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E-Newsletter for Palm Sunday, April 9
From the Rector
The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, SCP

Dear <<First Name>>,

At this moment in the church year, the focus of our Christian journey turns to Jerusalem. We are preparing our annual walk alongside of Christ to the cross and resurrection—and there are many opportunities for you to deepen your journey.

First, tonight at 7:00pm, a select group of Grand Rapids vocalist, Mystical Voices, will perform at our parish. Led by our own Director of Music, Nick Palmer, they will be offering a choral setting of the Passion according to St. Matthew by Heinrich Schütz. The composer was 80 years old when he wrote it in 1666 for performance at the Dresden electoral Kappelle. As one review of the piece notes, 

For the parts of the Evangelist and the various protagonists in the narrative, Schutz opted for a curious form of unaccompanied, unmeasured monody which in character falls midway between the cool impersonality of plainchant recitation tones and the more impassioned idiom of operatic recitative. Deployed over an extended period, this melodic style lends the setting a remarkable degree of dramatic power, with the result that the choruses, far from standing out as highlights, serve rather to heighten a tension that is already present in the solo lines.
You will not want to miss the opportunity to hear it tonight.

The journey will continue with Palm Sunday services, including the traditional procession of the palms before each. We'll worship at our normal times: in English at 8:30am and 10:00am and in Spanish at 12:45pm. At that point our Holy Week schedule begins in earnest—click here to download a copy.

In particular, I would like to draw your attention to a new offering on Maundy Thursday. At 6pm, we'll gather for a traditional Mediterranean meal together, catered by the authentic Osta's Lebanese Cuisine in Grand Rapids. This traditional meal will remind us as we celebrate the institution of Holy Communion that night, that the Blessed Sacrament finds its roots and beginnings in a traditional meal shared with friends. This weekend is your last chance to RSVP. We need to get a final count to the caterer on Monday. You can click here to see the current sign-up list and then, if you're not listed, just click here and the parish office will add you. If the cost is in any way prohibitive, you can request a scholarship at the Parish Office. 

These are just some of the ways for you to walk with Christ during this holiest of weeks. I hope you find this time rich, with an awareness of the cross and a gratitude for the grace of God which always meets us in the valley of death.

Through Grace,


 

5th Annual Spring Fling

The Spring Fling has arrived! Join us on Friday, April 28, 7:00pm, for the 5th Annual Spring Fling. This year's theme is "Masquerade." You can get your tickets after services on Sunday or by clicking here. If the ticket price would make it hard for you to come, please contact us in the Office as we have donated tickets available! We want every parishioner who wants to be a part of this evening of fun, fellowship, and raising money for good causes to be able to join us.
    Speaking of good causes—the proceeds for this year’s Spring Fling have been designated by the Vestry to be split between two ministries. The outreach ministry will be supporting the costs of training to the Sacred Order of Deacons for our parish candidates—so that they might be trained to lead us as ordained deacons in outreach! The “inreach” portion will go to cover the cost of training in the new Godly Play curriculum for our children’s Faith Formation. 
   If you have an item to donate to the Silent Auction, please sign up at the Parish Information Table or contact the Parish Office. We also need volunteers interested in helping to set up before and clean up after—contact the Office to be added to the list!!

 

  

Episcopal Youth Camp Registration!

Our Diocesan Youth Camp registration has opened. There are camp dates this summer for kids from grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Additionally, there is Weekend Camp for adults, families, and children of all ages! And if you want to send your kids to camp—St. John's can cover the cost! Through the generosity of the Hill Family Christian Education Fund, we are able to offer camp scholarships to the children and youth of the parish. Click here to find out more about camp dates and registration and let the Office know if you'd like to request a scholarship. 
     The Camp is also always welcoming older teenagers and adults who would like to help out as a counselor, whether just for a day or two or for a full week. There is need for chaplains, spiritual directors, cabin counselors, music leaders, and nurse/health professional. Find out more online here.

 

March
Vestry Minutes

The Minutes from the March Vestry meeting have been approved and are available online here. Parishioners are always welcome to attend Vestry meetings and are particularly encouraged, at least, to join the Vestry for prayer before the meeting. The next Regular Meeting will be Monday, April 24, at 5:30pm, with Evening Prayer preceding at 5:15pm.  Archives of past meeting minutes are always available online here



April 2017
Parish Page

The April 2017 edition of the Parish Page is now available online here. Back issues of the Parish Page are always available online here. Any parishioner may submit an article for our monthly Parish Page.

