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Church of
Our Saviour
191 Flanagan Way
(Rt 153)
Secaucus, NJ 07094

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Tel: 201-863-1449
Fax: 201-863-1474

Mark A. Lewis, Vicar
MLewis@secaucus.org

Dorothy Fowlkes
Pastoral Associate

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This page revised 3 Apr 09

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oursaviour

The Church of
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Sunday Bulletin

5 April 2009
Sunday of the Passion
Palm Sunday
Holy Eucharist - 9:30 am

Announcements.

Bible Study in the vicarage every Saturday from 12:30 to 1:15.pm.

Let's all be friends on our church’s Facebook page. Go to www.facebook.com and search for Church of Our Saviour, Secaucus. Look there for interesting and useful tidbits of information. Thanks to Thurman Hart for organizing this.

Tax time approaches. If you plan to itemize deductions, your charitable gifts require a receipt, even for small sums. Your cancelled check will do. For any gift of $250 or more a written receipt is required also. The treasurer does not normally provide written receipts. If you require a receipt for tax purposes, ask Don Roberts. Link from our Facebook page to the IRS for more detailed information on deductions for charitable giving.

The flowers at the altar are given in memory of Josephine and Paul Tschora by their daughter Renée Norman.

The Word of the Lord
The Bible in the Sunday liturgy

This Week on the Internet

Make a palm cross. Easy to follow instructions on the web for your Palm Sunday cross (PDF file) from England's Diocese of Birmingham. Their suggestion: practice by making a cross with paper.

Plan for an egg-ological Easter. Avoid waste, save money and revive ancient Easter traditions by using natural dies for Easter eggs. Traditional deep red eggs are created naturally with onion skins (both yellow and red skins create red eggs). Cranberry juice, grape juice, turmeric, the liquid from canned pickled beets, and other natural materials also can be used. The eggs make a great decoration, but ... they are food! Don't waste. Before dying you can easily remove the raw egg from the shell to use in breakfasts and recipes calling for egg (the empty shell is slightly more fragile, but fine for dying). If you boil the whole egg -- take care so it may be eaten -- use nontoxic materials, and don't leave eggs unrefrigerated for more than two hours. Find recipes on the web using hard cooked eggs. All the best for an egg-ological Easter.

Go to the American Egg Board website for just about anything that you might want to know about eggs: recipes, decorating and more. Decorating tips are at "Kids & Family" on the site. Martha Stewart has some ideas for natural dye -- but don't use her varnish finish if you plan to eat the eggs. Nancy Gaifyllia's Greek Food Blog provides details on the traditional Greek method of dying eggs red with onion skins and more about the Greek celebration of Easter. A little more advanced: add a leaf pattern to the egg. Finally, here is a useful picture guide to removing the raw egg from the shell, just in case you want to try it.

Previously on
This Week on the Internet

The Fifth Sunday in Lent, Sunday, March 29.  This week Episcopal Life Weekly explains the work in transitional ministries within the the Church.

The Fourth Sunday in Lent, Sunday, March 22, is World Water Day. For the Christian community, water is central to our understanding of God’s relationship to the world, carrying the image of renewal, promise, and hope.Creation begins with God calling life out of water (Genesis 1:2), and our new creation in Christ and the community of his Church comes in the waters of Baptism. Link to Episcopal Church web site to learn more.

The Third Sunday in Lent, Sunday, March 15, Episcopal Community Services in America is hightlighted: Link to Episcopal Church web site to find out more.

The second Sunday in Lent has been designated International Women's Day.  What are Anglican women doing with the UN to improve the status of women worldwide? Link to Episcopal Church web site to find out.

The first Sunday in Lent has been designated Episcopal Relief and Development Sunday and Lent is presented to us as a challenge to give up some of what we have so that others in the world do not live in poverty.

"If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will be like the noonday; you will be called repairer of the breach and restorer of streets to live in." --Isaiah 58:10 and 58:12b

You are urged to learn more and to make your Lenten offering toward the ER&D Millennium Development Fund Inspiration Goals

Lift Every Voice and Sing, the hymn we sing, is an icon of American culture. It so well represents the yearnings of Afro-Americans that it was adopted by the NAACP and has been referred to as the "Black National Anthem." James Weldon Johnson wrote the words of the hymn; his brother J. Rosamond Johnson wrote the music. It was composed for the 1900 Lincoln Day celebration of the Johnsons' school in Florida.

Photos: Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

National Public Radio offers a great presentation on this hymn on with links to its own audio presentation, various audio renderings of "Lift Every Voice" and numerous links to learn more about these most interesting and talented people from America's past. Most links primarily relate to James Weldon Johnson. A further perspective of the Johnsons' significant contributions to musical theater may be found at a jazz website , which especially details the long musical career of J. Rosamond Johnson. And here's one more rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing -- in Real Audio format.

Lift Every Voice and Sing II
An African-American Hymnal
Horace Boyer, editor

This popular collection of 280 musical pieces from both the African American and Gospel traditions has been compiled under the supervision of the Office of Black Ministries of the Episcopal Church. It includes service music and several psalm settings in addition to the Negro spirituals, Gospel songs, and hymns. Also available in spiral binding. Read an article about Horace Boyer, editor of this hymnal, in the Washington Window, the publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

Monday, 2 February: Candlemas and the Groundhog. Easter has its bunny. Christmas has Santa Claus. And Candlemas? ...The Groundhog!?

