March 2016
Transcription
March 2016
serving God by serving others M A R C H “For me, one of the most powerful texts in the whole Book of Common Prayer is this one from the rite for burial.” 2 0 1 6 Dear People of St. Alban’s Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, when a cross is smudged on our foreheads with these word, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Lent ends with Easter’s resurrec on joy. Lent is a kind of focused prac ce session for life – from dust to dust, and beyond. with God. How might I live such that, even at the grave, my love will burst into songs of joyous praise and thanksgiving? That is a ques on for Lent, in prepara on for Easter. What Lenten prac ce now will deepen my joy upon For me, one of the most powerful texts in the whole Book of Common Prayer is this one from the rite for burial. Inside Lenten Boxes ........... 2 Holy Week ............... 2 Bible Study .............. 3 Stewardship ............ 3 Lenten Potlucks ....... 3 New Email Addresses ............. 3 Reading Camp ......... 4 Blessing of the Cars ................ 4 Chili Cook-Off .......... 5 BBQ Dinner.............. 5 Easter Flower .......... 6 Easter Commemoration .. 6 Calendar .................. 7 March 2016 You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. (BCP, p. 499) Whenever I read that last sentence, a shiver runs through me, a shudder infused with hope and awe. Yes, we all will die. We are mortal, yet we are made in the image of the immortal God. We are made capable of giving and receiving love – with one another, and ul mately arriving at the open grave of Easter morning? How might I pause – as I awaken, or shower, or look in the mirror, or read a daily devo on -- to feel God’s love? And how might I convey that love to others today? As love flows, faith grows, and grace abounds. The earliest Chris an fathers and mothers taught people to use the me that we are given in our life to prac ce now the virtues that will serve us for all eternity. Prac ce love now, that your heart may sing forever. Faithfully, Paula+ 1 We’re Buying Piglets with Our Lenten Box Offerings! Lent is a me of serious personal reflec on. At St. Alban’s, it is also a me for caring for people in need by giving our Lenten Box offerings to Episcopal Relief and Development. The logo for ERD is “healing a hur ng world”. This disaster relief and development organiza on does that by “allevia ng hunger, improving the food supply, and crea ng economic opportuni es” for struggling families in many countries. By dona ng to the ERD Gi s for Life Program, we can buy piglets for families to raise, eat, or sell. Two piglets grow up to make many more piglets, enabling the families to prosper. Please collect your coins, check, or cash in your Lenten Boxes throughout Lent to see how many pigs we can buy. Thanks to Sandra Heinecke, we have “pig” Lenten Boxes and adorable painted piggy banks to collect coins for ERD. Each pig costs $100, or for just $20, we can buy a share of a pig. Your gi will provide pigs to a family as well the training to raise and sell the pigs. By giving a gi of farm animals for a family, we are helping them to break the cycle of poverty. Your Lenten Box offerings will enable St. Alban’s to make a difference. We will begin collec ng Lenten boxes on April 3rd, the Sunday a er Easter. PALM AND PASSION SUNDAY, March 20, 8 and 10:30 am For the 10:30 service, the procession with palms will begin in the Fellowship Hall. HOLY THURSDAY, March 24, 7 pm Jesus instructs his disciples through foot washing and the ins tu on of the Lord’s Supper. The service concludes with stripping of our altar. GOOD FRIDAY, March 25, 7 pm Through art and music, reflect on the last words of Jesus on the cross. EASTER SUNDAY, March 27, 8 and 10:30 am Come, rejoice, and sing! LENTEN POTLUCKS on WEDNESDAYS through March 16th at 6pm Bring some food to share, along with your ideas and experiences to contribute to discussion. For our program each week, we’ll view a short video to s mulate our discussion. Each segment features commentary by some of America’s premier biblical scholars on the stories that mark the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, along with art by John August Swanson. What wondrous love is this? Let’s explore together. 