The Apostles Post

The Apostles Post

Church of the Holy Apostles

26238 North Highway 59

Wauconda, Illinois

(847)526-7148

FROM THE VICAR'S DESK (M. C. Gillette)

I have never completely understood the soldiers on either side of the 'war' between religion and science. Actually, I have never completely understood why there is a war. I do understand there are a great many thoughtful people on either side, whose passion and dedication to their set of beliefs is deep and strong. I realize that just because I don't understand why people are fighting doesn't necessarily mean they shouldn't be. But the fact remains that the discord puzzles me. (You will note that the man reading the 'science' book in our illustration is clad in a liturgical garment, a surplice. His twin, reading the 'religion' book, wears a lab coat. Learning a little more about each other? Who knows that might come of that? It's a start....)

Proponents of one side in the (Christian) religion/science battle have spent an enormous amount of time and energy across the centuries attempting to prove that the earth is the center of the universe, that Noah's flood covered the entire planet, that evolution is a deplorable myth, that dinosaurs are a great conspiracy. This is all very well and good; but my own faith does not depend on such proof. Supporters of the other side insist that if the divine cannot be quantitatively verified in a laboratory, religion is bunk; that if there is no mathematical formula in which God = X, God cannot possibly exist. This is all very well and good; but my own faith is not deterred by such lack of proof.

Although chance comments, conversations, articles, and books frequently set me to musing on the 'religion v science' clash throughout any given year, I am always particularly mindful of it as we approach Easter. I think this is because Easter is the Resurrection season, and the Resurrection is a topic which inherently provokes reactions which by their very nature lend themselves to the general debate. To some, the Resurrection is a sacrosanct topic which broaches no speculation whatsoever, no curiosity about how God accomplished/s this miracle in the context of the physical world. To others, it is simply an impossibility. But what about the rest of us? Do we have to choose between these two poles?

Well, I personally don't think so. I think it's permissible to believe and wonder. Do I believe Jesus was raised from the dead? Absolutely. Do I know how this could possibly have happened? Absolutely not. But I live in a world where, for example, theoretical physicists talk about the M Theory, a "Theory of Everything" which provides the first theoretical framework for unifying the known forces of the universe: gravity, electro-magnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces. The world M Theorists describe (with apologies to string theorists everywhere) is one in which incomprehensibly small vibrating strings twist, fold, stretch and bend into every known thing. Some strings are closed, like rubber bands, some are open. Some strings expand into membranes that might be as large as a universe. They operate across 11 dimensions, creating not only our own, but parallel universes in the process.

Now I know that some scientists would say there is no room in this theory for God, and some religious would say the mere idea is blasphemous. But for me – for me – there is great delight in thinking about a God who is not only clever and meticulous and powerful and wonderful enough to design and create such an intricate, fabulous, vastly-greater-than-we-can-comprehend cosmos, but who knows me and loves me and wants to be in relationship with me, too. And for me – for me – the concept of a God operating amid a symphony of pulsating strings and multiple dimensions and unseen universes makes Resurrection seem more possible, not less.

The point of all this is not to suggest you have to believe the same thing I do. It is to acknowledge that the Resurrection is something many people wrestle with, something about which we receive many and varied messages, something which often is tossed out as bait when 'either/or' proponents of science and religion compete for the attention and affection of the human mind and heart. It is to suggest that if you are uncomfortable being limited to 'impossible to question it' or 'impossible to believe it' poles it is OK to believe and wonder. It is to invite you to use all the resources at your disposal – whether they be categorized culturally as 'science' or 'religion' – to contemplate this mystery, and decide what you do believe. And, having decided what the Resurrection means to you, it is to encourage you to take the time this Eastertide to discern how you should act in light of this meaning.

