Holy
Week and Easter 2007 at Good Shepherd
Below you'll find descriptions of all the special worship
services at Good Shepherd during Holy Week: Palm Sunday
(April 1 st ), Tenebrae (Wednesday April 4 th ), Maundy
Thursday (April 5 th ), Good Friday (April 6 th ), The Great
Vigil (April 7 th ) and Easter Sunday April 8 th ).
Aside
from the services below, there will be Morning Prayer at
8:30am from Monday to Friday.
Palm Sunday (Sunday April 1st)
Palm Sunday is the first worship Service of Holy Week and
it is one of the most important celebrations of the whole
year. Holy Week is the week believers remember and celebrate
the last week of Jesus' life. That week began with Jesus'
triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem . By this time,
Jesus was a celebrity. Everyone knew him and most people
believed that he was the messiah, the coming savior of Israel
. So when they heard he was coming they all rushed out waving
palm branches and crying “Hosanna in Highest! Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Waving Palm branches
was the first century equivalent of those foam “#1” signs
you see at football games. It meant, “This is the king.”
Of course, after they really got to know Jesus and figured
out that he was not the savior they thought he would be
(i.e. that he wasn't going to get rid of the Romans) their
enthusiasm died. In fact, five days later the very same
people who greeted Jesus with shouts of “Hosanna” screamed
for his death with cries of “Crucify Him!”
Palm
Sunday Services at Good Shepherd will be held at 8:00am
and 10:30am as usual .
They will begin with the blessing of the Palms. Then the
blessed palms will be passed out to everyone in the congregation
and we'll process into the church like Jesus' processed
into Jerusalem (except for the donkey). During the service
The Passion will be read and narrated.
Tenebrae (Wednesday April 4th)
Tenebrae means “shadows” in Latin. The worship service called
“Tenebrae” is an ancient rite of the Church. It is a service
of word, light and sound. When you arrive for worship you
will see two groups of candles lit on the altar. As readings
are read the candles on the altar will be gradually extinguished
until the very end of the service when the last candle left
lit is removed from the worship space and the whole sanctuary
is left in darkness. At that point a sudden piercing crash
will shatter the silence of the sanctuary and echo through
the chamber. Then, after a moment, the last candle is returned
to the sanctuary and the worshippers depart. The gradual
darkening of the sanctuary and the crashing noise symbolizes
the apparent victory of death, darkness, and chaos over
Jesus Christ on the cross. The final candle being removed
and returned, symbolizes the truth that through Jesus' death,
God gained victory over all the powers of evil. The Light
was not overcome. The service of Tenebrae will
be held at 7:00pm on Wednesday of Holy Week.
Maundy
Thursday (April 5th)
Maundy Thursday communion celebrates the humility of Jesus.
Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lord's and yet on
the night before he died, during the Last Supper, he knelt
down and one by one washed his disciple's dirty, dusty,
feet. He did this to show his disciples and to show you
and me how to serve one another with humility and love,
being willing even to stoop and wash one another's feet.
The service will be informal and relaxed and it will include
a time for us to wash some willing feet. Maundy Thursday
is the last chance for communion until the Great Vigil.
The service will begin at 7:00pm
Good Friday: The Passion (April 6th)
Jesus died on a Friday. At about noon on Friday of Holy
Week he lifted his eyes up to heaven from the cross and
breathed out his last. “It is finished” he said. He was
not only referring to his life, but he was also referring
to the great battle between God and sin, death, and Satan.
Sin, death and the power of Satan over the people of God
all died with Jesus on that day. By and through Jesus' death
on the cross, everyone who believes is forgiven their sins
and granted an eternal relationship with God, the pure joy
of Heaven. Good Friday Services will be held at noon and
at 7:30pm .
The 7:30pm service will follow a viewing of Mel
Gibson's film The Passion
which we will start showing at 5:00pm .
The 7:30pm service will include the Stations
of the Cross , when we walk through and participate
spiritually in the Passion of Christ Jesus.
