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Dragon Tales E-News - April 5, 2017
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Please share our Easter video invitation with others- your friends, family, FB friends, or any FB and community groups you belong to --
just copy and paste the link:
https://youtu.be/nIqJia-I3b4
Order Easter Flowers -- Deadline: April 10
Note: This Sunday is Palm Sunday -- at the 9 and 11:15 a.m. services,
parishioners should meet in the Parish Hall where we will begin worship and then process together to the sanctuary.
Reminder: The Rev. Peter W. Mayer will be preaching at Asbury-Broadneck UMC this Sunday as part of our continuing partnership with their congregation.
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Holy "Holy Week," Batman!
This is it folks! As Jeff, has been telling our youth for weeks, "This is what Christianity is all about! Sure, there is lots of hype around Christmas, but if the events of Holy Week hadn't happened, Jesus would've just been some regular old guy. Easter equals the resurrection!"
So how do you immerse your family in the story unfolding? First, I hope that you've been doing your Lent in a Bag and reading your Lenten Devotion. These are both great ways to think, talk and begin the journey together. I know next week is Spring Break for most students, and I know that messes with our "Holy Focus," but here at St. Margaret's we offer a multitude of opportunities for you to understand and immerse in the importance of Holy Week (see schedule above). Services with childcare are on a reservation basis, so please let us know if it is needed by emailing me (see email below).
On Good Friday, April 14 at 10 am, we are offering a NEW focused, hands-on, experiential Stations of the Cross service for children and their parents in the church cemetery (weather permitting). Children will be assembling a large cross and carrying it through seven (shortened from the original version) stations as they learn about Good Friday. Each station will have a child-friendly liturgy, hands on activity and discussion helping the children understand the importance of Good Friday. This experience is geared towards families with elementary-aged children. Please email jenelle@st-margarets.org if you plan to attend. Participants will meet in the Formation Building foyer.
On Easter Sunday, we will host an Alleluia Egg Hunt between services. Families should meet in the Fellowship Hall around 10:15 a.m. Younger children will participate in a short lesson and songs about the importance of Easter and will then be given instructions on how to complete their egg carton puzzle and youth will be available to help younger children search for eggs. All egg cartons and eggs will be recycled and all children will go home with a bag of treats. Dairy-free, gluten-free and candy-free bags will be available. We need youth (6th-12th grade) to help set up and hide the Easter eggs so they should meet Jenelle and Jeff in the Fellowship Hall at 8:15 a.m. on Easter Sunday to help! We also need help leading the children outside and helping the younger ones. This is typically a Sunday when we have many families visiting. Consider giving of your time before the service to ensure we are ready to make this is a fun experience for all.
Notes about our Spring schedule
Children's Chapel, F&F and Sunday School
There will be NO CHILDREN'S CHAPEL on Easter, April 16 due to concurrent services in the Sanctuary and Parish Hall. The nursery will be open. Clipboards with color sheets will be available in both areas. The Tot Spot will be enlarged and put out in the formation building lobby for families with small children who would like to worship in the parish hall at the 9 a.m. service.
There will be no Sunday school this Sunday, April 9 or on April 16 due to spring break.
There will be NO Faith and Fellowship children or youth activities, Monday night dinner, or youth group on the 10th or the 17th. We will resume as scheduled on Monday, April 24th.
The Youth Group is preparing a visual and spiritual treat for your Easter enjoyment! On Easter Sunday, in the alcove in the foyer of the Formation Building, we will hang a giant, colorful, joyful and uplifting banner. The group discussed a number of important Bible passages about the resurrection. They distilled all of those complicated ideas and challenging words into a simple and powerful action statement with accompanying artwork. Look for it!
Help Needed for Youth Light House Dinner Night!
Due to a change in the NYC Night Watch date because of snow in January, youth participants will be headed to New York on April 21st and 22nd. We need a parent volunteer and some youth to organize our serving of the Light House shelter dinner on April 23. If you can help organize or participate, please email jeff@st-margarets.org.
A few good men and women STILL needed to help teach Sunday school next year!
Curriculum and training is provided. Consider being part of this very important ministry!
Godly Play Door Greeters (6 needed)
4th and 5th grade Teachers (2 needed)
Middle School Teacher (1-2 needed)
Thank you to those that have boldly stepped up to make the commitment for next year!
