Well, we have a fair chance of a wet Saturday, but that has never stopped us before:  SATURDAY'S WORK DAY IS STILL A GO! Assemble at 10 am, breaking for lunch. Work any part of this you're able to donate. Hats and rain slickers highly recommended. We will start in the Courtyard and work into the Welcome Garden on Belvoir Rd and Free Garden, tending other areas as able. We will leave stalks standing in the backs of the beds, leaving about 15 inches, to provide habitat for native bees. We will also severely cut back the few remaining hollies along the front of the church -- be prepared.

This Sunday, March 25 – Palm Sunday – marks the beginning of Holy Week, during which we retrace Jesus’ steps to the cross and beyond. You are invited to join us in the journey through participation in the traditional liturgies of the week:

 

Sunday, March 25 – Palm Sunday , 8:00 and 10:45 a.m. (service begins outside,

weather permitting). Those who aren't able to stand comfortably may settle

in the Nave; the rest of the congregation will join you!)

Thursday, March 29 – Maundy Thursday – 7:00 p.m. (Holy Eucharist and foot-washing)

Friday, April 30 – Stations of the Cross, 11:15 a.m.

Good Friday liturgy, March 30, 12:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 31 – Easter Vigil , 8 p.m.

(followed by champagne reception in the Undercroft)

Sunday, April 1 – Easter services , 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

Next week, we begin Holy Week, the days when we recount Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. In these few short days, we remember the stories that have shaped a worldwide community of believers over thousands of years. On Maundy Thursday, we reenact the story of the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before his death, the meal that has become for us Holy Communion, a sign of our shared life in Christ. We remember the loving and intimate moments of that meal as those who wish to do so will bend to wash one another’s feet, and have our own feet be washed, as we take our places as servants of God, and as recipients of Christ’s gift.

 

Our Holy Week pilgrimage begins on Palm Sunday, March 25h, when we raise shouts of “Hosanna,” and wave our palms, remembering Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. As the worship service continues, we hear a dramatic reading of the Gospel, punctuated by percussion, which tells of Jesus’ trial and execution. We, the congregation, add our own voices as the story unfolds, acknowledging that we, too, are witnesses of these events.

 

On Good Friday, we hear the story of Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion. We remember how his disciples denied him, the crowds turned against him, and the injustice of it all. We will look upon the wood of the cross, with one beam reaching down to earth and stretching up to heaven, and the other one reaching out, and ponder how this cross tells us something about the nature of God. We hear the chilling words of the Gospel as Jesus, hanging on the cross, bows his head and says, “It is finished,” a reminder of the cost of love.

 

On the evening of Holy Saturday, we begin a wonder-filled journey through the Great Vigil of Easter. We hear the ancient stories of God’s redeeming work, from creation through the exodus and return from exile. We renew the covenant that God made with us at our baptism, and we rise with Christ from the waters, redeemed and restored.

 

On Easter morning, we hear of how the early apostles, both women and men, came to the tomb and found it empty. Thus began the search for Jesus Christ risen among us. When confronted by the great emptiness of the tomb gaping in front of us, we turn to the brightness of the day, which now lies wide open, full of possibility and hope.

 

We come together year after year, to make this journey together, to tell these stories again, to pray together for the church and for the world, to respond to Christ’s love with love of our own, to renew our commitments. We gather to remind ourselves that God’s love took the shape of the cross, and that life in Christ continues even after the grave. 

 

We are an Easter people, people made and held by a love so great that it transcends death. We share the life of the resurrection. These stories transform us. They tell of the love that shapes and reshapes our lives, touching us again and again so that, like Jesus, we might reach our arms out to the world. 

Grace and peace,

April

While it is true that Easter still lies over a week in the future, it is also true that the bulletins for that happy day are not printed at the church on the Thursday or Friday before but instead are sent out to a printer. Printers, alas, need time in which to complete jobs, and the merchant who suffers regularly with Grace’s various needs asks that he get our files on Tuesday, March 27, which means that any Easter lily dedications need to be in the office NO LATER THAN THE MORNING OF THE 27 ^th ! Say, by 10:00 a.m. You may reserve your plant(s) now and pay later, if you’d like – we can take your $$ at any time, but we need the dedications by the previously cited deadline for the previously cited reasons.

You may fill out the form below; you may pick up a form in the Narthex; you may call or e-mail the office. In the immortal words of Nike, Just Do It!

 

Your name:____________________________________________

 

Phone Number:_________________________________________

 

Honor Memory Thanksgiving             Name to list

 

  ¨             ¨                ¨                        ________________________

  ¨             ¨                ¨                        ________________________

  ¨             ¨                ¨                        ________________________

  ¨             ¨                ¨                        ________________________

 

Total amount enclosed/attached: _______________________

Saturday, March 31, brings Grace’s annual Eggs-travaganza, with all the children of the church and any eggstra folks that might be interested invited to come, baskets in hand, to comb the church grounds for candy-filled Easter eggs. The hunt begins at 1:00 p.m. If the weather is good, festivities will be out on the grounds; if it’s raining, the Undercroft will accommodate the hunt.

 

If you have questions, please e-mail Maria Hurt at mhurt@saygrace.net ; if you’d like to donate candy, please choose small, wrapped candies with NO NUTS or PEANUT BUTTER. Donations should be brought to the church no later than Thursday, March 29.

After the intense week following Palm Sunday, Grace likes to throw a wee party after the first service of Easter (the Vigil) in the form of a champagne reception after the Vigil on Saturday evening. The church supplies the champagne, and the rest of us bring whatever sweet or savory items we’d like to share. So as you’re stocking up on ham and lamb and Peeps and chocolate bunnies next week, grab the ingredients, make your favorite brownies or pigs-in-a-blanket and bring them to the Undercroft before (or even after!) the Vigil on Saturday evening. After the road to Calvary and the wondrous shock of the resurrection, some celebration is in order!

Bridge Refugee Service has begun art therapy sessions at Grace on Friday mornings, and they’d love to receive a monetary gift from you to help them purchase supplies. Gifts may be placed in the almsbags on Sunday – if you write a check, make sure you put Bridge Art Supplies in the subject line. You may also mail or bring a check or cash to the church. Contributions small and large are all welcome!