Dear Friends:

One Sunday at St. Andrew’s, we heard visiting priest Reverend Donald Jones read the

parable in which Jesus tells of a so-called “good Samaritan” who stops to bandage the wounds

of, and otherwise care for, another traveler who has been robbed, beaten, and left by the side of

the road to die. Given the Samaritans’ lowly status and their reputation for bad behavior at the

time, Reverend Jones told us, the injured traveler, like Jesus’ hearers, would have had a hard

time believing that such a person as a “good Samaritan” could even exist. What’s more, two

other individuals, a priest and a Levite (who would have served at a holy temple), both of whom

might more reasonably have been expected to help, had already passed by without stopping. The

parable ends with Jesus offering the “good Samaritan” as a model of compassionate behavior and

saying “Go and do likewise.”

This parable, one of the simplest and clearest stories that Jesus tells, it seems to me, and certainly

one that I remember hearing at church from my earliest childhood, never fails to make me wince,

as I am forced to ask myself how often I have stopped to care for a stranger and how often I have

looked the other way because I had concerns of my own or just too much to do or because I

assumed that someone else would stop and help, relieving me of the obligation.

When we heard this parable most recently, it also reminded me of a wonderful short novel I have

just read, Small Things Like These, by the Irish writer Claire Keegan. I won’t tell you anything

about the book (in case you’d like to read it yourself, which I highly recommend!), except to

mention that Keegan raises this issue of stopping to care for someone who is suffering versus

looking the other way. Keegan—or, rather, one of her characters—asks this question: “Was there

any point in being alive without helping one another? Was it possible to carry on along through

all the years, the decades, through an entire life without once being brave enough to go against

what was there and yet call yourself a Christian and face yourself in the mirror?”

Just as when I hear the story of the “good Samaritan,” I felt a twinge when I read these lines,

because I had to ask myself once again how often I help others when it is inconvenient or

uncomfortable to me and how, if I do not help every single time, I can call myself a Christian.

I am humbled by those people I see (including many at St. Andrew’s) who really do put their

own concerns aside and come to the aid of others in need on a daily basis, whenever and

wherever they find them. I can only hope and pray—and decide—that continuing to hear, and

read, these challenging stories will give me the courage and conviction to do better, to be not like

the priest or the Levite who walked on by, but like the “good Samaritan” who stopped to help.

Carrie Klaus

Rev. Jen has set her office drop-in day as Wednesday of each week from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. for anyone who would like to stop in and visit. You are always invited to make an appointment for a time convenient for you. Mondays are her Sabbath day.

LENT SCHEDULE AND GUIDES
Click on links for Lent materials below:

First week of Lent
Lent and Easter Schedule
Lenten Discipline – Week 1 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
https://www.lentmadness.org/
Lenten Discipline – Week 2 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”

Lenten Taizé at Gobin, Wednesdays

Gobin and Saint Andrew’s are collaborating on Wednesday services this year. One of these collaborations will be hosted by Gobin, a weekly evening Taizé services that will give voice and time for considering grief. This Lenten Taizé Wednesday series will be offered 2/25, 3/4, 3/11, 3/18, 3/25 at 6:30pm.

St. Andrew’s Youth Murder Mystery Party, Friday, March 13th

Youth are invited to join us for an interactive murder mystery party and see if you can spot “whodunit!” This is an interactive game where people sign up to play a role for fun. It is open to all young adults, but please note that content may not be appropriate for all ages – it is a murder mystery after all!

Sign up for characters is available in Hamilton Hall. Friends are welcome to join but please provide an email for communications. Non Player Characters are available for adult chaperones to enjoy playing along.

Friday, March 13th

6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Cheese pizza will be available for all. Please consider bring a baked delight to share!

The Great Bake Down Murder!

World-renowned British baker, author, and artisan chef Barry Merry is finally retiring after over 40 years and 40 bakeries in 40 countries, and he’s giving one lucky person the chance of a lifetime: The keys to this multi-million-pound business.

We are in the final weeks, and Lennon Drizzle is the front runner with the most points, closely followed by Ed Velvet. One more challenge will crown the winner who will inherit the company.

When Lennon doesn’t immediately show up for filming, show runner Faye Ricake checks his trailer… and finds him dead! An opened box of suspicious smelling fruitcake points to a planned attack. But who was responsible for the deadly fruitcake attack!?

