A NOTE FROM JIM
LENTEN CANDLELIT COMPLINE BEGINS
At 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday evening (starting tonight) during the season of Lent, we are offering a service of candlelit Compline. The service is comprised of prayers, lessons, psalms, collects, all chanted to ancient and timeless unison plainchant. Each week will musically build upon the previous, the first two beginning with two officiants chanting the majority of the service, the third week augmented by Chancel Choir sopranos and altos, the fourth week tenors and basses, and the fifth sung by the entire choir with a sung introit from the narthex and a motet to conclude the service.
The present-day Compline began in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a result of interest in pre-Reformation worship practices and spirituality. This movement also restored the Eucharist as the central act of worship in the spiritual life of the Church. Compline is a contemplative office and places its emphasis on spiritual peace. It takes its name from the Latin word completorium, meaning completion, as it marks the completion of the working day through its focus on preparing the body for temporal rest as well as preparing the soul for its passage to eternal life. In many monasteries it is the custom to begin “The Great Silence,” an act by which the entire community, including guests, observes silence until the morning as a discipline to still the body, mind and spirit.
Please join us on Wednesday evenings. You will not be given a bulletin. The service is for you to just sit, listen, and be at peace.
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GATHERING MUSIC FOR CHILDREN & PARENTS
On Sunday, March 24
towards the end of the 9:00 a.m. service
,
we will be experimenting with a new initiative for young children and their parents and siblings. We will offer a special time of prayer and song
prior
to Sunday School classes for children and coffee hour/adult forums for adults.
Led by Kate Caldwell and members of our youth choirs,
all children in grades 5 and younger, along with their parents and siblings
, will be invited to take Communion together before the rest of the congregation (at the 9:00 a.m. service), then be dismissed directly to the Fellowship Hall in the formation building, where as a group they will pray together a special Post-Communion prayer, followed by learning a gathering or sending song.
This special time of Christian formation and community building will expose children (particularly our young toddler age parishioners!) to new prayers and simple songs.
Once over, the children will depart to their 10:15 a.m. Sunday School
classes,
while parents may join others at coffee hour or remain in the Fellowship Hall for any scheduled adult forum.
The hope is to do this once monthly during the school year on the fourth Sunday of each month. Please feel free to speak with Jim Douglas or Kate Caldwell with any comments or feedback.
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We have been notified
that
some checks that have been written and mailed to the church have not been received or cashed by us. Upon further investigation it is possible that some checks
may have
been cashed fraudulently. We are sending out current contribution statements. You should receive them over the next 7 days. Please check your pledge statement once received and make sure the checks you have written to the church are reflected
.
If you have a record of checks written to the church that are not reflected on your statement:
1. Call the church and check with us (If it isn’t listed on your statement, it means we have not received it.)
2. Check your bank statement or with your bank to see if the check has cleared.
3. If the check has not cleared, you may want to consider putting a STOP PAYMENT on the check.
4. If the check has cleared, call your bank to advise them you believe the check has been fraudulently cashed and you would like to initiate an investigation.
REMINDER: You will
never
receive a monetary request from the Rev. Peter or any church staff member. The ONLY email from staff here will have the @st-margarets.org in the originating email. Please do not respond to any fraudulent financial request.
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Celtic Service on March 17
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Our annual Celtic Mass led by the Third Sunday Band and special guests will be held on Sunday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day, at the 9:00 & 11:15 a.m. services! Join us as we celebrate with lively music and special liturgy.
Celtic attire optional!
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Sunday's Service - March 10, 2019
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My Brother's Pantry Volunteers Needed
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MARCH
is St Margaret's month to help with My Brother's Pantry!
Our church is part of an effort by local churches in the area throughout the year to provide a monthly food supplement to more than 100 local families who could use a little extra help. This requires one evening of
packing
grocery bags and then one morning of
delivering
grocery bags. In particular:
1.
Packing
-
6:30 pm
this
Thursday March 14
, at the Pantry * (~1.5 hours)
We'll set up a joyful little assembly line in the Pantry to pack the bags for our big monthly distribution.
2.
Delivery
-
8:45 am
this
Saturday March 16
, meeting at the Pantry (~2 hours)
We'll send a big group of volunteers loaded with packed bags of groceries to our families at College Parkway Place, while a smaller group stays at the Pantry to help our other families who come to pick up their food.
And... if those two chances aren't enough for you, there are smaller opportunities available
all month long
: responding to emergency requests on the hotline, checking inventory, collecting the food at our donation bins, helping with the big food runs from Graul's Market and the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. Or... if you're interested, you can even serve
all year long
as St Margaret's representative (or alternate) on My Brother's Pantry's Board of Directors!
