Holy Week Announcements

HOLY WEEK BEGINS WITH PALM SUNDAY - the calendar on the reverse side of this sheet lists the complete schedule of services. You are urged to make every effort to attend these most solemn services of the Christian year. These services have a wonderful cathartic effect and will truly make your Easter very joyful and special.

LAST CALL FOR EASTER FLOWER DONATIONS - please include your donation in the envelope from your pledge card box or make certain your donation is clearly marked for “flowers” ~ also everyone is invited to bring flowers to the Altar of Repose anytime during the Watch Before the Altar.

THIS MAUNDY THURSDAY’S SERVICE begins in the Parish Center with a Seder Meal representing the Lord’s Supper, Washing of the Feet, then to the Church for the remainder of the High Mass with the procession to the Altar of Repose and the Stripping of the Altars. Please sign up on the dinner sign-up sheet located on the ushers’ cabinet.

ALTAR OF REPOSE - the schedule and sign-up sheets for a Watch before the Altar of Repose are in the back of church. “Would you not watch with Me for one hour?”

EASTER CONFESSIONS - your preparation for Easter communion should include an examination of conscience and making your confession. This is a traditional and good way to get yourself ready to greet the Resurrection. An introduction and help sheet is available in the rear of the church, and the times of confession are listed within Holy Week Calendar. Please prayerfully consider this excellent spiritual exercise for your life.

BRING AND RING YOUR BELLS - participate in ringing your very own bells throughout the Gloria (along with a great organ fanfare and singing) at the Easter Vigil service.

EASTER VIGIL BREAK-FAST - everyone is invited to the Parish Center to break the fast and welcome the newly baptized after the Easter Vigil service. Special dishes of eggs, fruit, and hot cross buns will be served. Sign-up sheet located on the ushers’ cabinet.

!!RISE AND SHINE! Please note that due to the Easter Vigil service, we will not have Sunday School or the 5:00 PM Mass on the Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day.

AN EASTER EGG HUNT IS BEING PLANNED FOR 9:00 AM EASTER MORNING. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP WITH THE PREPARATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT Toni Sue Brooks. We could use: plastic Easter eggs, dyed real eggs, and candy for inside the plastic eggs. Just drop off your donations in the basket in the back of church or simply stop by the church office. Thank you in advance for your kind generosity.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN will meet THIS Wednesday at 10 am in the Parish Center. The meeting will be over in time for the Healing Mass at 12:10. All women are invited.

PARISH OFFICE CLOSED Good Friday and Easter Monday.

Holy Week Calendar 2008

March 17th— Monday in Holy Week
5:30 PM: Low Mass (for nuclear disarmament)

March 18th— Tuesday in Holy Week
7:00 PM: Evening Prayer

March 19th — Wednesday in Holy Week
10:00 AM: ECW Meeting ~ Parish Center
11:45 AM: Confessions
12:10 PM: Healing Mass
7:00 PM: Tenebrae Service - Church

March 20th— Maundy Thursday
7:00 PM: Parish Center ~- Liturgy of the Word - Institution of the Lord’s Supper with Sermon, Procession to the Altar of Repose, Stripping of Altars and the Beginning of the Watch at 9 PM
with Bishop Smith a special guest

March 21st— Good Friday ~ Strict Fast and Abstinence
11:00 AM: Confessions
12:00 Noon: Way of the Cross and Homily
7:00 PM: Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday
Fast until after the Vigil

March 22nd— Holy Saturday~ Special Devotion & Self-Denial
8:30 AM: Liturgy of the Day
9:00 to 10:00 AM: Confessions
7:00 PM: The Great Vigil of Easter, the Service of Light, Holy Baptism and the First High Mass of Easter
Lenten Fast Ends
We will break the fast and celebrate with the newly baptized following the Mass.

March 23rd— The Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day
7:30 AM: Morning Prayer
8:00 AM: Mass with Homily
9:00 AM: Children’s Easter Egg Hunt
9:45 AM: Child Care
10:00 AM: High Mass with Sermon

Announcements

We ~ the parishioners, vestry and the rector ~ congratulate St. Michael’s Parish Day School community, students, teachers, staff and head on this special occasion of their 50^th anniversary.

Deo Gratias

Casa Maria ~ Parish Center. Casa Maria Volunteers will meet THIS FRIDAY at 6:00 pm, in the Parish Center to prepare sack lunches. Your help is needed – the volunteers can always use a few extra hands and SHELLED hard boiled eggs. Join them for fellowship and to help with this good work.

NAME CHANGE – Social Concerns Committee is changing its name to St. Michael’s SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God,” as well as our Baptismal covenant to “strive for justice and peace among all peoples, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Next meeting is March 9, following 10 AM Mass. EVERYONE is always welcome. Come join us – new name, new faces, new input.

