January 20, Second Sunday after the Epiphany

The Holy Eucharist, 9 a.m., Rite II, followed by
a Potluck Brunch and the Annual Meeting

Child care is available at 8:45 and through the
Annual Meeting.
Worship notes

The Collect:
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. A men.

This week’s lessons: Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 36:5-19; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; John 2:1-11

Epistle
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
The Gospel | John 2:1-11
First Miracle: The Wedding at Cana

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim.

He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
The Week of January 20

Monday, 1 p.m., Book Club
Monday, 6:30 p.m., Girl Scout Troop 816
Tuesday, 10 a.m., Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
Wednesday, 8 a.m., Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Rector's Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Weekend Winter Weather Advisory

A winter weather advisory announced for the Metro East includes snow overnight on Friday which ends Saturday afternoon. Temperatures will drop significantly on Sunday. Initially, it does not appear the weather will impact the Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 20. Should weather cause cancellation of the Annual Meeting, it will be moved to January 27.
Bible Study with the Rector -- Are You Interested?

Would you like to study St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians? Fr. Joel will be offering a class on that short but important New Testament book and would like your help. If you are interested in attending, please send a text or email to Fr. Morsch indicating your preference for morning, afternoon or evening and day of the week. If more than one day and time works for you, include that information. Text or voice: (941) 773-6018.
Email: joelmorsch@icloud.com .

Inquirers’ Class Begins February 10!

Fr. Joel will be hosting an Inquirers’ Class beginning on Sunday, February 10, in the Parish Hall immediately following the early service and ending before the 10 a.m. service. This class will be for candidates for confirmation, reception and for reaffirmation. The class might also be a fun refresher on Christianity in general for those who would welcome adult formation on Sundays. The timing of the Inquirers’ Class is made to coincide with the annual Episcopal visitation. This year the Bishop will make his visitation on the Sunday after Easter, April 28. If you are interested in attending, please contact Fr. Joel via text or voice at (941) 773-6018 or at j oelmorsch@icloud.com .
Ichabod and St. Andrew’s

No, this article has nothing to do with Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman. As you biblical scholars might remember, Ichabod is mentioned in the First Book of Samuel as the infant son of Phinehas, priest of the tabernacle of Yahweh at Shiloh. The child was born on a day marked by catastrophe for the Israelites: the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, resulting in the child’s receiving the name of “Ichabod,” commonly translated as “inglorious” or “there is no glory.” But what does this have to do with St. Andrew’s?

“Ichabod” was the title of a sermon preached at St. Andrew’s on July 4 th , 1897 by Henry M.M. Tudor, our mystery priest of dubious character. It was published in its entirety in the Greenville, Illinois newspaper, The Sun , and as a pamphlet priced at a dollar with the subtitle, a sermon preached at St. Andrew’s church, Edwardsville, Illinois . More a social and political critique than a sermon, it must have taken over an hour to deliver and was a testament to the Sitzfleisch of St. Andrew’s parishioners of more than a century ago.

In reading the sermon, the relevance of “Ichabod” quickly becomes apparent. As the glory departed from Israel with the loss of the Ark, so, too, had the glory departed from the United States with the loss of the virtues of the Founding Fathers and their generation. In place of republican simplicity, self-sacrifice and integrity, there was now corruption, materialism, and cultural debasement.

Here are a few samples of the British-born Tudor’s stinging appraisal of his adopted country at the end of the Gilded Age: “For the patriotism that sacrificed its all for the common cause, we have untold billions accumulated in the coffers of a favored, pampered and protected plutocracy…; we have boundless luxury for frugal thrift; there is a Sunday newspaper, a conglomeration of horrors, filth and rubbish …in return for the old-time Church services; if we have surrendered political purity, have we not gained instead thereof an inexhaustible fountain of salacious and facetious [sic] scandal at the expense of our corrupted legislatures, our boodle-loving senates, our chambers of swill-fed representatives?”

He closed his jeremiad with this appeal to St. Andrew’s parishioners: “The Republic founded by the Patriot efforts of a few wise, faithful citizens, in a by-gone day, may be saved by the loyal devotion of a few more in this. If each of us here present is one of that few, then whether or not we deliver our land from the perils which threaten her on every hand, we shall at least ‘deliver our own souls by our righteousness’ from the guilt of her impending overthrow.”

Offered without further comment. -Jim Weingartner
Announcements

Bishop’s Installation of the New Rector
The date for Fr. Joel’s installation as Rector of St. Andrew’s has been set by Bishop Daniel Martins for Saturday, February 16, at 11:00 a. m. Join us for a joyful celebration!

Souper Bowl Sundays: January 20, 27 and February 3
The Outreach Committee is kicking off the annual Souper Bowl collection. We will collect canned soups and pasta for the next three Sundays: January 20 and 27 and February 3 for delivery to the Glen Ed Pantry. Many retailers have these items on sale at this time. Please be generous. Hunger has no season. –JoAnn Nabe

Reserve a Date for Coffee Hour
A Coffee Hour sign-up sheet through June will be circulated at Sunday's Annual Meeting. Please check your calendars to see which dates work for you. Thanks. -Pat Rudloff

Book Club Meets January 21
At its 1 p.m. meeting in Pearson Hall the Book Club will discuss Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Here is a bit of trivia for you: Chapter 8 footnote #16 references Bill Bryson, the author of The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid and other books popular with our readers. It is surprising to find a reference to Bryson in a book of this nature. On a more serious note: Sacks predicts that the next 100 years will be more religious than the last and that whatever one believes about religion, any cure for violence in God’s name will have to accept that religion is a fact of life. -Pat Rudloff
 The St. Andrew's Week-End Updat e , a weekly emailed newsletter, is designed to keep parishioners up to date on church activities. Please send news items to Editors Marianne Cavanaugh and Jane Weingartner by 11 a.m. on Tuesday to have them appear in the following Friday's newsletter.