GOOD NEWS APRIL 2017 ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Rites of Holy Week Faithfully, The Reverend Loree Penner, Rector

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1 GOOD NEWS ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH The Rites of Holy Week Faithfully, The Reverend Loree Penner, Rector APRIL Providence Road Towson, MD The traditions of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday, and moving to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and culminating in Easter Sunday, began in the 4 th Century. The Easter Vigil was much earlier, as it was the day when those who had undergone a two year catechism program were baptized publicly. The other services were added as people began to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem. As more and more came to Jerusalem, they began the rememorative services of Palm Sunday through Good Friday services that took place on the very ground where Jesus had entered Jerusalem, had his Last Supper with his disciples, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was Crucified at Golgotha. As pilgrims returned to their homes, they brought these services with them, until they became part of the liturgy, and Holy Week was officially born. These traditions are at least seventeen centuries old. They have gone through changes over time. In the usual medieval fashion in the Church, the services were embellished with such things as carrying a coffin through the streets on Good Friday. Most of that embellishment has gone away, and with the Protestant Reformation, Holy Week was scrutinized and brought down to much simpler form. The services of Holy Week are very moving; indeed they are the most intense liturgies we have in the Episcopal Church. Yet year after year, few people attend. As your Rector, I encourage you to take the time to come to the services of Holy Week. You will find a combination of ancient tradition, beautiful music, and deep devotion. This year, we are doing something different for Palm Sunday: we will focus on Jesus entry into Jerusalem, and then read the passion as a congregation at the end of the service. There will be no 4:30pm Evening Song Service on this day. Maundy Thursday will include the stripping of the altar, a rememorative act that returns us to the time when Jesus was stripped and beaten. The altar is stripped in silence; it is done quickly, and not reverently, just as Jesus was stripped. Good Friday includes the liturgy from the Prayer Book at Noon. Jeanne Klusewitz will be our organist for that service. In the evening is our Taize service a service of passion readings and music that commemorate Jesus death on the cross. Easter Vigil is our Contemporary service on Saturday evening that includes the lighting of the Holy Fire, the carrying of the Light of Christ into the Church, and readings from the Old Testament that give us a look at Salvation history. Easter Sunday will be two services: 8:00 and 9:30, both with music this year. As always, there will be an Easter Egg Hunt after the 9:30 service. The evening services of Holy Week are at 7:30 pm.

2 A MESSAGE FROM OUR SENIOR WARDEN, Jan Bahner 2 A world in turmoil. A world split by color, by ethnicity, by strong opinions. This is where we live today. How do we as Christians work in this turmoil, this fear, this divisiveness? How do we spread Christianity without resorting to war, hate or isolationism? I believe we begin in our own community. If you look about our church on any given day or hour, you might find people of color African Americans, Hispanics, or people of Middle Eastern dissent. Color, turbans, speech patterns all signal something different to someone who grew up in white middle class America. I did. I grew up not far from St. Thomas church, but closer to the church in Homestead than on Providence Road. I was in college in the late sixties and saw the burning of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore in person not just on the news. I saw what hate and anger could produce. I worked forty years with people of all faiths and ethnicities. I have friends from many different religions and ethnic backgrounds. But I m afraid. I am afraid that the hate being spewed by some in our country and then being replicated by the media, will bring us to a society of hate and fear rather than one of love and peace. I m afraid that we will not reach out in understanding but rather isolate ourselves in misunderstanding. So what am I going to do about this? I m going to continue treating everyone I meet with the love of Christ, with the helping hand or listening ear that the Holy Spirit tells me is needed. And I m going to learn. Learn more about my neighbors of the world outside Providence Road. I m educating myself about others and what it s like for those who are discriminated against and made to feel not part of the America in which I want to live. On February 26 th, MD Presbyterian Church across the street from St. Thomas invited Rev. Loree+ to attend a meeting with Dr. Faheem Younus, a practicing Muslim. Since the meeting was at the same time at our morning worship, I was privileged to attend in her place. Several years ago, I took a class about Islam from Dr. Younus and looked forward to hearing him speak again. He came to thank MD Presbyterian Church for the sign they had placed on the road along their church property. Haven t seen it? Please look for it. Maybe we should have a matching sign on our side of Providence Road? He spent time explaining the peaceful Islam that isn t seen in the news. He spoke about what it s like to be discriminated against and why he speaks out. The group attending was educated, appreciated their new knowledge, and spoke of how thankful they were to both meet him and hear him speak. I left the meeting with only one message for St. Thomas and for my friends outside the church. We must have him speak here. We need to hear his message if we are to understand our neighbors. We need to understand in order to love our neighbors.

