Tydings THE CHURCH OF THE INCARNATION

MARCH 2019

Intentionally Lent

I am convinced that if we first embrace the truth of who we are, then Lent may be a more mean-ingful time, and truly become what it is meant to be—a time of personal and communal transformation. So we should begin with an awareness of our relation-ship with God—that we are God’s beloved children. God loves us as we are, warts and all. That’s not where it ends, however, because it seems to me that we need to respond to God’s love. That’s what we do when we receive a gift. Let us re-member that we are the gift and the recipient of the gift at the same time. So, I invite you to reflect on these questions: How have I responded to God and to the gift that I am? How am I sharing the gift of myself that God so freely gave? How have I strayed from be-ing the gift I received from God? God transforms us; we don’t transform our-selves. Our job is to participate with the intent of be-ing openly present with God both in our communal and personal practices or disciplines for transforma-tion to be possible. To help us in our Lenten reflections I encour-age you to join one or two of the programs and prayer times being offered during Lent. You will find the schedules posted on the following pages of this newsletter. These are doorways into that place where God transforming love is. May the Holy Spirit be with us every step of the way. Faithfully, Harriet

Time is an aspect of life that we often take for granted or misuse: by procrastinating, by keeping ourselves busy, by complaining that there isn’t enough time to do what we want to accomplish, or by

making excuses that we don’t have time to do what we’re called to do. I am guilty of all these ways of misusing time. Did any ring true for you? It is so easy for us to misuse the time Lent offers, and so we miss a great opportunity for God to transform our life. I think of all the seasons of the Church year, Lent is the season during which personal transformation is very possible. But we have to make good use of the time and we need to keep our focus on what the season is all about. In other words we must be committed to personal transformation and intentionally act on our spiri-tual practices with open hearts and open minds. So, I would like to invite us to strive to

make this a holy Lent. I would like to invite us to

really dig into this Lenten season and strive to live

more fully into the mystery of God’s life in us and

our life in God. And in this respect, I would like us

to change our focus. Lent has been observed as an

occasion to focus on our sinfulness and our sepa-

ration from God. While sin, or separating our-

selves from God, is part of our human condition, I

think we short change ourselves when we fail to

focus on the truth that we are beloved children of

God, unconditionally loved by God.

M A R C H 2 0 1 9 P a g e 2

Parish Staff

Rev. Harriet Kollin, Rector

Michelle Stawicki, Administrator

Jay Daniels, Music Director

Linda Dellmuth,

Parish Custodian

Vestry

Rector’s Warden John Bigelow

Acct. Warden Linda Froelich

Vestry Members Joy Burnett,

Dave Dixon, Joe Gantz, Dan Grib-

bon, Heather McClure, Marcie

Venella, Micki Wisdom

Deanery Reps

Dave Dixon

Dayna Gribbon

Ministry chairs

Sunday School: Diane Kern

Adult Ed.: Andrena Wishnie

Communications: Joy Burnett

Bldg. & Grounds: Rick Froelich

Fellowship: Marcie Venella

Fundraising: Linda Dellmuth

Outreach:

Pastoral Care: Claire Heinbach

Worship: Dave Dixon

Ushers: Dan Gribbon

Altar Guild: Susan LaRosa/

Christine Hughes

Flowers:

Susan LaRosa/Linda Dellmuth

Refreshments: Micki Wisdom

Merrie Mailers: Norma Brice,

Nancy Thompson

Worship Schedule

Wednesday (1st, 3rd, 4th) 9:00 am

Morning Prayer Wednesday (2nd)

6:00 pm Evening Prayer

Sunday

10:00 am Holy Eucharist Rite II

www.incarnationepiscopal.org

REMEMBERING THOSE

WHO HAVE DIED IN

THE MONTH OF

March

Let light perpetual

shine upon them,

O Lord.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

to our MARCH

Birthdays

Hope Lynch Joseph Litus Grace Greve

John Hayduk Nora Dill

George Zupko Robert Stawicki Mario F. LaRosa Robert Morris

Windsor Lynch Grat Shields

Rosemarie Schroeder AVERAGE SUNDAY

ATTENDANCE

February 44

Paulette LaBar

Dan Gribbon

Bill Thompson

Paul Sabourin

Jarred Burnett

Aubrey Dansberry

Erica DeAngelis

Les Venella

Sanjay Sharma

Our Mission Statement

Drawn together by faith and nourished

by the bread of life, we welcome Christ into our daily lives

and distant dreams. We rejoice in our calling to build a world

renewed and sustained by bold actions of reconciliation and peace.

Beginning March 10th

Blessing of Bread (Antidoron)

Please bring a small loaf of bread each week to be blessed and

take home a loaf to share each day during Lent. This should be

the first food you eat each day during Lent and our hope is that

you will share it with your family and reflect on these holy

days. Try different breads and different prayers each week.

M A R C H 2 0 1 9 P a g e 3

“...I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.”

