DAY OF PENTECOST
Whitsunday
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Pentecost
by Juan Bautista Mayno (1581-1649)
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Celebrate Our Worship -
physically distant, but connected together online!
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The Feast of Pentecost
There are four high holy days in our church calendar. I am betting you can name at least two of them – Christmas and Easter. How about the other two? They are the feasts of Pentecost and All Saints Day. Sunday the 31
st
of May is the Day of Pentecost this year.
Pentecost is the celebration of the day on which the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles, giving birth to the church. The description that most Christians would remember is from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, verses 1 – 21. The apostles are gathered together a few days after Jesus has ascended into heaven. They hear a sound like a rushing wind and tongues like fire rest on each of them. They begin proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ, speaking in the native languages of the people gathered in the crowd around them – languages the apostles themselves cannot speak!
The Holy Spirit, like wind, goes where it wills, and like fire, illuminates our way and encourages us in our journey. It is the continuing presence of Christ among us. It is the Holy Spirit, we believe, that guides the church when we gather in worship and in our counsels.
There are many ways to celebrate the Day of Pentecost. The most obvious one is that the altar, the pulpit, the lectern, and the clergy are wearing red! Worshippers are encouraged to wear red as well – even if you are worshipping at a distance. Sometimes parishes fly a kite in the shape of a bird, the dove that symbolizes the Holy Spirit. They might substitute sparkling wine for the usual communion wine. It will be difficult for us to fly the dove or share champagne this year, but we are still celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the spirit that holds us together even when we must stay apart and it is the spirit that renews our hope for the future.
Don’t forget to wear red on Sunday! Blessings on your Day of Pentecost!
Prayer for Travelers
The Mercer Family will be traveling from England to Newburyport on Saturday, the 30
th
. Please hold them in your prayers. Here is a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer (page 831) that you might use:
O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel, in particular the Mercer family; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Online Live Worship Service - Sunday at 9:00 am
You can view our live service and all services at any time by visiting the YouTube link above on our channel. Be sure to hit the subscribe button.
Note
: If you have a "smart" TV go to
YouTube
on your WiFi screen to find the St. Paul's channel and watch our service on your TV live or at any time during the week. If you subscribe, St. Paul's channel will appear in your favorites.
Prayer Requests
If you have a prayer request for the service, please e-mail Annie Winslow
at
ahtoffey@yahoo.com
with
your requests by Friday.
Service Offering
Watch the Service on Local TV
A rebroadcast of the service can be seen on TV on
Channel 8 in Newburyport
every Tuesday at 9:00 am, Thursday at 9:00 am, and Sunday at 10:30 am
and
Channel 9 in Newbury
, and
Channel 18 in Salisbury
Tuesday at 9:00 am
.
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Wednesday Evening Prayer at Home
Jesus said,
"I desire mercy and not sacrifice".
What does he mean?
The
Meditation selected for self-study is
Learn Mercy
by Br Luke Ditewig SSJE
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Contemplative Prayer - June 4, 2020 at 7:00 pm
In the silence of our hearts we give thanks for the gift of this day and pray for the life of the world…
Where
you are ( however unchosen) is the place of blessing.
How
you are (however broken )is the place of grace
Who
you are, in your becoming, is your place in the Kingdom Margaret Silf
Join us for contemplative prayer on June 4th at 7:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 833 6536 3323
Password: 0B#42k=K
One tap mobile
Meeting ID: 833 6536 3323
Password: 996789
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LEARNING, SHARING & SERVICE for OUR CHILDREN & YOUTH
continues, even when we are not together in a classroom or church!
Look for our weekly newsletter,
Online Sunday School
.
Each weekend, Linda Davis Siess offers a week's worth of Bible-based learning and activities - for children
and for anyone, any age,
who would like to playfully and thoughtfully put into action God's Word.
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This week's class for children
will focus on Pentecost - with a Happy Birthday to our Church and the gifts of the Holy Spirit!