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go winter, and come not again.

The idea of connecting the end of winter with Candlemas is an old one, as represented by this traditional English song. In the US, most people are ignorant of Candlemas, but know that if the Groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day they're in for six weeks more of winter weather. The legend of the groundhog weather wizard most likely grew from the traditions of German immigrants to Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil now is the world's most well known prognosticating Groundhog. He and his publicity machine have familiarly transformed Candlemas into Groundhog Day.

Although Candlemas continues to be a religious feast day, many Episcopalians take note only when it falls on a Sunday -- not too often. This year Candlemas -- and Groundhog Day -- is Monday, the Second of February.

Candlemas is the last date in the Christian calendar measured from Christmas. It's officially called The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple and celebrates the ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of Jesus. Long ago the day came to be called Candlemas because the church's supply of candles for the year were blessed then. The date is also the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox -- a date with ancient pagan religious implications, celebrated with light and fire. A most interesting and comprehensive website amplifies all the above, and the ever helpful website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. provides ample Biblical and theological background to the event. You may view images of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple in many examples of Christian art.

Monday, 21 January, is the national holiday set aside in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. and is also the alternate day in the Episcopal calendar to honor him. (April 4, the date of his assassination in 1968, is his official feast day.) We pray:

Almighty God, by the hand of Moses, your servant, you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last; Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, Jr., may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

King's legacy is large. The light of many great persons diminishes as years pass. But King's light grows brighter and brighter. His words do not lose meaning. They are worth hearing or reading again and again.

Listen to his famous I have a dream speech on the web (Real Audio) and other speeches as well. Additional online audio is available from The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute and History and Politics Out Loud. PBS presents Citizen King on Martin Luther King Day; and additional useful information is on the PBS web site. The Seattle Times also has an outstanding online collection. Further links to resources for observing Martin Luther King, Jr., Day are available from the Methodist Church.

Outstanding collections of his speeches and sermons have been re-released in CD audiobooks compiled by Dr. Clayborne Carson, Stanford University professor of history and the noted author and editor of several books on the civil rights struggle. He was selected by the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to edit and publish Dr. King's papers. These books are also available in hardcover and paperback print editions and VCR. The links below are to the CD audiobooks available through Amazon.com:

A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Also recommended are two DVDs:

Citizen King ~ Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have a Dream

 

 
Recycling made easy. Lots of stuff can be recycled. The web can help you out. You'll find information on municipal pick-up for many items and drop off points for other waste. Secaucus: Free pickup of paper products, glass bottles, food cans, plastic containers (#1 and #2), tree trimmings, leaves, old appliances and furniture. Hudson County: September drop-off for electronics, fluorescent bulbs and many hazardous materials that should not go down the drain or into landfill.

Other special recycling drop-off points: For cell phones, rechargeable batteries and, printer cartridges, old computers and electronic products, see EPA list; for compact florescent lights, drop at Home Depot; for old clothes, use bins in town -- for instance at Secaucus Day Care parking lot on 1st Ave; for plastic bags, drop in bin at the supermarket; for old motor oil, drop off at town garage. Books can be given to the Secaucus Library for circulation and the fall book fair.

Additionally, learn how to make your own backyard compost to turn your leaves, grass cuttings (even banana peels and apple cores) into healthy soil. You can even make a buck or two; save stuff for our next flea market or sell on EBay. Or just arrange to give away through Freecycle.

Reports on the work of the Lambeth Conference are available on the web. The first includes statements made at the end of the conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. The second outlines the work of the conference, with comments from attending bishops. Finally, read the archive of Bishop Beckwith's reflections on Lambeth.

The ethics of food. Christian custom does not concern itself much with diet, except to say gluttony is wrong, fasting may have spiritual benefits, and eating other people is definitely out!

Most of our eating falls outside the realm of religion and becomes a matter of tradition and personal taste. Interestingly, and aside from organized religion, there is a growing interest in the ethics of food. A couple of years ago a five-part conference at Princeton University – Food, Ethics and the Environment – explored the compelling issues and ethical dilemmas surrounding food production in the United States and the choices individuals make regarding the food they eat. You’ll find it archived in a choice of  audio and video formats on the web on UChannel and at UChannel’s site at ITunes. (The latter link requires ITunes on your computer. Click to download ITunes. It's free!)

UChannel (not to be confused with ITunesU) offers content from 46 universities worldwide, and it is an initiative of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Go to the UChannel hompage to see "how UC works" -- lots of formats for content. You can most easily browse UChannel content at ITunes. All UChannel content is free, including on ITunes. ITunes is a link to the IPod.  But ITunes content is fully accessible on your computer, even if you don't have an IPod..

Hello Dolly. Dolly, the first storm of this year's hurricane season to make landfall in the US, hit Texas in late July. How are tropical storms named? How are they tracked?. What is the history of tropical storms in New Jersey? When is the next storm coming? Find the answers to all of your questions about hurricanes on the web. A good place to begin is JetStream, the online weather school of the National Weather Service. More specifically, go to the section on Tropical Weather to learn about tropical cyclones and their classification, structure,names, etc. The Weather Information Network has a nice interactive map which allows you to follow the track of recent Atlantic storms. New Jersey's hurricane history is minor compared to those of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.  For current hurricane advisories, go to the National Hurricane Center.

