Next Week
Shrove Tuesday, February 17
Our second annual “Taco Tuesday”
7:00pm in the Parish Hall
Please let Pam Dietmeyer know if you can help prep at 5:30!
Ash Wednesday
Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes
Offered at noon and 7:00pm
Thoughts from Lori
I’ve gotten really leery lately about how often my sermons contain references to the sorry state of the world these days. It’s just that the news is so… disturbing! I’ve threatened to give up news for Lent, only I don’t think that’s possible or responsible. More to the point, it’s short sighted. Clearly, we all need to be aware of our world.
But how to avoid being in a permanent state of gloom and doom? That’s the question, isn’t it. We can pray, of course, and ask God to help us protect and care for each other and this spectacular creation. I do that. But what really helps – me, at least – is this quote:
The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. MLKjr.
It’s not necessarily a religious quote, but it certainly contains holy hope. And I believe it to be true. In fact, I believe that human history is full of examples of our slow movement toward justice. This is not to say that such progress is solely of our own making. I am not a humanist; that is, one who believes that on our own we human beings can achieve our own salvation (however you understand that word). Whatever progress toward justice we may have accomplished is surely inspired and empowered by the Spirit of God.
I share this quote with you in the hope that it will help you as it does me. It reminds me that all creation is in God’s hands and that ultimately, God is steadfast and trustworthy. May our hearts and minds be filled with hope and peace, and may we be impassioned to pray and work for the promise of justice for all.
Faithfully,
Lori +
Coffee & Conversation
Our topic at Coffee & Conversation this Sunday will be The Nicene Creed. Beginning February 22nd, the First Sunday in Lent, we will start a casual study the Old Testament book of Job. No prerequisites! All are welcome to this opportunity for rich discussion and conversation.
Sharing the Feast
Whenever we get together to share a meal we can be sure that the food will be delicious and plentiful.
We are always very generous with each other in providing more than enough for all. We are about to embark on an extension of this generosity by taking the feast out into our community. We will do this by holding a food drive each and every time we share a meal together. Simply stated, when we feed ourselves we will feed the hungry.
Beginning with Shrove Tuesday Tacos we are asking that everyone bring non-perishable food items which will be donated to the FISH Food Pantry. We will have a food drive for our annual meeting, our quarterly meetings, the parish picnic; whenever we feed ourselves we will feed others.
A list of the Top 10 Most Needed Items for the FISH Food Pantry is located on the narthex table for you to take home. There are also forms for monetary donations if that is your preference. Our neighbors are hungry and we can help.
Magdalene & Thistle Farm, A Presentation by Lisa Lee
St. Ann’s, Woodstock on February 25 at 7pm
Magdalene House is a ministry to women which helps them escape prostitution and sex trafficking. It was founded by the Rev. Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest, and is located in Nashville, Tennessee. Becca and the residents and graduates of Magdalene established and run a cottage industry called Thistle Farm, thus providing jobs for these women and producing wonderful, natural soaps, lotions, candles, essential oils, and now teas. We have been invited to St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock for a presentation by Lisa Lee (our bishop’s wife) on Wednesday, February 25 at 7:00pm.
The Women’s Tea was a Huge Success!
The Women’s Tea was a huge success! Twenty-plus women gathered at the Rector’s home for a variety of tea and delicious homemade goodies, all for a good cause, and had a great time. The idea grew out of Women’s Wednesday as we discussed how we could help other women, especially women who are struggling for independence and dignity in the developing world. Through Episcopal Relief and Development, the money we raised will be used to make “micro-loans” to women, allowing them to start or expand small businesses. The ripple effects are far reaching: their businesses provide jobs to other women; their children remain in school; and their whole communities benefit. And we raised $560! Well done, women of St. Paul’s!
Caregiver Counseling and Support Program
Family Alliance is reaching out to faith communities to share news about a free program (covered by a grant from the McHenry County Board of Mental Health) they are offering that may be of interest. It is for persons experiencing the stress and loneliness that comes with giving care to another adult. Participants learn of the health risks and the importance of self-care. Program elements may include learning mindfulness practices and how to incorporate them into a daily routine, as well as educational events and support groups conducted by professionals and experts in the field. While the caregivers take time to experience the benefit of this expert guidance, their care recipient can spend the day at the same location in our award-winning adult day program (an option – also no fee – made available if it helps).
