March 2008 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church

8/8/2019 March 2008 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church

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TrinityTopicsThe Newsletter of Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo, Ohio

MARCH

2008

VOLUME134,

NUM

BER3

Image by He Qi, China

Christ is risen indeed!


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SUNDAY, MAR 2 !LENT 4A1 Sam 16:1-13; Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s

10:00a Formation

10:45a Parish Eucharist

SUNDAY, MAR 9 !LENT 5AEz 37:1-14; Rom 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

9:00a Eucharist w/ hymn s10:00a Formation


SUNDAY, MAR 16 ! PALM SUNDAY

Phil 2:5-11; Matt 26:14- 27:66ON E SERVICE ONLY


Sunday, March 16: Palm Sunday

We recall the entire stor y of Jesus passion a t one combined service at 10:45 am.

Thursday, March 20, 7 pm: Feast of Friends & Maundy Thursday

Commu nal meal and foot w ashing, remembering Jesus last evening with the

disciples.

Thursday, March 20 - Friday, March 21: Vigil

Lasts from app roximately 9 pm Thursday though the Friday evening Stations of

the Cross. Scriptu re reading and prayer th roughou t the night. Security w ill be

present in the building.

Good Friday, March 21: Stations of the Cross

12 noon: Choral Stations of the Cross

7 pm .: Experiential Stations of the Cross

Saturday, March 22, 7 pm: Easter Vigil

This is the feast that ties us directly to the earliest Christians. Join u s for a joyful

celebration of the first feast of the resur rection. We tell the story of our faith

through song, and go from d arkness into light. Following ancient custom, the

highlight of ou r celebration w ill be bap tism, as we celebrate Lucy Laboe and

Baylon "Butch" Heid ers full initiation by w ater and the sp irit into Christs body

the Church. A champagne reception will follow.

Easter Day, March 23:

The celebration of the resurrection continues with Sunday morning Eucharist and

hym ns. One service only at 10:45 am.

SUNDAY, MAR 23 !EASTERActs 10:34-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-18

ON E SERVICE ONLY


SUNDAY, MAR 30 !EASTER 2AActs 2:14a,22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31


10:00a Formation10:45a Parish Eucharist

SUNDAY, APR 6 !EASTER 3AActs 2:14a,36-41; 1 Pet 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35


10:00a Formation


Images by Sophie Hackerwww.reeep.org


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Dur ing Ho ly Week, we live in two time zones.

One is our own: the one where w e need to get to

work by nine, wh ere the cable bill is due on

Tuesday and the dog has to be walked before

bed. This is the time zone wh ere, for u s, Eastercomes around every year, on the first Sunday

after the first full moon on or after the vern al

equinox according to the Gregorian calendar.

But th ere is another time zon e we live in for

one w eek: call it Kairos Stand ard Time. It jum ps

around a bit: We start off on Palm Sund ay w ith

the story of Jesus trium ph al entry into

Jerusalem. We then read right through to His

passion, then we back up and run the w hole

story again in real time as we are asked to enter

into Jesus last few d ays on earth. In this time

zone, we are 21st century p ilgrims who w alk right along with Jesus and h is disciples. We eat together,wash feet, we wait in the garden. As w e read the Gospel together, we become the crowd wh o yell

"Crucify Him!" We walk w ith Him to th e cross. And then, we are asked to w ait in that time after His

death and before His resurrection.

In our regular time zone, we know wh at hap pens next. But in this other one, we are asked to set

aside that kn owled ge and to be w ith the disciples in their unknow ing. This is the only time of the year

we Christians are ever asked, as a matter of faith, to consider w hat if. What if Jesus had not been w ho

He said He was? What if Christ had not existed? Of course, from the beginning Ch rist w as with u s and

with God, and we kn ow H e never was tru ly away from u s. But for the w orld in Jesus time, and

therefore in our ow n faith story, there was a gap: there was a time, for two days, when Jesus wasnt

there.

The suspended momen t of Jesus perceived absence is what we are asked to sit with on Good Friday

and Holy Saturd ay. After all the disciples thought a Messiah would d o, he does it very, very d ifferently.He d oes not come d own off the cross, He d oes not summ on the h ost of heaven to smite those who

oppress his peop le. He stays pu t, empties himself, and dies. And for two days, the h opes of his followers

die with him.

