March 2020 1 Each Week: Sundays 10 AM ............................ Holy Communion Wednesdays 10 AM ... Holy Communion & Healing Wednesdays Noon ............................... Staff Meeting 1 st Sundays 1 PM .................... Area Recovery Group Mondays 7PM ............................................... Alanon Wednesdays 3:15 PM ........................ Choir rehearsal Thursdays 6:30 PM ............................................. NA March 3 .............................. Liturgy Committee 5:30 March 5 .................................. Lent Bible Study 5:30 March 7 ........................... 1st Saturday Supper 4 PM March 8 ......................................... Jeff—Choir Tour Daylight Savings March 12 ................................ Lent Bible Study 5:30 March 17 ..........................................Vestry 5:30 PM March 19 ................ Kyle—United Churches 10 AM Kyle—Library Board 12 noon Clericus 2 PM Lent Bible Study 5:30 March 21 ................ Presbyterian Home Bingo 1 PM March 23 ........................................... Daffodill Days March 31 ..............................Litugy Committee 5:30 April 2 .................................... Lent Bible Study 5:30 April 4 .......................................... 1 st Satruday 4 PM Pride Fest in Lounge 2 PM April 5-12 .......................................... HOLY WEEK April 7 ................................... Weeping Tree Cantata The Messenger Happy Birthday to Brian Mitchell ........................... 3/14 Patricia Miller ......................... 3/15 Ann Morrison ................................ 3/19 John Matter ..................................... 3/21 Michael Mechtley ............ 3/30 Todd Benner ...................................... 3/30 Veronica Chappell ................. 3/30 & Grant us, gracious Father, the grace to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on your holy Word. Grant that we may remember that though we are dust, and to dust we shall return, that we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen .
12
Embed
The Messenger...The Weeping Tree. Trinity Episcopal Jersey Shore, Trinity Episcopal Williamsport, St. Mark’s Lutheran, and Messiah Lutheran’s choirs and clergy are all participating.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
March 2020
1
Each Week:
Sundays 10 AM ............................ Holy Communion
Thursdays 6:30 PM ............................................. NA
March 3 .............................. Liturgy Committee 5:30
March 5 .................................. Lent Bible Study 5:30
March 7 ........................... 1st Saturday Supper 4 PM
March 8 ......................................... Jeff—Choir Tour
Daylight Savings
March 12 ................................ Lent Bible Study 5:30
March 17 .......................................... Vestry 5:30 PM
March 19 ................ Kyle—United Churches 10 AM
Kyle—Library Board 12 noon
Clericus 2 PM
Lent Bible Study 5:30
March 21 ................ Presbyterian Home Bingo 1 PM
March 23 ........................................... Daffodill Days
March 31 .............................. Litugy Committee 5:30
April 2 .................................... Lent Bible Study 5:30
April 4 .......................................... 1st Satruday 4 PM
Pride Fest in Lounge 2 PM
April 5-12 .......................................... HOLY WEEK
April 7 ................................... Weeping Tree Cantata
The Messenger
Happy Birthday to Brian Mitchell ........................... 3/14 Patricia Miller ......................... 3/15 Ann Morrison ................................ 3/19 John Matter ..................................... 3/21 Michael Mechtley ............ 3/30 Todd Benner ...................................... 3/30 Veronica Chappell ................. 3/30
&
Grant us, gracious Father, the grace to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on your holy Word. Grant that we may remember that though we are dust, and to dust we shall return, that we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
March 2020
2
Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith. I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word… (BCP pp 264-5)
21 February 2020 Dear Members of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania,
In just a few short days, we will gather in churches across our diocese on Ash Wednesday to hear words from
our Book of Common Prayer inviting us to the observance of a holy Lent.
We will transition from the season of light and glory- Epiphany- in to the season of prayer, fasting, and reflection-
Lent- and, working through a process of discipline, study and introspection, reconcile ourselves before the Lord and
prepare for the paschal feast of Easter.
Lent offers us a time for deep soul work: We are given the opportunity to look with compassion at parts of us that
are broken, to seek understanding, and to ask God to give us the tools to make us whole again; we are given the
grace of time to focus on changes that we would like to make in order to live more harmoniously with our creation,
each other, and our Creator; we are invited to draw from the well of Holy Scripture to find ancient wisdom for our
modern lives; and we are really blessed to have this “time apart” to dwell on the gifts that God has given us and to
pray for new insights for how to best use them.
