The Mainsail St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church April, The Cross is Bare The Tomb Is Empty. He is Risen. Welcome, Happy morning!

Transcription

1 The Mainsail St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church April, 2016 The Cross is Bare The Tomb Is Empty He is Risen Welcome, Happy morning! 1

2 Rector s Corner What does the phrase fresh start mean to you? I suppose it could be anything from the name of a laundry detergent to beginning anew, a clean slate, a do-over. For Christians the term can accurately be ascribed to all of our lives after being baptized and sealed as Christ s own. When we are baptized, by the power of the water and the Holy Spirit, we are gifted with God s forgiveness of sin and raised to a new life of grace. Further we are received not only by God but by all other Christians into the household of God. What an incredible gift! It is important to understand that it is a once and for all gift, meaning that a baptism is never to be repeated, otherwise it is as if you doubt God s gift. It is said that by being baptized you die to sin as if sin can no longer recognize you. Instead, what that means is that sin has no hold on you, God s love, God s forgiveness - by the power of baptism - forever and always relinquishes you from the effect of your sins. However, for our own growth we need to admit when we have done wrong. Therefore the admission of sin allows for a refreshment of our understanding and comfort of God s forgiveness and is important in our lives. In addition, our relationships with our Lord are enhanced when we seek forgiveness for our transgressions. It is for these reasons that we frequently confess our sins and again receive God s absolution. It is also, and perhaps more important, the reason that we periodically renew our baptismal vows. Each time we are the witnesses to a baptism we join together to renew our own baptismal covenant, and at certain times in the liturgical year, even if there is not a baptism we recommit ourselves to our beliefs and promises. We promise to continue in the apostles teaching, to persevere in resisting evil, to repent and return to the Lord. We vow that with God s help we will proclaim the Good News of God in Christ, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, and to strive for justice and peace, respecting the dignity of every human being. While our actual baptism is a once and done event, as mere humans, we have a consistent need to remind ourselves of what it means to be marked as Christ s own. That we have a responsibility. That we must, with God s help, live into being the people of God. Following the penitential preparation of Lent, we do not include the general confession in our weekly Eucharist service during the 50 days of Easter. One reason we do not include it is so that we may be reminded of the most significant meaning of the Eucharist itself. Christ said, This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus knew we would need reminding of his grace and he provided us with the perfect act of remembrance. When we are baptized, we die to sin because Christ shed his blood for us. When we receive the Blood of Christ, the Cup of Salvation we are again and again washed anew in remembrance of him. Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Mollie+ 2

3 Children s Sunday School - 11:00 until 11:30 a.m. Adult Spiritual Formation Class - Not In God s Name by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Come join us in the Garden Room! Work in Progress.In More Ways Than One The next time you walk past the Chapel take a look. These days it is a bit more spacious; the reason being that the organ is gone. The organ story goes something like this. Dale and Phyllis Brown, as is the history of many St. Simon Peter parishioners, began attending services at St. Simon Peter prior to moving to the Pell City area. At that time, the church only had a piano. The Browns owned two organs and Dr. Dale decided to give the larger of the two to the church (it is the organ upstairs). Not long after its installation, Dale and Phyllis moved to Pell City and along came the second organ which was installed in the Chapel. When asked about the donations, Phyllis said, I believe the donation of the organs added four years to Dale s life. As a neurosurgeon, Dale had always been very busy. When he was diagnosed with leukemia he spent too many hours in the recliner watching CNN. The installation and care of the organs became his self-appointed responsibility. It gave him purpose and a gift of added years. The Chapel organ was rarely used. Originally the plan was to offer organ lessons but there was little interest. Then a need was discovered. Trinity Commons Birmingham Episcopal Campus Ministries - needed an organ. (Trinity Commons is the physical and spiritual home of the Birmingham Episcopal Campus Ministries, serving the communities of UAB, Samford, and Birmingham Southern.) With Phyllis s blessing, the organ was dismantled and moved and now lives at Trinity Commons located at 1170 South 11 th Avenue in Birmingham. No worry, it is being well cared for. Our Kenny plays for the 6:00 p.m. service each Sunday. 3

4 Enough Said Painting for the Pantry: You Know the Plan This is a Fundraiser for The Christian Love Pantry. Give it a try. Talent not required. You will have lots of fun and help a very worthy cause. P r o o f P o s i t i v e Your donations and involvement DO make a difference! The Pell City Christian Love Pantry received a donation of $6,700 from the Tablescapes luncheon. Kudos to the ladies of St. Simon Peter who decorated the St. Simon Peter table entry. You did a beautiful job. 4

