St. Peter s Press. Greetings St. Peters! Blessings, Lynn

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1 Greetings St. Peters! St. Peter s Presbyterian Church - Spencertown, NY PO Box 14, Spencertown, NY (5219 County Rt. 7, Spencertown, NY 12165) Phone: (518) stpeterspc@fairpoint.net Website: SaintPetersPC.org March 2018 For the first time in my life of ministry, the ashes I used to anoint the congregation on Ash Wednesday were from the palms of the previous Holy Week. I have always appreciated this palms-to-ashes tradition but never trusted myself to safely burn the palms, and instead (as most pastors do), I relied on commercial pre-made ashes, which are far less liturgical! But thanks to the thoughtful care of our Sunday school class at St. Peter s, last year s palms were safely tucked away so they could be used in this special way as we began our Lenten journey this year. But why burn the palms? What does last year s Palm Sunday have to do with this year s Ash Wednesday? The use of last year s palms has many layers of meaning. The tradition is both profoundly comforting and also quite critical. It is comforting in that the burning of the dried palms reminds us that all of life comes from the same stuff, and there is no part of Creation that God considers of more value than the other. From dust we came and from dust we will return. But there is also a deeply disturbing element of this tradition. The palms that were waved as Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem were, at first, met with the crowds adoring love and praise. But those same crowds that welcomed Jesus would be calling for his crucifixion five days later. Therefore, the ashes are a reminder of Holy Week s disingenuous praise. In this sense, the ashes point to the weakness of our spirituality and our need for God s truth in the midst human conflict. When I asked our Sunday School class what it was like to burn the palms, they exclaimed, The palms wouldn t burn! In fact, our youth and teachers initially gathered in the cement stairwell but had to move outside in the wind and rain to get a flame big enough to catch the palms on fire. What a powerful image this is! What if our words of praise, our acts of compassion, our belief in Christ s saving grace, were so genuine, so unyielding, so stubbornly full of hope, just like those palms that refused to burn? As we joyfully wave our palms on Palm Sunday, might our words of praise ring with renewed truth and conviction, grounding us through the pain of Christ s Passion and renewing our belief in the Good News of Jesus Christ! May God be with each of you as we continue our Lenten Journey. Blessings, Lynn St. Peter s Press 1

2 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS JOE, TOM, NANCY & IAN! The Holy One declares I have claimed you and called you by name! ~ Isaiah 43:1 ~ On the First Sunday of Lent, February 18th, St. Peter s celebrated the great joy of welcoming four new members into our church family! Joe Cozzolino, Tom Cozzolino and Nancy Ordman entered membership through Re-Affirmation of Faith, and Ian Wing through Profession of Faith and the Sacrament of Baptism. When asked how each would describe their faith journey, our new members shared: NANCY: I grew up in a small congregation, where my father was a ruling elder (and tended to the boiler), my mother taught Sunday school, and my siblings and I sang in the junior choir and were active in youth group. After college, I grew away, not really from faith but from church. Last Easter, I visited St. Peter s and I felt like I had come home, back to the church where I grew up (in Knoxville, TN). And for the Our New Members joined by their Shepherds, from left to right: Joel Dyslin and Tom Cozzolino, Joe Cozzolino and Jere Wrightsman, Ian Wing and Sandy Fischer, Nancy Ordman and Mary Ann Davis. first time in my life I began to feel the Spirit moving in me. Why has this taken so long? It s as though I ve heard and spoken words of faith with some sort of intellectual understanding but no spiritual grasp of the message. Think of the scales falling from Paul s eyes and you have an idea of where I am right now. Nancy has worked in the field of Library Science in university libraries and is currently the manager of engineering editorial content production at IEEE GlobalSpec. She loves raising and training dogs, traveling with her husband Rob and reading and cooking. Nancy has also recently joined the St. Peter s Choir! JOE: I have very recently started my true faith journey. After going through Sunday school as a child, it didn t mean what it has meant to me now. God has really helped to ground me and help guide me, letting me see the bigger picture through the good times and bad times and having faith in God that He has a plan for me no matter what as a child of his. I would like to deepen my faith on a daily basis, be able to speak with God in all moments of my life, not just difficult situations good and bad. Joe has begun an exciting new job in Washington, D.C. and he and his fiancé Hannah will be getting married at St. Peter s this June! TOM: I have always felt like God has been a presence in my life, but a faint presence. Throughout my life I have attended church on and off, but recently I have felt a powerful connection to the weekly sermons. Lately, I have felt closer to God after attending worship service, so I decided to strengthen my faith by reaffirming my faith. I believe that the re-affirmation of my faith will strengthen my relationship with God and I will be able to share his wisdom with others. Tom is a senior at Chatham High School where he is involved in sports and also serves as the Student Government Vice President. He enjoys being outdoors, especially tennis, fishing and photography. He is currently visiting colleges as he prepares for this next chapter! 2