Adopting new spiritual disciplines or refreshing old spiritual practices are important features of Lent. We may take
on a new prayer practice, choose to read a book of the Bible that is new to us, give up a favorite food or activity,
devote ourselves to service or mission- but these are not ends in themselves. The spiritual practices that we take on
at Lent are vehicles of devotion for us to attain a deeper understanding of God and our relationship with God and
each other. 1
This Lent, I will devote myself to fasting on one day of the week answering the call of our Presiding Bishop to join
him in this spiritual practice as we pray for the “soul of our nation” https://episcopalchurch.org/posts/
publicaffairs/lent-2020-call-prayer-fasting-and-repentance-leading-action, I will shift my morning spiritual practice
from reading Morning Prayer to engage a period of Contemplative Prayer, and I will study in two areas: I will
investigate the work of the Poor People’s Campaign, a revival of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that is
moving across our country and sounding a “national call for moral revival” https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/,
and I will participate in the study group offered by Mrs. Lisa Work and The Rev. Deacon Marsha Roscoe on the
book by Mary Bea Sullivan, Living the Way of Love. For more information on the virtual group that is forming,
click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WayOfLoveLentenBookGroup/
An additional resource that we are offering this year through our diocesan leadership is a daily reflection on the
themes of our diocesan wide initiative Shaped by Faith: Change, Discovery, Experimentation, Collaboration,
Creativity, and Faith. These reflections will be posted daily on our diocesan Facebook page and on our diocesan
website.
As we continue in our diocese to discern how we are “Shaped by Faith,” working with our convocations to explore
our vitality and to search for new ways that God is calling us to be Church, I pray that our own inner journeys
during Lent will bring up in us the boldness and courage that we need to do this important work of re-shaping our
diocese. I pray that our spiritual walk in the desert of Lent will yield an Eastertide for our diocese that is wildly
abundant, fresh, and brimming with new life.
Join me. Join our diocese in a holy, holy Lent. Commit to a practice that will lead you into deep soul work, and
allow God’s loving hand to shape you- shape us- by faith.
sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do
not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (John
20:23). Isn’t it intriguing, of all of the issues that
Jesus could have raised with the disciples, he
chose forgiveness. In the paraphrase The
Message, Eugene Peterson translates this verse:
“If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for
good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you
going to do with them?”
When Christ was in pain,
we were in pain.
All creatures of God’s creation
that can suffer pain suffered with him.
The sky and the earth failed
at the time of Christ’s dying
because he too
was part of nature. - Julian of Norwich
O holy Father, as we enter
another season of Lent,
draw our hearts and
minds away from the
things of this fleeting
world. How often have we
neglected to speak to Thee
in prayer and devotion!
Keep us from falling asleep spiritually. Keep us
watchful at all times that we may not make the
same mistakes that the disciples did. In all
crosses and afflictions of this life, let us be able
to say with Jesus, “Thy will be done.”
O Lord Jesus, we will ponder now on Thy holy
Passion. Let our thoughts be centered on Thy
cross and the price Thou didst pay that we might
not be cast away forever, but be enabled to live
with Thee in glory.
O blessed Spirit of the Lord, enter into our
hearts with Thy life-giving warmth, that we may
be closer to Thee in prayer. Open our hearts and
minds that there may be a new awakening among
us, that our faith in Christ may burn brighter,
and that we walk as children of God should walk
— closer to Thee.
O holy Triune God, hear us and bless us for the
sake of the bitter sufferings and death of our
dear Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. -Harry Shiley, Pastor
Date Lector Acolyte Ushers Coffee Host Altar Guild
3/1 C Ellis T Hanner J Porter & J Smith L Desmond P Miller & J Blum K
3/8 A White M Yaw D Ickes & B Mitchell D Mechtly J Lowery & L Desmond V
3/15 B Folk C Ellis A & P Girven C Smith J Forster & D Packard K
3/22 C Lamade P Girven S & J Lowery P & S Rider L Desmond V
3/29 D Ambrose T Hanner J Porter & J Smith B Mitchell P Miller K
March 2020
11
On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?" So, God agreed...... On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."
The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?" And God agreed......
On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"
And God agreed again......
On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."
But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"
"Okay," said God. "You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
Wisdom from a 90-year-old Life isn't fair, but it's still good. When in doubt, just take the next small step. Life is too short to waste time hating
anyone... Pay off your credit cards every month. Your job won't take care of you when you
are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found
himself in the women's locker room. When he
was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with
ladies grabbing towels and running for cover.
The little boy watched in amazement and then
asked, "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen
a little boy before?"
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark. 1. Don't miss the boat.
2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built
the Ark.
4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone
may ask you to do something really big.
5.Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job
that needs to be done.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. For safety sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails
were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you're stressed, float a while.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs;
the Titanic by professionals.
11. No matter the storm, when you are with
God, there's always a rainbow waiting.
March 2020
12
The Messenger The Messenger is the monthly newsletter of Christ Episcopal Church, Williamsport,
in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.
The Rev. Veronica Donohue Chappell, Rector The Rev. Kyle Murphy, Curate