
This Sunday (4/7) the 10 am service will be a Family Service. As we near the end of Lent and our Holy Week observance begins, there are quite a number of things to be aware of. This week’s announcements are below. Please take a look:
- Intergenerational Faith Formation/ Gospel Box (Christian Formation)
- Easter Flowers & Music (Worship)
- Holy Week Events (Lent & Holy Week)
- Triduum (Christian Practices)
Maundy Thursday Agapé Meal, April 18, 6:00 pm
Agapé is the Greek word for God’s love. We’ll gather for a simple pot-luck meal, as Jesus and his disciples did, before our Maundy Thursday worship. We’ll be sharing this meal with the Christian (Catholic) Community in the Parish House Lower Room. Sign up on the sheet in the Narthex. Hope to see you there!
Foot Washing at Maundy Thursday Worship, April 18, 7:30 pm. This action is a symbol of the loving service to others that Jesus calls us to – basic, humble, prayerful, vulnerable. It is part of Maundy Thursday worship in churches all over the world. During the singing of a chant, the congregation is invited to come forward, have one foot washed, and then wash the foot of the person who comes after them. This care for one another is deeply moving. Wearing shoes and socks that are easily removable makes this easier.
Prayer Watch, anytime Maundy Thursday night, 8:30 pm to 12 am. Come and keep watch in the Church with Jesus for thirty minutes on the night of his trials in the Garden of Gethsemane (Altar of Repose with the Reserved Sacrament). This is a time for personal prayer and meditation and is also done behalf of our whole parish community. Even if you can’t come to the service, this prayer time is for you. Sign up for a half hour prayer time on the sheet in the Narthex.
WORSHIP
Easter Flowers & Music – at Easter our church is decorated beautifully, and our music is enhanced and supported by guest musicians. If you would like to make a donation for Easter flowers or guest musicians in memory of a loved one or in thanksgiving for God’s blessings, please use the envelopes found in the pew. Include the names of the people being remembered or honored; they will appear in all the Easter bulletins. The deadline for names is April 8.
Holy Week & Easter Service Schedule
Palm Sunday, April 14
8:00 am Palm Procession & Holy Eucharist
10:00 am Palm Procession, Bagpipes & Holy Eucharist
Maundy Thursday, April 18 The Triduum begins
7:30 pm Holy Eucharist, Foot Washing, Stripping the Altar
8:30 pm Prayer Watch at Altar of Repose
12:00 am Good Friday Matins (Morning Prayer)
Good Friday, April 19 The Triduum continues
12:00 pm Interactive Stations of the Cross
7:30 pm The Good Friday Liturgy
Easter Eve, April 20 The Triduum concludes
7:30 pm The Great Vigil of Easter
Easter Day, April 21 The Sunday of the Resurrection
8:00 am Festive Holy Eucharist
10:00 am Festive Holy Eucharist
Please note – we welcome photos taken during our services and events to share on our website and Facebook page, so we can help tell the story of our faith in Christ. Just don’t distract yourself or others from worship! And remember to check-in on Facebook (All Saints' Episcopal/Anglican Church, Millington, NJ) and Instagram (allsaints.millington).
FUN & FUNDRAISING
Spring Fish & Chips by Argyle of Kearny – May 2. Eat in or take out. Tickets are $20 for adults/$10 for kids under 12. Sign up on the poster in the Narthex to help out. Tickets go on sale soon. See Jackie Sullivan for details.
PRAYER & A PARTY
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Chili Cook Off and Game Night! We had a great time, and will plan another one soon. Congratulations to our chili winners Roger & Helen Mederos! They will have a reserved parking space on Easter morning!
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Interfaith Gathering of Food & Fellowship - Sharing Dinner & Faith: In God, Our Community & Each Other. Sponsored by the Watchung Hills Clergy Association and the Shrine of St. Joseph. Prayers of blessing offered by clergy of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian Communities. Palm Sunday, April 14, 5-7 pm at the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling. RSVP to shrineofsaintjoseph.com/interfaithrsvp
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bible Study this week. We’ll meet on Wed. 4/3 at 10:15 am in the Rath House. We’ll be talking about Mark, Chapter 15. Questions? Speak to Mother Vicki.
Narnia Book Club discussion of “The Magician’s Nephew” meets during coffee hour. The Narnia insert has a passage from the chapters we are reading, as well as a reflection question. Even if you don’t come to the group, take the insert home and think about the question. For more information, speak to Alison Siener Brown.
Narnia Night at the Movies – Sunday, April 28, 5-7 pm in the Lower Room of the Parish House. We’ll gather to watch and discuss “The Narnia Code”, an exploration of C.S. Lewis’ use of medieval cosmology in The Chronicles of Narnia, as outlined in Michael Ward’s book Planet Narnia. The film is 45 minutes long. We’ll have pizza, popcorn, and discussion. You don’t need to have been reading along with the books to enjoy this fascinating film!
Intergenerational Faith Formation – here is the passage and question for next Sunday. The full set of readings can always be found by going to www.thelectionarypage.net and clicking on the date on the calendar.
Next Sunday’s Gospel Box
April 7, Lent 5 – John 12:1-8
Mary of Bethany (not Mary Magdalene) pours expensive ointment over Jesus’ feet and others criticize her. Have you ever done anything for the love of God for which you have received criticism or misunderstanding?
April 14, Palm Sunday – Luke 19:28-40
Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem to shouts of acclamation and ends up challenging the religious and secular authorities. How is it for you to walk with Jesus when the going is easy. How is it to walk with Jesus when the going is hard?
PARISH CALENDAR
4/7 Narnia Discussion Parish Hall 11:15 am
Confirmation Class PH Lower Room 11:15 am
4/9 Finance Committee Rath House 7:30 pm
4/10 Bible Study Rath House, 10:15 am
4/11 Junior Choir Choir Room, 5:15 pm
Adult Choir Choir Room 7:30 pm
For a full schedule of our buildings check the website calendar www.allsaintsmillington.org.
CHRISTIAN PRACTICES
Triduum (in Latin, Three Sacred Days) – the heart of Holy Week is the Triduum, the great three days of Maundy Tuesday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday which culminates with the Great Vigil of Easter. These are the three days that changed the world and are at the heart of our faith: Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, and Resurrection; his victory over death and rising to New Life. This is the Paschal Mystery, the Christian Passover (pesach, in Hebrew), our deliverance from sin and death.
The importance of these days cannot be overstated. We gather as Jesus’ followers to pray, sing, meditate, hold silence, and hear the great story of salvation so that we may be strengthened and reformed as Christ’s Body.
It takes three days to do this, and so our worship begins on Maundy Thursday evening and does not end until the conclusion of the Great Vigil on Easter Eve (Saturday). There is no dismissal on either Thursday or Friday. The celebration of the Triduum is, in effect, one continuous service of worship stretching over the three days with pauses in between. We need all that time to listen, pray, eat, wash and wait to even begin to enter into what Christ’s redemption means for us.
Many of you know the profound depth and power of being part of these Three Holy Days. If you have never taken the opportunity to participate in the entire Triduum, I invite you – I urge you – to try it. Your faith will grow and deepen, and you will grow closer to God, being renewed in your faith and trust.
Blessings, Vicki+