St. Andrew’s Anglican Church Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018

T he long journey through the wilderness of Lent is finally over. We have journeyed with our Lord to Jerusalem and on to Calvary. We have felt the

anguish of the death of Love in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We have waited in the tomb as the silence of the death we deserve consumed him.

But death has not had the final word! The gates of death and Hell have been broken loose and flung wide open! As the hymn says, “Death is conquered, we are free; Christ has won the victory!”

But the best news is that the Resurrection is not just an event that happened to Jesus some two thousand years ago. It is a victory that empowers us to taste real life. Life in a whole, loving relationship with God our Father and Creator. Life abundant has been bestowed upon us in this life, and we have the promise of more to come in the next.

The great Feast of Easter is not only for this one Sunday. It is for 50 days! A feast for the community of the Resurrection.

The Three Marys at the Tomb (1396) by Lorenzo Monaco, Illumination on v-ellum, in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. (Mark 16:1-8)Please turn to inside

At left, children process into the church waving palm branches during the 9 a.m. service on Palm Sunday, and above, a toddler waves her palm crosses.

Prayers for the ChurchAnglican Church in North America: Bishop Jack Iker, SSC, and the clergy, religious, and people of the Diocese of Fort Worth, one of the 20 dioceses in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth came into being in 1983 by the division of the increasingly large Diocese of Dallas, the latter itself founded in 1895. The Diocese of Fort Worth was long seen as a leader of Anglo-Catholics and other theological conservatives within American Anglicanism.In 2006, most of the 51 parishes in the diocese affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network, an association of dioceses, parishes, and clergy working to counteract a liberal shift in doctrine and practice within The Episcopal Church. The separation between the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (ACNA) and the identically named Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in The Episcopal Church arose out of events in 2008, when the 26th annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth voted overwhelmingly to remove the diocese from the Episcopal Church and join the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone (of South America). The dissenting members have since reorganized and remain within The Episcopal Church.At the time of the vote in 2008 to separate from The Episcopal Church, the diocese had geographically fixed boundaries covering 24 counties in Texas and claimed 19,000 members. Afterward, in accordance with the non-geographical concept of dioceses in the Anglican Church of North America, it began to accept congregations outside its previous territory. In 2009, the diocese was a founding jurisdiction of the ACNA, the first convention of which was held at St. Vincent’s Cathedral, the cathedral of the Diocese of Fort Worth. The current listing of congregations within the diocese cites 48, with most in Texas and one each in Arkansas and Louisiana. (Sources: diocesan website and Wikipedia.)Please pray especially for continued evangelism, for new church plants, and for a final and Christian resolution of the legal case (the Diocese vs The Episcopal Church) still in progress.Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes: Canon Ron Feister, Deacon Jack Snyder, and the people of Grace Anglican, Circleville, Ohio; and Fr. Shane Chellis and the people of Marion Anglican Fellowship, Marion, Indiana.Parish Cycle of Prayer: Theresa Gilligan; George and Barbara Girard; Tom, Joey and Alli Girard; the Disciples Day by Day Small Group; and our Prayer Shawl Ministry.

The Daily Lectionary Week of Easter • April 1-7

Sunday, April 1 — A.M.: Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; Judges 15; Matthew 17:1-23 P.M.: Psalms 6, 7, & 8; Judges 16; 1 Timothy 5

Monday, April 2 — A.M.: Psalms 9, 10, 11; Ruth 1; Matthew 17:24 - 18:14 P.M.: Psalms 12, 13, 14; Ruth 2; 1 Timothy 6

Tuesday, April 3 — A.M.: Psalms 15, 16, 17; Ruth 3; Matthew 18:15-35 P.M.: Psalm 18; Ruth 4; Titus 1

Wednesday, April 4 — A.M.: Psalms 19, 20, 21; 1 Samuel 1; Matthew 19:1-15 P.M.: Psalms 22, 23; 1 Samuel 2; Titus 2

Thursday, April 5 — A.M.: Psalms 24, 25, 26; 1 Samuel 3; Matthew 19:16-20:16 P.M.: Psalms 27, 28, 29; 1 Samuel 4; Titus 3

Friday, April 6 — A.M.: Psalms 30, 31; 1 Samuel 5; Matthew 20:17-34 P.M.: Psalms 32, 33, 34; 1 Samuel 6; 2 Timothy 1

Saturday, April 7 — A.M.: Psalms 35, 36; 1 Samuel 7; Matthew 21:1-22 P.M.: Psalm 37; 1 Samuel 8; 2 Timothy 2

Next Sunday, April 8 — A.M.: Psalms 38, 39, 40; 1 Samuel 9; Matthew 21:23-46 P.M.: Psalms 41, 42, 43; 1 Samuel 10; 2 Timothy 3

— • —Next Sunday’s Lectionary • April 8 (Easter 2, Year B)

First Reading: Acts 3:12a, 13-15,17-26 Second Reading: 1 John 5:1-5 Gospel: John 20:19-31

Mite boxes to benefit police families due todayIf you’re participating in the Lenten collection to benefit the families of Officer Anthony “Tony” Morelli and Officer Eric Joering, the two Westerville police officers who were killed in the line of duty in February, please turn in your mite boxes today. You may put your offering in one of the mite boxes available at the Information Desk, in one of the envelopes in the chair pockets (please mark the envelope “Police Fund”), or make a check payable to St. Andrew’s with “Police Fund” in the memo section.

