L V G A R E Z L F. A p r i l Awakening the Imagination to God s Story of Extravagant Love & Grace

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1 A p r i l Awakening the Imagination to God s Story of Extravagant Love & Grace The Hope-filled Rays I We were spoiled. February in Michigan teased and delighted us. The average winter month temps are typically 33/19 degrees with 12 inches of snow. But not this past year, Long-standing records from over 133 years were smashed as temps climb into the 70 s. And it just wasn t for one day. Throughout the month, at times we hovered above the 50 s. Winter coats were replaced with summer shorts, stocking hats with baseball caps, and best of all snowblowers with lawn chairs. Bar-b-ques, kids riding bikes and playing outside, car washing, and best of all cheerfulness and optimism smiled upon us. Even though we knew it was still winter, experiencing Spring-like weather warmed the soul and gave confidence that something good was just around the corner, albeit 6-8 weeks away. We could now wait with hope. As we approach Holy Week, 8 days of prophetic history becoming historic reality, the calendar of salvation moves us from our winter souls to the approaching Spring. Dante in his 14 th century iconic afterlife poem, The Divine Comedy, pictures the Devil stuck in ice. His wings, like the angels, are meant to fly, but now are chilling fans that freeze everything. * Continued on page 2 Palm Sunday April 9 th 10 AM Worship Maundy Thurs. April 13 th 6 PM Seder Passover Meal Good Friday, April 14th Noon Stations of the Cross Easter Celebration April 16 th Sun.10AM Sunday Worship & Eucharist 10 AM CtK-Mission Church Worship 2 PM A Real Encounter with Jesus Changes Everything Many encountered Jesus of Nazareth during the course of His short stay Mary with the oil, the woman who bled and the father whom for his child prayed they all encountered Jesus the Christ, they met Him face to face and a miracle occurred each time empowered by His mercy and grace a real encounter with Jesus made everything all right as they all desired to walk by faith L V G A R E Z L F and not by sight ~ Louise Nelson 2012

2 2 Continued from page 1, Pastor s Column He is stuck in ice due to his constant struggle against God. His pride, the cause of his downfall, is now also his entrapment. This symbolism of winter-ish entrapment is replayed in novels and movies, from Narnia to Beauty and the Beast. It is into this world, our world, under the spell of winter s hoarfrost, with a soul-chilling grip that God s salvation story unfolds. The love sent Prince of Heaven, God s Son now enters in bringing the hope of Spring and new life through Jesus. The Gospels begin not with Holy Week, but rather stories of Jesus encounters, changing lives, showing glimpses of the reality to come. As we have been journeying through Lent, our Sunday lessons have had the same rays of our February 2017 hope. Our Jesus encounters allow us to refresh our memories that God cares and keeps His promises. The cast of characters in John s Gospel, a curious pharisee, a well-wisher, a seeing-blind man, and grieving sisters, all share a similar story when they had a Jesus encounter. The chill of winter s usual darkness is overcome by the Son. Whether seeking Jesus out or going about daily tasks, life was changed, as Jesus extended grace and saw each one as a person in need and worthy of redemptive love. The expansiveness of God s love and grace is revealed each week as these Gospel characters tell their part in God s Gospel story. With each new compassionate story, it is like the warmth of Spring during a winter calendar month. Hope rises as we ponder each miracle of grace that points to God s larger story. A story that includes us, along with many others throughout time and history. The greatest story of all time, a story we will read, ponder, and share this month. The story of life, sacrifice, death, and grave victory. It is the story of coming Spring, not only now, but yet to come, a hope the rises with the Son. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, Waiting for the Son-light, fjm+ 1 Peter 1:3 NLT The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. ~ Philemon 25 S o u L F o o D " For followers, Christianity is a relationship, an adventure, a passionate pursuit of Christ. Following is the beginning and the end of what it means to be a Christian. Everything in between is measured by it." ~ Joseph Stowell "The ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God." ~ D. Martin Lloyd Jones The first mystery of life is death which makes the mystery of the gospel all the more compelling ~ Author unknown

3 3 April CtK Happenings LORD S DAY SUPPER. Saturday, April 6 PM Come and share in a special celebration of God s blessing as we gather for a special meal, prayer, and community. The Lantz s will be hosting the Lord s Day gathering. Taken from the Jewish tradition of celebrating a meal together at the Sabbath sundown, we will experience the richness of this practice as we remember God s blessings through a guided liturgy before the meal. Join us for a delightful evening of good food and conversation and games that will feed your body and soul as we honor God together. Sign up at church today. MEN BI-WEEKLY BREAKFAST & BIBLE. Guys join us for breakfast and a bible discussion at Cracker Barrel Restaurant (West Saginaw) from 8:30-10 AM on Monday mornings. In April we will be meeting on April 10 th and 24 th. We are currently looking at 10 Dumb Mistakes Guys Make from the examples in Scripture. SUNDAY April 9th PALM SUNDAY A celebration with palms and songs of Hosanna. Worship at 10 AM. MAUNDY THURSDAY, April 13th 6 PM Come and share in a Seder Passover Meal at Willy & Bonita s home in St. Johns. We will be using a modified Jewish liturgy to share the meaning of Passover and Christ s fulfillment. Please sign up at church. GOOD FRIDAY, April 14 th at Noon Walk the Stations of the Cross with us in prayer and meditation. EASTER RESURRECTION SUNDAY. April 16th. Worship 10 AM Celebrate life and hope in worship with us. SPRING COMPASSION PROJECT. During the April we will be collecting paper and hygiene products for the St. Johns Food Bank. These are items that food stamps don t cover. Items needed include: toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, tooth paste, body soap, and shampoo. Donation receptacles are by the information table. Thank You! VOLUNTEERS & BAKERS NEEDED Thursday,April 27th We are partnering with His Cup Runneth Over ministry from St. Johns on the 4 th Thursday of each month (April until Oct) to share a free lunch of soup, bread, fruit, and dessert. We will be ministering to the Four Seasons apartment community just west of CtK on Clark Road. Helpers are needed to serve and talk with people from 10:30 AM- 1:30 PM. We also need baked goods. For more information see Willy Heisey. Sign up at church to help! Check out the Facebook page for His Cup Runneth Over.

