Church guide

Wonderful service Sunday morning with Bishop Smith and Father Alvarez

Please continue to remember Pastor Rightmyer in your prayers. He is back a Deerfield recovering from Emergency Surgery last Friday.

Violet "Betty" Dixon Nord, age 97, of Flowood, Mississippi passed away on Tuesday April 30, 2019. Betty was born December 19, 1921 in Walsall Staffs, England. During World War II, Betty worked in Civil Defense as well as at the newspaper as a bookkeeper. During the war, when men were deployed, she did their work as well. She married John D. Nord in 1945. Together they had 3 children, Carolyn, Rose Marie, and John. They were blessed with 5 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. Betty was an outstanding golfer, playing 18 holes until the age of 95. She shot her age of 86 at age 86, got 4 hole-in-ones, and won numerous tournaments; first inductee in the Land Harbor, NC Hall of Fame. The family will receive friends from 10 AM until 11 AM on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at Ascension Lutheran Church, with the Celebration of Life beginning at 11 AM. A reception will follow the service at the church. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.parkwayfuneralhomeridgeland.com for the Nord family. 1-800-Flowers SEND FLOWERS ADD A MEMORY SHARE OBITUARY × SHARE TO FACEBOOK SHARE BY EMAIL SHARE LINK

About 380 AD Egeria from Gaul wrote home about her pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the worship she shared with the Christians there. On the Sunday before Easter the Jerusalem church re-enacted the solemn entry of Christ with a procession in which they carried branches and sang the Hosanna (Matthew 21, 1-11). Over the next 400 years churches in Gaul and northern Italy adopted this custom and by about 800 the church in Rome joined in. About 820 Bishop Theodolph of Orleans in the Rhone valley wrote a hymn, “All glory, laud, and honor” for the procession. In the Middle Ages, processions of clergy and lay people carried palms from a chapel or shrine outside the town where the palms were blessed to the principal church. Jesus was represented in the procession, either by the Blessed Sacrament or by a crucifix, adorned with flowers, carried by the celebrant of the Mass. Even later the custom developed of drawing a wheeled wooden statue of Christ sitting on a donkey at the end of the procession. As towns grew and churches multiplied the procession was restricted to the church. The crucifix in the church yard was festively decorated with flowers. While the clergy sang families decorated the graves of relatives. The graveyard was blessed and the procession entered the church. In most of Europe real palms were not available, and in their place people many other plants were used: olive branches in Italy, yew in Ireland, box and willow in England, pussy willow in Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia. The term Pascua Florida in Spain, originally just Palm Sunday, was later applied to both Holy Week and Easter Week. So when, on March 27, 1513, Easter Sunday, Ponce de Leon first sighted a new land he named it in honor of the great feast, Florida. From very early times the Passion of Christ has been read on the Sunday before Easter as well as on Good Friday. The reading reminds us that we are simul justus et peccator, at the same time justified by Christ and yet sinners. The same crowd that acclaimed the triumphal entry of Jesus as Messiah on the day after the Sabbath was ready by Friday to cry, “Crucify him.” In the medieval Russian Orthodox procession the Patriarch rode the donkey, and the donkey was led by the Tsar on foot. In the Roman Catholic church the words of Christ are spoken by the priest. It is a witness to Christ’s sharing his priesthood with all the faithful that in the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Protestant churches Christ’s words are more commonly read by a lay person.

During Lent, we journey with Christ to the foot of the cross, deepening each step with the disciplines of Lent — repentance that confesses our own role in his death, prayers and fasting that plead for God’s mercy, sacrificial giving that recalls Christ’s sacrifice for us, and works of love that echo the love God showed us in our need. But the disciplines of Lent are utterly empty if, in our journey to the cross of Christ, we ignore the crosses that dot the landscape of our communities today. The journey to Calvary with Christ is the journey to the cross wherever it is found, including within our own communities and communities around the world.

Working with congregations, social ministry organizations and other partners, ELCA World Hunger supports mnistries addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty across the U. S. and Caribbean. Learn more about the domestic approach at ELCA.org/DomesticHungerGrants.

