St. Paul’s
109 S.
Elm, Kewanee , Illinois 61443
Newsletter
Volume 28 March 2016 No. 3
At long last we have begun to address our church’s
ceiling. We have of course known for years that this was needed, but we were
also acutely aware that we didn’t have the funds.
What has changed? We are still, as
ever, a fragile congregation, whose funds, in spite of all our best efforts,
are never quite able to keep up; a congregation that sometimes receives
unexpected gifts just in the nick of time, it would seem.
But as far as finances are
concerned, two things have changed. First is the news that trustees and some
members of the congregation met with a man, Mr. Bob Harrison, a drywall and
plaster refinisher, who stated that the plaster in the nave is reparable, and
that this work could be done in short,
affordable steps, provided that we can set up our own scaffolding and planking,
and do as much of the unspecialized work as we can, including especially
cleanup; but possibly also even some painting. This is a breakthrough: the
breaking of the project into steps prevents us from thinking it to be
overwhelming and undoable. We can take as long as we need.
So, since the voters’ approval on
February 7, 2016 we have begun. We have already the scaffolding up, as the
nearby picture shows: volunteers came in on Saturday, February 20th. That small section will be worked on until
complete—plaster patching, priming, and painting—before we move on to the next.
Each area will be about 20 feet by 20 feet. Bob will repair the plaster and
wait for it to dry in that area and when it is cured he (or some able
volunteer) will paint it while the scaffolding is set up in that area. His rate
will be approximately $20-25 per hour, to which we must add the cost of
materials. Church members will primarily
be asked to volunteer as the clean up crew. The voters also determined that the
easiest way forward is to stay with the colors we already have. Since the altar
area is the newest and cleanest painted area, we will try to match that color.
The cost of paint & plaster per area is estimated at $200 to $300 per
section.
The second thing that has changed is
a more fervent desire to get the job done. As a result, in just one month we have already collected $3,615 in special
designated donations. The dedication of this parish to her task of being a beacon of the Gospel in this place is worthy
of note. It is that dedication that has brought us to the point where we have
determined our place of worship needs this remodeling. Let us pray for our
Lord’s continued blessing on us as we proceed.
+ Pastor Eckardt
Lenten
Suppers
We are again having Lenten soup
suppers on Wednesdays in March at 5:30 pm (note the new time). Join your family
of the faithful for this time together. Convenient
time too: midweek Lenten masses are at 7:00.
Every Wednesday in Lent except for
Holy Week.
James
Armstrong to be Welcomed
We expect to receive Mr. James Armstrong into communicant
membership at the Vigil of Easter this year. James is nearing completion of
private instruction. He is the husband of Michelle (nee Thompson) Armstrong.
Congratulations!
(For more on the Vigil of
Easter, see below)
Q and A Continues
Every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. our class entitled “Q and A on
Jesus and the Bible” continues.
Although people who come are not required to bring their
own questions, we have noticed that when people do, it becomes an especially
lively and edifying hour.
Give it a whirl, if you have the time.
In Our Prayers
Our current list of
prayer intentions at mass includes the names on the lists here following. Anyone wishing to update the list by addition
or subtraction, please inform the pastor.
in our parish:
Sandra Verplaetse
Emilie Ricknell
Linda Rowe
Berniece Harris
Denny Schoen
Mary Hamilton
Emmy Wear
and also:
Anna Rutowicz [granddaughter of Harrises]
Julie Ross [Svetlana Meaker’s daughter]
Jill Matchett [at request of Diana Shreck]
Lorene Foglesong [at request of the Kraklows]
Cathy Van Wassenhove [re Sandra Verplaetse]
Shelly DeBord [at request of the Watsons]
Jackie Hampton [at request of the Murphys]
Robin Hampton [at request of the Watsons]
Maria Thorndike [at request of the Murphys]
Annie Eastman [at request of Svetlana Meaker]
Emily Corzine [Sarah’s sister]
Dennis Hoag [at request of Diana Shreck]
Nancy Popejoy [relative of Sharon Hartz]
Jeff Autery [friend
of Chris Erickson, with cancer]
John Molburg [friend
of Sandra Verplaetse]
Dave Colgron [friend
of Tom Wells]
Michelle Campbell [Larry’s
wife]
Shannon Watson [Jim’s
daughter]
in the military:
John Eckardt
Donny Appleman [at request of the Ricknells]
Thomas Kim [at request of the Shrecks]
Michael Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Katherine Creech [at request of the Murphys]
Richard Heiden [at request of the Eckardts]
Carter Wills [grandson of the Thompsons]
Luke Van Landigan [grandson of Dick Melchin]
Jaclyn Alvarez [daughter of Kris Harden]
in trouble:
any unborn children in danger
of abortion
those suffering from unrest,
persecution, and imprisonment in Iran, Kenya, Pakistan, North Korea, and
elsewhere. (Details on the back page)
And our own church
Easter
Breakfast
The Easter breakfast will be held after 7:00 a.m. Sunrise mass on March
27th. Calling all
volunteers! If you want to help, provide
an egg dish, set tables, or otherwise donate, please speak to or contact Carol
Eckardt at 853-7708.