Youth Fundraiser
Middle and high school students are needed to bake and/or sell snacks at the Compassion Handcrafting event at the church on April 29th. Individually baked goods can be dropped off prior, and we need a few students to sell. We will be raising funds for some end of the year fun! Email
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Summer Bible Camp Registration Now Available!
Our LEGO "Bricks 4 God" summer bible camp will be held June 26-30, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Margaret's for children entering Kindergarten through completion of 5th grade. There will be a $25 fee which includes a camp t-shirt.
The camp is already 50% full - space is limited. Registration is done on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Participants will discover God's unconditional love for all of us by delving into a handful of cherished Bible stories and will practice engineering as they use building skills to create models of baby Moses, strong Samson, Moses parting the Red Sea, a horse-drawn chariot, and Jacob's vision of the stairway to heaven. These engaging model builds and other fun activities in Bricks 4 God Camp will strengthen campers' spiritual self-image, as well as provide hands-on experiences to share with peers.
Parent and youth volunteers needed! Parents who volunteer will get free tuition (and childcare) for their children.
Space is limited so register soon!
For more information, email Jenelle@st-margarets.org.
(Parent/Child Music Ministry)
Parents and child(ren) up to age 6 are invited to sing, dance, play and learn bible stories together during a new family style music and movement class at St. Margaret's. Classes begin at 9 am in the Children's Chapel room of the downstairs Annex and will last approximately 45 minutes. After class, parents are free to stay for fellowship time in the nursery while their children enjoy free play under their guidance. Our first class yesterday was filled with little ones and their parents! Our next c
lass will take place the following
Tuesdays this spring
:
April 18th
May 16th
Space is limited so please email
Jenelle@st-margarets.org to confirm your slot.
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REMINDER--The upcoming deadline for a submission for the "Late Spring" edition of the Spire newsletter is THIS Friday, April 7.
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Visit the Relay for Life Table this Sunday
Relay for Life 2017 - April 22-23
AA Co. Fairgrounds
During the month of March, our team is challenged with getting the most financial support of any other team. If we are successful, we will get an additional $1,000 toward our goal!
We now need support by:
*signing up to be a SMC team member
*financially supporting a SMC team member.
A fundraising night is planned for TOMORROW, Thursday, April 6, at Chevy's in Annapolis from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Our team will receive 15% of the profits (NEW:
including alcohol). Click here for a flyer to take with you.
Please stop by our Relay table on Sundays or go to our team page
You can also contact team coordinator Judy Hall at
judy.hall0404@gmail.com
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Our Day School will be sponsoring the 'Not My Child' program from Anne Arundel County on Thursday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. The program brings awareness and a community conversation regarding today's prevalent use of prescription drugs and heroin addiction. All are welcome to attend.
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WOC Presentation at Brotherhood Mtg
Everyone is welcome to attend the next meeting of St. Margaret's Brotherhood of St. Andrew for a special slideshow presentation on the local Way of the Cross effort by Bill Lovelace, Kiwanian and member of Calvary UMC. The meeting will be held on April 11 at 7 p.m. with location somewhere on campus (TBD).
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United Thank Offering
Collection on April 23 & 30
All are encouraged to beging to give thanks for their daily blessings by giving to the Episcopal Church's United Thank Offering where monies support mission and ministry throughout the world. Look for the blue giving envelope in your bulletins over the next couple of weeks. St. Margaret's donation will be given at the Maryland Diocese convention in May.
Click here to learn more about UTO.
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Appreciation Lunch on May 21
Volunteers at St. Margaret's -- whether it is teachers, choir members, missions activities, office help -- all are welcome to attend our upcoming volunteer appreciation luncheon on Sunday, May 21, at 12:15 p.m. in the Parish Hall to be recognized and thanked for contributions this program year. If you plan to attend, please send an email to info@st-margarets.org by May 14.
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Our next Concert Series performance is on May 13. Just in time for Mother's Day, virtuoso Thomas Pandolfi, pianist, will give a concert on Saturday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Margaret's. Tickets are $20 by cash or check at the door or by credit card
on the church website.
