news

St.

Paul’s

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHFEBRUARY 2010—VOLUME 35, ISSUE 2

One of my favorite por-tions of the Prayer Book isthe “Call to a Holy Lent.” Itis found in the AshWednesday Liturgy andclearly and succinctly re-minds me what the seasonof Lent is about and howwe are called to live it. It isfound on Page 264.Because it speaks to me, Ioften wish to share it withyou. Unfortunately not eve-ryone attends the AshWednesday Eucharist andhence does not have theoccasion to hear the call.Therefore I often incorpo-rate the “Call” into the lit-urgy of the First Sunday ofLent, this year on February21.The “call” reminds us thatwe are asked to study andmeditate as a means offurther connecting withGod and thereby makingEaster that much moremeaningful. Each year,there are special Lentenprograms that we use tohelp us in this task. Oftenthey are on Wednesdayevening. This year we haveone scheduled for Sundaymornings. For four Sundaymornings in Lent (Feb 28 – March 21), we will havefamily Eucharist whereeveryone will come directlyto the 10 a.m. service, chil-dren and adults together,as we normally do on thefirst Sundays of the month.We will shorten the serviceso that when it is over we

The Theology of Lent

By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller

Dio Gratias

By Richard Sauerzopf, Priest Assistant

When we are ordained, whether it is to the deaconate, to the priesthood or to the episcopacy, we believe that at a fun-damental level, we are ordained in and for the entire Church. And yet, we cannot help but to be ordained in some par-ticular place, and among certain people, at a given time.

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Church EventsFebruary

may all go to “SundaySchool.” Children will go totheir normal classes andthere will be four placeswhere adults will meet. Inthe adult sessions (as wellas in the youth sessions) thefocus of study will be thelessons scheduled for thenext week.In examining these lessons,we will hope for increasedinsight and spiritual revela-tion at the service cele-brated the next week.Normal coffee hour re-freshment will be found inthe various classrooms andwe expect to be com-pleted by our normal ser-vice/coffee hour time of11:40 a.m. Please attendthe sessions. The discourseof the conversation willbring us closer together.Consider yourself “Calledto a Holy Lent.”

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UESDAY

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EALING

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B&PW

By Nancy Rudd, President

Our February meeting of theB&PW Guild is Tuesday, Febru-ary 9, at 6 p.m. in the HillRoom. I will give a program onmy three week trip to Fiji, NewZealand and Australia.Please call

Debby Pierce

for areservation. Dinner is $8 andyearly dues are $7.50. We arelooking for new members, soplease consider coming to ameeting and giving us a. Join usfor an evening of delicious foodand great companionship.

New NurseryAttendants

By The Very Rev. Dr.Gordon F. Weller

St. Paul’s has two new nurseryattendants on Sunday mornings.

Laura McCarron

and

AmandaHodges

both from Kappa Al-pha Theta sorority.They replace our own

Stepha-nie Earley

who tended our chil-dren in the fall. Stop by andmeet and greet Laurie in thenursery.

Vestry Retreat

By The Very Rev. Dr.Gordon F. Weller

This year’s Vestry Retreat willbe held February 5-6 at theWeber Center in Adrian, Michi-gan. The purpose is to acquaintthe new Vestry with one anotherand to look at where we mightgo in 2010-11. If you havedreams for St. Paul’s, pleaseconsider sharing them with amember of the Vestry so thatthey might be discussed at theretreat.

Lenten Series

An Invitation to Observe a Holy LentBy Dr. Stephen R. Lange, Minister of Music

At the Ash Wednesday service on February 17, FatherWeller will invite us “to the observance of a holy Lent.” Hewill then state several specific ways in which we can bemore intentional in observing the special nature of thisseason, including self-examination, prayer, self-denial,and reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. Thisyear, St. Paul’s is offering several ways to observe thesedisciplines.First, St. Paul’s is offering a “Quiet Morning,” led by

CarolIngells

, on Saturday, February 20. (The nature of thismorning is described by Carol in another article in this is-sue of

St. Paul’s News

.)Second, there will be the traditional book reviews, held onthe first five Mondays of Lent, February 22 through March22. The reviewers will be

