FISHERMAN’S NET Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church • Lakewood, Ohio Volume 48, Number 07 • March 2015 March – A Month of Faithfulness In our liturgical calendar, March is almost always fully consumed by the season of Lent. Only occasionally does Easter happen late in March, and even less frequently does Easter come late enough that the first few days of March are in the Epiphany season. March is usually entirely Lent. There is a certain meteorological good sense to this. Our weather, stuck in a kind of gray zone between winter and spring, I think, helps us to be meditative and introspective. But tucked into March, and rarely observed by most of us, are two of the most important “feasts” of the Christian calendar. On March 19, the Church remembers St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary and the adoptive father of Jesus. We know little of this man. Only the gospellors Luke and Matthew give us tiny glimpses of him. He disappears early from the narrative, and his primary contribution to the story was to provide Jesus with a patrilineal link to the royal line of King David. But the gospel accounts make very clear that this was a costly thing for Joseph. Without him, and without his faithful willingness to embrace and protect Jesus and Mary, the entire story comes unglued. On March 25, the Church celebrates one of the major Christological feasts, the Feast of the Annunciation. It has long been thought that the early Christians fastened upon December 25th as Jesus’ birthday, then counted back nine months to arrive at March 25th as the date of the Annunciation to Mary. Liturgical scholars have conclusively demonstrated that we have it backwards. The date of the Annunciation was fixed first, then they counted forward nine months to arrive at Christmas. In a sense, the early Christians believed that the day of Mary's “yes” was more important even than the day of Jesus' physical birth. Both of these feasts, coming as they always do in the midst of Lent, remind us of the importance and power of our faithful responses to God. Every time you and I consciously acquiesce to what we believe is the call of God, we reenact in our own lives the faithfulness of Joseph and Mary. Our “yes” to God's summons is every bit as consequential, every bit as full of divine potential, as were the responses of Mary and Joseph. I pray your Lent is unfolding in ways that remind you of, and strengthen you in, your faithful response to the God who first loved you. My we all, like Mary and Joseph, renew our “yes” to God and grow this month, and all months, in the faithfulness that renews the face of the earth. Your Colleague in Christ, — Keith Holy Week & Easter Palm Sunday, March 29 Liturgies at 8:00 & 10:00 a.m. March 30 – April1 Holy Eucharist at 6:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday, April 2 Agape Supper at 6:30 p.m. Good Friday, April 3 Solemn Liturgies, Noon (12:00 p.m.) and 7:30 p.m. Holy Saturday, April 4 The Great Vigil of Easter 8:00 p.m. St. John’s in Ohio City Easter Sunday, April 5 7:45 a.m., Quiet Eucharist 9:00 a.m., Family Service followed by Easter Egg Hunt 11:00 a.m., Solemn Eucharist
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FISHERMAN’S NET Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church • Lakewood, Ohio
Volume 48, Number 07 • March 2015
March – A Month of Faithfulness
In our liturgical calendar, March
is almost always fully consumed
by the season of Lent. Only
occasionally does Easter happen
late in March, and even less
frequently does Easter come late
enough that the first few days of
March are in the Epiphany
season. March is usually
entirely Lent.
There is a certain
meteorological good sense to
this. Our weather, stuck in a
kind of gray zone between
winter and spring, I think, helps
us to be meditative and
introspective. But tucked into
March, and rarely observed by
most of us, are two of the most
important “feasts” of the
Christian calendar.
On March 19, the Church
remembers St. Joseph, the
spouse of Mary and the adoptive
father of Jesus. We know little
of this man. Only the gospellors
Luke and Matthew give us tiny
glimpses of him. He disappears
early from the narrative, and his
primary contribution to the story
was to provide Jesus with a
patrilineal link to the royal line
of King David. But the gospel accounts make very
clear that this was a costly thing for Joseph.
Without him, and without his faithful willingness to
embrace and protect Jesus and Mary, the entire
story comes unglued.
On March 25, the Church celebrates one of the
major Christological feasts, the Feast of the
Annunciation. It has long been thought that the
early Christians fastened upon December 25th
as Jesus’ birthday, then
counted back nine months to
arrive at March 25th as the
date of the Annunciation to
Mary. Liturgical scholars
have conclusively
demonstrated that we have it
backwards. The date of the
Annunciation was fixed first,
then they counted forward
nine months to arrive at
Christmas. In a sense, the
early Christians believed that
the day of Mary's “yes” was
more important even than the
day of Jesus' physical birth.
Both of these feasts,
coming as they always do in
the midst of Lent, remind us
of the importance and power
of our faithful responses to
God. Every time you and I
consciously acquiesce to
what we believe is the call of
God, we reenact in our own
lives the faithfulness of
Joseph and Mary. Our “yes”
to God's summons is every
bit as consequential, every
bit as full of divine potential,
as were the responses of
Mary and Joseph.
I pray your Lent is
unfolding in ways that remind you of, and
strengthen you in, your faithful response to the God
who first loved you. My we all, like Mary and
Joseph, renew our “yes” to God and grow this
month, and all months, in the faithfulness that
renews the face of the earth.
Your Colleague in Christ,
— Keith
Holy Week & Easter
Palm Sunday, March 29 Liturgies at 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.
March 30 – April1 Holy Eucharist at 6:00 p.m.
Maundy Thursday, April 2
Agape Supper at 6:30 p.m.
Good Friday, April 3 Solemn Liturgies, Noon (12:00 p.m.)
and 7:30 p.m.
Holy Saturday, April 4 The Great Vigil of Easter
8:00 p.m. St. John’s in Ohio City
Easter Sunday, April 5 7:45 a.m., Quiet Eucharist 9:00 a.m., Family Service
followed by Easter Egg Hunt 11:00 a.m., Solemn Eucharist
Mission Trip Fundraiser: Dewey’s Pizza – What a Success!
Thank you to everyone
that supported our
Dewey’s Pizza
Fundraiser. We sold 45
pizzas and raised just
under $500 for our
summer mission trip to
Appalachia. Special
thanks to our Parish
Accountant for pulling
all the orders together
into an easy to
understand spreadsheet and taking care of all the
funds that came in.
March Outreach Focus of the Month:
Cleveland Sight Center
The Cleveland Sight Center (CSC), located on the
edge of University Circle and near the Cleveland
Clinic, provides services for all northeast Ohio
residents of any age who are blind or visually
impaired. Cleveland Sight Center is a non-profit
organization. For fiscal year 2013 (the most current
available on their website), 45% of revenue came
from investment income, 37% from program
service fees, and 18% public support. They are
governed by a Board of Trustees, have
approximately 100 full and part-time employees,
and over 200 volunteers.
The Cleveland Sight Center offers a broad array
of services to maximize the independence and
quality of life of its clients. Programs include:
Birth – 3 years old: Early Intervention. On-site
parent-child groups with an EI specialist,
occupational therapist, physical therapist,
speech therapist, orientation & mobility
specialist, social worker; home visits;
services are often coordinated with
HelpMeGrow.
Bright Futures Preschool 3-5 years old: integrated
preschool for 16 students with the same
staffing as the Early Intervention program.
School-aged children: Serves a supportive role.
CSC hosts an August conference for
teachers, provide IEP support, low vision
assessment, assistive technology
Teens and young adults: on-site daily living skills