The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops began Wednesday, 16 July, and ran through 3 August. More than 650 Anglican Communion bishops and their spouses were in Canterbury, England, for the event. Episcopal Life Online offered daily written coverage, video reports and image galleries to emphasize the theme, "Equipping bishops for mission." A group of American bishops will blog the conference.  

The gathering included fewer plenary sessions than prior meetings and will offer no resolutions; but it did not shy away from the hard questions, including study and conversations on the authority of the Bible, human sexuality, gender and violence, Anglican identity and the Anglican covenant. The conference allowed bishops to "hang put" together and converse with others of various backgrounds and opinions and, most importantly, to find community.  For further background, link to a Lambeth preview, and the six following "bulletin inserts" which are in pdf format:

Overview of Lambeth Conference
History of Lambeth Conference - Part 1
History of Lambeth Conference - Part 2
History of Lambeth Conference - Part 3
History of Lambeth Conference - Part 4

Work of the Lambeth Conference Design Group

 

The Episcopal Church website has had a makeover. A redesigned website,launched Tuesday, 8 July, provides easier navigation, better search functionality, and a more modern style. It brings useful information to the forefront and organizes the site into the church's four mission areas.  Take a look at the new design at www.episcopalchurch.org.

Your guide to smart media,  openculture.com, is a great place to launch yourself into all sorts of interesting material on the web. Google is the grand index of the web; Open Culture is a selective table of contents and website review. Had you looked at the Open Culture website recently, you would have learned that Apple's ITunesU has expanded beyond the campus and now hosts such entities as the New York Public Library and the 92nd Street Y. You would have found that YouTube has rolled out a channel of free short indie films, and you would have discovered that Stanford has launched its YouTube Channel, joining 55 other "intelligent" YouTube collections linked at Open Culture. If neither TV, nor a good book inspire, look to openculture.com for something of interest on the internet.

America the Beautiful. One of America's best loved national songs boasts a rich history, involving an organist in an Episcopal Church in Newark, a 26 verse hymn from the era of Catholic suppression in England, and the cross-country journey of a Wellesley College English professor, Katherine Lee Bates. Professor Bates wrote the lyric poem about the beauty of America, inspired by views from her train to Colorado and by the view from atop Pikes Peak, high in the Rockies. This poem was first published in The Congregationalist, a weekly journal, on July 4, 1895. America the Beautiful soon was being sung to just about any tune that would fit the meter, including Auld Lang Syne.

In 1910 it was published with the tune we recognize today, Materna. This music had been composed in 1882 by Samuel Augustus Ward, organist at Newark's Grace Church, for the hymn O Mother, dear Jerusalem. This hymn and Jerusalem, my happy home, both derive from the same early 17th Century English hymn . (This link to English Hymns: Their Authors and History includes the original hymn with old English spelling and provides a brief history of the hymn, starting on page 267.)  

Read about America the Beautiful, including the story of its creation in Bates own words, on the websites of the Falmouth Historical Society and the Library of Congress. Bates devoted her later years almost exclusively to her poetry. Her book of poems entitled Yellow Clover: A Book of Remembrance, is available for online reading. This volume was dedicated to fellow Wellesley professor and administrator Katherine Coman. Coman's death from breast cancer had been a great loss to Bates as the two had had a close and loving relationship for many years.

A popular family book about America the Beautiful, a $25 book by Lynn Sherr, now discounted, is available from Amazon.com. Numerous renditions of the national hymn are available for free viewing on YouTube, including that of Ray Charles.

Father's day was born from Mother's Day. In Spokane, Washington, in 1909. Sonora Smart Dodd listened to the Mother's Day sermon at her church and decided that she wanted to honor her father, William Jackson Smart. He had been a widower for 21 years and had raised his six children as a single parent following his wife's death at the birth of their youngest child. Mrs. Dodd encouraged the YMCA and local churches to have a Father's Day observance the following year on a Sunday in June, the month of her father's birthday. Through her efforts, interest in the celebration grew and spread to other cities, states and countries. Father's Day now is celebrated in the US and 10 other countries in June. Additionally, many countries with a strong Roman Catholic influence honor fathers on St. Joseph's Day, 19 March. Follow the link for more about Father's Day.

A Former priest of our diocese, The Rt Rev Dr Prince Singh, a week ago was consecrated Bishop of Rochester. Pince is the second consecutive bishop of Rochester to come from our Diocese.  The Rt Rev Jack M McKelvey, former suffragen bishop of Newark, had been the Rochester Bishop for the last seven years.  Indian-born Singh led the congregation at St Alban's in Oakland, New Jersey, from 2000, during a period that the parish expanded in numbers and carried out facility expansion. Meanwhile Singh continued to draw attention to the caste-based discrimination against "untouchables" in India.  Read more about the consecration reported in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and view their online slide show. Another report is available from the Episcopal News Service and you may view an amature video and a large selection of photos of the event. A brief biography, resumé and other information about Bishop Singh is available on the Rochester Diocese search site.

The Last Lecture.  Randy Pausch's inspiring lecture, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, has now been viewed in one form or the other over 6 million times.  It became the subject of a Barbara Walters special -- just one of many websites from which the lecture may be viewed. The lecture is the basis for Pausch's bestselling book. Also, check out Randy Pausch's own web pages.

