Thoughts from Lori
It’s amazing, isn’t it, how the sun and the warmth in the air have revived us all! Of course, I’ve been in the mid-West long enough that I don’t trust March – or even April – to stay this way. But it gives us hope, doesn’t it, that spring will come.
In the same way, we’re about half-way through Lent, and we have the promise that the Resurrection will come. It came long ago, and it comes again, not only in the liturgical sense, but in our lives. If your life is anything like mine, you’ve experienced many deaths – whether they be literal or figurative – and hopefully, many resurrections. Life does return; life is regenerated year after year.
Whatever your Lenten journey is about, and whatever is going on in your life, my prayer is that you will find yourself first at the foot of the cross and then at the empty tomb. Winter is always followed by spring. Lent is always followed by Easter, and death is always followed by resurrection. Thanks be to God.
Faithfully,
Lori +
Coffee & Conversation
For the next three weeks, we will meet at Coffee & Conversation as an ad hoc worship committee to talk about music, liturgy, and all things pertaining to our worship. If worship is important to you, you won’t want to miss this!
Congratulations to our own Terry Jaworski!
She was recently hailed as an “Everyday Hero” by the Northwest Herald for her work with the Diaper Bank. You can read about her here: www.nwherald.com/heroes-2015/
Mobile Food Pantry
St. Paul’s will be hosting a Mobile Food Pantry on Saturday, May 30th from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The Mobile Food Pantry delivers nutritious food directly to the people in need of food assistance.
It only costs $1200 for thousands of pounds of food. We are now accepting donations. Please talk to your friends, family members and places of business that support matching programs for charitable work. Together we can make this happen. Donation envelopes are available in the Narthex. Checks should be made out to Northern Illinois Food Pantry. Please put “St. Paul’s Food Pantry” in the memo line. Thank you for your support!
On the Calendar
Vestry – Thursday, March 19, 7:00 p.m. Vestry Day – Saturday, March 21Holy Week
Palm Sunday – March 29 Holy Monday- Holy Eucharist, 7:00 p.m. Holy Tuesday – Holy Eucharist, 7:00 p.m. Holy Wednesday – Holy Eucharist, 7:00 p.m. Maundy Thurs. – Agape Meal/Eucharist, 7:00 p.m. Good Friday – Stations of the Cross, Noon Mass of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts, 7:00 p.m.Easter Sunday – April 5
Lessons and Hymns for Sunday, March 15th
(Fourth Sunday in Lent – Year B)
by the Rev. William McLemore
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS:
The First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9. This passage recounts the exodus of the people of Israel in the desert and their complaining about the hardships of no food and no water.
The Psalm: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22. This psalm recalls the redemption of the Lord and how God redeems even some who were “fools and took to rebellious ways.”
The Epistle: Ephesians 2:1-10. Paul reminds the people that it is through God’s grace that they are saved to do good works in the Name of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel: John 3:14-21. Jesus recalls that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, just so Jesus Christ will be lifted up for those who trust and do what is true.
THE HYMNS:
Processional Hymn: No. 525. “The Church’s One Foundation.” This hymn was written by Samuel John Stone (1839-1900) in response to the liberal interpretation by the Rt. Rev. John William Colenso (1814-1883), the first Anglican bishop of Natal. Bishop Colenso was also a mathematician, theologian, biblical scholar, and social activist. Stone was an Anglican priest who felt deeply troubled by Colenso’s ideas about Christianity and especially the interpretation of the Bible. Thus the third verse of his hymn: “Though with a scornful wonder men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed; yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, ‘How long?’ And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.” The tune, “Aurelia” was composed by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876).
Sequence Hymn: No. 671. “Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound.” “Amazing Grace” is a hymn written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725-1807), published in 1779. It is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Newton grew up without any particular religious conviction. He was pressed into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. “Amazing Grace” was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year’s Day of 1773. The tune “New Britain” has been traced back to “Southern Harmony,” a shaped note hymnbook published in 1847 published by William Walker which sold 600,000 copies. The hymn is a wonderful testimony of personal faith. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.”
Presentation Hymn: No. 706. “In Your Mercy Lord.” Born in Aldersgate, London in 1789, the son of a bookseller, Josiah Conder (1789-1855) helped in his father’s store and self-educated himself there. When he was six, a severe case of smallpox blinded him in his right eye. The hymn may reflect his own conversion process as it describes vividly what happens when a person moves from being self-centered to Christ-centered. The words were adapted for this hymnal by the Rev. Dr. Charles Philip Price (1920-1999), the late Professor of Systematic Theology at Virginia Seminary. The tune, “Halton Holgate,” was composed by William Boyce (1711-1779), one of the most significant English composers of the 18th century.
Communion Hymn: No. 325. “Let Us Break Bread Together.” This hymn is new to the Episcopal 1982 Hymnal though not to other older Christian hymnals. It is an African-American spiritual in both words and music revealing a deep appreciation for the two elements of the Holy Eucharist-the bread and the wine. (This hymn will be the Communion Hymn throughout Lent.)
Recessional Hymn: No. 603. “When Christ Was Lifted from the Earth.” Written by Brian A. Wren , born 1936, the hymn portrays Jesus Christ ascending to heaven whose arms embrace this divided world, not looking at human distinctions, but the individual hearts and faces of all humanity. Wren is Professor Emeritus of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. The tune, “St. Botolph,” was composed by Gordon Archbold Slater (1896-1979), and English Cathedral Organist.
March 15th Servants
Ushers: Don Jaworski, Rick Carlstedt Lector: Judy Robel Intercessor: Ann Byers Eucharistic Ministers: Pam Dietmeyer, Deb Lang Vestry Person of the Day: John PatnaudeTop 10 Reasons to be an Episcopalian
Reason 10
“No snake handling.”
Robin Williams, Comedian
From the cartoons created by the Rev. William P. McLemore
1965 – 2014
