Today Fr. Christopher preaches on Philemon - Verse 4- 6.

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Grace and Peace!

“Grace and Peace to you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” [Phil 1:2, 1 Cor. 1:2]  Paul addresses the churches’ greatest need in his opening sentences of his epistles (and again in closing others).  We need to be handlers of Grace and Peace.  That’s not an easy task when all the stresses and strains of life are designed to pull us away from acting, thinking, hearing, feeling or speaking from the root of Grace and Peace.

There is a sacrifice that is necessary in order to have Grace and Peace be the center of who you are and how you function.  God has to have a point of entry to each of your days so that He has the chance to fill you and drive you and encourage you so that what spills out of your mind and mouth are words and actions that are grace filled and peaceful.

Paul says in Philippians 3:20-21: “ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” If we are to be transformed into His likeness then we must do everything in our power to be immersed in His grace and peace.  Therefore, I implore you to consider a disciplined Holy Week.  Consider the Cross and all that leads up to it from the Triumphal entry today on Palm Sunday through the resurrection.  We are to enter into His Victory, His final teachings, His last supper, His feet washing, His torture, His separation from the Father and then we can revel in His Resurrection Power.  It is here we will find Grace and Peace.

Blessings

Fr. Dan

Rev. Daniel C Morgan

Associate Rector

What has God got under construction for you?

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Holy Week

Holy Week is a time to spend with the Body of Christ, remembering and celebrating Jesus’ glorious passion, death and resurrection.  This year at St. Paul’s, the following events have been planned with you in mind:

 

Saturday, March 27

9:30 a.m. Preparing the palms.  Come help prepare the church for Palm Sunday.  We will “strip” palm fronds for waving, and make palm crosses (an ancient craft which many of us have to relearn each year!).  This is fun for all, and may be a fulfilling experience for everyone, especially children.

 

Palm Sunday, March 28

8:45 & 10:30 a.m.  Litany of the Palms, worship, Holy Eucharist, dramatic reading of the Passion from Luke.

5:30 pm. Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

6:30 p.m. “First” Sunday:  worship, prayer, Holy Eucharist.  Members of the prophetic teams will offer words of up-building for members and guests.  Bring a friend!

 

Monday, March 29

6:30 pm.  Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

7:30 p.m.   The Way of the Cross.  This meditative and prayerful experience adapts the traditional “stations of the Cross” with Biblical support and prayers from the Book of Common Prayer.

 

Tuesday, March 30

10:00 a.m.  Worship, Holy Eucharist, Healing Prayer

12:15 p.m.  Agape Luncheon

6:30 pm.   Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

7:30 p.m.  Holy Eucharist, Healing Prayer, Tunnel of Love.  This day adds to our regularly scheduled Tuesday Healing Service an opportunity in the evening for “a repeat service” for those unable to get away from school or work in the daytime.  In addition, we will experience “the tunnel of love” which is an opportunity for each congregant to receive prayer and encouragement by the entire prayer team.  This experience is one to which friends and guests should be invited as they will be particularly blessed.

 

Wednesday, March 31

6:30 pm.   Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

7:30 p.m.  Creative Fellowship and Prayer

Because of the success of the Shrove Tuesday Talent Show, we are offering an opportunity for the sharing of creative gifts in a fellowship atmosphere.  We will meet in the Nave and members are encouraged to bring an offering of Scripture, a hymn or song to be shared.  In addition, we are encouraging those who have been painting, sculpting, writing, dancing, etc. to come and share their creativity.  You can also come and simply receive!

 

Maundy Thursday, April 1

6:30 pm.   Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

7:30 p.m.  Holy Eucharist, foot-washing, stripping of the altar.  Jan Nel will minister the Word to us and we will Respond on this day in which we remember Jesus’ command that we love one another.

 

Good Friday, April 2

7:30 a.m.  “C” Project Prayer Breakfast at the Continental Manor in Norwalk.  Come and celebrate as Clarice Flagg is recipient of the Craig Mengel Leadership Award! 

10:30 a.m. Walking the Cross:  A prayer-filled procession from First Congregational Church along the

Post Road

through Darien to St. Luke’s Church.

12:00-3:00 p.m.  Community Good Friday service at St. Luke’s.  Father Christopher will preach the 7^th Word (sometime after 2:00)

6:30 p.m. Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

7:30 p.m.  Faces at the Cross.  This prayer service was introduced last year, with meditations led by St. Paul’s members portraying those who were contemporary to Jesus and were witnesses of his death.  It was well received last year and promises to be inspiring.

Holy Saturday, April 3

5:30 p.m.  Confessions:  The clergy are available for “walk-ins” for confession, in the prayer room.

6:30 p.m. Prayer of Blessings by the clergy on individuals and families, in the Parish Hall.

Easter Sunday, April 4

8:45 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.  Festival Eucharist

with the Pivot men singing at both services.

An Easter Egg Hunt follows the 10:30 service.

“The Garbage!”

A cartoon that was a favorite of my family of origin was of a woman with curlers in her hair, dressed in a bathrobe, holding a full trash can.  She was standing over a man wearing a powdered wig.  He was sitting, composing music at a keyboard.  The caption read, “Johann, the garbage!”

Even musical geniuses have to do the mundane, everyday chores of life.  You may think from time to time that it becomes routine or boring to confess our sins.  Is it possible that it is meaningless and an intrusion in what we would otherwise rather be doing?  Such thinking shows us how far we can stray from our Maker who loves us.  The Lord God doesn’t want anything to come between Himself and His children.  Sin separates us from God, and confession from a sincere heart restores us.

Think about it and you figure out that confession is good for the soul.

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector

Fr. Dan’s sermon is from Ephesians 3.  You can listen to his sermon on Ephesians 1 here

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Waste Removal

As a boy I was responsible for removing solid waste from the home.  I am still the “trash guy” in our home.  Nearly every day I “kick it to the curb”.  There is something liberating about taking out the rubbish.

Janet and I were once shopping for a home to buy.  One house we looked at had a terrible odor about it.  When I opened the door to the cellar I was confronted by a large pile of trash nearly one story high.  Someone had simply dumped the trash down the stairs.  Over time, a disgusting and unhealthy condition arose.

Confessing your sins to God is like taking out the trash.  It is for your own good.  King David did some bad things and he held back his sins from God.  He writes in Psalm 32:3, “When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.”  It was as though David was rotting on the inside.  He says he got relief as he turned to God:  “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”  [Psalm 32:5]

Don’t forget to take out the trash!

Christopher

The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton

Rector