Great in itself, this lecture also is a good introduction to what universities make available through the internet: lectures, discussions, poetry readings, musical performances, full university courses and more.  MIT and the University of California have led the way and have huge offerings. (UCTV offers a feed of streaming video -- their own cable network -- as well as archived material.) Today much of the best available is secreted away in ITunes.  Apple launched its ITunesU on 30 May 2007 as part of the ITunes store.  ITunesU now provides over 50,000 free audio & video downloads from over 50 universities, museums, and public media organizations from around the world.  The full list is available only on ITunes. A sample list is available on the internet. ITunes is a free download for your PC or Mac. If you don't have ITunes, get it. The content of ITunesU alone is worth the effort. ITunes also is an outstanding player for podcasts, streaming radio, music, movies, tv shows, music videos, audiobooks and hosts the ITunes Store. Of course, it's the computer home for the IPod, as well. But you don't need an IPod to enjoy ITunes.

Making summer vacation plans? Your travels can help your church. Here's how: Link through our web affiliates for car rentals and hotel reservations. Our Saviour will receive a five per cent commission. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is our car rental affilite and TravelHero offers hotel accommodation.

Car rental? Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the only car rental company in Secaucus, so it certainly is convenient. If you need a car here, reserve through our website. If you are renting a car outside of Secaucus, it's good stewardship to make a web search for the best rate. We recommend www.CarRentals.com , an excellent site that allows you to compare different companies and even price drop-off at different city from the pickup location. After making the rate comparison you find that the best deal is Enterprise, please link back to Enterprise Rent-A-Car through this link or at www.secaucus.org/affiliates.html for your reservation. Your church will get a commission.

Hotels? Click through our affiliate, TravelHero, for reservations worldwide. There's a wide range of choices in accommodations and their rates usually match those that you'll find elsewhere. However, it's still worthwhile to double check the hotel's own website before reserving. If you can do as well or better at Travel Hero, please remember to click back through from the link here or at www.secaucus.org/affiliates.html. Your church will get a commission, which will help fund our outreach programs.

Air? We do not have links for airline tickets that will provide commissions to the church. However, we recommend www.kayak.com for its ease in making comparisons between airlines so you can get the the best deal for your trip.

Finally, if you're most concerned with saving money and have no preference in choosing a particular hotel, car rental company, airline, or flight time, check out www.priceline.com. No commission to the church, but possible savings to you.

The Trinity. Every time we come to church we commit ourselves to belief in the Trinity through the creeds that we recite together. "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" became part of our prayer at an early age. So mostly we do not devote much philosophical energy to the doctrine of the Trinity. This wasn't always so. In the fourth century the Trinity was a hot issue. It got so hot that Constantine, the Roman Emperor, called together a council to come up with a statement about God that everyone could agree with. The result was the Nicene Creed. Those who still wanted to keep up an argument for a different point of view found themselves banished from official Christendom. The more complete history of the events of these times is found online in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library in works composed a few years after the council in the fourth century by Socrates Scholasticus and Salaminius Hermias Sozomen. You also may be interested in reading "Arius, Heresy and Tradition" by The Most Rev Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Trinity in Art. How do you depict the Trinity? Our Trinity Sunday web page provides two possible views. One is by an outstanding contemporary Ethiopian artist and depicts three bodies mystically merged into one. The other is a classic painting by El Greco, in which Christ is being risen to heaven with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, represented by a dove.

The Church has wrestled with depictions of the Trinity. Is it appropriate to image God the Father or the Holy Spirit when their appearances are unknown and a mystery? When the answer was no, the Russian painter Andrei Rublev in 1425 found a way. He painted the three angelic visitors to Abraham and Sarah as related in Genesis 18. Orthodox tradition identifies these visitors with the three persons of the Trinity and the image has been replicated by numerous artists.

Christians also have used symbols for the Trinity -- the trefoil, triquetra, triangle, entwined circles and others. Go to Symbols in Christian Art and Architecture. One writer suggests the image for the Trinity could be a line. For additional stimulating thought on the Trinity read Three is Not Enough -- Jewish Reflections on Trinitarian Thinking.

Among the more interesting and attractive religious illustrations found on the web are the Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands. You can link to numbers of quite detailed and beautiful depictions of the Trinity using the indexing tool of this website. Click on images found, to enlarge them for better viewing (They are pop-ups; disable popup blocker). Another useful list of artworks, with links, is found at www.ThisWeek.com.

Happy Mother's Day! One does not generally think of Mother's Day as a religious holiday; however, it got going in the US with the backing of the World Sunday School Association. In the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Ireland, Mothering Sunday is older yet and retains a religious context going back to the 17th Century or before; it is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Learn more about Mothering Sunday thanks to Woodlands Junior School, including detailed instructions for making a Simnel Cake, traditional for Mothering Sunday.

The story of how America's Mother's Day came about is an interesting tale. Anna Jarvis came up with the idea for Mother's Day and led the campaign. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Mother's Day as the second Sunday of May. Mother's Day spread around the world and is now celebrated in eighty nations. Anna Jarvis later fought the commercialization of the holiday, combating the florist industry and condemning greeting cards as "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write." Read more about Mother's Day, especially from a church perspective.

