News

Part I: Sunday Forum, 10:00-10:45, Chapel or Berlin Room

This weekly program offers a variety of presentations for the parish including Bible discussion, outreach, liturgical topics, Christian living and ethics, Church history, and faith-challenging contemporary issues.

March 7 On The Sea of Galilee Bill Dolen
March 14 Faith During the Holocaust Rabbi David Sirull
March 21 Israel & Palestine Perry Smith
March 28 No Forum Palm Sunday
April 4 No Forum Easter Sunday
April 11 Churchyard Tour Joe Lojewski & Erick Montgomery
April 18 Conversation with the Bishop Rt. Rev. Scott Benhase, Bishop of GA
April 25 Goodwill Career Center Meredith Stiff
May 2 Diabetes and Faith (T)
May 9 When the Prayer Book was Illegal Bob Polglase
(T) Tentative, plans are not yet finalized on these presentations

Part II: Lenton Reflections, 11:00-11:50, Parlor

Jim Silcox will offer a Lenten Bible Study and reflection program for five Wednesdays beginning on February 24. The program will focus on the previous Sunday’s lectionary readings for the five Sundays of Lent. Participants will need only Bibles and Prayer books. We will meet in the parlor from 11:00 -11:50, and encourage participants to attend the Wednesday healing service in the chapel immediately after as part of a Lenten discipline. This program will emphasize active participation and will not be a lecture format. The following Lenten themes will be addressed in the context of the lectionary study.

Reflection on Christ’s sacrificial service to humanity and his ultimate atoning crucifixion for our salvation.

Reflection on our mortality, inevitable death, and penitence for having failed to live as Christ would have us live as spiritual preparation for Holy Week and for the joy of Easter.

Emulation of Christ’s sacrifices and self-denial through personal disciplines.

Reflection on God’s plan of salvation and our role in that plan as a church and as individual Christians.

Part III: Evening Bible Study, Wednesday from 7:00 - 8:30pm

This is an informal, participant-driven group that meets in members’ homes. The study covers various books of the Bible. The study is covering the scriptures with a sharing of interpretations and individual viewpoints. Anyone is welcome to join the group at any time. Please contact Anita Tanner (706-993-5720) for location of the meeting.

Part IV: Rector’s Journey/Confirmation Course, Sundays 10:00-10:45, Conference Room

The Journey Course serves two functions. First, it is the educational basis for a process of formation to prepare and support persons for living according to the vows and promises of Christian Baptism. In this sense it is designed for newcomers to the Episcopal Church and Episcopalians who desire a refresher foundations course. Second, it is a means to prepare Episcopalians for Confirmation in April. The Catechism, spirituality, Episcopal liturgy, the Book of Common Prayer, and an overview of the history and tradition of the Episcopal Church will be covered. This class will be January 31 and run through March 21.

Part V: Saint Paul’s Book Club (3rd Thursday of each month), 2:30-4:00, Parlor

This is a monthly discussion of books being read by the group. The objectives of the group include Christian fellowship, exchange of perspectives and good fun. All are encouraged to join and we welcome new participation.

March 18 In Search of Julian of Norwich by Sheila Upjohn

"This is a spiritual detective story. Who was Julian? Why has she become so famous? Why did her writings disappear for centuries? Why is everyone reading them today? This fascinating illustrated exploration of Julian’s world - her city, her century, and her remarkable book, the first written by a woman in English - provides clues to the exciting mystery that is Julian.

April 15 Fireproof Eric Wilson, Alex Kendrick, Stephen Kendrick

"Inside burning buildings, Captain Caleb Holt lives by the firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner. Yet at home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules. Surprised by what he discovers about the meaning of love, Caleb realizes that his wife and marriage are worth fighting for."

Part VI: Wednesday Night Suppers, 2nd Wednesday of every month, 5:45-7:00 p.m., Tyler Hall

One Wednesday each month we will have a guest chef prepare an incredible dinner as an EYC fundraiser. For the month of March, our featured chefs will be The Men of Saint Paul’s Church, who will prepare "A Culinary Spring Surprise." The cost is $8 per person and $25 per family. We will also offer PB&J for $3.50. Wine will be served for an additional cost of $3 per glass. Please come out and support the youth in this monthly fundraiser.�@

Part VII: The Loving Church, Sunday, 10:00-10:45 a.m., Parlor

This spring’s "Loving Church" offering for Adult Christian Education will be based on Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s book, Gospel in the Global Village: Seeking God’s Dream of Shalom.�@It is a compilation of sermons and addresses given since she has become Presiding Bishop. She focuses on the Millennium Development Goals with a message of justice and peace for all people. This class will be discussion format and will be facilitated by Mary-Kathleen.

Lent calls us to a time of self-examination and repentance. Why? Because there is a great deal of unreality in the way we live. We can go a long time in life without ever facing up to those things that we think are better left unexamined. I wonder what would happen if we met someone who would not let us get away with our games? The Gospel tells of such a story in a Gospel passage known simply as “the woman at the well.” (John 4:5-42) Jesus asks the woman, who has things to hide, for a drink from the well. In his asking Jesus breaks two rules of that time. The first was that a man would not address a woman in that circumstance, and the second was that a Jew would not usually talk to a Samaritan. But you might remember that Jesus had a rebellious streak and perhaps Jesus’ intuition told him that there was something more important than rules at stake.

