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One Great Hour Of Sharing The
One Great Hour offering will be received Palm Sunday. As we give to
SEDER MEAL: Sunday, April 4th, 6:00 PM EASTER SCHEDULE From the
first page of the New Testament to the last, the belief in eternal life
MAUNDY THURSDAY "Maundy" is derived from the Latin word used in the Vulgate. The "new" commandment Jesus gave to his disciples that they should love one another as he has loved them. On this Maundy Thursday, April 8th, we will remember our Lord's passion and celebrate "The Last Supper" 7:00 PM. GOOD FRIDAY - TENEBRAE SERVICE, 7:00 PM Tenebrae (which means "darkness" or "shadows") is a Holy Week devotion which dates back to the seventh or eighth century A.D. and is characterized by the successive extinguishing of candles as the service progresses. EASTER
SUNRISE SERVICE, 6:30 AM EASTER
MORNING WORSHIP There
will be no Early Worship or Sunday School on Easter Sunday.
ROCK Group is for children in grades three through six. They will meet the first and third Sundays of the month following worship. The CE committee will meet on Tuesday, April 13th at 7:00 PM. VBS: It's not too early to start thinking about VBS! This year's theme is "Lava Island, Where Jesus' Love Flows." VBS will be held June 14-17, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. More details to follow.
When we welcome people of all ages into the church through baptism, we pledge that we, as a congregation, will nurture the growth of faith in that person. When we make this promise, we obligate ourselves to share all that we know about God, and especially Jesus Christ, with the newly welcomed folk. The activities we design to reach this goal come under the heading of "education." When we confirm them, we do so hoping we have fulfilled our responsibility to share our faith, and the rich history of the whole Church. "Education." I wish we could use a word that has less cultural baggage attached to it. The minute we say that word, we have a picture in our heads of the experience, and even of the way we will experience it. We design classes for the purpose of educating people when in reality, the experience of education about our faith is shown best in the ways we relate to one another, the stories we share about our lives and our faith, and the times we dream together about what might be possible for us, together, as Christ's Presbyterian Church here in Rockwall, Texas. "Education" is much more than attending church school classes. (Note that we follow up on the cultural understanding of what we are doing by calling a particular time in the Sunday morning course of events "school.") While I am a person who takes great pleasure in teaching, I often find myself wishing we could transmit our faith history in ways that are different from the ways of our public schools and our universities. I have had images of camping experiences where the stories of our faith are told and sung, and wished occasionally that we could build a fire somewhere in the vicinity of the church and tell those stories, and share the struggles of our ancestors to keep our knowledge of God strong, secure in its witness, and hopeful for the future. Obviously, building a fire somewhere nearby, and trusting that the stories told on a particular occasion will be enough to nurture the faith of all of the people is not adequate to the task at hand. However, the teaching we do which mimics our public schools and universities is not adequate, either, in my estimation. Perhaps it is time to let our minds mull over this question of how we can best share our faith. We know that we need a certain sharing that takes place in classes very much like the classes in our schools and universities. The question then becomes: what might augment that classroom activity? How can we best engage the minds and hearts of each person, in order that we are truly faithful to the vow to nurture and teach people of all ages about our faith, about God, about the incredible people who have gone before us, teaching and preserving the faith? I want
to affirm what we offer now for meeting this goal. Our classes and our
teachers provide excellent opportunities for growing in faith. I want
to affirm each one who reads this, too, and encourage you to dream,
and to share your dreams about what could be. Not all may be practical,
or like mine, even workable. Out of those dreams, I believe the future
will emerge. THANKS! Our team
goal this year was $1000, and we have turned in $1030, to date, with
a few more pledges outstanding. It's really true that we could not have
done it without you! Many many Thanks! FINANCIAL
REPORT: Budgeted Plate Income for March $ 2,438 Actual: 1,005
MEMBERSHIP:
There will be a Progressive Dinner on Saturday, May 8th at 6:00
PM. A nursery will be provided at the church.
OUR
PRAYERS FOR:
MENTAL
ILLNESS AND SPIRITUALITY: TUESDAY,
APRIL 27TH Scottish
Rite Hospital Auditorium For
information and to RSVP, call NAMI Dallas at 214-341-7133 Immediately
following morning worship April 18th, we'll celebrate the birthdays
of all our April "Babies" in the fellowship hall. They are: Daylight
Savings Time begins Sunday, April 4th.
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C.E.
NOTES: The ROCK Group will be reforming beginning on Sunday, April
4th. The kids will dye and stuff eggs for the Easter egg hunt on Easter
Sunday.
Have
you ever noticed how often we in the Presbyterian Church use some variation
of the root word "to know?" When you have time on your hands,
and want something to do, check old worship bulletins, newsletters,
invitations to special events, and any other written communication you
receive from the church. The word is used frequently, indicating our
historical commitment to understanding our faith, and helping others
in their faith journey; an admirable goal, in my estimation. 