3 3 A MESSAGE FROM OUR SENIOR WARDEN Continued Rev. Loree+ and I have begun talking about how to offer a panel discussion with Dr. Younus and someone from the Jewish community in order to broaden our knowledge and as a result become better neighbors. Both groups have suffered serious attacks of late. Acts which Christians should not condone or ignore! In September, I attended a Seeing the Face of God workshop at the Diocesan Center with other members of the Vestry. I was so overwhelmed and inspired by the information presented that I volunteered to facilitate future workshops. I attended another workshop in March as well as facilitator training. I look forward to assisting others in learning more about power, ethnicity and how we as Christians can respond. If you re interested in attending a workshop, they are listed on the Diocesan website episcopalmaryland.org. This workshop is required for all church leadership, but welcomes all church members. It gives us a look into our history, a look at our present, and a way to walk in love for the future. Are those in our community who are different from us not also God s children? Please pray about knowing your neighbors better. Please pray that as Christians we have the strength and love to reach out to bring about a world of love and peace. One person at a time. Stop me anytime to talk about what I ve learned and why I think this is so important to a church that wants to grow in their community whether you agree or disagree with me. Conversation is important to learning about each other. Stay tuned for opportunities to get to know people unlike ourselves better so that together we can make the world better! Matthew 7: 12 In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets Peace, Jan Bahner Sr. Warden

4 A MESSAGE FROM OUR JUNIOR WARDEN, Vernon Adams 4 SOME GOOD NEWS FROM THE JUNIOR WARDEN Wow! What happened to Old Man Winter didn t show us much this year thank you LORD! We are in just the first few days of spring and already noticing the fresh green growth on the pines, the yellow blooms of the daffodils, the greening of the grass and, guess what, those spring chores are just around the corner. Just thought I would let you know this year will be no different than any other. I, Rev Loree+ and your Vestry have been discussing the collapsing wall at the far end of our patio for far too long. I am putting together some thoughts and plans and the expectation is that we will have some idea of what we can do in order to present to the Vestry, and the Congregation, a plan with the estimated cost within a couple of weeks. I don t think we can wait much longer to take action in that the wall can no longer hold back the pressures being created with each heavy rain. Rest assured, we will be taking care to preserve the intent and esthetics of the patio in addition to eliminating the problem. Also on our schedule was to re-stripe our parking lots, upper and lower, on or about April 8 th. Since the upcoming Flea Market, April 29 th, and our Fun With Foreign Language classes create a scheduling and parking problem we will defer that effort to early June when FWFL classes are in recess. The Vestry has already approved this project and the associated costs, $ I am working with Lynch and Associates as they do their bi-monthly grass cutting to also help us with some of the overgrowth removal around the church property. This has already begun as you will notice when you enter the church. Next, we will work the area around and next to the Columbine and finally remove the vine/weed infested Holly tree. A bit of bad news we have come upon some scheduling and logistics problems with our combined Car Show and Flea Market. The Car Show will have to rescheduled for a date in late September, but. KEEP IN MIND THE FLEA MARKET WILL GO ON Saturday April 29, am-2pm

5 5 THE VESTRY CORNER! From Our Senior Warden Vestry welcomed Debbie Hood and members of the Blue Horizon Team to our March Vestry meeting. Our Blue Horizon Team, which includes some of your Vestry members, has been working in two focused areas: Sharing Space Group is visiting other churches and talking with other rectors/pastors to see if there is an opportunity to share worship. Others continue to work looking for renters for our unused space at St. Thomas. Financial Opportunity Group continues to work on a long term financial solution for the church. They have been meeting with folks outside the church to look for creative ways to move forward. If you hear of a need or an opportunity, please share it with anyone on the Vestry or Blue Horizon Team. If you have any questions, please ask! Respectfully, Jan Bahner Sr. Warden

