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Notes of the Advocate
March 18, 2023
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Looking for worship links? They have been moved to the bottom of the email! | |
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From the Vicar:
Get ready, we’re gonna have a bishop in the house (chapel)! On April 2, 2023 Bishop Clay Matthews will be with us. If you are interested in being confirmed in The Episcopal Church on this day by Bishop Clay, please be in touch with Marion.
What is confirmation, you ask?
According to the Book of Common Prayer it is “the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.”
(Read more about confirmation)
If this is sounding like something that has been stirring in your heart or if you are already confirmed and would like to reaffirm your baptismal vows
OR if you were confirmed in another church besides the Episcopal Church and would like to be received into The Episcopal Church (i.e. Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran)
OR if you just don’t know and want to talk, let’s be in touch. Contact Marion: marion@theadvocatechurch.org or 704.593.6999
All those who are planning on being confirmed or received when the bishop comes on April 2 need to meet with Marion on March 26 for a brief orientation meeting after the 10:30 service.
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Sunday March 19th:
We welcome Countess Authement as our guest preacher at the 8:30 and 10:30 services! Countess is a second year student at Duke Divinity School and is in the process to be a priest sponsored by the Diocese of Western Louisiana. If you are a regular at the 8:30 service, you will recognize Countess as she often attends that service before she goes to St. Joseph’s in Durham for her field education assignment.
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The Advo-kiddos Present: Moses and the Ten Plagues
Join us on Sunday March 26th for the kids' performance of Moses and the 10 plagues. Any kids interested in participating in the skit please come to Kids Christian Ed on Sunday the 19th or the 26th at 9:30am for a run through before the performance. Kids of all ages are welcome to participate.
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Food Distribution at Rogers Road Community Center
Food distribution will continue on March 18!
Come any time between 8 am and 12 pm.
All are welcome!
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Food items collected in the bell tower of the chapel are taken to IFC on the Thursday prior to 1st, 2nd, and 4th Saturdays of the month. Food items are taken to the Rogers Road Community Center prior to 3rd Saturdays of the month.
The Inter Faith Council for Social Services publishes current needs for the Community
Market (food pantry) on their website. https://www.ifcweb.org/needs
Rogers Road suggests shelf-stable food staples such as peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti sauce and noodles, breakfast cereal, etc.
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Critical Conversations in Lent
The first questions of the Baptismal Covenant invite us to affirm what we believe. Then there are five questions that ask us to commit to action, that describe how our faith calls us to act in the world. These questions all begin with "Will you ..." and together, they provide a decent scaffolding for the Christian life.
During the Critical Conversations gatherings (9:30 - 10:20 on Sunday mornings) this Lent, we will explore these questions. We're using a curriculum that we have been invited to pilot; it will be offered to the wider Episcopal church for Lent '24. It includes easy exercises and reflections to do during the week, and provocative questions for our time together on Sunday morning.
There's a booklet you may take home; please pick up a copy on the bookshelf in the Advocate House. And ... show up anyway, whether you have picked up the booklet or not, whether you've done the exercises or not! At whatever level you participate, it will help you prepare for Easter.
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SAVE THE DATE: History Day and Celebration of Blessed Henry Beard Delany
April 15 | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. | St. Luke's, Salisbury
Co-sponsored by the diocesan office of Black ministries and our history & archives committee, this year’s History Day honoring the Rt. Rev. Henry Beard Delany will take place at St. Luke’s, Salisbury, the site of the 1918 Annual Convention where he was elected. Diocesan historiographer the Rev. Dr. Brooks Graebner will highlight the significance of Delany’s election in the context of The Episcopal Church’s 40-year debate over how best to provide bishops for Black congregations in the South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Attendees will celebrate Bishop Delany’s feast day with a festive Eucharist, with the canon missioner for Black ministries, the Rev. Kathy Walker, preaching.
After lunch, the Rev. Robert Black, rector of St. Luke’s, will describe his parish’s considerable recent efforts to address its local racial history, followed by a tour St. Luke’s, the nearby city cemetery for enslaved people, and the lynching memorial recently erected by the Equal Justice Initiative. Attendees also will have the opportunity to see other historic sites.
Those wishing to stay for lunch will need to register for the event. The registration fee is $15.
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Education for Ministry (EfM)
What is EfM all about? In the words of one our graduates- “I was seeking spiritual growth and learning about Christianity when I joined EfM. I found a caring community that expanded my knowledge and supported my faith. I hope others take advantage of the opportunity to have that experience”. Other graduates have found the EfM experience to be “transformative” and “spiritually awakening”. Education for Ministry (EfM) is a multiyear program sponsored by the University of the South based upon small-group study and practice. EfM helps the faithful encounter the breadth and depth of the Christian tradition and bring it into conversation with their experiences of the world as they study and worship.
Saint Matthew’s Church is planning for a new EfM class to start in September of this year. The class will meet from 6:30 to 9 pm on Monday evenings. It is likely that these sessions will be conducted via zoom. General information about EfM may be found at the following website https://theology.sewanee.edu/education-for-ministry. For more information, please contact Hugh Tilson (tilsonha@icloud.com) or Claire Doerschuk (claire_doerschuk@med.unc.edu).
