Frontpage, April 30, 2017

 Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects 

Shred-it, May 3, 4:30pm-5:30pm. Do yourself and the environment a favor — get rid of the sensitive documents you do not need to keep – those 10 year old bills, tax documents, recipts. Let Shred-it make sure your documents are securely destroyed.  Bring your boxes to St. Peter’s. We would appreciate a donation of $5 per box to pay for the truck and generate funds for St. Peter’s ministries.

Link to the reports from Jan 15 Annual Meeting

Daily "Day by Day"

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.  

Sacred Space

Your daily prayer online, since 1999

"We invite you to make a ‘Sacred Space’ in your day, praying here and now, as you visit our website, with the help of scripture chosen every day and on-screen guidance."

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, April 30 – May 7

April 30 – Easter 3  

End of April, flowers and scenes

From Last week… 

Sunday, April 30, Easter 3   

The Week Ahead…

 

• $560 collected from over 100 boxes donated on a beautiful spring afternoon.

   

• After paying for the truck – +$335 for St. Peter’s Outreach ministries
   
• Thanks to Andrea Pogue for conceiving of this project and for her leadership over 6 years. 

Here’s the story and photo gallery

Travel the Road to Emmaus beginning Wed. May 13, 6pm.. This 6 week class is for everyone and especially those in preparation for reaffirmation, confirmation or reception. Learn about ways the church can help you to increase your faith. Renew your relationship with God. Refresh your knowledge about the church.

These classes will be held on Wednesday, May 10; Wednesday, May 17: Tuesday, May 23; Wednesday, May 31; Tuesday, June 6, and Wednesday, June 14th. We’ll begin with a simple supper at 6PM, followed by learning and discussion which will end by 8PM each evening. Not only will we have fun together, but we’ll learn a lot together.  Topics include:

1. Beginnings: Baptism and Confirmation, The Bible. Knowing our History
2. Faith: What do we believe? 
3. Worship: Responding to God’s blessings;
4. Sacraments: Signs of Grace;
5. Spirituality: Created for Prayer;
6. Navigating the Church: From Local to Worldwide Church and The Mission of God: What’s your Ministry?

Please let Catherine know if you plan to attend.

We are in Eastertide until Pentecost, June 4

Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply.  There are a number of questions.

Is Resurrection just about death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) ? Is Resurrection of Jesus is a precursor to your own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) ? Does it say something about our own ability to expect to see Jesus (Luke 24) ? How does the new Christian community begin to function making Christ the central part of daily life ? (Acts 2)  

Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurection tangible. The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence.  Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church.

Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 29th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.This fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all  peoples and nation.  Note that the Old Testament lessons are replaced by selections from the Book of Acts, recognizing the important of the growth of the church.  

 Lectionary, May 7,  Easter 4

I.Theme –   Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the many ways this is fulfilled.

 "Jesus the Good Shepherd" Jacques Le Breton and Jean Gaudin (1933)

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Acts 2:42-47
Psalm – Psalm 23, Page 612
Epistle –1 Peter 2:19-25
Gospel – John 10:1-10 

The first weeks from Easter were different lenses on the resurrection and appearances of the Risen Lord. After this Sunday attention will turn to the teachings of the departing Jesus and the role of the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost. But this week its the shepherd/ sheep image as a way of talking about the enduring and deep connection of Jesus and those who follow him

Psalm 23 provides the role of God as good shepherd in terms of  defense (protection amd care and the idea we having nothing to fear) but also in direction ( guidance, reviving our lives).  

The final verse of the Epistle makes the connection to Good Shepherd Sunday. "For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." Suffering isolates. This passage and Christian faith connect and keep us connected when suffering.

John’s reading speaks of Jesus as both the Shepherd and the gate. The connection is both personal and loving.   He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."   We have to listen to his voice and watch out for strangers. There are those who are false shepherds, who are more interested in themselves than in caring for the sheep. The final verse, "I came that they may
have life and have it abundantly" is a good corrective to what can be an
overemphasis on selflessness, self-sacrifice, deprivation and denial as the sign of true faith.  Jesus speaks of abundance not in terms of material goods but a fullness in life.

Read more from the lectionary 

 Maximilian Kolbe, a sphepherd caring for his people

From a sermon by Rev. William D. Oldland, "Jesus is the Shepherd and the Gate"  about Maximiliam Kolbe 

"His life exemplifies the role of a caring shepherd for his flock. His life is also a gate or perhaps a gateway through which we can see the effect of the incredible love of God.  

"The priest’s name was Maximilian Kolbe. He was born in 1894 in Poland. His parents were poor. His father was a weaver. At an early age he had a vision. He had prayed to Mary and asked what was to become of him. In response Mary came to him in this vision holding two crowns. One was red and the other was white. The white one symbolized perseverance in purity and the red one meant martyrdom. She asked which one he would choose. He said he would accept them both. This decision shaped his future actions and would one day come true.  

" In 1910, he entered the Franciscan order and he was ordained a priest in 1919 in Rome. On his return to Poland he was a teacher of church history and he built a friary outside of Warsaw. The friary grew until it housed 762 Franciscans. He went to Japan and India and started friaries there as well. In 1936, he returned to supervise the friary in Warsaw. When Germany invaded he sent the friars home to protect them. He was a good shepherd to his flock. He was imprisoned for a while. But when he was released he went back to the friary where he took in three thousand refugees. 2,000 of these refugees were Jewish. Those friars who worked with him shared all they had with the refugees. They shared their clothing, the little food that they had, and anything else that was useful.

As you can imagine the Germans became suspicious and in 1941 they closed the friary arresting Maximilian and four other brothers. They were all transported to Auschwitz. At the camp Maximilian endured many hardships. No one had enough food. Clothing was inadequate for the cold. Shelter was not much help from the cold either. Maximilian was known to move among the prisoners with gentleness. At night he did not rest. He moved from bunk to bunk identifying himself as a priest and asking if they needed anything from him. He listened to confessions and heard their pleas for consolation. He continued to be a shepherd to his flock. 

Read the rest of the story about Father Kolbe