For more information, contact St. Margaret's parishioner Russell Jackson at
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Winter Relief Update - Volunteers Needed
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Winter relief is only two weeks away! The meals are covered and supplies are being provided but what we especially need is human bodies who will:
*provide transportation for guests to get to and from jobs and daily activities;
*monitor shower use times;
*be on site to welcome and assist guests in the evening & overnight.
The weekends are where the slots are most needed to be filled.
Jesus said, "Y
ou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Sign up to volunteer
HERE
or go to the www.st-margarets.org website.
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Children's Winter Relief Activity --
To give St. Margaret's children the opportunity to participate in serving our winter relief guests, Sunday School classes will be collecting small value gift cards ($5 or $10) for area restaurants and convenience stores. The gift cards will allow our guests to purchase food or a hot cup of coffee and in some cases get out of the cold for a while. Suggested gift card venues include fast food restaurants, coffee houses, and Wawa.
Please have your children bring gift cards to Sunday School on March 17 or 24.
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Diaper Drive on March 17-31
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Our Missions Commission will conduct a Diaper Drive for Immigrant Families on behalf of AIJN - Annapolis Immigration Justice Network. Parishioners are invited to participateand buy diapers [sizes 3, 4, 5] and/or baby wipes and leave the narthex on Sundays, March 17-31. For questions, email [email protected].
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Easter Candy Needed for Egg Hunt
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We are now soliciting donations of Easter candy for our annual Easter egg hunt for children to be held Easter morning during coffeehour.
We need individually wrapped candies that do not have any nuts in them. You can leave donations in the narthex or in the church office on the fireplace. Donations needed by April 14.
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This Lent @ St. Margaret's
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Compline by Candlelight (Wednesday evenings)
Each Wednesday at 7 p.m. enter the sanctuary for a short, contemplative candlelit service that builds each week from spoken to all liturgy sung. It will be the perfect way to observe the Lenten season and to close your day.
Sunday Mornings
Thursday Mornings
Our Thursday morning study has begun a new book just in time for Lent titled "The Last Week" by Borg/Crossan that centers on w
hat the Gospels really teach about Jesus's final days in Jerusalem. The study begins at 9:15 a.m. on Thursdays in Classroom E. Childcare in the nursery is provided. All are welcome! There are a few books left that are being sold during coffeehour on Sundays at the winter relief table or you can purchase one online.
Monday Evenings
On our Monday night Faith & Fellowship formation nights in Lent, we provide a study for both the music lover and the biblical seeker exploring the scriptural texts of Handel's
Messiah.
This study offers careful examination of the texts as we listen to the musical lines.
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Our Tanzania travelers are on their trip now and will soon visit with the staff and students of the Dageno Girls School (that has received grant awards from St. Margaret's Church as well as other support from parishioners).
Please keep the travelers in your prayers for their safety and for their growth in faith as they represent the spirit of St. Margaret's and Christ's love across the world.
Some photos from their trip so far...
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Activities Each Monday
5:00 p.m. - Spirit Singers Rehearsal in Choir Room
5:30 p.m. - Youth Chorale Rehearsal in Sanctuary
5:30 p.m. - Acolyte Rehearsal in Sanctuary
5:30 p.m. - Arts and Crafts in Parish Hall
6:00 p.m. - Fellowship Dinner in Parish Hall
6:30 p.m. - Youth Group in Classroom D
6:45 p.m. - The Bible & Handel's Messiah class in Fellowship Hall
6:45 p.m. - Motet Ensemble Rehearsal in Choir Room
March 18 - Fellowship Dinner Menu:
French toast casserole & fruit salad
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Quick Links
Deadlines
Dragon Tales - Monday afternoons
Sunday Announcements - Wednesday mornings
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Day School Board Director Needed
The St. Margaret’s Day School Board of Trustees is looking for a new Board Chair who will replace Susan Roberts at the end of her two consecutive terms this coming Fall 2019. The St. Margaret’s Day School Board oversees the activities and affairs of the school. The Board Chair, a volunteer position, is responsible for leading monthly Board meetings, overseeing the finances of the school, presiding over the financial aid, nominating and executive committee meetings, and advising the Rector of St. Margaret’s Church in reviewing and preparing the annual contract for the Director of the school. The search committee is looking for a visionary to take the school to another level of programmatic excellence in partnership with the Director’s vision for the school. The ideal candidate would have a background in early childhood education or have strong roots in non-profit management, have an ability to advise on financial matters, have strong liaison skills and the ability to form successful partnerships between the church, school, and community through the development of active board committees. The next Board Chair will find that St. Margaret’s Day School is thriving under the current leadership and provides a wonderful opportunity to be involved in something truly special in our community. If interested or with any questions, please email Elizabeth Parker at
[email protected]
.
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St. Margaret's Church
1601 Pleasant Plains Road
Annapolis, MD 21409
(410) 974-0200 Office Phone
(443) 867-5463 Pastoral Emergency Line
Staff Contacts
Jim Bowersox, Facility Operations Assistant
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