March 31, Fourth Sunday in Lent
The Holy Eucharist, 8 a.m., Rite I
Inquirer's Class with Fr. Joel, 9 a.m.
The Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m., Rite II
Fr. Joel Morsch officiating
Church School 10 a.m. | Child Care 9:45 a.m.
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The Collect:
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. A
men.
This week’s lessons: Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (Gospel below.)
Epistle 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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The Gospel |Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
The News of God's Mercy
All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus told them this parable:
"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."'
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.
"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"
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Schedule
for the week of March 31
Monday, 6:30 p.m., Girl Scout Troop 816
Tuesday, 10:00 a.m., Julian of Norwich Prayer Group
Tuesday, 12 p.m., Holy Eucharist, Rite 11
Tuesday, 1 p.m., Bible Study
Tuesday, 7 p.m., Bible Study
Rector’s office hours, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 11 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
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Diaconal Ordination for Shane Spellmeyer, Sunday, March 24
St. Andrew's Shane Spellmeyer, one of two candidates, was ordained to the Order of Deacons by Bishop Martins last Sunday afternoon at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Springfield.
Several St. Andrew’s parishioners were present to witness and to participate in this joyous ceremony. In addition, Fr. Ralph and Jan McMichael were again among the St. Andrew’s family.
Shane was presented to the Bishop; signed a Declaration, and replied to the Bishop’s questions. Following the Examination, he was ordained as Deacon. He was vested by his presenters with stole and
dalmatic
, according to the Order of Deacons. Holy Communion followed with the assistance of the new Deacons, Shane and Jonathan.
The Bishop hosted a reception. And yes, the room did hold a number of “collars,” one of them being our wonderful Shane! The “St. Andrew’s table” was full of pride -- in a good way.
(The editors thank Donna Ireland for this reporting.)
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Photos from Shane Spellmeyer's March 24 ordination. Altar photo: Shane with Jonathan Totty, also a candidate for ordination. Two Reverends: Fr. Ralph and Shane. Threesome: Jonathan, Bishop Martins, Shane. Twosome: Shane and his mother, Renee Raiche. Additional photos will be posted on the parish website. Thanks to Elizabeth Donald for many of the photos from Sunday!
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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.
- 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.
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From The Archives: The Episcopal Shield
Readers are probably all familiar with the shield emblem of the Episcopal Church. It is displayed on our outdoor signage and on stickers that many of us have placed on our cars. It may be that fewer know its origins and understand its symbolism.
The Episcopal shield was adopted by the General Convention of 1940, following 20 years of dithering by the “Joint Commission on Flag and Seal.” Their work was undertaken in response to a chaotic situation in which numerous unauthorized flags and emblems had come into use. The Commission consulted authorities on heraldry, rejected elaborate designs, and chose one that was “simplicity itself,” although one would hardly have known it from the description provided to the Convention by the Commission, which was expressed in the arcane vocabulary of heraldic symbolism:
“Argent a cross throughout gules on a canton azure nine cross crosslets
in saltire of the field.” (Got that?)
Translated into everyday speech, the shield (and seldom seen flag) show the St. George Cross, a red cross on a white field, which symbolizes our church’s English roots. The nine small white crosses on a blue field in the upper left-hand corner recall the nine original American dioceses that joined in Philadelphia in 1789 to create the Episcopal Church in the United States. The blue of the field signifies the Virgin Mary and is intended to remind us of Christ’s human nature, while the arrangement of the “crosslets” in the form of the Cross of St. Andrew symbolizes the consecration of Samuel Seabury, the first U.S. Bishop, by bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
If you’ve been lying awake at night puzzling over the meaning of the Episcopal shield, you can now rest easy. -Jim Weingartner
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If It’s Yellow, It’s Up-To-Date
The St. Andrew's Book Fair had new bookmarks to reflect the new summer hours for services. The new bookmarks are yellow. Our bookmarks can often be found sitting on counters at coffee shops, libraries, etc. around town. If you are out and about and see St. Andrew's Book Fair bookmarks that are NOT yellow, please pull them and throw them away.
-Cindy Reinhardt
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Coffee Hour Sign-Up Sheet Posted
One of several ways to express your appreciation for St. Andrew’s is to volunteer for Coffee Hour. A sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board near the women’s restroom for Sundays in July - December that still need volunteers. Sundays through June are covered.
-Pat Rudloff
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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.
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