Volume 5, Number 18                                     Seventh Sunday of Easter                                      May 4, 2008

Month of May Bedding Drive for Meeting Ground

Meeting Ground Mission Statement:  We, the community of Meeting Ground, are a people of faith, hope and love.  Our mission is to help meet basic human needs and to address the root problems that perpetuate the cycle of poverty and homelessness.  We bring together homeless and non-homeless persons in a context of shared life and work by providing hospitality, shelter, food and education.  We strive to live with compassion, respect, affirmation and advocacy.  In the light of the loving community of God's grace, we invite all to participate fully regardless of needs, differences or gifts.  At Meeting Ground, in humility, "we all sit at the same table" in ministry one to another, each seeking to discover one's own identity.

This month we are collecting donations of bedding for Meeting Ground’s ministry to homeless men and women in Cecil County, Maryland.  Founded in 1981, Meeting Ground operates 4 residential shelters and a winter sanctuary and was the forerunner of Friendship House Ministries in Wilmington.  Last year Meeting Ground provided 30,000 bed nights of emergency and transitional housing, served 45,000 meals, and scheduled staff availability 24/7 for referrals, housing, and supportive services.

Donations of clean, used single bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels, and sleeping bags may be placed in the box in the foyer.  Thank you in advance for your help.

                                                                                    Sue Welles, Outreach Ministry

THIS WEEK AT IMMANUEL: 

Sun       4      Seventh Sunday of Easter

                      8:00 am        Holy Eucharist in Chapel

                      9:30 am        Sunday School Classes

                    10:30 am        Sung Eucharist, followed by Coffee Hour downstairs

                      4:00 pm        Evensong for Ascensiontide, sung by all Immanuel Highlands Choirs

                                          (last Evensong of the season)

Mon - Fri      7:30 am        Morning Prayer

Mon     5       7:00 pm        Liturgy Meeting (Parlor)

Tue       6       6:30 pm        Search Team (Parlor)

                      6:30 pm        Choristers (Music Room)

                      7:00 pm        Al Anon (Common Room)

                      7:00 pm        Coro Allegro Board Meeting (Library)

Wed     7       6:30 pm        Quiet Prayer (Common Room)

                      7:30 pm        Healing Service (Chapel)

Thu       8                           No Mixed Choir this week

Sat      10     10:00 am        Pentecost Service Rehearsal (Nave), to noon

                    12:00             Al Anon (Common Room)

                      1:00 pm        Sunday School Corridor (“Sistine Chapel”) Painting, to 5 pm

COMING SOON (save these dates):

Sun  5/11                           Pentecost
                      9:15 am        Pentecost Service Rehearsal (Nave), to 10:15 am

                    10:30 am        Sung Eucharist, including a new liturgy for Pentecost and a Baptism,

                                              followed by a Pentecost party downstairs, with a special cake – everyone is invited!

Sun 5/18                            Trinity Sunday

Sun    6/1                           Bishop’s Visit to Immanuel, Highlands

Sun    6/8                           Annual Parish Picnic (details in a future issue of the Highlands Voice)

Choral Evensong this Sunday, May 4, at 4 pm, features the full Immanuel choirs singing Charles Stanford’s beloved Evening Service in C, and Gerald Finzi’s thrilling anthem, “God is gone up with a triumphant shout,” in celebration of the Ascension of our Lord.  Jack Burnam will play organ music in the grand Anglican tradition by Frank Bridge and Herbert Howells.  Evensong (sung Evening Prayer) is a distinctively Anglican service, employing the traditional (“Rite I”) language of the Book of Common Prayer, quite different in style from our Sunday morning liturgy.  Much of the service is sung by the choir, offering fellow worshippers a contemplative setting in which to listen—in scripture, in music and in silence—for God’s voice. Child care is provided, and a beautiful reception follows the service.  Don’t miss this opportunity for inspiring worship and enjoyable fellowship—and invite a friend to join you.  This will be the final Evensong of the current season.

                                                                                    Jack Burnam

My Face is Red.  I am embarrassed to say that I do not remember who graciously volunteered to read part of the Gospel in German for the Pentecost Liturgy.  Please contact me or the parish office as soon as possible, so that I may assign appropriate verses and the proper text may be provided in the Sunday service sheet.

