MANY BROKEN THINGS
Mary looked inside the tomb and saw two angels. “Why are You weeping?” they asked. “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
What Mary and others felt is replayed too often in people’s lives today. “At one time I had such faith, such high hopes in Jesus and in the Church.” Then something goes wrong, feelings are hurt, people begin to feel as Mary and the disciples saying, ‘I had such hopes once.”
We come on Easter Sunday looking for the Lord. We wonder if we can find him. If that is our feeling, there is cause to hope.
Remember it was not Mary who found Jesus. It was Jesus who found her. “Mary.” She answered, “Teacher.” Now she knew he was alive. But her answer says she has a way to go. In calling him Teacher she was speaking only of what he had been, not of what he had become.
That may be our problem as well. Do we speak of Jesus mostly in terms of what he has been from our days in the past?
It was not just that life had been broken for Mary and the disciples, but that it was broken beyond repair—too broken to mend. That is the kind of despair which says life has a past and a present, but no future. When they found the stone already rolled back and the tomb empty, it did not occur to them that what they were encountering was what God had done. When she heard, “Mary,” it began to dawn that what they thought was too broken to mend was very much alive and well.
We tend to look at things only horizontally, as if our strength and wisdom are the only forces at work. We become like those who were worrying about who would roll away the gravestone. When they got there, it had been rolled away, because God was out there going ahead of them. And what kind of God is he? St. Paul describes him as “the one who can make the things that are, out of the things that are not. One who can make dead things come to life again.” (Romans 4:17)
There are many broken things in life, too broken to mend. But Easter says there IS a future because God is here. The ultimate tragedy in Judas’ life was not his decision to betray our Lord. Peter also did that. The tragedy was in his not staying around to see what God could do.
To be sure there are a lot of heavy grave stones, too heavy for us to move. But there is a God who has the power to deal with whatever brokenness is found in our life. It was Jesus who died on Good Friday. But on Easter it is anguish and despair which have died.
CHRIST IS RISEN! RISEN INDEED
Pastor Frank
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Mary and
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HOLY WEEK begins with
Palm/Passion Sunday April 4th.
On that Sunday we look forward to the ingathering of our Thirty Pieces of Silver. “Turning the price of betrayal into the Message and Ministry of Jesus through sacrificial giving. It is our goal to raise $3,000 in sacrificial giving by members and friends of Carlton Hills Lutheran Church. Ten per cent of the money received will be divided between Santee Food Bank and our Synod Benevolence with the remainder of monies going to help meet the ministry of Christ through our Church. Bring your bags of coins that day and place them in the wagon at the back of the church. As our regular offering if brought forward the wagon will be pulled, pushed and guided forward all to the glory of God. Please place your name and the amount of money contained in the bag on a slip of paper inside the bag so the amount can be noted on your annual statement of contributions to the church.
HOLY WEEK continues with worship on
Maundy Thursday at
7:00 p.m. April 8th.
The Maundy Thursday service commemorates the establishment of the Eucharist during the Last Supper. The name of the day is taken from the Latin word Mandatum, which means command, referring to Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” In addition to receiving Holy Communion that evening, a foot washing ceremony, exemplifying Jesus’ servanthood and his command that we also are to serve one another will be part of this service. The conclusion of the service is the stripping of the altar. The altar is stripped as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s humiliation by the soldiers. The Eucharistic vessels, candles, linens and paraments are removed from the altar as Psalm 22 is receited by the congregation. The cleansing is symbolic of preparing the tomb for Christ’s body. There is no benediction, no postlude, thus the continuity with the service on Good Friday. It is all one extended service from Thursday through Easter. The Church is left in semi-darkness and all leave the church in silence. The transition is made from the Eucharistic celebration to Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Symbolically, Christ, stripped of his power and glory, is now in the bonds of his captors.
GOOD FRIDAY WORSHIP
is at 7:00 p.m.
We will take our place with the others who were there as we see Jesus lead to the cross to die.
EASTER SUNDAY FESTIVE WORSHIP AT 9:00 a.m.
Bring family and invite friends to worship with you. Special festive music with the morning message entitled “Don’t Give Up.” Following worship we will host a continental breakfast for all and an Easter Egg hunt for the children. Don’t miss worship on this very festive day in the life of our Church and faith.
