The Passion of Jesus: An Eyewitness Account

Good Friday
March 21
7:30 p.m.

- Original music by David Dumais, Rev. Richard Miller & Nick Fasano
- Liturgical Dance
- Mixed-Voice Choir

St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel Lutheran Church
283 Prospect Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.)

We had a lively discussion last Wednesday evening in the Social Hall. “Bread and Bible” was in session for Lenten Wednesdays, and we were reading the opening of the book of Job.

We questioned why that faithful, observant man was so afflicted by the Adversary (Ha-Satan), and why God would allow such a thing to take place. We reflected on situations in our lives, and in the lives of those we love, where suffering and sorrow touched souls that seemed so good, so blameless.

We asked the question so many ask: what did Job, or any sufferer, do to deserve such punishment? In the ensuing chapters, Job is joined by three friends, then a fourth, and they all try to establish what Job did wrong… because he surely must have done something. Right?

In our gospel text for Sunday, March 2nd, John 9:1-41, Jesus encounters a man who is blind from birth. His disciples ask him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” They ask, in essence, the same question Job’s accusers ask.

We want a reason, don’t we? We want to understand, we want to be able to say, this happened because … We want to understand what we have to do or not do so that the bad thing, the unexpected thing, the unbearable thing, will not come near us.

This is a question from Holy Friday. How could God send Jesus to die on a cross?

Easter morning and the empty tomb do not directly reveal an answer. Not for Job, not for the man born blind, not even for Jesus. What we find in the empty tomb, what we receive in the risen Christ, is rather a promise: death has no power over you.

As I visit a person in hospital who is so sick, so bound up with medical machinery that I can barely reach his side to touch his feverish brow with the sign of the cross; as I pray for a family whose infant child has died inexplicably; I want to ask Job’s question.

But the gift, the bread of life I have to share, is that promise we receive on Easter morning. The promise is not that we will not know hardship, or illness, or despair. The promise is that God will have the last word, no matter what the Adversary may do. He is risen! Alleluia!

Pr. Parsons

January weekly attendance: 89
Weekly offering: $2301

February weekly attendance: 76
Weekly offering: $2288

Living in God’s Amazing Grace: God’s Work, Our Hands

The Metropolitan New York Synod Assembly will take place Thursday through Saturday, May 15-17, 2008, in Tarrytown, New York. The site will be the Westchester Marriot in Tarrytown. This is a very important Assembly on at least two fronts: we will be electing a new bishop, and memorials (recommendations) may be voted on to advise the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly on issues around ordination of gay and lesbian clergy, and on the blessing of same-sex unions.
This congregation may send two voting members to the 2008 Synod Assembly. If you are interested in serving (it is very important that you are able to be in Tarrytown by 1:00 pm on Thursday, as the first ballot for bishop will take place soon after that) please contact Pr. Parsons or a member of the Church Council.

The Rev. Dr. William H. Lazareth, Bishop Emeritus of the Metropolitan New York Synod, died in Christ on Feb. 23. In addition to his international reputation as theologian and author, Rev. Lazareth was an important friend and pastor to this congregation, at one time personally mediating a very challenging process of discernment as to how the Eucharist would be administered in our worship. Bishop Lazareth’s memorial service will be held at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 3 Carhart Ave., White Plains (corner of Mamaroneck and Carhart Avenues) at 3 p.m. on April 26. The Synod asks you to join in prayers of thanksgiving for his life and ministry, as well as prayers for his family and friends in this time of loss. Condolences may be sent to Jacqueline Lazareth at 7 Village Inn Road, Birch Bay Village, Bar Harbor, ME 04609.

Our prayers are especially with…
Ernie Cox, gravely ill, in Maimonides Hospital
Claire Fields, recovering from a fall, in Coney Island Hospital

This month some members of St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel will receive their newsletter via email. This is a “win” for both our budget and the environment. Postage, toner and paper all cost money, and using less paper both conserves resources and helps extend the life of landfills.
We also have created a weekly “e-letter” with scripture readings and worship servers for the coming Sunday, a prayer list, a calendar of upcoming events and a brief reflection from Pr. Parsons. Marc and Gabriele Sewtz have taken the creative lead in this effort, and are owed many thanks.
If you would like to receive the Link and / or the e-letter electronically, please email stjme@stjme.org, using the email address where you wish to receive them. Enter “E-list” in the subject line. If you would like to opt out of the paper version of the Link, thus saving paper, toner, and postage, please make a note of that in the body of the email.

Pr. Marsh Luther Drege will be installed on March 9th as pastor and executive director of Seafarer’s & International House, a mission of the Metropolitan New York Synod. Pr. Drege preached here on January 13th, soon after he began his call. This congregation supports SIH with an annual collection of Christmas gifts for merchant mariners.
The Service of Installation will take place at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, 155 E. 22nd Street, Manhattan, beginning at 4 p.m. A reception follows the service. Clergy and laity are invited. Please RSVP to Noreen Fleming, 212-677-4800 ext.1218, or email nfleming@sihnyc.org.

Please pray for Aaron Hoglund, a member of this congregation, as he travels to Bayou La Batre, Alabama, March 16-22, with other members of a service group from Xavier High School in Brooklyn, where Aaron is a senior. This is their second trip to Bayou La Batre, a town built on the Gulf fishing industry, where half of the houses and a third of the fishing fleet were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Aaron and his friends will be helping to re-build homes and businesses. They have taken a collective vow of living simply while on their mission: spending money is limited to essentials, and cameras are not allowed. We pray “journey mercies” for Aaron and the whole group, and give thanks as he lives out his faith in service to those who have suffered so profoundly.
ELCA Disaster Response is still working to assist the recovery effort in the wake of Katrina. Your prayers and gifts are needed and welcomed. You may give through your congregation (memo “LDR/Katrina”), or give a credit card donation by phone or online at www.elca.org/disaster. When designating your gift for a specific disaster, 100 percent of that gift is used for immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts following that disaster. Should a response become fully funded, additional designated gifts will be applied to a similar domestic or international response.

This congregation collected $538 on Sunday, February 3, as part of the Souper Bowl of Caring response to hunger. Overall, 14,182 groups raised $9,332,930! The collection from St. John-St. Matthew-Emanuel will be directed to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. Thank you to all who gave so generously.

Memorial Gifts have been received in loving memory of:

William Green, b. 3/25 - from Barbara & Jim Ruggiero
Robert Baer, b. 3/27 - from Margery Baer

To purchase an Easter plant to memorialize or honor a person or event, and/or to have a printed listing in the bulletin, please fill out the form below and mail it to the church, place it in the offering plate, or fax it to 718-768-6896. The cost is $12 per plant and $5 per listing.

Please submit all forms on or before the March 17th.

Make checks payable to: St. John - St. Matthew - Emanuel

____ Plants @ $12 each ___ In Memory/Honor of @ $5 each

Total Enclosed: $ ______________

Given to the Glory of God: (circle one or both)

In Loving Memory of OR In Honor Of

Name(s):
________________________________________________________

From:
________________________________________________________

ALL hymns chosen by the Congregation

Please list your three favorite hymns below. Place this form in the offering plate, or send it to the church office by Monday, March 24. If possible, include the numbers from the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal, although hymns from any source are eligible. The top 5 vote-getters will be sung during worship on Sunday, March 30th.

1. _____________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________

March 2nd - 1 Samuel 16: 1-3; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5: 8-14; John 9: 1-41

March 9th - Ezekiel 37: 1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8: 6-11; John 11: 1-45

March 16th - Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66

March 23rd - Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Colossians 3:1-4, Matthew 28: 1-10

March 30th - Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31