The Cross & the Sword

Transcription

1 The Cross & the Sword The monthly newsletter of Saint Alban s Parish Family Vol. XXXVI No. 4 April 2018

2 Vol. XXXVII No. 4 April 2018 Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for? Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabbouni! Do you hear Jesus call your name? Some people would say that is crazy. Of course Jesus Can t talk to you, they would say, He is no longer with us. Happy Easter to you! Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He has Risen Indeed! Alleluia! On the first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb where she expects to find Jesus dead body wrapped in a tomb. Instead he is not there. She begins to panic. Have they taken him away? she frantically wonders. She begins to weep. She sees two angelic figures in white, but she keeps on weeping. She turns around and thinks it is the gardener. She sobs to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. She wants to hold her dear dead friend. Instead she hears the most amazing voice she has ever heard. The Resurrected Jesus lovingly calls her by name, Mary! She screams out in joy Rabbouni! This means teacher. Mary expected to anoint and care for a dead friend. When she got there she thought he was gone. Then comes the ultimate joy. Not only does she find him, but she encounters the most powerful living love there is. Mary honestly and lovingly seeks out her friend and Lord. She then hears her name. The living loving Lord spoke to her. Easter is about having the faith that the most powerful love can not be contained in a tomb. God is awake, alive and moving! God truly does seek each of us out. The Risen Jesus calls each of our names! I believe we hear that call, like Mary, when we honestly and lovingly seek God in our lives. We too may expect God to be dead. However, if we seek honestly and lovingly, somehow someway we will encounter God who is already calling us each by name. You may not hear a physical voice (seldom do), but if you listen with your heart and strain to see through your tears, you will be surprised by the greatest joy. The joy of an ever deepening relationship with God who loves you before you know it. Seek the empty tomb honestly and lovingly and see what happens. Jesus eternal invitation is open to you, Come and See. 1

3 April Activities Bible Study Gro ups Women s Bible Study and Fellowship meets at 2:00 4:00.p.m. on Thursday, April 12, 26, at the home of Marilyn Rafter. Bible Study & Fellowship Group meets at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, at the home of Jack Rademaker. Men s Bible Study meets at 10:00 a.m. on Saturdays in the parish hall. This group looks at the lessons for the following Sunday. Wednesday Bible Group meets on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 to study the weekly lessons. Holy Eucharist is celebrated at noon. The Lunch Bunch meets on Tuesday, April 10, at BJ s Brew house on West Coliseum Blvd. near Glenbrook Mall Please sign the poster in the narthex if you plan to attend and would like to carpool. Please contact Anita at to cancel your reservation or if you have any questions. Daughters of the King meet at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 17. Men s Night Out is at 6:30 p.m. on April 5. Please check the poster in the narthex for more information. Youth Group meets at noon on Sunday April 8 th and 6:30 p.m. on Sunday April 22. Heart and Hands group meets at 10:00 a.m. on Fridays. 2

4 VESTRY RETREAT 2018 Last month the vestry came together for our yearly retreat, to welcome new members and set out our trajectory for the coming year. We gathered on Friday night and again the next day not only to handle the normal monthly business but to really focus on the culture of St. Alban s and where the the spirit was guiding us at this time. We welcomed three new members to the vestry this year. Judy Wall will be heading the Care Connections commission. Megan Spice will direct the Christian Formation. Norm Grams is stepping into the role of Stewardship. Both Judy and Norm have a lot of good ideas and we are very excited to see some of them come to fruition over the next year. During the retreat we talked about the culture at St. Alban s. We asked the questions like, what do you think church seekers are looking for? We challenged ourselves to articulate those things about our culture that we value and believe, and we discussed what things seekers might find attractive or unattractive about St. Alban s. Lastly throughout both days we dug into scripture to find a passage that really spoke to us about not only where we are here at St. Alban s but also where we are going. After narrowing it down to serval readings we eventually decided on Ephesians 4: So to close this summary of the 2018 Vestry Retreat I d like to provide that passage so we can all reflect upon it. There s the temptation to tell you why we decided on this particular reading but instead i invite you explore where you see The Holy Spirit at work here at St. Alban s and how this particular piece of scripture speaks to that. We all look forward to hearing your thoughts and reflections. Peace and Blessings, Jordan Ephesians 4:11-16: The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to 3

5 and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body s growth in building itself up in love. CARE CONNECTION COMMISSION A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 From the Vestry Manual The Care Connection Commission exists to create a family atmosphere in which all may comfortably let their needs for assistance be known. As Director, I would like to form a network of members to assist our church family. We will meet and brain storm ideas about how we can connect and assist each other, such as visits to our homebound members (nursing homes and private homes), and sending cheer, get well and other cards to members. We will develop ways to promote we are here to help one another, especially to those who are reluctant to ask or are not aware that St. Alban s truly wants to offer care to all in need. Please give me a call, at , if you are interested in becoming a part of this group. Judy Wall YOUTH 30 HOUR FAMINE. On April 20 and 21 our youth will go 30 hours without food to learn what it is like for many young people around the world who go without food too often. They will also be raising money to send to impoverished countries around the world through World Vision. Make checks payable to World Vision. If you would like to learn more or help in anyway please contact Cindy Spice at