-Psalm 59:16 Throughout the Scriptures, there are literally dozens of references that speak to singing. Singing in the good times. Singing in the bad times. For most, singing is a means by which we connect not only with God but also with each other. In fact, community and choral singing has been shown to strengthen the mind, body, and soul. Each week we come together for a time of worship during Holy Eucharist. Not only do we pray together but

we also sing together. The greatest joy of my role as music director is hearing others participate in our musical offerings. My heart is warmed when I hear your voices each Sunday at the organ. Know that I ap-preciate your joining with us as we sing together with one voice.

Our music ministry is entering what might be called a “busy season.” I need not tell you the number of services that the season of Lent and Holy Week brings. For each of those services, your choir will be offer-ing special anthems such as “Create in me a clean heart, God” for Ash Wednesday and “The Great Triumph” for Easter. In addition to that, we also hope to bring you several opportunities to join with us in the musi-cal experience. Throughout all of this, we ask for your prayers. Many of us in the church are working dou-bly hard at this time of year. With an increased workload, it can become a little overwhelming at times, but in the end, it is all worth it. We hope that this music enriches your own faith journey during this sea-son.

In the coming weeks, I will be reaching out to various community leaders from our area. One of my goals is to spread awareness of our music ministries here at Incarnation. I would like for us to think of ways that we can use the gift of music to further minister to those outside of our four walls. Should you have sug-gestions for directors of local music programs, please feel free to pass those along. Your help is greatly ap-preciated.

Until we meet again, may the days ahead be blessed for you and your family, and during this season of Lent, may you continue to seek God’s will for your life. Jay

A FEW NOTES FROM OUR MUSIC MINISTRY

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Friday’s during Lent beginning March 8th

6:00 p.m.

All are welcome to join us as we walk the way of the cross.

P a g e 4 M A R C H 2 0 1 9

FELLOWSHIP/FUNDRAISING UPDATE

DESIGNER BAG BINGO

Friday, April 12th 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30)

$30 includes 10 games of bingo and

light refreshments

Ticket order forms are available in the Parish Hall and on our website. Tickets can be pur-chased after church on Sunday or during the week in the Parish Hall., If you are interested in making a themed bas-ket to be auctioned at this event, please let Michelle know.

CHURCH OF THE INCARNATION AND

PUTTING THE FUN BACK IN FUNDRAISERS!

IT’S TIME FOR A SOCIAL THROWDOWN FOR A GOOD CAUSE!

A new way to join in fellowship while supporting Incarnation

WHEN: Sunday, March 24th TIME: 7:00 pm-9:00 pm WHERE: Stumpy’s Hatchet House 1501 Grundy Lane Bristol, PA 19007 COST: $42 per person for 2 hours of throwing time. Incarnation receives $10 back from each participant. Tickets will be sold after church or by contacting Dan at 4gribbons@gmail.com All participants must be over 21. Drinks and snacks included. Bring

your own adult beverages. Up to 10 people per pit. (We will do pit

reservations) http://buckscountypa.stumpyshh.com/ Wear your own flannel! (Or someone

else’s)

DON’T FORGET TO

BUY YOUR GROCERY GIFT CARDS!!

This is our most successful Fundraiser for the church and it’s easy for everyone to participate. We sell Acme, Giant, Shop-Rite, Redner’s and McCaffrey gift cards and for each card sold the church gets a 5% profit.

Look for the “Script” seller each Sunday in the Parish Hall.

M A R C H 2 0 1 9 P a g e 5

LENTEN SERIES 2019 Tuesday evenings beginning March 12th—7 p.m.

Open Hands, Willing Hearts

Embodying God’s Love in the World

Give yourself the gift of spaciousness this Lenten season with this six-session series. Lis-

ten to stories of discernment and engage in enriching experiential exercises.

Recognizing and living into one’s call is a lifelong process of discernment. In this

online class led by Shalem Institute faculty, you will be invited to look at your life, no

matter what age, and notice your unique contirubtion to God’s vision.

We will meet each Tuesday beginning the week of March 10th. A sign-up sheet is pro-

vided in the Parish Hall. Please sign-up if you are interested in joining us.

Contact: Rev. Harriet Kollin at harrietkollin@comcast.net or

Joy Burnett at cjburnett1064@gmail.com

CINQUAIN

On Thursday during Contemplative Prayer, the small group of five has been writing cinquains — so what is a cinquain? It is a simple form of poetry consisting of five lines. We have found the exercise allows us to go deeper into the contemplative experience. We chose one word from the reading se-lected for the session and together we write the cinquain. Here are the steps: line 1 is a noun, line 2 is two adjectives describing the noun, line 3 is three action verbs ending in “ing,” line 4 is a four-word phrase/sentence that describes the noun in line 1, and line 5 is one word that refers to the noun in line 1. Here are some examples we have composed: Journey Angel Trust Unknown, scary White, pure Honest, faithful Winding, forgiving, loving Guiding, loving, caring Relinquishing, surrendering, believing Always onward never ending Messenger of God appears Accepting God’s will patiently Life Love Faith Think about joining the group — Claire Heinbach, Joy Burnett, Julie Snarski, Susan LaRosa and Rev. Harriet Kollin. Harriet always says — “come try it on!”

