A message from our Executive Director
D ear Friends,
As we live most of us acquire wisdom. Wisdom shares that gratitude and servitude are essential and create positive impacts. So I lead off this communication, praying that 'all is well.'

Secondly, to thank you for your contributions, referrals and volunteering at Ozanam Pharmacy. And lastly, I want to wish you and your family a very Happy Easter Holiday.

In this issue of "A Dose of Ozanam", we will highlight Emily Murray, our five-week student pharmacist intern and her experience here at Ozanam. Lastly, the origins of Easter. I think the article is very educational and informative.

Please do not forget to save the date for our 2nd Annual "Jazz and Cocktails... Rx for a Cause" held on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at Azalea Manor . Tickets are currently for sale at $35.00 per person and $65.00 for couples. You can purchase your tickets at the pharmacy, at the event, or over the internet. We have a link below.

As you know, healthcare in our country is constantly changing. Ozanam Pharmacy continues to face many challenges in our mission of keeping our patients connected to their necessary medications and closing the gap of patient medication assistance. With your help, we will keep providing the assistance needed by so many in the Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, and Washington County area.

In addition to the work highlighted in this newsletter, I encourage you to visit our website, read our newsletters to stay informed of our mission, goals and updates. I hope you find these communications to be of value and interest, and that they inspire pride and participation to donate and volunteer at Ozanam Pharmacy.


Shearie Archer
 Executive Director
Photo courtesy: Tenaysha Carroll
The origins of Easter
E aster is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly 30 A.D. The holiday concludes the “Passion of Christ,” a series of events and holidays that begins with Lent—a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and sacrifice—and ends with Holy Week, which includes Holy Thursday (the celebration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his 12 Apostles), Good Friday (on which Jesus’ crucifixion is observed), and Easter Sunday. Although a holiday of high religious significance in the Christian faith, many traditions associated with Easter date back to pre-Christian, pagan times.

When Is Easter?

Easter 2019 occurs on Sunday, April 21. However, Easter falls on a different date each year.

Easter Sunday and related celebrations, such as Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday, are considered “moveable feasts,” although, in western  Christianity , which follows the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th.

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which adheres to the Julian calendar, Easter falls on a Sunday between April 4th and May 8th each year.

In some denominations of Protestant Christianity, Easter Sunday marks the beginning of Eastertide, or the Easter Season. Eastertide ends on the 50th day after Easter, which is known as Pentecost Sunday.

In Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity, Easter Sunday serves as the start of the season of Pascha (Greek for “Easter”), which ends 40 days later with the holiday known as the Feast of the Ascension.

Despite its significance as a Christian holy day, many of the traditions and symbols that play a key role in Easter observances actually have roots in pagan celebrations—particularly the pagan goddess Eostre (or Ostara), the ancient Germanic goddess of spring—and in the Jewish holiday of  Passover .

Religious Tradition of Easter

The resurrection of  Jesus , as described in the New Testament of the  Bible , is essentially the foundation upon which the Christian religions are built. Hence, Easter is a very significant date on the Christian calendar.

According to the New Testament, Jesus was arrested by the Roman authorities, essentially because he claimed to be the “Son of God,” although historians question this motive, with some saying that the Romans may have viewed him as a threat to the empire.

He was sentenced to death b y   Pontius Pilate , the Roman prefect in the province of Judea from 26 to 36 A.D. Jesus’ death by crucifixion, marked by the Christian holiday Good Friday (the Friday before Easter), and subsequent resurrection three days later is said, by the authors of the gospels, to prove that he was the living son of God.

In varying ways, all four of the gospels in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) state that those who believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection are given “the gift of eternal life,” meaning that those of faith will be welcomed into the “Kingdom of Heaven” upon their earthly death.

Passover and Easter

Notably, Easter is also associated with the Jewish holiday of Passover, as well as the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, as described in the Old Testament. These links are clearly seen in the Last Supper, which occurred the night before Jesus’ arrest and the sufferings Jesus endured following his arrest.

The Last Supper was essentially a Passover feast. However, the New Testament describes it as being given new significance by Jesus: He identified the matzah (or bread) he shared with his 12 apostles as his “body” and the cup of wine they drank as his “blood.”

These rituals would come to symbolize the sacrifice he was about to make in death, and became the basis for the Christian ritual of Holy Communion, which remains a fundamental part of Christian religious services. As Jesus’ arrest and execution were said to have occurred during the Jewish observance of Passover, the Easter holiday is often close to the former celebration on the Judeo-Christian calendar.

Easter Traditions

In western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominations, the period prior to Easter holds special significance.