The Barnabas Group of encouragement for those who have experienced a loss at sometime meets monthly. Next meeting Monday March 10 at 11:30 am, at the Old Pueblo Grill located at 60 North Alvernon Way. Please call Peggy Speese for reservations at least three days prior to the meeting.

MASS FOR HEALING AND LAYING ON OF HANDS CONTINUES EVERY WEDNESDAY at 12:10 PM with celebrant the Rev.John Smith. All are welcome. If you know of someone who would like Annointing of the sick and is not able to attend Mass, please contact the Parish office or Fr. Smith and he will come to their home.

MASS FOR CHURCH UNITY CONTINUES EVERY FRIDAY at 12:10 PM with celebrant the Rev. Carey Womble. All are encouraged to attend as we pray for Church Unity.

Upcoming Events
Parish Life is Growing!! When will we see YOU?!

Hopefully we will be able to attend a spring training baseball game the last week in March ~ after Easter.

In early April, join us for dinner at Zeman’s (Ethiopian food). We are also planning a hike in Sabino Canyon. Stay Tuned!

Opportunities for Giving

Stewardship By The Numbers:
It takes $6730 in stewardship tithes per week to fund St. Michael and All Angels presence and ministry. For the five weeks in December with Christmas our stewardship tithing was $8720 per week and in January it was $5200 per week. Where to begin? Figure out how much you live on per month: for example $2000. If you start at 8 percent, then a tithe of $40 per week would be the amount. Adjust accordingly by how much you receive each month. “Give and it will be given to you, pressed down, overflowing.” (Luke 6:38) Thank you for living out your baptism at St. Michaels and for striving to be a good steward of God’s blessing!

IS THIS THE FAST THAT I CHOOSE? ~ Some people don’t get to choose their fast.
We will be assembling food packs for migrants in distress in the desert on April 6. During the remaining days of Lent we will be collecting the supplies (bargains only!! We will supplement later with bulk purchases). Look for the trunk in the back of church. Best items (all in original small packs, individual servings) ~ applesauce or fruit cups, chewy breakfast bars or nutrition bars, small packs of peanut butter/cheese crackers, small packs nut or dried fruits, hard candies, pouch meat or Vienna sausages, or anything else durable, nutritious and familiar.
Recently “No More Deaths” volunteers found the body of 14-year old Josseline of El Salvador, who died abandoned and alone, in remote desert around Arivaca while attempting to reach her mother in California. Please keep her and her family, and those who found her remains, in your prayers.

ST. MICHAEL’S GUATEMALA PROJECT ~ CALL FOR SUMMER TEAMS.
Preliminary meeting Saturday, March 8, 10 am – Noon - U of A Arizona Poetry Center - Room 207 – 1508 E. Helen St. Tucson. People interested in joining small teams to visit rural Maya of the CPR –Sierra for 2 ½ to 9 weeks are invited to bring their questions to the March 8 meeting and contact R.N. Sarah Roberts or Coordinator Ila Abernathy. Spanish speakers and health professionals are especially welcome, but the vigorous requirements are for flexibility, reasonably good mental and physical health and respect for indigenous cultures. For more Project/Team detail and photos, please visit www.cprguatemalaproject.org.

PROJECT STARFISH ~ St. Michael’s Church and School are participating in Food For The Poor’s Project Starfish. We are asking you to give up some indulgence during Lent and contribute the cost of that indulgence. There are envelopes at the end of the pew for your use. These donations will be used for aid to the poor in Central America and the Caribbean. Our goal is to raise $2400.00 to build a house for a family in Haiti. In turn this would be utilizing one of the Millennium Development Goals embraced by our Episcopal Church by helping in a small way to “Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger”.

THERE ARE ENVELOPES AT THE END OF THE PEW FOR YOU TO USE FOR OUR STARFISH PROJECT! YOU TOO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR SOMEONE!

New Sermons Posted

The Rev. Angela Emerson
"God always calls us home"
One of Angela's last sermons before leaving for Vermont and her new job.

MP3 File

The Rev. John Smith, Rector
"A Boring Parable"

MP3 File

After months of delay due to technical difficulties, many of the sermons recorded between September 2007 and February 2008 are now available as podcasts on the Sermons page. There's a block in the middle of that date range yet to be uploaded, but we'll get there. Old sermons from 2006 (mostly in text form) have been moved to a 2006 sermons archive page, and can be reached from the bottom of the current page.

Also: I've revived the long-neglected St. Michael's arts blog, and posted a few recent entries of my own, along with selected repostings from my personal blog from 2007. But it's the partish's blog, not mine, and I'd love to get someone else's contributions in there as well! If you have photos, art, a story, a prayer, a reminiscence, or an opinion piece that might be appropriate to a church's blog, please submit them to me at mavarin @ aol.com, or catch me after the 10 AM mass. Thanks!

