DEAR FRIENDS 

Holy Week is upon us! This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, and we start mass with the Blessing of the Palms and Palm Procession.  After you receive your blessed palms, be prepared to follow the altar party and the choir, as you are able, out the Lady Chapel door, down the sidewalk, and back into the church through the front porch.  The kids from Sunday School will decorate the sidewalk as they did last year. We will stop at the front porch for a short prayer, then enter the church to the ever-popular hymn “All glory, laud, and honor.”  Our “Hosannas” quickly change to “Crucify him!” as we hear the Passion of Our Lord from the Gospel of Luke.  Remember that the mass ends in silence.  There is no final hymn, nor postlude, and you should leave as quietly as you can. 
 
There are two announcements which need your immediate consideration.  The first is the All-Parish Clean Up Day tomorrow (Saturday, April 13).  You need only show up to help, and all hands are appreciated.  The second is that the photographer Kathy Lord will be at Coffee Hour this Sunday to take new pictures for the Parish Hall photo board.  We would like to get an informal group shot of everyone for the website, so we like to ask everyone to move to the Parish Hall as quickly as you are able after mass, get your coffee and food, then listen for instructions.  We’ll start with the group shot (it won’t be painful or difficult, I promise), then we proceed with individual pictures.
 
See you at Mass,
Fr. Wallace
 

GET READY FOR YOUR CLOSE UPS! 

April 14th, Palm Sunday is photo day.  Kathy Lord will be here after mass to take more excellent photos of your lovely faces. So, if you are not already featured on the photo board in the Parish Hall or would like to update your picture, please be sure to join us at Coffee Hour on Palm Sunday.

ALL-PARISH CLEAN UP DAY

Saturday, April 13, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Help spruce up St. Paul’s for Holy Week and Easter at our annual All-Parish Work Day.  We always have lots of visitors during Holy Week and on Easter Day, so we want St. Paul’s to look it’s best.  Many hands make for light work.  Lunch provided.  This annual event is another way for us to get to know each other better.  Pat Faw is coordinating.  There is a sign-up sheet in the Parish Hall, and Marlene Donnelly will be “recruiting” volunteers at Coffee Hour.  Thanks for your service to St. Paul’s!

EASTER FLOWERS 

There is still time to make a donation for Easter flowers.  This is your voluntary gift in thanksgiving for the Resurrection of Our Lord and to help decorate St. Paul’s for the Easter.  Envelopes may be placed in the collection plate or mailed to the church. If you would like to donate flowers in memory of someone or in thanksgiving, please print clearly on the envelope.  Checks should be made payable to St. Paul’s Church.  The deadline for getting memorial names in the Easter Sunday bulletin is Tuesday, April 16.

CONFESSION 

There is still time for you to make your Lenten Confession.  Fr. Wallace will hear confessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday only this-coming week, so please plan accordingly, and contact him to set an appointment.
 

LENTEN FOOD DRIVE

This is Sunday is the last Sunday to bring donations! 

Bins will be available back of the church throughout Lent to receive your donations.  As usual, the food will be donated to the food pantry at First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights.  The children will deliver the food and stock the shelves on Good Friday.  Of particular need are the following foods:  peanut butter, tuna fish, Vienna sausage, canned vegetables, apple sauce, pasta, rice and canned soup.  Please make sure that the donations are unopened and have not expired.  If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with Jean Del Colliano.  As always, thank you for your generous donations, and please take the opportunity to thank the Sunday School kids for their dedication and hard work.
 

ADULT CHRSTIAN EDUCATION: LENTEN DISCUSSION FORUM—Christians and Politics 

Continues this Sunday, 1:00 pm, in the Library  

The debate continues!  Our Lenten Discussion Forum has been very successful, lots of passionate and energetic discussion!  There is still time for you join us.  The subject of the ways in which Christians enact their faith in a political world. Everyone and all political viewpoints are welcome and encouraged to attend.  
 

LENT MADNESS!

Don’t forget to play! 