Charles Millar, Gordon Weller,Chris Couch, Nancy Lange, and Dorothy Marsh

. The re-viewers and their books will be listed in the bulletin eachSunday.The schedule for these Lenten Lunch-n-Book Reviews is:

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11:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist in the Chapel

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12 noon Lunch

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12:30-1 p.m. Book ReviewIf you plan to eat lunch with us, please sign up on the sheetby the elevator. Lunch will be provided by A Catered Af-faire for $4.50 per person.And third, St. Paul’s will offer a lectionary-based BibleStudy for adults on four of the Sundays in Lent. In responseto busy schedules and full evenings, this Bible study willtake place right after church. The Youth Education Commit-tee has agreed to offer the Youth education classes afterchurch as well. Thus, all the youth will be in church for theentire service and then go to their classes. While the youthare meeting, adults will be offered the opportunity fortheir own Bible study. The adults will meet in the MerrifieldRoom for a brief introduction to the lessons they will bestudying, and then break into small groups (with coffeeand snacks available) to be led by several parishioners.The classes will last no longer than noon.Entitled “What Would You Preach On?” the intention is tostudy the lessons for the following week’s service andshare how we can incorporate these ideas into our day-to-day lives. The groups will then come together near the endof the time to share their insights. The schedule will includeWorship from 10-11 a.m. and then classes for 45 minutes,beginning right after church. The staff has made a commit-ment to seeing that worship lasts no longer than an hour,which should enable all activities to be finished no laterthan noon. Please join us!Page 2

February 17, 2010

7 a.m. – ChapelNoon – Chapel7 p.m. – ChurchAshes will be availableat all services

Healing Eucharist on the First Sunday of Lent

By The Rev. Deacon William Fineout

As we begin this new holy season, worshipers at St. Paul’s will have the opportunity to participate in a healing Eucharist,February 21, 2010. We will offer two healing prayer stations after communion on either side of the sanctuary, one in thechapel and one in the back hallway.You may want healing prayer for reasons such as trauma, illness, grief, resentment, anger, or weakness of faith or spiritfor yourself and for others. Remember the blind beggar, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, by the roadside. “When he heardthat it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly or-dered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said,‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off hiscloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man saidto him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ ”We never know how Jesus may offer us healing. But we do need to pray and ask. Join us for healing prayer.

Mardi Gras

By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller

Mardi Gras in all Christian cultures is a celebration of theend of Epiphany. It provides the contrast that makesShrove Tuesday meaningful. This year, St. Paul’s will haveboth a Mardi Gras celebration as well as a Shrove Tues-day pancake supper.The Mardi Gras celebration will be on Sunday, February14 at 6 p.m. It will begin with a dinner of southern/NewOrleans food and some special music. After eating sump-tuously and being musically entertained, the Eucharist willbe celebrated in the Church with a festive flare. Sign upon the guest list outside the Merrifield Room or by callingthe Church office.

Shrove Tuesday

By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller

Once again Shrove Tuesday will be marked by a supperof pancakes and sausage. Traditionally this day is widelyassociated with the eating of rich foods made with eggs,sugar and butter, such aspancakesbecause making suchfoods used up ingredients such as sugar, fat and eggs,whose consumption was traditionally restricted during thefasting associated with Lent. The meal will begin at 6 p.m.,February 16, and will include the traditional burning oflast year’s palms by the children. Sign the guest list outsidethe Merrifield room or call the Church office to make res-ervations. Please bring you palm fronds or crosses from2009 to the first two Sundays in February.

Super Bowl Party

By The Very Rev. Dr. Gordon F. Weller

Kick off for the 2010 Super Bowl is 6:28 p.m., Sunday,February 7. In past years, many have said that weshould have a Super Bowl party. Well, here it is. Be-ginning at 5:30 p.m. on February 7, let the festivitiesbegin! We will meet in the Merrifield Room. St. Paul’swill provide plates, napkins, popcorn and hot dogs.Please bring your favorite beverage (non-alcoholicplease) and something (appetizers, a dessert, etc.) topass. Games (card or board) will be played. Tablesfor both youth and adults will be available. If thegame runs long, please feel free to leave at a timethat meets your schedule. Have one of those bean bagchairs or a lounge chair hanging around? Bring italong. Questions, contact

Fr. Weller

or one of theclergy.Page 3