Announcements & Events
WELCOME — and thank you for your presence and prayers this Sunday. Thank you to Darlene James for volunteering to play the organ at the 8:00. Thank you to Patti Cullen (8:00 crucifer/intercessor), Jane Smith (8:00 1st reading), Charmaine Craggs (8:00 2nd reading), Gene Gervais (8:00 usher), Linda Liversidge-Daley (9:30 crucifer/Minister of Communion), Amy Foster (9:30 1st reading), Chuck Maynard (9:30 2nd reading), Brian Sahlin (9:30 intercessor), and Samantha Martinez (cantor). Thank you to the Tech team for tech support.
March 23rd is Healing Prayer Sunday – Please see Healing Prayer team members with your prayer requests.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, our Sunday morning services in March will be featuring music written by women. The text for today’s sequence hymn was written by the Irish hymnwriter and poet, Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895). Over 400 poems of Alexander’s hymn texts and poems were published in her lifetime. In the 1982 Hymnal alone, 9 of her hymns appear, which include “All things bright and beautiful,” “Once in Royal David’s City,” and “I bind unto myself today.” She was a strong advocate for the poor and disadvantaged, traveling many miles every day to provide food, clothes and medical supplies. She donated the proceeds from her first book, Hymns for Little Children to help build and maintain a school for the deaf.
Kicking off the search for our next Director of Christian Education and Formation - When we hired Nathan Leach, we knew we would only have him for two years, but what an incredible impact he has had on our children - and all of us - in that time. We are beginning the process of filling the big shoes he'll leave behind; if you have ideas of potential candidates or would like to help in the search process, please reach out to Kristin Liu at [email protected].
Lenten Walks - Larry and I are planning to lead Lenten prayer/poetry/psalm/nature walks on Sundays during Lent: March 16, 23, 30; April 6, and 13. We will meet at 4:00 at different local hiking spots. Our venue will depend on weather and trail conditions and will be decided on a week-by-week basis. Please let me know if you would like to join us for these walks. I’ll need your contact information so that I can let you know where we will meet and if, for some reason, we need to cancel. --Helen and Larry Stowe
Souper Bowl and Cereal Sundays. - The second annual theme Sundays for our food drives were a great success due to everyone’s very generous donations. In February, for our Souper Bowl Sunday drive, we collected a total of 370 cans of soup weighing in at 406 lbs and 76 lbs of assorted food items. In March on Cereal Sunday we collected 254 boxes of cereal weighing in at 272 lbs, plus 102 lbs of assorted foods. That totals 856 lbs of food that St. Paul’s donated to Master’s Manna in these two months. That is something to be proud of. Thank you everyone. Our timing for these drives was right on target. In February, when we brought the soup over to Master’s Manna, they told us “just in time – we don’t have any soup left on our shelves.” In March when we brought the cereal over, they showed us a few cartons of cereal on the top shelf and told us, “that’s all the cereal we have left.” They also told us they lost their funding for the Food Share program, and were so grateful to St. Paul’s for continuously holding these food drives to keep their shelves filled.
We will not be out in the parking lot on the second Saturday in April to collect food, but please take advantage of sales and bring donations to church on Sunday or drop the off on Wednesdays or Fridays during the week. However, on Saturday, May 17th we will hold our food drive at the Wallingford Stop & Shop from 9:00 to 12:00. A special thank you to Art Sousa for arranging this event with the store manager. It should be a great day, and we will need help, and maybe your vehicle, so please SAVE THE DATE (May 17th). Join the fun and excitement of this special event to help our community
We will not be out in the parking lot on the second Saturday in April to collect food, but please take advantage of sales and bring donations to church on Sunday or drop the off on Wednesdays or Fridays during the week. However, on Saturday, May 17th we will hold our food drive at the Wallingford Stop & Shop from 9:00 to 12:00. A special thank you to Art Sousa for arranging this event with the store manager. It should be a great day, and we will need help, and maybe your vehicle, so please SAVE THE DATE (May 17th). Join the fun and excitement of this special event to help our community
Adult Forum for Lent - During Lent the Adult Forum will read and discuss Practicing the Way, by John Mark Comer. In this book the author encourages us to “be with Jesus, become like him, do as he did” as we seek to be followers (or, as he says “apprentices”) of Jesus. The book ends with guidance on how we each might create a “Rule of Life” to help us on our journey. This session of the Forum will begin Wednesday, March 12 at 7:00 pm on Zoom and will continue for five weeks. If you’re looking for something to guide you through Lent, give this a try! If you’d like to participate, please contact Amy Foster. If you have any questions please speak with Amy or with Greg.
Way of Love Words - Each month in our newsletter we are highlighting one of the seven Way of Love words (Turn, Go, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, and Rest) with a reflection written by a different parishioner. So far we have had three parishioners share their thoughts, and we would like to keep this going. If you would like to write a short reflection for one of the upcoming newsletters, please sign up on the easel at the back of the church or contact Amy Foster. To learn more about the Way of Love, visit https://www.episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/.
Requests for Sunday Prayer - If there is anyone you would like us to pray for, please contact the office or the priest in charge, and we will add the intention to our list. Unless you instruct us otherwise, we will plan is to keep names on the list for two weeks. If you would like us to pray longer for someone, please tell us so, and leave some contact information so we can get back to you. This way, we can keep our prayer list current so we can pray with intention.
Contact information for the Rev. Greg Welin - I am usually in the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays until the early afternoon. It would be best to make an appointment to see me if you can. You can reach me at [email protected] . In the event of an emergency, you may call my cell phone at 203 206 4802. My home address is 9 Beecher Road, Woodbridge CT 06525. Please add my number to your contact list!
Prayer for the people of Ukraine - God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Archbishop Justin Welby
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell
Archbishop Justin Welby
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell
The Church is open Wednesdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm for prayer & reflection with healing prayers offered from 10:00am to 11:00am.
The Parish Office Hours – The parish office is open to the public on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11AM-2:00PM. Please email or call the office at (203) 269-5050 to arrange any additional times to meet during the week. Calls, emails and other matters will generally be addressed during business hours of 9:00-3:00 Tuesday-Friday.
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