The latest news for you

‌

A Word at Mid-Week

Wednesday, March 8th, 2023

SUNDAY WORSHIP

The Holy Eucharist

Rite II

8:00 a.m.

(quiet, contemplative)

10:00 a.m.

(with music)

WEDNESDAY

The Holy Eucharist

10:00 a.m.

For ONLINE SERVICES

Check our our Facebook page or go to www.stmattsindy.org to pray along with our worship videos

The Revd Frank S. Impicciche

Rector

Contact Fr. Frank

with pastoral concerns, upcoming surgeries, hospitalizations, illness, etc.

Brianna Owens

Parish Administrator

Crystal Black

Bell Choir Director

A. Paul Johnson

Organist/Choirmaster

PARISH OFFICE HOURS

Monday 8:30am-2pm

Wednesday 8:30am-2pm

Also, by appointment:

[email protected]

317.898.7807

This Week's Readings:

Third Sunday in Lent

Diocesan Cycle of Prayer

St. Paul’s, Jeffersonville

Mr. Ben Sapp, Senior Warden

Anglican Cycle of Prayer

The Church of South India (United)

February

sMATTerings

DIOCESAN

GENERAL NEWS

March 1st, 2023

Our Prayer List

Coral, Crosby, Justin, Kaitlyn, Taylor, Blake, Jeff, Eric, Stuart, Ann, Doug, Tiffany, Lee Ann, Joe, Cathy, Vicki, and Marjorie.

We ask that you continue to hold all those persons listed on our prayer list in your hearts and prayers.

Don't forget to set your clocks forward 1 hour this Saturday night for Daylight Savings!

Upcoming Events

Irvington Association of Ministers

Lenten Soup and

Prayer Evenings 2023

Each year the Irvington Association of Ministers (IAM) hosts Soup and

Prayer Evenings on five Wednesdays during Lent.

After a COVID-related “hiatus” of the Soup portion of these gatherings, this

year we happily will be offering the meal again!

The thematic threads running through these evenings is Reconciliation and

Unity.

All are welcome for these

ecumenical evenings!

Soup and Bread Meal: 6:00pm

Prayer: 7:00pm

PARISH ACTION SATURDAY

The next event will be on April 1 and we will focus on the outside (trimming, weeding, picking up trash, and spread mulch) as well as preparing the interior to the church for Easter.

You can sign up online at this link - there is also a sign up sheet in the Narthex.

While the first couple events will feel like a work day, they are also intended to be parish gatherings - The one in June is on the day of the PRIDE parade so we can participate as a congregation and another is for the blessing of the animals in October.

Future dates are May 20, June 10, August 5, October 7, December 2.

If you have questions please contact Andy Wilkinson - [email protected]

A Word from Father Frank

Feeling the Earth Move!

Carole King and James Taylor wrote the song,

I Feel the Earth Move:

I feel the Earth move under my feet

I feel the sky tumbling down

I feel my heart start to trembling

Whenever you're around

I think Nicodemus felt something similar when he hung around with Jesus in the garden that night! This week’s Gospel centered around a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, where Nicodemus asked questions of Jesus about faith.

As we listen to the conversation, it seems that Nicodemus is really trying hard to get to the bottom of some questions that had been nagging at him. But the harder he tries to understand, the more confused he seems to become. Jesus spoke a lot about birth. He said things like, you must be “born from above,” and you must be “born of water and the Spirit.” His responses seemed to fly over Nicodemus’s head!

Matters of faith have more to do with the heart than with the head. Doctrines and beliefs about God and faith are important because they inform us and help us put our faith into words. However, in and of themselves, they are not the same thing as faith. When we get this confused, when we hold on to our understanding of God too tightly and mistake doctrine or statements of belief for faith, it is like trying to cup water in your hand. It slips right through the cracks between your fingers and you are left with nothing but a damp palm!

The Book of Common Prayer reminds us that it is not our intellects, but our hearts that draw us closer to God.

And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee (BCP 336)

Nicodemus didn’t find a new doctrine of salvation in his conversation with Jesus. He didn’t come away with another law or regulation to follow. His conversation with Jesus caused a seismic shift in his vision and understanding of God. Although he could not articulate it at first, if you read the rest of John’s Gospel, you will see that the experienced changed him. It shook him down to his foundations and turned him completely around. It was like he became a new person, or like, he had been born again!

If you want to deepen your faith, if you want to grow deeper in love with God and with one another, then follow in the footsteps of Nicodemus. Seek Jesus out but be prepared for him to invite you to step outside what is familiar to you. To let go of what you think you know or what you believe is possible and give yourself fully over to God’s care and love. Like with Nicodemus, Jesus is presenting us with an opportunity to reset or restart what it means to believe in God. It is kind of like a new birth of sorts.

CHURCH HAPPENINGS

Did you miss us last week? Join us here on video!

Holy Eucharist- The Second Sunday in Lent

COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS

Irvington Community Advocacy Network News

ICAN assisted 58 clients at the agency in February.

The ICAN Food Pantry served over 100 families in January.

Thank you for your continued support!!

Please click this link to see the latest newsletter and to see updates from both the agency and the Food Pantry.

DIOCESAN HAPPENINGS

Liturgical Folk Concert at Trinity, Indianapolis

March 13

Trinity, Indianapolis, and The Table, Indianapolis, are collaborating to host Liturgical Folk for a worship concert at Trinity on Monday, March 13 at 7 p.m.

Come enjoy an evening of sacred music this Lent.

Learn more and purchase tickets at this link.

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church

stmattsindy.org