Spirit of the Eagle – April 2014

Rector’s Reflections
Easter, the name of the day we celebrate Our Lord’s Resurrection, comes from an old Anglo-Saxon festival in honor of their goddess, named ‘Eostre.’ In the early Church it was common to acquire or adopt names or dates of pagan festivals in order to replace them with Christian holy days. The name Easter was kept but the meaning of the day changed entirely once it was made Christian. The original name for the Feast of the Resurrection was ‘Pascha’, which is a Greek word that comes from the Hebrew word ‘pesakh’ or Passover. And just as Death is beaten in the book of Exodus because God forces it to ‘passover’ the Hebrews, so God has beaten back Death in the Resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. His rising from the dead brings the promise of Resurrection to all of us who believe. Easter is the grandest celebration of the year of our faith in Jesus and all He has done for us. Please join us on Easter Day, and for all the Holy Days leading up to it, as we commemorate the climactic events of Our Lord’s life as He wins our Redemption. God Bless.
+++Fr. Bryan Newman+++

Wednesday Night Service: Holy Communion
With the coming of Easter this month, our Wednesday night Holy Communion service will shorten a bit as the Stations of the Cross will be put aside until next Lent. Our focus returns to the reception of Our Lord’s Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist and reflections on the lives of the Saints. Please consider joining us for that mid-week boost to receive ‘spiritual food for your spiritual journey’ every Wednesday at 6 pm.

Soup and Salad Dinner Thank Yous
This is our special opportunity to thank the wonderful ladies of the A.C.W. for providing the delicious Soup & Salad dinners during Lent. While there are still 2 of them in April, once Holy Week arrives we will put them aside until next Lent. The dedication and effort of the A.C.W. in providing these fellowship meals cannot be appreciated enough. Also, lest we forget, the Men of the Parish (with some special help from a few of the ladies) did a great job in providing the Soup & Salad dinner on St. Joseph’s day, which was very well attended. Thank you one and all!!!

End of the Month Club
The End of the Month Club will be on hiatus until further notice.

+++Holy Week Schedule+++
4/13 Palm Sunday 10:30 am
4/17 Maundy Thursday 6:30 pm
4/18 Good Friday 12:00 pm
4/18 Evening Prayer/Stations 3:00 pm
4/20 Easter 10:30 am

Choir Practice and Services
We have a small dedicated group that works diligently to give praise to God in song, won’t you consider singing with them? Practice is every Wednesday at 7 pm and most Sundays immediately following the Mass. As always we need more choir members and if you would like to help us make a joyful noise unto the Lord we would love to have you join the Choir!

Vestry Meeting
Until the Easter season is well under way the monthly Vestry Meeting will be on Sundays! The date for the Vestry Meeting for April is set for the second Sunday of the month, on the 13th, at about 12 PM. If you are a member of the Vestry please make plans to be present and if the 2nd Sunday is inconvenient for any of you please let Fr. Newman know as soon as possible.

The Flight of the Eagle
It was Fr. Stork, (of fond memory to many in this Parish) who shared a record of his activities with the Parish on a regular basis. It is in his honor and inspiration that we include the ‘Flight of the Eagle’ which is a record of my activities as your pastor over the month just past. Below are the visits and other events, I made in the month of March. I prayed with those I visited and gave them Holy Communion and Anointed them when needed.
+++God Bless, Fr. Bryan Newman+++

3/1 visited Kathy Hougham @ St. E’s Edewood
3/9 visited Kathy Houghan @ Highland Springs
3/16 visited Janet Dosch @ Rosedale Green
3/16 visited Dom Benedict @ Rosedale Green
3/17 visited Bob Schmerge @ St. E’s Florence
3/30 visited Kathy Hougham @ Highland Springs

Spiritual Tidbits for April from Father Tim
St. Peter Martyr 1206-1252 AD, Feast Day 29th of April.

Also called Peter of Verona, an inquisitor and martyr. Peter was born at Verona, Italy, in 1205. Both of his parents were Catharists, a heresy that denied God created the material world. Even so, Peter was educated at a Catholic school and later at the University of Bologna. While in Bologna, Peter was accepted into the Dominican Order by St. Dominic. He developed into a great preacher, and was well known for his inspiring sermons in the Lombardy region. In addition, around the year 1234, he was appointed by Pope Gregory IX as inquisitor of Northern Italy, where many Catharists lived. Peter’s preaching attracted large crowds, but as inquisitor he made many enemies.

In 1252, while returning from Como to Milan, he was murdered by a Catharist assassin at the age of forty-six. The following year, he was canonized by Pope Innocent IV. Although his parents were members of a heretical sect, St. Peter of Verona was strong in his Catholic Faith.

