N EWS IN THE LIFE OF ST.

PAUL ’ S MEMORIAL CHURCH

T HE I NCARNATUS
V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1 N EWSLETTER D ATE : 03/20/2009

L ENT 2009
Father John Walsted’s Sermon, Sunday survive our death, and we will be with God. And S PECIAL POINTS OF
INTEREST :
March 29, 2009 if we don't have to fear death, then we don't have
to fear anything.
As we look toward Palm Sunday and Holy  Father Walsted’s sermon
Week, the lessons prepare us to contem- And if we don't have to fear anything, then we Lent 5
plate those mighty acts whereby God has don't have to be defensive and angry and trying
 Upcoming Events
given us life and immortality. It is not a to get as much as we can for ourselves. Because
preparation that seems all that attractive at there's nothing to fear, we can be generous and  Changes by Christopher
patient and self-forgetful. We can receive God's Still
first.
forgiveness as the gift it is. And when God's for-
 Lenten Prayers
The Old Testament lesson tells us what giveness has transformed our hearts, we'll under-
the result is going to be - a new covenant stand that we don't have to hold onto grudges
of converted and transformed hearts. And and resentments. We can forgive one another.
what will transform our hearts? It will be
the knowledge that God has forgiven and That's the glorious result - a new, undying rela-
forgotten all our shortcomings and mis- tionship with God, a relationship based on love,
takes, and all the wrongs that we did on not on law, on desire, not on compulsion, a rela-
purpose. The old covenant was based on tionship where wrongs are forgiven, not pun-
law and punishment. The new covenant ished.
will be based on hearts transformed by And the way Jesus got to that glorious result was
forgiveness. by suffering as an innocent victim. That's how
The Epistle and Gospel lessons tell us how Jesus could say in John's Gospel that the very
we get to the new covenant - and here's moment of His humiliating death is hour of the
where things start to seem a little unat- Son of man's glorification and the moment when
tractive. We get to the new covenant the world is judged and the ruler of the world
through voluntarily submitting to unjust cast out. The suffering of the innocent victim
suffering. That's what Jesus did. After the turns everything completely upside down.
agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the The suffering of the innocent victim still turns I NSIDE THIS ISSUE :
innocent Jesus submitted to the humilia- things upside down. What ended centuries of
tion and torture of crucifixion. legalized racial discrimination in less than a gen-
Upcoming events 2
And that changed everything. The Romans eration? It was non-violent civil disobedience--
had the power to put people to death with that is, people voluntarily submitted to the penal- M Y L ENTEN J OURNEY 3
the maximum pain. That's how they terri- ties for disobeying unjust laws. The innocent
suffering shocked the conscience of the nation F ATHER W ALSTED ’ S 1
fied the peoples they conquered. God in S ERMON
Jesus undermined and overturned that and led to changes no one could have imagined in
power by submitting to the horrible death the days of Jim Crow. Announcements 4
they could inflict and then by demonstrat- This is the pattern Jesus left us. It isn't easy. In
ing that death is not the last word. fact it's against everything we're formed to think
We no longer have to fear death. The re- is smart. But who has built an enduring marriage
lationship God established with us in bap- without learning the power of an apology? At
tism is indissoluble. That relationship will home, on the street, and at work, in matters
Continued page 4
P AGE 2 T HE I NCARNATUS

L ENTEN P RAYERS FOR OUR PARISH

For the Parish ask what thou

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 re-
store the penitent.
Grant us all things necessary for our com-
mon life, and bring
us all to be of one heart and mind within
your holy Church;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Guidance
O God, by whom the meek are guided in
judgment, and
light riseth up in darkness for the godly:
Grant us, in all
our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to
wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of
wisdom may save
us from all false choices, and that in thy
light we may see
light, and in thy straight path may not
stumble; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Quiet Confidence
O God of peace, who hast taught us that
in returning and
rest we shall be saved, in quietness and
confidence shall be
our strength: By the might of thy Spirit
lift us, we pray thee,
to thy presence, where we may be still and
know that thou
art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Thursday April 9th

