St. Andrews by the Lake

GRAINS OF SAND
HOLY WEEK and EASTER

March 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In “The Preaching Life”, Barbara Brown Taylor writes: “The Bible tells us stories we need and want to hear – stories that help us live, stories to help us die, and stories to help us believe we shall live again. Listening to them, we are called into relationship with the One who tells them to us. Believing them, we are changed. The living words of God heal our hurts and soften our hearts; they clear our vision and guide our feet. Like a lifeline strung from the beginning of time to the end, they show us a way through all the storms of culture, nature, and history. They show us the way to the Word beyond all our words, in whose presence we shall be made eloquent at last”.
The stories we will hear during Holy Week (beginning on Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday) are stories of what we are called to be about as followers of Christ, they are stories of how we face death in life, they are stories of what we bury, and how we can rise – because our Savior has Risen. Perhaps that’s why many avoid Holy Week. We like happy endings – so there are those who choose to jump from Palm Sunday to Easter and skip everything in-between. But if we’re honest – we know life doesn’t play out like that.
As we approach Holy Week, I’d like to ask you two questions: are you willing to be intentional in your Christian journey and what is it that makes you weep?
At this season of the church year, we look on with wonder (or do we?) as a man (Jesus) makes a difficult and risky decision out of his love for God, his friends, his nation, his religion. We look on with wonder because of the sense that we are all called – in the name of Jesus – to love and live that passionately ourselves – making the difficult decisions that responsible love necessitates.
I think it is truthful to say that a lot of Christianity has become sentimental – rather than intentional. Back in 1729, Anglican priest, William Law wrote the blockbuster book of his time: “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”. Eighteenth-century England needed such a book because religion was becoming superficial – the church had become a complacent scene. He wrote that “Christian devotion concerns not merely religious exercises and good works, but the whole of life – our use of time and money, every relationship, every thought and deed. It is a life totally given to God and thereby transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.” Law saw little of such devotion. He said the reason was not that professing Christians didn’t understand the will (yearnings or desires) of God or were too weak to obey God, but that they never intended to. The problem is not inadvertent oversights or slips of behavior, but a paralysis of intention.
Law writes to the Christian whose religion is an add-on to a life already full of other concerns. “A devotion consisting only of Sunday worship, private prayers and occasional charitable acts will not suffice. The bottom line, for Law, is that a Christian is called to emulate Jesus the Christ in all of life, and that we will be judged, he says, not on whether we have always lived up to our intentions, but on whether our intentions were the best they could possibly be.” (quotes from: Glorious Companions, Richard H. Schmidt)
So here is something for us to ponder as Holy Week approaches: What are our intentions in the Christian life? Are we caught in a paralysis of intention?
Now my second question: What is it that makes you weep? During Lent I have been reading Joan Chittister’s book, ’40 Day Journey’. She says that “weeping may be the best indicator we have of what life is really all about for us. What we weep for measures what we are. What we weep over indicates what others may expect of us in life. What we cry about is what we care about. What we have no tears for hardens our hearts.”
There is so much in life that brings tears to my eyes and heart. I cry when I see pictures of children starving. I cry when I see children screaming in pain as their bodies are torn apart in war – or their loved ones are killed. I cry when I see the pictures of service men and women who have died in a futile and useless war. I cried this week when the priest from my former parish called to tell me a young man who was in my youth group back then, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He’s not yet 40 and has three children under the age of ten. I feel tears of frustration at feeling helpless at times to change the world for the better – and wonder what more I can do (and I know there is lots more out there to do). So what is it that you weep about? Holy Week may bring out some of those tears in you. Are you willing to be vulnerable? Are you willing to be converted?
Holy Week is not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about God – it’s about Jesus, through whom we see the love and nature of God pouring through. It’s about being willing to step aside from our own self-serving – and continue to live deeper into the life of serving others that was witnessed in the life of Jesus. I hope you will set aside some of your time to grow deeper in your own relationship with God. This includes children – for they are invited to be part of all our Holy Week events. Children should never be excluded from the events of Holy Week. They can handle it. They do every day – and the stories they hear, they will relate to in their own way.
May you have a Holy Week – and take it out into your life beyond this coming week.
Cindy

HOLY WEEK at ST. ANDREW’S

Palm/Passion Sunday – March 16, 9:45 a.m.

Sunday worship will include blessing of the palms, a chancel drama, special music by the adult choir, and celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Maundy Thursday – March 20, 5:45 p.m.

We begin with the Agape Dinner, during which we share the bread and wine of Eucharist together. There will be a short meditation and the blessing of hands. Be thinking about how your life touches others in a healing ministry. After dinner, we move into the church for the stripping of the altar. The Agape Dinner is potluck. You are invited to bring a meatless hotdish or salad.