6 6 HOLY WEEK SERVICES WORSHIP TEAM Palm Sunday, April 9th: 9:30 am Maundy Thursday, April 13th: 7:30 pm Good Friday Liturgy, April 14th: Noon Good Friday Taize Service, April 14th: 7:30pm Easter Vigil, April 15th: 7:30 pm Easter Sunday, April 16th: 8:00 am and 9:30 am (Easter Egg Hunt will be after the 9:30 service.) * There will be no Evening Song during Holy Week. * There will be no Celtic Prayer during Holy Week. CELTIC PRAYER Celtic Evening Prayer meets at 6:30 on Wednesday evenings. Join us for silence, meditation on scripture, and prayers for the church and the world. We are usually done by 7:00 pm, and while short, our prayer time is refreshing and fruitful. * There will be no Celtic Prayer during Holy Week.

7 7 SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE 4:30 pm every Sunday: Evening Song a short, simple liturgy of contemporary music, prayers, scripture and Eucharist. If you have trouble getting to the morning service because of work or children s activities, come join us for Evening Song. We will spend about 30 minutes together singing, praying, and sharing communion. * There will be no Evening Song during Holy Week. DIOCESAN DEACON DAY ON THE DIACONATE Have you ever wondered if you are called to be a Deacon? Saturday, April 22 is Diocesan Day on the Diaconate, here at St. Thomas', 10:00 AM-1:00 PM. This is a meeting that will give you information about what is involved in becoming a deacon, including finding out if you are called, and how you will be trained. The entire program for Deacon Formation has been revamped, and this is the place to find out your next steps. Please register online at the Diocesan website, or call the office, and Jill will call the Diocese for you. Registration is free. ALTAR GUILD Dedications can be made in memory of a loved one, a celebration for a birthday or anniversary, or in thanksgiving of a person or an event. The following dedications can be reserved for the month of April: * Wine * Branch Candles * Eucharist Candles * Sanctuary Candle * Flowers for the 4th and 5th Sundays The cost of each dedication is $25. Please contact Diane Flayhart, or dflayhart.stthomas@gmail.com, or the church office, , if you are interested in making a dedication. Thank you.

8 8 OUR RECTOR S SABBATICAL STEWARDSHIP TEAM Our rector, Loree+ has been with us now since 2011, about 5 1/2 years now. Prior to her coming she was at St. James and was about to go out on Sabbatical but chose to forgo the Sabbatical to come here to serve as our Rector. Because of her unwavering love of the Lord and commitment to serve Him, she chose to come here and fill our need. The time has come, though, for her to finally take that Sabbatical, to relax, renew and recharge! The subject was discussed at our vestry meetings and it was decided that Loree+ should go on Sabbatical and that we would have a fund raiser to cover the costs. I decided to volunteer to lead the fund raiser, not because I am co-chair of stewardship but because I have witnessed Loree+'s hard work and efforts in service to the Lord and our Church. Prior to being on the vestry, I had no idea how much work goes into being a rector. I had Jill give me the job description and on it were a total of 44 items! What was not on there is the weightiness of the spiritual care of people who have put their trust in you with their lives and souls. While many occupations have a lot of responsibilities, none come close to those of the reverend. The job is really 24/7, days off are not guaranteed and can be rescinded at any time! It is imperative to remember everyone, their cares, concerns and problems. Those are shoes that I could never fill! Loree+ is planning her Sabbatical to begin at the end of May and will culminate at the end of August. During this time we will have Rev. Ron Fisher serving as our rector. The cost of the Sabbatical is $15,000 but the Episcopal Diocese will cover ten percent of the cost. Two very gracious donors has come forward to cover another two-thirds of it and we are asking St. Thomas Church members to contribute the remaining balance. Please prayerfully consider donating to this fund raiser which will run through May 1, Contributions can be placed in the offering plates, mailed in or done through our new online options on our website. Please indicate on any checks that the monies are for Sabbatical. Thank you! Laura Doles

