March 26, 2021 Read our Lenten Reflection Booklet Join All Zoom Worship Services by Clicking Here - Amazon AWS

March 26, 2021

                  Read our Lenten Reflection Booklet
           Join All Zoom Worship Services by Clicking Here

Dear People of St. Mary's,

This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week may be something
you've participated in robustly for many years, or perhaps, you're a Sundays-only
churchgoer who hasn't often attended Maundy Thursday or Good Friday
worship. If you haven't frequented Holy Week worship in the past, you should
know that Maundy Thursday is my favorite service of the whole church year. It's
certainly quite different online, but I still remember it being memorable last year.
There's so much pathos in remembering Jesus' last night in the company of his
friends: in remembering how he washed their feet and shared a final meal with

them. Then, of course, there's the drama of stripping the altar at the end of the
service. It can be so gut-wrenching to see the church's bare bones exposed;
everything else simply gone.

In some churches, during the stripping of the altar, the consecrated bread and
wine that remain are carried to another altar in a side chapel, which is often
decorated with an abundance of branches, foliage, and flowers. This herbaceous
decoration surrounding the Altar of Repose, as it's usually called, is meant to
recall the setting of Jesus' anguished night of prayer in the Garden of
Gethsemane. In churches who create an Altar of Repose, parishioners often sign
up for shifts to keep vigil all night long and into Good Friday morning. It's a
beautiful and deeply meaningful practice to keep watch with Jesus as he prepares
for death.

In our own ways, we can engage in keeping watch, too. I certainly hope that you'll
attend our service and 7:30 on Maundy Thursday and then again at 12:00 Noon
on Good Friday. But I also hope you'll set aside some time to sit quietly with
Jesus on each of these holy days. Perhaps light a candle. Perhaps say some
prayers from your heart, or use the Book of Common Prayer as a guide. It's quite
appropriate to feel sadness. Death is sad and hard. Let yourself dwell here before
getting on with things. Easter means even more when you have sat a spell in the
depths.

Your brother in Christ,
Sean

      Holy Week Worship Schedule and Bulletins
                    All Zoom services can be accessed here

Palm Sunday — 10:00 AM on Zoom
Bulletin available here
Palms will be available for pick-up at St. Mary’s on Saturday, March 27th from
10:00-Noon. Rev. Sean will be distributing from the fountain and looks forward to
saying hello.

Palm Sunday at 11:15 AM on Zoom — Family Gathering with Story and
Prayers – use Zoom link here
     Designed for parents and children to attend together, with an emphasis on
     preschoolers through elementary aged children.

Maundy Thursday — 7:30 PM on Zoom

Bulletin available here

Good Friday — 12:00 Noon on Zoom
Bulletin available here
The Church will be open for personal prayer from 1:00-3:00 — masks and social
distancing are required. The church bell will be rung 33 times at 3:00 PM, once for
each of the 33 years of Jesus' life.)

                Easter Worship Schedule and Bulletin
8:00 AM – Holy Communion in the Church
Masks and social distancing are required. Attendance is limited to 78, per
Diocesan guidelines and you must pre-register to attend by clicking here.

10:00 AM – Festive Easter Worship on Zoom
Bulletin available here
Please bring a bell and a candle to worship, as you are able. We'll also bring back
our Alleluia signs that were so much fun last year.

                          Give Online!
                          Give Online Anytime at:
                          https://my.simplegive.com/App/Giving/STMARYSConv
                          Thank you so much for your generosity and commitment
                          to this parish community.

                      Homilies Online
                      Did you miss a service? Or just want to hear a homily
                      again? Or want to share a homily with a friend or
                      neighbor? Please subscribe to our YouTube page and
                      check back frequently for new homilies.

Outdoor Spring Workday
April 10, 9:00 AM – noon

Spring is here and the gardens are awakening
from their winter slumber! Enjoy a morning on the
lovely St. Mary’s grounds with fellow parishioners
as we weed, edge, mulch, prune and beautify the
property. Water and light refreshments will be
provided. St. Mary’s has many garden tools to
share, but extra rakes and battery powered
hedge trimmers would be welcomed. Gardening
gloves are recommended. For more information
contact Dianne Williams.

