Dear Friends in Christ,
Easter Day at St. Paul’s was magnificent. Full church, brass, timpani, organ and choir, children hunting for eggs, a beautiful spring day and shouts of “The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!” reverberating through the church. Everyone I greeted seemed excited and full of energy.
But, of course, that can’t be accurate. With several hundred people attending worship in person and via the livestream there surely were some who didn’t feel excited. We can’t all be in the mood to shout enthusiastically when the rector cues us to do so in his sermon. For some the exuberance of Easter feels disconnected from the reality of their lives.
Esau McCaulley, an associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, is one of those people. As he wrote in a column this past weekend in The New York Times, “Easter has never been my favorite church service. Shouting ‘Alleluia, Christ is risen!’ requires an emotional crescendo my melancholy temperament can’t easily manage.”
McCaulley writes that he has “never been a big fan of hope. It’s a demanding emotion that insists on changing you. … Isn’t it easier to believe that everyone who loves us has some secret agenda? That racism will forever block the creation of what Martin Luther King Jr. called the beloved community? That the gun lobby will always overwhelm every attempt at reform? That poverty is a fact of human existence? Despair allows us to give up our resistance and rest awhile.”
We need look no further than this past Monday to empathize with McCaulley’s point. Less than 24 hours after our Easter worship ended, I heard the news of the mass shooting at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville. According to the Mass Shooting Tracker this was the 173rd mass shooting in the United States in 2023. How can we legitimately shout for joy on Easter when we’re averaging 1.7 mass shootings per day? Why put any energy into hoping for a more just and safer world when the resurrection of Jesus didn’t put a stop to suffering?
But Easter insists on hope. Easter promises us that even in the worst of circumstances, even when suffering seems as if it will never end, even when all seems lost, God still has the final word. Easter proclaims that the power of darkness will ultimately be as empty as the tomb was on that first Easter Day. We shout on Easter Day not because all of God’s promises have been fulfilled but because our hope will not be vanquished.
“That indestructibility of hope,” McCaulley writes, “might be the central and most radical claim of Easter — that on the third day after Jesus was killed, he returned to his disciples physically and that made all the difference. Easter, then, is a not metaphor for new beginnings; it is about encountering the person who, despite every disappointment we experience with ourselves and with the world, gives us a reason to carry on.”
Your Friend in Christ,
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COMMUNITY GARDEN BUILD
Friday, April 14, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., St. Paul's lawn adjacent to Parish Hall
Two additional plots are being built in our community garden. If you are willing and able to help, please bring gloves, a shovel and a rake and plan to help tomorrow. Questions, email George Slenski.
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ADULT FAITH FORUM
Sunday, April 16, 10:15-11 a.m., Parish Hall
Parishioners Dr. Rick Bernhardt, Dr. Sarah Bosslet and Dr. Gabe Bosslet will lead "Emerging from the Pandemic: Reflections of Three Physicians (and Humans)." This panel discussion and reflection will explore our experience with the pandemic and moving forward.
- Rick Bernhardt is an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics physician at IU Health.
- Sarah Bosslet is a general pediatrician in the Department of Pediatrics at Riley Children's Health.
- Gabriel Bosslet is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at IU School of Medicine.
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NEWCOMER SCHEDULE :: EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Sundays, April 16 & 23
April 16 :: St. Paul's and the Episcopal Church 101, 10:15-11 a.m.
Join the Rev. Jeff Bower in the CRR (second floor, Parish Center Building) after the 9 a.m. service for an overview of all things St. Paul's and an introduction to the Episcopal Church.
April 23 :: Learn more about the Eucharist, 10:15-11 a.m.
Join the Rev. Jeff Bower in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd after the 9 a.m. service for an instructed eucharist.
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CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER CLASS
Sundays, April 16, 23; May 7, 14, 10:15-11 a.m.
Room 207 (second floor, Parish Center Building)
Parishioner Jeff Wise is leading classes on Contemplative Prayer, a practice of being present in the moment and allowing our mind, heart, soul and senses to be open and receptive to the moment just as it is. Questions, email Jeff Wise.
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ALL-PARISH PICNIC & PARTY
Saturday, April 22, 6-10 p.m., St. Paul's Courtyard and Parish Hall
Join us for an evening of fun to launch our annual appeal, "Engaging our Gifts: Renewing Community, Reimagining Impact!" Two parties will be held simultaneously but in different spaces on campus. All who wish are invited to enjoy live music, a pig roast, silent auction, cocktails, mocktails and more in the courtyard and Parish Hall. A simultaneous Kids' Pajama Party, planned especially for ages 2-12, will be in the Church building and will include games, a kindness project, movie, dinner and snacks. There is no cost to attend. RSVPs are appreciated by April 17 (sign up in Burrows Commons on Sunday mornings or click below for details & to RSVP online:
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MLK CLEAN UP DAY
The MLK Lay Clergy Team, of which St Paul’s is a member, is sponsoring a day to clean up the grounds around the MLK Center. Members of neighborhood churches are being asked to work together on the cleanup. Participants are asked to bring yard tools; jobs for all levels of ability will be available. Feel free to come for part of the time or the full day. Click here to donate food items for lunch that will be provided to volunteers. Tours of the center will be available every 30 minutes, starting at 10:30 a.m. Please join us for this day of community building and service. Questions, contact Janie Frazier.
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CHORAL MATTINS
Sunday, April 23, 11:15 a.m.
Join us for the morning version of Choral Evensong. St. Paul’s Choir sings music of Margaret Burk, Herbert Howells and Charles Wood.
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ALL-PARISH RETREAT - PLANNING TEAM MEETINGS
Mark your calendars for a truly ALL-Parish Retreat, Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Waycross. A planning team is being formed to include parishioners from all generations, with the belief that we all need each other. Team members will be meeting on April 25 & May 23 (6-7:30 p.m.) and June 11 (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.). Team members are expected to attend the retreat, attend four planning meetings and one debrief meeting, support the retreat while there and take on at least one task or project to support the weekend. If you’re interested in joining the planning team, please email Laurie Pierce.
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ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION SUPPORTED BY GREEN TEAM
Join St. Paul's Green Team in celebrating Arbor Day by lifting your voice in song, paying tribute to the trees still standing and participating in reforestation efforts in Indianapolis. Community song leader Pam Blevins Hinkle will lead all in song beginning at 6 p.m. The next St. Paul's Green Team meeting will be at 12:30 p.m., Sunday, May 7 in the Roberts Library. Questions, email Mark Carpenter.
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PET BLESSING
Bring your beloved pet(s) to Shelter #2 in Broad Ripple Park for an individual blessing and a special photo together. Donations of pet food, treats and toys for Indy Humane are also being collected – please bring something if you are able. Per Indy Park rules, all pets must be on leash or in a carrier.
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PARISH PHOTO DIRECTORY
Please help us update our Photo Directory by providing St. Paul's with a recent photo!
Pictures can be as casual or as dressy as you'd like. Please email photos to Tana Hunnicutt.
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