4 4 CtK Ministries 2016 Talking points from our Annual Ministry Meeting last month. A Video Presentation from LeaderWorks, Rev. Dave Rosenberry interviewing a church planter. What common themes did the planter mention that reflected concepts/ideas that we have been hearing from God in our asking times? We recognized the centrality of prayer and seeking God s guidance as the foundation to ministry. Three other common ideas were that of a common statement/value which framed the ministry, teamwork, and willingness to fail as they got their hands dirty in ministry to others. What was the best thing CtK did last year? Interestingly the responses were the ministries that touched people outside of our church. People mentioned the Hannah House (infant clothes), Festival of Lights popcorn give-away, homeless socks and gloves project, St. Johns Food Pantry donations, helping and Padiate go visit his wife in Africa. Presentation of His Cup Runneth Over Ministry Willy Heisey shared the possibility of partnering with His Cup Runneth Over ministry from St. Johns. The ministry shares free meals of soup, bread, fruit, and dessert at specific locations twice weekly from April-October. Currently, they have a partner opening on the 4 th Thursday at noon. He shared about his desire for CtK to partner with them at the 4 Seasons Apartments in DeWitt which was supported by the members. Presentation of 2017 Budget. The 2016 finance statement and budget had been sent out during the week prior to the meeting. After much discussion the congregation decided to postpone adopting the proposed budget which included a $6,000 pastoral salary deduction. The congregation was thanked for their generous support but we are still short of meeting our current expenses. It was recommended that we pray about this and wait to see if more Faith Promises are received. We will meet again on Sunday, April 9 th after the service. Open Vestry Position. Congregation affirmed Vestry s recommendation of Willy Heisey to serve on the Vestry.

5 5 Easter Essay by George Weigel in First Things Christmas occupies such a large part of the Christian imagination that the absolute supremacy of Easter as the greatest of Christian feasts may get obscured at times. Easter faith the faith which proclaims that he... rose again on the third day is not one article of Christian conviction among others. As St. Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15, Easter faith is that conviction on which the entire edifice of Christianity is built. Without Easter, nothing makes sense and Jesus is a false prophet, even a maniac. With Easter, all that has been obscure about his life, his teaching, his works and his fate becomes radiantly clear: this Risen One is the first-born among many brethren (Romans 8:29); he is the new Temple (Revelation 21:22); and by embracing him we enter the dwelling place of God among us (Revelation 21:3). In the Gospel readings of the Easter Octave, the Church annually remembers the utterly unprecedented nature of the paschal event, and how it exploded expectations of what God s decisive action in history would be. No one gets it, at first; for what has happened bursts the previous limits of human understanding. The women at the empty tomb don t understand, and neither do Peter and John. The disciples on the road to Emmaus do not understand until they encounter the Risen One in the Eucharist, the great gift of paschal life, offered by the new Temple, the divine Presence, himself. At one encounter with the Risen Lord, the Eleven think they re seeing a ghost; later, up along the Sea of Galilee, it takes a while for Peter and John to recognize that It is the Lord! (John 21:7). These serial episodes of incomprehension, carefully recorded by the early Church, testify to the shattering character of Easter, which changed everything: the first disciples understanding of history, of life-beyond-death, of worship and its relationship to time (thus Sunday, the day of Easter, becomes the Sabbath of the New Covenant). Easter also changed the first disciples understanding of themselves and their responsibilities. They were the privileged ones who must keep alive the memory of Easter: in their preaching, in their baptizing and breaking of bread, and ultimately in the new Scriptures they wrote. They were the ones who must take the Gospel of the Risen One to all nations, in the sure knowledge that he would be with them always (Matthew 28:19-20). They were to be transformed (Romans 12:2). So are we. Remember Easter. Remember the Resurrection. Through the prism of that extraordinary event that changed both history and nature, everything comes into clearer focus. First Things

6 6 The Back Page NEWS W O R D M E N U This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us. ~1 John 4:10 niv Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph over His foes; He arose the Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! ~ Robert Lowery Does God love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, He loves us because of His goodness, His kindness, and His great faith. ~ Max Lucado Experiencing God How does God make Himself real in our lives? Here are five S s God uses: Savior, Spirit, Scripture, Sacraments, and Serving. The Savior, Jesus Christ, is God dwelling among us. The Holy Spirit speaks to us and touches our consciences and spirits guiding us to the Father. The Word of God instructs us. Sacraments are the tangible grace-filled objects/symbols infused with meaning beyond themselves. And finally, when we serve, the heart of God is shared. Can you know God? Absolutely look at the S s. How to Be a Daffodil in a Dandelion World Anglican Women s Spring Retreat Friday May 5 th -6 th St. Mary s Retreat Center Oxford, MI Register now $115 Deadline April 16 Forms available at CtK Rector: Rev. Dr. Joseph F. Mlaker revjmlaker@gmail.com Rev. Samuel Makuach: smakuach@gmail.com CtK is an Anglican Church ~ ACNA CTK Church Office : 1161 East Clark Rd, DeWitt, MI Web page: Vol. 6 Number 04 Published by Christ the King Church A Community of Faith A Call to Mission A Commitment to Serve Commitment to Serve