SPRING 2018 “Rebuilding God’s Church – Sharing God’s Love – Changing God’s World!” Page 1 The Shield “The Lord is my strength and my Shield” Psalm 28:7 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Pasadena MD Volume 49 No. 2 April 2018 ASCENSION DAY 2018 "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19) SPRING 2018 “Rebuilding God’s Church – Sharing God’s Love – Changing God’s World!” Page 2 News From: Who Will Be in the Pulpit? St. Andrew’s has two services on most Sundays. The area Ultreya for May and June will be held at St. We have a Rite I service at 8:00 am and a Rite II Martins in the Field at 7:00 pm on the third Friday of Service at 10:00 a.m. Sundays. The Reverend Ron the month. These meetings are open to all. Want to Fisher will officiate with Deacon Zern assisting. learn more about Cursillo? Come on out! The Shield MD 113 Weekend Postponed Is the monthly newsletter of: The weekend originally scheduled for April 19 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church thru 22 at the Claggett Center near Buckeystown, 7859 Tick Neck Road MD has been postponed. MD 113 will now be Pasadena, MD 21122 held on November 8 – 11, 2018. David 410-255-1070 Richardson will be the Rector of the rescheduled Website: http://www.standrewspasadena.com MD-113. Email: [email protected] The postponement gives people more time to Joan Wibbe Organist-Chiormaster submit applications, so please pray on serving or Bill Forkgen Rector’s Warden sponsoring new Curisstas. Richard Crothers People’s Warden Note: Team applications can be found online at Susan Roth Treasurer MDEpiscopalCursillo.com. Charles Rollhauser Registrar Karen Heilker Church Secretary Information about serving on a team is also available Alex M. Cox Shield Editor online. Scan or phone photo your completed application If you have informative articles that you believe and Email it to us at would interest our readers, please put them into The [email protected] Shield’s mailbox in the Great Hall, or send them to me at: [email protected] WINTER RELIEF We are pleased to announce that the Coordinator team for Winter Relief 2018 will be Jim Backoff, Terry McLean and Danny Prince. Please give them your help and cooperation for this vital mission. A coordinating meeting for the 2018 session is planned for April 24th. A brief meal will be shared at 6:30 followed by the meeting at 7:00 pm. CRAFT-A-POLLOZA A FUNDRAISER FOR Winter Relief is scheduled for July 21st from 1 -4 pm in the Great Hall at St. Andrew’s. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. SPRING 2018 “Rebuilding God’s Church – Sharing God’s Love – Changing God’s World!” Page 3 Birthday Wishes BIBLE STUDY Please keep these fellow parishioners in your Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help thoughts and in your prayers throughout the Themselves and Other Things the Bible month. Send them a birthday card or, even Doesn't Say better; wish them a happy birthday when you see them. We will continue our Wednesday morning fellowship for five sessions, starting on June 20th and ending on May July 25th (no meeting on July 4th) at 10:00 A.M. The Rev. John Kenny 5-8 book, Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves Missy Freeman 5-12 and Other Things the Bible Doesn't Say, will be our focus. Michele Day 5-17 This class will be repeated on those same Wednesday Shayne Wissmann 5-21 evenings at 7:00 P.M. for those who prefer that time. Emma Rafferty 5-21 Please let Joan Wibbe know if you would like to Tyler Rollhauser 5-22 participate and have a copy of this hardcover book Yvonne Cotham 5-26 ordered for you. June Terry McLean 6-3 David Jacobs 6-13 MUSIC NOTES John Sefcik 6-14 Joan Wibbe Choir Master/Organist Carolyn Hough 6-15 Dorothy Lowman 6-15 Thank you to all of the members of our choirs; both Norman Wahlhaupter 6-24 handbell and vocal, who have shared their time and Frannie Mudd 6-29 talents with us on Sunday mornings. Their summer hiatus begins following May 27th Mass. If you like making a joyful noise unto the Lord and think you might like to join either of these groups (or both!), please see me before we resume rehearsals for the Fall. There is a seat or a handbell with your name on it! Hello from your vestry, We continue to meet and work toward finding a new Priest to shepherd our flock. Things are looking up. Please pray for us as we continue this endeavor. We look forward to providing good news on this front in the near future. In His Service, "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he The Vestry of St Andrew's was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19) SPRING 2018 “Rebuilding God’s Church – Sharing God’s Love – Changing God’s World!” Page 4 Thursday May 10th Ascension of Christ What is the meaning of Ascension Day? Another essential truth concerning Christ's ascension is that He ascended on High with His own blood to make atonement for the sins of men (Hebrews 2:17). Ascension Day is the 40th day of Easter. It occurs 39 As High Priest forever, He went before the eternal days after Easter Sunday. It is a Christian holiday that mercy seat - as the Old Testament High Priest went commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven into the Holy of Holies once a year to make according to Christian belief. Ascension Day marks atonement for the sins of Israel - Jesus made the 40th day after Jesus Christ's resurrection atonement once and for all in the tabernacle not man- according to Christian belief. made (Hebrews 9:11-12). Having obtained eternal redemption for all who would believe in Him, He sat Why is Ascension Day on a Thursday? down in His glory. He took His place as supreme authority, whose throne we may now approach "with It is believed that on the 40th day he took them to the confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace Mount of Olives, where they watched as he ascended to help in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). A new to heaven. Ascension Day marks the end of the covenant has been ratified between God and man, Easter season and occurs ten days before Pentecost. sealed by the blood of a righteous man, God's own Depending upon the phases of the Moon in a Lamb. particular year, Ascension Day is usually celebrated on a Thursday. His ascension meant that He would send the Holy Spirit to dwell in believers, taking the place of His What does the Bible say about the ascension of bodily presence, and continuing what He had done Christ? while here (John 14:16-17; 16:5-7). "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the The Bible describes the ascension of Christ in a scene Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, told both by Luke and by Mark. The scene portrays will teach you all things and will remind you of meaning to the believer and is supported by other everything I have said to you" (John 14:25-26). And, Scripture, as well. It is really a very poignant picture "He will bring glory to me by taking from what is when you think upon its meanings. mine and making it known to you" (John 16:14). Jesus lives in believers by God's Spirit and continues His The ascension communicates Christ's glorification. work in them and through them. Jesus' work here was done. Mark says, "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into His disappearance into the clouds bore also the heaven and he sat at the right hand of God" (Mark promise of Christ's return. Luke reports in Acts1:11: 16:19). The scene communicates that He was leaving "'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here earth in His bodily form and that He was going to His looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been former place of glory, having won victory over death taken from you into heaven, will come back in the (John 17:5). same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" Jesus' ascension brought to an end the time of His Paul explains in I Thessalonians 4:16-17 that "For the ministry as God in man. And it began the time of His Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a ministry as God in man, the church. God would loud command, with the voice of the archangel and minister through His Word and His ministers in the with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ church. The church is Christ's body in the earth will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are (Ephesians 5:30; 4:15-16). The ascension forms the left will be caught up together with them in the clouds point of continuity between "all that He began to do to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with and to teach (Acts 1:1), and what the apostles and the the Lord forever." church continued to do and to teach after His departure.