The Easter Vigil (Saturday April 7th)
Along with Tenebrae, the Easter Vigil is one of the most
ancient services of the Church. It is the most important
service of the entire year and it is the first service of
Easter. The service is definitely one of the most beautiful
you will ever see. It begins in total darkness. The lights
of the sanctuary are turned out, not a candle is burning.
And then, in the darkness, you will hear a prayer. A fire
is lit; a large flame in the center of the nave and from
that flame all the candles in the sanctuary are lit. Then
there will be readings and psalms, said and sung, by singers
and by the whole congregation. The sermon follows and then
the first Communion of Easter. Jesus is Risen! The light
has overcome the darkness! Death is defeated, sin destroyed.
The
Great Vigil begins at 8:00pm in the sanctuary.
Easter
Day! Jesus is Risen! (Sunday April 8th)
This is the day Christians celebrate and proclaim the bodily
resurrection of Jesus Christ. There will be flowers and
smells and bells.
Service
times are 8:00am and 10:30am Easter Morning!
UPDATE
CONTENTS:
ACOLYTE
PRACTICE
FRANKLIN
GRAHAM LIFE AND WITNESS COURSESOPERATION
ANDREW
CONCERT
WOMEN'S
BIBLE STUDY
7
PARISH GOALS
READ
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN 40 DAYS
CLAM
CHOWDER AND BAKE SALE
RABBI
RON GOLDBERG AND A NEW PARTNERSHIP
CHRISTIAN
EDUCATION: HEROES OF THE BIBLE
NEWS
ACOLYTE
PRACTICE THIS SUNDAY: There will be an acolyte
practice directly after the 10:30am service this Sunday.
If you are an acolyte or a parent of an acolyte, please
be sure to make it.
FRANKLIN
GRAHAM "LIFE AND WITNESS" COURSES TO BE HELD AT
GOOD SHEPHERD: As you know, beginning in late April,
Good Shepherd will be hosting one of the regional “life
and witness” courses in preparation for the Franklin Graham
festival this summer. These courses will be lead by a representative
from Franklin Graham and we are expecting somewhere between
200 to 300 people to attend. It is huge.
But
it is also a fantastic opportunity for you. If you are a
new Christian or if you've been a Christian for a long time
but need some encouragement, renewal, and refocusing, these
Life and Witness courses are for you.
The
vestry and I think that these classes are vital to our continued
growth and maturity at Good Shepherd and so we've decided
to make them an absolute, top of the list, priority:
There
will be four classes total beginning Monday April 23 rd
and continuing the next four Monday's until Monday May 14
th . All of them begin at 7:00pm.
During
those four weeks, there will be no other bible studies or
activities at Good Shepherd during the week with the exception
of the Shepherd's Bowl. We are encouraging you to mark your
calendars and set aside the dates and join us in these classes
OPERATION
ANDREW: In preparation for the Franklin Graham
Festival, all members of Good Shepherd are highly encouraged
to participate in an evangelism plan called Operation Andrew
designed by Billy Graham. Operation Andrew is named after
the first evangelist in the bible, Andrew, Peter's brother,
who heard Jesus' message and then found his brother and
brought him to hear the Good News as well.
This
Sunday I will take some time to speak about it during the
Adult Education time and I will devote the whole class to
it next Sunday the 25 th of March (the Sunday before Palm
Sunday). If you do not regularly attend the Sunday Morning
education time between 9:15 and 10:15am, I urge you to come
to these. It is important to do all that we can to prepare
for the Festival by beginning to think and pray about people
to invite.
Here
is the Five step strategy of Operation Andrew:
A
Simple Evangelism Strategy
Reach Out to Those Who Need Christ
“Andrew then went to find his brother ... and he brought
[him] to meet Jesus.” —John 1:41–42”
Operation Andrew is a simple, five-step plan designed to
help Christians reach out to people they know who need Jesus
Christ. By participating in Operation Andrew, you can make
a difference for Christ in your community.
Look Around where you live, work, or go to school—this
is your mission field. List names of individuals you know
who need Jesus Christ, whom you will pray for regularly.
Look Up because God changes people through
prayer. Pray each day for those on your list, that God will
give you opportunities to share His love with them.