 

Holy Week & Easter at SJE

Palm Sunday (April 9)
8:30am • Eucharist 
10:00am • Eucharist 
12:45pm • Eucaristía

Mon Tue & Wed
in Holy Week

8:30am • Morn. Prayer
Noon • Holy Eucharist
5:15pm • Eve. Prayer

The Triduum
Maundy Thursday
8:30am • Morn. Prayer
5:15pm • Eve. Prayer
6:00pm • Shared Meal
7:00pm • Holy Eucharist (Bilingual)
8:30pm • Night Watch
 
Good Friday
8:30am • MP & Comm.
Noon • Proper Liturgy 
1:00pm–3:00pm • Stations of the Cross 
7:00pm • Liturgía Propia

Holy Saturday
8:30am • Morn.Prayer
10:00am •  Liturgy
5:15pm • Eve. Prayer
8:30pm • Great Vigil

Easter Sun. (April 16)
8:30am • Eucharist
10:00am • Eucharist
11:30am • Egg Hunt!
12:45pm • Eucaristía



Holocaust Remembrance

This year's Holocaust Commemoration sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Muskegon will feature Dr. Renata Laxova. A child survivor from Brno, Czechoslovakia who was rescued by the Kindertransport arranged by Sir Nicholas Winton in 1939.She returned to her country and lived under Communist rule until the Prague Spring 1968 when she, and her family left for England and then the United States. All are welcome to the events of the weekend:
April 23, 2017, 3:30pm
Commemoration Service  Samuel Lutheran Church
Corner of 8th Street and Muskegon Avenue
April 24, 2017, 6:30pm
Witness and Conversation
First Evangelical Lutheran Church
April 25, 2017, 
12:30pm

Witness and Conversation
West Shore Community College, Ludington

For more information visit the website, call the Congregation B'nai Israel (231-722-2702), or e-mail the Center.
 

Parish Wine Tour Planned—Sign Up Early for a Spot!

This year a group from St. John’s will be heading up to Traverse City for the annual Harvest Stompede on September 9 & 10! This is a big event that fills up early, so we’re planning now. Tickets are $40 for the tour of the wineries on both
Saturday and Sunday, with a food and wine pairing at each. You are also invited (but not required!) to join the Stompede trek through the vineyards either in a 5K Walk, 7 Mile Run, or 5K run. There is an additional cost and registration for the Stompede, if you plan on doing it, let us know and we will e-mail you a link to the Stompede registration form. 
    You need to arrange for your own lodging and are encouraged to do so early because it fills up. Many are choosing to book a stay at the Falling Waters lodge. We are also renting a coach for a Saturday afternoon wine tour from 1pm–6pm and will split the cost of the coach between those who ride along. The cost will be between $30–$40, depending on how many ride along. If you are taking the group coach on Saturday, please do not purchase your winery tour ticket—we will purchase it for you through the coach company. Your wine tour ticket will also let you travel on your own Sunday to visit any wineries we don’t visit on Saturday. Sunday morning, we will all worship together with our sisters and brothers at Grace Episcopal in Traverse City! 
    Click here to see the sign-up sheet and, if you want to join, click here and the Parish Office will sign you up!
St. John's
Episcopal Church
Palm Sunday in Lent, 

April 9, 2017

8:30am • Holy Eucharist
9:15am • Choir Rehearsal
10:00am • Holy Eucharist
12:45pm • Santa Eucaristía (Holy Eucharist in Spanish)
1:00pm • Loving Spoonfuls

Readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14-27, 66; Psalm 31:9-16.

Food Pantry: Laundry Soap.

11:30am Faith Formation: On Easter break. Resumes on April 23.

8:30am Worship Ministers
Ushers – Brian Walker, Scott Walker; Verger - Bob Harsha; Readers - Rick Parks, Kenneth Michnay, George Morriss, Brent Zimmerman; Eucharistic Minister - Rick Parks; Altar Guild – Laurel Angus, Jackie Berg, Evelyn Morford, Kelly Kelley; Communion Bread – Betty Wibert.

10:00am Worship Ministers
Ushers – Mark Kelley, Dale Rodgers; Readers – Phyla Bramer, Will Dickinson, Alicia Hager, Cathryn Marshall, Dana Gezon, Kenneth Michnay, Brent Zimmerman, Valerie Cramer, Carolyn Bean, Michael Prinzi, Amy Lalick-Prinzi; Eucharistic Ministers – Kelly Kelley, Jessica Robinson, Deacon John Infante; Verger – Debbie Wakerley; Crucifer – Robert Babcock; Organist & Choirmaster– Nick Palmer; St. Cecilia Choir; Coffee Hour - Mike & Sharon Skodack; Altar Guild – Laurel Angus, Jackie Berg, Evelyn Morford, Kelly Kelley; Communion Bread – Betty Wibert.

12:45pm Ministros del Culto
Celebrante  y Predicador – Padre Jared Cramer;  Deacon John Infante Pinzon; Sacristán - Jane Freedberg; Ministro de Eucaristía — Mark Kelley; Líderes de la Música – Nick Palmer, Daisy Martinez; Cofradía del Altar – Laurel Angus, Jackie Berg, Evelyn Morford, Kelly Kelley; Pan de Comunión – Betty Wibert.
St John's Episcopal Grand Haven, MI

Upcoming Events

Click here for our full Parish Google Calendar.

