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On Sunday, parishioners followed the lead of Sarah Haskell – a mandala expert from New Hampshire – in learning about mandalas and then assembling a mandala of our own!

Why make a mandal here at St. Michael’s Parish?  Mandala means “circle” in the Sanskrit language, and mandala art follows a circular design.  Cultures around the world and throughout time have used the mandala as a vehicle for self-expression and spiritual transformation: Tibetan Buddhists have employed the mandala shape for thousands of years to illustrate their deities, and Navajo sand painters use them in their healing rites.

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The news last night and today continues to define a week of trouble, anxiety and fear.  We have faced a bombing in Boston, explosions in Waco, Texas, and a manhunt in Cambridge and Watertown, all with loss of life, and all with questions.  It may feel like God is absent, or trying to tell us something, or that the powers of darkness are descending.

My firm faith continues to be that God is with us, surrounding us and holding us in the barrage of these events, and that Christ within us brings guidance ultimately into the heart of God.  It is with God in Christ In that we pass through a world that is astonishing in its sadness and its joy.  My prayer is for strength, courage and grace to be the servant of God’s Kingdom that I am, and we all are, called to be.  With God, our foundation is sure, and as we serve, we will find wholeness.

Assist us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of your servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by your gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen  p832 BCP

We offer our prayers for the victims, and their families and loved ones, who have suffered from Monday’s bombing during the Boston Marathon. Our hope is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, and the author of our salvation; and our hope is in the fullness of resurrection. In a world intent with this hope – and when we serve those who suffer – love will prevail, and violence will be defeated.

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spreak abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever.

 Sunday was scilla Sunday at St. Michael’s!

……in the gentle scilla whose blooms announce spring…….

From the Parish Prayer of Thanksgiving

Please join us for Morning Prayer at 6:30am, each morning of Holy Week.  This is a time suited for preparing your day intentionally oriented in prayer.

On Thursday evening, come worship at the Maundy Thursday liturgy, where we remember Jesus’ mandate (from which the word Maundy is derived) that we love one another as Christ loved us, and that we break bread together in his name.  We will break bread at the altar, and share an agape meal afterwards.  Those wishing to do so are invited to sit vigil at the Memorial Chapel, converted to a Garden of Repose and holding the reserved sacrament that we will distribute at Communion on Good Friday.

The Good Friday liturgy, with communion from reserved sacrament, is at noon.  There will be a Good Friday meditation and reflection at 7:00pm before the Durufle Requiem concert at 7:30pm.

We will gather in the church at 8am Saturday morning for Holy Saturday prayers, which will last less than an hour and invite us to contemplate a world in-between Christ’s death and resurrection.

On Easter Sunday we share a sunrise service with Church of Our Saviour (East Milton) at 6:30am at Hutchinson’s Field, near the corner of Adams Street and Hutchinson Street; 9am Holy Eucharist with Children’s Homily, Baptism, Cathedral Choir and trumpet; Easter Egg Hunt following the 9am service; and 11am Holy Eucharist with Chancel Choir and brass quintet.

Holy Week Schedule

Monday– Friday

6:30 a.m. Morning Prayer in Memorial Chapel

Maundy Thursday, March 28

10 a.m. Holy Eucharist

11:00 a.m. Bible Study

7 p.m. Holy Eucharist, with Footwashing,

and Stripping of Altar, followed by Soup Supper

9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Prayer Vigil in Memorial Chapel

(Sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the upper parish hall)

Good Friday, March 29

12 noon Good Friday Liturgy

7 p.m. Good Friday Reflection

7:30 p.m. Good Friday Concert: Duruflé’s Requiem

Holy Saturday, March 30

8 a.m. Holy Saturday Prayers

9:30 a.m. Junior Flower Guild: Children’s Easter Flowers

Easter Sunday, March 31

6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service at Hutchinson’s Field

9 a.m. Holy Eucharist and Baptism, with Children’s Homily

followed by Easter Egg Hunt

11 a.m. Holy Eucharist

(Nursery Care available at the 9 a.m. service)

St. Michael’s has handicapped access from the back parking area.

SAT Tutoring Available at St. Michael’s by Episcopal CityTutoring
-Test Prep With a Social Impact-

St. Michael’s is the newest site for Episcopal City Tutoring, a non-profit collaborative of education professionals, churches and schools. The goal of ECT is to provide high-quality SAT tutoring at competitive rates so that every student has an opportunity to improve test scores and gain access to higher education.  Tutoring sites are staffed by professional, paid tutors who use strategic methods to establish individual learning plans and improve test-taking techniques.

Since ECT is a non-profit organization, the profits earned at revenue-generating sites like St. Michael’s are used to pay for tutoring in under-served neighborhoods.  It’s a win-win situation!  You can receive high-quality tutoring and help others at the same time!

When: Thursday nights April 4th-May 30 (for the June 1st SAT exam)
Where:  St. Michael’s
Cost:  $850

For more information call: St. Michael’s at 617-698-1813.
www.epicitytutoring.com

After three weekends of New England winter weather we finally have only rain to contend with, and our (long-awaited) Annual Meeting will take place at 10:45am today (Sunday), following the 10am Morning Prayer service.  The meeting will end around noon, with a substantive coffee hour in the upper parish hall.  Folks are standing by to look after the youngest members of the congregation, with activities and snacks for them beginning at 10am and lasting through the end of the meeting.

Support us, Lord, all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over, and our work done; then Lord, in your mercy, give us safe lodging, a holy rest and peace at the last. Amen.

~New Zealand Prayer Book

Psalm 103, 8-14

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and great of kindness.

He will not always accuse me,
nor will he keep his anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

As far as the east is removed from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.

As a father cares for his children,
so does the Lord care for those who fear him.

For he himself knows whereof we are made,
he remembers that we are but dust