EASTER SUNRISE (6:30 a.m.) ECUMENICAL WORSHIP AT SANTEE LAKES
This will be the 25th year that this ecumenical worship service has taken place in Santee. Again this year it is sponsored by the Kiwanis with participation from the Santee Ministerial Committee. Over the years Carlton Hills Lutheran Church has provided leadership in ecumenical outreach and this year Pastor Rick will participate in the sunrise service by reading a lesson and continuing Carlton Hill’s presence in the ecumenical community. Last year over 300 persons attended the sunrise service. Join Pastor Rick and others from the community in this festive Easter Sunrise Service at Santee Lakes.
NOTE TIME CHANGE
SPRING AHEAD.
Be sure to set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday evening April 3rd when you go to bed. SPRING AHEAD….
Box Score
Needed for Budget thru 3/14 $30,470
Received thru 3/14 $28,764
Behind $1706
’04 ’03
Avg. weekly attend. Jan 106 126
Feb 112 124
Mar 123 126
Our 2004 Budget has been revised downward to reflect anticipated receipts of $144,000.
Pledging – Consecration Sunday – Results
Projected Income for Budget 2004
Pledged 92,700
Non-Pledged 22,500
Lent 500
Special Lent 3,000
School & Misc. 25,740
Total 144,000
Projected Income of Fund Debt of $17,500
Not budgeted – (Recovered over 2 years or less)
Dorcas Circle (this year) 2,500
School (over 2 years) 5,000
Re-initiate XMAS (over 2 years) 10,000
Our projected income for 2004 after Consecration Sunday is estimated at $144,000 (see above sources). The council will be re-doing our 2004 Budget to meet our expected income. One result will be fulltime Pastoral Ministry for nine months and half time Pastoral Ministry for 3 months during summer. Should income exceed or dip below projections, adjustments will be made in salary line items. It is imperative that we do our best to meet commitments to the church and if you need to change your pledge, please let our financial secretary know so appropriate adjustments may be made.
The recovery of borrowing from clearing fund money to meet obligations over the past two years must be met apart from our church budget by fund raisers, and the school appears able to make a special grant to the church over the next two years of $5,000 to help. Tuition increases this fall may also result in an increase to the church budget. That is currently being explored by the School Board and council.
XMAS giving – extra mile gifts – will be discussed at council in April. We anticipate re-initiating that program over a two year period to eliminate the balance of our clearing fund loan. Dorcas Circle has taken the lead in stepping up to help eliminate this loan. Please stand behind them with generous gifts at all their fund raising efforts.
Our school is stretching to find every available source of income to help. We will all need to do our part. No gift is too large or too small. You should also know that we are making interest only payments on our mortgage for the first seven months of 2004. This is a reduction of $645.00 a month. Full loan payments of $1935 per month will begin in August. If you have questions about any of this, speak with Pastor Frank or any of our council members. We will keep you informed and expenses well not exceed income.
Pastor Frank
P.S. We have yet to hear from many members concerning their status in the life of our church. The Pastor and members of the transition team will be contacting these persons to be sure they still wish to be part of the ministry of Carlton Hills Lutheran Church. We hope that by the end of June we can publish anew directory which accurately reflects those persons who are members of CHLC.
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"Road Side Pride” March 6th |
Maundy Thursday
(or Getting Off on the Right Foot…)
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday of Holy Week (the Thursday before Easter). The feast of Maundy or Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist. Aware of his impending death on the cross, Jesus held a traditional Passover meal with his disciples, but he gave the meal a new meaning when he took a loaf of bread and a cup of wine to represent his body and blood, creating the ritual of the Holy Eucharist. Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of Maundy Thursday after the meal.
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Joy-Peace-Love |
The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin for 'command' (mandatum). It refers to the command given by Jesus at the Last Supper, that his disciples should love one another as he had loved them.
On the last night of his life, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, commanding them to do likewise and live a life of servanthood. Today we reenact this ceremony, or pedalavium, as part of our Maundy Thursday services. The foot-washing ceremony reminds us that we should not only serve others, but also allow others to serve us.
To symbolize the 12 disciples, we are looking for a few people who are willing to have their feet washed by Pastor Frank. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Leslie Atkins, 449-2565.
Easter Lilies
Sign up for your Easter lily at the back of the church. They are $10 each.