May is Asian/Pacific Heritage Month. A growing portion of America's population traces its roots to this area of the world. People from this huge and diverse region have been generalized as model immigrants. What does this mean for them and for America? Among these immigrants, Indian-Americans have achieved phenomenal success. Over 80 percent of Indians arrived in America since 1980; yet the median household income of Indian-Americans is $20,000 higher than the median of all Americans. They have especially made their mark in the lodging industry, where they control 37 percent of all hotel properties in the US, with a total market value estimated at $29.9 billion in franchised properties and $8.1 billion in independent properties. Wow!

As Christians, we may be interested in the role of Christianity among the peoples of Asia and the Pacific region  America Magazine discusses the shift in influence in Christianity away from Europe and America. It reports that in the Philippines alone, the number of baptisms in 1998 were greater than in France, Italy. Spain, and Poland combined. Other insights regarding Christianity among Asians are presented as part of a book review.

Finally, look at a rundown on some statistics about Asian Americans. Then let Asian Americans speak for themselves. Find what they have to say in "Asians Rock" on YouTube.

Trinity Wall Street honored Fletcher Harper as a 2008 Transformational Fellow at the Ascension Day service on 1 May.  The Transformational Fellows program recognizes clergy and lay leaders in metropolitan New York whose work often confronts societyÕs most difficult issues. Fellows are given the opportunity to renew and strengthen their work in social transformation through a six week self-designed fellowship. The Fellows are supported by a $20,000 grant to cover their time and professional development activities. Fletcher is Executive Director of Greenfaith, an organization which empowers people of faith to embrace environmental issues as central to their beliefs.

Fletcher is a priest associate of The Church of Our Saviour; he and another honored fellow, The Rev Theodora Brooks, are long time friends of Mark Lewis.  Fletcher may be viewed in a video clip on the Trinity website. You may also view the Ascension Day service and the sermon by guest preacher Jesse Jackson. 

April is National Poetry Month. We Christians are a poetic people. Significant portions of the Bible are written as poetry -- not just the Psalms. And our faith has been incorporated in thousands of hymns. This poetry of Christianity has been compiled for reading on a number of websites. Over 20,000 hymns may be found at the Church Music Management System website. Have you read a good hymn lately?

Earth Day is Tuesday, 22 April. The big push for 2008 is a massive call-in for climate. People are urged to let political leaders from the president on down that you're watching their actions on this matter. They will be waiting to see what happens. Call them, go visit them, e-mail them, let them know you are out there. The Earth Day Network will help you make contact. The goal is the biggest call-in in history. Read the letter concerning global warming legislation recently sent to members of the Senate in Washington by our Presiding Bishop, The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori.

The Episcopal Church offers a special Earth Day bulletin for Sunday, 20 March. It emphasizes the link between global warming and global poverty.

Sunday, March 20, enjoy a New York City family outing. After church, pack a picnic, bring a blanket, and head off to Central Park for an Earth Day Celebration for families at the park's Rumsey Playfield from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.  This fun and free event will feature a jam-packed schedule of activities including live musical performances, planting and mulching projects, tree care and composting demonstrations, face painting, environmental education, and crafts with recycled materials. For detailed event information go to its website.Be green -- go by bus and subway. Take the 190 bus from Secaucus to the New York City terminal, From there take the New York Subway C train to 72nd Street. See the interactive Subway map and a web page from another event at Central Park which provides a useful map of Central Park and backup directions for getting to to Rumsey Playfield.

National Library Week -- April 13 -- 19, 2008 -- a great time to visit the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center.  You'll find special Library Week events listed on the library's website.  Moreover, the website will introduce you to the wealth of services offered by your library.  It's so much more than books on loan. For starters, broaden that to include audio books, and DVDs.  Need a notary?  Need tax forms?  Need to send or receive FAXes?  Make copies?  Use a computer?  Yes, all are available services.  It doesn't stop there: Small business services. Assistance for sight impaired. Aid in learning English as a new language. Home delivery of books to those medically homebound. Events and exhibits.  Special programs and services for children and teens. Link to the library for a virtual visit.

Xpatriated Texan. Thurman Hart of our congregation posts a blog on the internet under this name. Yes, his roots are in Texas. You might be interested in his musings. Click to Xpatriated Texan.

Seven Episcopal priests serve in Iraq as chaplains to American servicemen. Read their stories of the war they have lived through -- with our troops -- and their accounts of the suffering of Iraqi Christians -- targeted because of their faith. The chaplains give a different perspective on this conflict. A recent article in Episcopal Life relates more about the chaplains and provides information about the Episcopal Church's efforts to assist returning servicemen and their families and to support peace in the Middle East. Lastly, link to another range of resources available to those who have issues created by the war in Iraq. Pray for our chaplains.

The confirmands and those received were presented with mementos marking those milestones. In addition to a large certificate, each received a bookplate and a striking translation of the Bible: The Message, completed by Eugene Peterson in 2002. The Message was written in order to recreate the spirit of the original language of scripture, the street language of the day. Peterson notes that in the course of the project, he realized that this was exactly what he had been doing in his thirty-five years as a pastor, "always looking for an English way to make the biblical text relevant to the conditions of the people." Just for fun, today's lessons are read from this version. How do you like it?

