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St. Matthew’s Church 695 Southbridge St. Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 755-4433, office stmatthewsworcester@gmail.com

The Rev. Dr. John P. McGinty Direct: 508-556-0121 The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Fisher Donald Irving, Organist/Choir Director Audrey Cronin, Parish Secretary

The Way

The Newsletter of St. Matthew’s

Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church of Worcester

Our website address is:

www.stmatthewsworcester.org

www.facebook.com/StMatthewPastor

https://www.facebook.com/St-Matthews-Worcester

Worship

9:00 am Wednesday and Friday Morning Prayer 11:45 am Saturday, Noonday Prayer 6:00 pm Monday through Friday, Evening Prayer All weekday prayer will take place on Facebook; visit www.facebook.com/StMatthewsWorcester 10:00 am Sunday, Morning Prayer or Eucharistic Celebration (on Zoom); invitations to participate will be received at your email address on file. Services for Holy Week at Saint Matthew’s and others added will be posted on our parish website: www.stmatthewsworcester.org Though we cannot gather together, we can pray together. Opportunities to Talk Together 1:00 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, St. Matthew’s Gathers (on Zoom), a chance just to see one another, to talk, and to support one another. If you would like to participate, just email Father John on

Tuesday or Thursday before 10:30 am and an email invitation will be sent your way!

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” ~ Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

April 2020

The Season of Lent

and Easter

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Dear Beloved in Christ,

Our shared experience of both the seasons of

Lent and of Easter will surely be like none other

this year.

There is an ancient Marian hymn of the Middle

Ages, attributed to an 11th century monk. It is

called by its first words in the original Latin,

Salve Regina/ Hail Holy Queen. Calling upon

the Mother of Jesus, and upon the savior

himself, its first verse describes this life in these

words: hac lacrimarum valle. That is, this

valley of tears.

Those words, though heavy, have come into my

prayer over these recent days. It has been a long

time, at least since the darkest days of World

War II, that anyone has spoken of our lives in

words like these. Our expectations for earthly

life have grown much higher. And to a real

extent, those expectations have been reached for

many. But now, for the moment - and every

moment passes! - those words ring again.

But listen now, there is also and always hope.

That same hymn calls upon Mary and her Son

as our hope. It calls with faith, with trust, with

confidence, even from the lowest parts of the

valley. We too are people of constant prayer

these days. Our prayer too has every right and

duty to be filled with trust and confidence, even

now.

On the wall of the little prayer room in the

rectory is a detail of Michelangelo’s fresco of

the creation of Adam, of the human being. You

will recall that in the center of that painting two

hands reach toward one another. On the left is

the outstretched arm of the first human person.

On the right is the outstretched arm of the

Creator. Their fingers are about to touch, and in

that touch is the gift of breath, of spirit, of life.

Dear friends, those two hands are still reaching

toward one another, stretching toward union

right now. The gift coming is healing. Before

those hands join there may be much suffering,

here and over the whole world. But those hands

will not cease straining until they have touched

again. And their union will announce a time

when we too again will be able to join hands

with one another in joy.

It may be that I have not yet met in person most

of those who will read these words. But you

and I are already joined in a bond of love,

founded on faith, founded on our union in

Christ. You and your loved ones near and far

are in my prayers constantly. As likely noted

elsewhere in this edition of The Way, we are

using available technologies daily to meet and

talk together, to discuss our book for Lent, and

to worship God from day to day. Let us hold

one another in prayer. We cannot really know

yet how long we are called to remain in this

valley. But we do know that a pathway up into

God’s high places of beauty and health does

exist.

The earth is about to bloom in this northern

hemisphere. It is already beginning. Our faith

in Resurrection is about to be celebrated, even if

we are unable to sing its joys gathered in one

building. All the blessings promised and given

are still actual, still real, still with us.

