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Reading the Bible in a year!
Resources
Block Print by Mike Newman
Continuing Projects
1. Writing to Alex Long in Afghanistan
Alex Long would appreciate mail from you. You can write Alex a letter at this address:
Sgt Long, Alexander
1st MSOB A CO
UNIT 42550
FPO AP 96427-2550
Don’t see your pet ? Upload a picture
3. Prayer requests – Add a name to the prayer list here.
4. Box Tops for Education for local schools
This is a project of the children of the church.Take one of the colorful collection cans from back of church and fill them up with box tops from participating products. By the end of February, bring them back to the church and give them to Tierra.
Here is a list of participating products.
Box Tops for Education has helped America’s schools earn over $475 million since 1996. You can earn cash for your child’s school by clipping Box Tops coupons from hundreds of participating products. Box Tops also offers easy ways to earn even more cash for your school online.
Here is a video introduction
5. Lenten Links
We have a dedicated Lenten part of the website – Lent at St. Peter’s 2013 which has the events listed. Highlights include:
- Introduction to Lent
- Our own Lenten Calendar
- Lenten Quiet Day , ECW at Roslyn March 21
- Holy Week, March 25-30
We have new articles this week
1. In his invitation to a holy Lent, “The Grace of Lent,” Bishop Johnston outlines 12 take-away messages from the sermons of St. Leo the great as a different way to experience the Lenten season.
2 Forty Days of Lent: An Almost Amish Journey Toward a Slower, Simpler, More Sustainable Life
Third Week in Lent , March 3, 2013 (full size gallery)
Christ centered, Biblically based, spirit filled and a place of simple hospitality, we have shared our communal life with our church,our community, and those in need. Your presence enriches us.
March 10 -9:45am – "Forgiveness" in Adult Education
March 10 -11:00am- Holy Eucharist, Rite I
Calendar
Feasting with Jesus – this Thurs, March 7, 6pm – The Wedding Feast
Come to a feast after a 1st century wedding this Thursday and understand Jesus in his own time.
The largest feast in Jesus time was the wedding feast which could last a week.
A wedding was more fulfilling a contract than a wedding ceremony. The wedding covenant was between both bride and bridegroom and two families. The covenant considered issues such as the “Bride price” and dowry. The bride was very similar to that or property – groom paid for her and took possession of her from father.
Women were young when they entered into marriage -early to mid teens where husband middle 20s. It was important for women to be young to have many children since more often than children died early
Finally the wedding day came. On the night before there was a wedding procession through town. The groom and his friends would walk with musicians, blow ram’s horns and create quite a bit of noise. The bride joined by her brides maids met the procession. She was seated on the littter. The destination was the bridegoom’s home, the site of the wedding and feast.
The wedding was done privately. The groom spread a cloak or a Cuppah over her to represent taking possession. The Rabbi did not participate in marrying them but the bleassing done by bridegroom father or elder male. After that they retired to their wedding chamber for 7 days.
Meanwhile the wedding feast began and also lasted a week. Two essentials were wine and cake. A famous wedding scene is that which occured at Cana where the wine was depleted. Jesus called for six stone jars and wine was created from water. This would have created between 120-180 gallons of wines or from between 600 to 900 modern bottles.
The wedding cakes were made from wheat and barley. The cake was broken over bride’s head as a symbol fertiliaty. Cakes were stacked and bridge and groom had to kiss each other over the tower of cakes without knocking them over. If successful, there was a lifetime properity. Often they took cakes to local temple or shrine and sacrificed them
There was also abundant meats including whole cattle and fatted lambs. During the day they ate lighter foods, bread dips, cucumber salads, dried fruits and cheese. Women ate separately from men. Food was served first then wine. Read more
Ladies Night Out Sat. March 9, 6pm appetizers, 6:45pm dinner
Here is 2012’s Ladies Night Out in words and pictures.
This year the featured entertainment is a Murder Mystery with 20 parts and organized into 4 rounds. It is actually played over the entire evening. So this is a meal with a purpose! Clues will given to you as you arrive and round one is actually at appetizer/cocktails. You can meet the characters and they will discuss their roles. Additional clues will be delivered during dinner and then final clues in round 3 which is dessert and coffee. Come to see how it unfolds at 6pm on March 9.