As we live into this time, we sit with the God-shap ed hole in each of us, and consider what Chr ists

non-existence would have meant for them and for us. Unlike our regular standard time, in this time

zone, there is absolutely nothing we can d o.

And that is the whole point: this is the time that is truly out of our hand s, when we learn that the

rest of our lives depend s up on God s action and not ou r own . Like any great story, all looks lost just

before the hero d oes the One Great Action. At the very moment in time wh ere we cannot see w here God

is, God is w orking the most, and doing a w hole new thing that w ill transform the entire story. We sit by

in wh at we think is emp tiness, only to find it fuller than we could h ave asked or imagined. And we find

that, all along, we w ere living in Gods time, and did nt even know it.

Liddy

The time when Jesus w asnt there

3

Icon of the Epitaphios Thrinos

We sit with the God-shaped hole in each of us, and

consider what Christs non-existence would have meant


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It is all there in the symbols of our faith:

fire, light, water, bread and wine.

Holy Week: What does it all mean?by Barry Bowman from Vergers Voice

By the second centu ry, Christians w ere celebrating the

paschal mystery of the dying and rising again of Jesus Christ

with both fasting and feasting. Friday and Saturd ay w ere fast

days, The Eucharistic feast was celebrated either Saturd ay

night or at Sund ay's dawn.What came to be Holy Week is believed to have developed

in 4th century Jerusalem. By then, the w eek before Easter was

filled with celebrations tied to the historical comm emor ation

of the resurrection on Sun day. Friday, already a fast day,

became Good Friday, the commemoration of the p assion and

crucifixion; the Last Sup per 'on the nigh t in wh ich he w as

betrayed" was commemorated with a Thursd ay evening

Eucharist.

Thus w ith the Easter Vigil already in place, the construction of

churches at sacred sites in the H oly Land by Constan tine, and

an influx of pilgrims into Jerusalem for Easter, a series of

services developed into the liturgical observance of Holy Week. Returning pilgrims adapted andincorporated these services into the liturgies of their own chu rches.

These rites recall for u s the h istorical events of the pa ssion. They do not imitate them like a passion

play, but symbolize them so that we may enter into them. The Gospel threads the stories together, we

move w ith Christ from event to event through out the w eek.

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

The dou ble title of this day-palm and passion-describes its litur gy. The service begins with the

trium ph al procession as we escort Jesus into Jerusa lem, welcoming him w ith palm br anches. Once inside

the city, the mood changes, and we become p layers in the dram a of the Passion. A penitential Eucharist

reminds u s that w e walk w ith Jesus du ring his last days in the crowd ed city.

The Triduum

Tridu um is Latin for three days. It refers to the period beginning with sun dow n on Mau ndy Thursdayand extending until sundown on Easter. It corresponds to the ancient celebration of the Pascha, with two

days of fasting and one of feasting. The Triduu m u nites the paschal celebration. The omission of the

dismissal at the Maun dy Thursday and Good Friday services ties the liturgies of the Tridu um together as

a single liturgical act, from M aund y Thursd ay through the Great Vigil of Easter.

Maundy Thursday

Maund y comes from th e Latin m and atum, referring to the new command ment in John 13:34 that is

sung d ur ing the foot washing . The liturgy celebrates the events of the Last Supp er, the foot wash ing, and

the institution of the Eucharist. It is the only Eucharist celebrated between Wedn esday and the Great Vigil

of Easter, and joins the events of the Last Sup per to th ose of Good Friday.

Good Friday

The Good Friday liturgy consists of the Liturgy of the Word and the venera tion of the cross.

Image by He Qi, China


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Easter flower mem orialsDont forget to make your donation to h onor

friends and relatives this Easter. The dona tions are

used to offset the extra costs of flowers and mu sic

for Holy Week and Easter Day. An envelope is

includ ed in this issue of Topics and the deadline

for inclusion in the Easter bulletin is Monday,

March 17.

ECW Meets at St. MarksDid you m iss the opportu nity to watch the

investiture of the Presiding Bishop ? Are you

interested in w hats hap pening in The Episcopal

Chu rch in the Un ited States of Amer ica? View the

DVD of the worship service in Washing ton

Na tional Cathed ral, then The Rev. Kelly O'Connell

will answer your questions regarding The

Episcopal Chu rch. Soup and salad lunch provided .

Monday, March 17 at 10 am at St. Marks, 2272

Collingwood.