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May 14 Forum --
Dageno Girls Center
Join us for a Sunday forum on May 14 at 10:15 in the Fellowship Hall at 10:15am for an update on the Dageno Girls Center.
Located in Karatu, Tanzania, the Center is a "design thinking and doing" residential entrepreneurial education center that supports roughly 150 girls.
Since 2014 through the Grants Program, St. Margaret's has helped them grow from 50 girls packed into a five-bedroom house to their new campus (a former school). In those early years, St. Margaret's and an individual parishioner that served as their initial Grants Liaison was their primary funder.
Now they are hosting STEM fairs competing against local high school boys. The girls are putting their entrepreneurial skills to the test in the local market -- with profits going into a micro-financing co-op to fund future business ideas or open university tuition post-graduation. At the coffee hour (if the Internet works), we will Skype with Executive Director Andi Trotter and the girls, and get a tour of the facilities (including the bunk beds that St. Margaret's funded in 2016). Their DC representative Julia Slocum will also be on-hand with slides as a back-up and to answer any questions.
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Tickets for the Day School's annual silent auction fundraiser on May 6 are
now on sale on the school's website. The event has a "red carpet" theme and will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the church's parish hall. A wide variety of upscale prizes will be available for bidding. This is the school's top fundraiser of the year. All are encouraged to come out and support their efforts!
The Day School is offering two-week, themed summer camps starting in June through August for children aged 2-9. For more information or to register,
click here.
Enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year is ongoing.
Click here for registration info.
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Social Justice Interest Group
Over 22 St. Margaret's parishioners met recently to organize subgroups of those interested in social justice activities. One subgroup will focus on human rights advocacy for REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS, and the other subgroup will concentrate on advocacy and public policies for HOMELESS PERSONS. If you are interested in participating in either or both subgroups, please contact Bill
Saur at
wgsaur@gmail.com
.
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Bible Women Study
We continue our book study on the book "Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter" by Episcopal priest Lindsay Freeman. So far, we have learned of daring, devoted, determined, and, yes, even domineering females who lived exciting and meaningful lives. Please join us! It is never too late!
We meet on
Thursday mornings at 9:15 a.m.
in the formation building (childcare provided in the nursery).
Here is the video on this week's readings:
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Office Volunteers Needed
We are in need of office volunteers for the following times:
*Tuesday afternoons
*Thursday mornings.
We are also in need of substitutes in case a volunteer is not able to make their assigned time and will need more volunteers in the summer months.
Volunteers answer the phone and do light clerical work to support the staff. It's a great way to meet other parishioners and learn of all the opportunities in this parish.
Contact Elizabeth Radley at elizabeth@st-margarets.org for more information.
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Please join us next Monday
There will be no Faith & Fellowship on April 10 or 17.
5:00-6:00 Arts & Crafts
5:00-5:30 Spirit Singers
5:30-6:00 Youth Chorale
5:30-6:00 Acolyte Practice
6:00-Dinner
6:45-8:00 Youth Group
6:45-8:00 Adult Formation
On April 24, all adults are welcome to meet with our Adult Formation leaders Ernie Tucker and Valery Weekley in the formation building after the Fellowship Dinner to discuss options for adult F&F formation activities for the 2017-18 program year.
Coming in May for Adult Formation at F&F:
GET CONNECTED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT!
In John 16, Jesus tells his disciples he will leave them soon, but that then the Holy Spirit will come and lead them - and presumably us - to all truth. How does this happen? What is the process? What are the most effective ways to invite the Holy Spirit to guide us? And if we hear what we think is guidance, how do we know whether it is from the Holy Spirit, CNN or our mother? And perhaps more importantly, how do we block the Holy Spirit from our lives? Explore these questions with Dave Boyce for four weeks in May. Sessions will be held on Faith & Fellowship Mondays from 6:45 to 8 PM in Classroom E, beginning May 1 and ending May 22. Sessions will be interactive and experiential.
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#325to325 --
Daily Look at St. Margaret's History
in celebration of our 325th anniversary
Seen on our Facebook & Twitter pages daily
emailed in Dragon Tales weekly
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St. Margaret's Church | 1601 Pleasant Plains Road | Annapolis, MD 21409
410-974-0200 | info@st-margarets.org | www.st-margarets.org
Pastoral Emergency # 443-837-5463
Staff
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