9 9 FRUIT SALES STEWARDSHIP TEAM St. Thomas Church has sold fruit to our parishioners and neighbors for over 38 years. We pride ourselves in providing the best available fruit at very competitive prices. Simply order your fruit by: Calling the , Sending us an stthomastowson@gmail.com, Visiting Our Website, Mailing Order Form to the Office. To pick up your fruit, arrive on the delivery day between 9am-11am to pay for your order. The next date of sales will be on Saturday, April 8th. SPRING FLEA MARKET

10 10 MINISTRY AND MISSION TEAM CHRISTIAN STITCHIN Yes, it s Spring. And yes, the time for warm scarves and wraps seems to be passing. But the busy hands of Christian Stitchin are still going strong, especially since we have recently united with the Prayer Shawl Ministry from Church of the Holy Comforter in Lutherville. We will continue to meet at 10:00am on the third Saturday of the month, but alternate (as the schedule permits) between locations. The April 15th session will be at St. Thomas. Our ongoing projects include prayer shawls, scarves for Meals on Wheels, and baptismal blankets. We ll soon be reaching out to GBMC to see if we can be of service creating warm caps for newborns. From expert to novice, all hands are welcome all styles of needlework too! Join us and learn a new skill, try a new pattern (like I did last month!), remember something that you thought you d forgotten how to do, or just enjoy the company as you create something designed to share a hug from God." For more information, or if you have questions, please don t hesitate to contact Beth Crosby. bcrosby.stthomas@gmail.com LOCH RAVEN NETWORK: SPRING BREAK FOOD DRIVE Many thanks to those who gave $575 of grocery cards for students at risk through the Loch Raven Network. These gifts provided food for students who would otherwise not have food available during their spring break. We appreciate your continuing support to those who are less fortunate in our community!

11 11 LENTEN MITE (LOVE) BOXES We're about halfway through Lent, so it's time to take stock on how things are going. How is your Lenten plan doing so far? Are you following the disciplines of prayer, sacrifice and action? How is your Mite Box contribution coming along? Just a reminder, please bring your Mite Box to church on Easter. The collected proceeds will be shared between ACTC (Assistance Center of Towson Churches) and the Loch Raven Network. As always, thank you for your generosity. Your contributions will go a long way toward helping those less fortunate. KIBBLE CONNECTION The Pet Ministry is excited to kick off the Kibble Connection program at our April 29th Flea Market! Kibble Connection is a program where we have partnered with the MD SPCA and Meals on Wheels to provide pet food to local Meals on Wheels clients. Some Meals on Wheels clients are sharing their meals with their pets and not getting enough to eat. Kibble Connection helps ensure that Meals on Wheels clients and their pets maintain good nutrition. It's important to remember that Meals on Wheels clients are homebound, and for many their pets are their only companions. Research has shown that the health benefits of having a pet not only includes relieving feelings of loneliness and anxiety, but the CDC has stated that pets can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Let's help return the favor! Please visit our Kibble Connection table at the April 29th Flea Market, where we will be accepting donations of pet food in unopened containers or bags, and kitty litter. Gift receipts will be available upon request. If you would like to get involved, please contact Jill Dumser in the office at or by , stthomastowson@gmail.com.