May the God of every blessing shield and

protect you in love, Father John McGinty

Thoughts on the

Journey

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Elaine and Daye Berglund, Mary Kamara,

Meghan, Michele, Mother Barbara, Fr. John

Julian, OJN, Shirley Carter, Pat M, Fr. Edgar

Freeman, Ann Murphy, Ann McCarron, Mary

Donahue, Virginia Long, Linda Taylor,

Please keep our Shut-ins in your prayers

also.

Karen Beaudoin

Tony and Marie Cameron

David and Gail Hight

Barbara Brunelle

Barbara Forzley

Lois Ireland

Jean Price

David and Alice Whitaker

Allyn and Dorothy Krom

.Frank and Eileen Pruszynski

. Georgiana Wilson

Birthdays and Anniversaries for April

Maisie Plourd, 4/3

Christina Konneh, 4/4

Matthew Belvery, 4/15

Alek-Kero Majok, 4/16

Vitaya Chenarak, 4/20

Barbara Forzley, 4/23

Ronald Smith, 4/25

Gail Hight, 4/29

Corazon Gailor, 4/30

David & Pam Wilson, 4/10

Paul & Wendy Piscitelli, 4/13

Joseph & Judy Chilton, 4/16

Tim & Kim Rossi, 4/20

Frank & Eileen Pruszynski, 4/30

We are now in the mist of the very long (and

until this year) happy season of Easter during

which we remind ourselves of and celebrate the

Resurrection of our Lord from the dead. A very

major insight which must come to anyone who

has experienced Holy Week and Easter is that

death necessarily pre-cedes life, not the other

way around. And that is of very great relevance

when we consider Christian living seriously.

For instance, one of the things Jesus could have

done when He was before the Sanhedrin or

before Pilate was simply to give them one of the

old “Transfiguration” bits, and simply convert

His humanity into His divinity. He could have

brought his ministry to a glowing end by

“turning into God” in front of His accusers – by

simply appearing to them as He did to the three

Apostles on the Mount of the Transfiguration,

with His face shining with light and His clothing

white and dazzling. And by so doing, by putting

on His divinity over His humanity, He would

have taught a lot of people a real lesson, and

then they’d have been pretty sorry about the

way they had treated Him!

But He didn’t. Instead, He showed us that

spirituality can’t just be put on like a fancy coat

over the rest of life. He showed us that if we

want to live with an eternal life, we must die,

that all that has been before must be killed and

buried. And then –and only then- can we start

the new and unending life.

Jesus had the option of just “adjusting enough of

His humanity so it would “look” new. And we

have the option of just “adjusting” our lives so

they will “look” Christian.

We have a lot of precedents – indeed, most

Christians we know do just that. We can go

ahead being the cutthroat business dealer; the

queer basher; the climate change denier; the war

lover; the gun toter; the immigrant hater; the

power broker; the science minimalist; the

St. Matthew’s Prayer list

for April

Easter Season: Monastic

Musings from Fr. John Julian

OJN

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sentiment wallower; the money grabber; the

socialist hater; the fake newscaster; the mind-

denyer; the political manipulator; the

judgement-laden; the prejudiced

Nigger/Jew/Spic/Chink/Muslim/woman hater;

the sex addict – and wrap all of that up in a nice

light-weight plastic cross which changes

nothing except appearances.

OR we can kill all those things in ourselves and

rise – with Him – to real LIFE.

Submitted by Stephen Smith

For many

years, we knew

it as the South

Worcester

Neighborhood

Center. Its new

name is the

South Worcester Neighborhood Improvement

Center! Tom L’Ecuyer is the Director.

During this time of difficulties in our World, our

Nation, and our City, there are many rays of

hope! The SWNIC remains open to feed our

neighbors. Their request to us remains the

same. They still need cereal and personal

hygiene items, (soap, shampoo, and

toothpaste, as a few examples). If you and

your family are able to assist, here are three

ways to possibly do that:

Rays of Hope for Helping the SWNIC:

1. When you shop for groceries, you

could purchase what they need and

put it aside to bring to church, (once

we meet again). This is how we have

traditionally proceeded, however, newer

options are offered below!