3 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS CONTINUED - IAN: I have always felt spiritual but throughout my life have frequently felt doubts and whether I could commit 100% to faith. After visiting and living in many countries with no Judeo-Christian ethic, and in Christian countries, all with the constant loyalty of my wife, I found in an Australian pastor with whom I did volunteer work in the Australian outback a kind of inspiration to find faith and belief, as I have found with the St. Peter s congregation. As I live out my faith at St. Peter s, I feel God is calling me to trust and help others and to do more to overcome social injustice. Ian has visited more than 100 countries and lived in many, through his work in international affairs and as an Australian Foreign Commercial Service Officer. He now finds great meaning in his work as a hospice volunteer for Columbia Greene County Community Hospice and the Capital District Parkinson s Support Group. Ian is also our church Treasurer and makes an amazing Aussie BBQ! Welcome Ian, Tom, Nancy and Joe! We are so blessed to have you part of our church family! May God bless you and keep you. May God s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you and may God look upon you with kindness and grant you peace. ~ Numbers 6:24-26 ~ THE LANGUAGE OF SUNDAY WORSHIP DURING LENT We often enter the season of Lent with some anxiety, knowing that we ll hear some words that make us feel uncomfortable, such as SIN and REPENTENCE. But Lent is also about GRACE, REDEMPTION and RESSURECTION, words that speak of God s extravagant love working through our fragile humanness. As we journey together through this holy season, let us explore together the LANGUAGE OF LENT, focusing on the big words and often misunderstood concepts of our faith. Just as with our own words, might we seek the deeper truth, meaning and intent behind our words of faith! Lent 3: March 4 th Abundant Grace Lent 4: March 11 th At-One-Ment Lent 5: March 18 th Worship Team leading Worship Palm Sunday: March 25 th Ride of Redemption 3

4 At its 316th Stated Meeting on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at the Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church in Guilderland, NY, Albany Presbytery took the following action: Albany Presbytery strongly condemns the unjust, racist disparagement of people and entire nations lately promoted by politicians and government officials at all levels in the mistaken effort to place America First. As Christians, our call is to bring to all nations (Matthew 28:19) the good news that God loves all people equally. Historically, America has been first in espousing human equality as the principle on which nations are founded. We call upon our national leaders to lead by that principle. We pray that God may open the minds and hearts of the American people to understand that the real problems they face result from real causes and not from the presence of demonized others. We commit to working with people of good will, regardless of political or religious affiliation, in a collective effort to solve the real problems facing our nation and the world. We ask forgiveness from those who have been hurt by hateful rhetoric and harmed by unjust government policies. We acknowledge our responsibility and urge our elected officials to speak out against hate and to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Visit the link below for the official press release from the Albany Presbytery. 4

5 Community Pot Roast Dinner Everyone is Welcome Pot Roast with Red Potatoes & Gravy Homemade Sweet & Sour Cabbage, Carrots Buttered Rolls Assorted Homemade Desserts Tea, Coffee St. Peter s Presbyterian Church Spencertown Saturday, March 24th from 5 pm 7 pm Take-Outs 4:30 pm 7:00 pm For take-out call $14.00 FOR ADULTS $7.00 FOR AGES 6-10 UNDER 6 FREE SPONSORED BY ST. PETER S CHURCH 5

6 March Lectionary Readings 3/4/18 Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2: /11/18 Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3: /18/18 Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12 or Psalm 119:9-16; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12: /25/18 Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47) 3/26/18 Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11 3/27/18 Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 71:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; John 12: /28/18 Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 70:1-5; Hebrews 12:1-3; John 13: /29/18 Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35 3/30/18 Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22:1-31; Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42 3/31/18 Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26; Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18; 9:8-13; Psalm 46:1-11; Genesis 22:1-18; Psalm 16:1-11; Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21; Exodus 15:1b-13, 17-18; Isaiah 55:1-11; Isaiah 12:2-6; Proverbs 8:1-8, 19-21, 9:4b-6; Psalm 19:1-14; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Psalm 42:1-11, 43:1-5; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 143:1-12; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Psalm 98:1-9; Romans 6:3-11; Psalm 114:1-8; Mark 16:1-8 March Birthdays Paul Greene 3/2 Meredith Hansen 3/2 Ermergarde Culley 3/3 Grace Ann Silvernale 3/3 Stephen Brown 3/7 Joel Dyslin 3/9 Wendy Diskin 3/11 Luke Olivieri 3/12 Jere Wrightsman 3/16 Paul Pitman 3/17 Connelly Cashen 3/20 Betty Dallas 3/20 George Wenk 3/26 Carol Taylor 3/27 David Bolluyt 3/29 Jean Brower 3/29 PASTOR S WEEKLY OFFICE HOURS Lynn s weekly office hours are Mon Wed, 9 am 1 pm (Church or manse office, also by appointment). Lynn is also available whenever needed for pastoral care emergencies. CONTACT INFORMATION: Office/Cell Phone: Lynnmhoran@gmail.com St. Peter s Press Deadline Do you have an article you would like to submit to St. Peter s Press? It s easy, just the article to Shelley at the church office stpeterspc@fairpoint.net and to Rev. Lynn Horan at lynnmhoran@gmail.com by the 20 th of each month. The submission deadline for St. Peter s Press April issue is Tues. Mar. 20 th. 6

