In this week's jam-packed edition:

• Weekly Reflection: My favorite chapter in the whole Bible

• Volunteers needed: Coffee and Community, Maundy Thursday, and Sunday School

• Calendar items: Hands Off Day of Action, Cherry Blossom Festival, Jason Stanley Lecture, and Polishing Party

• Holy Week Schedule

• Loaves and Fishes Board Member Search

• "God's Microphones": Adult Ed Series

• News from the Wider Church: Immigration vigil supports lawsuit, Episcopalians reflect on women's rights, and Jemar Tisby reflects on Coretta Scott King

• This Week at St. PJ's and in the Cycles of Prayer

• Video: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

• There's Always More...

Weekly Reflection

My favorite chapter in the whole Bible

From the Rev. Nathan Empsall, priest-in-charge

Last Sunday, our Gospel reading was the story of the Prodigal Son. This is a well-known story, and one of my favorite passages in my favorite Gospel, Luke.

But I don't just love the story for its own merits, though they are strong. I love it because it is the culmination -- the peak -- of my favorite chapter in the whole Bible, Luke 15.

Luke 15 is a redemption cycle made up of three parables. First, as the chapter begins, the writer tells us that sinners and outcasts were drawn to Jesus, eager to hear him preach. He then tells them the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and finally, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Each now-familiar story has the same ultimate meaning -- that God loves us no matter what, and that we can never be too lost to return to God. Even if we feel that we can't find God, God will still find us, and there is no sin too awful to be forgiven, no darkness too thick for light to embrace.

The Prodigal Son takes the lessons of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin and broadens them out a bit. We can see ourselves not just as the wayward son or the welcoming father, but also as the struggling older son, who needs a lesson about his own anger and jealousy.

Each of these stories are worthy in their own right. (Of course they are, Jesus told them!) But something special happens when they are read together, as one single chapter.

Yes, there is something to be said for spacing out an important lesson, so that it comes up over and over again as a theme -- and Luke certainly does this too. He has already told us about Jesus dining with sinners, and this is the Gospel where "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" is among Christ's last words on the cross.

But to have these three stories bunched together, one after the other before an audience of outcasts, also creates a depth in the reader. Each story builds on the one that comes before it, expanding the lessons and weighing on our souls. When I read any single one of these parables, I appreciate it and I learn, yes. But when I read the full chapter together in one sitting, it is impossible for me not to feel the joy of a party in my deepest solitude, the bright sun on the rainiest of days, a warm embrace in a driving blizzard. And that joy keeps getting louder, the sun keeps warmer, the embrace keeps getting tighter, and it is truly well with my soul because God is always present.

It is never too late to pick ourselves back up, no matter what happens. God loves you. God loves us. God loves the people we hate.

And nothing we do can ever, ever change that.

Volunteers Needed: Coffee Hour, Maundy Thursday, and Sunday School

Church is not the building, it's the people. And that means church only happens when we make it happen, together. Thankfully, there are multiple new ways to give of your time and talent at St. PJ's!

Maundy Thursday: Thank you to everyone who signed up to make soup or bread. We still need someone who can coordinate the set-up on Thursday. This simply means thinking through all the pieces we need for a successful community meal (water pitchers, cutlery, etc.) and arriving a bit early to oversee the set-up and make sure it all happens. Please sign up at the table in the front right, or let Rev. Nathan or the office know if you're interested.

Coffee and Community: If you were present on Sunday, you might have noticed there was no coffee or snacks during our community time after the service. When no one signs up to host, it simply and sadly just doesn't happen. Please consider hosting a future coffee hour; there is a sign-up sheet in the front right of the church. It doesn't have to take much -- you can go big, or you can simply use existing church supplies and wheel them out during the postlude! Any hospitality is wonderful hospitality, especially when it's in Jesus's name.

Sunday School: Our Sunday School is growing, and that's a wonderful thing. To be compliant with Safe Church practices, and to ensure that we can keep growing, Ms. Molly needs volunteers on Sunday mornings! She will continue to prep lessons and teach the children -- we just need the presence of a loving second adult with the kids until they return at the Peace. You would need to take Safe Church training with the diocese first, if you haven't already. Please let Molly Clayton or Rev. Nathan know if you're interested in helping out, even just one week every month or two.

Tomorrow/Saturday, April 5:

Hands Off! National Day of Action

Multiple St. PJ's members are planning to attend some of the 20 "Hands Off! National Day of Action" rallies protesting Donald Trump and Elon Musk across Connecticut this Saturday, April 5.

This will be the single largest national protest since Trump took office, with over 1,000 events across the country. Sponsoring organizations include progressive groups like MoveOn, the Fight Back Table, Indivisible, Third Act, and the SEIU, as well as faith groups like Faithful America, the Interfaith Alliance, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Catholics Vote Common Good, and Union Seminary's Kairos Center.

There is a local one on the New Haven Green at noon, and a big one at the State Capitol in Hartford from 3-6 p.m. If you attend, please consider wearing a cross or other visible Christian attire to send a moral message about white Christian nationalism's harmful distortion and misrepresentation of our faith.

Learn more about the New Haven event here >>

Ahead of the rallies, the ACLU is offering a "Know Your Rights" training tonight on Zoom, Friday, at 8 p.m.

This Sunday, April 6:

Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival

The Wooster Square 52nd Cherry Blossom Festival is Sunday, from noon to 4:30 p.m.! There will be food vendors, local musicians, and more. St. PJ's does not have a booth this year, but Loaves & Fishes does. Just make a right out the church doors after adult ed today, and head on up to Wooster Square Park.

