  Thursday Announcements-April 17, 2025 ERIN’S EPISTLETTES ____________________________________________________________  Friday Offering in Support of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East During our Good Friday services on April 18, donations collected will go towards the Good Friday Offering. For more information on this century-old Episcopal tradition supporting the ministries of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, visit their website. Thank you in advance for your prayers and generosity. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Message From Mary Greeting Friends: At the March Vestry meeting we had a robust discussion about our Church finances. As many of you will recall, the 2025 Budget that was presented and approved at the Annual Meeting in January showed a significant deficit for the year. Understandably, this is of great concern to you and your Vestry members. One of the difficulties we encountered when preparing the 2025 Budget was that we did not have firm numbers relative to expected giving from you, our Parishioners. This is because we did not undertake a Pledge Campaign which has traditionally occurred during the Fall and provides critical input for the Budget. Following the Annual Meeting, we formed a Stewardship & Engagement Ministry group with an eye toward planning and executing a Fall 2025 Pledge Campaign in preparation for the 2026 Budget. But what about now? Your Vestry has asked the Stewardship & Engagement Ministry group to undertake a short Pledge Campaign immediately so that we can get a better understanding of how our finances will play out during this year. To help us with this important task, you will be contacted by a member of the Stewardship & Engagement Ministry to confirm your planned giving for the rest of 2025. This Spring Giving Campaign will occur during the month of April. I ask that you prayerfully consider your planned giving to enable us to continue sharing God’s love in our community through all of our Worship, Connection and Outreach programs. Thank you, Mary ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 🎶🎵🎶 Liturgical Notes 🎶🎵🎶 Why Holy Week? (Part 2) by the Rev Erin Rath, April 2025 What Happens on Good Friday? Good Friday is the solemn liturgy in remembrance of Jesus' passion and death. On this day we hear eighty-two verses from the gospel of John* which recount the events of the first passion. As Good Friday is a continuation of the Maundy Thursday liturgy, it begins as the prior service ended: in silence. The altar, which was stripped following Thursday evening's service, remains bare. This is the only service in the liturgical year at which we have the opportunity to venerate the cross. The Eucharistic prayer is not said on this day. Instead, communion is distributed from consecrated sacrament reserved the night before. Good Friday is the second liturgy of the Triduum. At Saint Francis, this year's Good Friday liturgy will be offered at noon and 6 p.m. on April 18. Our evening Good Friday service will be livestreamed. *Why a different Gospel translation on Good Friday? We use the Common English Bible translation of the Passion story rather than the New Revised Standard Version. Though the NRSV is the most commonly used translation in Episcopal worship, our canons allow for the use of a variety of translations. The CEB was chosen for Good Friday because it uses the terms "Jewish leaders" and "Jewish leadership" rather than the more general label "the Jews." Articulating this difference is important not only because it more accurately describes the realities of the Passion story, but also because of the generations of antisemitism inspired by the more general label – a label which blames an entire faith tradition for the actions of a very small group of its members at a specific point in history. Why Hold a Morning Service on Holy Saturday? The Holy Saturday day service is held on the Saturday morning between Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening. It's a time to honor the space between Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection on Easter, and the experience of the disciples in those first moments and hours after Jesus' death: the grieving, the not-knowing, the waiting, the feeling of being abandoned by God. In honoring the disciples' experience on that first grief-stricken Holy Saturday, we honor our own experiences of and struggles with grief, with not-knowing, with waiting, and with feeling abandoned by God. This year, Saint Francis will gather in the Mary Chapel at 10 a.m. on April 19. Because this service is held in chapel, there will be no live stream. What is Easter Vigil? The Great Vigil of Easter is the culmination of Holy Week. Though it takes place on Saturday evening, the church considers it the first service of Easter Sunday and thus a part of the Triduum. There are four parts to this liturgy: a service of light, a service of lessons (or readings), renewal of our baptismal vows, and Holy Eucharist. Through these components, the story of redemption is retold and re-lived by participants. We re-experience the movement from darkness to light, celebrate our belonging in the new creation by remembering our baptism, and look forward to the glory we will share with the Risen Christ. This year, Saint Francis will celebrate this richly symbolic service on Saturday, April 19 at 7:45 p.m. Easter Sunday The events of the first Easter morning are a cornerstone of our faith. Our celebration remembering those events is the culmination of Holy Week and the final installment of the Triduum. Though we feel like we’ve reached the mountain top, both figuratively and literally, it’s important to remember how we got there and the struggles we experienced along the way. The services of Holy Week give us opportunities to give thanks for the gift of Jesus’ incarnation through worship, to honor the pain and the struggles of Jesus on the Cross and the grief of His beloved disciples, and to remember and honor the struggles and griefs, as well as the joys and triumphs, in our own lives and the lives of those we love. I hope you had the opportunity to read the entries I wrote about the other six services of Holy Week. To those who read from the beginning, I thank you for your attention. I hope even more that you will partake of these offerings, that your own faith journey can be deepened and enriched. