The Third Sunday in Lent
Welcome
Guests - If this is your first Sunday
here at St. Mark’s, may you find a gracious welcome. Your questions are welcomed. Even if you
might be here just for this day, may St. Mark’s feel like home to you.
Today at St.
Mark’s
8 Adult Education this morning: Feb. 23 at
8 Drama? In Place of the Gospel? Every
third year our readings for four Sundays of Lent involve wonderfully
complicated but long stories from John’s Gospel. When you study John’s gospel
you discover that his stories are all layered and that they have almost a
Shakespearean like staging. Characters are constantly stepping on and off
stage. The conversations between Jesus and others sometimes get convoluted and
even philosophical in nature.
Today’s drama
is a reflection by the woman who met Jesus as the well in
This Sunday is the second of four dramatic
presentations of these gospel stories. The point of the drama isn’t to present
these stories just as they are found in the Bible, but to discover new insights
into these texts by hearing another person’s voice. The method we are using is
based in the rabbinic story-telling tradition that goes far back in history.
There are a great many rabbinic stories wondering about some of the spaces
between stories, and asking questions about what others may have thought and
said about what they saw happening. (We thank Jennifer Dos and Monica Worsley, our actors in today’s drama!) These are original
dramas written by
As you come to church the next two weeks, try to
read the Gospel story ahead of time so that you’ll have some idea of the
source text for the drama of the day. Our readings for the next two Sundays
are: March 2nd, A Man Born Blind Receives His Sight, (John 9:1-41);
and March 9th, The Death of Lazarus, (John 11:1-44). Ghm
8 Childcare is
available each Sunday morning from
8 Let us remember those celebrating their
birthdays this week:
8 The annual African Team Ministries Sale
is back! This
year offers a great selection of jewelry,
carved items, accessories and textiles. Proceeds fund training and provide
employment for persons living in undeveloped areas of
8 Travels of the Interim Rector
I’ll be heading home to
8 A
hospitality sign-up sheet for March
& April is available during coffee hour. Speak with
8 A special form is included with this bulletin for those who wish to donate money for Easter flowers in memory
of a loved one or with some specific thanksgiving in mind. We're pleased to
include all these names in our Easter bulletin. Please remember that you are
helping us have Easter flowers for the entire season, thereby making
this church welcoming for seven weeks in a row while we proclaim that Christ is
Risen. Your extra gifts will be used wisely and you'll
see visible evidence of your gifts at work. My flower donation for Easter
flowers this year is ____$25 ___$50 ___$100
____$_____.
(Please make your check payable to St.
Mark's, and mark "Flowers" on the Memo line.)
Please return
your flower request to the parish office by March 17.
8 Wednesday Night Lenten Program - Soup served from
8 Memorial Service for Gloria Bond - The service for Gloria will take place on Saturday,
March 1st at
Looking Ahead:
8 World Day of Prayer will be held
8 Saturday, March 15th - Journaling Workshop
from 9 to
8 A Lenten Quiet Day will be held Tues., Mar. 11,
8 Foot Washing on Maundy
Thursday:
“YOU’RE
One of the accounts of the foot washing that took
place at the Last Supper has Peter essentially saying to Jesus, “You’ve got to
be kidding.” He didn’t want Jesus to
wash his feet, and yet Jesus said it had to be done. Why? It all boiled down to
the essential message about service. He
was calling each of those who followed him to follow his example of serving
others first. So, we are going to have a
real foot washing this Maundy Thursday.
And we’re going to do as Jesus suggested we do, “Wash each others
feet!” Hard to do?
You bet if you have trouble kneeling as I do, especially after knee replacement
surgery. Hard to do
because it involves touching someone else? Yes, that too. But it says a
great deal about who we are and how we’re suppose to relate to each other. One of the great things about Foot Washing on
Maundy Thursday is that even the Pope has his feet washed, and even the Pope
engages in washing someone else’s feet.
So let’s get over our reluctance to understand this sacramental
action. Plan to come forward this Maundy
Thursday to have your feet washed, and if you’re able to wash the feel of
someone else. Husbands and wives, or parents with their children may
find this particularly meaningful.
8 The Little Blue Boxes are
coming! – There is a wonderful and honorable tradition in the
Episcopal Church called The United Thanks Offering. Started over 125 years ago by the Episcopal
Church Women, this offering takes all the coins and daily contribution of
people throughout the church, and then brings them all together in what is
called an “Ingathering.” Having
collected what is now millions of dollars each year, this money is then sent
off to help churches around the world.
It is all about mission and helping others. We’ll be handing out Little Blue Boxes in church
during March. If you can’t make it and
want us to send you one, please call the church office. Our first “Ingathering” will take place in
May and will be coordinated by Cornelia Skoulund and
Shirley Horn. Typically, people not only
put their coins in their blue boxes, but then many will write out a nice check
on the day of the ingathering. ghm
8 Three Seasons at St. Mark’s: The Annual
Meeting Movie - Copies of the movie shown at the Annual Meeting are found in a
small basket on the round table outside the church office. We ask that a small
donation be made to the church for each