Maundy Thursday, 7:30pm
The Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples and
had washed their feet, said to them, "Do you know what I,
your Lord and Master, have done to you?
Friday April 10th
Good Friday liturgy, 7:30pm
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your
holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Saturday April 11th
Great Vigil Of Easter, 7:30pm
UPCOMING MASSES
This is the Passover of the Lord, in which by hearing his
AND E VENTS Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his vic-
tory over death.
Sunday April 5th
Sunday April 12th
Palm Sunday, 10:15am Blessed is the King
who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace Easter Day Mass, 10:15am
in heaven and glory in the highest. Alleluia Christ is Risen The Lord is Risen indeed Alleluia!!!
th
Sunday April 5 May 2nd and May 9th
3:30–4:30pm Holy hour order for evening Flea Market Fundraiser at St. Paul’s-see Suzanne Ainslie or
silent meditation. Stephanie Woodley for details
V OLUME 2, I SSUE 1
My Lenten Journey—Changes by Christopher Still
Well here we are again almost at the
end of our lenten journey. We are
always on a journey in our separate
lives with family friends and career.
However every year the church invites
us to go on a corporate one with our
fellow sisters and brothers in the
church universal. We are invited “ to
the observance of a holy Lent, by self-
examination and repentance; by prayer,
fasting, and self-denial; and by reading
and Meditating on God's holy Word.
And, to make a right beginning of re-
pentance,” BCP1979
This is a season of change, a time of
letting go, and of taking on. It might
be the change of attitude or habit, of
letting go of grudges, or of ways of
thinking. And replacing them, taking
on new healthier ones.
Jesus began his Fast of 40 days and
nights, what we would call the first
Lent, By this example of the Son of
God, taking the time to be alone with
God the Father, his Father, our Father.
To strengthen the connection between
them and become focused on what he
was called to do is one of the most
powerful examples he left us Without
going through this spiritual exercise,
Jesus would not have been able to
complete his mission. Not just his pas-
sion but the daily struggle of preaching
to the crowds, healing the sick, and
teaching the Gospel to God’s people
and his Disciples. After all this was a
change for him, he went from living at
home with his mother and working as a
carpenter, to the life of his public min-
istry.
So there’s that word change again, not
always a welcomed word in people’s
lives. Some people fear it others wel-
come it. Sometimes we become so
routine in the different aspects of our
lives we do not even realize it. Now
on a personal note I am not good with
change, although I am getting better.
And there has been a lot of change in
my life. For example I no longer
have my immediate family and have
even lost some close friends. But out
of this has come other families of
friends. When I was diagnosed with
diabetes, which was a huge change
that I struggled with in my eating
habits, being a junk food junkie that
was tough. However I made it
through these changes, by the Grace
of God with prayer and thanksgiving.
The biggest change in my life, which I
have to admit is still happening with a
lot of work on the Holy Spirit’s part,
is learning to let go and let God. To
get out of God’s way, and allow him
to lead me on my journey. To listen
to that small voice and trust that eve-
rything will be ok. My Mother told
me just before she died, “ Christo-
pher you allow your self to be guided
by others, and not trusting yourself to
listen to what your heart is telling you
or what God is telling you.” I,
thought about this for quite a while
and began to realize just how often I
do get in God’s way, and from that
point have been working on letting go
and letting God.
P AGE 3
Here at St. Paul’s we as a community
have gone through and are going
through Changes. From the sudden
retirement of Father Blasingame, whom
we wish well on his Journey during this
time in his life, To condensing to one
service at 10:15 so the 8:00 o’clock
congregation has been coming to the
10:15, which is a whole different ser-
vice with music. We have had different
clergy; first two visits from the Dio-
cese and then Mother Rhoda whom we
wish a speedy recovery and then Father
Walsted who is with us now, both old
friends of the parish. We have a mid-
week service of Evening Prayer on
Thursdays at 7:30 pm. Mid- week ser-
vice used to be on Tuesday and stations
during Lent were on Wednesdays but
now are on Thursdays. Which is a
slight change. The liturgy of the Mass
has gone through some changes with
different prayers, and every so often the
music for the mass setting changes. But
we are a strong group and have come
together working through the power of
the Holy Spirit. I believe we will travel
this journey together, some of us un-
comfortable with changes and others ok
with it. But together, Loving, caring
and supporting each other, is a beautiful
thing to watch and be a part of and to
see the Holy Spirit in action, working in
all of us carrying out God’s will and
Christ’s teachings of love and commu-
nity. God bless us all as we continue on
this journey of change, in this Holy sea-
son of Lent and beyond.
Your Brother in Christ
Christopher Still
 Announcements

