Most Needed
1. Peanut butter and jelly
2. Corn Muffin Mix
3. Spaghetti sauce
4. Boxed pasta
5. Instant Potatoes
6. Granola bars/snack crackers
7. Canned Meat(vienna, chicken, etc)
8. Oatmeal
9. Pork and Beans
10. Canned peas
We also ALWAYS need dish soap, laundry detergent!
I’m not sure how many folks have been paying attention to the news of the ongoing struggle in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but there have been some significant and terribly unfortunate events taking place. The neighboring country of Rwanda has sent and supported militaristic factions and groups over the border and seized several of the bordering cities and other areas. These incursions have led to violent protests in several parts of the country, including the capital city of Kinshasa.
Given these political and military actions, Pastor Stephane Kalonji and I have concluded that I should not travel to the Congo this summer. Pastor Kalonji is Congolese and can blend in with the population while staying with family and completing our planned mission. Our amended agenda is for Pastor Kalonji to accomplish all that he and I had planned, including overseeing the construction of the parish building in Mbuji Mayi, education for laity, feeding orphaned children, freeing mothers and their babies from clinics, and supplying Bibles for those with such need. The decision regarding my travel breaks my heart as I pray for those pastoral colleagues and friends whom I have longed to visit. Please keep this situation in your prayers and ask God for resolution, reconciliation, and restoration of all that has been affected.
Pastor Kalonji will travel to Kinshasa at the end of June and upon his return home will provide a full report on his work and also on the political and social climate of the area. I look forward to hearing his report and to seeing photos of friends within the Lutheran Church whom I have been closely associated with over the last ten years.
For those who are engaged in the Max Lucado Bible Study, Experiencing the Heart of Jesus for 52 Weeks, our next quarterly gathering will be held in the church office Sunday school room on Monday, April 21st beginning at 6:30 PM. Don’t worry if you have fallen a little behind, everyone is on a different schedule. The discussion will include various parts of the study according to how much has been read. Please plan to join us.
Our traditional Easter Sunrise Service is scheduled for 7:00 AM on Easter Sunday, April 20th. A Festival Service of the Resurrection will commence at 10:00 AM. This service will include a full processional, Gospel Procession and Trumpet accompaniment as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Please invite family members, friends and neighbors to join us on Easter Sunday.
Solid Rock Day Camp is looking for faithful young adults to work as day camp counselors this summer! Counselors lead bible time, crafts, games, devotions, and tons of good ol’ kid fun with elementary age children at various locations across the southeast. It’s not only a job, it’s an amazing experience! Check our website for more information: https://www.carolinas-nalc.org/home/youth/.
The Sanctus
As the divine service continues, it reaches its peak in the singing of the Sanctus (pronounced Saanktoose). This singing is the highest form of praise to the God who created all that is seen and unseen, saves his people from sin, and grants believers eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. In the singing of the Sanctus, heaven and earth collide as the saints on earth are gathered at the table alongside the saints in heaven. Christians join their voices with the singing of the Seraphim Cherubim around the throne of God. We also join the cry of God’s people as Jesus made his Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem. The Sanctus (Latin for Holy) is the Church’s own canticle of praise as she greets the crucified and risen Lord who comes to us through the Sacrament of the Altar. For this reason, the Sanctus is to be sung boldly, with loud music and voices.
The Eucharistic Prayer
The Eucharistic Prayer is a thanksgiving prayer that is said in the consecration of the bread and wine during the Christian Eucharistic liturgy. This prayer includes the Word of Christ’s institution of the Sacrament (Verba) declaring his divine presence in, with, and under the elements of the bread and wine. Jesus says, “This is my body, given for you; this is my blood, shed for you.” Jesus’s words are spoken by the one agent whom he has called to preside at the table. His words connect the sacramental elements to his promise of forgiveness and eternal life. These are the means through which the elements are consecrated. This particular bread, and this particular cup, consecrated before this particular assembly are the means through which God extends grace. Received through faith, the body and blood of Christ are eaten and drunk for the forgiveness of sin. The Verba concludes with the Lord’s Prayer.