Thanks from N ancy PaulasI cannot thank you enough for all the prayers and

cards with good wishes I received during m y hospital

confinement. The blanket was put to good use. At such a

busy t ime of the year, you found time to encourage me. I

shall never forget your kindness.

Love,

Nancy

Sup porting our postulantAs chair of Marie Harkey's parish discernment

committee, I'd like to invite the commu nity to

continue to sup port her in pr ayer and in a variety

of other ways as she begins the transition from

Trinity to seminary.

Marie has indicated tha t one of the major

concerns that she and Kathy have is around their

house. If you know of anyone wh o might like to

rent from them for the 2 years that Marie is away

(or, better yet, pu rchase their hom e) could you letMarie or me know? Their hou se has 3 bedrooms

(one is a master su ite on the second floor), 2 1/ 2

baths, and a finished basement. It's in west Toledo,

between Lewis and Bennett. Watch this space for

more ways that you can help as Marie and Kathy

continue in this jour ney.

Mike Lowrey

Great Vigil of Easter

The incorporation of bap tism into the Vigil resulted

from the fixing of Easter as the g reat bap tismal feast,

probably in the second or third centu ry. By the fourth

century, the Vigil was w ell established as the service

for baptizing the catechum ens. The decrease in adu lt

candid ates for bap tism started the d ecline of the

Great Vigil in the Mid dle Ages. The reformers

abolished th e celebration of the Vigil, turning theirattention to Easter morning, wh ich h ad become the

pop ular celebration of Easter.

In its pr esent form, th e Great Vigil consists of (1)

the Service of Light, (2) the Service of Lessons, (3)

Christian Initiation, and (4) the Holy Euchar ist.

The Service of Light is a form of lamp-lighting th at

was once a pa rt of every evening service. Its origin is

pu rely u tilitarian, but it d id not long remain so.

Bringing light into the da rk bu ilding was identified

with th e light of Christ shining in the dar kness-not

only at the Vigil but also at every evening service.

The Vigil emphasizes this them e, however, with thekind ling of new fire that is carried into the d arkened

church.

Dur ing the Service of Lessons, the new fire

provides the light by which the H ebrew scriptu res are

read, beginning with the story of Creation, and

including Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea. These

readings, and their Christian interpretation in the

collects following, are a sum mar y of the chur ch's

tradition as it passed on to a new generation of

Christians p reparing for bap tism.

Then, the action moves to the font and the time for

Christian Initiation. The w ater is blessed, thecandidates are baptized, and the baptismal covenant

is renewed by the congregation. Baptism is the

theological climax of the Great Vigil. As we celebrate

the resurrection of Christ and our ow n p articipation

in that resurrection, we bring new members to share

in that new life through the baptismal washing so

that we and they may p ass with Christ through death

into life.

The Vigil is clearly the time for th e reaffirma tion of

the Baptismal Covenant, as we remember that in the

waters of baptism we mad e this passage with Christ,.

Finally, the church, renewed and increased by the

addition of the newly baptized, celebrates the Holy

Eucharist. What has been hinted a t in the scriptu res is

now mad e explicit in the resurrection Gospel.

It is all there in th e sym bols of our faith: fire, light,

wa ter, bread and w ine. In the Great Vigil of Easter we

pass w ith Christ from d eath to life, and th e church

from Lent to Easter.


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dinner and program from 5 to 7 pm . Dr. Tarunjit

Singh Buta lia of the w orld Sikh Council will speak.

Reservations ($15 adults, $10 children 12 and

und er) are due by March 3. For more information:

info@mu ltifaithcoun cil.org.

News from Renaissance Senior

ApartmentsWe have r eceived this letter of appr eciation from

Troy Alexander , Senior Property Manager: Dear

Friend s, We cant begin to tell you h ow w ond erful

your generou s donation w as for the residents of

the Renaissance Senior Apa rtmen ts following the

recent explosion we su ffered. All of the residents

were forced to leave their hom es sudd enly and

without w arning on a very cold n ight in late

November. When the d onation was delivered to

their temporary shelter set up at the Seagate Hotel,

a sincere app reciation and gratitud e was felt by allthe residents. For the comm un ity to give so

generou sly of them selves to those involved in this

tragedy w as heartwarming and helped to lift the

spirits of everyone affected by the incident. There

were so many of you involved and I wish I had all

the names to personally thank you but this thank

you is extended to ALL who helped. We w ill be

forever grateful for your kindness. Troy reports

that the plan is for residents to move back into their

homes about Ap ril 1st although the common areas

on the first floor will not be read y for use.