Wayne-Radnor Gun Violence Awareness Day
Sunday, April 11th, 2021, 3:30 PM
Beginning at Wayne United Methodist Church
LEARN—PRAY—ACT

This Gun Violence Awareness Day is working to end gun violence, support
sensible gun laws, and eliminate illegal handguns from our community. We come
together as one community of faith to honor those lost to gun murders and to
demand stronger and effective gun laws and regulations. For more information,
click this link.

Main Line Health Vaccine Survey
Main Line Health Center for Population Health is collecting information about
vaccine adoption and perception in our community. If you would like to help with
this research, please take 5 minutes to fill out this anonymous survey, and feel
free to forward to friends and colleagues.

Adult Education & Formation
                          Coming Soon
              Adult Formation for the Easter Season:
                 Death, Resurrection, and Covid

4 Tuesdays: April 20 - May 11
                           From 7:30-8:30 PM on Zoom

We have, as a society, been thinking quite intensively (or trying not to think at all)
about death over this past year. And so, even as we enter into the Easter season
and into the hope of resurrected (and vaccinated) life, death still lingers in our
consciousness. Many of us have found ourselves thinking about our own eventual
deaths in light of this cultural moment. And many of us have been grieving (or
struggling to grieve) for those who have died during the pandemic.

In this moment of our collective vulnerability as a species, it seems like an
opportune time to think and talk together about death. So often deeply taboo, let
us use the opening of this planetary crisis to talk about something scary that also
deeply matters. For what we believe about death shapes, in important ways, how
we live our lives.

Rev. Sean will guide this series of 4 conversations, using a short book by pastoral
theologian Henri Nouwen as a resource to deepen our reflections. Please obtain
your copy of the book in advance and RSVP to Rev. Sean if you plan to
participate. (No reading is required in advance of the first session.)

African-American Film Series
Tuesday, April 13th, 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
I Am Not Your Negro

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next
project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal
account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar
Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in
1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. The polymath
filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished: I Am Not
Your Negro. With archival footage and superb narrative, it offers an incendiary
snapshot of James Baldwin's crucial observations on American race relations and
a sobering reminder of how far we've yet to go.

If Baldwin’s remarkable language sounds like the prophet Jeremiah, it is no
surprise. He started preaching in the Pentecostal Church at the age of 14, only to
give up on Christianity in his twenties because of what her perceived as its white
supremacy, racism, and hypocrisy. Available for streaming on Netflix, Prime, Hulu
and a DVD is available for rent at Viva Video, Ardmore. For more information,
contact Michael D'Antonio. For the Zoom link, click here.

Centering Prayer Group
The Centering Prayer Group will meet on Thursdays from 7:00-7:30 PM.

Click here for this week's Zoom link.

This weekly session is for people who would like to practice Centering Prayer
technique along with others from time to time. Anyone who would like to know
more about this system of prayer can e-mail the parish office at
office@stmarysardmore.org or call (610) 649-1486.

Youth Group
The St. Mary’s Youth Group offers a fun and inclusive space for the youth of St.
Mary’s to connect, learn, and explore their faith. We gladly welcome new group
members, in grades 6 and up, to join us as we grow in our relationship to God and
each other! Youth Group meets on most Sundays from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM on
Zoom.

Please contact Annamarie Given to learn more and get the Zoom information.

Ardmore Food Pantry
The Ardmore Food Pantry served 79 guests on March 22nd.

Food Donations

If you would like to donate food, the items on our list of items we provide our
guests that are inching toward low points include: canned vegetables, hot
chocolate (packets), saltines or Ritz crackers, bottled dressings, and spaghetti
sauce. You may leave your donations in the cloister at any time. Thank you!

Easter Gifts for AFP Guests

As we did for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we will be giving our guests $25 gift
cards for Easter. You can help us out by donating Giant, Acme, or Trader Joe’s
$25 gift cards. You may drop them off at the church office through the mail slot in
the front door at any time. The cards will be distributed on Monday, March 29th.

