Monthly Musings...From the Team Ministry.
By Lu Tax, Spirit of the Heartland Liturgist
The Great Vigil of Easter will be a joint Spirit of the Heartland event this year. It will be held on the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday. Church of Our Saviour in Little Falls has had an Easter Vigil for at least the last 6 years, sometimes on Saturday night, sometimes very early Easter Sunday morning. This year it will be celebrated at 7pm on April 19, at Our Saviour's in Little Falls. There will be a festive but simple reception following the service. (Maybe a little sherry…?) Some info about the service itself… The fire of the New Covenant is kindled out in the churchyard, and the Paschal Candle is lit from this fire. The Paschal Candle is then carried into the church in a candlelight procession, (where the rest of the service takes place) thus bringing the light of Christ into our midst. Stories from our sacred scriptures are told, surrounded by silence, psalms, and solemn prayers. The service continues with a great clamoring of bells, chimes, and tambourines, as we celebrate the Eucharist and the Good News that Christ is Risen! If you need a ride to any worship services, please contact Maren Kay Welsand, as your Family Life Team Minister at: 320-240-8504 or rmkwelsand@mn.astound.net Thanks be to God!
SUNDAY WORSHIP TIMES
9:00 am St. Stephen's in Paynesville
(320)243-2012
320 Wendell Street, Paynesville, MN 56362
10:00 am Our Saviour's in Little Falls
(320)-632-5731)
113 NE 4th Street (PO Box 344) Little Falls, MN 56345
11:00 am Good Samaritan in Sauk Centre
(320)-352-6882
529 Main Street (PO Box 205) Sauk Centre, MN 56378
WEDNESDAY NOON PRAYER
12:00 pm Our Saviour's in Little Falls
Worship During Lent and Easter:
of the Heartland Churches in Little Falls, Paynesville, and Sauk Centre are each holding special services Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Our Saviour's is also holding a special Easter Vigil. All members of the community are warmly invited to attend these services.
If you're able to get out and about the next couple of months, please join us for the following:
PRAYERS FOR:
Cynthia, Cindy, and Cedar
CELEBRATIONS FOR:
April Birthdays
Elaine Vanderpool, April 1
Pat Gillespie, April 2
Fran Svardahl, April 2
Harry Svardahl, April 6
Sarah Coltvet, April 10
Jan (Zippy) Zeman, April 11
Harriette Burkhalter, April 12
Andy Starin, April 16
Bill Chessman, April 22
Dorothy Peterson, April 23
Randy Welsand, April 28
Possible After-School Homework Project at Church of Our Savior
We have applied for a grant in order to set up an after-school homework support program using the new space at Church of Our Savior. We are seeking volunteers to work with the 3rd-5th grade kids, one afternoon a week. Please let Harriette Burkhalter know if you are interested in being one of these volunteers at: 320-453-7805 or 928-284-1690. We'll also be in need of a computer, so if you have one to donate, please let us know. We'll know in June whether we have the grant for sure. Thanks!
Ash Wednesday: This first day of Lent sets the pattern for our Lenten observance. The liturgy invites us to observe Lent as a holy journey…
Lent: After his baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus wandered in the desert for forty days. There, Satan tempted him, but he rejected the Prince of Darkness. Jesus turned away from anything that might separate him from God. Lent invites us to take a similar journey...to explore our lives and find those places where we have turned away from God. It is a time to heal those places, by returning to the arms of a faithful God who implores us to receive the gifts of his infinite grace and unconditional love. The Lenten journey is characterized by reflective activities: quiet times of prayer, fasting, solitude, reading scripture, and communion with God's people.
Holy Week-Easter: Lent concludes with this most important week of the church year.
Palm Sunday: We begin the service by remembering Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem through the Liturgy of the Palms. The palms are blessed and passed out to each member of the congregation. Then the palms are laid aside and the mood of the service shifts, as it becomes quiet and somber. Central to the second part of the service is the reading of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by members of the congregation. By participating in this gospel together we bring the events of that week into the present, and we become players in the greatest drama of human history. It prepares us to walk with Jesus and with one another, through the week ahead-sharing both the tragedy and the triumph that is Holy Week.
The Triduum (The Great Three Days): In our Episcopal tradition, we regard the time which includes the last supper, and the dying and rising of Jesus, as one event. Therefore our worship extends from sunset on Maundy Thursday through Good Friday, and the Easter celebrations. As you attend each service throughout this three-day period, you will notice that there is no Dismissal (people leave the church quietly after each service), until the Easter celebrations of The Great Vigil of Easter and the Easter morning services.
