April 11,, 2017 Faith Matters We are in Holy Week. In some traditions, today is known as, “Holy Tuesday” – preceded by “Holy Monday,” and followed by “Holy Wednes- day.” As United Methodists, the days in Holy Week which we observe traditionally are Palm Sunday, marking the start of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, marking the events of Jesus’ last night with his disciples, and Good Friday, which marks, of course, Jesus’ crucifixion and death. But where does the tradition of Holy Week come from, given that none of Jesus disciples recognized that they were walking with Jesus through the final days of his earthly life? Tradition has it that the Christian Church started to observe Holy Week officially at some point in the late third century – a couple centuries after the events it commemorates. If I’m remembering correctly from my childhood (and that could be a big, “If”!), we observed the following days in Holy Week: Palm Sunday and Good Friday. I was introduced to the observance of Maundy Thursday in seminary; and the Services I saw observed that night focused on the ritual of foot-washing. That’s still the case in many churches that observe Maundy Thursday. In the past 30 years, or so, as more “main line” Protestants have acknowledged increasingly our neglect of the contemplative life, as well as how lit- tle time we’ve tended to give to the passion, or suffering of Christ at his death, some churches have also started to ob- serve “Holy Saturday,” the time Jesus spent in the grave, including it in the three-day Paschal Triduum of Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. But what about Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week? Well, there are some early traditions for these days, too, which are observed largely by Roman Catholics – for now. On Holy Monday, some Christians remember Jesus’ anointing at Bethany. In John’s Gospel (Jn. 12:1-11), it occurs just before Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Other events of his last week that may also be remembered are Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree, and his cleansing of the Temple. Holy Tuesday observances focus on Jesus’ predictions of his coming death, after his entry of Jerusalem. Holy Wednesday’s observances focus on Judas’ arrangements with the high priests that lead to Jesus’ arrest. For this rea- son, Holy Wednesday is referred to sometimes as, “Spy Wednesday.” As you can see, we can immerse ourselves in Holy Week as much or as little as we’d like. However, as I mentioned in my Easter Letter and last Spire, I hope you don’t go breezing past this week, jumping from Palm Sunday to Easter. Take time to focus on the life of Jesus this week. You don’t necessarily have to observe each day early Christian tradition states; but do think about Jesus’ life and his final days: the lives he touched and changed forever… those who would not or could not hear and receive his Good News of God’s grace and mercy… his willingness to die in the spirit in which he lived: without judgment or condemnation, without willful harm to others… and centered in God, through prayer, to the very end. What does Jesus life and death mean to you?... How does your relationship with a redeemer who was crucified impact your understanding of God, and/or how you live your life?... These questions and their answers are meant for pause and reflection – much like Holy Week is – so take your time with them. May you walk through this week carefully and intentionally as we prepare to celebrate the gift of Jesus’ resurrection and its fulfillment of God’s promise that the Way of Life that Jesus revealed will always be more powerful than death. Grace & Peace, Pastor Myrna Page 2 Caring & Sharing our Prayers, Joys, and Tears Please let us know if you know of someone who Verniece Roundtree, Mary Lou Smith, Mae Stagnaro could use our prayers of intention so we can include and the Stagnaro Family, Darrell Thomas, Lynn Van, them on our list. and Marie Watson. Continued prayers of healing for our homebound Verniece Roundtree is now under hospice care. and/or chronically ill, and those who are recovering Betsy Borruso’s sister, Becky, passed away March from accidents/illnesses, who include: Charles 31st. Condolences may be sent to Betsy at 5041 Dumm, Dorothy Feick, Barbara Humphrey, Lynne Kevin Ct., Castro Valley 94546. Kersting, Julia Kruse, Marge Loudy, Priscilla McIntire, Charlotte McMahon, Kevin Meehan, Betty Quadros, April Showers Fundraiser Tickets Now On Sale April 22 Annual Hal Davis Memorial Luncheon 5:00 PM Sunday, April 23—Noon in Hale Hall Café Bethel Family: 2 adults/2 children—$30.00 Bethel Community Presbyterian Church Adults—$12.50 14235 Bancroft Ave. Children