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St. Paul's at Midweek
March 15, 2023
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Whoever you are,
and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith,
we welcome you to our inclusive faith community.
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This Week
by Lynn Bryant Weatherly,
Bishop's Committee Member
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Let It Go and Close the Door.
I am committed to letting it go and closing the door. I began this process four years ago. I decided it was time to heal old wounds and forgive old hurts. For instance, I have a close family member whom I had not spoken with in at least a decade. The estrangement began when this person told damaging untruths about me to my friends and fellow worshippers within our small church community. Additionally, years later this person withheld from me substantial inheritance funds. I had just causes for disassociating with this person. Another person in my life whom I deeply loved, mistreated me and demeaned me over a long period of time. When we finally parted company we stopped communicating directly with each other, despite still having mutual friends and family members. I did not speak with this person for thirty years. I was satisfied with the status quo of my relationship with these two people. I was engulfed in my feelings of justification. I was right. They were wrong and I could prove it! Time passed.
Then one Sunday on or near my 70th birthday, the Priest mentioned how God's love embraced us in grace and forgiveness. Hearing this recurring theme of God's Grace over a period of time began to penetrate my into my heart. I am appreciative of God's Grace and as a Christian I wanted to emulate God's love. I began to think of the relationship I formerly enjoyed with these two people. Even though I felt like I loved these two people, how could that be true, if I never communicated with them. I realized that I needed to unburden myself from these wounds and hurts that pierced my heart. But I was still resistant. I granted myself an excuse: "What if they do not respond to my attempts to re-connect with them. How can I be held accountable." Yet, I knew in my soul, I was harboring a false sense of pride and a feeling of superiority over them, that I was the better Christian person. Time passed.
I am happy to report that I have approached both of these loved ones and re-approachment has been successful. For the past two years we have enjoyed cordial relationships. It didn't happen overnight. It took time. I approached them. I discussed the many good times we shared together. I refrained from re-hashing old wounds and hurts.
Now, I feel as if burdens have been lifted from my shoulders. What a feeling of freedom in thought, actions and prayers. I would encourage anyone that has severed relationships with family, friends and associates to release hurts and painful memories. Reconcile. Forgiveness is a freeing agent. Forgetfulness "lets it go and closes the door."
"The more we know God's love, the more we are able to love others."
-unknown author
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The Coming Days at St. Paul's
Friday, March 17
Patrick of Ireland, Bishop and Missionary, 461
8.30am Morning Prayer
5.00pm Stations of the Cross
Saturday, March 18
Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Theologian, 386
8.30am Matutina (Morning Prayer in Spanish)
March 19, 2023
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
8am Eucharist
9.00 Forum in the Forum: Lent With the English Poets
10am Eucharist
The 10am service is live-streamed via our Facebook page.
Monday, March 20
Saint Joseph (transferred)
10.00am Food Pantry
6.00pm Evening Prayer
6.30pm Eucharist
Tuesday, March 21
Thomas Ken, Bishop, 1711
8.30am Morning Prayer
Wednesday, March 22
James de Koven, Priest, 1879
8.30am Morning Prayer
Thursday, March 23
Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop and Missionary, c, 332
8.30am Morning Prayer
Friday, March 24
Oscar Romero, Archbishop and Martyr, 1980, and the Martyrs of El Salvador
8.30am Morning Prayer
5.00pm Stations of the Cross
Saturday, March 25
Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary
8.30am Morning Prayer
9.00am Eucharist
9.30am Gardening Day
March 26, 2023
The Fifth Sunday in Lent
8am Eucharist
9.00 Forum in the Forum: Lent With the English Poets
10am Eucharist
The 10am service is live-streamed via our Facebook page.
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The Altar Guild is receiving donations for Eater flowers. Donations can be made by check which can be mailed to the church or placed in the plate on Sunday. Be sure write Altar Guild Easter Flowers in the memo line of your check. You can also make an online donation via our Vanco Portal. Be sure to select the category Altar Guild/Flowers. If you have any questions contact Jan Dunlap.
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Mark Your Calendars for
These Upcoming Events
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March 20: Feast of Saint Joseph | |
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Monday, March 20, the Church is observing the feast of Saint Jospeh (transferred from March 19). At St Paul's Evening Prayer will be said at 6pm and the Eucharist celebrated at 6.30pm. With the hiatus of our Tuesday evening services, a commitment has been made to more regularly celebrate the major feasts of the Church. The feast of Saint Joseph among. Join us.
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March 25: Feast of the Annunciation
and Parish Gardening Day
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Saturday, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Morning Prayer will be said at 8.30am and the Eucharist celebrated at 9am. Afterwards we will be holding a Parish Gardening Day to work on our grounds and landscaping. If you can bring rakes, shovels, pruning shears, leaf bags, and gloves if you can. And if you have any questions, contact Jan Dunlap. | |
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March 28: Women's History Month Event
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The Diocesan Anti-Racism Commission of invites you to a conversation with Women Clergy Leaders who serve in an Indigenous Context
Tuesday, March 28th, 6:30pm
via ZOOM
RSVP to canonanna@diosanjoaquin.org to receive the link
Click here for details
on the event's speakers
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April 4: Chrism Eucharist at
St. James' Cathedral, Fresno
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It is traditional that during Holy Week the bishop bless oils for parochial use, and that the clergy renew their ordination vows in the presence of the laity.
Our Diocese will celebrate the Chrism Mass and Renewal of Ordination Vows on Tuesday, April 4 at 10am at St James Cathedral. This is a wonderful celebration of mutual ministry in the midst of Holy Week, and the laity are strongly encouraged to attend to witness the renewal of vows and support their clergy in prayer.
There will be an opportunity for fellowship and brown-bag lunch following the service.