Saturday, April 12

St. PJ's Polishing Party

Please join the Altar Guild on Saturday, April 12, for our polishing party to clean Communion vessels and other items. This is a great way to learn a little more about the inner workings of our worship, and feel spiritually closer to the liturgy. See Janie Lang for more information.

Holy Week Schedule

For Holy Week this year, St. PJ's will once again hold Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. We're particularly delighted to announce that Suffragan Bishop Laura Ahrens will join us for Good Friday!

We're also happy to share the schedules for other churches holding services on days we are not -- Tenebrae on Holy Wednesday, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Attending the full Triduum will almost certainly transform and magnify your Easter Sunday experience.

• Palm Sunday at St. PJ's: On April 13 at the usual 10:30 a.m. time, church will begin outside the sanctuary on the front steps on Chapel Street. We will hold our traditional second-line jazz procession through the Wooster Square neighborhood. The Sunday School children will help lead the way, so if your family arrives to the church a bit late and finds an empty upper room, just hang tight until Ms. Molly and the kids return!

• Holy Wednesday: April 16 at 6:30 p.m., Tenebrae at Christ Church New Haven on Broadway

• Maundy Thursday at St. PJ's: April 17 at 6:30 p.m., with dinner

• Good Friday at St. PJ's: 4/18 at Noon, with Bishop Laura Aherns

• Holy Saturday evening Easter Vigils available April 19 at Trinity on the Green (7:30 p.m.), Christ Church New Haven on Broadway (6:30 p.m.), and St. Thomas's on Whitney (6:30 p.m.)

• Easter Sunday at St. PJ's: April 20 at 10:30 a.m.

(There will be no Maundy Thursday vigil after the service this year. We tentatively plan to bring it back next year.)

Loaves and Fishes needs a new board member -- is it you?

Loaves and Fishes is a dynamic food and clothing pantry that serves hundreds of families from the St. PJ's undercroft (or basement) each week. Originally founded by the church, Loaves & Fishes is now an independent non-profit with its own board of directors that rents our space - but we maintain a close relationship in many ways, including by having church members serve as L&F board members.

A new three-year term on the Loaves and Fishes board is opening this June. Do you feel called to serve? The role could include church interface, New Haven connections, volunteering, food sourcing, and/or fundraising. A nominee is needed by Easter in order to meet with L&F board members before then. 

Contact Jeff Lange, St. PJ's member and L&F board member, for more information: (203) 389-6360

"God's Microphones"

Adult Ed Series

Our ongoing adult education series on historical church figures who used their faith in Christ to resist fascism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism continues Sunday with a discussion of Harriet Tubman. Thank you to everyone who packed the chapel to talk about Oscar Romero last week!

We begin in the chapel on select Sundays 15 minutes after worship ends and meet for approximately 50 minutes. If you can't make them all, just come to the ones you can!

• March 16: St. Ambrose

• March 30: St. Oscar Romero

• April 6: St. Harriet Tubman

• Break for Palm Sunday, Easter, and Morning Prayer

• April 27: St. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

• May 4: St. Maximilian Kolbe and the Saints of Dachau

"Each one of you has to be God's microphone. Each one of you has to be a messenger, a prophet. The church will always exist as long as there is someone who has been baptized." - St. Oscar Romero

News from the Wider Church

• [PCUSA News] On the evening before a hearing on a religious freedom lawsuit, people of many faiths gather for a vigil in the nation’s capita

• [ENS] Episcopalians reflect on women’s rights progress 30 years after Beijing Declaration

• [ENS] Massachusetts bishop decries arrest of graduate student from Turkey by ICE agents

• [ENS] After Khartoum recaptured, badly damaged Anglican Cathedral in Sudan still stands

• [Footnotes by Jemar Tisby] “There Is Also Coretta”: Reclaiming the Legacy of Coretta Scott King

Come for Jazz Eucharist this Sunday, April 6, at 10:30 a.m. as we observe the fifth Sunday in Lent.

Rev. Nathan will preach and celebrate Communion.

Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.

In person and online

Wednesday Prayer 12:30 p.m.

In person

Thursday Compline 8 p.m.

On Zoom

Cycles of Prayer

In the cycle of prayer for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, we pray this week for St. George’s, Middlebury; Holy Trinity, Middletown; St. Andrew’s, Milford; and the ECCT Regions & Region Leadership Teams.

In the global Anglican Cycle of Prayer, we pray for Iglesia Anglicana de Chile (the Anglican Church of Chile).

VIDEO: Last Sunday's Service and Sermon

If you either missed or want to revisit last Sunday at St. PJ's, you can find the recorded livestream on YouTube or Facebook. Parishioner David Tate reflected on Laetare Sunday and preached on the importance of holy rest.

There's always more...

If you would like to submit an item for consideration in the eNews or bulletin announcements, please let Rev. Nathan know at revnathan@stpaulstjames.org by next Wednesday afternoon.

Please contact Monifa in the church office at office@stpaulstjames.org or (203) 562-2143 if you are interested in receiving more information about any of the following:

• Renting space at St. PJ's for your next party, meeting, concert, wedding, or other event

• Volunteering with St. PJ's

• Adding a name to the St. PJ's prayer list

• Pastoral care needs

• Purchasing grocery-store gift cards to benefit St. PJ's
• Talk to parishioner Kate Galambos on Sundays

• Reserving a place in the St. PJ's columbarium or purchasing a plaque on the Memorial Wall