On Holy
Saturday, March 26th, volunteers will be needed to set up the
tables.
March Anniversary
3/19/1977 Jeff and Diana Shreck
March Ushers
Allan Kraklow, Steve Kraklow,
Tom Wells
Altar Guild Notes
·
The paraments
color for the month of March is VIOLET, until:
·
Maundy Thursday,
March 24th, color is WHITE. The stripping of the altar follows mass.
·
Holy Saturday
(Vigil of Easter), March 26th, color is WHITE
·
Easter (March 27th)
and its week are WHITE.
·
During Holy week,
mass is held every night Monday through Saturday, at 7 p.m.
Next meeting is Tuesday, March 1st.
First
Tuesday Vespers, etc.
March 1st, Altar Guild is at 6 pm,
Vespers is
at 6:45, and Elders is at 7:15, as usual.
March
Birthdays:
3/1 Barbra Kraklow
3/2 Joseph Eckardt
3/25 Carol Eckardt
Shut ins
Mary Hamilton (currently in Fort Wayne, Indiana);
Emmy Wear at Williamsfield.
Private Confession is always available to
anyone between 6 and 6:30 pm on these Wednesdays (and also, as always, by
appointment). Pastor is usually available as well on Saturdays, from about 4:30
pm until Mass.
The
Lighter Side
What
do you get if you pour hot water down a rabbit hole? Hot cross bunnies.
What's
the difference between a counterfeit bank note and a crazy rabbit? One is
bad money, the other is a mad bunny.
How
many Easter eggs can you put in an empty basket? Only one – after that it’s
not empty any more.
How
do you catch the Easter Bunny?
Hide in a bush and make a noise like a carrot.
Hide in a bush and make a noise like a carrot.
Why
does the Easter Bunny have a shiny nose?
Because the powder puff is on the other end.
Because the powder puff is on the other end.
How
does the Easter Bunny keep his fur neat?
With a hare brush.
With a hare brush.
What
did the rabbit say to the carrot?
It’s been nice gnawing you.
It’s been nice gnawing you.
How
do you know carrots are good for your eyes? Have you ever seen a rabbit
wearing glasses?
How
did the soggy Easter Bunny dry himself?
With a hare-dryer.
With a hare-dryer.
Why
can’t a rabbit’s nose be 12 inches long?
Because then it would be a foot.
Because then it would be a foot.
Why
did the Easter Bunny cross the road?
To prove he wasn’t chicken.
To prove he wasn’t chicken.
What
do you get if you cross an elephant with a rabbit? An elephant who never
forgets to eat his carrots.
Training
for the Great Vigil
Training of the mind is helpful in
preparation for our Easter celebrations, especially when it comes to the Great
Vigil, which is the solemn service of Saturday night before Easter morning, in
which we welcome the end of Lent and the coming of Easter.
One of the elements of the liturgical reform
which has taken hold in many segments of Christendom is the recovery of the
Great Vigil. For a very long time there
was little or no concept of what the Great Vigil was, or what it was for. Indeed The Lutheran Hymnal itself has no
propers listed for the Great Vigil.
There’s only a little reference to “Holy Saturday, Easter Eve,” having
only a collect and two readings, the Gospel being a reference to the burial of
Jesus (St. Matthew 27). So even there,
although the collect for Easter Eve contains the traditional reference to “the
glory of the Lord’s resurrection” on “this most holy night,” nothing else does. There was virtually no Great Vigil among
Lutherans in the early 20th century.
The recovery of this ancient and
venerable tradition has been a key ingredient in the rediscovery of liturgical
beauty and importance for Lutherans.