The Great Vigil of Easter: The fire of the New Covenant is kindled out in the churchyard, and the Paschal Candle is lit from this fire. The Candle is then carried into the church in procession, thus bringing the light of Christ into our midst. Stories from sacred scripture are told, surrounded by silence, psalms, and solemn prayers. The service continues with a great clamoring of bells, chimes, and tambourines, as we celebrate the Eucharist and the Good News that…Christ is Risen!
Easter morning: Each of our churches will have their own celebration of Holy Eucharist on Easter morning, but that is not the end of our celebration of Easter. The Easter season lasts for fifty days-until the Day of Pentecost-when the Holy Spirit descends on the disciples of our risen Lord, and the Church is born to declare the Good News of Jesus Christ. We invite you to experience the full celebration of Easter by gathering with your church family for all of these services.
If you are unable to do so, we encourage you to read these services in your Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 264, with Ash Wednesday If you need a ride to any worship services, please contact Maren Kay Welsand, as your Community Life Team Minister at 320-240-8504 or rmkwelsand@mn.astound.net
Peace to you all,
Lu Tax, Spirit of the Heartland Liturgist
Pancake Supper Fun for All! Everyone had a grand time at the SOH Good Samaritan Shrove Tuesday Event in March. We're planning another SOH event perhaps in May–this one will probably be a Mother's Day Tea Party at St. Stephen's. Maren Kay is still determining interest, etc., so be sure to give her a jingle if you like the idea. In the meantime, here's the yummy Welsand Family pancake recipe from Randy's mother. Enjoy!
1 cup milk in bowl, add 2 eggs and mix.
Add 2 TBSP. Sugar, 2 tsp. Baking Powder, 1/4 tsp. Salt, 1 cup flour and then blend all ingredients!
So What are We All Up To?
Planning Process Begins for Spirit of the Heartland Churches!
Your thoughts, ideas and opinions are most important as we seek to plan the future of our parishes.
Please take the time to respond to the Long Range Planning questionnaire that you will receive later in the Spring. The questions will cover many facets of our life together in the Spirit of the Heartland ranging from financial issues to service preferences.
Your responses will be tabulated and used to guide the TEAM as we plan for our future.
Look for the questionnaire soon!
Spirit of the Heartland Who's Who
Pat Gillespie, Pastoral Mentor, Priest in Charge, Webminister
Mary Ann Erdmann, Finance Administrator (Staff)
Kathy Bies-Jaede, Communications/Christian Education(Staff)
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Harriette Burkhalter, St. Stephen's, Lay Evangelist and Outreach Minister
Doris Dodds, St.Stephen's, Lay Evangelist and Outreach Minister
Rob Cavanna, St. John's, Priest Sacramentalist and Preacher
Cynthia Evans, Good Samaritan, Intercessor Emerita
Cedar Morrigan, Our Saviour's, Priest Sacramentalist
Johanna Morrigan, Our Saviour's, Deacon Preacher
Roger Phillips, Good Samaritan, Sacramentalist in Formation & Lay Intercessor
Lu Tax, Our Saviour's, Lay Liturgist
Maren Kay Welsand, St. John's, Lay Community Life Minister
Randy Welsand, St. John's, Priest Sacramentalist and Pastoral Care Minister
Jan (Zippy) Zeman, Our Saviour's, Lay Preacher
"Spirit of the Heartland" is a group of Episcopal churches in Central Minnesota where all the baptized members minister together in Total Ministry. Congregation members serve as a team in the ministerial leadership roles traditionally filled by a seminary-trained priest. Ministers from each congregation serve in all Spirit of the Heartland congregations. For more information contact www.motherflash.com/spirit or 1-866-553-4415 or 259-7153
1 Paynesville Ministerial, 9 am
LF EFM, 6:30 pm
St. John's EFM, 6:45 pm
4 Preachers at Good Sam., 12:30 pm
6 SOH Council Good Sam., 2 pm
8 St. John's EFM, 6:45 pm
10 Team Meeting, 9 am
11 MOTHER'S DAY!
13&27 Bible Study Good Sam., 12 pm
14 Our Sav. Vestry, 7 pm
15 LF EFM, 6:30 pm
18 Good Sam. Vestry, 12:10 pm
22 LF EFM, 6:30 pm
St. John's EFM, 6:45 pm
MINISTRY SCHEDULES
Good Samaritan
Our Saviour's
St. Stephen's
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