Prayers for well-being, patience, peace, joy! We pray for our Church school children, youth, and families - and our young adults, and our teachers, too - by name. We remember you and miss you!
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Summer Camp at the Barbara C Harris Camp
has been
cancelled
. Please consider making a donation to the Camp, to support the staff and facility in these challeng
ing days:
click here
.
Confirmation has been cancelled.
Youth confirmands and adults who are being received will need to reschedule, depending upon the opportunities from the Diocese. Maybe October 17 at the Cathedral?
We'll keep you posted on developments!
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A
big thank you
to all who shared Newburyport and environs insider tips for the Mercer family - useful info for all of us.
Click here
to take a look at the final tally - lots of links!
And if your faves aren't included or you have insights to add, just
drop me a line
.
Thank you, too, to the families who offered a video welcome.
We can't wait to meet all the Mercers in person!
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Read more
in our
MAY newsletter
-
click here
.
June's is coming soon!
Do you have questions, ideas, or comments to share? Is there anything our St Paul's family can do for you?
You are warmly invited to reach out to Linda Davis Siess,
Children & Youth Program Coordinator, any time:
click here
.
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Coffee hour Returns - Sunday!
We’re bringing back coffee hour – Zoom Coffee Hour! Please join us on
Sunday, May 31, at 10:00 am
, following the church service, by clicking on the Zoom link below.
Please note that Zoom has some new security features, so you might get straight in on the link, or be asked for the Password and/or the Meeting ID number, so be sure to take note of these.
It will be wonderful to ‘meet up’ with everyone again.
Mary Olson/Coffee Hour Coordinator
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A Zoom Invitation : St. Paul's Coffee Hour
Time: May 31, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 869 9237 3681
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,86992373681# US (Chicago)
+16465588656,,86992373681# US (New York)
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From our Music Director
We would like to get a few singers together to go
“Pentecost caroling”
after the morning service on Sunday, May 31. We will contact some of our St. Paul’s family members who have been isolated at home. We will sing a few hymns outside their door or window. Of course, we will observe physical distancing guidelines. Please let me know if you would like a musical visit, or if you would like to sing with us.
markmeyer49@gmail.com or 978-551-8107
During this time of at-home worship services, we have been choosing all the hymns from
The Hymnal 1982.
This is so that people at home can sing along if they have a hymnal or have access to the worship bulletin. If you have a favorite hymn from the hymnal that you would like us to sing on a Sunday morning, let me know so that we can try to include it in the coming weeks.
If you don’t have a copy of
The Hymnal 1982
and would like one so that you can sing along at home during our Sunday services, please let me know or call Deb in the church office at 978-465-5351. We have put some into plastic bags and placed them just inside the porch door entrance to the church. You can pick one up any time during church office hours. Or let me know, and we’ll be happy to bring one to you at home.
Grace and peace,
Mark Meyer
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Stewardship Committee Request
The Stewardship Committee will have a Parish picture montage for this Fall’s Program. Last October, we had Rev. Meg’s and Bev Brennan’s Parish history bulletin board resulting in some fun in the Stewardship Program. We are repeating the interactive element this year. We intend to get a picture of every Parish family and member and display them in a montage in October.
Please email us one preferred picture of your family or yourself to an address below. Selfies are okay. For those who don’t have a picture, nor can take a picture, nor use email, we will arrange in June/July for a Committee member to take your picture at your address (or at the Church.) We dearly want to have a picture of every parishioner and family for our Parish montage. Note that pictures larger than 5MB may not go through some email systems.
If you have a picture:
The Stewardship Committee
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Thank You for Help with Our "Pounding"
Thank you to
all
who participated in our "Pounding", offering kitchen stock items to help the Mercers fill their shelves. Many others have helped with furniture, equipment, etc. Special thanks go to Bill Hobbie,
Pam Jones, Lainie Ives, The Winslows, The Walker family, Joyce Cejka, Eldeen Suda, Stu Tuthill, Pete Novello, Linda Davis Siess, Paula Simpson, Rosamond and Doug Smith, and many others.