Why Do We Give Easter Eggs &
What Does Easter Have to Do with a Silly Rabbit?
We all know why we celebrate Easter. The story of Christ’s Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection is a central pillar of our Lutheran journey. But what about all those other things—eggs and rabbits? Where did those come from and do they have anything to do with what we know as Christians?
As with many of our Christian celebrations,
Easter has its roots in pagan festival traditions. According to St. Bede, an
English historian of the early 8th century, Easter owes its origin to old
Teutonic mythology. It was derived from the name Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon
goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre
was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night gets an equal
share of the day.
The English name "Easter" is much newer. Early English Christians
decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name
of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people
to accept Christianity.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eostre. The goddess, Eostre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America, but it was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime as a symbol of continuing life and rebirth is a custom that was centuries old when Christians first celebrated Easter. Given as gifts by the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Chinese at their spring festivals, the egg also appears in pagan mythology. In some pagan customs, Heaven and Earth were thought to have been formed from two halves of an egg. Babylonians believed a tremendous egg fell into the Euphrates River. From this egg, according to the ancient myth, the Babylonian goddess Astarte (Eostre) was hatched. An egg became her symbol.
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"Road Side Pride” March 6th |
The ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem of their order. China used dyed or colored eggs in sacred festivals. In Japan, an ancient custom was to make the sacred egg a brazen color. Ancient Egyptians and Persians also had the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival. From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. In northern Europe, eggs were colored and used as symbols of the goddess of spring. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers. Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate.
How then did this custom come to be associated with Christianity? One explanation suggests that, just as the chick comes out of the egg, so Christ came out of the tomb. In the 17th century, pope Paul V blessed the humble egg in a prayer: "Bless, O Lord, we beseech Thee, this Thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to Thy faithful servants, eating in thankfulness to Thee, on account of the Resurrection of Our Lord."
Don’t forget that eggs were prohibited during Lent (remember Pancake Tuesday and Mardi Gras from the February Echo?) As Easter marks the end of the Lenten season, giving Easter eggs is egg-zactly a perfect way to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.
Sources: http://www.night.net/easter, http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm, http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/easter_history.htm, http://shinelt.home.mchsi.com/easter.html
Submitted by Leslie Atkins
Spotlight on Hymns
“I Know That My Redeemer Lives” LBW #352
I know that my Redeemer lives;
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
Lyrics by Samuel Medley (1738-1799)
In his early life, it could hardly have been expected that Samuel Medley would write such wonderful words. He was born on June 23, 1738 in Chestnut, England. His grandfather gave him his earliest education, and when he was fourteen, he was sent as an apprentice to an oilman in London. Three years was enough for young Medley to endure. In 1755, he escaped and enlisted in the Royal Navy.
Medley was severely wounded in a battle off Port Lagos in August 1759 and was subsequently discharged from the Navy. While he was recovering from his injuries, he read a sermon by Isaac Watts, a pastor and hymn writer. This led him to become a Christian.
After operating a school for a few years, Medley was encouraged to become a Baptist minister by Pastor Dr. Andrew Gifford. In 1772, Medley was preaching in Liverpool, taking a real interest in the souls of seamen and adapting his preaching for them. He was a popular preacher, and soon his meetinghouse could not hold all the people who crowded in to hear him.
Medley wrote many other hymns besides the one above. Among the best known were "Awake, My Soul, to Joyful Lays," and "O I Could Speak the Matchless Worth,” although these are not contained in LBW. “I Know that My Redeemer Lives" will be our distribution hymn on Easter Sunday.
Source: http://www.gospelcom.net
Submitted by Leslie Atkins
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Cross and
Fish Dedicated |
Choir to Perform Easter Cantata
on Palm Sunday
Come celebrate the truth of the resurrection with Risen This Day: A Cantata for Easter by Benjamin Harlan, a widely published arranger and composer. Beautifully capturing the many moods of Easter and Lent, Risen This Day proclaims the message in majestic and moving colors. Classic Easter hymns are paired with exciting new songs, and the congregation will be invited to sing along at times. The Carlton Hills Evangelical Lutheran Church Choir will perform the entire cantata on Palm Sunday during our regular worship service and will repeat several selections on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Let us proclaim the majesty of Easter with Risen This Day!
