Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Teresa of Avila- mystic, reformer, and writer (1515-1582)
On February 10th we will once again begin our Lenten journey together. Lent is a particularly sacred time in our church calendar. It is a time of self-examination, repentance, and preparation for the coming of our Risen Lord at Easter. Whether we engage in fasting of some sort, adding a spiritual discipline, or both, I would like to invite all of us all to get in touch with our vulnerabilities and become completely real before God. For it is in our vulnerability that we can attain divine intimacy.
This Lent beginning on February 24, we will be joining St. James’, Groveland for a four week Lenten series. Here is a preview of what we will be focusing on:
On Sunday mornings we will be have book discussions with each of our parishes on the book Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. This will be in conjunction with our Wednesday evening series.
We have set aside 4 Wednesday evenings– from Feb 24- March 16. We will alternate between churches.
Here are the four topics:
1) Death and Dying in the Anglican Tradition
2) End of Life Decisions (health care proxy, living wills, DNR/ AND)
3) Wills and Planned Giving (Legacy)
4) Talking out loud about these things to loved ones/ Planning a funeral
We were thinking soup, bread and cheese suppers, and perhaps dessert to “liven the deathiness up a bit”…to quote Rev. Kit) Look for the teaser flyer included in this February Apostle.
The season of Lent is a particularly appropriate time to think and meditate on what it means to be mortal. How are we acting out love in the world and how are we being Christ’s hands and feet in the world. Also, how can I be prepared when the time comes for my earthy pilgrimage to come to an end and what legacy do I wish to leave behind.
As we journey together this Lent, may we all seek for our eyes to look with deep compassion on this world and to do something about it.
In the Name of our Crucified Lord,
Sarah+
“You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by your Word and Sacraments, prepared for those who love you.” (BCP p.379)
Outreach Mission Trip Meeting
Sunday, February 7, 2016
11:30 AM
French Memorial
If you have ever considered a Mission Trip to assist folks in need in other parts of our country, please join us, we are excited to plan our first ever trip!
If you are unable to attend but are interested in joining us on a trip, please contact Cheryl Means at threemeans@aol.com or 978-387-6170.
118 South Broadway
Lawrence, MA 01843
Corunummealcenter.org
The Cor Unum Meal Center welcomes hungry visitors for breakfast and dinner every day. To date, it has provided over 1 million free meals to thousands of men, women and children who suffer from hunger in Lawrence and the surrounding area. Additionally, it offers a warm, safe place for people to socialize.
The facility has only two employees yet typically serves about 700 meals a day. Therefore, it relies on “an army of generous volunteers” to fulfill its mission. People help by serving meals, bussing tables or cleaning in the kitchen.
Our next volunteer opportunity is scheduled for Friday, February 12th from 4-7 pm. Please click on the schedule below to sign up for any of our upcoming dates.
People’s Pantry
For the month of February St. Paul’s will be collecting personal care items such as lotion, chapstick, shampoo, and deodorant, as well as soups and hot chocolate packets for the People’s Pantry. We would like to focus specifically on these items so that there will be enough of them for all guests to receive them. The People’s Pantry is open to anyone in need, no questions asked, and is run 100 percent by volunteers…there are no salaries, no overhead, etc. Every penny is used for foods and other necessities for their clients. The pantry cannot accept expired or previously opened items and prefers regular sized items. Donations may be left in the church vestibule in the bin marked “The People’s Pantry.” If you would prefer to make a monetary donation checks are also accepted and should be made payable to: People’s Pantry. Should you have any questions please contact Stacey Cameron at 978-374-7057.
It’s UNDIE SUNDAY time again !
Most needed items: diapers and pull-ups of all sizes and NEW children’s underwear in small sizes. Please bring your donations to church each Sunday in Lent.
Monetary donations (and coupons dated after April 1, 2016) are also welcome.Checks should be made out to “Communities Together” (with “diaper and underwear drive” written on the memo line) and mailed to:
Communities Together, Inc.
P.O. Box 428
Lawrence, MA 01842
The collection will be distributed by Communities Together to approximately 10 social service agencies that serve needy families locally.
Starting Sunday, February 14th, please place your donations of diapers, underwear and socks in the vestibule at Church in the basket labeled “Undies Sundays”, thank you!
