All Saints Gazette: Holy Week
Greetings from All Saints!
On Sunday, the Lenten fast will come to an end and we will celebrate the mystery of Christ's resurrection. We hope you will join us at Vrijburg at 5:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. We will share our usual potluck afterward, and word is that a rabbit will also hide some treats for children and other interested parties to find. The rabbit wishes you to know that he is a Christian and sees his role as but one minor way to adorn the celebration of the holy mystery. We also have Bible study today, see below.
Source: https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59065
Holy Week Devotions
We are not having our own services this year on the weekdays of Holy Week, but we do have access to the power of the gatherings of Christians all over the world, and we encourage you to explore ways to make it your own. You can start with the Abundance Prompt below. It might also be a good time to try one or more of the "daily office" prayers the Episcopal Church offers. If you don't have a Book of Common Prayer (or don't know how to use it yet), you can find it all put together for you very nicely at a couple places on the internet, including The Mission of St. Clare. They also have an app for handheld devices. You can also join us for Bible study tonight at 6:30 on Zoom (see below).
Abundance Inventory
A rehearsal for life. Our pattern for the good life, the life well-lived. It’s all here in Holy Week. The Palm Sunday liturgy begins with Jesus being lionised by the crowd and ends with the same crowd baying for blood, “Crucify him!” Maybe we will never have that experience on any scale but if we have ever heard the thunderous roar of the approving crowd and had the rapturous sound replaced by the whispers of disapproval we know how to live that moment because Christ lived it before us. We walk the solemnity of these days aware of the liturgical mood of grief and gloom while, here in the Northern hemisphere the earth is shouting “spring is sprung!”. Green leaves and bright flowers are clothing the bare branches and dark earth of winter. And isn’t that what grief looks like? Grief turns the world of the bereaved upside down and covers their eyes with shades of sad but the world outside their grey bubble vibrates with colour and joy.
In our lives we will enjoy being gathered in community, and we may endure being cast out or betrayed by those we hold dear. We will know how to live those moments too, Jesus lived them before us. In the face of betrayal Jesus offered compassion and love. He fed Judas who would betray him. He spoke with compassion to Peter who would deny him. He built a bond of mutual love between the ones who stood by him…”Woman behold your son…behold your mother”. When he had nothing to give Christ on the cross gave forgiveness and love. What unexpected store of abundance have you found to offer when you thought you had nothing to give? In which parts of your life do you feel depleted, spent, empty? Look there for what God has given you with which to be a blessing.
Bible Study
Our Bible study group is small, but powerful. We use a method developed in South Africa that allows everyone to both learn and teach, whatever their background. I (Kyle) have a Ph.D. with a minor concentration in New Testament, and I still learn something from someone else every time. Join us at 18:30 on Zoom!
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88944038056?pwd=4ybNm7bmmD44bzCkAAdSaZ1ZNXM69N.1
Meeting ID: 889 4403 8056
Passcode: 817891
Note that after Easter, we are moving to Thursdays and in person at Vrijburg.
Weekend in Munich, Anyone?
How would you like to spend a weekend at a castle in Munich meeting other people from Episcopal churches in Europe and learning some tools to share with our own community? Did I mention that it's (mostly) paid for by someone else? The Convocation is offering a program on Healthy Congregations from May 24-26 in Munich. As a token of how important All Saints is to the Convocation, they will cover the registration free (includes room and board) and reimburse travel expenses above €100 for a couple people from All Saints. Let us know if you're interested! In addition to what should be a good program, both we and the Convocation will benefit from getting to know one another in person. (And if the transportation expenses are an issue, we will find a solution.)
That's all for today!
Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church/
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