2. A more creative idea is to purchase

what they need and drop it off! The

SWNIC is located at 47 Camp Street. If

you decide upon this route, you can pull

into their parking lot, call, and they will

come out and pick up your donations

from your trunk! This way, they are

receiving what they need in a timely

manner. Here is their phone number:

508-757-8344. They are open Monday

through Friday from 9:30-1:30.

3. A third and final way to assist The

SWNIC is to purchase and mail them

Gift Cards to local food stores. Then,

those gift cards can be directly handed

out to the families being assisted.

Here is their full address:

South Worcester Neighborhood

Improvement Center,

47 Camp Street, Worcester, MA 01603,

Attention: Tom L’Ecuyer, Director.

THANK YOU! Robin Chenarak

Reminder – Practice Social Distancing and stay

home if possible. Please keep our medical

personnel and first responders in our prayers.

The deadline for the May newsletter is

Thursday, April 23rd

.

South Worcester

Neighborhood Improvement

Center

Parish Secretary’s Notes

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“Crafting your heart out makes room for

your soul to grow.” Sara Lanan

Due to the World Wide Health situation at

the present time, our group was not able to meet

in person during March. With the Coronavirus,

we are being asked to socially isolate. We are

praying for all.

Being eternal optimists, we are hoping to

gather in person on Saturday, April 18, 2020.

We are planning to meet either in the Parish

Hall or The Parlor from 10:00 – 12:00. There

are also some other avenues being explored,

such as Zoom.

In the interim, here are some updates!

Rays of Hope! *We continue to work on Prayer Shawls. If

you are interested, you are welcome to visit

shawlministry.com if you want internet help

during this time period. Or, you can contact

Wendy Piscitelli @ 508769-8965, or

wendyp132@charter.net.

*We continue to make crafts for The Fair,

which will be held in November 2020. If you

are interested in helping, please contact Linda

Albinson @ 508-852-2489 or

worcbent@yahoo.com. Also, you can contact

Pam Wilson

@ 508-987-0396 or Pjnanaw70@gmail.com.

* Kim Rossi is very interested in featuring

different crafts we can make. We can keep what

we make or donate to the Fair. In the near

future, she plans to establish Zoom to

demonstrate those crafts. When we meet again

in person, she’d like to demonstrate her craft

ideas. If you wish to contact her, here is the

information: Kim Rossi @508-304-7915 or

ktar0420@yahoo.com.

* Did you know that we have had 4 separate

donations of winter outerwear for the South

Worcester Neighborhood Improvement Center

In-Gathering in December 2020? And it’s only

March!!!

If you are able, please look for substantial

savings of winter clothing online. Also, if you

knit or crochet and want to donate what you

have made for the In-Gathering, we welcome

your help. For donations, you can contact

Robin Chenarak @ 508-792-9880 or

rcclass@yahoo.com.

During this time at home, perhaps you

want to learn a new hobby. So much is

available on line, such as YouTube,

allfreeknitting.com and allfreecrochet.com.

Thank you! Stay healthy and be safe. Looking

forward to gathering together once again at St.

Matthew’s Church.

Sincerely, Robin Chenarak

Sconeheads

Recently, we met

on ZOOM, to discuss,

“The Desert, An

Anthology for Lent.”

We shared many

stories! What

fabulous insights!

The group decided to meet once again on

Zoom on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 @ 7:00.

Ellie K. is coordinating this meeting, so please

contact her if you are interested in joining in!

508-783-4041 or ekeohane@gmail.com

Sconeheads

Knitting and Crocheting

Ministry

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At that time, we will have finished reading,

“The Desert,” so we plan to check in with one

another and reflect on some guiding questions.

Here are the questions to think about:

* What are we learning from our experience

in this “desert” caused by the COVID-19

pandemic?

* How have we felt closer or further from

God?

* How did he speak to us during this time?

* How did we use this time in the desert?

* Take at least one quote from the book and

research the Author. What are one or two things

you learned about the author?