FOCUS Annu al MeetingIf you are interested in learning more about

FOCUS, our p artner agency that h elps people

struggling w ith homelessness and poverty, you are

welcome to attend the ann ual meeting on Mond ay

March 3rd from 5.00 to 6.30 p.m. at St. Marks

Episcopal Church. The agenda will include the

annual r eview of 2007, special recognitions,

approv al of the bud get and installation of officers

and new board members among these will be

Karen Wabeke, who will serve as an At Large

board mem ber. Please ph one 419 244 2175 if you

wou ld like to attend .

Valerie Garforth, Outreach Chair

International Womens Day

March 8The United N ations Assembly celebrates

International Womens Day on Saturday March

8 so it is app ropr iate that we w ill be gathering

in our Personal Hygiene packs for wom en and

childr en at th e Battered Women s Shelter on

Sund ay March 9. The U.N. celebration is to

recognize that peace and social progress

require the active participation and equality of

women. Yet, the majority of the w orlds 1.3

billion absolute poor are wom en. On av erage,

women r eceive between 30 and 40% less pay

than men earn for the same w ork. And

everywhere, women continue to be victims of

violence, with rape and d omestic violence

listed as significant causes of d isability and

death amon g wom en of reprodu ctive age

worldwide. The U.N. statement says: Until

men and wom en work together to secure therights and full poten tial of women, lasting

solutions to the w orlds most serious social,

economic and p olitical problems are un likely

to be found.

Harbor HouseAnother Toledo organization that helps

hom eless single wom en to rebuild their lives as

they recover from substance abuse is Harbor

Hou se. The agency is facing a serious short

term funding gap wh ile they wait for newgrants to kick in and we w ould like to offer

them our su pp ort dur ing that time. They could

use any p ersonal hygiene items (such as bars of

soap, toothbru shes and toothp aste, and

laundr y pow der) as well as food items. Your

donations wou ld be very w elcome please

place them in the box labeled Battered

Womens Shelter and mark the bag H arbor

Hou se. Thank you!

7th Annual MultiFaithBanquet

The MultiFaith Cou ncil, our Habitat For

Hu manity partner for the past four years,

annou nces its 7th annual banqu et on Sund ay,

March 9th to be held at Rosary Cathedr al from

4 to 7 pm. Father Singler of Rosary Cathed ral

will conduct an op tional seminar and tour of

the cathedral beginning at 3 pm, w ith a mixer

and faith display tables from 4 to 5 pm and

ou

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Book Review: Amish Grace

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended TragedyDonald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher

September 2007

On Mon day morning, October 2, 2006, a gunman entered a one-room Am ishschool in N ickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twen ty-five horrified pu pils,

thirty-two-year-old Charles Roberts ordered the boys and the teacher to leave.

After tying the legs of the ten rem aining girls, Roberts prep ared to shoot them

execution style with an autom atic rifle and four hu ndr ed rou nds of amm un ition

that he br ought for the task. The oldest hostage, a thirteen-year-old, begged

Roberts to "shoot me first and let the little ones go." Refusing h er offer, he opened

fire on all of them , killing five and leaving the others critically wou nd ed. H e then

shot him self as police stormed the bu ilding. His motivation? "I'm angry at God for taking my little

daughter," he told the children before the massacre.

The story captured the attention of broadcast and p rint media in the Un ited States and aroun d the

world. By Tuesday m orning some fifty television crews had clogged the sm all village of Nickel Mines,

staying for five d ays until the killer and the killed w ere buried. The blood was barely d ry on theschoolhouse floor wh en Am ish parents brough t w ords of forgiveness to the family of the one w ho h ad

slain their children .

The outside world was incredulous that such forgiveness could be offered so quickly for such a heinous

crime. Of the hun dred s of media qu eries that the au thors received about th e shooting, questions about

forgiveness rose to the top . Forgiveness, in fact, eclipsed the tragic story, trum ping the violence and

arresting the w orld's attention.