7 ST. PETER S WORSHIP TEAM! Join us for our next meeting on Sunday April 8th, after Worship Are you excited about what God is doing at St. Peter s? Do you have ideas for creative and meaningful worship? Do you have gifts of music, reading, writing, speaking, story-telling? Join us for a fun planning meeting as we prepare for our next lay led worship service, to be held on April 22nd. Wednesday Lenten Dinner & Worship Every Wednesday at 6pm at rotating Chatham-area churches Wednesday, February 28 th at Payne AME Church with Fr. George Fleming Wednesday, March 7 th at First Reformed Church of Chatham with Preaching Elder Bonnie Pflegl Wednesday, March 14 th at Chatham United Methodist Church with Rev. Gloria Jimpson Wednesday, March 21 st at St. James Catholic Church with Rev. Lynn Horan Sunday March 25 th Palm Sunday with Palm Procession Friday March 30 th Good Friday Worship, 7pm Communion and Tenebrae Service Sunday April 1 st Easter Sunday Worship with Communion MEN S GROUP MEETING The Men s Group will meet at the home of Ian and Sharon Wing in Old Chatham on Friday, March 2 nd at 6:00pm. There will be a documentary film shown followed by a discussion. 7

8 Time to Order Plants for Easter for the Sanctuary Here is the order form for this year s plants. Mitzi Lobdell will again faithfully be taking orders for Easter plants to adorn the sanctuary. Deadline to order is March 19th.Please make the check out to Mitzi. This year s offering is as follows: 6 Easter Lilies $9.50 each 6 Reiger Begonias $10.50 each 6 Hyacinths $7.00 each 6 Tulips $7.00 each 6 Azaleas $ each Contributor s Name In loving memory of LENTEN BOOK STUDY Speaking of Sin: The Lost Language of Salvation By Barbara Brown Taylor If you have further interest in our Lenten sermon series The Language of Lent, please consider purchasing this short but very meaningful devotional book that will touch on some of our Lenten themes. Copies are available on Amazon.com for $10 Lost-Language-Salvation/dp/ (or) In honor of Plants may be taken after the Easter Service. I will pick up plant. Please give the plant to someone sick or to a shut-in. 8

9 March Worship Leaders March 4 th Head Usher: Joel Dyslin Assistant Usher: Matthew Harrington Liturgist: Kevin Lippert Communion Servers: Joel Dyslin Mary Anne Davis March 11 th Head Usher: Raeph Sanderson Assistant Usher: Pat Meess Liturgist: Shirley Newsome March 18 th Head Usher: Bonnie Mesick Assistant Usher: Larry Massimo Liturgist: Worship Team March 25th Head Usher: George French Assistant Usher Carol French Liturgist: Tom Cozzolino 9

10 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Men s Group 6pm 3 4 Third Sunday in Lent 10:00 AM Worship with Communion and Sunday School 5 6 6:30 PM Women Unabridged 7 6:00 PM Lenten Dinner & Worship at 1 st Reformed Church of Chatham 7:00 PM Choir 7:00 PM Council Meeting :30 AM Deacon s Meeting 11 Fourth Sunday in Lent 9:00 AM Choir 10 AM Worship Service and Sunday School :00 PM Trustees Meeting 14 6:00 PM Lenten Dinner & Worship at Chatham United Methodist Church 7:00 PM Choir Fifth Sunday in Lent 9:00 AM Choir 10:00 AM Worship Team leading worship and Sunday School 25 Palm Sunday 9:00 AM Choir 10:00 AM Worship with Palm Procession 19 Easter Plant Order Form Deadline 20 St. Peters Press Article Submission Deadline :00 PM Choir 21 6:00 PM Lenten Dinner & Worship at St. James Catholic Church 7:00 PM Choir Community Pot Roast Dinner 5-7pm 29 Maundy Thursday 30 Good Friday 7:00 PM Tenebrae Worship with Communion 31 Let today be the day you give up who you ve been for who you can become Unknown 10