To qualify:
caregiver or care recipient must be over age 50
caregiver must be experiencing loneliness, stress or isolation
caregiver must want to improve outlook
caregiver must want to be the best caregiver they can be for their loved one
There are many reasons a caregiver may want to keep their loved one out of assisted living or a nursing home… this program is designed to help that caregiver be the best, healthiest person they can be.
Interested persons can contact Family Alliance at (815) 338-3590 to learn more.
On the Calendar
Endowment Committee – Tonight, 6:30 p.m. Shrove Tuesday Tacos – Feb. 17th, 7:00 p.m. ** Ash Wednesday services – Feb. 18th, noon, 7:00 p.m. Vestry – Thursday, Feb. 26th** Prep cooks are needed for Taco Tuesday at 5:30 **
Please let Pam Dietmeyer know if you can help!
Lessons and Hymns for Sunday, February 15th
(Last Sunday after Epiphany – Year B)
by the Rev. William McLemore
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
The First Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12. This is the story of the death of Elijah who is walking with Elisha. Elijah promises that Elisha will inherit his prophetic spirit and departs into heaven on a chariot with horses of fire.
The Psalm: 50:1-6. God calls all the earth saying, “Gather before me my loyal followers, those who have made a covenant with me.”
The Epistle: II Corinthians 4:3-6. Paul reminds the Church at Corinth that he doesn’t proclaim himself, but “Jesus Christ as Lord.”
The Gospel: Mark 9:2-9. This is the amazing story of the transfiguration of Jesus-where his clothes become “dazzling white” and God proclaims him as “My Son, the Beloved.”
THE HYMNS:
Processional Hymn: No. 7. “Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies.” This hymn was written by Charles Wesley (1707-1786) which he based on Malachi 4:2. “But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” The tune, “Ratisbon,” is from Johann Werner’s “Gesangbuchern,” (1815). The present harmony is by William Henry Havergal (1793-1870).
Sequence Hymn: No. 137. “O Wondrous Type.” This is one of many hymns written anonymously for use at Salisbury Cathedral at their celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration. The 1940 hymnal had this set aside for Transfiguration, but the editors of this hymnal have placed it in Epiphany for its emphasis upon the bright light associated with this biblical event. The tune “Wareham” was composed by William Knapp and named for his birthplace, Wareham in Dorsetshire, England.
Presentation Hymn: No. 490. “I Want to Walk As a Child of the Light.” This hymn, based on I Thessalonians 5:4-5, was written by Kathleen Thomerson, currently the Organist and Music Director at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. She was born in Tennessee and grew up in Mississippi, California, and Texas. Her college music study was at the Universities of Colorado and Texas, the Flemish Royal Conservatory in Antwerp, and privately in Paris. Before retirement in Austin, she lived in Collinsville, Illinois, when her husband was a biology professor at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. This is one of her best-known hymns and she composed its tune and named it “Houston.”
Communion Hymn: No. 332. “O God, Unseen Yet Ever Near.” This hymn was written by Edward Osler for publication in William Hall’s “Psalms and Hymns Adapted to the Services of the Church of England,” 1836. The text has been in the Episcopal Hymnal since 1892. The words rightfully mention God’s love for Israel in the streams and manna in the desert, fulfilled by the nurture of the sacrament of the Eucharist. The tune, “St. Flavian,” is a condensation of a melody in the English Psalter of 1562, commonly known as the “Day Psalter.”
Recessional Hymn: No. 530. “Spread, O Spread, Thou Mighty Word.” This hymn was written by Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier and is one of the first hymns to turn from the individual piety of the 19th century to the zeal for foreign missions and education. The present form includes only the first five of the original seven stanzas of the hymn. The tune, “Gott Sei Dank,” is a melody taken from the German, “Geisteiches Gesangbuch,” (1704) and harmonized by William Henry Havergal (1793-1870).
February 15th Servants
Ushers: Don Jaworski, Rick Carlstedt Lector: Judy Robel Intercessor: Ann Byers Eucharistic Ministers: Deb Lang, Pam Dietmeyer Vestry Person of the Day: Pam Dietmeyer101 Reasons to be an Episcopalian
Reason 18
“Ours is not just a checkbook ministry. Episcopalians roll up their sleeves and help.”
Agnes L. Haviland-Moore, Diocese of Connecticut
From the cartoons created by the Rev. William P. McLemore
1965 – 2014
