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Excerpts from The New Outlook
Early April 2007
Holy Week: Remembering Christ’s Death and
Resurrection
Celebrate and participate in the great unfolding drama of
Christ’s death and resurrection during the week of April 1 - 8. It is a time to
deepen our faith and to grow in awareness of what it means to be Christian.
Palm Sunday, April 1
After a festive organ prelude of “Praise Him, Praise Him,” we will celebrate
Christ’s entry into Jerusalem with a joyous, palm-waving processional. The
children and adult choirs will each sing a verse of “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna,” and
then we’ll all join in.
“Rejoice, the Lord is King” is the choir’s anthem. All of
the music on Palm Sunday will reflect the joy of that long-ago day when the
crowds honored the one who “comes in the name of the Lord.” The sermon will be
on “Making an Entrance.”
Maundy Thursday, April 5
On Maundy Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m., we will worship and commune together
with our brothers and sisters in faith from Faith DesPeres Presbyterian Church
and Samuel United Church of Christ. Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday,
commemorates the evening just before the crucifixion when Jesus and his friends
broke bread together at the Last Supper. It was then that Jesus washed his
disciples’ feet and instituted the service of Communion.
Pastors Jeff Groene, Annie Epling, and Michael Dixon will
lead the service together, and the choirs of the three churches will sing a
combined anthem and separate ones. The high point, of course, will be a service
of the Lord’s Supper, where we will gather and share Communion together. The
service will be held in the Samuel UCC sanctuary.
To get to Samuel UCC from Second Baptist, go north on
McKnight and turn right on Ladue Road. After a half mile, Ladue becomes
Maryland. Turn left on North Forsyth. The address is 320 North Forsyth. If
you’re coming from Delmar, turn south on Old Bonhomme, which becomes North
Forsyth
Good Friday, April 6
The Sanctuary of the Beatitudes will be open for silent meditation from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. on Good Friday, the day that Jesus willingly laid down his life
for the sake of the world. Chairs and a reading table will be set up near the
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” window. It
depicts the suffering Christ wearing a crown of thorns.
Easter Sunday, April 8
Hallelujah! Christ is risen! “Easter is the great proclamation and promise
of God that nothing can overcome God’s love, not even the murder of the Son of
God,” says Charles Ferrell. Our choir will sing an extravaganza based on the
hymn “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” with audience participation. We will hear
the Good News in a sermon called “There Comes a Time.”
A church coffee and an Easter egg hunt for the children
will follow the worship service. Bring friends and family to this highlight of
the church year!
Holy Week Meditations
To better prepare yourself for the Good News of Easter, read and reflect
upon the whole story, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel. Find a time and place where
you can spend a few minutes in quietness and with minimal distraction. Pray for
God’s guidance before you read, and that you may be open to the power of the
story. Read the day’s lesson slowly and prayerfully. Take a little time for
meditation, asking where you meet yourself in the story. Thank God for sending
Good News in the midst of bad news.
Palm Sunday, April 1
Read Luke 19:28-40. Jesus enters Jerusalem
Monday, April 2
Read 19:41-47. Jesus weeps for Jerusalem and cleanses the temple.
Tuesday, April 3
Read Luke 20. Teaching and controversy
Wednesday, April 4
Read Luke 21. Warnings of destruction
Maundy Thursday, April 5 Read Luke 22. The Last Supper,
betrayal and arrest
Good Friday, April 6
Read Luke 23:1-49. Christ’s trial and crucifixion
Holy Saturday, April 7 Read Luke
23:50-56. The burial of Jesus
Easter Sunday, April 8 Read Luke
24. Christ arose and showed his followers the way!
Pastor Michael Dixon
Learning to Pray the Psalms
Join us for the 5 remaining sessions of “Praying the Psalms,” an adult
church school series that began last Sunday. Fred Adams will lead us in learning
to use the psalms in prayer, as Christians and Jews have done for thousands of
years. This week our assignment is to choose a metaphor from the Psalms and “be
that” for a day. We might try to experience life as the “tree planted by the
waterside” of Psalm 1, for example.
This class meets in the Community Room at 9:30 Sunday
morning. Fred recommends that we read Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for
Prayer to go along with this series. Books cost $10.40. If you’d like one,
contact Mary Shepardson.
Make a Difference with Climate Change
Climate change, or global warming, is a topic that overwhelms most of us.
It’s so huge, that it’s hard to comprehend, and harder to feel that we can make
a difference. Unfortunately, it’s been politicized by both the left and right.
It is a Christian moral issue, for it speaks to our stewardship of the Earth,
and our responsibility to future generations.
There are ways that we can make a difference. Under the
leadership of Pat Justis and the Ministry Support Team, our congregation has had
an energy audit and retrofitted the church to save large amounts of electricity
and natural gas. That has helped us in freeing up money that can better be spent
in other ministries, but also it has helped make a small difference in the
larger problem. We as individuals can find ways to make a difference, be it in
energy audits of our own homes, or in the choices we make of vehicles to drive.
