lent 8 am HE, Rite II - Chapel
9 am Church School; Adult Forum;
Rite 13; J2A
10 am HE, Rite II - Church
1 pm Dinner Theater - Freud's Last Session - undercroft
4:30 pm Flunking Sainthood
MON, March 18 7 pm 3 Mary's Bible Study TUES, March 19 9am - 12 noon Thrift Shop Receiving open Wed, March 207:30 am Men's Bible Study 6:00 pm Compline for Lent-Chapel 6:30 pm Last Soup Supper 7:00 pm LENTEN PROGRAM 7 - 9 Youth Group - parish house Thurs, March 21 8:30 am Women's Bible Study 9 - 11 am 4th Street Cafe
10 am - 2 pm Thrift Shop Open 12:05 pm Healing service - Chapel 5:30 pm Make palm crosses - kitchen 7 pm Choir practice
Fri, MARCH 22 10 am - 2 pm Thrift shop open 2 - 9 pm Massage Therapy SAT, MARCH 23 9 am - 2 pm Massage Therapy
10 am- 1pm Thrift Shop Open 5pm Holy Communion,Rite I - Chapel (Rev. Tom Broad, celebrant)
|
|
Thrift Shop News
| |
Check out the Thrift Shop for their weekly 1/2 price specials!
Thrift Shop BAG SALE this next week, March 21 & 22.
The Shop is cleaned before being re-stocked. Would you be able to help clean the Shop and/or unpack the Spring merchandise?
To know more about helping at the Thrift Shop on a one-time basis, contact Marilyn Olds at 985-5971, or Barb Kiddoo at 483-2440.
|
|
Prayer List
| |
Marie Jim; Kathie Nicholson; Nancy McKenzie; Marge Allesi; Gladys Bolles; Cory Casler;
Jean Andrews;
Richard Meier;
DeLoris Bunce;
llen Peterson;
Carol; Jim;Laura; Sara; Elaine; Amy
|
|
EASTER FLOWERS ~
| |
Submit your Easter flower offerings of memorial or thanksgiving now through Monday of Holy Week, March 25th.
Envelopes are available in your pledge envelope box, in the pews.
|
|
|
|
ADULT FORMATION - 2013
| |
"How can we sing TOGETHER the Lord's song?..."
Sunday, March 17, the Forum will resume will be offering a wonderful opportunity! Fr. Michael Calabria, who spoke in the Forum a year ago December, will be with us via Skype. Fr. Michael was at St. Bonaventure University, but is in Georgetown right now working on his doctorate and working in the chaplaincy program at Georgetown University. The Forum Planning Committee has been working to bring him back to the Forum - and this is the best we can do for now! We will be discussing "extremism" in all faiths - and this promises to be a lively and interesting discussion.
Please join us at the Adult Forum on Sunday mornings at 9 am for interesting information and discussion!
|
CHURCH SCHOOL NEWS
|
This rotation we have focused on Lent, Palm Sunday and Easter. This Sunday, March 17th we will all meet in the undercroft for time together. Church School programming will break from March 24th through April 7th. We will resume on Sunday, April 14th when we will continue our "Prayer" rotation discovering all the places we can pray besides praying in church!
|
FLUNKING SAINTHOOD
| |
Flunking Sainthood
last book discussion this Sunday March 17th
at 4:30 pm --
will be held in the Library
|
|
the Rector Search and You!
| |
Surveys were mailed out this past week to each adult member of the parish. This survey information is a crucial part of the Parish Profile that the Search Committee is creating. We have kept it short and easy to answer, so please be a part of the search process by completing your survey and mailing it in by Saturday, March 23.
If you have not received a survey in the mail, call the church office - 483-6405 - so one can be mailed to you.
~ Karen Collins, Search Committee Chair
|
Lenten Study with the Lutherans
|
Beneath the Cross of Jesus:
A midweek service for Lent
12 - 12:30 pm Wednesdays in Lent
the Chapel at First Lutheran Church, 120 Chandler St.
An ecumenical offering open to ALL in the community -
March 20th Mother Liz Simmons will be the preacher on
"I take, O cross, your shadow for my resting place"
Optional lunch follows each service;
$5 suggested donation.
|
|
Wednesday Night Lenten Program
| |
"One Source...Many Wells"
Wednesday, March 27 will be the final session of our 2013 Lenten Program. We have discovered and discussed our spiritual type and we have discussed how knowing this might help in our rector search. In the last session - we will pull this information together and perhaps take a bit of a different look at what is "Spiritual Type". Join us as we further discuss this topic and get a handle on who we are and what we might be.
|
|
Making Palm Crosses
| |
Thursday, March 21st All are welcome to
participate.
Come to the church kitchen 5:30 pm and learn the "secret" of creating a palm branch cross.
|
 WingedOx Players
Dinner Theater in March
| |
St Luke's WingedOx Players present
Freud's "Last Session"
featuring Matt Smith as Freud and
Miguel Covarrubias as C. S. Lewis
Both presentations are in the form of a
Dinner Theater and are held in the undercroft.
Saturday, March 16th, dinner is served at 6 pm with the show beginning at 7 pm; followed by dessert and discussion with the performers.
Sunday March 17th, begins at 1 pm with the show starting at 2 pm; and is also followed by dessert and discussion with the performers.
Tickets are $10, and
are limited to 60 at each session.
Contact the church office to reserve your ticket!
If you are able to assist the WingedOx Players group in any way, financially supportive, time or creative talent, please speak to Deacon Pierce at 969-7412 (he is the lay reader at 8 am this Sunday, also!) WingedOx players group serves as an outreach ministry and proceeds from the shows are donated to local charities. God Bless!
|
HOLY WEEK and EASTER
Schedule at St. Luke's
| |
Monday & Tuesday, March 25 & 26
12:05 Communion (Chapel)
Wednesday, March 27
11:30 am Communion - service held in the undercroft with Wednesday Group
March 28 -- Maundy Thursday
12:05 pm Communion (Chapel)
5:30 pm Supper, Foot washing & Communion
(undercroft)
7:00 pm Stripping of the Church altar w/ choir music followed by keeping watch vigil
March 29 -- Good Friday
12:05 noon last communion
7:00 pm Tenebrae Service a St. Luke's
March 30 -- Holy Saturday
9 am Holy Saturday Prayers
7 pm Great Vigil of Easter followed by a party
March 31 -- Easter Day
10 am Combined Service in the church.
(No 8 am service)
|
|
|
|
The Rt. Rev. R. William Franklin, Bishop of Western New York
The Rev. Elizabeth Simmons, Interim Rector
The Rev. Cathleen Smith, Deacon
Miguel Covarrubias, Youth Minister
Kim Johnstone Mann, Secretary/Administrator
Barbara Bumsted, Director of Adult Formation
Andrew Schmidt, Organist & Choirmaster
Paul Johnson and Linda Dawson, Wardens.
Office: 410 North Main St., Jamestown NY 14701
Phone (716) 483-6405 * Fax (716)483-6406
Learn more about us on our website:
http://www.stlukesjamestown.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