But still there is resistance,
particularly among people who hadn’t grown up with the tradition, and for whom
therefore it represented something new.
Actually it’s something very old, which, like many venerable traditions,
fell into disuse between the 17th and 19th centuries when
Rationalism was on the rise. The
recovery of Confessional Lutheranism has brought with it an awakening of
liturgical piety, and a renewed appreciation for the Great Vigil.
The Vigil is a bit lengthier than a
regular Sunday mass, but for those who are aware and appreciative of what’s
going on, time does not seem to be a factor.
It requires a little disciplining, a little training of the mind to
grasp and appreciate the majesty of this holy night, but when that discipline
is achieved, the Great Vigil begins to stand apart as an awe-inspiring
ceremony.
It’s actually an accumulation of
four services set end-to-end, each building on the former, until finally Easter
formally arrives.
Beginning at dusk, the congregation
gathers around an open fire for the Service of Light. The paschal candle is lit and a procession
forms to enter the church. When the long
procession finally wends its way into the church, and hand-candles are lit, the
solemn Exsultet is chanted, a beautiful and melodious proclamation of Easter’s
arrival. There is high ceremony here,
done with purpose: we are witnessing and partaking in the celebration of the
renewal of all creation in the resurrection of our Lord.
The Service of Readings follows, in
which several Old Testament readings foretelling this grand event are
read. The service concludes with the
great canticle called the Benedicite
Omnia Opera in which now the rejoicing of all creation is openly
expressed. Also known as the Song of the
Three Children (the three men in the fiery furnace), it speaks of the rejoicing
of all creation: angels, heavens, waters, sun, moon, stars, showers, dew,
winds, fire, winter, summer, dews, frost, cold, ice, snow, nights, days, light,
darkness, lightning, clouds, mountains, hills, green things, wells, seas. floods, whales, all that move in
the waters, fowls, beasts. cattle, and children of men. Here, as before, we
observe that all creation bends toward its Creator who has renewed all things
by rising from the dead.
Then follows the Service of Baptism,
in which any confirmations are also held, as well as a calling to mind of
Baptism for all in attendance. This
follows fittingly, since it is through Baptism that we have become participants
in the renewal of creation.
Finally, the Service of the Sacrament
marks the point of entry into Easter.
The lights come up, the celebrant is vested, the lilies seem to trumpet,
and we sing the Gloria in Excelsis with gusto; the organ keeps its silence no
more, and even the bells are rung. This
is the Church’s finest hour: Christ is risen!
And so we feast, coming to the altar to receive His Body and Blood in
the Sacrament.
This crescendo of rejoicing
continues at sunrise, when in the bright array of the morning sun we recall the
moment in which the women at the tomb, and Jesus’ disciples, first learned of
His resurrection. Easter Sunrise is more
festive still than the last part of the Great Vigil. Now we are in full-throated song and music,
our choir is at its very best, and our hearts sing in glad harmony with our voices.
The best way to gain the full effect
of this great liturgical Feast is to witness it from Maundy Thursday and Good
Friday, when the Church is at its darkest and most somber. From the deepest depths to the highest heights
we go in just three days, as the liturgy of the Church mimics Christ Himself,
who went through death to resurrection.
So we sing a mournful tune during the Holy Three Days, but it gives way
to a heady rejoicing when we celebrate that Easter has come, and with it, our
victory over the grave. Christ is
risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
- Pastor Eckardt
Persecution details
KENYA: Al Shabaab Rebels Raid Coastal Village
SOURCE(S): MORNING STAR NEWS,
18 FEBRUARY 2016
In a four-hour pre-dawn raid
on January 31st, Islamic extremist al Shabaab rebels killed at least four
Christians in a coastal Kenyan village. Two were shot, one was beheaded, and
another died because his house had been set on fire. There were also surviving
victims wounded in the attack. Eyewitnesses say it's clear that the attackers
were hunting down Christians.
PAKISTAN: Attack of Young Women Results in Tragedy 18
FEBRUARY 2016
Christian women are
particularly vulnerable to rape and public shaming by the extremists of this
Muslim-majority country. In a recent incident, three young Christian women were
purposely hit by a car for refusing the sexual advances posed to them by a
group of Muslim men.
SOURCES: Morning Star News,
International Christian Concern, VOM USA, various others
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