UPCOMING SERVICES – CHURCH OF THE HOLY APOSTLES – APRIL 2012
Sunday
01 April
8 & 10:30 a.m.
SUNDAY OF THE PASSION/
PALM SUNDAY / Thursday
05 April
6:30 p.m.
MAUNDY
THURSDAY
(Supper and Service) / Friday
06 April
7:00 p.m.
GOOD FRIDAY / Sunday
08 April
SINGLE
SERVICE at
9:30
(Pot-luck Brunch Follows)
EASTER
SUNDAY / Sunday
15 April
8 & 10:30 a.m. / Sunday
22 April
8 & 10:30 a.m. / Sunday
29 April
8 & 10:30 a.m.
Scheduled Clergy
Presider:
Gillette
Preacher:
Gillette
Deacon:
None / Scheduled Clergy:
Presider:
Gillette / Scheduled Clergy:
Presider:
Gillette / Scheduled Clergy:
Presider:
Gillette
Preacher:
Gillette
Deacon:
None / Scheduled Clergy:
Presider:
Gillette
Preacher:
Gillette
Deacon:
None / Scheduled Clergy:
Presider:
Gillette
Preacher:
Gillette
Deacon:
None / Scheduled Clergy:
Presider:
Gillette
Preacher:
Gillette
Deacon:
None
PASSION/
PALM
SUNDAY (B) / MAUNDY THURSDAY
(Agape Meal) / GOOD FRIDAY
(Tenebrae) / EASTER SUNDAY / 2nd Sunday of
Easter / 3rd Sunday of Easter / 4th Sunday of Easter
LITURGY OF THE PALMS:
John
12:12-16
Psalm 118
1-2, 19-29
LITURGY OF THE WORD:
FIRST
LESSON
Isaiah
50:4-9a
RESPONSE
Psalm 31:9-16
SECOND LESSON
Philippians
2:5-11
GOSPEL
The Passion According to Mark:
Mark
14:1-15:47 / FIRST
LESSON
Isaiah
25:6-9
RESPONSE
Psalm 118:
1-2, 14-24
SECOND LESSON
Acts
10:34-43
GOSPEL
Mark
16:1-8 / FIRST
LESSON
Acts
4:32-35
RESPONSE
Psalm 133
SECOND
LESSON
1 John
1:1-2:2
GOSPEL
John
20:19-31 / FIRST
LESSON
Acts
3:12-19
RESPONSE
Psalm 4
SECOND
LESSON
1 John
3:1-7
GOSPEL
Luke
24:36b-48 / FIRST
LESSON
Acts
4:5-12
RESPONSE
Psalm 23
SECOND
LESSON
1 John
3:11-16
GOSPEL
John
10:11-16

SOME CHURCHY STUFF (M. C. Gillette)

In this monthly article, we look at terms and definitions of things you might see or hear around church. Nothing fancy here – these entries are out of the Armentrout/Slocum An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, sometimes supplemented by me, and sometimes simply copied directly. If something in particular piques your interest, let me know, and we’ll deal with it in more depth.

"BLUE BOX" (UTO). Also called "mite boxes" – "mite" as in "a small coin of low value", not "a very small destructive parasite" – these small, blue, cardboard boxes are used to collect funds for the United Thank Offering, sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women. The name was first used at the General Convention of 1925. Mary Abbot Emery, first secretary of the Women's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions, and Mrs. Richard Soule of Pittsburgh, each claimed that the other began the offering to raise money for building churches and supporting missionaries. The date generally given for the beginning of these offerings is 03 October, 1889, at the Triennial Meeting of the churchwomen. The original name was the United Offering. For more information on this important ministry, you can check out the UTO page on the national church website -- http://episcopalchurch.org/uto -- where the site overview says "United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering, men, women, and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings. Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. United Thank Offering is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings, and to distribute the UTO monies to support mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and in invited Provinces of the Anglican Communion in the developing world."

BONHOEFFER, DIETRICH. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is an infinitely more complex man than can be summed up in any newsletter entry, as the innumerable books and articles on him will attest. He is a powerful figure and his works timeless testaments to a profound and vital faith. He was born (10 minutes before his twin sister) in Breslau, Germany in 1906. (He's the blonde one. I just think this is a sweet picture.) His father was a psychiatrist who was disappointed that Dietrich chose to go into the church, which his father considered as a “poor, feeble, boring, petty institution.” (“In that case,” Dietrich is reputed as having said, “I shall have to reform it!”) A brilliant student, he began his theological studies at Tübingen University, but moved to Berlin University. In 1927, at the age of 21, he received the licentiate in theology, summa cum laude, and defended his doctoral dissertation. It was published as The Communion of Saints. In 1929 he became assistant professor in systematic theology at Berlin University. The next year, he published his second dissertation, Act and Blessing.