                                                                                    Simon Jeynes, Christian Education

Our Celebration of Pentecost, May 11, will include:

·        Festival Eucharist at the 10:30 service – a new Pentecost Liturgy by Simon Jeynes, – key roles for Immanuelites of all ages – parts for the congregation (no acting ability or prior rehearsal required).  Come to worship God and to celebrate!

·        Baptism of a young child.

·        A Pentecost coffee hour party with a special cake.

                                                                                    Kay Wack and Kathleen Kelley

Boerger Fund – Another Addition:  As of April 29, 2008, we have another $100, giving us $1771 of our goal of about $3000 for the Boerger’s airfare.  We’ve helped for the 15 years of translating; now we’re more than halfway to finishing the last step.  Let’s help them achieve this goal!

                                                                                    Sue Welles, Outreach Ministry

The Katrina Mission Project invites you to join them next year for our third annual Katrina Mission trip to New Orleans in March, 2009.  Please contact Vicki Anthos if you are interested.

                                                                                    Vicki Anthos

Share Spring!  You are invited to share the blessings of spring flowers with the women who live in Friendship House transitional housing, through the Mother's Day Garden project.  Honor your own mother or another nurturing, supporting person, while contributing beauty and peacefulness to transitional housing.  Your contribution to Friendship House (marked Mother's Day Garden) will be used to enhance gardens and yards at Friendship House facilities.  The person you honor will receive a beautiful floral card for Mother's Day (May 11).  You will be listed as the donor, but the amount of your contribution does not appear on the card; a gift of any amount is honored.  Please see the poster in the foyer for more information, and pick up a donor card from the table.  Thank you for honoring important people in your life with a gift that helps once-homeless women find the joy of sharing and gardening.

                                                                                    Sue Welles, Outreach Ministry

Have you mastered the list of New Testament books?  Coming to a service near you is soon the great New Testament quiz, brought by the Grade 4/5 class.  Are you ready?

                                                                                    Simon Jeynes, Christian Education

Desserts with Bach:  Immanuel musicians are proud to present an evening of Bach and his contemporaries, Saturday, June 14, from 7:00 to 9:00.  Come to hear piano, violin, cello, recorder, and voice playing/singing Bach and his friends.  Entry fee is a plate of desserts (finger food).  A thank offering will be received for our sister parish St. Luke's Church, New Orleans.  This is a great opportunity to bring musical non-church-going friends and introduce them to our wonderful community.

                                                                                    Simon Jeynes and Jack Burnam

Fr. Thom may be reached at his church phone, 302-658-7326 Ext. 14, during his normal office hours Tuesday-Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. He works from home on Fridays. Please feel free to call him on his cell phone 302-229-8449 or write to thomjensen@gmail.com at any time other than church office hours, if a need arises.

Articles from The Net - A Weekly Newsletter For Delaware's Episcopal Clergy

St. Anne’s Episcopal School will host High School Fair- Thursday, May 8^th

On May 8^th from 5:00-6:30, Saint Anne’s Episcopal School will be hosting a High School Fair in its dining room. Admissions representatives from over twenty public, private and parochial schools will be in attendance and available to discuss informally options for high school. The event is open to the public. Please contact Harvey Zendt 378-3179, ext. 310 or hzendt@saintannesschool.org , with any questions.

Church of the Ascension Yard Sale – Saturday, May 10^th

Proceeds of the sale will be used to help offset the medical expenses of one of our youngest church members.   Sale will be held Saturday May 10, 2008, 10AM-2PM, 3717 Philadelphia Pike (at the intersection of Darley Road) Donations welcomed!  Tables are available for $25.  For more information call (302) 762-6734 or (302) 798-6683.

