A Message from the gathering of Bishops:
This month Bishop Jennifer met with fellow Bishops at the House of Bishops gathering, below is a reflection and message of hope to inspire all congregants.
Dear people of God:
Grace and peace to you in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction
The bishops of The Episcopal Church gathered from March 17-24 at Camp Allen Conference Center in Navasota, Texas. Our gathering included 122 bishops and bishops-elect, representing 89 dioceses and special ministries across 17 countries and territories. As we conclude our meeting, we give thanks for the mutual affection and fruitful collaboration we experience during our time together, and we renew our commitment to bear witness with clarity and unity to the transforming power of the Gospel.
Reflections from our meeting
Our gathering was focused primarily on the challenges and opportunities before us as a church. We welcomed 12 representatives from Episcopal seminaries and local formation programs to engage in thoughtful dialogue about the state of theological education and our need to better integrate traditional and innovative modes of discernment, recruitment, and training for future clergy and lay leaders. We explored possibilities for expanding the work of church planting and the redevelopment of existing congregations. We reflected on our relationships within the Anglican Communion, including discussion of The Nairobi-Cairo Proposals and expressed our concerns regarding the urgency to change the definitions and structures of the communion. We rejoiced in the election of the Rt. Rev. Alba Sally Sue Hernandez Garcia as primate of the Anglican Church of Mexico. Finally, we issued a courtesy resolution celebrating the installation of the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury.
While engaged in this important work for the church, we gathered each day to pray for the church and the world. We prayed for a swift conclusion to the armed conflict with Iran; the wars in Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar; and all hostilities across the globe. We prayed for peace in the Holy Land, for Archbishop Hosam Naoum, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and for all those living in the reality of violence in that region. We prayed for healing and reconciliation among the nations of the world, that there may be justice and peace on the Earth. We prayed for those who are victims of injustice and discrimination, terror and war, and the pervasive degradation of human dignity. We prayed for strength and courage to continue the robust and tangible response in our respective dioceses to the myriad and varied challenges before us. And yet, in the face of these challenges, we are not without hope.
A word of hope
We find our hope in God’s promises as made known to us in the words and actions of Jesus Christ. Christian hope is the sure and present confidence, grounded in the resurrection of Jesus, that suffering is not the end. Hope is the stubborn trust that God is not finished. Even in the shadow of the cross, God is already at work, bringing life out of death.
This promise of hope is central to the story of the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). Jesus stands before the tomb of his friend, surrounded by grief and despair, and a community aching for his intervention. It is precisely in the moment when all hope seems lost that Jesus speaks the Word of life. There is hope because “even in death, Lazarus has access to the voice of life.” Jesus, the Word of God, commands Lazarus to “come forth,” and that same divine Word immediately calls the gathered community to “unbind him and let him go.”
In our present moment, in a world ravaged by war and the degradation of human dignity, Jesus is still speaking the Word of life. There is hope in this moment, because even in the face of grief, death, and despair, we have access to the voice of life—the voice of the One who calls us to participate in the Gospel mission of unbinding those who are held captive by the bonds of injustice and ensnared by the cords of corruption and oppression. We do not raise the dead; God alone does that. But we are summoned into the tender, deliberate work of unbinding, of participating in resurrection by loosening the grave clothes that still cling.
It is in this hope, as those who have received life and heard the voice of life, that we go forth in faith to bear witness to the resurrection, to unbind what is still bound, and to trust in Christ’s promise to make all things new.
As we prepare to celebrate the Paschal feast, with the hope of the resurrection ever before us, may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Connect With Us
Rector’s Office Drop-In Time
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.
The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
In-Person Sunday Morning Worship Service, March 29, led by the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Oldstone-Moore,10:15 a.m.
You can stream the service via St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Greencastle, Indiana Facebook Page. Click on this link to view the Live Stream. We will start the Live Stream 5 minutes prior to the start of the service.
Click here for the service booklet for this service.
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The Latest Updates
EASTER FLOWERS
If you are interested in making an offering of Easter flowers as a remembrance gift, forms are available at the exit to Hamilton Hall.