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The spring work day has been postponed. Look for more information to come! | |
Advo-Dinners: On sabbatical until the fall - stay tuned! | |
Soup Makers! Continuing this Sunday, we will have soup and salads and we need some help from you. See the signup here if you would like to show off your culinary skills and bring a pot of soup on Sunday mornings! | |
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Tuesday B-I-B-L-E
The 7pm Tuesday Bible study will continue to meet next week.
Click here to Zoom
Meeting ID: 880 1850 5910
Passcode: 991404
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Readers' Roundtable News!
Feb. - March: Our Lenten book focus: The 7 Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism: A Call to Action, by Carter Heyward. The Readers' Roundtable will not meet in March because this book is recommended for the whole parish.
The Readers' Roundtable will resume meeting on the third Wednesday in April.
April 19: When Women were Dragons, by Kelly Barnhill
May 17: The Ride of her Life, by Elizabeth Letts
June 14: From Scratch: a Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, by Tembi Locke (Please
note that this is the second Wednesday instead of our usual third Wednesday.)
We will take a summer break in July and August, then resume meeting in September.
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Continuing on Sunday, April 2, a team of lay ministers will offer healing prayer once a month, during the communion time at the 10:30 service. Here at the Advocate we have a strong tradition of praying with and for each other and the world, and healing prayer has been part of the ministry of the Advocate in the past. Healing prayer is an extension of the Prayers of the People, and another way that we can offer our prayer and presence.
Prayer will be offered by a team of two lay ministers. If you would like the healing prayer team to pray with you, simply make your way to the Narthex (the bell tower) after receiving communion. And if you would like to be a part of the healing prayer team, contact Marion or Kerry Bullock-Ozkan.
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Compline each evening at 8:30pm via zoom.
What is compline? Compline is the last set prayer service for the day. It is typically prayed before bed or when settling down for the evening. You can check out the liturgy here.
Contemplative prayer meets each Wednesday at 6pm with a group in person in the chapel (wearing masks and distanced) and on zoom. (Contact Marion to get the zoom link)
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Collect
Fourth Sunday in Lent
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. Amen.
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Sunday Worship Schedule, March 19, 2023
8:30 am Holy Eucharist in the chapel (masks required)
9:30 am Critical Conversations in the Advocate House (masks required)
9:30 am Godly Play for two age groups
children aged 3-7 will meet in the Advocate House in the back room
children older than 7 will meet at the Well house.
We will be rehearsing for our performance of Moses and the 10 plagues. Any kids interested in participating in the skit please come to Kids Christian Ed on Sunday the 19th or the 26th at 9:30am for a run through before the performance. Kids of all ages are welcome to participate.
10:30 am Holy Eucharist in the chapel and on Zoom (masks required)
11:30 am light food and conversation.
We will continue with our soup and salad potlucks following the 10:30 am service outside by the well house as the weather allows.
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LINKS for worship
These links are always available at TheAdvocateChurch.org (click in the red banner on the website)
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We've changed to a simpler Zoom setup in the chapel. The simpler setup will be easier for our hard-working volunteers, but unfortunately Zoomers' prayers and announcements will no longer be heard in the chapel (Zoomers will be able to hear each other). Please bear with us as we work out the kinks to the new setup!
**The Zoom host will no longer put links in the chat – please download the liturgy and music guides before the service**
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Meeting ID: 438 568 2876
Passcode: Whitby
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Holy Week at The Advocate
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday on April 2 (only one service this day at 10:30am) and on this day we march with palms and shout hosannas as we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we will hear a dramatic telling of the passion of Jesus, and we will welcome Bishop Clay Matthews to the Advocate for confirmation.
On Maundy Thursday, April 6 (7:00pm) we commemorate Jesus’ last supper with his disciples and hear his commandment to love one another. We will gather in the chapel around tables to share a simple meal together as Jesus did. We will also wash each other’s feet as a sign of servanthood that Jesus demonstrated for us. Then we will remove items from the altar to prepare ourselves and our holy space for Good Friday.
Good Friday, April 7 (12pm & 7pm) is the most somber of the days in Holy Week. On this day, we gather to remember the crucifixion of Jesus by silence, prayer, and song. A wooden cross will be in place to extend special devotions and prayer.
Holy Saturday, April 8 (10am) we wait and gather with a very simple service as Jesus’ body in the tomb is remembered.
Easter Vigil, April 8 (7pm 7:30pm) on this holy night, the Church keeps watch as we await the resurrection of Jesus. This night we will light the pascal flame, hear the story of salvation, and celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter.
Easter Sunday: The Day of Resurrection, April 9 (10:30 am service only). We will gather by the pond for this festal celebration to hear the story of Jesus’ resurrection on this most holy of days. Bring a chair and a dish to share for a true potluck lunch.
Second Sunday of Easter, April 16 (10:30 am service only) we welcome the Rev. Shawn Schreiner as guest celebrant and preacher
Formation schedule:
There will be no formation on Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday. Formation resumes on April 16 at 9:30 am
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Masking and other items
Please continue to wear a well-fitting mask (N95, KN95, double masked surgical masks) when inside the chapel and the Advocate house. Inside the chapel, the masks should only be removed (if you are comfortable doing so) if you are reading a lesson or prayers of the people, and briefly removed to receive communion.
If you have COVID symptoms or have been exposed, please stay home that day and plan to return upon testing negative.
While it is important that we gather as the Body of Christ in worship, prayer, and praise, it is also important to do so wisely and as safely as possible.
And always, as a reminder, if you would like Eucharist brought to your home, please be in touch and it will be brought to you within the week.
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