CHORAL PASSION OF CHRIST: Join us TONIGHT, Friday, April 7, for an offering of Heinrich Schütz's setting of the Passion According to St. Matthew. This concert is offered by Mystical Voices, a select group of singers from West Michigan, led by our Director of Music, Nick Palmer. In addition to Schütz's beautiful setting there will be two motets, prayers, and hymns with the assembly. The concert is free of charge—though an offering will be taken to support the ministry of Mystical Voices. Find out more—and let us know you are coming—online here.

UNDERCROFT CLEAN-UP! The Property Commission needs your help this Saturday, April 8, at 10:00am to clean out the clutter in the under-croft. A large dumpster has been rented and every ministry has been invited to remove what they might want—so now we just need hands to clean it out. If you are available that Saturday, please bring a pair of work gloves and join in this work! Lunch will be included! Click here to let us know you are coming and invite a friend!

EASTER FLOWERS & MUSIC: Donation envelopes are now available on the parish information table for Festal Music & Flowers Fund—the fund that offsets costs for our special music and flowers at times like Easter. Please include with your donation the printed names of those to be remembered and make your checks payable to St. John’s Episcopal Church with “Festal Music & Flower Fund” on the memo line. Last day for names to be included in the Easter bulletin is this Sunday, April 9.

KNITTING MINISTRY: We meet on the second Tuesday of each month. Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 11, in Holy Week at 1:00pm, in the Guild Room. We have a supply of shawls on hand and if you know of anyone who would benefit from a prayer shawl, please contact Barb Larson.

EASTER HOLIDAY: In celebration of the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Parish Office is closed during Easter Week (Monday, April 17–Thursday, April 20). There will not be regularly scheduled Morning or Evening Prayer on those days, but there will be our Wednesday noon Eucharist.

PROPERTY COMMISSION: The work of overseeing and keeping up our historic physical plant is significant. The Property Commission is always ready to welcome new members. The next meeting of the Commission is Monday, April 17.

MISSION & OUTREACH MEETING: The next meeting of the Mission & Outreach Commission  is Tuesday, April 18, at 6:00pm, Ministry Room A, Lower Level. All are welcome to join this Commission which helps connect our mission and outreach activities to each other and which looks to local, national, and global needs which merit our community's attention and energy. 

MOVIE GROUP: Each month, we gather for our Movie Group discussion. This month, on Thursday, April 20, the movie is "The Amazing Catfish." We gather for fellowship at 5:30pm with the movie starting at 6:00pm. Bring a snack and/or beverage to share and $5 if you want pizza. Find out more about the movie online here and let us know you are coming online here!

IMMIGRATION & SANCTUARY TEAM MEETING: After our parish conversation about issues surrounding Immigration & Sanctuary, those gathered agreed that the best way forward would be to call together a Team to explore several issues and questions more deeply before presenting any concrete action to the Parish Council, Vestry, or congregation. The first meeting of that Team is Sunday, April 23, at 2:00pm in the Guild Room.

MESSIAH SING-IN: On the Second Sunday of Easter, April 23, our parish will be hosting a special MESSIAH Sing-In at 4:00pm. The St.
Cecilia Choir will be joined by professional singers who will lead us through this beloved piece of music. Those who attend will be given scores and invited to join in the singing at various times throughout the performance. A free-will offering will be taken and, after costs are covered, the remainder will be divided between the Music Fund (providing resources for music ministry now) and the Music & Fine Arts Endowment (creating a base for a steady stream of resources in the future). Click here for information on being a concert patron.
                 
Click here for our full Parish Google Calendar.
Parish Office
524 Washington Ave • Grand Haven, MI • 616-842-6260 
Open Monday – Thursday • 10:00am–2:00pm
The Rector is also available by appointment.
Our Inclement Weather Policy is online here.

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Sunday Holy Eucharist 
8:30am - Rite II Spoken • 10:00am - Rite II with Hymns • 12:45pm - En Español

Weekday Eucharist 
Wednesdays, 12noon • Special Services Schedule

Daily Office
Mondays  – Thursdays Morning Prayer, 8:30am • Evening Prayer 5:15pm
 
Faith Formation
 Sundays at 11:30am  • Sunday School, Faith Formation, & Spanish Bible Study
Mondays at 5:30pm • Bro. of St. Andrew
Wednesdays at 6:00pm • 20s/30s Group
2nd & 4th Thurs.at 6:30pm • Women's Ministry Group
Third Thursdays at 5:30pm • Movie Group

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A parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan, 
led by the Rt. Rev. Whayne Hougland, Jr.

www.edwm.org

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Worship God. Be Transformed in Christ. Change the world.
St. John’s is a diverse Christian community, following Jesus’ teaching through liturgical worship,
transformation in the mind of Christ, and the pursuit of reconciliation and justice in God’s creation.


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