The Lutheran Women will host their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 12th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. There will be crafts to make and games to play and a light lunch will be served. There will be lots of eggs to hunt so please come and bring your Easter basket! Invite some friends as well.
Older kids are welcome to come and help hide the eggs. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Holy Week this year begins as always on Palm Sunday and continues through Holy Saturday, the eve of the Resurrection of our Lord. Palm Sunday worship will commence on the sidewalk in front of the church (weather permitting) with the Blessing and Procession of Palms. It is Christian tradition that on Palm Sunday, the Passion narrative of Christ is read before the assembly. A brief sermon my precede the reading of the Passion, but preferably the preaching clergy allow the Passion of Christ to speak for itself.
Divine service will resume with the Great Triduum (Three Days) beginning on Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Christ’s giving “a new commandment” (Mandatum). Through his washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus gives the commandment to “love one another as I have loved you” which takes the form of selfless service to others. The service reaches its climax as God extends his table through the receiving of the Sacrament of the Altar. In remembrance of Jesus’s betrayal and arrest, the altar and church nave are stripped of their worship appointments as the cantor sings Psalm 22, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” The service includes no benediction (Good Words), and the congregation departs in silent reflection on Christ’s passion and his approaching crucifixion.
The Divine Service resumes on Good Friday with the traditional Tenebrae Service (Service of Shadows). Worshippers gather in silent reflection, pondering the sacrifice Christ made on their behalf. The service includes the confession of sin, solemn reproaches and seven readings concerning the crucifixion and death of Jesus. With each reading, light is diminished until the church is shrouded in darkness. Once more, at the conclusion of the service, the congregation departs in silence as it awaits the good news of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.
It’s hard to believe that we are almost through our Lenten journey, but with all the pollen in the air, it must be time for Palm Sunday and Easter. Our younger choristers have been learning the history and words of the hymn “All Glory, Laud and Honor.” This beautiful hymn that we sing every Palm Sunday as we process into the church waving palm branches was written by St. Theodulph. Theodulph was a priest and writer and was appointed the bishop of Orleans, France by Charlemagne in 781. When Charlemagne died, his son, Louis the Pious, imprisoned many people in fear of rebellion including Theodulph who wrote this beloved hymn while in prison. Wrongly accused of treason, Theodulph clung to his faith and praised his redeemer. May we all show such faith in the challenges we face throughout our lives. Please talk to the children about Theodulph and what it means to you to know that Christ is your redeemer.
Choir rehearsals will return to Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM at the end of Lent.
The children’s choir is currently working on an anthem based on the Lord’s prayer and our making their own prayer book.
Read John 11:30-44 Once, a Sunday school teacher showed her class a picture of famous people gathered around God’s table in heaven. The teacher then asked, “Where are you in this picture?” The children were puzzled. Finally, a boy spoke up saying, “We can’t be in the picture, we’re not dead yet.” Such an understanding presents the resurrection as a distant and future reality.
Jesus’s announcement, “I am the resurrection and the life,” teaches us that the resurrection is closer than we may realize. Because of sin, every moment of human life occurs in the face of death. Yet, by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our sins are forgiven and death has lost its sting. Therefore, the resurrection is not some far off point in time that we await; it is a future and present reality for those who know Christ as Lord and Savior. Because he lives, we too shall live.
In their grief, Mary and Martha see only the earthly picture, the one in which their brother Lazarus is missing. Jesus invites us to gaze upon the heavenly picture and to take our place at God’s table gathered with the saints of every time and space. This we do each time we come forward to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. As we profess our faith and belief in the communion of saints, we declare the reality of God’s table extending from the one heavenly dimension into the earthly dimension of Christ’s church on earth. See yourself in the picture. You are certainly there among those gathered at God’s table.
Prayer: Eternal God, we give you thanks for raising your people from death to life, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