This period of fasting and penitence is called Lent. It begins on Ash Wednesday, and lasts for 40 days (not including Sundays).
The Sunday immediately prior to Easter is called Palm Sunday, and it commemorates Jesus’ arrival in  Jerusalem , when followers laid palm leaves across the road to greet him.
Many churches begin the Easter observance in the late hours of the day before (Holy Saturday) in a religious service called the Easter Vigil.

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Easter rituals start with the Great Lent, which begins on Clean Monday (40 days prior to Easter, not including Sundays). The last week of Great Lent is referred to as Palm Week, and it ends with Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday.

Easter Bunny

In some households, a character known as the Easter Bunny delivers candy and chocolate eggs to children on Easter Sunday morning. These candies often arrive in an Easter basket.Many people—mostly children—also participate in Easter egg “hunts,” in which decorated eggs are hidden.

The exact origins of the Easter Bunny tradition are unknown, although some historians believe it arrived in America with German immigrants in the 1700's. Rabbits are, in many cultures, known as enthusiastic pro-creators, so the arrival of baby bunnies in springtime meadows became associated with birth and renewal.
Notably, several Protestant Christian denominations, including Lutherans a nd  Quakers , h ave opted to formally abandon many Easter traditions, deeming them too pagan. However, many religious observers of Easter also include them in their celebrations.

An Easter dinner of lamb also has historical roots, since a lamb was often used as a sacrificial animal in Jewish traditions, and lamb is frequently served during Passover. The phrase “lamb of God” is sometimes used to refer to Jesus and the sacrificial nature of his death.

Today, Easter is a commercial event as well as a religious holiday, marked by high sales for greeting cards, candies (such as Peeps, chocolate eggs and chocolate Easter bunnies) and other gifts.

A Road Map to Success
Meet:
Ms. Emily Murray
Fourth-year pharmacy student at
Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy

M s. Emily Murray is a fourth-year pharmacy student at Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy. Emily is a native of Jasper, Alabama. She is a graduate of the University of South Alabama. Emily has one older sister, a nephew and niece who lives in Mobile. While in school, Ms. Murray has helped organize the Miles for Medicine 5K fun run and walk to benefit Ozanam Pharmacy. She has also volunteered to take blood pressures and blood glucose at some of Ozanam's many health initiatives.

What do like most about Ozanam Pharmacy? "My favorite part about Ozanam is the kindness displayed by volunteers to everyone who walks in the door."

What do you like to do for fun? "Kayaking, hanging out with my niece and nephew, playing the guitar, wine tasking and traveling!"

What is your favorite book and movie? "My favorite book is Incognito by David Eagleman which talks about how complex interactions between your genetics and your environment determine the trajectory of your life, and that our conscious mind is only aware of a tiny fraction of what goes on." "My favorite movie is Seven Pounds starring Will Smith."

Do you have any pets? "I have a 4-year old, lazy golden retriever, Harvey"

What is your favorite meal? "I like to cook chicken Tikka Masala, an Indian dish."
 
What has been your most unusual or interesting job? "Babysitting twelve kids at once!"

What is your personal philosophy? Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerate of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life, you will have been all of these." -George Washington Carver

Photo Courtesy: Tenaysha Carroll
Forth committee meeting scheduled Thursday, April 25th @ Azalea Manor!
"Jazz and Cocktails...Rx for a Cause" Spring fundraiser will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2019 from 5:30 pm until 9:00 pm at Azalea Manor.

If you are interested in volunteering for this event our fourth planning meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25th starting @ 3:30 pm at Azalea Manor, 751 Dauphin St. Mobile, Al 36602. This meeting will go over the final floor plans arrangements, decor and duties etc.
We are one month away!
SAVE THE DATE
MAY 16, 2019
@Azalea Manor

Happy Birthday to our volunteers and staff!

Emil Graf, April 20th
(Front Desk)

Faye Grainer, May 2nd
(Front Desk)

Nettie Stewart, May 27th
(Administration)

Beverly Mooney, May 27th
(Front Desk)

Michael Baker, May 29th
(Front Desk)
John 11:25-26:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”


D ear fiends,
Did you know that you can donate to Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy in remembrance or in honor of a friend or loved one?
 
We fondly remember our loved ones who are no longer with us. This simple gesture of LOVE can be a thoughtful way to express how much that person meant to you. Just click on the "In Memory" button below and the link will take you directly to the Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy website to give what is in your heart.


Thank you,
Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy
251.432.4111 (office)
251.445.0981 (fax)
ozanampharamacy.org
Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.