April 2017

TheJointNewsletterofSt.Mark’sEpiscopalChurch,FortDodge,Iowa

and the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd,WebsterCity,Iowa

AdminSupport:

St.Mark’s:515-576-2019 St.Mark’sFax:515-576-0632 GoodShepherd:515-832-2707

St.Mark’sWebSite: GoodShepherd’sWebsite:

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This Is Not a Fairy Tale

(Easter 2016 message from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry)

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I actually love fairy tales and I used to enjoy reading them to our children when they were young and little. Now to be sure those were the more sanitized fairy tales but there was something good about them, a way of confronting what was tough in life with genuine hope. But they were fairy tales.

This week called Holy Week, the remembrance of Jesus entering Jerusalem and offering His life in the ultimate act of sacrificial love. Good Friday, the experience of betrayal, the experience of friends abandoning you, the experience of injustice and wrong, criminal self-centered conspiracies. And then beyond that Holy Week, the resurrection from the dead. This is not a fairy tale.

The truth is even as we speak this Holy Week, we do so not only in the shadow of the cross but we do so in the shadow of those who have been killed in Brussels, of those who have been wounded and maimed, of those who weep and mourn. And of a world mourning, and not too sure how to move forward. And this world does not need another fairy tale. This week’s story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale.

Some years ago in the last century George McLeod, the founder of the Iona Community, had fought in the First World War, a war that he came to realize was fought for no good reason. He eventually became ordained, and founded the Iona Community, and at one point he said this about this faith that we hold as followers of Jesus:

“I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the centre of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves, on the town garbage dump, at a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. It was the kind of place where cynics talk smut, thieves curse, soldiers gamble. That’s where he died. And that’s where we as Christians ought to be and what we as Christians ought to be about.”

This week called Holy, the season called Easter, the remembrance of death and the realization of resurrection, this is not a fairy tale, but the revelation of ultimate reality. Now the truth is it’s easy to dismiss or discount whether by conscious conviction or by unconscious resignation to dismiss this as naïve, nice, but naïve. It’s easy to dismiss it whether consciously or unconsciously as a great hope, a wonderful ideal, but not realistic in a world like this. Maybe, parts of us I suspect wonder, maybe the strong do survive, maybe might does make right, maybe you better look out for number one. I suspect we all share those feelings once in a while.

But, I have to ask myself a question. It’s not my question, it’s Dr. Phil’s, “How’s that workin’ out for ya?” How’s that workin’ out for the world? The truth is, the way the world very often operates is not working out. It’s not sustainable. It’s not the way to life. Jesus has shown us the way. He has shown us that unselfish, sacrificial love, love of God, and love of the other, is the way to life. That, my friends, is the ultimate reality. And that’s not a fairy tale.

When Jesus was executed, He was tried and con-victed of crimes He never committed. He willingly gave His life. Not for Himself, but for others. And in so doing, He showed us what love looks like. That’s what we call the Way of the Cross. And that Way is the way of life and hope. And when He died, His closest followers feared that maybe the strong do survive. Maybe might does make right. And maybe we better look out for number one. ‘Cause maybe the world has won.

But three days later, something happened. Unexpected. Undreamed of. Unheralded. Three days later their world turned upside-down which is right-side up. God raised Him from the dead. And you could almost hear God thundering forth in that resurrection. Love, in the end, love wins! Love is the way! Trust me! Follow me! Believe in me! This resurrection is real! This is not a fairy tale!

So go forth into this world. Don’t be afraid. And don’t be ashamed to be people of love. And go forth into this world and help us to change it from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends.

A blessed Holy Week, a blessed Easter, and go forth into the world. Amen.

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The Most Rev. Michael Curry

Presiding Bishop and Primate

The Episcopal Church

Tom and Judy McLaughlin, Richard Mason, Rhonda Masser from Good Shepherd, and Johnand Mary Kay Daniel from St. Mark’sattended the North Central Chapter Meetingon March 18. It was a very welcoming atmosphere and well represented by members of Trinity. The "Agenda Talking Points and Notes for the Chapter Meetings" are a working document and are available to anyone from one of us—please ask.

We had an opportunity to discuss our individual churches as we related to times of transition and how we are meeting our needs. For Good Shepherd, our covenant with St. Mark's was a positive we are grateful for. Rev. Lydia Bucklin did an excellent job facilitating the meeting, and some of us stayed for the “Famous” St. Patrick’s Day parade following the meeting.

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Help Prepare for Palm Sunday and Easter: The Altar Guild (along with other parishioners) will be gathering in Taylor Hall on Friday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. to clean and polish brass in preparation for Easter, and to make palm crosses for Palm Sunday. Constructing palm crosses is a project that requires many hands, and it’s a fun time of fellowship, so please join us. Call Mary Duro at 573-3294 with any questions.