SR. FELLOWSHIP meets at Soup Plantation at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 13th. Join in for some good food and wonderful fellowship. For more information call either Grace Otto, 440-2456 or Nancy Funick, 561-7823.
+++REMEMBER IN PRAYER those who are affected by anxiety, depression, guilt, grief, loneliness, poverty, illness and in need of God’s healing and loving touch:
Friends: Arnold, Glen, Kathy, Patty, Fred, Helen
Members: Crystal & Rod Boisvert, Arlean Lane, Laura Kramer, Norie Feltner, Ralph Beyer, Joseph & Gertrude Geiler, Gunda Richardson, Grace Otto, Judy Johnston, Ed & Marge Whitehead, Elsie Erion, Linda Tomsick, Cole & Marie Freeman, Betty Keehn, Charlotte Kimbrough, Marty Freer, Arnold Flurry, Jan, Erin, Andrew Neuhaus & family.
NOTE: We currently have two prayer chains that can be easily activated by calling Mary Thomas, Prayer Chain Coordinator, 334-6457(note this is her new number).
Missed the sermon on Sunday or want to listen to it again? Now you can. Just go to the church’s web site (www.carltonhillslutheran.org) and look under “Sermon’s” on the home page. Click on the play button on the console next to the sermon (below is an example of what it may look like). If you have any questions contact Tim Hustad.
Texts for the Sundays in April:
Apr 4th Palm Sunday
Isa 50:4-9, Phil 2:5-11, Luke 22:14-23:56
Apr 8th Maundy Thursday
Exod 12:1-14, 1 Cor 11:23-36,
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Apr 9th Good Friday
Isa 52:13-53:12, Heb 10:14-25,
John 18:1-19:42
Apr 11h Easter
Acts 10:34-43, 1 Cor 15:19-26, John 20:1-18
Apr 18th 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32, Rev 1:4-8, John 20-:19-31
Apr 25th 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:1-20, Rev 5:11-14, John 21:1-19
April Ministers
Acolyte: 4- Brian Meyers 11- Ericka Davis 18- Kristin Naour
25- Anna Bloeman
Assist. Minister: Marvin
Hamilton
Coffee Fellowship: 4-
Stephen Ministers 11, 18, 25- Nancy Funick, Laura Vaughan, Janice Davis
Communion Assist.: 4, 8,
11- Marie Freeman & Jennifer Brown 18, 25- Marcy & Laura Metz
Communion Care: 4, 8, 11, 18-Lyn & Charlotte Arthurton 25- Sue Lisowsky
Edgemoor Hospital Worship:
28- Jim Thomas
Greeters: 4, 8- Darrel &
Jeanna Timan 9, 11- Laura & Mandy Vaughan 18, 25- Andrew Wall & Kim
Naour
Lector: 4, 8- Bethany
Timan 11, 18- Linda Schloegel 25- Laura Vaughan
Nursery: TBA
Sound: 4- Tom Davidson 8,
9, 11- TBA
18- Tom Davidson 25- TBA
Stephen Minister of the Day:
4- Ellie Timan 11- Ed Teichner 18- Jim Thomas 25- Bill Blue
Ushers: Tom & Susan Ellison,
Shirley Garrett, Sherry Martin, Frank Steirer, Lyle & Pat Swanson,
and Ed Teichner
1 Michaele & Donald Cobb
5 Ron & Helen Humphries
6 Bruce & Cheryl Potocki
17 William & Theresa Craig Jr.
25 Sherry & Steve Martin
26 Richard & Joan Haak
27 Lyle & Pat Swanson
30 Brian & Victoria Grant
April Birthdays
1 Shelby Hilderbrand
2 Lacey Silva
3 Trent Hilderbrand
7 Karen
Cooke
Kathleen Jones
9 Darrin
Forster
Randie Davis
10 Henry
Meyers
Christalee Hill
12 Christopher Quintanilla
13 Lynday
Comstock
Frankie Kelchner
14 Derrick Forster
15 Janice
Davis
Corey Tompkins
17 Edward
Teichner
Jason Kotch
18 Joi Comstock
19 Jim
Thomas
Lucas Paulsen
20 Kenneth Schloegel
21 Norie Feltner
22 Gloria Wiley
23 Tommy Wiley
24 James
Albright
Kris Francis
25 Brandon Cobb
27 Pamela Meyers
28 Brian Grant
29 Laura Kramer
