Following the Way of Love
This past Sunday we had a fun fellowship event at St. John’s in honor of the start of Red Sox baseball season. There were hotdogs with all the fixings, delicious sides, and ice cream for dessert. We even entertained a few Yankees fans (it’s the Christian thing to do, after all)! Thanks to all who brought food and/or came to share it with us!
March was a busy month at Art After School. One of our favorite projects was making “Box Monsters.” As you can see, the children and our adult volunteers had a great time creating these little creatures using tissue boxes and colored paper. We love how each monster is different!
Below is a slideshow with pictures of the kids hard at work on their monsters. (If the slideshow doesn’t load properly on your device, you can click here to view the gallery on flickr.
The Easter service at St. John’s was a joyous celebration, and nearly every pew was filled! It was wonderful to see many familiar faces and some new ones, as well. Visitors and parishioners alike were greeted by a beautiful butterfly wreath made by the children on Palm Sunday, as well as some additional glittery butterflies suspended from white poles and blowing gently in the breeze. The altar was decorated with white Easter lilies, and there were lovely window boxes filled with grape hyacinths and daffodils. Happy Eastertide, everyone!
From Judith Esmay, Canon for Lay Leadership, Episcopal Church of NH:
“All members of the congregation willing to work in the governance and ministries of the church — as well as all members of vestries, bishop’s committees, and church committees and all clergy who support the laity in their ministries – are encouraged to enroll in the diocesan program dedicated to the preparation and formation of our congregational leaders.
…all first-time Lay Leadership Institute students must enroll in the Basic Course for a broad curriculum that includes the structure and governance of The Episcopal Church, property issues both realty and fiscal, roles and relationships in congregational organization, and the potential for personal spiritual formation. Those who have attended the Basic Course may enroll in one of five all-day seminars, each of which will include in-depth, hands-on presentations and participation.”
For more information, or to register, click the button below.
The following information was received by Susan in an email from The Episopcal Church of NH:
“The Episcopal Church of New Hampshire is delighted to announce that the Barbara C. Harris Camp (BCH) has pledged campership funds to children from New Hampshire who would like to attend summer camp. Camp at BCH – a ministry of the Diocese of MA – is a wonderful combination of traditional camp fun and creative worship lead by Episcopal chaplains for children from 4th grade through 12th grade. At $600 a week, BCH is already low-cost option compared to other camps. Campership payments are typically structured as 1/3 from BCH, 1/3 from the host church, and 1/3 from the child’s family, but if the 1/3 contribution from the family or the church is a barrier, there may be additional funding available. Most sessions at BCH are one-week long, with a two-week session in July. During the two-week session, which is July 12-25, Bishop Rob will be visiting as a guest chaplain! All sessions are open to NH children, but if children want to hang out with Bishop Rob, and get to know some other NH kids, sign up for the two-week session!
Information about summer camp programs at BCH can be found at: www.bchcenter.org/camp
To register for camp, click here.
To apply for a campership, fill out this form.
For more information (and a testimonial about how much her kids have loved BCH camp and look forward to it this year!) contact Tina Pickering at tpickering@nhepiscopal.org.”
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;” — Isaiah 66:10
From The Episcopal Church:
“The fourth Sunday of Lent in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. The term is derived from the opening words of the Latin Mass, “Rejoice (Laetare) Jerusalem” (Is 66:10). The church is called to joyful anticipation of the victory to be won. This joyful theme provides lightening from the penitential emphasis of Lent.”
This year “Refreshment Sunday” or “Laetare Sunday” was on March 15th. Given its close proximity to the Feast of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, here at St. John’s we celebrated Refreshment Sunday with a potluck lunch consisting of traditional Irish fare: corned beef and cabbage; potatoes; carrots; lots of soda bread; delicious green treats; and a variety of desserts. Everyone enjoyed a hearty Irish meal and each other’s company. Thanks to everyone who brought something to share and/or joined us for lunch!
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Sunday, March 29th at 10 am
Palm Sunday: Procession of the Palms and the Passion Narrative
Wednesday, April 1st at Noon
Wednesday in Holy Week: Eucharist
Thursday, April 2nd at Noon
Maundy Thursday: Eucharist and stripping the altar in preparation for Good Friday
Friday, April 3rd at Noon
Good Friday: Liturgy for Good Friday from the Book of Common Prayer, no communion
Easter Sunday
Sunday, April 5th at 10 am
The Day of Resurrection: Eucharist
Art After School is a great indoor activity during the long winter months! February featured a favorite project: painting birch tree scenes. This project taught the kids about watercolor washes and masking. We’ve had requests to teach this project to an adult group -— we’ll see! Let Susan Kershaw know if you would be interested in an Adult Fun with Art group.
Below is a slideshow of photos from the Birch Tree project (if the slideshow doesn’t load properly on your device, you can click here to view the gallery on flickr).
Living peacefully in a communion of diverse Anglicans can be difficult. However Anglicans will always have something in common so long as they continue in common prayer. — Anglican Foundation
Here’s a wonderful video that gives a little history about the creation of the Book of Common Prayer during the Reformation Period in England (16th Century).
St John’s Episcopal Church, Walpole, NH – Pancake Night 2015 — many thanks to all who cooked, donated, cleaned up, and most of all, came out and made the evening a huge success. The palm branches are burned and the remaining ashes are cooling for use in today’s Ash Wednesday service at Noon.
Photos by Sarah Downing