M A R C H 2 0 1 9 P a g e 6

LENT ADULT FORUM Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m.

Begins on Sunday, March 10th

TOPIC: An Introduction to Spiritual Practice

“Spirituality is how we relate to God, to other peo-ple and the world, and to ourselves. It is the proc-ess of staying engaged in these relationships, what intention we bring to them, and how willing we are

to evolve as the relationship affects us...Practices, or spiritual disciplines are the

things we do intentionally that strengthen and enliven our relationship with God, others, the

world, and the self.”

COME JOIN US! BE CURIOUS! TRY IT ON!

SCHEDULE:

March 10: A Process for Beginning Spiritual Practice March 17: Daily Office Practice March 24: Study Practice March 31: Hospitality Practice April 7: Reading Practice

WELCOME! Gail Miller

After growing up in North Wales, PA, and education in Washington, DC and Paris, France to become a French teacher, I spent eight years in Boston, MA where a Siamese cat named Kim joined me for the next 18 years and went to live with me for eight

years in Bermuda, where I was in the choir at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity under the late Leslie Betteridge. I have degrees in French and Spanish from Middlebury College and a certificate from the Pennsylvania Acad-emy of the fine Arts. I have taught languages and moonlighted as an artist and I am cur-rently happily employed at the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs in Lawrenceville, using none of my acquired skills but providing for my latest cat, Daisy Pumpkin, and imminent retirement. My life took a very worthwhile turn while looking for a house to buy several years ago when I met Alan Breslau of Levittown, who had founded The Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, now a worldwide organization which I enthusiastically support to give back for having survived Type 1 diabetes since age 9. Through the Phoenix Society, I have met many wonderful people, including my very good friend Doug who was with me at Incar-nation Sunday, February 17. I am grateful to our Lord for bringing me to Incarnation, where I have felt very welcome and even received much sweet special care as I have recovered from a December injury. I feel blessed to be in the church family so wisely and gently led in worship and the Christian life by Harriet Kollin and in the choir with dear choir mates and our superb new leader Jay Daniels. You have in so many ways shown me the true meaning of the sign at the en-trance that says “There’s a place for you here.”

PRAYER BOARD

During Lent we have put our Prayer Board in the back of the church as one of our bulletin boards. There are blank post-it notepads available to place

your prayers on and put them on the board. You may put re-quests on the board for family, friends, our nation or yourself. We hope that throughout Lent our board becomes full with your prayer requests.

M A R C H 2 0 1 9 P a g e 7

MONEY MATTERS

Financial report from

Linda Froelich, Accounting Warden

February 2019

Pledge payments have dropped to 89% of budget

YTD. Please keep your pledge current if you can.

This is the major source of income for running our

church.

Scripts income were at 121% of budget YTD which

is excellent news – please keep buying scripts!

Investment dividends were at 125% of budget

YTD – thank goodness the market is doing a little

better!

Please remember to let Har-

riet or members of the Vestry

know about your ideas to grow

our church.

THE LITTLE BOX ON THE SHELF

Sometimes we tell Michelle our concerns — good

and bad — and they really should be brought to

the attention of the Rector. The Vestry decided

to place the little box called “Notes for Harriet” on

a library shelf in the parish hall. There is a notepad

with the box. Feel free to

jot a note to Harriet about

something you liked, did

not like or have a sugges-

tion or concern about and

put it in the box. We all

know communication is

essential to maintaining

good relationships.

Thanks to the

men of

Incarnation for

a fun and

successful

Shrove Tuesday

Pancake Supper!

The Church of the Incarnation

1505 Makefield Road

Morrisville, Pennsylvania 19067

Postage

UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH

March 5 Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper-7 pm March 6 Ash Wednesday Services 12 noon & 7 p.m. March 7 Contemplative Prayer—12:30 p.m. March 12 Lenten Series—7 p.m. March 13 Vestry Meeting—7 p.m. Evening Prayer—6 p.m. March 14 Contemplative Prayer—12:30 p.m. March 19 Lenten Series—7 p.m. March 20 Morning Prayer—9 a.m. Aid for Friends—7 p.m. March 21 Aid for Friends—9 a.m. Contemplative Prayer—12:30 p.m. March 24 Hatchet Throwing Fundraiser –7-9 pm March 26 Lenten Series—7 p.m. March 27 Morning Prayer—9 a.m. March 28 Contemplative Prayer—12:30 p.m.

Contact us:

Michelle Stawicki

Parish Administrator

MichelleStawicki@

Comcast.net

Office: 215-295-2259

Fax: 215-295-9540

www.incarnationepiscopal.org