Weekly for April 12, 2023
Dear People of St. Michaels,
Last week we celebrated Easter Day on April 9th. A big thank you to everyone who made Holy Week and Easter so wonderful! Many thanks go especially to the Altar Guild for preparing our sanctuary so nicely. If you were here on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, you know everything was stripped bare, so there is lots of restoration and decorating that needs to happen to make Easter Day so beautiful.
But Easter is more than one day. It begins on Easter Sunday, but then continues as an Easter Season. We discovered we needed to explore this more at our last Shared Ministry Bible Study. I happened upon some pamphlets that were given out on Easter Day that explore that more; because Easter Season actually lasts 50 Days! We have 40 days of preparation in Lent, but then we have the 50 Days of Easter Celebration! The pamphlets are entitled “Celebrating the 50 Days of Easter”. I’m sure there are still some available in the narthex or on the table in Larsen Hall if you want to take and read one.
It is true, we celebrate Easter fully and joyfully not only on the very day, but that the joy and celebration continues through the whole 50 days of the season. We see it on the Sundays following the first celebration, of which is this Sunday - the 2nd Sunday of Easter. Traditionally, it outlines what happened in the first week after Jesus appeared in the upper room to the disciples. They are overwhelmed and joyful when Christ appears to them, but the disciple Thomas is not with them and will not believe Christ is risen. A week later, (just as we celebrate one week after Easter), Christ DOES appear to them all again, including Thomas. This time, he truly believes and makes a very strong declaration of his faith.
The Third Sunday of Easter is always about Jesus appearing again and this time, eating food, dining, and in the presence of the disciples. Back in biblical times, one of the signs of an appearance of someone in person, who was not a vision or a ghost, was that they actually ate food with you; to prove that they were alive and a living being like us all. So these scripture passages were strong signs to those that wrote them that Jesus truly was physically in the world. This year, on April 23rd, the Third Sunday of Easter, we have the wonderful passage from Luke’s Gospel that tells of Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus.
Continue to explore and celebrate, with vigorous “Alleluias” the joyful Season, 50 days long, of Easter this year!
Blessings for this week!
In Christ,
Pastor Randy Knutson+
When you can, check our new website:
Online Worship Information
This Sunday we will offer in-person worship and at the same time offer the online broadcast of our service at 10:45 am in the ways posted below:
Our Sunday Service will be on St. Michael’s Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/StMikesFtBragg
https://www.facebook.com/StMikesFtBragg/videos
It will also stay there on the Facebook Pages and you can watch it later.
You can also watch it on this YouTube Channel later that day as well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ranknut
Help needed at Local Earth Day Celebration, Saturday, April 22, 12-4 pm
The Noyo Food Forest will be hosting our local celebration of Earth Day, April 22nd, but they need additional help to revive this event. They are looking for volunteers and also for people that can bake and donate for their Dessert Table.
There is a sign up in Larsen hall to help and you can contact Beth @ 262-844-7423
Four week class in Really Excellent Listening at Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church in May
During our Ecumenical Lenten Services, one of our local partners approached me about letting people know they were offering a free, four week class in “Really Excellent Listening”.
The Facilitator is Bea Strickland and there is a flyer about this on the table in Larsen Hall.
The Days are May 3, 10, 17 and 24 and the class meets 10-11:30 am.
You can sign up with her at BeaStrickland@aol.com and 408-502-1896.
April Birthdays – Ramon Savidge, Duffy Fairlee, Anne Cooper, Rachel Liljeberg, Pamela Culver, Heidi Liljeberg, Nancy Chinn, Pastor Randy Knutson, Kevin Miller and Justin Martin.
Sacred Circle Dance Schedule for April:
Third Friday, April 21st at 4:00 pm for Moving Into Stillness
Monday’s - Trinity Sack Lunch Ministry: Help prepare at 9:30 am, or serve from 12:00-12:30
Bible/Book Study Continues, Thursdays at 10:30 am
Our Shared Ministry Bible Study continues to meet on Thursdays, at 10:30 am either in St. Veronica’s or on Zoom, live, at the same time.
Office Hours:
Jeannée is in the office Tuesday through Thursday mornings
Sarah Fogg may be reached at her email: slmf95437@comcast.net or phone: 964-5625 and 357-1277.
Rev. Randy A. Knutson, 209-327-1870 (cell/text) and 707-964-1900 – Office
Or email him directly at ranknut@gmail.com
Church email for all: stmike@mcn.org
Blessings,
St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church
707-964-1900