If you intend to go, please contact Canon Anna Carmichael no later than April 1 so the diocese can make appropriate arrangement for all attending.
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April 11: St. Paul's Book Group Resumes
reading The Girls of Atomic City by
Denise Kiernan
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The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 1942. One of the Manhattan Project’s secret cities, it didn’t appear on any maps until 1949, and yet at the height of World War II it was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people, many of them young women recruited from small towns across the South. Their jobs were shrouded in mystery, but they were buoyed by a sense of shared purpose, close friendships—and a surplus of handsome scientists and Army men! But against this vibrant wartime backdrop, a darker story was unfolding. The penalty for talking about their work—even the most innocuous details—was job loss and eviction. One woman was recruited to spy on her coworkers. They all knew something big was happening at Oak Ridge, but few could piece together the true nature of their work until the bomb "Little Boy" was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, and the secret was out. The shocking revelation: the residents of Oak Ridge were enriching uranium for the atomic bomb. Though the young women originally believed they would leave Oak Ridge after the war, many met husbands there, made lifelong friends, and still call the seventy-year-old town home. The reverberations from their work there—work they didn’t fully understand at the time—are still being felt today. In The Girls of Atomic City, Denise Kiernan traces the astonishing story of these unsung WWII workers through interviews with dozens of surviving women and other Oak Ridge residents. Like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, this is history and science made fresh and vibrant—a beautifully told, deeply researched story that unfolds in a suspenseful and exciting way.
This time we will be reading the book at our own pace and joining together for only one meeting on Tuesday, April 11th at 3pm. You can access the meeting by clicking here. Contact Dcn Cathy if you have any questions.
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Looking Forward to Holy Week and the Easter Triduum
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Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Holy Week (April 3-5)
8.30am Morning Prayer
5.00pm Confessions (or by appointment)
6.00pm Evening Prayer
6.30pm Eucharist
These are quiet, reflective services that follow Jesus the days before the crucifixion.
The homilies at the Eucharists will continue our Lent with the English Poets series
as we reflect on John Keble’s The Christian Year.
Maundy Thursday (April 6)
8.30am Morning Prayer
5.30pm Evening Prayer
6.30pm Eucharist at Watch until 11pm
This service begins the observance of the holiest days on the Christian calendar.
This night commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples and the institution of the Holy Eucharist, but also reflects on his commandment to love on another.
Good Friday (April 7)
8.30am Morning Prayer
10.00am Children’s Stations of the Cross
This service is especially geared for children. It will be followed by refreshments.
12noon Meditation on the Last Seven Words
A service of prayer and music, reflecting on Jesus’ last words from the cross.
5.30pm Evening Prayer
6.30pm Good Friday Liturgy
This is the main Good Friday observance with hymns, veneration of the cross, and communion from the reserved sacrament.
7.30pm Rosary
8.00pm Commemoration of the Burial of Our Lord
A service that brings Good Friday to a close as we reflection in prayer and Scripture on Jesus being laid in the tomb and as we sit in hope of the resurrection.
Easter Eve (April 8)
8.30am Matutina (Morning Prayer in Spanish)
6.00pm Evening Prayer
7.00pm Easter Vigil
The great and ancient Easter celebration when the Paschal Candle is blessed,
we listen to God’s saving work in history
and proclaim the new life made known in the resurrection of Jesus.
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As we reach the end of the first quarter our parish prayer list will again be revised. This means that all names will be removed at the end of March, and a new list compiled starting April 1. If you would like a name to remain on the list or a name to be added please contact Fr. Luis via email.
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Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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In Our Prayers
Remember in your prayers Angela, Grace, London, Patrick, Tara, Mike, Tiana, Dylan, Mario, Katie, Evelyn, Vivian, Lou, Lisa, Phyilis, Leslie, and all who are in sorrow, sickness, or any kind of need.
Remember in your prayers all the recently departed, among them Frank Griswold (bishop), Ann Tousley, Myles Garrett, and Donna Moran also those whose year's mind falls at this time. among them, Henry Webb, Alison Dunlap, Janet E. Dunlap, and Clayton McDonald
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Monthly Prayer Diary
You can access the
Prayer Diary for March here.
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Good news! Our food ministry is growing in both those we are feeding and volunteers assisting. The word is out that we are now open every Monday. The challenge for our congregation is to provide for those coming to be fed. Our shelves are currently pretty bare. We ask that, as your budget allows, you put us on your weekly grocery list and bring your offering to the narthex on Sundays. We are in need of:
peanut butter, Spam, vienna sausages, canned chicken, tuna, canned potatoes, soup, beef cup of noodles, Chef Boyardee,spaghetti sauce, cereal, instant oatmeal, cookie packets, hot chocolate packets, razors, tooth brushes, toilet paper
Whenever possible,
all canned items should have pop-tops.
If you have any questions are want to find out how you can help contact either Jan Dunlap or Marilyn Droppers.
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The Order of the Daughters of the King is an order for women whose mission is the extension of Christ’s Kingdom through prayer, service and evangelism. At the St. Paul's the order serves our community through their prayers and acts of service.
Do you have a special concern you'd like the Daughters to pray for? Contact Cathy Henry who heads our parish chapter. You can also contact her for further information on the DOK, or you can visit the Order's website here. The Daughters of the King are also at the front of church during the distribution of communion to pray with you for your needs and concerns.
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Finding the Sunday Readings
Did you know you can always find the readings for Sunday by following this link? Did you find two sets of readings for the Sunday? If there are two "tracks", at St. Paul's we are using "Track 2"
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Our Bishop's Committee meets next on
Sunday, March 26.
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Connecting with St. Paul's
and The Episcopal Church
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