  • Easter Lilies: If you would like to donate lilies for Easter, please fill out a form (hall table) and put it in the offering plate with a check/cash, drop it by the office, or call during the week. Plants are $10.50 for small, and $15.00 for large. All orders are due in the church office by Monday, April 10.
  • Lenten Bible Study: You can still come and be a part of a Bible Study on Sundays following Coffee Hour from 10:30-11:30am led by Fr. Bob. It is a study based on the 7 Last Words of Jesus spoken from the Cross on Good Friday. A supplemental DVD is used, based on the book Healing the Dying written by The Rev. Dennis and Rev. Matt Linn and Sheila Linn.
  • Maundy Thursday Agape Meal: Fr. Bob Kem will expose us to another new experience on Maundy Thursday, April 13 at 5:30pm before the Foot Washing/Holy Eucharist. There will be a simple table set with foods similar to those Jesus would have shared with his disciples at the Last Supper; such as olives, grapes, cheeses, nuts, unleavened bread, etc. It is a time of socializing and fellowship, with chairs in a circle in small groups for conversation before going to the service of worship at 6:30pm.

Please sign up in Taylor Hall for a food item to contribute and join your brothers and sisters in Christ for a very holy time of fellowship as Jesus would have been a part of that night before his death.

  • Good Friday Prayer Vigil: On Good Friday, Jesus was placed on the cross at 9am and remained until 3pm. It is important for us to reflect on what Jesus did for each one of us to prove God's love and the conquering of death. In tribute to His sacrifice, we will conduct a Prayer Vigil before the altar during the hours that Jesus hung on the cross.

We would like to have three people to pray during each hour interval, and you may sign up for more than one hour. Votive candles may be lighted duringyour time of prayer. The reserve will be out of the tabernacle and visible on display on the small altar as a reminder of the Body of Christ.

The reading of scripture and The Psalms is most appropriate, including Psalms 22, 23, 46, 51, 121 and others. Passion narratives from the Gospels are read for meditation: Matthew 26:30-75, 27:1-66; Luke 22:39-71, 23:1-56; and, John 18:1-19:42. Special prayers for the sick and those in need are used as intercessions, as well as prayers for the Search Committee, prayers for the Vestry, and prayer for the new Rector.

Sign up for an hour (or more) to honor Christ’s time of suffering for our sins—your heart will be blessed as you spend time with other parishioners in this holy time of prayer.

Come have Easter Dinner at St. Mark's. We are again planning on having Easter Dinner together on April 16 at 11:30AM. St. Mark's will provide the meat items; we will potluck the vegetables, salads, and desserts. It would be helpful if you would RSVP your attendance OR sign up in the Parish Hall that you are attending and just which family favorite Easter Dinner specialty you might be bringing.

All are invited and if a bag of dinner rolls is all you have energy to provide you are more than welcome, because that is the exact purpose of having Easter Dinner together. For all of us with family far away, a work schedule right up to the last minute, or no energy to put on a spread at home, join us for a festive and favorite intro to spring. Last year's Easter Dinner was a great success and a wonderful way to spend the day visiting with friends—the tables were groaning with food. Can't wait! It will be a great time together! Any questions? Just ask Sharon Vogel or Jane Martin. We'll come up with an answer. 515-574-9568 (Sharon's cell)

  • Lenten Soup Supper & Stations: A group of several people have been enjoying a light supper in Taylor Hall starting at 5:30p.m. on Thursdays. Come and join Fr. Kem and other folks for the last two soup meals, followed by Stations of the Cross and socializing.

Interim Priest for St. Mark’s: Beginning Wednesday, April 19, Bishop Michael Last will be serving St. Mark’s as Intentional Interim Rector. He resides in Mason City and will be in Fort Dodge on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Bishop Last will be guiding St. Mark’s in assessing where they are as a community of faith and to consider where this next phase of ministry might lead them. His goals as “Intentional Interim” are to identify strengths and explore new possibilities that God may be calling St. Mark’s to consider.

During this transition time, Bishop Last will “prepare the way for the calling of a permanent rector” by helping the church to form a vision for where it wants to be in the future and determine what skills the new rector will need to advance that vision.

Fr. Robert Kem: St. Mark’s would like to sincerely thank Fr. Bob Kem for all he has done for our church in the short amount of time he has been serving us. He has had a meaningful presence to everyone he has met. We were able to bring back Bible study and Stations of the Cross through his leadership and have begun a healing time within the congregation.

Fr. Bob will continue to shepherd St. Mark’s through Lent and will lead our Easter Sunday service. He also has agreed to be a substitute priest during the next year when Bishop Last is unable to be here. We all join in a big St. Mark’s THANK-YOU to him for his ministry!

“WOOLKLIPPINGS”

FROMGOODSHEPHERD

  • Spring Clean-Up Day will beon Saturday, April 8 at 3:00 PM. We’re focusing on ROCKS - we need to get the rocks out of the yard before mowing season. Other chores will be listed. Dress casually because the Palm Saturday Service is at 5:00 PM…How about a POTLUCK?
  • Easter Pancake Breakfastwill again be served at Good Shepherd. Breakfast serving begins at 9:00 AM with the service starting at 10:45. Come and share this special Holy day!
  • Building Notes: New thermostats have been installed in the church, hall and social hall. They are so much easier to read to make sure that heat/cold is set to an economic degree while the church is not in use. Also, they should be much more accurate. It was noted that our energy costs for heating is significantly lower this last year - our building is insulated and tight.