6 Special guest speaker for Our Christian Roots in England I am very excited for our Christian Roots in England class this April 15th at 6:30 p.m. We will be blessed to be joined by Sue Wilhelm. Sue will be presenting about the great Christian Mystic from England, St. Julian of Norwich. Sue is the director of spiritual activities at Victory Noll Retreat Center in Huntington Indiana. She was my great guide during my process of being trained as a spiritual director. She is one of the most wonderful and spiritual people I know. I hope all may be able to join us. All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. (Julian of Norwich) Open, Invite, Welcome (OIW) 2nd Fellowship Meal: Sat. April 21 st at 6p On Saturday April 21 st at 6pm we will host our second Open, Invite, Welcome dinner. This is a time of fellowship for any and all with the agenda of just getting to know each other better and sharing a meal. Come and join us. ASK A FRIEND INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH TO JOIN YOU! FOOD BANK In February we served (45 individuals) 15 family units Approximately 675 meals. NEW HOURS Wednesday 9:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. and the 3 rd Saturday of every month from 10:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. A BABY S CLOSET: Once again the Daughters of the King will be helping low-income families and those experiencing hardships by providing essential baby items to safely and adequately care for their children. They will be collecting items the month of April. Please check out the flyer on the board, in the narthex, for more information. If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Camp

7 e. Vestry Stewardship Oh Give Thanks unto the Lord, for He Is Good! Operating Fund Operating income for Feb $ 8, Operating expense for Feb 12, Transfers Feb 0.00 Net loss for February (3,816.75) Operating income for 2018 $28, Operating expense for , Transfers , Net gain for 2018 $ 4, Vestry Highlights At the meeting of the Vestry on March 20, it was moved to a. Allow the youth of the parish to fundraise for the 30 Hour Famine. Proceeds to go to World vision. Motion passed. b. Authorize The Good Friday offering to go to the Diocese of Jerusalem. Motion passed. c. Have the Good Friday offering go to the Diocese of Jerusalem to help with projects in the Holy Land as promoted by the Presiding Bishop. Motion passed. d. Allow the Mayer s to raise funds for Saint Alban s with their annual garage sale. Where the proceeds go will be decided later. Motion passed It was noted that: a. That the flooding claim has been paid by Brotherhood Mutual. Thus, we have paid off Serv-Pro and City carpet for new tiles. Our deductible for this was $1000. b. That we recapped the latest Vestry retreat which discussed culture in our Church. Dan+ re-shared his thoughts about Relationship, Process, Forward thinking, and staying connected. c. That Dan+ and Jordan recently attended a national conference called Evangelism Matters. Many also recently attended the Diocesan workshop lead by The Reverend Miles Brandon. Evangelism is more about relationship building, asking, and building up God s Kingdom than telling and building up the institutional church. d. That we will soon need to replace Dave and Mary Ann Krocker on vestry as they are moving to Canada. 6

8 Please join us on Easter Sunday as we Baptize Jacob Fazzaro (Amanda and Jon s son, Elaine s grandson) and Liam McLean (Stephanie and Dan s son, Julie Zeider s grandson.) 2 Jordan Parker 7 Samantha Harter 10 Erin Layden 12 Miranda MacDonald 15 John Tuttle 20 Michael MacDonald April Birthdays and Anniversaries 4 Dick & Anne Donnelly 6 Larry & Edie Dearing 19 George & Joan Shamp 23 Norm & Anita Grams 24 Paul & Betty Wiseheart 29 James & Cheryl Parker 20 Megan Spice 23 John J. Diver 25 Nick Harter 28 Ray Brandes, Jr. 28 Michael Ervin If your birthday or anniversary has not been listed, please notify Debbie at , so that we may add your date to our records. 7

9 Peggy Brandes Dick Camp John L. Diver, Sr. Dick Donnelly Denise, Nick Frede Tammy Gillig Carolyn Grate Don Mefford Carol Newell Sonja Primeau Dick Ritchie Larry Sanxter Cindy Spice Rick Spice Les Stath Chris & Karen Stath- Tracy Paul Wiseheart 8

10 ST. ALBAN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH Sunday Services 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist 10:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist Sunday School (Sept-May) Wednesday 10:30 a.m. Bible Study 12:00 noon Holy Eucharist Vestry Cindy Spice Senior Warden John Lorenzen Junior Warden Dave Krocker Property Mary Ann Krocker Fellowship Pat Stath Worship Josh Miller Finance Jordan Trendelman Membership Norm Grams Stewardship Phil Mayer Outreach Megan Spice Christian Formation Judy Wall Care Connection Christina Connelly Communication Director Church Staff Rector The Rev. Daniel K. Layden Office Administrator Debbie Grosjean Organist Michelle Kyrou Office Hours 9:00-1:00 Monday through Friday Office phone Fr. Layden s cell phone