Good Friday – March 21, 12 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

At 12 p.m., we gather at our Lakeside location for prayers, music and the Stations of the Cross. At 5:30, you are invited to participate in a Peace March (the first in a long time in Duluth!). We begin at the Minnesota Power Plaza (corner of Lake and Superior) and march to Trepanier Hall at the YWCA, where there will be some peace talks offered. This is a good way to put our intentions for peace into action – our words for peace into our life walk. Let’s gather as a group and walk together for peace on a day that is symbolized by the Cross – a symbol of how God says ‘no’ to violence, and ‘yes’ to life and peace.

The Great Vigil of Easter – Saturday, March 22, 7 p.m.

The Light of Christ! At the entrance of a darkened church, the deacon sings the cry that marks the turning point from death to life, the mystery of the resurrection of the crucified-dead-buried One. it is the Eve of Easter, when all seems dead, asleep, hushed, expectant. The church has been darkened, stripped of all decoration since Maundy Thursday. More than any other service, the Great Vigil of Easter celebrates what it is to be Christian. We light the new fire. The Exsultet is sung. We will hear the ancient stories from Creation, the Wilderness Wanderings, the Exile. There will be wonderful music and joyous celebration. Please bring:
a flashlight, so you can read responses in the darkened church a bell, (of any kind (the louder, the better!) so you can respond with joy to the acclamation, “Alleluia, Christ is Risen!”
After the Vigil, we continue the celebration of Easter with a party in the undercroft. Please sign up to bring an appetizer, dessert or beverage. This is a wonderful service for children and there will be an activity for them during the party.

Easter Day – Sunday, March 23, 9:45 a.m.

We celebrate the Risen Christ as we gather for worship this festive morning. There will be a professional string quartet and music by our adult choir. Children in pre-school and kindergarten will begin in church, then go downstairs after the lessons for a story and craft. Nursery will be provided. All other children, youth and teens will be in church for worship.

CHILDREN’S SPIRITUAL LIFE (Tips for parents, grandparents and godparents)

This is a continuation from the last newsletter, on ways to help nurture and nourish your child’s spiritual life. Suggestions are from Victor M. Parachin, in “Developing Your Child’s Spiritual Life”:
Teach Children to Pray: As soon as children can understand language, teach them how to pray. Be brief. For example, upon seeing a new flower emerging, offer this type of prayer with your child: “Thank you God for this beautiful flower”. If you have a family pet, pause with your child to pray: “Thank you God for our dog. Bless him/her.” One family, in teaching prayer, created their own family prayer book. They included some traditional prayers like the St. Francis prayer (Lord, make me an instrument of your peace…), the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, and other prayers they wrote. Haiku is a great way to write prayers as children get older.
Attend Worship: Children’s experience of worship is greatly deepened when parents are involved. Let regular worship be an affair of the entire family. Then, following worship, invite each family member to share what they saw, experienced and learned.
Encourage stewardship of the earth: Jean Grasso Fitzpatrick, author of Something More: Nurturing Your Child’s Spiritual Growth, writes: “Like all loving relationships, our bond with the earth is nurtured in many little ways. Together we set aside time to collect newspapers for recycling, remember to turn off lights when we leave a room, limit our use of unnecessary packaging. Sometimes we walk instead of taking the car. Small efforts at stewardship such as these may not transform the world overnight, but day by day, they remind us that our family home is very much a part of our planetary home.
(to be continued)

CAPITAL FUNDS CAMPAIGN REPORT

As of March 11, here is where we stand:
Received contributions totaling: $52,040.00
Promised/Pending Donations: $167,944.07
Insurance Premium – minimum, $39,000, but we are hoping for more
These monies are for the construction costs we will be taking on – as we will need money up front to pay the bills as they come in. In addition we will receive a $250,000 loan from the Diocese, which will become our mortgage.

Building Fund Pledges – These are the monthly pledges we are asking everyone to make to help pay off our $250,000 mortgage. We are doing well, but our hope is that everyone will choose to participate in some way. Our monthly mortgage payment will be $1650 for twenty years. Not everyone can offer the same, but can you offer something? It’s an important way to be a part of this community together and the sooner we can pay it down, the less interest we will pay.

If you have questions about the financing of our renovation, speak to: Michael Bolen, J Laundergan, Jean Laundergan or Kris Rauschenfels.

If you have questions about the building plans and construction, speak to: Tim White, J Laundergan, Dick Braun, Donn Larson, Kinnan Stauber, Bruce Truckey or Howard Jacobs.

CREATIVE IDEAS TO HELP FINANCIALLY

Two ideas have been recently advanced to help with fundraising for our renovation and roof repair. The first is from Joan Hunn. During 2008, she is donating half of her quilting fee from St. Andrew’s members to our building fund (up to a certain amount). So, if you have quilt tops that need quilting and want her to do them this year, please let Joan know (726-0836)
Mary Young, from Minneapolis, and daughter of the late Eva and Frank Young, would like to offer Pet Portraits. Mary is a very accomplished artist, as any of you who have seen her work would know. If you send her a pet portrait, she will paint it and matt it (frame not included). She is willing to do up to seven portraits, and the cost for one is $150. If you are interested, let Cindy Peterson-Wlosinski know and she will show you samples of Mary’s work, and connect you with her.