2 Serving God by Serving Others Memorial Service for the Rev. Janet Johnson On March 19, 11:00 am, a memorial service to celebrate the Life of Janet Johnson + will be held at St. Margaret’s Church, 1601 Pleasant Plains Rd., Annapolis. Contact St. Alban’s if you would like to carpool. On MARCH 6, the first Sunday of the month, loose offering will be used toward repaying our Endowment Loan. On MARCH 20, the third Sunday of the month, loose offering will be contributed to the Rector’s Discre onary Fund for aid to local people in need. WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY. EUCHARIST, AND LUNCH will con nue a er Ash Wednesday with a new me of 10:30 am for the start of the Bible Study. Eucharist will remain at noon, with a light lunch following. You are welcome to come for the Bible Study, or just come for the Eucharist, or come for all three segments on any Wednesday. A Concert with Paula Maust Our interim music director, Paula Maust, won the compe on at Peabody to play a concerto on harpsichord with the Baroque Orchestra. She’ll be playing pieces composed by Bach. The concert is at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, March 30 at the Peabody Ins tute (Griswold Hall, 1E Mount Vernon Place, Bal more). Contact Rev. Paula if you would like to carpool. NOTICE: New Email Addresses for Church Personnel & Organiza ons! St. Alban’s has migrated to new email addresses on our new domain address, saintaalbanschurch.org. The following addresses are now ac ve: office@saintalbanschurch.org (Office Administrator) rector@saintalbanschurch.org (Rev. Paula) newsle er@saintalbanschurch.org (Newsle er Editor) Please update the church’s contact informa on on your PC, phone or tablet. March 2016 3 March is the month we begin preparing for Glen Burnie Reading Camp which will be held July 18-22, 2016. This month, forms will be revised, new flyers prepared, and we will start to visit local businesses to generate interest in our camp. Also, we will begin to recruit volunteers for this summer’s camp. Many of us are looking forward to volunteering this summer, having fun with the campers, and being a part of an important week helping the children improve their reading . In February, for Valen ne’s Day, we sent a Valen ne card and three books to each camper who a ended last summer’s camp. We wanted to let them know we were thinking of them and hoping they were having a good year in school. The books were chosen by our Camp Director, Maija Denson. We sent them Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, What If You Had Animal Teeth? by Sandra Markle and Howard McWilliam, and Lion vs. Rabbit by Alex La mer. We have heard that campers were super excited to receive their books and super apprecia ve! Don’t forget to put Monday, May 2nd on your calendar for the Quarter Auc on to benefit Glen Burnie Reading Camp. More details to follow next month. Blessing of the Cars Lost in the Fi ies, one of Maryland’s largest an que car clubs, will be visi ng St. Alban’s on the morning of March 12 for a blessing of their cars. Come and see! Please send your submissions for the April Beacon by March 20 to newsle er@saintalbanschurch.org 4 Serving God by Serving Others For Sale! Two Cemetery Plots Are you looking for a final res ng place for yourself or your loved ones? St Alban’s has been blessed with the gi of two cemetery plots in Meadowridge Memorial Park, 7250 Washington Blvd., Elkridge, Maryland, 21075, just 12 minutes from Glen Burnie. We would like to offer them for sale to our parishioners before offering them to parishioners of other churches. Meadowridge Memorial Park is situated in a beau ful pastoral se ng with many mature trees, and a lovely stream meandering throughout the cemetery. When visi ng your loved ones in the spring, the cherry tree and dogwood blossoms are gorgeous. In the fall, the foliage color is magnificent. The plots are located in Block 38, Westland sec on, lot 101, site 1 and 2. Westland sec on is in a quiet se ng situated near Meadowridge Road. For pet lovers, the Westland sec on is conveniently located right next to the pet cemetery, Noah’s Garden of Pets. Meadowridge Memorial Park is a lovely and tranquil place to visit, or for your loved ones to visit you. Our two sites in this beau ful, well-maintained cemetery are reasonably priced at $3750 for each. If you are