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Thought for the Week:


“Lent is a time for greater love.”

Mother Teresa



In worship this week:
March 31, 2019
Lent IV


Pastor: Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith

Pianist: Ana Paula Simões

Liturgist: Jack Bagent

Ushers: Barb and Bill Pfeifer

Hospitality: Barb and Bill Pfeifer
Flowers this Sunday are presented
to the glory of God
by Bill and Barb Pfeifer.
Focus on HPC:     
Holy Week Worship

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, April 14, 2019 . It marks Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem amid crowds waving palm fronds. We note this Sunday by decorating our Sanctuary with palms and looking ahead to the events of the week to come. Our Worship Service begins at 9:30 am.

Maundy Thursday, April 18 , marks Jesus’ final meal with his disciples. We will observe the same importance of breaking bread together with a congregational meal at 5:30 pm followed by a Service of Tenebrae as the darkness of the week enfolds us. 

Joy rings out on Easter/Resurrection of the Lord Sunday , April 21 . Our 9:30 am Worship Service will be filled with joyous music and gleaming Easter Lilies. We will have our traditional Flowering of the Cross in celebration. During this service we will receive the PC (USA) One Great Hour of Sharing Offering to benefit our neighbors-in-need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters, providing food to the hungry and helping empower the poor and oppressed. Halleluiah he is risen indeed!

Please mark your calendar for these wonderful events. 
This week in PCUSA Mission:            
    
Effective Mission Starts With
Learning to Listen

Listen. That was the first and best advice I received about being with the people of Haiti. Now, as a mission co-worker hosting groups visiting Haiti, some for the first time, I try to explain the importance of listening. And when I do, I often remember the lessons I learned when I listened on my very first trip. It was June 2010. I was going to Haiti with a group of Episcopalians to meet our partners in mission: the priest, lay pastors and members of a small church in Cerca-la-Source near the border with the Dominican Republic.

I did my best to practice listening. I had been studying Haitian Creole for six months before traveling to Haiti for the first time. And, as a journalist, I was accustomed to asking good questions and carefully absorbing the information in response. Still, it was difficult. With my burgeoning Kreyòl, I had to concentrate on each sound, each syllable, and still I missed so much.

St. Marc Episcopal School in Cerca-la-Source owned a piece of land outside of town, and while we visited, Pére Walin, the priest, took us to see the property. It was there that my intent to listen was greatly rewarded. The group of us, nine Americans and a few Haitians, walked to the top of the grass-covered hill. We walked past a small garden with corn and peanuts and under the tallest avocado tree I’ve seen. After about 20 minutes at the farm, the rest of the group was already near the vehicles ready to go back to town. I still was on top of the hill taking pictures, taking my time.

That’s when Joselyn introduced herself to me in typical Haitian fashion. She embraced me. No warning. She embraced me, and as we walked down the hill together, she asked me about myself, and she patiently listened as I tried to speak in her language. She was about 40 years old. She wore a brown cotton dress and royal blue crocheted scarf on her head. She and her husband farm the land owned by St. Marc School in Cerca-la-Source. They raise the corn and pistachios and harvest the huge avocados. She listened as I tried to tell her that I grew up near cornfields, that I knew what hard work it was to make the gardens.
Immediate Church Family*:
Betty Bagent; Inez Geoghegan; Mike Groves; Betty Lancaster; family of Mary Perry ; Deanna Lewis Sklar; Brad Smith.

Extended Church Family*:
Barbara Behrmann (Carol's mother); Brandon Behrmann (Carol’s nephew); Austin Casey (Jack and Betty Bagent’s grandson); Steve Dull (husband of Lynn Nichols Dull); Dan Durway (former Pastor of Highland); Eva Fuller (Inez Geoghegan’s niece); Julius Fuller (Inez Geoghegan’s brother); Randy Geoghegan (Inez’s son); Carol Harrison (Rob Stewart’s Mother); Claudia Hill (Connie Leonard’s sister); Phillip Lanier (friend of Rosemary John); Aleta Pickholtz; Barbara Smith (Brad Smith's mother); Larry Wilcoxson(friend of the Leonards).
  * New names added to the prayer list this week are in italics.

Birthdays
March 31 - April 6:  none

 Anniversaries
April - none
Detail of the Prague Astronomical Clock in thePrague Old Town

This week at HPC:
Monday, April 1:
12:00 p.m. AA
    
Tuesday, April 2:
10:30 a.m. Tuesday Morning Study Class
12:00 p.m. AA
7:30 p.m. AA

Wednesday, April 3:  
12:00 p.m. AA
7:00 p.m. Ladies’ AA

Thursday, April 4: 
12:00 p.m. AA
8:00 p.m. Men’s AA

Friday, April 5:
12:00 p.m. AA

Saturday, April 6:
Yard Crew – Jack Bagent & Bill Pfeifer

Sunday, April 7:
9:30 a.m. Worship/Communion
7:00 p.m. AA
coming soon brand new product release next up promotion and announce road sign or announcement billboard
Upcoming Opportunities at HPC
  • A Memorial Service celebrating the life of Mary Perry will be held at Highland Presbyterian Church, 2:00 pm, Sunday, March 31 (today).

  • Easter Lilies will be available to decorate the sanctuary on Easter Sunday. If you would like to purchase and dedicate one or more lilies, please contact Louise Dye (767-3091) no later than April 17.

  • The Tuesday Morning Study Class continues its Lenten Study, The Path to the Cross, Tuesday, April 2. The class meets on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Adult Sunday School Classroom. All are welcome.
     
  • The Maundy Thursday Congre-gational Meal, 5:30 pm, April 18 will take the place of our April Third Sunday Lunch. If you would like to help with set-up, please contact Louise Dye.

About HPC
Highland Presbyterian Church is a vibrant tree in God's grace-filled orchard. Deeply rooted in God's life-giving presence here on earth, this tree extends its branches to support one another in faith and reach into the world around it to produce fruit. Whether you are seeking God's presence through questions or service, discussion or fellowship, there is a home for you at Highland.
Connecting with Our Pastor
Rev. Janie McElwee-Smith

cell (call or text): 314.283.7596
office: 766-5775 (please leave a message)
blog: http://evenbefore.blog
blog: http://highlandtree.blog


Highland Presbyterian Church (USA)
10024 Highland Road • Baton Rouge, LA 70810 • 225.766.5775 • www.highlandpresbyterian.org