PROJECTS AND PARISH SPACE

We are blessed with ample and well organized spaces for our worship, fellowship, and outreach. However, things have a way of collecting at churches—as we found when Gwen Morris and Cathryn Ensley cleaned out the front closet. We want to know what’s going on! Please mark supplies or materials gathered for outreach with the name of the project and the name of the point person.

HEALING PRAYER

Most Sundays our intern Meghan will be offering anointing and healing prayer at Sunday services during communion. Meghan will set up a station in the narthex; meet there for general or specific prayers for healing.

EVENING PRAYER

Join us for Evening Prayer in the sanctuary on Tuesdays at 4:00. Evening Prayer is a wonderful service to wind down the day and move into the evening hours.

CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER – LENT SCHEDULE

Lenten Prayer: 7.45 am (pray where you are); 1.00 (contemplative prayer in sanctuary); 1.30 (Stations of the Cross, in sanctuary), 6.30 (Taizé at Gobin), 9.00 compline on-line (use St Andrew’s zoom from church web page). Details in Hamilton Hall.

ALTAR FLOWER CALENDAR

An altar flower calendar is posted in Hamilton Hall. Sign up to sponsor the altar flowers to commemorate a birthday or anniversary, remember a loved one, or in thanksgiving for an important event. We ask a donation to help offset the cost of the altar flowers and other worship expenses. Be sure to tell the office your dedication so that it can be printed in the bulletin. Please make checks payable to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and in the memo field please put this information: Altar Flowers, person’s name, occasion, Sunday date you’d like for the flowers to be on the altar.

VESTRY MEETING MINUTES

If any of you are interested in what your Vestry is doing, there are two copies of each month’s minutes on the music stand in Hamilton Hall. Feel free to read and return!

SHOPPING LIST FOR NON-FOOD PANTRY

Please add razors, shaving cream, laundry detergent, spray cleaner, and toilet bowl cleaner to your shopping list for the NFP for the month of January. Meals and conversation in Hamilton Hall are going well. Patrons are now able to pick out items they most need. Your contributions help our budget go farther in helping meet the needs of those in Putnam County. The next Non-Food Pantry will be Saturday, February 28, from noon – 2:00 p.m. If you can help with this ministry in any way, please contact Harriet Moore or Carl Huffman.

KROGER COUPONS

If you have any unwanted Kroger coupons, please bring them to Hamilton Hall and place in the window ledge near the “Little Library”. We would like to make them available to our Non-Food Pantry recipients so that they might be able to take advantage of them to help extend their food budget. Thanks in advance!

FREE DAILY DEVOTIONAL

We have some large print Day by Day daily devotionals in the sanctuary that you are free to take home for your personal devotions–and if we know that people would like copies, we can order the right amount. Many of you may also appreciate the on-line version of Day to Day. Click here.

We have heard that the daily reflections and scripture readings provided during Lent were appreciated. The meditations are written by persons from Gobin UMC and Beech Grove UMC. They will be in the newsletter each week. Whether you enjoy these every day or as the Spirit moves you, may this resource continue to bring you spiritual food for the journey. Blessings!

Click here to view the readings and accompanying links.

Your prayers are asked for:

Rabbi Adler, friend of Harry Maginity
Haile Bane, grandson of Joanne Haymaker
Beth Benedix, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
Jennifer Clarke, friend of Patti Harmless
Diane
Heather Cantonwine and family, friends of the Knuths
Angela Evans
Katie Gleichman, relative of Jim & Cathryn Ensley
Tom Kaiser, friend of Jen+ & Chris
Lynda, friend of Sarah Finlay-Black
Warren Macy
Jacob Majors, son of Renee Majors
Teresa Masten, friend of Karen & Jim Mannon
Sally Motsch, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
Mary Mountz
Sam Paris, grandson of Harry Maginity
Elizabeth & Natalie Sheffler, daughter & granddaughter of Page & Narda Cotton
Deloris Smith, friend of Emily Knuth
Luke Smith, son of Mark Smith
Skip Sutton
Larry Taylor, former member of St. Andrew’s
Donald Voermans, father of Nick Voermans
Dwight Ziegler, uncle of Stephanie Gurnon