On this day of prayer and fasting I will: Clother myself in meekness and let go of arrogance. Colossians 3:12

Soothe the souls of people who feel like they are beyond your mercy. Wash away the barriers that keep us far from you and restore joy in our lives. Heat us, O God. Your Mercy is Great.

Event An Evening with Bishop Michael Curry, author of "The Power of Love: Sermons, Reflections, and Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire" ***Regular seating for our event with Bishop Michael Curry on June 26 sold out very quickly! Therefore, we are offering overflow seating in Trinity Episcopal Church's Tuton Hall. Seating in this space will allow you to watch live video of the conversation between Bishop Curry and Bishop McLoughlin. Tuton Hall seats are not in the event space and do not include a book. Therefore, these overflow seats are being offered free of charge. Overflow seating is limited and each person must have a ticket to attend. Tuton Hall tickets include signing line privileges with book purchase. Attendees must have a ticket and a book to join the signing line. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe will also send an email to all ticket holders when books for this event are in stock in April.*** Because of the overwhelming response and our desire to make this event as inclusive as possible, tickets for Tuton Hall seating will be limited to four (4) tickets per transaction. Malaprop's is pleased to partner with The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina to present The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, author of "The Power of Love: Sermons, Reflections, and Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire." Bishop Curry will be in conversation with The Right Reverend José McLoughlin, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina. The event will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church on Wednesday, June 26th at 6:00 p.m. Bishop Curry will sign books following the conversation. ***Please stay tuned for important updates about this event and the signing.*** ***Please stay tuned for more details on book pickups and purchases.*** ***Please call Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe at 828-254-6734 or email [email protected] if you have any questions about attending this event.*** The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry is Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as Chair of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church. He is the first African American Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and was previously Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. In THE POWER OF LOVE: Sermons, Reflections, and Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire Bishop Curry, the first African-American presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, shares the full text of his captivating sermon at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, plus an original introduction and four of his favorite sermons on the themes of love and social justice. A beautifully designed, two-color gift book, THE POWER OF LOVE is Bishop Currys heartfelt plea on behalf of an increasingly divisive world, asking us to reject chaos and alienation and to embrace community. The way to get there is through loveof one another, of ourselves, of humankind.

On This day of prayer and fasting I will: Clothe myself in humility and let go of pride. Colossians 3:12

A $200 gift is enough to provide our neighbors, like those in Guerrero, with community gardens. This includes shared plots of land and good soil, drought resistant seeds, tools and training, resulting in plenty of tomatoes, potatoes, beans, cassava and other vegtables to go around.

In Guerrero, Mexico pverty and lack of oportunity make healthy food hard to come by. But, with your support, families ar receiving training and materials to create chicken coopes, gardens and other assets to increase stability.

Raise up reconcilers who point us to the sources of injustice and teach us how to build relationships. Establish your lasting peace amont the names. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

A $10 donation ELCA Word Hunger can provide a fruite tree seedling for a family farm like Shadrack's. Seedlings are specially selcted for each location adn climate and include varieties known to thrive in the driest of conditions, even drought.

In the Village of Chole, Malawi, Shaddrack has been cultivating trees for two years, and the oldest are nearly read to sell and transplant. His nursery was made possible by a small business loan, supported by your gifts to ELCA World Hunger. Read more about his story in A legacy of stewardship.

On this day of prayer and fasting, I will: Clothe myself in kindness and let go of hatred. Colossians 3:12

Consider using the 40 Days of Lent to collect your gifts this season. You may download special wrappers for a coin jar at ELCA.org/40Days

Through ELCA Word Hunger our church supports work in areas related to health care, income generation, food security, clean water and education-addressing the root causes of hunger. Learn more about our approach at ELCA.org/Hunger

March 11, Open wide your hand to satisfy the needs of every living thing. Sen your Spirit .to places experiencing drought or floods. Fill every habitat with life. Hear us O God. Your mercy is great.

On This day of prayer and fasting: Clothe thyself in compassion and let go of discord. 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. King James Version (KJV)

Our talented musicians Jane and Tom Huber. What a blessing

The Dedication of the new Pipe Organ