Within a week of the mu rd ers, Amish forgiveness was a central theme in more than 2,400 new s stories

around the w orld. The Washington Post, The N ew York Times, USA Today, N ewsw eek, NBC N ightly

New s, CBS Morning N ews, Larry King Live, Fox News, Oprah , and d ozens of other med ia outlets

herald ed the forgiving Am ish. From th e Khaleej Times (United A rab Emirates) to Australian television,

internationa l media were opining on Amish forgiveness. Three weeks after the shooting, "Amish

forgiveness" had app eared in 2,900 news stories world wid e and on 534,000 web sites.

Fresh from the funerals where they had buried their own children, grieving Amish families accounted

for half of the seventy-five people who attended the killer's burial. Roberts' widow was deeply moved by

their presence as Amish families greeted her an d h er three childr en. The forgiveness wen t beyond talk

and graveside p resence: the Amish also supp orted a fun d for the shooter's family.

Amish Grace explores the many questions this story raises about the religious beliefs and habits that

led the Am ish to forgive so quickly. It looks at the ties between forgiveness and mem bership in a

cloistered comm un al society and ask if Amish p ractices parallel or diverge from other religious and

secular notions of forgiveness. It w ill also add ress the m atter of wh y forgiveness became new s. "All the

religions teach it," mu sed an observer, "but no one d oes it like the Am ish." Regardless of the cultura l

seedbed that nourished this story, the surprising act of Amish forgiveness begs for a deeper exploration.

How could the Amish do this? What did this act mean to them? And how might their witness proveuseful to the rest of us?

Review published at www.josseybass.com

The surprising act of Amish forgiveness

begs for a deeper exploration.


8/8

TIME SENSITIVE MATERIAL PLEASE HANDLE PROMPTLY

Trinity Episcopal ChurchOne Trinity Plaza " Toledo, Ohio 43604-1585

Phone: 419-243-1231

Fax: 419-243-0920Email: [email protected]

Serving Downtown Toledo since 1842.

#Check here and return this pageif you no longer wish to be on Trinitys mailing list.

NON-PROFIT ORG.U. S. POSTAGE

PAIDToledo, Ohio

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Were on the webwww.trinitytoledo.org

Parish Staff

Elizabeth Hoster, RectorWayne F. Anthony, Associate for Music and the ArtsSusan Lowrey,Associate for Spiritual Development

Marie Harkey,Associate for Digital MinistriesVirginia Shafer, Executive Secretary

Jane A. Bueche, Parish AccountantBridget Blanchard, Organist

Parish VestryBecky Roth, senior warden; Jeff Albright,

junior warden; Charles Kiskaddon, treasurer; JasonRahe, clerk; Lucia Cooper, Bud Gartz, Jane Gomersall-Zohn, Jennifer Siebold, Sherre Owens Smith, KarenWabeke, Jim Zechman.

Parish OfficesMon thru Fri, 8:30 am 4:30 pm

Phone 419.243.1231 Fax 419.243.0920Email: [email protected]

Episcopal Diocese of Ohio

2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115-2499800.551.4815 216.771.4815The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr., Bishop Ordinary

Next-to-New Thrift Shop

Mon & Thurs, 9:30 am 3 pm;Jeanne Mitchell,Manager

Building Services

Johnsons Cleaning Services, Housekeeping

SUNDAYS 9 & 10:45 am, Holy Eucharist

9:45 am Formation for all ages

HOLY DAYS as announced

FOR THE PARISH COMMUNITY

David S. Nelson, Robin & Susan Schneider & their family, Jessica Snyder, MaryAnn ManalacRick Powell and the parish of St. Pauls Lutheran, Marshall Brown, Paul Fager; those ondeath row, all victims of war and violence; Marie Harkey and David S. Nelson in theircontinuing vocational discernment, the vestry and search committee of St. Johns,Charleston during their transition.

For those who have died: In the world: Shell Kepler (actress), Barry Morse (actor),Robert Jastrow (Astronomer), Phyllis Whitney (writer), Roy Scheider (actor). David Groh(actor), William F. Buckley, Jr. (writer), Myron Cope (writer, sportscaster).

services

prayers

vision & missionTrinity is called to be a progressive, inclusive and creative urban community.

! We will practice radical hospitality.

! We will be engaged in the life of our city.

! We will stand with those in need: the poor, the sick, the friendless, the marginalized.

! We will actively invite all to experience and celebrate Gods living presence.

! We will journey together toward a Christ-centered life, pursuing personal ministries that con-

nect us to God, to one another, and to the world around us.

Documents

March 2008 Trinity Topics Newsletter, Trinity Toledo Episcopal Church