Confirmation is the sacramental rite in which those who "express a mature commitment to Christ," are presented to the Bishop. The rite includes forms for Reception and the Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows. The Episcopal Church's theology of Confirmation has continued to evolve along with its understanding of baptism. Confirmation is no longer seen as the completion of Christian initiation, nor is Confirmation a prerequisite for receiving communion. Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's body the church. Accordingly, Confirmation has been increasingly understood in terms of a mature, public reaffirmation of the Christian faith and the baptismal promises, which are reaffirmed within this service. The BCP service is available on the web. This information is an excerpt from An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church.

Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed. These Easter salutations were heard earlier than usual at the Church of Our Saviour this year, as we instituted a 6 am sunrise service. The concept of a sunrise service was brought to America by members of the Moravian Church -- the United Brethren or Unitas Fratrum -- who settled around Bethlehem, PA, and Winston-Salem, NC, before the American Revolution. The Moravian Church archives present a description of this historic sunrise service.

Today, at the historic Moravian centers in North Carolina and Pennyslvania church members and others gather in the early hours of Easter morning to profess their Easter creed; then, while brass bands play Moravian hymns antiphonally (call and response), they process to the cemetery where their entombed forefathers await resurrection. Facing east, they sing of Christ's triumph over death, sin, and the power of evil as the sun rises. Later on Easter day a rather sleepy congregation returns to church to be roused by the singing of the "Hallelujah Chorus" at the 11 am service. A more complete description is available on Moravian Music Blog.

Who are the Moravians? A New Jersey congregation provides a website that outlines many of their customs and beliefs, including the creed from their Easter Liturgy -- an expanded version of the historic Christian creeds. Neither this creed nor any other is required belief. Their most complete statement of beliefs is expressed in their Ground of Unity and the Moravian Covenant for Christian Living. Although these statements are extensive, in reality Moravians accept much diversity of belief. Their guiding principle is: "In Essentials, Unity, In Non-Essentials, Liberty, and In All Things, Love."

Aside from introducing the sunrise service to America, a great contribution from Moravians to our Episcopal worship is hymn singing. This has come about indirectly: John and Charles Wesley in their early ministry were inspired by Moravian hymn singing, subsequently composed hundreds of hymns, organized the Methodist movement and were influential in making hymn singing a vital part of contemporary worship. An article recounts the great renewal of piety among Moravians in August 1727 which generated the missionary movement that became an inspiration for the Wesleys.

The fun-filled folk traditions of Easter are many -- mostly with no theological basis, and often predating Christianity itself. Here are a few. Follow the links to learn more.

Wash yourself well on Holy Thursday to have a clear complexion throughout the year; ladies, clean your house, then pour the sweepings over the fence so all uncleanliness will pass to your neighbor. - Lithuania

Girls, dye eggs, and decorate the bier of Christ with garlands of flowers so it is ready to receive the image of the body of Christ on Good Friday. - Greece

Between Good Friday and Easter Sunday witches fly. Children, soot your faces, tie scarves around your heads and go door-to-door begging, carrying your broomsticks, coffee pots and bunches of decorated willow twigs. - Finland

Easter! What a time to die! The gates of heaven open on Easter and remain open for the next seven days. During those days you'll enter heaven despite your sins. - Romania

Boys, on the Monday following Easter, throw water on the girls. Girls, give your dousers a little treat and present your loved one a dyed Easter egg. - Carpathia

Also see how the spring rites of Noruz, celebrated in Iran and Azerbaijan, mirror those of Easter. Whatever their origin, folk traditions enliven the human spirit and, at best, enhance the spirituality of Holy Week and the Feast of the Resurrection.

When was Jesus crucified? The Bible does not provide a clear answer. It only provides clues. This puzzle has intrigued no less a mind than Sir Isaac Newton. To find an answer one must look to the Bible, Jewish history and tradition, Roman history, astronomy, mathematics and the coordination of calendars. Newton went for Friday, 23 April, 34 AD. Many modern scholars endorse Friday, 3 April, 33 AD. Here's more information with backup from NASA. But the fact remains: no date holds true beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Make a palm cross. Easy to follow instructions on the web for your Palm Sunday cross (PDF file) from England's Diocese of Birmingham. Their suggestion: practice by making a cross with paper.

"Sister your work is over," said one of two men as they stepped out of the forest. Sister Dorothy Stang recognized them as the pistolieros, paid killers, who had been bragging that they were going to murder her. They talked for a bit, then she started on down the road. One of the men called her name. As she turned, she saw the pistol in his hand. She reached into her bag. He asked, "Are you reaching for your weapon?" Sister Dorothy responded, "This is my weapon." She raised her bible and began to read the Beatitudes. When she reached the words, "Blessed are the peacemakers," the pistoliero fired the first shot. Then he stood over her and emptied his gun into her back and head.

Who was Sister Dorothy Stang? Why was she killed? Why is she important to us? If Sister Dorothy -- this friendly, happy, fun-loving, prayerful person -- if this ordinary Christian could spend a lifetime reverencing the God-given dignity of people who were so different from her, then we can do the same.

For Women's History Month discover more about the Ohio girl who became a nun, dedicated her life to helping poor farmers in Brazil's Amazon frontier and died a martyr in 2005. You will find a short article about her written at the time of her death, a memorial booklet (pdf file), a diary and interview (WP3 file) with a film maker who documented her work, and the newly released book which has been given a starred review by Publishers Weekly: The Greatest Gift: The Courageous Life and Martyrdom of Sister Dorothy Stang. The latter is available through Amazon.com and the Secaucus Public Library).