THE CRAFTY LADIES
The Crafty Ladies meet periodically during the year on Wednesdays at 12:30 P.M., working on crafts for the annual Christmas Faire. The group includes Corrine Hall, Chris Herrmann, Kathy Brown, Linda Doherty, Lili Fundeklian, Marti Vicens, Anne Barney, Margie Britton, Anne Edwards, Tracy Wakeman, and Leslie Kalafarski. Ideas for crafts are suggested, supplies are brought in, and amid fellowship and good fun, we create our items for the craft table. We are always looking for new ideas and more ladies to join us. If you enjoy working on crafts, please contact Marlene Smith (603-382-8151) or any of the ladies listed above. We would enjoy your company and appreciate your help.
Marlene Smith
Corrine Hall
Christine Herrmann
Craft Organizers
Woman’s Book Group
The next meeting of the Women’s Book Group will be on Tuesday, February 9th at 7pm, right after the pancake supper, in the French Memorial. The book selection is Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The book is available in several formats through the Merrimack Library Consortium.
Book description:
This novel is 225 pages.
Mrs. Dalloway takes place on one day in the middle of June 1923. Its plot is seemingly thin: a middle-aged society hostess is having a party; she hopes the Prime Minister will attend; she reconnects with old friends from her youth. From these slimmest of premises a whole world unfolds. Of all of Virginia Woolf’s novels, it is Mrs. Dalloway that appears to speak most intimately to our own time.
During the meeting on January 14th, the group discussed The Year of Living Bibically by A. J. Jacobs.
Special thanks to Christine Herrmann for leading the discussion and Tracy Wakeman for the snacks!
Mark your calendars for the March meeting! The book choice is Sinners and the Sea: The Untold Story of Noah’s Wife by Rebecca Kanner. Please note the meeting date change while we are in lent. We are meeting on TUESDAY, March 15th.
See you February 9th!
Please mark your calendars
Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 5 p.m.
Send your chili and cookie entries to Leslie Kalafarski – lpkalafarski@verizon.net
Looking for judges who like to sample many varities of chili.
Lower Merrimack Valley Collaborative: LMVC
For the past 5 years our parish has joined together with 5 other Episcopal parishes in this part of the Merrimack Valley Deanery. A Deanery is a grouping of parishes in the diocese and each Deanery has a Dean – a clergy person who serves a parish in that area and also serves the Bishop by offering counsel in monthly deans meetings, and offering pastoral support to the other clergy in the Deanery. The group of parishes in our part of the Deanery that have banded together to be the LMVC are: St. James’ Amesbury, St. James’ Groveland, Trinity Haverhill, St. Paul’s, Newburyport, St. Paul’s North Andover, and All Saints’ West Newbury. We have strengthened bonds of fellowship and support across parish boundaries and undertaken ministry and mission that we can do more fully and joyfully together than we can alone.
Over the last 3 years we have received grants from the Diocesan Congregational Development Grant program to fund a Lead Coordinator position at 10 hours a week and Helen Pickard has been serving in that position. She is a lively, enthusiastic presence that keeps us moving forward together. We are fortunate to have Helen in this role. Each of our parishes is asked to make a $500 contribution from our parish budgets each year as a good faith match to the diocesan grants.
Here are several of the LMVC events and initiatives that stand out from 2015:
· Progressive Lent Program: Tourist, Missionary, Pilgrim – engaging with issues of violence in our communities
· Easter Vigil at St. Paul’s, North Andover
· Summer Series of Labyrinth Walks
· LMVC Youth joined in Bishop Tom’s Team in Amesbury Relay for Life
· Clergy Summer Vacation Pastoral Coverage again shared among our clergy
· Fall Choir & Musicians Workshop
· LMVC Confirmation Preparation Course with youth, clergy and lay leaders from Groveland, Newburyport and North Andover
Throughout the year we also share information with each other on a regular basis through our e-news and newsletters so that events in one parish are known about and open to members from our sister parishes – examples are concerts, evening prayer services, dinners. We have also come together to attend special diocesan events such as ordinations or confirmation services.
For 2016 our six LMVC parishes have split into pairs to hold our annual Vestry Retreats. The idea is to bring lay leaders from our parishes together to get to know each other better and to share wisdom and challenges that we all face in our ministries. St. Paul’s will be joining with Trinity Haverhill on Saturday February 27, 2016 with Amy Cook, Missioner for Education, Formation & Discipleship at the diocese.
We look forward to the many ways God calls us to be an Episcopal Church in this area as we head into another year of fellowship and ministry together!
Spare Change Sunday
The first Sunday of every month is SPARE CHANGE SUNDAY.
The loose change given in the plate benefits our Church School youth’s Heifer Project ministry.