Toiletry Bags

We continue to collect toiletries for our guests and will distribute sometime this
Spring. If you would like to contribute, here is the list of toiletry items we are
collecting: regular sized shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, single toothbrushes,
and soap. You may drop off the toiletries in the cloister at any time. Thank you!

AFP Volunteer Opportunities
If you are interested in volunteering at the pantry:

Sunday evenings. We are in need of more volunteers to pick up our
     produce donations from Whole Foods on Sunday evenings between 7:00
     and 7:30. The produce is then dropped off in the parish hall or in the kitchen
     fridge if some produce requires refrigeration. We like to rotate the volunteers
     so that no one is picking up too frequently. Please let Deacon Karen know if
     you’re interested.
     Mondays, please click on Sign-up Genius and find a date and time that
     works for you.
     Thursdays, we start at 11:00 AM. No sign-up genius. Just stop by the Food
     Pantry.
     Saturdays we have alternating teams of volunteers. One team can use a
     couple of members and meets at 11:00 AM. No sign-up genius necessary,
     but please contact Deacon Karen if you plan on coming.
     Sunday afternoons, please come by the Food Pantry around noon. No
     sign-up genius necessary.
     Since we limit the number of volunteers at any session, it is a good idea to
     check with Deacon Karen beforehand.

Many thanks, prayers, and blessings,
The AFP Advisory Board, AFP Volunteers, our Guests and Deacon Karen

IHN/Family Promise
Gets A New Van

Thanks to the generosity of many,
Interfaith Hospitality Network of the
Main Line (soon to be Family Promise
of the Main Line) is the proud new
owner of a 15-passenger Ford van. St.
Mary’s parishioner Don Johnson, IHN
Transportation Coordinator, accepted
the keys on behalf of families for whom
transportation is a critical
need. The van has already been put to
great use delivering supplies to
graduates, and transporting families to
their new homes! Don’t miss IHN’s
upcoming DOORWAYS OF HOPE
Photo Campaign and Giving Day on
April 21st. We are looking forward to
seeing you in your doorway of hope!

Click here for flyer and more pictures.

Prayer List
St. Mary's parishioners and those they love:
Phillipa Edmonia-Marguerite Ashby Benin, Manuel Binford, Lilia Blanchard, Janet
Chenery and Conway Family, Amy Cleary, Weecha Crawford, Judith Dix, Joan
Emmett, Patrick Festa, Joanne Grecia, Kitty Grecia, Rosemary Herrick, Quinn
Hovey, Peyton Jaffe, Evelyn Kabulis, Roy Lewis, Raquel and Jaime Lievano,
Sylvia Meredith, the Miller Family, Cynthia Munroe, Claire Powers, Doris
Rajagopal, Rakeisha Reid, Frank Rivas, Jorge Rivas, Deacon Robin Robb,
Florence Schick, Thea, Harold Thompson.

Ardmore Food Pantry guests and volunteers:
Abby, Doris Ama, Barbara, Juanita Brown, Tim Brown, Shirley Burrell, Carolyn,
Karen Carr, Ann Cross, Dolores, Donna Dundon, Hank Finkel, Franz, Garry,
Ellen Green, Julie, Lois, Barbara Michener, Evelyn Mayo, Joseph P., Abby
Parker, the Parker Family, Margaret and Sherri Pendleton, Roslyn, Gladys
Saldana, the Santorina Family, Charlene Taylor, Todd and son, Vic, Mark Wilmer,
and Annie Woo

Should there be someone you would like to have added to the Prayer List, please
contact the Parish office at office@stmarysardmore,org or by phone at (610) 649-
1486.

                         Parish Office (610) 649-1486

                        Ardmore Food Pantry Hours
                 Monday 11:00am - 12:00pm; 6:00pm - 7:00pm
                      foodpantry@stmarysardmore.org

                                   Rector
                              Rev. Sean Lanigan

                            Associate in Ministry
                           Deacon Karen Kaminskas

                             Parish Administrator
                                 Renee Barrick

                               Director of Music
                                  John Grecia

Church Sexton
                               Jim Umhofer

                             Announcements
                       office@stmarysardmore.org

St. Mary's Episcopal Church                        ​
36 Ardmore Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
www.stmarysardmore.org
(610) 649-1486