In 1930, he began a year of theological studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He wasn't much impressed with the church in America, except, perhaps, the vibrant African American congregations he visited, like the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. “In New York they preach about virtually everything," he wrote. "Only one thing is not addressed, or is addressed so rarely that I have as yet been unable to hear it, namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the cross, sin and forgiveness, death and life.” What did he hear in the great pulpits of America? “An ethical and social idealism borne by a faith in progress that – who knows how? – claims the right to call itself ‘Christian.’” Religion in America struck him as self-indulgent, self-satisfied, vapid, mere idolatry.

In 1934, the Confessing Church, to which Bonhoeffer belonged, issued the Barmen Declaration, which repudiated the claims of National Socialism and upheld the lordship of Christ. In 1936 his authorization to teach at Berlin University was terminated because of his resistance to the powers of Nazi Germany. He was declared a "pacifist and enemy of the State." In 1939 he went to the United States again, but decided he must return to Germany and suffer with his people. On 09 September, 1940, Bonhoeffer was prohibited from public speaking and ordered to regularly report to the police. He was arrested on 03 April 1943, and ultimately confined in Flossenburg concentration camp. On 9 April, 1945, he was hanged with six other Hitler resisters, only 14 days before the camp was liberated by the Allies. The prison camp’s doctor overheard his last words (“This is the end, but for me the beginning of life”), and later testified: “I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer… In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

PARISH LIFE

Flower Donations Welcomed: If you wish to contribute toward flowers for Easter (or any time), please use one of the envelopes in the pews. On the envelope, indicate “Easter” (or the specific Sunday you desire) and any dedication you would like, e.g., “In memory of (name).”

Help Shine Up the Church: An Altar Guild Polishing and Set Up gathering will take place on Saturday, April 7 at 9:00AM. Anyone who wants to help, please come. Refreshments will be available. Call Gail with any questions, 847-526-2948.

The Bog and Breakfast Club will celebrate Earth Day with a walk on the Lake County Millennium Trail April 22nd. It's an ideal time for finding spring wildflowers and listening for the calls of nesting birds. We'll be trekking about 3 miles at the Lakewood Forest Preserve on the southeast corner of Rt. 176 and Fairfield Rd.(the winter sports area). Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail. As usual, we'll enjoy a potluck breakfast after the 8:00 service and before we hike.Questions? Call Jane Richards, 847-526-2575.

Book Discussion Group (Lisa Earley):. With our recent warm weather, you probably feel ready to hit the beach with a book, and we've got some great titles for you to try! Upcoming titles include popular authors Lisa See,John Grisham, PD James and the inimitable Mark Twain. Our full schedule through September, including meeting dates and locations, is listed below (meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted). We always love new faces - please feel free to join us for any title that catches your eye, or challenge yourself with a title you wouldn't normally consider. Contact Lisa Earley (847-550-0446) with any questions or for more information.

April 24 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan byLisa See(Julie Zuidema)

May 22The BrethrenbyJohn Grisham (Harry & Jackie Krause)

June 26Elegance of the Hedgehog byMuriel Barbery(Barb Barrie)

July 24Death Comes to Pemberley byPD James(Stacey Pyne)

Aug 28Jane Austen Book Club byKaren Joy Fowler (Judie Dura)

Sept 25 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Lisa Earley)

Wauconda/Island Lake Food Pantry: The count for the February milk jug is $150.58! In February the food pantry served 249 families which totaled 717 individuals. Please keep them in your prayers. There is a sign-up sheet in Lincoln Hall if you are interested in occasionally volunteering some Saturdays between 10 am and 12 noon. If you have any questions please ask Rick or Marsha Fedor or email