Karen

Announcements for Week Ending March 9th

Announcements

NAME CHANGE – Social Concerns Committee is changing its name to St. Michael’s SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God,” as well as our Baptismal covenant to “strive for justice and peace among all peoples, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Next meeting is March 9, following 10 AM Mass. EVERYONE is always welcome. Come join us – new name, new faces, new input.

The Barnabas Group of encouragement for those who have experienced a loss at sometime meets monthly. Next meeting Monday March 10 at 11:30 am, at the Old Pueblo Grill located at 60 North Alvernon Way. Please call Peggy Speese for reservations at least three days prior to the meeting.

Novel Theology will meet on Thursday, March 6th at 6:30 pm at the home of Wyndy Pyre. The selection this month The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin will be discussed.

Fr. Ireland’s Lenten Bible Study - Join us each Monday evening during Lent for a lively discussion on selections from the Old Testament. The Bible Study will take place in the Parish Center from 6:00 until 7:00 pm. Everyone is welcome and urged to attend.

MASS FOR HEALING AND LAYING ON OF HANDS CONTINUES EVERY WEDNESDAY at 12:10 PM with celebrant the Rev.John Smith. All are welcome. If you know of someone who would like Annointing of the sick and is not able to attend Mass, please contact the Parish office or Fr. Smith and he will come to their home.

MASS FOR CHURCH UNITY CONTINUES EVERY FRIDAY at 12:10 PM with celebrant the Rev. Carey Womble. All are encouraged to attend as we pray for Church Unity.

Upcoming Events
Parish Life is Growing!! When will we see YOU?!

Hopefully we will be able to attend a spring training baseball game the last week in March ~ after Easter.

In early April, join us for dinner at Zeman’s (Ethiopian food). We are also planning a hike in Sabino Canyon. Stay Tuned!

Opportunities for Giving

Stewardship By The Numbers:
It takes $6730 in stewardship tithes per week to fund St. Michael and All Angels presence and ministry. For the five weeks in December with Christmas our stewardship tithing was $8720 per week and in January it was $5200 per week. Where to begin? Figure out how much you live on per month: for example $2000. If you start at 8 percent, then a tithe of $40 per week would be the amount. Adjust accordingly by how much you receive each month. “Give and it will be given to you, pressed down, overflowing.” (Luke 6:38) Thank you for living out your baptism at St. Michaels and for striving to be a good steward of God’s blessing!

IS THIS THE FAST THAT I CHOOSE? ~ Some people don’t get to choose their fast.
We will be assembling food packs for migrants in distress in the desert on April 6. During the remaining days of Lent we will be collecting the supplies (bargains only!! We will supplement later with bulk purchases). Look for the trunk in the back of church. Best items (all in original small packs, individual servings) ~ applesauce or fruit cups, chewy breakfast bars or nutrition bars, small packs of peanut butter/cheese crackers, small packs nut or dried fruits, hard candies, pouch meat or Vienna sausages, or anything else durable, nutritious and familiar.
Recently “No More Deaths” volunteers found the body of 14-year old Josseline of El Salvador, who died abandoned and alone, in remote desert around Arivaca while attempting to reach her mother in California. Please keep her and her family, and those who found her remains, in your prayers.

ST. MICHAEL’S GUATEMALA PROJECT ~ CALL FOR SUMMER TEAMS.
Preliminary meeting Saturday, March 8, 10 am – Noon - U of A Arizona Poetry Center - Room 207 – 1508 E. Helen St. Tucson. People interested in joining small teams to visit rural Maya of the CPR –Sierra for 2 ½ to 9 weeks are invited to bring their questions to the March 8 meeting and contact R.N. Sarah Roberts or Coordinator Ila Abernathy. Spanish speakers and health professionals are especially welcome, but the vigorous requirements are for flexibility, reasonably good mental and physical health and respect for indigenous cultures. For more Project/Team detail and photos, please visit www.cprguatemalaproject.org.

PROJECT STARFISH ~ St. Michael’s Church and School are participating in Food For The Poor’s Project Starfish. We are asking you to give up some indulgence during Lent and contribute the cost of that indulgence. There are envelopes at the end of the pew for your use. These donations will be used for aid to the poor in Central America and the Caribbean. Our goal is to raise $2400.00 to build a house for a family in Haiti. In turn this would be utilizing one of the Millennium Development Goals embraced by our Episcopal Church by helping in a small way to “Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger”.

THERE ARE ENVELOPES AT THE END OF THE PEW FOR YOU TO USE FOR OUR STARFISH PROJECT! YOU TOO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR SOMEONE!

Story of the Starfish

Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore, as he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”

The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.”

“ I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”

“The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in they will die.”

“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

Starfish photo from http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/.
Story adapted from the writing of Loren Eiseley.