WOMEN’S RETREAT – April 4,5,6

We are fortunate to have the use of the House of Prayer for these dates to have a retreat . We will be joined by women from St. Luke’s Parish in Minneapolis, and their priest, The Rev. Katherine Sedwick. Katherine and Cindy will be leading the retreat.
We will read and study the book of Esther – which is a story of courage, decision making in hard times, and leadership. We’ll also watch the movie that was made of her story, “One Night With the King” (includes popcorn!!). During the day on Saturday, we’ll have time for large and small group reflection, pray in the oratory (using art of various kinds), free time to relax, walk and be outdoors (and visit the great bookstore they have on the St. John’s campus). We also hope to see the St. John’s Bible collection that is being created by the monks at the university. We will end on Sunday with a Eucharist in the oratory and head home around noon. Meals will be at the House of Prayer, but in order to keep costs down, we’ll plan and provide our own. They have a great kitchen and it will be fun to cook together. Cost will be around $100 per person. This includes two nights at the House of Prayer ($40 each night) and a use fee of the building. After meals are planned, well need to probably add a little to cover those costs. Help is available, so don’t let that stop you from signing up. There is room for about 2 more people.

POWER ANALYSIS WORKSHOP – April 19, (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.)

As part of our ongoing intention to learn more about racism and what we can do to stop it, we are offering a Power Analysis Workshop. Sheryl Boman from the People’s Institute North will lead the workshop, along with another colleague.
This workshop analyzes power. It examines why people are poor, how institutions and organizations perpetuate the imbalance of power, and who is responsible for maintaining the status quo. In the Fall, we will offer a second workshop, led by Sheryl, on ‘Defining Racism”.
This workshop is appropriate for teens and older. It is free (adult education funds pay for it), so invite someone to attend along with you. Sign up in the undercroft so we have a sense of how many might be present. It will be held at our Lakeside location.
This year, our focus on racism has included: Three Cups of Tea (reading the book and attending Greg Mortenson’s lecture), Loaves and Fishes meals and CHUM Immersion. In addition, there will be the second workshop in the Fall, a local Urban Adventure, and hopefully another CHUM Immersion, and another book to read together.

OPENING OUR DOORS/OPENING OUR HEARTS (April 4 & 5)

Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 835 West College Street
“From the Inside Out: A Denominational Look at Faith Equality”
Friday – 7:30 Concert by OVation (conference fundraiser)
Saturday – 1 – 8 p.m. (Conference, includes dinner)
Keynote Speaker: The Rev. Keith Kron from the UUA Office of GLBT Concerns

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (Film)

Three local showings of the film that traces the lives of four persons who came out to their families and friends when they were teens, how they have dealt with their homosexuality and how their families and churches have responded. It also looks at what scripture says and the various ways of interpreting scripture. The New York Times says, “confronts with whimsy and hellfire, the clash between religion and homosexuality”.
First Lutheran Church – Parish Hall, Thursday, March 27, 7 p.m.
College of St. Scholastic – Science Auditorium, Wednesday, April 9, 7 p.m.
First United Methodist Church – Social Hall, Sunday, April 13, 12:30 p.m.

Faith Formation Grant Meeting
We received $2000 from the Bishop’s Circle Grant Fund to use in the area of faith formation (allages). If you would like to help brainstorm how this might be
used, please plan to attend the first session on Sunday, April 13th, after worship. Ourlast grant was used to get our Godly Play program up and running, and that is going very well, thanks to Liz Maeshima and the storytellers.

Calendar

March 16 – Palm Sunday
March 19 – Greg Mortenson Talk (7 p.m.)
March 20 – Maundy Thursday (5:45 p.m.)
March 21 – Good Friday (12 pm, 5:30 p.m.)
March 22 – Great Vigil of Easter (7 p.m.)
March 23 – Easter Sunday (9:45 a.m.)
March 28 – 30 – TEC (St. Paul’s)
April 4,5,6 – Women’s Retreat
April 13 – Faith Formation Grant Mtg.
April 14 – Bishop’s Committee (5:30 p.m.)
April 19 – Power Analysis Workshop (9-12)
April 20 – Lector Workshop

There is more to courage than physical bravery. Moral courage is even more important, because it is needed all the time. It takes moral courage to question the received wisdom and to challenge those in power. This is sometimes called the heretical imperative. Those who follow this way are uncomfortable to live with, but they help societies cleanse and renew themselves. Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh

Lord, you see us as we are. Breathe into our minds and hearts the passion of your love.