The Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 26, 2017
Gracious God, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, Collect for The Fourth Sunday in Lent)
March 26, 2017– 10:00 - Who’s Who
Greeter – Cindy Cameron; Host – Nancy Snyder; Scripture – Bev Barton and
Doug Jenisch; Psalm and Prayers – Marge Brennan; Chalice – Joan Lawrence
Studebaker and Doug Jenisch; Announcements – John Monfette; Counters –
Greg Taylor and Kathy Detzer; Altar Guild – Barb Coulter and Barb Lather;
Verger – Leslie Black; Coffee Hour – Beth Neal and Bambi Smithers Koeniger;
Acolytes – Jonathan and Kathryn Brennan
Scott’s Schedule
March 27 – Office Hours 9--12
March 28 – Office Hours 9--12
March 31 – Sabbath Day
April 1 – Commission on Ministry, Standing Committee and People in the
Ordination Process working retreat in Montpelier all day
Announcements
Bishop’s Homecoming and Visitation – thank you – Thanks to everyone for making the Bishop’s Homecoming/Visitation just a wonderful day. Thanks especially to our vestry and leadership team for their thoughts and ideas on how the day would play out. It was definitely a full day but one that fed us all. Thank you, Scott
From the Altar Guild -
- The envelopes for Easter Flowers are in the pews. If you are writing names for Memorial or Thanksgiving, please PRINT clearly. If you use one of the larger forms, please give it to Fr. Scott or a member of the Altar Guild.
- Altar Guild Spring Cleaning is Saturday April 1 starting at 9:00 AM. Coffee and Munchkins will be available. NOTE - we will be changing the Altar after church on the Second.
- Memorial Communion Linens - Poster is hanging in the Parish Hall, please be sure to check it out. Donations may be made toward the project by making your check out to St. Paul's, with Memorial Linens in the memorandum line.
Thanks, Judi and Barb.
Parish Discretionary Fund next week – On Sunday, April 2, the loose offering and any checks marked Discretionary Fund in the memo is given to the Parish Discretionary Fund. This fund is used to help meet the needs of people in our area during difficult times in their lives. The funds are generally used to help with electric bills or car repairs, rent or securing a security deposit for a family. We are finally able to start distributing funds again. The need continues to be extremely high with requests coming in almost every day. Please be as generous as you are able. This is an important ministry of our Parish. Thank you, Scott
Good Friday Offering – now through Good Friday – We will be collecting toward the Good Friday Offering from Sunday, March 26 until Good Friday, April 14. This offering is collected across the Episcopal Church to support the four dioceses in the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. The money collected is used to promote peace and mutual understanding through pastoral care, health care, and educational programs throughout the region. Please make checks payable to St. Paul’s with Good Friday Offering in the memo. To learn more about the Church’s work in the Middle East please visit www.episcopalchurch.org/goodfridayoffering . Thank you for generosity, Scott
Vestry Retreat UPDATE– At out Vestry retreat March 3-4, we continued to address the charge from Annual Meeting regarding Refugees and Immigration. A couple of comments came in with regard to the statement and suggestions were made. The updated statement is:
"As Christians and members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, White River Junction, we welcome all people into our midst as we would welcome Jesus Christ himself. We take our Baptismal Covenant seriously: we do our best to continue in the apostles' teachings and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in prayer; we work to persevere in resisting evil, and when we fall into sin, we repent and return to the Lord; we do our best to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ; we seek opportunities to serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; and we strive for justice and peace among all people, and endeavor to respect the dignity of every human being. To that end, we embrace all people without regard to race, color, ethnic or national origin, age, marital status, physical ability, gender, or sexual orientation."
For now, this is an in-house message. We welcome your feedback around this statement. Please send comments to spcrector@gmail.com . Thank you, Scott and your vestry
Good Neighhbor Health Clinic Dinners – we need you help!
Who: St. Paul’s Church commits to
What: Provide dinner for 8-10 volunteer staff (entrée and side dishes OR soup,
bread & salad OR a 1 dish meal: really whatever you might prepare at home!)
When: On the 4th Monday of each month, delivered by 5pm,
Where: To the Clinic in downtown White River Junction.
How: Please sign up to provide a meal, either on your own, or as a team with others!
March is covered. Please consider signing up on the sheet on the Parish Hall bulletin board for a month after that.
Contact Pam Hanson with any questions: 603-558-1239 or pamela.r.hanson@comcast.net
The Upper Valley Haven Food Shelf needs your help – Thanks for your generosity last week! The Top 5 needs at the Haven Food Shelf this week are cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, milk and, tuna.
March 22-24 – WaterJustice – The 46th National Theological Conference of Trinity Institute - A program of Trinity Church, Wall St, NYC – Webcast at St. James’ Church, Woodstock. Please contact St. James’ for more information.
March 27 – Bible Study– We will meet on Monday March 27 at 7 PM in the parish House. The readings for the week are Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:6-11, and John 11:1-45. All are Welcome !