5 Tax Preparation at St. Simon Peter: Update The free tax clinic at St. Simon Peter has completed 37 returns to date and assisted 5 other taxpayers. This puts the free tax program well ahead of other startup programs sponsored by AARP. Also, the St. Simon Peter program has undergone unannounced reviews by both AARP and the IRS. Only the AARP review results have been provided they found the StSP program to be in very good shape the IRS reviewers were extremely complementary during their visit. They found the tax aides to be well prepared and thought the waiting area and bulletin board were among the best they had seen. Both the AARP and the IRS found the free tax program met the criteria to be continued next year. The sixteen volunteers (8 tax aides and 8 client facilitators) have all done a super job and all the clients have been very complementary and grateful. That is the most important part! Further, other than an early rejection of a return by Alabama due to the State s software problems, every return has been accepted with no rejects from either the IRS or the State of Alabama Revenue. Stan Atkins, EA, is local coordinator and John Rickards, FCAM, PMP, is the assistant local coordinator. Volunteers are Ellen Mayer, Lloyd and Jean Yonkers, Rita and Worth Barham, Christine Watson, Sarah Deese, Wayne Wilcox, Marilyn Atkins, Deborah Cearley, Vickie Yaeger, Jenna Patterson, Myra Williams, and Billie Cardwell. The group is most appreciate of the support of Mother Mollie, Debbie Phillips and the St. Simon Peter Parishioners. Please pass the word, particularly to any older taxpayers and any lower income people you know. We would love to reach our goal of 50 returns for our first year and to help as many individuals as we are able. Submitted by: Stan Atkins No agenda, no meeting, no minutes, no pressure. Just snacks, wine (or not) and great company. This is the perfect time to finish those conversations you never quite complete at Fellowship Hour on Sundays. So how much better can it get? A great time was had by all. The next meeting is on April 13 at the home of Jo Harris. Bring a snack or wine and yourself. Episco-Chicks March 10 5

6 ECW Episcopal Church Women By definition Episcopal Church Women means Women of the Church. That means you. You do not have to be nominated, voted on, or fill out a form. Because you are a woman of the church you are automatically a member of ECW. On Sunday, March 20, Jenna Patterson, President of St. Simon Peter ECW, called to order a meeting in which three basic subjects/projects were discussed: the special session to be held at Camp McDowell for children not physically or mentally able to attend regular camp, a fundraiser for ECW and a mission to provide packets to local college student who do not have family near by. Camp: Funding for youth volunteers (covered by Mother Mollie), volunteers to help at camp, hosting a special entertainment night for the campers and/or supplying camp bags for the campers Fund Raiser: A Tea in the fall which would include a meal and speaker College Students: Packets containing all those college items needed during study time, i.e., snacks, notebooks, advil, etc. Jenna asked that all the ladies give thought to how they may be able to help facillitate these projects and share ideas at the next meeting tentatively scheduled for April 17. Additionally, elections were held for the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. Ana Berry and Jan Canoles, respectively, accepted the nominations and were unanamously elected to these positions. **************************************************************** Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love. Mother Teresa **************************************************************** To Everything a Season something ends and something new begins Spiritual Retreat April 15-17, 2016 Bethany Village at Camp McDowell To register online: or contact Kathy Graham, Coordinator of Lifelong Christian Formation, kgraham@dioala.org 6

7 April Birthdays 2 Marie Moore 6 LJ Stanton 15 - Ellen Mayer 17 - Shirley Wilson 23 - Kimberly Stales 24 - Brett Vines 25 Don Grant April Calendar April 3 April 4 April 8 April 13 April 16 April 17 April Birthday Sunday Vestry Meeting 6:00 p.m. Painting for the Pantry 6:30 p.m. Episco-Chicks (Home of Jo Harris) 5:30 p.m. Men s Group, DOK, Beans and Rice ECW Meeting (tentative) Mother Mollie at Clergy Conference Note: Regularly Scheduled Weekly Activities Are: Tuesday: Cursillo 10:30 a.m. - EfM (Education for Ministry) 5:30 p.m. Wednesday: Holy Eucharist 10:00 a.m. Needlework Guild 11:00 a.m. Chair Yoga Noon Thursday: Choir Practice On the Horizon May 8 May 15 May 22 July Mothers Day Mother Mollie will preach at Chapel in the Pines Pentacost Baptism of two of Mother Mollie s Grandchildren Youth Sunday and Annual Parish Picnic at the Murrays Vacation Bible School 7

8 A Prayer After Easter By Erin M. Cline O God of the Last Supper God of the Cross And God of the Empty Tomb We come before you now and we pause. We inhale the scent of snow white Easter lilies. We see the rain as it falls in veils and sheets of April showers. And we listen. Holy Week has passed. But how we long to live by the marvelous story we have heard. Let us remain ever beside you at the table of the Last Supper. Show us who is hungry. And give us the courage to offer them bread from your table. Show us who is thirsty. And give us the strength to lift up the cup of your love. Most of all, show us how to linger at the table, serving others - Doing ALL that we do In remembrance of You, And the way you were when You walked this earth. We lift these simple, limited words Up to you, O God. Amen stsimonpeter.org Worship - Sermons St. Simon Peter Episcopal Church Our Mission as the Body of Christ To know our faith. To live in truth and love.. 8

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