What better way to explore the mystery of our faith than a head-to-head popularity contest? Lent Madness is an engaging way for people to learn about the men and women comprising the Church’s Calendar of Saints. Following an elimination bracket format, a group of 32 saints have been selected, and each week participants vote for their favorite saint in a one-on-one match up.  For example, one week might have "St. Francis vs. St. Antony” or “St. Joseph vs. St. Benedict.”  Every week the votes are tallied and the winning saint proceeds to the next round until a single saint is left.  The “official “voting will be done on the Lent Madness Facebook page, and we will be putting up a poster in the Parish hall to track the progress over the Lent Period.  You can participate by just checking out the board as it’s updated every week, or you can really commit and buy an official Lent Madness Scorecard booklet for $5 (all proceeds go to St. Paul’s).  The scorecard booklet contains bios of the saints and a personal scorecard.  For the really enthusiastic, you can predict the outcomes of all the match ups beforehand and compare your picks with the actual results.  Lent Madness is published by Forward Movement, a publisher of books associated with the Episcopal Church.  You can visit Lentmadness.org and forwardmovement.org to learn even more. 
 

PILGRIMMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND!

April 20 Deadline for Discount 

Eleven people have already committed to St. Paul’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land, January 20th―29th, 2020.  Won’t you join us?!   There is a $100 discount if you put down at $350 deposit by April 20th.  
We are using using Nick Mancino’s company Journey’s Unlimited.  Please see the poster in the Parish Hall and the flyers on the back table for details.  This is an extraordinary opportunity for experience a life-changing event.  Please don’t miss it!  Ask Fr. Wallace or Nick Gjeca if you have any questions.
 

HOLY WEEK SERVICE SCHEDULE

• April 18, Maundy Thursday―7:30 pm, Mass; followed by the Watch Before the Altar of Repose
• April 19, Good Friday
  • 12:00 pm (noon)―Mass of the Pre-Sanctified
  • 5:30 pm―Stations of the Cross for designed for families
• April 20, Easter Vigil―7:30 pm, Solemn High Mass (Easter Repast in the Library following mass)
• April 21, Easter Day―11:00 am, Solemn High Mass of Easter

RECTOR SEARCH IS OPEN! 

Deadline for applications is May 15th.

Our information will not only be published on the national Church database, but also has been made available on the new and improved St. Paul's website, stpaulscarrollst.org. You're encouraged to look at the Parish Profile, which can be found by clicking on the "Rector Search" button.  If you know a qualified clergy person who you think would be a good match for St. Paul's, please reach out to them and ask them to apply.  
 

CONTACTING THE SEARCH COMMITTEE 

In the course of the Search Committee presentation on the status and process of the rector search at the parish Annual Meeting on January 27, the Committee offered interested parishioners a tool to reach out to it regarding any concerns they might wish to voice related to the search. If you want to provide your suggestions or comments, please contact us at search@stpaulscarrollst.org.
 

PRAYERS FOR ST. PAUL’S DURING THE TRANSITION AND RECTOR SEARCH 

As you read the Eblast each week, it is a good opportunity to take 30 seconds and offer a prayer for St. Paul’s during its transition and for the members of the Search Committee. Prayers to that effect will be included each week in the Eblast.

• For St. Paul’s:
  Almighty and everliving God, Ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family.  Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent.  Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind with your holy Church: through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
• For the Search Committee: 
  Direct the Search Committee, O Lord, in all their doings with thy most gracious favor, and further them with thy continual help; that in all their works begun, continued, and ended in thee, they may glorify thy Holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

THIS COMING SUNDAY: April 14, 2019

Palm Sunday 

• Appointed Readings and Sermon
  • The Palm Gospel—Mark 11:1-11
  • Anthem at the Palm Distribution:  “Hosanna to the Son of David”—Healy Willan
  • Psalm at the Palm Procession—Psalm 118: 19-29
  • The First Reading—Isaiah 50:4-9
  • Psalm 31:9-16
  • Epistle—Philippians 2:5-11
  • The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Luke:  Luke 23-1-19
  • Homily:  Fr. Wallace
• Music
  • Mass Setting: Merbecke
  • Hymn at the Entrance: “All glory, laud, and honor,” printed in the bulletin
  • Hymn at the Offertory: “Ride on! Ride on! In majesty,” Hymnal 156
  • Hymn at Communion: “Alone thou goest forth, O Lord,” Hymnal 164