Look Out for ways to cultivate friendships
with each person on your list. Spend time with them. An
invitation to dinner or a sporting event will build friendships,
which can open the way to talk about Christ.
Look Forward by beginning to talk with
each person on your list about attending the Festival you.
Choose a specific date, pray, and invite them.
Look After those who respond to Christ
or even begin to show interest in the Gospel, for they need
your encouragement. Continue to love and pray for those
who do not respond.
We'll
talk more about this on Sunday.
CONCERT:
The Franklin Graham Festival is bringing two Christian bands
to Binghamton on Sunday March 18th from 5:00pm to 8:00pm
at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The band “Tait”
and Will Graham will perform. Tickets are $10.00 in advance
and $15.00 at the door.
WOMEN'S
BIBLE STUDY REMINDER: Just a reminder that the
Women's Bible Study will be meeting upstairs in the Library
from now on. The Messainic Jewish Congregation will be worshipping
in the Parish Hall at 10:30am every Saturday. We'll meet
at our usual time. All women of every age are invited.
7
PARISH GOALS:
The vestry and I are fully committed to these goals and
with God's help we will accomplish them by the end of the
year. All require the grace of God but the more ambitious
ones may depend on powerful intervention. You can certainly
help fulfill them by joining a bible study, coming to church
regularly, sharing your faith with your friends and praying
for God's Holy Spirit to grow and build the church. Here
are the goals
1.
An active youth ministry in place by the end of the year
2. Quarterly Friends and Family Sunday
3. 100% parish participation in the Franklin Graham festival
(i.e. everyone gets trained and brings a non-believing friend
to the festival itself)
4. The vestry is seeking100% participation in Bible Study.
5 At least 30 new believers by this time next year.
6. An active discipling program by the end of the year with
at least 4 leaders in discipling relationships.
7. gathering at least 100 people for worship every Sunday.
READ
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN 40 DAYS: We
are over the hump and into the last 20 days of our 40 day
challenge. From the statistics on the website it looks like
many people are participating. This is fantastic. You can
find each day's reading and reflection linked from the home
page . If you are not online, then I'll have copies
available in the nave (the space just inside big red door
on the sanctuary level). Just let me know.
CLAM
CHOWDER AND BAKE SALE : The
Easter Bake sale is March 31 from 10:00--2:00. Lunch
is 11:30--1:30. Homemade clam Crowder will also be
available. Please sign up in the Parish Hall to bake, set
up, and/or work!!! Thank you
ADULT CHRISTIAN ED : HEROES
OF THE BIBLE Continues this week.
This
week we'll finish our discussion of Gideon and discuss the
power of God in our lives. When we feel the weakest and
most ill-equipped, God's grace and his power working in
us is all the more evident. In fact, sometimes he purposefully
allows us to become weak so that when people see the things
we do, there will be no doubt that God has done them through
us. Weakness is strength in the Kingdom of God . After discussing
Gideon we'll take a bried hiatus from this section of the
course to talk about Operation Andrew next Sunday and then,
as we always do, we'll dedicate Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday
to a discussion of the crucifixion and resurrection. Did
Jesus really rise from the dead? And if so, how can we know
this for sure?
HAVE
YOU…. shared your faith with a friend? The vestry has challenged
all of us to share our faith in Jesus Christ with at least
one non-believer each month.
Good News for the Week
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence
or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony
about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with
you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you
in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message
and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that
your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's
power. (1 st Corinthians 2:1-5)
Don't
forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday March 18th, Lent 4
2007
Monday:
Pastor's day off
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:00 p.m. First Light Bible Study
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
5:30 p.m. Shepherd's Bowl
6:30 p.m. New Beginners Bible Study
7:30 p.m. Choir Practice (temporarily meeting on Thursdays
due to scheduling conflict on Tuesday)
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Pastor's sermon prep day
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women's Bible Study
Sunday March 25th 2007 Lent 5: Praise and Worship
the Lord!
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
9: 15-10:15 a.m. Christian Education for all Ages
10:30 am Holy Communion II, Music and Sermon
God bless you all
In Christ,