Plan for an egg-ological Easter. Avoid waste, save money and revive ancient Easter traditions by using natural dies for Easter eggs. Traditional deep red eggs are created naturally with onion skins (both yellow and red skins create red eggs). Cranberry juice, grape juice, turmeric, the liquid from canned pickled beets, and other natural materials also can be used. The eggs make a great decoration, but ... they are food! Don't waste. Before dying you can easily remove the raw egg from the shell to use in breakfasts and recipes calling for egg (the empty shell is slightly more fragile, but fine for dying). If you boil the whole egg -- take care so it may be eaten -- use nontoxic materials, and don't leave eggs unrefrigerated for more than two hours. Find recipes on the web using hard cooked eggs. All the best for an egg-ological Easter.

Go to the American Egg Board website for just about anything that you might want to know about eggs: recipes, decorating and more. Decorating tips are at "Kids & Family" on the site. Martha Stewart has some ideas for natural dye -- but don't use her varnish finish if you plan to eat the eggs. Nancy Gaifyllia's Greek Food Blog provides details on the traditional Greek method of dying eggs red with onion skins and more about the Greek celebration of Easter. A little more advanced: add a leaf pattern to the egg. Finally, here is a useful picture guide to removing the raw egg from the shell, just in case you want to try it.

You are invited to be a ONE Episcopalian. Become a member of a grassroots partnership between the Episcopal Church and the ONE Campaign to rally Episcopalians --ONE by ONE -- to the cause of ending extreme poverty in our world and achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals:

More than one billion of God's people live on less than one dollar each day. More than fifteen-thousand people die each day because of AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria, all preventable diseases. Sign the ONE Campaign pledge and become a ONE Episcopalian. Learn more about how you can join the campaign to make poverty a thing of the past.The Episcopal Church stands with many other organizations in the ONE campaign.

Lenten Bible Study. There is an excellent program that we'll be using for Saturday Bible study during Lent. It's on the web , so you can see what it's all about and join in with us any Saturday at 12:30 pm. The program is made available by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and BBC. It uses the same process that we use every week for Saturday Bible Study -- reading a different old testament lesson and going through it to find how it applies in our lives. However,this program has an added dimension: It also applies this to a different aspect of Christian spirituality and prayer each week: The Path of Holiness, The Path of Social Justice, The Devotional Path, The Sacramental Path, The Contemplative Path, The Charismatic Path. The study materials are available as a PDF file. Each week is backed up by a BBC streaming radio program ( BBC Radio4, Sunday, 3:10 -3:50 am EST), which can be listened to at any time the following week and can be read thereafter in transcript. Link for a transcript of the 10 February program , the 17 February program, the 24 February program. the 2 March program, the 9 March program and the 16 March program.

African-Americans have done much to shape American music. Hymns and songs of worship and praise are the bedrock of this influence. The Public Broadcasting System website for two outstanding features. The first is "Jubilee Singers, Sacrifice and Glory" from the American Experience series. Then top that off with a visit to the PBS site based upon the series "This Far by Faith." There you'll find a great depth of interesting material concerning the people and events in the African-American journey of faith over three centuries. Click to "Journeys," "Timeline," and "People within the site."

Yet another website worth a visit is NegroSpirituals.com. You'll find more background on the music from the African American experience, including an insight into the hymn, "There is a balm in Gilead."

Absalom Jones, the first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church, and his close associate, Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, are remembered in the church's calendar on 13 February, the anniversary of the death of Absalom Jones in 1818.    

In 1786 the white members of St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia decided that its black members should sit only in the balcony. Absalom Jones (1746-1818) and Richard Allen (1760-1831), learned of the decision only when ushers tapped them on the shoulder during the opening prayers, and demanded that they move to the balcony without waiting for the end of the prayer. They walked out, followed by the other black members, and organized the Free African Society with Absalom Jones and Richard Allen as overseers. Subsequently the society split into two groups: one followed Robert Allen to form the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the mother church of the denomination. The other voted to affiliate with the Protestant Episcopal Church, with Absalom Jones as their pastor. This latter group was admitted into the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1794 as St. Thomas African Episcopal Church. Absalom Jones was ordained deacon in 1795, and priest in1802.

Find more of this story on the websites of Mission St Clare and St Patrick's Episcopal Church., and in a brief web biography of Absalom Jones. Expand your knowledge about Jones and Allen with the help of a PBS website. Meanwhile in this era, in the South David George, George Liele and Andrew Bryan organized the First African Baptist Church of Savannah. For further reading, a new and very well reviewed biography of Richard Allen is available though Amazon.com

The northern missionaries were a tough bunch, going into the far north of Canada. But nothing would match the journey that won The Rt Rev Isaac Stringer the reputation as the The Bishop Who Ate His Boots.

In 1909, Bishop Stringer, with a companion, set out from Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories to Dawson City in The Yukon -- a 500 mile trek through muskeg, dense bush, and over a steep mountain divide. They were dressed in light clothing and carried provisions for 8 days, though they expected to complete the trip in five days. Little did they know they would be lost in the mountains for 51 days and be on the brink of death. And yes, when the food ran out, Bishop Stringer cut up his seal skin boots, boiled the pieces for hours and then roasted them, for lack of any other food. They both lost 50 pounds during the journey, but they made it back to Fort McPherson alive.