However, his faithfulness to the Gospel message in his preaching as a Dominican, brought about much opposition, and eventually Peter paid with his life for preaching the truth. One of the hazards of preaching and living the Gospel is that we must be considered undesirable according to worldly values. With faith in the Father, and as his children, we are called to stand firm and never waver from the truth in the face of death. His feast day is April 29th.

Holy Week and Easter are here! Spring is erupting (finally) all around us! April will be a busy Church month. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and the hope of the coming Messiah, but soon after a darkness begins closing in toward Good Friday that tests the strength of our faith. And just when the darkness reaches its blackest depth Easter Sunday suddenly erupts in charity with a brightness “no fuller on earth” could have accomplished. The old creation had died in the night. A new day has dawned. One again God walks in the garden (St. John 20: 15) in the semblance of a gardener, in the cool not of the evening as He did with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3: 8), but this time in the cool morning dawn of a new creation. ~Father Tim

The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.
~The Father Brown Omnibus.

•••

April Spirituality Class

Please join me after Mass on the 27th of April to discuss personal prayer, especially prayer utilizing the Book of Common Prayer and other types of Prayer Books. Please bring your questions and I will bring an assortment of examples, doing my best to explain how to use them properly. Prayer is one of the most powerful components of our spiritual life and we need to use it for all its potential. Please come and bring a special guest! ~Father Tim

•••

Propound to your eyes and heart the example of the holy Jesus upon the cross; He endured more for thee than thou canst either for thyself or Him: and remember that if we be put to suffer, and do suffer, in a good cause, or in a good manner, so that in any sense our sufferings be conformable to His sufferings, or can be capable of being united to His, we shall reign together with Him. The high-way of the cross, which the King of sufferings hath trodden before us, is the way to ease, to a kingdom, and to felicity.

~ Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living, Holy Dying

•••

Good Friday Stations of the Cross
Please join me at 3 p.m. at Saint John’s for the Good Friday Stations of the Cross as we commemorate the hour of our Savior’s death. I will arrive early around 2:30 PM for discussion or questions. We will depart after the Stations in silence, contemplating what Christ did for all mankind. Jesus hung on the cross for six hours for you, for me, for us. Unlike most of His followers, let us gather along side His mother, Mary Magdalene, and John and walk the path alongside of Him as He makes the world anew. ~Father Tim

•••

There are any number of people now who would say, sincerely if superficially, that it is morbid to stand at all under the Stations of the Cross. As I have noted, they are not altogether consistent. While accusing their fathers of being morbid about faith, they have not even rebuked their contemporaries for being much more morbid about doubt. They have tolerated modern literature [and movies, TV, video games, etc…] which is even darker with defeat and despair; on condition that it contains nothing but defeat and despair. ~ G.K. Chesterton, The Way Of The Cross.

•••

I will pray your Holy Week is holy, meaningful, and full of new beginnings. Try your best to bring a loved one to church who has no relationship with Christ this Easter Sunday. Do not let them sleep in like the soldiers guarding the tomb. Bring them, so they too can witness the empty tomb, and walk with Jesus in the cool of the morning. God bless you! He is risen! ~ Father Tim

ACW News and Events
ACW Meetings – All members of the Parish are welcome to join the ACW. Meetings have been changed to the first Sunday of the month after Mass, with the exception of the summer months, during which no meetings will be held. Dues are $5, payable to Treasurer Brenda Strong. ACW will now sponsor coffee hour the second Sunday of each month.

Lenten Soup and Salad Dinners – Thanks to all who have hosted, contributed and participated in the Lenten Soup and Salad dinners after each Wednesday Mass and Stations of the Cross. Join us for pizza, prayer, and fellowship for the last gathering on April 9th.

St. John’s Annual Spaghetti Dinner – Mark your calendars for the annual spaghetti dinner on Saturday, April 26th from 4:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Invite your family, friends and neighbors and purchase tickets for $7 for adults, $3.50 for children from Brenda Strong. Dessert donations of brownies and cookies are needed. Raffles will be held throughout the dinner and donations of sweets, baskets, crafts and gift cards are needed. Volunteers will be needed to contribute to all aspects of the event, including set up, cooking, serving, tear down and clean up, etc. Look for a sign-up sheet and list of duties in the parish hall and please add you name. Volunteers are asked to be in the church hall ready to work by 2 p.m. and please wear your St. John’s shirt. Thanks to everyone for your support and contributions to the ACW.

April Birthdays & Anniversaries
Brittany Butler – Birthday – April 13
Ethan Whalen – Birthday – April 15
Robert & Mrs. Hooks – Anniversary – April 22
Carol Petrie – Birthday – April 22
Ashley Bouldin – Birthday – April 23
Wilma Herklotz – Birthday – April 25
Mike & Julie Murray – Anniversary – April 28

EASTER FLOWER MEMORIALS
MONEY IS DUE ON PALM SUNDAY (April 13) – TO JOYCE MURRAY PAYABLE TO SJC- MEMO: EASTER FLOWERS