The purchase of 20 folding chairs and 4 stationary chairs (with arms) was approved by the vestry. The stationary arm chairs should make it easier for those who need an extra hand to get up and down safely.

Spring is just around the corner. We’re itching to start the paving and planting of the church courtyard. Barbara Flowerday Golberg is having a wonderful time designing beveled glass windows for the church. The sign committee has been charged to begin functioning. A new outdoor sign was moved up in priority at this year’s annual meeting. We hope to have it installed by the Revival on September 15.

  • Ministry: Good Shepherd has been blessed with 3 different clergy with different styles bringing a new dimension to worship.

The Rev. Mary Jane Oakland has been our mainstay. She has offered more than just supply…suggestions for the liturgy, interactive sermons, training for lay Eucharistic ministers/visitors as well as good advice. We’ve only enjoyed the Rev. Kris Leaman once but were delighted with her service. Saturday night service in the round was a different experience with the Rev. Lydia Bucklin and her daughter Ila.

ChurchintheroundwiththeRev.LydiaBucklin

Over pizza, Lydia shared helpful resources - evangelism tools - Invite, Welcome, Connect, Faith Sharing Dinners with cards, St. Paul’s Council Bluffs, Recasting Your Assets and the Breaking Bread Ministry she is involved in. She mentioned St. Andrew’s West Des Moines preschool music ministry. We also chatted about the upcoming Revival. She had some great ideas about making it fun and relevant and then scheduled herself as one of the core team to come to Good Shepherd.

Richard Mason, Tom and Judy McLaughlin and Rhonda Masser attended the March 18th North Central Chapter meeting in Emmetsburg, along with John and Mary Kay Daniel from St. Mark's. We also got to meet Bishop Last who will be interim rector for St. Mark's this coming year. The "Agenda Talking Points and Notes for the Chapter Meetings" are a working document andare available to anyone from one of us—please ask. We also had an opportunity to discuss our individual churches as we related to times of transition and how we are meeting our needs. During this transitional time, we have nine trained and licensed members who can do Lay Eucharist when a priest is not available. This also makes the Eucharist available to those who cannot get to church for it.

We talked about growing our membership and that we have a children's service several times a year where the children and young people fill the roles of those helping the priest during the service. Weare including our children and young people in the weekly services to get them involved. We also talked about our outreach in our local community.

Rhonda is planning on going to St. Mark’s to learn how to make palm crosses. Everyone is invited to come.

During the Lenten study, Welcome to Sunday, we asked the question of ourselves, “Is it difficult or easy for you to think of yourself as a minister? Why/why not?” There were some surprising answers…even though all of us are called to be ministers through baptism and whatever role Christians fill in their life during the week can be a ministry and finally, a large percentage of ministry is just showing up. Those who weren’t present might want to ask yourselves that question.

Lay Distribution of Holy Communion has gone well…we’ve done “prairie church” in the round in the back by the organ and “formal church” using the sanctuary as the focal point. We are tentatively planning on 1 service a month being Lay Distribution.

New Ministry: Thanks to Mary Jane for training in Lay Eucharistic Visitors, we have 4 trained to offer home/hospital/care facility communion. If you are not able to come to church for Holy Communion but would like to receive it, please contact Judy McLaughlin, Richard or Karen Mason, or Deb Leksell. More will be trained in April.

  • Open to the Holy Spirit: Do you have questions, concerns, ideas for worship, music, a faith story or gifts to share? We are open to the Holy Spirit! Contact one of the Vestry members or just share…
  • A New Voice from the Past: I, Deb Leksell, posted on the Good Shepherd Facebook page an article by Christopher Mokelbust. I was sharing with our congregation not as a political statement - it is thoughtful and erudite. Christopher Moklebust was a young member of our congregation. We watched him and Sarah grow up. Sarah took the professional musician's role and Christopher chose political science. This is a very well done piece, thoughtful and scholarly. Check it out if you are interested…if you are offended, I am sorry. The last sentence brings it all together and can be used for any source of conflict: We do need to "balance, believe with doubt and ponder with praxis." Congratulations, Christopher.
  • Social Committee, Another New Ministry: We are in dire need of someone(s) who would like to plan the Saturday evening socials going forward. It would be nice to have a few months planned in advance so we are not doing it at the last minute.

Considerations: See when our youth will be available for Family Game Night or family activity night. In the past, we’ve had Family Fun (game) night, dinners out at a restaurant, Pizza, Potluck, Lenten Study, soup and chili, baked potato and salad bar with everyone bringing a topping, Maidrites and chips, sandwiches and bars, and Covenant activities with St. Mark’s.