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Those who serve, Maundy Thursday, April 17, 6pm Musician Barb Becker Media Team Stephanie Schingle Usher Kathy Shambaugh Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Allie Cawiezel, Erin Cawiezel Lector/Intercessor Cory Foster Eucharistic Minister Santana Tamarak Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Those who serve, Good Friday, NOON, April 18 Musician Nancy Meier Usher Kathy Shambaugh Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolyte Monica Shambaugh Lector/Intercessor Cory Foster, Connie Schingle, Mike Schingle, Monica Shambaugh Eucharistic Minister Jayne Sayre Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Those who serve, Good Friday, April 18, 6pm Musician Barb Becker Media Team Jack Schaaf Usher Sarah Schaaf Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Emma Schaaf, Will Schaaf Lector/Intercessor Charlie Kennedy, Barb Manasek, Jack Webb, Clark Wisniewski Eucharistic Minister Nancy Kepler Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Those who serve, Holy Saturday, April 19,10am Lector/Intercessor Beth McKibbin Those who serve, Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 19, 7:45pm Musician Barb Becker Media Team Jack Schaaf Usher Sarah Schaaf Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Madi Collins, Emma Schaaf, Will Schaaf Lector/Intercessor Barb Manasek, Monica Shambaugh, Jack Webb Eucharistic Minister Monica Shambaugh Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Those who serve, Easter Sunday, April 20, 9am Musician Nancy Meier Media Team Charlie Kennedy Ushers Alena Kennedy, Jim Petitt Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Allie Cawiezel, Erin Cawiezel Lector/Intercessor Clark Wisniewski Eucharistic Minister Jayne Sayre Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Coffee Hosts Barb Manasek, Karen Larson (between services) Those who serve, Easter Sunday, April 20, 10:30am Musician Barb Becker Ushers Richard Gable, Jane Wisniewski Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Laney Bohl, Danika Bohl Lector/Intercessor Bill Mann Eucharistic Minister Beth McKibbin Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Upcoming Events at St. Francis: Maundy Thursday, April 17 /@ 7pm Good Friday, April 18, @ Noon and 6pm Holy Saturday, April 19 @ 10am in the Chapel Easter Vigil, April 19 @ 7:45pm Easter Sunday, April 20 @ 9am and 10:30am Cooperative Ministries, Monday @ the Vine UMC, Scottsbluff @ 12pm Church offices closed Tuesday, April 22, no enews April 24 Lectionary Study and Compline, Tuesday 2pm, Library Evening Prayer on Zoom, Wednesday at 6pm MT/7pm CT Men’s Bible Study Thursday @ 8am, Library Discipleship Group, Thursday @ 12pm, Library Sunday Eucharist, April 27: Saint Francis, Scottsbluff, Sunday @ 9am Those who serve, Easter Sunday, April 20, 9am Musician Nancy Meier Media Team Charlie Kennedy Ushers Alena Kennedy, Jim Petitt Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Allie Cawiezel, Erin Cawiezel Lector/Intercessor Clark Wisniewski Eucharistic Minister Jayne Sayre Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson Coffee Hosts Barb Manasek, Karen Larson (between services) Those who serve, Easter Sunday, April 20, 10:30am Musician Barb Becker Ushers Richard Gable, Jane Wisniewski Acolyte Master Clark Wisniewski Acolytes Laney Bohl, Danika Bohl Lector/Intercessor Bill Mann Eucharistic Minister Beth McKibbin Altar Guild Barb Manasek, Cindy Dickinson, Christy Anderson From the Office—Ann’s Announcements  Birthdays
Erik Peterson April 24 Please let us know if you have a child graduating from High School or College, or graduate school this Spring. We would like to celebrate their achievement with them in May. Please call the office and let us know the good news! The Daughters of the King are doing our annual collection for Capstone Child Advocacy Center during the month of April. We are collecting: blankets (throws size--NEW only), journals, backpacks (NEW) and McDonald’s Gift Cards. Cash is also welcome. We will be presenting the collected items to Capstone on Sunday, April 27. There is a box in the Narthex, for your donated items. Also, we are suspending the collection of pill bottles for awhile. We’ll announce when we are collecting them again. Thank you for your excellent response to this project. Prayer Requests Prayer requests need to be received by Tuesday, if you’d like them to be printed in the bulletin. You may call (308) 632-4626 (leave a message) or email [email protected]. The Forward Day by Day’s for May-July are available in regular and large print. If you’d like either of these mailed to you, please email us or call the church office. Comments are closed.
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