Read more about the Northern Missionaries and the Bishop who ate his boots on the excellent web site brought to you Virtual Museum of Canada and the Old Long Church Museum in Whitehorse. Use the interactive map to follow Bishop Stringer's original Journey from Toronto to Fort McPherson 17 years earlier, in 1892. And browse the photo essay on the Stringers.

The Old Log Church Museum is operated by Yukon Church Heritage Society and is located in the old Anglican Cathedral, one of the oldest structures in Whitehorse. The Society has published the book, The Bishop Who Ate His Boots, by Frank Peake, available from the museum for $43.50 (Canadian), including shipping.

Bishop Stringer's grandson, Richard Stringer, an outstanding Canadian film maker, was making a documentary on his grandfather's life in the Canadian North, but unfortunately died just before its final editing. It is hoped that this film will be completed.

What a busy week!
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity initiated 100 years ago by the inspiration of an Episcopal Priest, Paul Wattson, began on Friday, 18 January, and concludes on Friday, January 25.

Monday, 21 January, America honors civil rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wednesday, 23 January, the church remembers the great 19th Century American preacher and author of O Little Town of Bethlehem, Rt Rev Phillips Brooks.

Friday, 25 January, is the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul., that bigger-than-life figure that put Christianity in the Bible and on the map.

Friday and Saturday, 25-26 January, deputies will be attending The 134th Convention of the Diocese of Newark.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity started on Friday 18 January and ends on Friday, 25 January. The theme of this year's Week is "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5.17). A helpful personal guide for daily reflection, prayer, action, and suggested Bible readings is available on the web, presented by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

The week of prayer was initiated 100 years ago, in 1908, by Episcopal Priest Paul Wattson , co-founder of the Society of the Atonement. A year later, in 1909 he and the Society of the Atonement were received into the Roman Catholic Church. Soon after, Pope St Pius X gave the octave for unity his official blessing, that all might be united within the Roman Catholic Church. With Vatican II the Roman Church moved toward ecumenism and in 1968 there was a joint proclamation of prayer with the World Council of Churches. The churches throughout the world now pray for unity in a spirit of spiritual ecumenism, with the understanding that the vision of unity may differ among those praying. Unfortunately the spirit for the Week has diminished somewhat, and Peter Steinfels, writing in the New York Times, suggests that "success of the movement for church unity has itself removed much of the urgency behind it." Resources for This year's Week of Prayer were jointly prepared and published by The Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and The Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches. An interesting history of the movement is included. The later part of the document sites the ecumenical situation in the United States, with frequent mention of the Episcopal Church's activities. Also of historic interest is a 12 minute Google Video on the history and development of the Society of the Atonement at Graymoor.

Bishop Phillips Brooks, was the greatest preacher in the 19th Century America, the author of the carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem., and his religious outlook shaped our Church. His wisdom is alive on the internet. Check out his quotations. His sermons and speeches are still studied. Read, for example, his sermon on The Life and Death of Abraham Lincoln, preached at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, Sunday Morning, April 23, 1865, or The Influence of Jesus: The Bohlen Lectures, delivered in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia, in February 1879. For more on Phillips Brooks, see Wikipedia and Bartleby.com. , and a useful review of a book about him. This book, Brahmin Prophet and The Consolations of God: Great Sermons of Phillips Brooks are available through our bookstore affiliate, Amazon.com. Even his funeral was a major event. You will find a poem by Katherine Lee Bates dedicated to Brooks at the time of his death, as well as illustrations of his funeral on the web.

Saint Paul is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of the Western world. Just a quick look at the headlines of his life are enough to understand his impact; his works are some of the earliest Christian documents that we have, 13 of the 27 books of the bible are written by him, and he's the hero of another, Acts of the Apostles.

Famously converted on the road to Damascus, he traveled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the word of Jesus and it was Paul who came up with the doctrine that would turn Christianity from a small sect of Judaism into a worldwide faith that was open to all. These paragraphs begin an easy-to-read and enlightening article about St Paul which you may continue reading on BBC's website. Also link to a 27 minute BBC audio documentary offering a perspective on Paul's place in the story of Christianity.

Our Church in the News: Pets Blessed at Secaucus Church + Pictures

Vicar reports on state of church. Just like the President of the United States, the vicar here at the Church of Our Saviour has an opportunity to address us once a year, concerning the state of our church. Link

A reminder:
This web page is renewed by Thursday of every week. It has all the links mentioned in the printed bulletin. Sometimes even more. Make it a habit to check this page weekly.

Tell others about our web site. Is there something that would interest your friends or relatives? Copy the web address of the page and send it along to them in an e-mail. Or to recommend our site in general, just click here.

An index of hymns used at our church in 2007 is available, with links to the lyrics and midi files of the music for most of them. click here.

Want to go back over the thoughts in Mark's Sermons? "Reflections" on his sermons from October 1999 through October 2002 are available by a click from the index on the "Sunday" web page. For a sample sermon, click here.

If you want to send Mark an e-mail, click on the e-mail address in this paragraph, in the column at the left (It's on every church web page) or just go to your e-mail and type in MLewis@secaucus.org.

Church of Our Saviour Financial Reports LINK