We are hoping and praying that we will be

able to meet in The Parlor in May! The date

that has been set is Wednesday, May 6, 2020 @

7:00 p.m. We plan to discuss the book, “The

Prayer Box,” by Lisa Wingate.

In the event that we are not able to meet in

person, we will most likely meet again on

Zoom! Either way, hoping you can join us.

Hoping and praying for the restored health of

the world. Take care.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Robin Chenarak

When we are physically able to join together to

worship at St. Matthew’s, we would like to

celebrate by decorating the church with Easter

flowers.

If you would like to make a donation, there are

two ways to do so. You can send a check made

out to St. Matthew’s and designate it “Easter

Flowers” or use the on-line giving option,

“Tithely” and use the gift category for Easter

Flowers. If mailing a check, fill out the form at

the bottom of this newsletter and mail both to

St. Matthew’s Church or if using the on-line

option, send an e-mail with the information to

stmatthewsworcester@gmail.com.

Present: Robin Chenarak, Rob Ermanski,

George Gailor, Festus Konneh, Fr. John

McGinty, Emmanuel Ndebeh, Tim Rossi,

Stephen Smith, Debborah Smyth, Helen Turano,

Dennis Wilson.

Senior Warden's Report Festus thanked Robin for organizing vestry

members to call parishioners. Some

parishioners have asked for specific prayers. It's

important to keep everyone in our prayers.

Junior Warden's Report We have canceled all projects with Cole

Contracting, and Rob has begun making

payments on work done. Enterprise Cleaning

will be told that they are not needed while the

church is closed. However, we will ask them to

do a deep cleaning and disinfection of the

church after the pandemic is over.

Treasurer's Report Rob could not generate a formal report because

Quickbooks is only on the computer at the

office, and there is a health risk for anyone

going in and working there. Rob is currently

picking up mail from the church. There is a risk

of theft in items being left in the mailbox and

also a health risk to anyone picking up mail.

Rob is making a deposit once a week, and the

group of parishioners who count offerings are

not counting currently. We need to let the

auditors know that our internal control system

isn't in place. Rob has figured out that as long

as we get about a third of pledges in, we will be

all right financially for two months, as the

diocese has suspended the assessment.

The Tithe.ly system has some downsides. They

charge a fee, and there is a lag time between

payment and the money appearing in the church

account. However, it is what the diocese has

recommended.

Easter Flowers

Virtual Vestry Meeting

held Sunday, March 29,,

2020 at 1:00 pm

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There was a discussion of having mail

forwarded to the Rectory. Rob can pick up

checks and invoices from Fr. John once a week.

Audrey will contact the post offices in

Worcester and Auburn to make the change.

Dennis moved that we vote on this plan, and

Emmanuel seconded, and it passed

unanimously. In the meantime, Rob will

continue to pick up the mail from the church.

Rick Townsend, Joe Chilton, Kelly McGregor

and Barbara Forzley have been nominated for

the audit committee. Steve will speak to Lynn

Bromley Ryan about whether she would

consider being on the committee if one of the

nominees cannot serve. Robin moved that we

approve the current slate and George seconded.

Motion passed unanimously with Rob

abstaining.

Calls to parishioners by Vestry It is important for members to report to Fr John

the results of their calls. All parishioners who

were reached were pleased to be called by the

vestry.

S Worcester Neighborhood Center They are still open and need cereal and person

hygiene items. Robin will email Fr. John about

this.

Robin reported that parishioners have already

donated about 200 items for the in-gathering in

December. We can get discounts now online

and donate the items later. We can also have

items shipped directly from Amazon.

Lenten Folders Steve said parishioners need to be reminded to

send in Lenten Folder donations. Rob will

create a new option on Tithe.ly for this.

Caring for shut-ins There was a discussion of sending shut-ins a

note in the mail, but this presents some potential

for health risks. Robin will assign a shut-in to

each vestry member so we can call them, and Fr

John will also call each shut-in.

