Newsletter, March 16

Reverend Sheelagh’s Thought for the Week: March 16, 2016

Palm Sunday brings us to the beginning of Holy week and the journey to the cross.  It’s important on this particular day to think of the great joy that the disciples must have experienced witnessing the great crowds that gathered to hear Jesus preaching.  We will have drums, we will have palms, we will have streamers, we will process, weather permitting, from the parish hall to the church.  It is all symbolic, but it is the beginning of the lead up to Good Friday and of course, Easter.

People have asked, and continue to ask why we have the Passion Gospel read at the end of the Palm Sunday service.  The change came in the 1979 liturgical revision.  Observance of Good Friday was becoming a thing of the past even then, meaning that for those unable to attend Good Friday, it would literally mean leaving the with the echoes of Palm Sunday joy straight into the Glory of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  In order to see the light and joy of Easter, we need  to at least witness the darkness of Good Friday.

We will take that journey soon enough.  For today, let us be in the moment. Let us celebrate the blessings of our lives; our health, our children, our parish family and yes, most importantly our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. +

Reminders

Serving at the Altar 3/20, 24, 25 & 27

Palm Sunday Readings

Thank you to all the parishioners who have volunteered for our Palm Sunday Passion Gospel readings on Sunday March 20.

SABBATICAL NEWS

Rev. Sheelagh will be taking her Sabbatical from June 1st through September 1st 2016.  Her sabbatical will focus on the “going local” missional network activities and program.  Rev. Sheelagh will keep the congregation updated throughout her travels and experiences.

Community Connections

Sue Adler Realtors is donating $20,000 from its 100th home sale this year to be spread among six local charities based on online votes.  Voting for semi finalists ends March 15.

We should be proud that three of the lead contenders have St Stephen’s links.  Family Promise, Girls on the Run and Down the Block are among lead contenders for the semi finals.  You can vote every day.  Linked here is the voting form: http://sueadler.com/100th-home/

Thanks, Margo

UPCOMING EVENTS
Going Deeper this Lent: 

Thursdays  at noon in the Church

Stations of the Cross and meditations – Join us for this spiritual prayer walk.

March 17 and 24.

Online resources: 

Daily meditations delivered to your email box: www.dioceseofnewark.org  click on Online Meditations to read, and to subscribe.

Celebrate Our Kids!
Jadyn Herry will be playing Cello in the pit for Columbia High School’s Musical “Disney’s Beauty & the Beast”

Performance dates are the next two weekends, March 11, 12, 18 & 19 at 7:30 pm and March 13 & 20 at 2 pm.

Tickets can be purchased online here: https://colhs.booktix.com

Holy Wednesday – Sacred Art Workshop – March 23rd, 7pm-9pm.

This is fully subscribed.  Please come ready to be creative.  Donations to offset costs of materials are welcome but not mandatory.

Maundy Thursday-Potluck Supper at 6:30pm

Please let us know if you can bring a simple meat free dish to share at our Maundy Thursday Supper.  Contact Rev Sheelagh or Denise Price.

Easter Sunday

A few people have signed up for coffee hour for Easter Sunday.  Any other contributions are welcome.  We also need volunteers for clean up afterwards.

HOSPITALITY IS WHO WE ARE

In 1987 St. Stephens became one of a few dozen congregations involved with a new ministry to homeless families – IHN – the Interfaith Hospitality Network for the Homeless. Since then, another 6,000 congregations have done the same, involving more than 160,000 volunteers and collectively serving more than 600,000 children and adults.  Volunteer congregations host families for a week offering food and shelter while the case management team helps them move toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency.

We host next from April 10  to April 17. We will be on hand on Sunday, March 13, to share more about IHN, family homelessness and how small acts of kindness can support families in distress and enrich our own. If you are newer to the church and the program, come to learn how simple things like cooking a lasagna, reading to a 3 year old and sleeping overnight, help families stay together at a time of crisis – changing the course of them, and their children’s lives.  If you’re an old hand at IHN, come and share your experiences and expertise.

We’ll need volunteers to stay overnight, to cook and serve meals, to entertain children, to run errands and for the set up and take down work to convert classrooms to bedrooms. To learn more, talk to Margo Greenfield or Claas Ehlers. To sign up, click this link.http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0845a4ac2ba02-ihnapril

As always, Meal Coordinator Sara Ruth Dorn will conduct signups during coffee hour for volunteers to prepare and serve dinners and purchase the necessary breakfast and snack staples.

The next sign-up at coffee hour for food and supplies will be Sunday, April 3.  If you wish to sign-up in the meantime or have questions, please call Sara Ruth Dorn at 973-467-9847.

Papermill Show Choir Benefit Concert
Sunday 24 April, 7:30pm St. Stephen’s Church

Tickets: $20 adults, $15 seniors & $10 children. Tickets can be purchased at the door or after church in April. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Rectory, 973-376-0688.

NOTICES

Memorial Flowers
This Sunday is the last day for the brown envelope donations.  Please print names clearly.

Please send all articles and e-mails for the newsletter to Claire by NOON on Tuesday at church@ststephensmillburn.org.