March 24, Third Sunday in Lent

The Holy Eucharist, 8 a.m., Rite I
Inquirer's Class, 9 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m., Rite II
Fr. Morsch officiating

Church School 10 a.m. | Child Care 9:45 a.m.
The Collect:
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts, which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. A men.

The Epistle:
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

This week’s lessons: Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 63:1-8; I Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9
The Gospel |Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
Schedule for the week of March 24

Sunday, March 24, Diaconal Ordination of Shane Spellmeyer, Cathedral of St. Paul, Springfield

Tuesday, 10:00 a.m., Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
Tuesday, 12 p.m., Holy Communion
Tuesday, 1 p.m., Bible Study
Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Bible Study
Friday, 6:00 p.m., Game Night
Saturday, 8:30 a.m., ECW Lenten Retreat

Rector’s office hours, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

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

ECW to Host Retreat March 30
RSVP now! 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.

Fr. Joel, Lent 2019: "God is concerned only with our faith. When we have faith in Jesus, God takes us just as we are in our sins, in our imperfections, in our weird strivings, with all our strange thoughts and loves us like God's own true child."
Parish Goodbye to the Hoffmans, Sunday, April 14

Fr. Arnold and Sharon Hoffman will be heading to Sebring, Florida on Monday, April 15. St. Andrew's will be celebrating their time with us, expressing appreciation for their many contributions, and saying goodbye at two times on Sunday, April 14:

  • During coffee hour on April 14, Fr. Joel will express appreciation for the Hoffmans' contributions to the parish and Liz Edwards, Senior Warden, will subsequently make a presentation from the parish. (More details to come in a separate email.)

  • Sandy Cooper invites the parish to a going away party for the Hoffmans at her home Sunday afternoon, April 14, from 3 to 7 p.m. Sandy's home address is 17 Hickory Knolls, Edwardsville, corner of Berkshire and Hickory Knolls (map link). Please RSVP to Sandy at 618-910-1629, or 618-655-0305, or scoop1028@sbcglobal.net.
Getting to Know YOU!

Jim and Michelle Jefferson have lived in Troy for 22 years. Jim was originally from Red Bud and Michelle from Belleville.

Jim is an electron microscope engineer, and Michelle is a substitute teacher in the Triad district but also a babysitter for her grandchildren.

The Jeffersons have three children – Melinda, Monica, and Zach – and four grandchildren – Myra, Cruz, Lydia and Olivia. When they’re not spending time with family, they like taking motorcycle rides, playing disc golf, and hiking.

Jim and Michelle indicate they visited a lot of churches but knew they had found their church “home” when they came to St. Andrew’s. We know they are quickly becoming part of our church family as they were coffee hour volunteers last Sunday!
Oh No, Not Him Again!

Like Dracula Henry Tudor, baptized in England as Henry Myers Meakin, our mystery priest, refuses to remain in his grave. One of our parishioners (hint: initials F.S.) has been bitten by this intriguing figure and thinks she “might have liked the old scoundrel.” For F.S. and others who find this Pecksniffian priest appealing or at least interesting, here is more information, courtesy of Pam Bell, archivist of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma.

Following his brief but memorable presence at St. Andrew’s in the summer of 1897, Tudor and his American wife Sallie embarked early in October on a trip to England where, according to the Greenville Advocate , “The Rev. gentleman has some financial interests in that country to look after.” Tudor kept local newspapers informed of his alleged travel experiences, noting visits to old haunts, introductions of his wife to members of his British extended family, visits with former professional colleagues, and tending to his “business enterprises which are progressing as favorably as the law’s proverbial delays admit.” He and his wife took ship on December 9 th for the voyage home.

A student of Tudor’s murky life has found this narrative implausible. There is no record of the existence of the hotel in London where he claimed he and Sallie had lodged. He reported that he had been received with jubilation by “office mates” at a bank where he had worked for a short time 35 years earlier, which seems improbable. The newspaper of a small town which he claimed to have visited made no mention of his presence, as it normally would have done. But the primary obstacle to this story’s credibility is Tudor’s criminal past. As a bigamist he was subject to arrest and imprisonment in Britain. Revealing his presence to persons whom he supposedly knew and who knew him and visiting places where he had lived and worked would have been to invite a prison sentence.

And would he have dared introduce Sallie to his British family, as he reported having done? What name would he have used? Was Sallie aware of his British wife? It’s hard to believe that she would have married him or remained married to him had she known (legally, of course, Sallie and Fr. Henry had never been married). We might also wonder where Tudor had secured the funds for a two-month European trip. Surely not from the stipend of a small-town mission priest. Perhaps Sallie had brought sufficient assets to the “marriage” to defray the cost. Maybe he had drawn on his alleged business holdings but if so, what were they? Finally, if the account of his trip was a fabrication, why had he fabricated it, and where had he and Sallie actually been for those two months in 1897?
The mystery of our mystery priest seems only to deepen the more we probe it.

 -Jim Weingartner
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  ). The pictures below are from recent services at Nashotah House. From L to R or top to bottom: Shane robed for Evensong, at the pulpit, and in the choir.
Announcements
Sarah Turner to Celebrate March 30 Birthday in a New Home
Sarah Turner’s new address is Sunrise Senior Living, 12291 Newport Avenue, Room 64, Santa Ana California. 92705. Her new phone number is 714-669-8683.
Sarah’s birthday is March 30. Cards from St. Andrew’s would be appreciated.

Come to Game Night March 29!
Game Night begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29. Our treat supplies have been depleted, so everyone is asked to bring snacks or treats. Also, bring special games if desired. Mark your calendar for fun and fellowship.
Book Club to Read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The St. Andrew’s Book Club selection for our next meeting Monday, April 15, 1 p.m., is Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, a German author. This is a novel about a spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man who shares the same name as the Buddha and who lives during the time of the Buddha.

This book (152 pages), which is considered "philosophical fiction” was published in 1951 and was evidently required reading for many high school and college students in the 1960s. Read it, come to Book Club and let us know what you think!
 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.