EASTER SUNDAY BRUNCH
Easter Brunch pitch-in and egg hunt immediately after service on Easter. Trudy Selvia will be emailing for volunteers and sign-up for pitch in.
Prayers for Others
If you have prayers that you would like offered on Sunday–prayers of thanksgiving, for those in trouble or sickness, or those who have died and those who grieve, please call in or send an email to Michelle. The names will be said aloud on Sunday for four consecutive weeks and then cycled off. If you would like the prayers continued, please tell Michelle and the names will be added to the long-term prayer list.
TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY
Starting Lent, we will focus on a series called “Walking the Palm Sunday Path.” I will be inviting the whole congregation to use the materials for their own Lenten practice, and will send links and some printed copies out. In addition, the sermons in Lent will preach on these texts.
I am attaching Week One materials here. I will also bring the printed handouts that were not picked up in church on Sunday to our meetings.
I will be drawing from (and you can find out more here):
We will return to Chinese Religion—and other religions, if you wish—when Lent is done and our alleluias have returned.
In peace,
Jen+
LENT SCHEDULE AND GUIDES
Click on links for Lent materials below:
First week of Lent
Lent and Easter Schedule
https://www.lentmadness.org/
Lenten Discipline – Week 1 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
Lenten Discipline – Week 2 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
Lenten Discipline – Week 3 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
Lenten Discipline – Week 4 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
Lenten Discipline – Week 5 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
Lenten Discipline – Week 6 “Walking the Palm Sunday Path”
Holy Week Schedule
- Maundy Thursday 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s
- Good Friday 12.00 pm, St. Andrew’s 7.00 pm, Gobin Memorial UMC
- Holy Saturday 10.30 am, St. Andrew’s
- Easter Vigil, Saturday 8.23 am, beginning at Gobin Memorial
- Easter Sunrise Service 6.30 am, St. Andrew’s Memorial Garden
- Festal Easter Service 10.15 am, St. Andrew’s
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.
EPISCOPAL 101, SUNDAYS 11:45-12:45
Continuing this month, Episcopal 101, a gathering to learn about the Episcopal church–what we do, how we pray and worship, our history, and more. All are welcome.
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 DURING LENT
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. Please scroll down to view the distribution dates and latest updates. 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.
Non-Food Pantry Latest
Saturday, March 28
• Noon to 2:00 p.m.
There will be a distribution in Hamilton Hall and light lunches will be served inside. We are grateful for all those who have worked so hard to obtain supplies for the Non-Food Pantry. Items are having to be purchased from a variety of sources making it much more expensive. Donations to help offset this extra cost will be gratefully accepted!
Top 3 Needed Items
Your prayers are asked for:
Haile Bane, grandson of Joanne Haymaker
Beth Benedix, friend to many at St. Andrew’s
Jennifer Clarke, friend of Patti Harmless
Diane * Judy *
Heather Cantonwine and family, friends of the Knuths
Angela Evans
Family of 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 and Susan Maginity
Gene Shaw, brother-in-law of Patti Harmless
Elizabeth & Natalie Sheffler, daughter & granddaughter of Page & Narda Cotton
Deloris Smith, friend of Emily Knuth
Jenny Smyth, niece of Patti Harmless
Luke Smith, son of Mark Smith
Skip Sutton
Larry Taylor, former member of St. Andrew’s
Donald Voermans, father of Nick Voermans
Catherine Waggoner, friend of JOM+
Dwight Ziegler, uncle of Stephanie Gurnon
Diocesan Cycle of Prayer: Good Samaritan, Brownsburg, The Rev. James Said
Our companion dioceses: The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil: The Most Rev. Mauricio Jose Araujo De Andrade, Primate of Brazil and Bishop of Brasilia. The people and Diocese of Haiti and Saint Andre’s Parish and school in Mithon.
Anglican Cycle of Prayer: The Anglican Church of Melanesia
Birthdays: Rev. Jen Oldstone-Moore, Mar. 27; Thom Morris, Mar. 28; Carrie Klaus, Mar. 29
Anniversaries: none
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