March 17, Second Sunday in Lent

The Holy Eucharist, 8 a.m., Rite I
The Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m., Rite II
Fr. Boase officiating

Church School 10 a.m. | Child Care 9:45 a.m.
The Collect:
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. A men.

This week’s lessons: Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 27:1-6; Philippians 3:17-4:1;
Luke 13:31-35

Old Testament
He brought him [Abram] outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:5-6
The Gospel |Luke 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Schedule for the week of March 17

Monday, 1 p.m., Book Club
Monday, 6:30 p.m., Girl Scout Troop 816
Tuesday, 10:00 a.m., Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
Tuesday, 12 p.m., Morning Prayer

No Rector's office hours this week.

See the parish's online calendar at standrews-edwardsville.com/events !
The Season of Lent

ECW to Host Retreat March 30
Save the date! The annual Lenten Retreat sponsored by the ECW will be held on Saturday, March 30, in Pearson Hall. The retreat begins at 8:30 a.m.   The featured presenter will be Sister Barbara McMullen whose topic is titled: “Celebrate Lent: From Wilderness to Wonder.” RSVP by March 27 to Mary Jane Helsel, 656-7653; or Nancy Dickens, 292-8036. Breakfast will be served.

Thought for Lent
"God came among us in the person of Jesus to show us how to be more than simply the human race. He came to show us how to realize God’s dream, God’s purpose, God’s plan for us and for all creation. Whatever devotion you practice this season of Lent, either giving up something that ties you to this world or taking on a spiritual task or discipline, let it be something that helps you participate in the movement of God’s love in this world, following in the footsteps of Jesus and loving one another."

-The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, Presiding Bishop
Highlights of the March 13 Vestry Meeting

  • Sharon Hoffman resigned from the Vestry effective March 14 due to the Hoffmans' move to Sebring, Florida in mid-April. Vestry members expressed their sadness on hearing this news, as well as appreciation for the Hoffmans' contributions to St. Andrew's. Fr. Joel asked vestry members to think about the filling of this vacancy in preparation for discussion at the April meeting.
  • The Vestry approved the 2018 Parochial Report for submission to TEC.
  • Tuition funds in the amount of $3,850.00 from the Seminarian Fund were approved for Shane Spellmeyer for his last term at Nashotah House.
  • Coffee hour treats on Easter Sunday will be provided by the vestry and they will also be setting and cleaning up.
  • Fr. Joel will be in Florida to take care of personal business from March 14 through March 23. Fr. Boase will officiate at the Sunday, March 17, service. There will be no Bible Study or Sunday classes during Fr. Joel's absence, and no office hours.
Diaconal Ordination for Shane Spellmeyer, Sunday, March 24, Cathedral of St. Paul

Shane Spellmeyer, a St. Andrew's parishioner during his student years at SIUE, is to be ordained to the diaconate on Sunday, March 24, at 4:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle in Springfield ( map link ).

During his student years, Shane discussed a call to the priesthood with Ralph McMichael, Priest-in-Charge . Fr. Ralph asked a group of St. Andrew’s parishioners to participate with Shane in further discernment.

Their report encouraged Shane to explore his vocation and enter seminary. Later that year, he began his studies at Nashotah House in Wisconsin.

As the recipient of the Seminarian Scholarship from St. Andrew’s, Shane has received tuition assistance from our parish since 2016. He was accepted as a candidate for Holy Orders by the Diocese of Springfield in November 2018 and will complete his studies at Nashotah House in the spring of 2019.

As Shane’s home church, we at St. Andrew’s are grateful that God has raised up among us faithful servants for the ministry, and we give special thanks for our dear friend, Shane Spellmeyer.
“Clerical Vandalism?”

An earlier article described a confrontation between St. Andrew’s parishioner Louise Mudge and Deacon Paul Gaston regarding proposed liturgical revisions that Louise vehemently opposed and Paul defended and which would culminate in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer that superseded the much-loved 1928 BCP. Louise was one of many Episcopalians who were not happy.

In our archives is a clipping from the August 29 th , 1979 St. Louis Globe-Democrat, containing an outraged response to the then new BCP by syndicated columnist Smith Hempstone. It is entitled “Trendier-than-Thou- Revisionists: Clerical Vandalism by the Episcopal Church.”

In what Hempstone viewed as a misguided effort to make the Episcopal liturgy more accessible to contemporary worshippers, “revisionists” within the Church had succeeded in desecrating what he regarded as “one of the four great arches that supported the vaulted ceiling of the English language,” along with the King James version of the Bible and the works of Shakespeare and Milton. “In place of the stately 16 th century cadences of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, we are offered parsonprattle and committeespeak,” an act of “aesthetic hara-kiri.” What C.S. Lewis had described as a work shining “with a white light hardly surpassed” had been profaned into something “tasteless, bland, and condescending. It is as if someone were trying to play a Bach cantata on the harmonica.” Hempstone had a lot more to say, but you get the picture.

Episcopalians have been worshiping with the 1979 BCP for 40 years, so it may be difficult for us to empathize with Hempstone. But his diatribe illustrates an important fact. Language is more than a utilitarian means of conveying information. Emotional and aesthetic attachments to linguistic forms and traditions are precious and can provoke strong resistance when those traditions are threatened, as Louise Mudge had demonstrated to Paul Gaston one Sunday morning at St. Andrew’s.

-Jim Weingartner
Tech Talk for This Week

  • Parishioners or visitors who wish to subscribe to the newsletter distribution list, can do so online on the newsletter page of the parish website.

  • Our parish database was recently converted from ACS On Demand to Realm. This new software product is less expensive ($42 monthly) but, more importantly, will offer several helpful features to parishioners in the future such as the ability to update contact information (e.g. phone number, email address) online in a secure environment.
Enjoy the gallery of Quilt Show entries posted on the parish website!
Announcements
Pick Up Your 2018 Contribution Statement on Sunday!
Sunday, March 17, is your last chance to pick up your contribution statement in person in Pearson Hall. Any statements remaining after Sunday will be mailed to parishioners on Tuesday. Help St. Andrew’s save postage cost by picking up your giving statement this Sunday!

Coffee Hour Thanks
Thanks to all who responded to my request for Coffee Hour hosts and a special thank-you to Mary Jane Helsel who made sure we had Coffee Hour refreshments on March 10 and to the ECW ladies who helped her. A Coffee Hour sign-up sheet for July through the end of the year is posted on the bulletin board near the women’s restroom.
–Pat Rudloff
Book Club Meets March 18
The St. Andrew’s Book Club will meet Monday, March 18, from 1 - 2 p.m. in Pearson Hall. Our book selection for this month is Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sinjie, a semi-autobiographical novel set in China during the Cultural Revolution. Even though it will probably be too late to get and read this book, we welcome readers who may be interested in hearing more about this movement and how it affected two young men who were uprooted from their families and forced to relocate to the countryside for “re-education.” –Pat Rudloff

Game Night Set for March 29
Mark your calendar for fun and games starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 29, in Pearson Hall.
 The St. Andrew's Week-End Update , 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.