Status of Groups Rob made a motion that Audrey contact all

groups using the church and tell them that their

room donations for March and April will be

credited towards the months when the church

re-opens. Robin seconded, and motion passed

unanimously. The building will be cleaned and

disinfected before the church is opened.

Fr John will add our prayers for the groups to

the church Facebook page.

Virtual Liturgies Fr John has moved Evening Prayer from 630 to

6 on weeknights. There is also a Noon Prayer

on Saturdays, and this morning we had our first

Morning Prayer on the Zoom platform. Every

other day there is a Zoom conversation for

parishioners, to encourage connection, and

anyone wanting to join should ask Fr John to

add their name to the Zoom email invitation list.

We will have Holy Eucharist from the chapel

next (Palm) Sunday and at Easter. Steve

volunteered to hold the ipad for Fr. John. Rob

and Steve will clean the doorknobs next

Saturday. The sacrament is already set up.

They will clean off the cabinet handles and get

out the vestments. They will put palms on the

altar.

Dennis has been going into the church weekly.

He found the front door not latched initially. He

also found the furnace is discharging some

water, and contacted Joe about it. Thanks were

expressed to him for doing this, and also to

Steve for picking up trash.

Steve will call the acolytes' families and

encourage them to watch the Eucharist together.

It was agreed we should be reaching out to all

ages in the parish. Fr. John requested that

names of families with children be emailed to

him. He could do a childrens' service in Holy

Week.

Fr John wants to connect Zoom with Facebook

live and make a YouTube recording of the

liturgies so everyone will have a chance to

participate. He will also add a page to the

website where parishioners can add prayer

requests. Rob pointed out the need for limits on

help provided to parishioners in downloading

Zoom. This can be done by phone or internet,

but we should not go to others' homes in person.

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Tim will contact Festus to find out his schedule

before we set up the next virtual vestry meeting

the week after Easter. Meeting was adjourned

at 3 pm

Monthly Lectionary

April 5

The Sunday of the Passion:

Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 21:1-11

Monday in Holy Week

Isaiah 42:1-9, Psalm 36:5-11

Hebrews 9:11-15, John 12:1-11

Tuesday in Holy Week

Isaiah 49:1-7, Psalm 71:1-14

I Corinthians 1:18-32, John 12:20-36

Wednesday in Holy Week

Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 70

Hebrews 12:1-3, John 13:21-32

Maundy Thursday

Exodus 12:1-4,11-14, Psalm 116:1,10-17

I Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-17,31b-35

Good Friday

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Psalm 22

Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42

Holy Saturday

Job 14:1-14, Psalm 31:1-4,15-16

I Peter 4:1-8, Matthew 27:57-66

April 12

The Sunday of the Resurrection:

Easter Sunday

Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, John 3:1-17

April 19

The Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a,22-32, Psalm 16

I Peter 1:3-9, John 20:19-31

Arpil 26

The Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a,36-41, Psalm 116:1-3,10-17

I Peter 1:17-23, Luke 24:13-35

St. Matthew’s Vestry Festus Konneh, Senior Warden

Tim Rossi, Junior Warden

Rob Ermanski, Treasurer

Helen Turano, Clerk

Charlotte Townsend,

Corresponding Secretary

Vestry Members

George Gailor

Debborah Smyth

Emmanuel Ndebeh

Robin Chenarak

Stephen Smith

Dennis Wilson

Our Mission is to build on the past, while looking

towards the future, and provide a Christian

community for worship and fellowship that

extends to others in joy, witness, and outreach

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Easter Flower Donations

If you would like to have flowers placed on the altar in memory of one of your loved ones who has died, and have their

name(s) remembered in our prayers for our Easter Sunday, please use the form below to give us their names. You may

instead like to offer a flower or plant in thanksgiving for one of God’s blessings you have received this year. Please circle

one of the choices below (in memory of or in thanksgiving for). Donations will be used to purchase all of the flowers.

(Please circle one) In Memory/Thanksgiving of (name): Donation

Amount:_______ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your Name and Address:______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

Please send in all Easter Flower donations by April 30, 2020