Grace Church Flea Market – Saturday, May 10^th

Grace Church is sponsoring a Flea Market with Antique Car Show; there will be crafts and food.  Rent a space for $15.  For more information call 302-658-3251

Strengthening Stepfamilies – Wednesday, May 14^th

The Delaware/Delmarva Healthy Marriage Coalition and Catholic Charities Diocese of Wilmington are sponsoring a program on Strengthening Stepfamilies:  A Developmental Approach.  Surveys of clergy and religious counselors indicate that support for blended families, that is, couples on second marriages and bringing children from first marriages, is a difficult task.  We are presenting a program featuring one of the country's true experts on the subject.  The conference is May 14 in Bear, DE.  For more information contact DECCF at 302-225-1040 or DECCF@aol.com

The Cathedral Choir School Holds Book Sale - Saturday, May 17^th    

If you enjoy finding a good book at a great price and don’t mind reading one that is gently used, consider coming to the Cathedral Church of Saint John, on Saturday, May 17 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  You’ll find second hand books for sale -- from used copies of bestsellers to rare items – as well as delicious baked goods.  And, you will have the satisfaction of knowing you are helping young people from Wilmington travel to the Big Apple.  All of the proceeds from this event will benefit the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware’s upcoming New York City Choir Tour in June.

Bishop Carol Gallagher has just published a new book entitled: “Reweaving the Sacred: A Practical Guide to Change and Growth in Challenged Congregations.”  We congratulate Carol on this accomplishment.  Copies may be ordered from Church Publishing, Inc. (www.churchpublishing.org or 800-242-1918)

Conference on Aging – Wednesday, May 28^th

Delmarva Faith in Action and ShoreCan Volunteer Center invites representatives of the faith, health and social service communities to a conference that will address the needs of the fastest growing segment of our population, the elderly.  It will be held at Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD.  For more information contact Suzanne Johnson at 410-742-0505 or sjrsvp@intercom.net

Take Me Out to the Ballgame – Friday, May 30^th

We’re doing another night out at the Ballpark again this year.  The Phillies will play the Florida Marlins on Friday, May 30 at 7:05 p.m. at Citizen Bank Park in Philadelphia.  We’ll have burgers, dogs, all the fixins, potato salad, Philly soft pretzels, chips, assorted ice cream, soda and beer, and the inclusive cost, food and game, is $50.00.   This is a great price for what we are getting.  We are limited to 80 tickets.  Contact Jim Robertson at jasbrob@aol.com or by telephone at 215 836 0259 for tickets and more information.

From Bishop Wright:  I am doing well and will be going back to the doctor this week for a regular check up.  My sense is that everything is going well.  I continue to be grateful for your special prayers.  I feel very blessed to serve with you here in the Diocese of Delaware.

 Items from the website of the Diocese of Delaware:

Transition Updates: Trinity Church has called their new rector, The Rev. Patricia Downing.  Immanuel Church, Highlands is interviewing candidates.  St. Thomas’s is beginning to interview in May.  Other parishes in transition are St. Anne’s, Middletown; the Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew; and St. Albans.

A Day in Old New Castle, Saturday, May 17. Join the parishioners of Immanuel Episcopal Church on this, the oldest house and garden tour in the U.S. This year’s beneficiary will be the Food Bank of Delaware’s “Backpack Program.”

Evensong, Saturday, May 17, 4:00 p.m., (Note corrected date!) Immanuel on the Green, New Castle. Featuring Immanuel's Choir of Women and Men, presented as part of A Day in Old New Castle. Details: 328-2413.

Overnight Spiritual Retreat, May 19-20. The Spiritual Companions of the Diocese of Delaware invite you to join them at the Franciscan Spiritual Center in Aston, PA. The Rev. Carlyle Gill, Priest Associate at St. Peter’s, Lewes, the retreat leader, is an experienced spiritual director, with a specialty in centering prayer. Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs wrote, “Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is a stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence, living in awareness of the Presence, and even enjoying the Presence. The full contemplative is not just aware of the Presence, but trusts, allows, and delights in it.” The cost is $55 per person. For details contact Barbara Tucker at 571-9457, or Phillip Stephens at 656-5443 ext. 109.

Memorial Day Weekend Organ Recital, Sunday, May 25, 5:00 p.m., at St. Peter's, Lewes. Organist George Bayley will be joined by harper and organist Margaret Love in music for two organists and music for Celtic Harp and Organ.

125th Anniversary, Cathedral Choir School of Delaware, May 31 - June 1. Click here for details of this two-day celebration of 125 years of music appreciation at the Cathedral Choir School. A history tour of the Cathedral and Brandywine Village will be given at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 31. There will be a Festal Evensong at 4:45 p.m., also on Saturday, May 31. Then, at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 1, there will be a Choral Eucharist Service. All events take place at the Cathedral Church of Saint John and are free and open to the public.