interested or have ques ons, please contact the church office at 410-766-1455. BBQ Dinner is a HUGE Success! Many thanks go out to everyone who helped make our Pork BBQ Dinner such a successful fundraiser. Whether you helped serve, set-up, clean-up, brought friends or just dined with us, you helped to make it a successful night. A special thank you to Bill & Bonnie Carter and Ma Pindell, our chefs who prepared the delicious pork. Not only did we all enjoy a wonderful meal, it was evident there was a lot of enjoyed fellowship. All proceeds from the dinner go to help pay off our Endowment Loan and I am thrilled to announce we made $1806.00. We look forward to having another BBQ Pork Dinner in the fall and several other types of dinners throughout the year. Everyone enjoys gathering for a good meal, fun and fellowship and at the same me we can pay down our loan. Again, many thanks for your support. March 2016 5 Easter Flowers St. Alban’s Altar Guild would like to invite the congrega on to help transform the sanctuary into a “garden of flowers” for Easter Sunday! If you wish to purchase or make a dona choices: Lily (3-5 blooms): Tulips (6 blooms): Geraniums (8”pot): Daffodils (8” pot): on to the flower fund for decora ng the church, we have four flower $13.00 each $9.00 each $15.00 each $15.00 each Please place this form in the offering plate or mail to: St. Alban’s Episcopal Church 105 1st Avenue SW Glen Burnie, MD 21061 Checks are payable to: St. Alban’s Church with a nota on in the memo sec on: Easter Flowers Last Sunday to order is March 20th. Number of lilies: Number of tulips: Number of geraniums: Number of daffodils: Total number of flowers: ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ @$13.00 = @ $9.00 = @$15.00 = @$15.00 = Total: ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ Submi ed by: __________________________________________________________________ We appreciate your donation! Easter Commemorations A St. Alban’s tradition on Easter Sunday is to commemorate names of loved ones during the Holy Eucharist service. It is a time to remember departed loved ones and friends or family who have been supportive throughout the year. Please use this form to submit names. Place form in the offertory plate or email to: office@saintalbanschurch.org (church email) with subject line: Easter flower donations The last Sunday to submit names is: March 20th. ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 6 ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Serving God by Serving Others March 2016 March 2016 Sun Mon Eternal Quilters meets on the 2nd Thu at 10 am Tue 1 Wed 2 Fri Thu 3 4 Sat 5 10:30 am Bible Study Chili Cook-Off 3-5 pm Noon Eucharist Purple Heart meets on the 3rd Thu at 6:30 pm 6 7 6 pm Lenten Program & Potluck 8 13 14 8 am Holy Communion 9:15 am Choir Prac ce 10:30 am Holy Communion 20—Palm and 15 16 6 pm Social Ministries 10:30 am Bible Study 8 am Holy Communion 9:15 am Choir Breakfast 10:30 am Holy Communion 10 11 21 22 12 Blessing of the Cars 17 18 19 11 am Memorial Service for Rev. Janet Johnson at St. Margaret’s Annapolis Noon Eucharist 7:30 pm Ladies Guild Passion Sunday 8 am Holy Communion 9:15 am Choir Prac ce 10:30 am Holy Communion 27—Easter 9 10:30 am Bible Study Noon Eucharist 2 pm Prayer Shawl Min. 6 pm Lenten Program & Potluck 8 am Holy Communion 9:15 am Choir Prac ce 10:30 am Holy Communion 6 pm Lenten Program & Potluck 23 24—Holy Thursday 25—Good Friday 10:30 am Bible Study 7 pm Eucharist 7 pm Service 26 Noon Eucharist 2 pm Prayer Shawl Min. 28 29 30 31 10:30 am Bible Study 6 pm Vestry Mee ng Noon Eucharist Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Mon & Fri at 7 pm Al-Anon meets each Fri at 7 pm Food Addictions meets each Mon at 7 pm 7 The Beacon of St. Alban’s St. Alban’s Episcopal Church 105 1st Ave SW Glen Burnie, MD 21061 Phone: 410-766-1455, Fax: 410-766-5432 Email: office@saintalbanschurch.org www.st-albans.ang-md.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Sunday Worship Services 8:00 am - Holy Communion, Rite I (no music) 10:30 am - Holy Communion, Rite II (with music) Sunday School, K-8 and Nursery This Lent, remember to feed your pig! Church Office Hours Monday-Friday 9am-12 pm Rector Rev. Dr. Paula Datsko Barker Office Administrator: Char McFayden 8 Serving God by Serving Others