March 28 - Lenten Series – Having Conversations that Matter – Tuesday, March 28th our Lenten Series will continue – Having Conversations that Matter from 6:30-8:00 in the Parish Hall. We will gather for discussion and conversation. The series will continue on April 4th – mark your calendar today! Each session is independent of the others. Hope you will join us!
APRIL 1 - Altar Guild Spring Cleaning is Saturday April 1 starting at 9:00 AM. Coffee and Munchkins will be available. NOTE - we will be changing the Altar after church on the Second.
Holy Week and Easter Schedule
Sunday, April 9 – Palm Sunday 8 and 10 AM – Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Eucharist
Monday, April 10 – Monday in Holy Week – 7 PM Holy Eucharist
Tuesday, April 11 – Tuesday in Holy Week – 7 PM Holy Eucharist
Wednesday, April 12 – Wednesday in Holy Week – 7 PM Holy Eucharist
Thursday, April 13 – Maundy Thursday – 7 PM – Holy Eucharist, Setting of the Altar of Repose, Stripping of
the Altar
Friday, April 14 – Good Friday – 7 PM – Reading of Passion, Prayer, Communion from the Reserve
Sacrament
Saturday, April 15 – Holy Saturday – 9 AM – Prayer and scripture
Saturday, April 15 – The Great Vigil of Easter – 8 PM – Lighting of the Paschal Candle, scripture, The Frist
Holy Communion of Easter
Sunday, April 16 – Easter Day – 8 and 10 AM Holy Eucharist
May 31- July 9 – River of Life: Connecticut River Pilgrimage - …join us for a day, several days, a week, or the entire journey! Rejoice in and give thanks for the miracle of all life that is made possible by the grace of God through water. Come on a spiritual journey of renewal, restoration, and reconciliation, shaped by the Christian tradition around a series of activities along the Connecticut River, from the Source to the Sea. For more info: http://kairosearth.org/ Sponsored by Kairos Earth and Dioceses of Province One (New England) of the Episcopal Church.
Listen Community Dinner-
Our Listen Community Dinner went very well thanks to the outstanding volunteers and all those who cooked a casserole and baked cookies! The numbers eating dinner was low yet, we had ample food with many take home meals with very small portions of casserole left and no cookies.
The remaining Listen Community Dinners in 2017 are: May 15th, July 17th, September 18th, and November 20th
Weston Priory-
Weston Priory is a quiet restorative place of peace and acceptance. Anyone is welcome to attend their services. Please check Weston Priory website for days Brothers are on Sabbath or on retreat.
Holly plans to attend 11:30 service two Saturdays, March 25 and April 8th. If you would like to go to either service, please let her know. We would meet at St Paul's at 9:15 and return close to 3pm.
Knit and Purl Fellowship-
meets 1st and 3rd Monday of the month at 6:30 in our Parish House. All are welcome and all crafts are welcome.
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St. Paul’s Vestry: Pam Hanson, Senior Warden; Greg Taylor, Junior Warden; Bev Barton; Jon Chaffee; Cindy Dale; Holly Hall; Stuart Johnson; Rich Kremer; John Monfette.
Upcoming Events
Please send event and prayer updates to announcements.spc@gmail.com
April 9 – Palm Sunday
April 9 – Concert by Hanover High School Chorus
April 9 – 15 – Holy Week
April 16 – Easter Day
April 30 – St. Paul’s Quarterly Meeting
May 31 – July 9 – River of Life: Connecticut River Pilgrimage
Ongoing Reminders
- Discretionary Fund Reminder – First Sunday of every month. Please be as generous as possible.
- Laying on of Hands – On the first Sunday of every month those wishing to receive laying on our hands are invited to gather at the Baptismal Font (just as you entered the church) immediately after you have received communion.
- Leadership Team Meeting – every Wednesday 9:30-11:30am
- Worship Team meets – 2nd Thursday of the month in the Church Library at 4pm, all are welcome to attend.
- Vestry meets – 3rd Tuesday of the month in the Parish House at6:30pm. All are welcome to attend.
- Brookside Nursing Home Church Services – Please join us! – Second Sunday of each month (Sept-June) from 2-2:30 pm. If you would like more information about this service, please contact Holly.
- Knit and Purl Fellowship – Meets 1st and 3rd Monday of the month in the Parish House, 6:30 PM. Contact Holly for info.
- Bible Study – meets the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month in the Parish House at 7 PM. We will focus each meeting on the lectionary for the upcoming week. This is a come as you can discussion group, you can do not have to come every meeting. All are welcome!
- St. Paul’s Concerned about Racial Justice group meets the 2nd Sunday of each month, after church (and a little of coffee hour!), for discussion and planning. All are welcome to join us!
- Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) sponsors two regularly scheduled events open to the public: Mondays, 5:30 – 6:00 pm, on the corner of the green across from Hanover Inn, Vigil for Racial Justice.