under 12—$5.00 Entertainment includes: “Purple Smoke”; Youth age 13—18—$8.00 “Circle Soul”; The Gnarly Men” and The Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus—and Fundraiser to raise funds to install elec- more. tronic automatic door between Breezeway Suggested Donation $10 and a pair of new and Parking Lot. athletic socks” Need Help? Dial 211 24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week for FREE information about health, housing and social services Find us on Facebook (including food kitchens), etc. facebook.com/fumcsl or visit www.edenir.org Office: 483-0606 Accompanist Position Open 9 am—1 pm, Monday—Friday Custodian: Nancy Skinner Pastor: Rev. Myrna Bernadel-Huey [email protected] [email protected] Facilities Manager: Position Open NOTE: Fridays are her day off. Beth and Nancy, until position is filled Office Manager: Beth Crawford [email protected] [email protected] Prayer Chain (Confidential): Dawne Teske (357-0770) Study Coordinator: Position Open [email protected] Director of Music: Marcie Avalon Wedding Coordinator: Judi Pitcher [email protected] Page 3 Our Shared Ministry Regular monthly meeting days and times: 1st Tues.: United Methodist Women, 11 AM; Trustees, 7 PM. Both in the Wesley Rm. 2nd Tues.: Finance Committee, at 6:30 PM, in the Library 3rd Sun.: Staff-Parish Relations (SPRC), 12:30 PM, in the Wesley Rm. or Library 4th Thur. Praise Band Practice, 7:15 PM 4th Sun.: Church Council, 12:30 PM, in the St. Francis Rm.; Young Families Pot-luck, 5-7 PM, in the Wesley Rm. Regular weekly Christian Education/ Spiritual Growth gatherings: Sundays: Children’s Sunday School, during worship; Adult Sunday School, ~11 AM-~12 PM: Bible Study, in the Library, and Book Study in the St. Francis Rm. Wednesdays: Meditative Communion, 12:15 PM, Chapel; Small/covenant Group, 6:30 PM, Wesley Rm. Thursday, Choir Practice, 6:30 PM, Chapel Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) – What’s In a Name? As the new chair of SPRC, I’ve been learning about the very broad responsibilities of this committee, and the importance of “Relations” as part of our name. As a committee, we are focused on building strong relations between the paid staff and the congregation and the congregation and the district superintendent. While there is a visible adminis- trative component to our work (such as updating job descriptions and conducting per- formance evaluations, which we are doing this year); we also maintain a strategic focus on the mission of our congregation and the UMC to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. To do our work well, it helps if this committee represents the diverse cultural and life experiences of our entire Congregation; and we maintain regular communication with the Finance committee and Church Council. I look forward to telling you more about our work in future newsletters. Adel Dow, Chair It Is Almost That Time of Year Again June will be here before you know it—and June means graduates from college, high school, middle school, kindergarten, etc.. And, as always, we want to salute them all. So, if you have a graduate you would like in- cluded in our June 13 Spire, please let us know. If at all possible, we like to include the graduates name, school, graduation date, and a photo. If they are moving on up to another school, we like to hear about that as well. You may either send the information to this email address—[email protected],, drop it off at the Church Office, or mail it to us. We would like to have all of the information by June first so that we can give the article the attention our graduates deserve. Information about The Sherman Scholarship for our college attendees will appear in the next Spire (4/25) Page 4 Celebrating Nurturers Looking over our calendar for the next three months, we note that both Mothers’ Day (May 14) and Fathers’ Day (June 18) are coming up. Looking around our congregation we became aware that, while we have many birth parents in our congregation, we also have many nurturers—people who, whether or not they have “birth children” of their own, spend a large portion of their time nurturing , aiding, abetting, encouraging the growth of others of all ages. So, we would like to hear from you about someone (or more than one) who has helped you in your daily (or spiritual) life, by offering love, support, guidance, and encouragement from time to time. We are not asking for a 500 word essay (although we would not refuse it), but rather just a sentence or two about someone who said or did the right thing at the right time and made a real difference in your life. This person (or persons) does not have to be a member of this congregation—although it would be nice if they were.