A good source of information on the web is
www.interfaithpowerandlight.org, an effort by people of many different faith
backgrounds to make a faith response to the climate change issue.
On Sunday, April 15, during the coffee hour after worship,
Pat Justis and Mike Dixon will invite people who would like to express their
concern about this issue to have their picture taken and to sign a statement of
care and concern that we can send to political leaders. Please note that we are
not making a statement for the congregation as a whole, but as individuals who
are members and who wish to witness to their concern.
Over the Top! The children of Second Baptist have brought in $62.20 of their own money, surpassing their goal of $60 to provide 3 flocks of chicks for needy families overseas. They are thinking of buying a goat with the extra money. Way to go, kids! The money will be given through Heifer International, an organization that works with community groups in impoverished areas to allocate donated livestock and provide training for the environmentally sound and culturally appropriate care of the animals. Each recipient of livestock then “passes the gift” on, giving the firstborn of their animals to another waiting family. See www.heifer.org for more information.
A Talent Show!
Last year’s talent show was so much fun that we’re having another one!
All who would like to share their talents—singing, readings, storytelling,
dancing, comic routines, musical entertainment, or whatever—please sign up on
the Talent Show sheet on the table in the narthex. Mark your calendar for
Saturday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. for Second’s 2007 Cabaret Talent Show!
Choosing Our Leaders
It’s that time of year again when we begin thinking about our leaders for next
year. If you have suggestions, please contact a member of the nominating
committee: Steve Comfort, Meg Gilmore, Judy Gurley, Dave Mahan, or Mary
Shepardson. And please keep the committee in your prayers.
Book Group To Discuss
Stone Diaries
The book group will meet Tuesday, April 10, at 2 p.m. in the
Community Room to discuss Stone Diaries, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
by Carol Shields. Newsday described it as “a kind of family album made into a
work of art.” (Note that the group is meeting on a Tuesday this month.)
Ladue Chapel to Host Kathleen Norris
Kathleen Norris will be speaking at Ladue Chapel on Friday, April 13, at
7:30 p.m. on “The Desert in Bloom: A Geography of Hope.” Norris has explored the
spiritual life in the New York Times Best-Selling Amazing Grace, The
Cloister Walk, and Dakota, which Second’s Book Group enjoyed and
discussed just last month. A reception and book signing will follow the program.
If you are interested in going and would like to carpool, contact Mary
Shepardson.
From the Pastor
Easter’s coming—and with it, thoughts of death and new life, new
beginnings, new hope. Easter also brings to me memories of baptism. I remember
my own baptism on Easter Sunday 1956 in Ottumwa, Iowa, that sudden plunge into
the water and splashing my way back on my feet, feeling pleased at my new
commitment, my new faith. I remember the many baptisms I have participated in as
a pastor, at Easter and other times of year. I remember the baptisms of my own
children.
At different times, I have been in groups where people have
shared their baptismal memories. Not very many had great spiritual experiences
at the time, but for each of us it was a significant memory, a significant
milepost of our Christian lives. That step into the water was the first step in
our lives as confessed, committed Christians. We had loved Jesus before, but
were now officially welcomed into the family. We had heard about Jesus dying and
coming back to life before, but now we had experienced a little death in going
under the water, and a beginning of new life as we came back up.
We don’t have any baptisms scheduled at Second Baptist
Church this coming Easter, but we can still celebrate and remember our own
baptisms. Sometime when you are with other family members or here at the church,
you may want to share your own stories of baptism. If you weren’t immersed but
were sprinkled as a child, you may not have any direct memories, but you can
still remember family stories, or be thankful for your parents. In any case,
remember your baptism. Rejoice in being one of the people of God, the family of
Christ. Thank God for your identity as a Christian. Have a blessed Easter.
Mike Dixon
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Mon 7:00 p.m. Obsessive-Compulsive Group in Community Room
Tue 10:00 a.m. American Baptist Women's
Ministries, 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month
Tue 6:30 p.m. Adult Children of Alcoholics Group in Community Room
Wed 7:00 p.m. Choir practice
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Apr 1 Palm Sunday
Apr 5 Maundy Thursday Service, 7:00 p.m., Samuel
UCC
Apr 8 Easter Sunday. Christ has risen!
Easter egg hunt, 11:30 a.m.
Apr 10 Book group, 2:00 p.m.
Search committee, 6:30 p.m.
Apr 19 Council meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Apr 21 Men's Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Second Baptist
Apr 23 Prostate Cancer Support Group, 7:00 p.m.
Apr 17 YYC 6th - 8th grades, Glendale Presbyterian
Apr 28 Talent show and dessert, 6:30 p.m.
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