W
e are all looking forward to meeting and welcoming the next Rector of St. Paul's in person when our pandemic restrictions allow. Fr. Jarred and his family arrive on May 30th in the US. They will spend a two-week self-quarantine before Fr. Jarred celebrates the Eucharist with us for a virtual service on Sunday, June 14th.
Thank you again to all for helping to welcome the Mercers to our community.
Alison Novello & Anne Tuthill/Coordinators
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Among Friends Weekly Newsletter
2 Corinthians 9:21
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will
result in thanksgiving
to God.”
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In late March, as the coronavirus began taking hold in Massachusetts, Among Friends was awarded a grant of $2,000 from the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) to support our food service ministry. It was determined that we could use the additional funding to buy additional food to expand the program to include meal deliveries. Several volunteers stepped up to do the deliveries for the homebound in the Greater Newburyport area. Meals served three times each week have risen from about 40 to as many as 100 per day. Special appreciation goes to our extremely hard working kitchen staff members!
We have remained in touch with ECCF so they would be aware of the expansion of Among Friends for the benefit of so many in the Newburyport area. As a result, Among Friends was awarded a $12,000 grant last week. There are no restrictions on how the funds are used as long as the expenses support the program. Among Friends leadership will be meeting to discuss best utilization of this most welcome gift. Congratulations and sincere thanks to all involved!
Stu Tuthill/Treasurer
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Food Voucher Program
Please let us know if you or anyone you know are in need of help with food. Vouchers can be used at Market Basket stores. We can also offer help for medications, medical expenses and other needs. Call the office at 978-465-5351. All calls are confidential.
Deb Hay/Administrator
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Churchyard Clean-up Success!
Seven people helped with the St. Paul yard clean-up. Thank you
Natalie Fitzgerald, Chris Montini, Eddie and Annie Winslow, Lan Wong, Stu Tuthill, Pete and Alison Novello. All terrific workers! Pete took four loads over overgrown evergreens to the Salisbury dump. Chris took six bags. We have several bags left over in the backyard if you would like to help. Overgrown hollies and evergreens were taken down, The area in front of St. Anna's Chapel was cleaned-up, and the back garden area by Winter Street and near Summer Street were cleaned-up. Thank you all. We have a good start to the summer.
Alison Novello/Garden Committee
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Pastoral Care Team
If you know of someone who would appreciate a phone call or is in need of services, please call St. Paul’s office to let the Pastoral Team know. We keep you all in our prayers.
Nancy Jukins/
Chairperson
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Prayer List
If you have someone you would like to add someone to our ongoing Sunday worship prayer list, please email the office at
stpauls@stpauls-nbpt.org
or call 978-465-5351.
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Support for Our Church During the Pandemic
Thank you for all the support you have been giving to our church in these unusual times. The leadership and multiple committees continue to work hard to fulfill our mission of faith and service. Please continue to support our church and missions to whatever extent you able by whatever payment means is most convenient for you. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you again,
Stu Tuthill, Treasurer
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Feeling a Creative Urge? - Uncover Your Hidden Talents
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Beverly Brennan
has been an active and dedicated member of St. Paul's Church for many years. Whether it is helping with the Annual Fair or Stewardship or Among Friends or serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister (LEM) she has given of her energy and time to help the congregation and others. In addition to her profession life as a primary care physician, Bev is a creative artist whose seasonal work has graced the bulletin boards of St. Paul's parish hall and hallways for several years now.
Bev inspires us all to find the hidden talents and creativity within all of us and to serve others in the process.
Thank you so much for sharing y
our
talents and creative energy. Do you have talents and creative muses lurking within? If so, bring your visual, writing or musical talents forward. We want to celebrate you!
Easter Cross
by Beverly Brennan
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We hope you enjoy reading our weekly newsletter which covers the current news of our parish life. If you have questions or news you would like us to include, contact Administrator Deb Hay at
978-465-5351
or
stpauls@stpauls-nbpt.org
.
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church | 166 High Street
Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 | 978-465-5351
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