| a weekly e-newsletter from Saint Martin's Church |
March 15, 2018
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This Week
at
St. Martin's
Thursday
Bible & Beer at Pietro's Pizza
7:00 p.m.
Rite I Quiet Worship
8:00 a.m.
Choir Rehearsal
9:00 a.m.
Faith Fair
Sunday School
9:30 a.m.
Rite II Worship with Music
10:00 a.m.
Confirmation Gathering
4:30 p.m.
Holy Eucharist
12:15 p.m.
Lenten Evening Worship at
Christ Church
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Greeting
"So, please join us at Christ Church, Ithan in this witness on March 14th as we pray, ask forgiveness and say "never again" to the scandal of gun violence in our schools, on our streets, and in our society."
~ Fr. John Sosnowski, Priest-in-Charge, Christ Church, Ithan
This week our friend Fr. John sent out an email to our local churches encouraging us all to join him and CCI in ringing our bells and offering prayer space on Wednesday as a vocal remembrance of the one-month anniversary of the Parkland, Florida school massacre that claimed 17 lives. He asked this in solidarity with the school walk-outs planned by students across the country that day and the "March for Our Lives" scheduled for Saturday, March 24th in Washington, D.C. and other major cities. I appreciate John's acknowledgement that some are critical of just offering "thoughts and prayers"- an understandable criticism if used as an excuse for inaction. But he rightly reminds us that prayer itself is a witness, opens our hearts to God's yearning in our lives and, crucially, can spur us to action. In any event this oughtn't be a one time event, but the onset of a commitment on the part of every responsible member and sector of our society to take action to say "never again" to this preventable public health catastrophe. Please contact me or John if you have an interest in taking part in the march in Washington or other responses being planned in our local parishes and Diocese.
Peace & blessings,
Chris+
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Come out and enjoy Bible & Beer tonight, Thursday, March 15th at Pietro's Pizza (236 N Radnor Chester Rd) starting at 7:00 p.m. Some great food and lively discussions are sure to be served! All viewpoints are welcome.
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This week is SPECIAL. The children invite you to stop at the tables upstairs as they share their Lego bible story creations. Even as some bible stories are on display up in the Gurley Room, the children will continue construction of new stories in the Sunday School room at 9:30 a.m. Join us for Sunday School to pray, read the bible, and be creative!
Lent is half way over and we now are talking about Jesus and his disciples as we head toward Palm Sunday. There are many important lessons Jesus shares, including asking "Who is Missing?" It may be a sheep, or a coin, or a son. It could be a tax collector, the little children, or wine (at a wedding.) Jesus invites all and he provides for all. We follow his lead and invite you to join us downstairs in the large room at the end of the hall to explore Jesus' final days of ministry.
The nursery will be open this Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m.
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Have you ever looked closely at a model of Moses climbing the mountain to receive the 10 Commandments? Of Jesus being baptized? These stories and more will be on display this Sunday in the Gurley Room. Our children have been busily reading and constructing their interpretations of the bible stories. Most relate to Christ's ministry leading up to Palm Sunday. But there are a couple of Old Testament stories that we need to know (like the 10 Commandments) in order to better understand what Jesus teaches us. So enjoy your refreshments during coffee hour as you walk around to learn from our children and see these scripture passages from fresh perspectives. We may have guests from a couple of other churches, coming to learn from St. Martin's children, too!
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Lenten Outreach Soup Cook
 Thank you to Pattie Booker and Carisa Gring who provided this week's homemade soup which was delivered to The Great Valley Food Cupboard. There is still time to sign up in The Gurley Room to cook a pot of soup for our Lenten Outreach program. Not able to cook soup? Please consider putting a financial donation in the jar on The Gurley Room table. Every little bit helps. If you have any questions, please contact Pam Faber.
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Easter Egg Time is Approaching!
Even as we journey through Lent, Easter Sunday is just down the road. We are asking anyone with empty, clean eggs to bring them into church and deposit them in the bin in the hall next to the small Sunday School room. Better yet, please fill the eggs with candy (no nuts please) and leave the filled eggs to be used for the Easter Egg hunt after the worship service on April 1. Bags of candy are also welcome donations to make Easter Sunday special for our children.