"Spring Forward before Sunday, March 10
Set your clocks ahead before Church on March 10 or you will miss the entire service
Rebuilding toilets in Haiti, continuing Sunday, March 10
Region One is spear heading a campaign for each of the 19 churches in our region to raise $1,684 to build a new toilet system for the school attached to Notre Dame Cathedral and 300 students in students. Currently there is one latrine for 300 people. And that one is decrepit by our standards. For $32,000 we can build that system which will reduce disease, include cholera and improve sanitation.
The 7.0 Earthquake in Haiti in 2010 killed 310,000 and left 1 million homeless, rampant disease. This was to the poorest nation in this hemisphere before the earthquake. Here is a picture story
In 2011 a relationship was established between St. George’s and Notre Dame Cathedral in Port-au-Prince Haiti. Other churches in our Region, Trinity Episcopal, Christ Episcopal and Church of the Incarnation have contributed their donations and time and money toward developing this partnership. In particuarly they monies have provided scholarship for students for books and support for teachers.
Come on March 10 and contribute to this cause. We collected over $100 on March 3. We hope to be able to complete this by Easter .
Forgiveness on March 10, 9:45am
During the Sundays of Lent during the adult education hour, we will take a look at forgiveness, using the work of Father Frank Desiderio, a Catholic priest whose current ministry is helping people to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is good for your body, mind and spirit. You probably know that intuitively. There is plenty of research to prove that forgiveness helps heal the body and works in the brain to counteract the negative effects of anger.
For the Christian, forgiveness is a non-negotiable. Jesus insisted on it “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:14-15). Jesus forgave unconditionally from the cross, “Father forgive them they know not what they do” (Luke 23:24). We are called to be like Christ and forgive generously and sincerely.
Did you miss the earlier sessions ? Here are the notes to Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3. We have had three weeks. The first week was on forgiveness in general and the second on why we should forgive. The third began a method called "Let Go" to handle forgiveness.
Tools for the Sudan after One Month
We have raised over $2,900 ($2,905) for this project. Ideally we would like to be at $3,500 by the end of the month. Please continue to support this project for the new refugees streaming into South Sudan from the north.
- The overall project is described here.
- You can donate funds to help new refugees coming into Sudan through this shopping cart. Print it out and send your card and check to the address listed.
- OR you can pay online saving printing and a stamp.
Either way we thank you for your gift of a new beginning for those coming to our newest world country.
Catherine wins the John Hines preaching award
"The award is given annually to the outstanding preaching entry “where prophetic voice is central within the sermon.” Named in honor of the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, John Hines (VTS ’33), the award celebrates the ministry of preaching and its importance in our Church by recognizing outstanding sermons that are deeply grounded in scripture and focused on the seen and unseen needs of the worshipping community, the nation, and the world."
"Hicks’ sermon from October 14, 2012 (Proper 23, Year B), imagines traveling back in time to the 1700s and sharing a meal in the company of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, who was also slave owner and creator of The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, which we know as the “Jefferson Bible.” “Jefferson admired Jesus as a great ethical teacher,” Hicks says. “I wondered what Jefferson thought of the story of the rich man (Mark 10:17-31). I wondered what Jefferson would make of the fact that Jesus asked the rich man to go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Hicks continued: “Apparently, this story was uncomfortable and challenging for Jefferson as well. I searched carefully through the Jefferson Bible, and I discovered that Jefferson did include some other stories that Jesus told about money, but guess what—the story of the rich man is completely missing in Jefferson’s Bible."
Catherine also heard from the author of the Smithsonian article she used as part of her research. Henry Wiencek is the Author of Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves
"Dear Rev. Hicks, I am deeply honored and moved that you used my Jefferson material as a text for a sermon, and I am very pleased to learn that the sermon earned you the Hines Preaching Award. The story of the rich man gives us all a great deal of trouble, and you re-tell it very powerfully and sharply. I offer warm congratulations for the award."
Want to read the sermon ? Here it is