Coffee Hour hosts needed: Lunch will be provided. Please feel

this is a special time on a Sunday
morning of fellowship with each
other after Mass. Time to catch up
with one another and to take care of
church business some times. It is
also a time for hospitality, Volun-
teers are needed to host coffee hour
N EWS IN THE LIFE OF please speak with Christopher Still
on Sunday morning or place your
S T . PAUL ’ S MEMORIAL
name on the sign up sheet located in
CHURCH the parish house on the bulletin
board thank you.
225 St. Paul’s Ave
Staten Island, New York 10304 Parish Clean up Day: This
year The parish clean up day is
Phone: 718/273-9572 scheduled for Saturday April 4th
Email: StPaulsSI@aol.com from 10:00am to 3:00 pm. it is a
time to come together and prepare
Gods house for Holy Week. There
are Palms to be striped, floors to be
swept and mopped furniture to be
WWW. STPAULSCHURCH. BLOGSPOT. COM
dusted and silver to be polished.
Coffee & tea will be served and
free to bring cleaning supplies
brooms mops rags etc. even if you
can come for a little bit of time it
will be appreciated.
Community News-If you have
any news you would like to share
with the parish family, please feel
free to let us know and we will place
it in the community news section you
can give it to Christopher Still on
Sunday morning or email him at
Austinstill@aol.com put in the Re:
St. Paul’s news. Also if you would
like to help with the news letter
please let us know feel free to submit
any poems, or writings you may like
to share in the news letter.
Garden Clean Up Day: Is
scheduled for April 18th following
Mass. Rain date TBA

Fr. Walsted Sermon continued
from page 1
large and small, Jesus' pattern
of submitting to unnecessary
or unjust suffering leads to
forgiveness and reconciliation.
It is very powerful. It changed
the world, and every time we
practice it, the world is again
transformed.
One way of talking about
what has happened to St.
Paul's it to say that you have a
lot to forgive. These are
things that are very difficult to
speak about, and it's probably
not my place. Nevertheless
these things are on my heart
after more than 30 years of
knowing you.
You have a lot to forgive.
There has certainly been a
failure of leadership here, and
there has been a failure of
oversight. A situation that
everyone knew was not good
for anyone involved was let
to go on for years and years.
I guess it seemed easier and
maybe even kinder to let it
go on without dealing with
what was happening. How-
ever, avoiding reality hardly
ever turns out well. Let's just
say I know that from experi-
ence.
The people of this parish and
the lay leadership, as well as
your former rector and no
doubt the bishops, probably
all feel that others have let
them down, and, in different
ways, they're all correct. It
took a long time to get into
this, and it will take some
time to rebuild. I know you
are starting to do that, and I
applaud your efforts. Let me
make a few suggestions along
the way.
When a parish is in decline,
there are always complaints.
People see a negative situa-
tion, and it's easy to say
negative things. Now that
you're trying to move in a
different direction, it's time
to change those habits.
If there's something nice to
say to someone in the parish,
say it. Don't make things up,
but if you have an apprecia-
tive thought about something
someone said or did, be sure
you tell that person. Say it in
person, or, even more pow-
erfully, write a little note.
Second, try not to say nega-
tive things, especially in
meetings. I can tell you from
experience that there's noth-
ing more disheartening than
a rancorous Vestry or com-
mittee meeting. Please filter
what you say so the group
can stay focused on finding
creative solutions together
rather than on complaining
About what is not working.
And be generous. Be gener-
ous with your time. Be gen-
erous with your efforts on
behalf of St. Paul's. Be gener-
ous in your estimations of
other people. And, of
course, be generous with
your money. You might
want to invite Fr. Keucher
some time to say more about
that. So if you're appreciative
or grateful for something,
please express it. A little
note is a very powerful way
to do it. Then filter what you
say so you are helping to
build up the group. And be
generous. If you do all these
things, first it will help St.
Paul's rebuild, and second, to
paraphrase the slogan of the
Men's Wearhouse, you'll like
the way you're acting. I guar-
antee it.