Their conversation quickly turned into a verbal fencing match with the woman constantly attempting to detour the conversation into idle chit-chat until, Jesus finally drilled down into the desire of her heart. The woman blurted out her longing to discover a meaningful relationship. Jesus cracked a zinger that struck to the heart of her hidden world: “Go, call your husband, and come here.” Jesus calls the woman to the reality of herself. She could no longer hide from Jesus, nor could we hide from Our Lord as we admit every Sunday: “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.” It’s tragically comical how we fool ourselves into believing there is such a thing as “secret keeping” when it obviously never works.

During her conversation with Jesus, the woman at the well made a significant discovery. Life is given meaning only as it is lived in relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Her discovery tells us that when Christ calls us to face reality and stop playing games, what follows is a divine grace that moves us beyond our hidden world. This is the Good News offered to each of us in Lent.

As you read this, we will have been in the season of Lent for 12 days. I thought it might be informative and helpful to share some historical and theological perspectives on this phase of the liturgical year.

The season of Lent has its origins in the preparation of candidates or catechumens for Easter baptism in the primitive Christian Church. Our current practice of conducting a journey course during Lent for those desiring to be confirmed following Easter is a reflection of this tradition from the early church. As the Ash Wednesday rite says on page 264 of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP,) the early Christians recognized the Lord’s Passion by preparing converts for holy Baptism at Easter. Those desiring to become Christians underwent intense training that included instruction, fasting and even exorcism. The element of fasting that was so conspicuous in their training was coupled with the symbolic 40-day fasts of Moses, Elijah and Jesus to create the season of Lent at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

Shrovetide originated in the Middle Ages and is the three-day period from Sunday through Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. Shrove comes from the medieval English word “shrive” which means to confess, to repent, to examine, to be forgiven, to reconcile, to impose penance, to relieve of a burden, and to absolve the penitent.

Lent is a time to think about things we are reluctant to think about the rest of the year. Things like sin, repentance, mortality, and yes, even our inevitable deaths. And it’s time to practice things we don’t do as faithfully as we should the rest of the year. Things like self-critical reflection, self-restraint, self-denial, and prayer; things we were challenged by in the Ash Wednesday Exhortation on page 264 and 265 in the BCP.

None of this, of course, is easy. And the task is complicated by the fact that in our current culture we are attracted to short-cut salvation—forgiveness without repentance, salvation without a change of life, and absolution without confession. This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.”

Let me be perfectly clear—neither good intentions, nor good efforts, nor good deeds can atone for sin. Only repenting and turning to God can break the endless cycle of futile and fatal attempts at self-justification. It is fitting that we should repent during Lent, because at the end of Lent our means of forgiveness appears in the atoning death of Christ on the cross. Only God in Christ can forgive sins, make the sinner whole. Only He has the grace, which can change a sinner into a saint.

But reflecting on our own lives is not the only focus for Lent. We are also encouraged to reflect on Christ’s Passion, His sacrificial actions on our behalf. For Christ’s actions are the source of joy, hope, gratitude and renewal that are as much themes of Lent as is penitence. Our penitence is not that of those who have no hope, who cannot see beyond Good Friday, but rather who have confidence in the forgiveness and redemption of the cross and Resurrection. That joy is captured in the second proper preface for Lent on page 379 of the Prayer book: “You bid your faithful people to cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast;...”

As we continue in the season of Lent, may we at once examine our lives in the light of Christ’s demands and still keep our eyes on the glory of God’s grace that was revealed on Easter morning.

We welcome new volunteers, young and old, and will be preparing and serving on the following Saturdays in 2010: April 17, June 12, August 14, October 9, and December 4. Contact Saint Paul’s coordinators, John Clemens (jiclemens@hotmail.com) or Catherine Boardman (cathboard@aol.com) with your questions.

The next Manna Pantry distribution will be held on April 23 and 24. Please mark your calendars and prepare to participate in this ministry. You will be blessed by volunteering and many families will be provided with food. ”Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40
 
For further information, or to volunteer, contact Wendell Tanner at 706-993-5720 or at AnitaandWendell@aol.com or the office at Saint Paul’s Church.

Mackenzie Marr, a member of the Saint Paul’s Choir and former Head Girl of the Canterbury Choir, has won 1st place in the Symphony Orchestra Augusta Youth Competition. The prize includes $500 and an appearance with the orchestra next season when Mackenzie will play a Mozart piano concerto. Last year, Thomas Newton, also a former Canterbury Choir Head Boy, won 2nd prize in the competition. Congratulations, Mackenzie. We are very proud of you.

Laura Grace Polglase, 7-year-old daughter of Amanda and Bob Polglase, won the diocesan contest to name the mascot of Honey Creek. She named him “Henry,” after Bishop Henry Louttit, and also after the children of Saint Paul’s who are named “Henry.” The mascot’s full name is “Henry the Happy Camper.” Congratulations, Laura Grace!