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 This year St. Martin's is offering bibles on March 18, as part of the "Faith Fair." There will be pink New Revised Standard Version bibles for anyone to take home, to have a bible at your fingertips. It is our Lent gift to you.
In addition, there is a display of other bible editions and translations for all ages. These bibles will give you a chance to look at ones we use in Sunday School and as part of the Wednesday Bible Study. Easter is a perfect day to give the gift of a bible for children or youth, or to give to yourself. There will be a list of bibles on a handout, and this way you can easily order on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wherever you buy books.
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Corks & Cards
Please collect your corks and the fronts of greeting cards, then deposit them in the baskets at St. Martin's. We are supporting the efforts of one of the youth at Christ Church, Ithan, as he raises money for the Southern Poverty Law Center. Their mission is to seek justice for the most vulnerable people in society.
Beginning later this year, Jay Harper and other volunteers will be meeting monthly between their Sunday worship services to create gift tags from the used greeting cards. They will package these tags to sell next fall. They will also be packaging and selling the corks on the Internet next fall to crafters who like to use them for Christmas craft projects.
These used corks really add up!
All proceeds from the project will go to the Southern Poverty
Law Center and other Social Justice initiatives. Jay and members of his team will visit St. Martin's later this spring to give a brief presentation on the project. Then in the fall, the youth of St. Martin's will be invited to join volunteers at Christ Church to work on the project, so thank you for helping with this new collaboration and stay tuned!
https://www.splcenter.org/seeking-justice
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Demand the Ban
This Nonviolent Civil Disobedient Event will take place next Wednesday, March 21st 10:00AM in Philadelphia
The Diocesan Anti-Gun Violence Committee invites you to an action to demand the ban of semi-automatic assault weapons that is taking place here in Philadelphia on March 21st. Join others from across the region at Arch Street Friends Meeting House, where an assault weapon will be melted down and redesigned as a gardening tool (Isaiah 2:4), and then march to Senator Pat Toomey's office. This event is sponsored by CHARLES Foundation, Delaware County United for Sensible Gun Policy, Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence, Raw Tools, and The Simple Way.
You can learn more and register at demandtheban.org.
Please keep those participating in your prayers.
If you are interested in joining the Diocesan Anti-Gun Violence Committee, please contact The Reverend Canon Sarah Hedgis - [email protected].
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First and Second Stations of the Cross
 Presented to the St. Martin's congregation in the chapel area on March 11, and will be repeated on March 25 after the Palm Sunday service). Find a time when you can sit quietly and take a few deep breaths. Look at a cross, hold a rosary or use the items you may have picked up on Sunday to help you focus on the prayers you are about to say as you journey with Christ from the garden through the trial and Christ's torture.
Station 1.
Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he is then arrested
(a. Matthew 26:36-41 and b. Mark 14: 43-46)
Jesus said to his disciples, "My soul is sorrowful even to death." Let us pray,
Lord, grant us your strength and wisdom, that we may seek to follow your will in all things.
Station 2.
Jesus is judged by the Jewish court, mocked
Let us pray,
Lord, grant us your sense of righteousness that we may never cease to work to bring about the justice of the kingdom that you promised.
And he is crowned with thorns.
(a. Luke 22: 66-71 and b. John 19: 1-3)
Let us pray,
Lord,
grant us patience in times of suffering that we may offer our lives as a sacrifice of praise.
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Upcoming Events
Bible & Beer at Pietro's Pizza
TONIGHT! Thursday, 3/15, 7:00 p.m.
Faith Fair: The New Testament in Legos
THIS Sunday, 3/18, in between services and after the 10am worship
Confirmation Gathering
THIS Sunday, 3/18, 4:30 p.m.
Read Chapter 3 in My Faith, My Life. We will have a scavenger hunt at St. Martin's
Lenten Evening Worship
Wednesday, March 21st, 6 p.m. at Christ Church, Ithan
(see the schedule above)
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Read and Ponder
this Week's Scriptures
The scripture readings for this Sunday are:
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-13
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
The Collect
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
The Response
Psalm 51:1-13
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, a sinner from my mother's womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
Hebrews 5:5-10
Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
The Gospel
John 12:20-33
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
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| Saint Martin's Episcopal Church of Radnor
400 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087 (610) 688-4830 |
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