INreach ministry interest meeting Tuesday, April 10The INreach team is a new ministry idea prompted by Fr. Ron and the Vestry to help connect and serve our parish members. Those interested in coming to hear more are invited to attend our initial meeting on Tuesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 102 at the church.

If you have questions or want to RSVP, please contact Tally Whitehead at twhitehead@standrewspolaris.org or call her at the church office, 740-548-5112, ext. 5.

Encouragement for your prayer time with GodSeek the risen, living Christ. “And [the angel] said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here.’ ” (Mark 16:6a)

— St. Andrew’s Prayer Ministries Team

Help WantedPopcorn Kernel — Low stress, limited hours (9 a.m. service), no prior experience necessary, on-the-job training provided. Perfect for those who enjoy interacting with the public and helping create smiles! Contact Eric Emery 614-405-4179.

Please turn off your WiFi!The Tech Services Ministry is asking parishioners to turn off the WiFi on their cell phone when they come into the worship area. We believe that might help with our microphone frequency issues and appreciate the congregation’s cooperation as we work to resolve the problem.

Serjanis return to U.S. for seminary studiesKaon and Danjela Serjani, the Albanian couple who work for Campus Crusade, whom St. Andrew’s supports, are presently working on Master’s degrees at Denver Seminary. They re-located to Denver last summer to begin their studies. Their goal is to learn to serve their Master better by learning more about him. They brought their 8- and 5-year old sons with them. Recently, there was this post on facebook by Danjela:

“I had planned to skip church today because of a paper that is due next morning. But there comes (the 5-year-old), ‘Mom, do you think this homework is more important than church? You don’t come, you don’t get blessed.’ ”

Youth Alpha continue on Tuesdays in AprilWhile adults and children wrapped up their Lenten Study Program on prayer on Tuesday, March 20, our middle and senior high students will continue with Youth Alpha on Tuesday evenings through the end of April. They took a break for Holy Week, before their weekend retreat April 6-8.

“I can’t express how excited I am about the Youth Alpha Series!” says Fr. Shane Tucker, Youth and Family Life pastor. “Youth Alpha is a multimedia rich immersion into the basics of Christianity around great food, great content and great conversation.

“Please encourage your young people to attend as many of our gatherings as possible, and pray with me, inviting the Holy Spirit to enliven the Scriptures and open the hearts and minds of our youth so they can come to know Jesus Christ in a way that transforms their lives from the inside out!”

Alpha began in London, England at Holy Trinity Brompton (Anglican) in 1990, and since then more than 24 million people worldwide have experienced it. The Youth Alpha (Film) Series is newly revised as of October 2017, featuring young hosts traversing the planet while opening questions of faith, meaning and purpose for audiences to unpack.

Classes for adults, children and youth, resume next Sunday The Adult Forum will continue next Sunday at the 10:15 a.m. Grow in Faith time. Godly Play for our children, as well as Bible Study for middle and senior high youth, will also resume next week.

‘Vaud-villities’ show to feature four parishionersChoir members Steve Darke, Lesley DeBella, and David and Meg Patton will perform in Vaud-villities’ spring variety show, “Blue Skies.” Performances will be on Thursday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 21, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, April 22, at 2 p.m. at the Northland Performing Arts Center, 441 Tamarack Blvd., Columbus. Tickets may be purchased online or by phone at vvshows.org or 614-262-7469.

Women’s Bible Study meets Tuesday, April 3The Women’s Bible Study group will meet this coming Tuesday, April 3, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the Parish House Conference Room. All women of the parish are welcome!

Wednesday Noon Prayer Service offered every weekA Weekday Prayer Service is offered weekly at noon on Wednesdays. The prayer services is held in the Sanctuary for the intention of our parish, the city, the state, the nation and the world, as well as any individual needs you have. For more information, please contact Ann Schnapp, acbs2@hotmail.com or 614-890-5896; or Fr. Wil Verhoff, wilfredverhoff@yahoo.com or 740-602-8810.

Brotherhood resumes meetings April 3After a hiatus to allow members to join in the Lenten Study Program, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew will resume their regular meetings this coming Tuesday, April 3. The Brotherhood meets on the first and third Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Parish House. All men and boys of the parish are welcome!

Prayer teams available on Sunday morningsPrayer teams are available to pray with you during Holy Communion at the 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday services. At 9 a.m. they are stationed to the left of the altar near the band equipment; at 11:15 a.m. they are stationed to the right of the altar, near the piano and organ. You may seek prayer for personal cares and concerns, concerns for others or offer thanksgivings for God’s blessings. The prayer team will also offer the sacrament of Holy Unction — the anointing with oil, laying on of hands and prayers for healing — upon request. All prayers are confidential.

Have a prayer request?You may email your prayer requests to prayerchain@standrewspolaris.org, or fill out the online form on our website, standrewspolaris.org, under the “Scripture & Prayer” drop-down menu. Prayer requests may also be placed in the prayer box in the Narthex.

We are that community. And it is a feast that will last until the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Alleluia! The Lord is Risen!

Alleluia! We are Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia! • Easter reflection by Fr. Ron Baird

He is risenContinued from the front

7521 S. Old State Rd. • Lewis Center, OH 43035 • 740.548.5112 • standrewspolaris.org • mail@standrewspolaris.org

Journey through Holy Week

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Palm Sunday