12 12 NATIONAL NIGHT OUT (NNO) National Night Out (NNO) Planning is underway! Please join us on April 3rd, at 6:30pm, in the Fellowship Hall to share ideas and hear what we're planning for National Night Out! This is a national community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. St. Thomas' will be hosting this event in partnership with the Baltimore County Police Department -Precinct 7, Cockeysville on August, 1, This will be a fair with food, music, child and adult activities, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits, donation booths, and fellowship! ST. THOMAS BLOOD DRIVE, MAY Hearty thanks to all of you who so generously donated blood to the American Red Cross in January. Your gift of life is invaluable. The next blood drive will be May 14 20, 2017, and, as usual, it will NOT be held at the church. You just need to sign up to give blood at any of the local donor centers during a time that is convenient for you during that week. For your information, the two donor centers closest to St. Thomas are: Timonium Donor Center White Marsh Donor Center 2405 York Road, Suite Sandpiper Court, Suite 118 Lutherville, MD Baltimore, MD Call RED CROSS ( ) to schedule your life-saving blood donation today! PASTORAL CARE A Little Birdie Told Me..The Pastoral Care Folks would like to know when you or your fellow parishioners are sick, ill, or have something to celebrate, and you are the little birdies! We need your help! Rev. Loree+ is very busy on a Sunday morning and sometimes people mention to her that they have upcoming surgery or something that needs prayers. She does a good job of remembering, but occasionally there are just too many requests to remember them all. The Pastoral Care Group would like for you to call the Church office or contact Betty Wilson, or oomawilson11@gmail.com. We need all the Lil Birdies to chirp to us so we can visit or send cards. Please help by being one of our birdies!

13 13 MINISTRY AND MISSION TEAM GOD PLANNED YOU FOR A PURPOSE APRIL BIRTHDAYS 6 David Harper 8 Brianna Moulton Hugus Greg Formwalt 11 Reston James Oakey 15 Amanda Snead 18 James Bigwood, Jr. Trevor Shuba Kellie Walter 25 Christine Condon Katie Condon 27 Linda Condon Audrey Golde 29 Vickie White Birthdays and anniversaries are always celebrated and prayed for during Sunday services. We would also like to put monthly birthdays in each issue of The Good News. If your birthday is not listed when it should be, please contact the Church office, or stthomastowson@gmail.com, or Betty Wilson, or oomawilson11@gmail.com. If you have an April birthday and your name does not appear on this list, please notify the Church office or Betty Wilson (oomawilson11@gmail.com) We are trying to remember our elderly and homebound parishioners with cards of their birthdays and special occasions. If anyone has cards they would like to donate to this cause, please leave them in the basket in the Narthex. They will be much appreciated.

14 17 Office Closed 18 Office Closed APRIL Office Closed 13 Maundy Thursday 20 Office Closed 14 Good Friday 21 Office Closed 2 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 9:30am Worship 10:30am Forum 11:30am City Light 4:30pm Evening Song 9 Palm Sunday 9:30am Worship 10:30am Forum 11am Vestry Meeting 11:30am City Light 2pm Sudanese 16 Easter 8am Worship 9:30am Worship 10:30am Easter Egg Hunt 11:30am City Light 2pm Sudanese No Evening Song 23 9:30am Worship 10:30am Forum 11:30am City Light 4:30pm Evening Song 30 9:30am Worship 10:30am Forum 11:30am City Light 4:30pm Evening Song 3 6:30pm National Night Out Planning Meeting 4 6:30pm EfM pm Community Input Meeting 6:30pm EfM 6:30pm EfM 5 10am Wardens Meeting 6:30pm Celtic Prayer 7pm City Light Music 7pm City Light Music 6:30pm Celtic Prayer 7pm City Light Music 7pm Johns Hopkins Parkinsons Support Group 26 6pm Johns Hopkins Support Group 6:30pm Celtic Prayer 7pm City Light Music 6 6pm Johns Hopkins Parkinsons Support Group 7:30pm Music Practice 1:30pm Johns Hopkins Parkinsons Support Group 7:30pm Worship 7:30pm Music Practice 27 2pm Johns Hopkins Support Group 7:30pm Music Practice 7 7pm AA Meeting 12pm Worship 7pm AA Meeting 7:30pm Worship 7pm AA Meeting 28 7pm AA Meeting 1 2pm City Light Chapel (Church) 8 8am Work Day 9am Fruit Delivery 15 10am Christian Stitchin 7:30pm Easter Vigil 22 9am Chancellor Ayers Prayer Group 10am Deacon Day 29 8am Flea Market

15 St. Thomas Good News St. Thomas Episcopal Church 1108 Providence Road Towson, MD Time Dated: March 27, 2017 RETURNED SERVICE REQUESTED NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Timonium, MD Permit 246 MISSION St. Thomas offers the spiritual comfort of Christ-centered nourishment. Feed, and be fed.