NEWS
2022 Lenten Appeal
You can find the original 2022 Lenten Appeal here.
From the Presiding Bishop:
Having dedicated our Lenten Appeal efforts on our domestic missions during these past several years we are once again shifting our focus to our foreign missions and their needs.
Our effort this year will be to collect funds for the construction of churches in both the Philippines and Haiti. Both countries have an overarching Roman Catholic ethos and the presence of a permanent building is viewed as a sign of the seriousness of the Church’s efforts in those parts. While we have managed in the past holding services under a large mango tree in the Philippines or in the courtyard of the school or converted classrooms in Haiti, the churches in both of these places now have land, both donated and purchased, on which proper churches can be built.
There are currently two churches that have been completed and a third one under construction in the Philippines and the potential for still three more, and there are two properties that we currently own in Haiti. The goal for this year’s Lenten Appeal is to raise sufficient funds to complete the construction of five new churches (three in the Philippines and two in Haiti). Our Goal as in previous years is $100,000, which will be divided proportionally between the two places. Our churches, unlike the Roman Catholic placement of churches, will be in the local communities where the people live and will not require them to travel great distances on Sundays in order to participate in weekly worship services. The presence of these churches will change the lives of many in these communities and provide tremendous opportunities for evangelism and the growth of God’s kingdom. At least one of the churches in the Philippines will be constructed in a community of one of the unreached indigenous groups on the island of Mindoro.
I am asking each individual within our churches to make a Lenten offering of $1.50 per day for the 40 days of Lent (a total of $60 per person), or more as our Lord leads you. We will need one hundred percent participation in order to achieve this goal. Please make this a family project for Lent. Your generous gifts will enable God’s kingdom to grow and expand in both these countries and help to provide eternal hope to people who are in extreme poverty and hardship.
Please pray every day during Lent that God will use our offering to show His great mercy on the people of the Philippines and Haiti.
Checks should be made payable to your local church with a notation in the memo field “APA Lenten Appeal 2022.” I ask each church treasurer to combine the monies and send one church check to the APA Treasurer (Mr. Dan Wilder, Wilder Accounting, 3208 W State Rd 426, Ste 2060, Oviedo, FL 32765) with the designation “APA Lenten Appeal 2022.”
Please make your Lenten Offering by April 24 if possible.
In Christ,
The Most Rev. Chandler Holder Jones, SSC, Presiding Bishop
Ukrainian Relief with the Polish National Catholic Church
Dearly beloved in Christ,
We have before us this Lent a tremendous opportunity through which to exercise the Christian works of mercy. Our brethren in the Polish National Catholic Church in Poland are going to extraordinary lengths to bring the love of God to refugees from Ukraine who are escaping the Russian invasion.
The Polish National Catholics are providing food and shelter, receiving refugees into their own homes, offering medical care and services, and more, all of which activity is being funded from their own parishes. The PNCC is soliciting funds from many sources in order to assist in this mission.
We orthodox Anglicans, engaged as we are in dialogue with the PNCC, are especially encouraged to contribute directly to the effort.
Donations may be sent directly the Office of the Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church, 1006 Pittston Avenue, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18505-4109.
Please make cheques payable to The Polish National Catholic Church, with the word 'Ukraine' in the memo line.
The Polish parishes require more financial support so as to provide some small measure of comfort and dignity to the suffering people making their escape to safety. We are now presented with the privilege of doing our part and practicing our Lenten discipline of almsgiving by sharing in this relief work.
Let us pray fervently for the peace of Ukraine and for the welfare, preservation, and freedom of the Ukrainian people. God bless you!
In Our Blessed Lord,
+Chad
March Old Time Bible Hour Reading: St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Sermons on Song of Songs
The next meeting of the Old Time Bible Hour is March 22 at 7pm. It will be preceded by Evening Prayer in the Chapel at 6:30.
The Old Time Bible Hour is a study that meets once a month and looks at how to read Scripture through the lens of Christians that have gone before us.
This month, we will be reading a selection of St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s Sermon’s on Song of Songs. You can download them below.
Lenten Preparation Retreat: "Turn Thou Us, O Good Lord, and So Shall We be Turned: Fasting, Examen, and Confession"
On Saturday, February 26th at 9am, we will gather for a half-day retreat to help us better prepare for Lent! The retreat will focus on three important Lenten disciplines: fasting, self-examination, and confession. Fasting is when we eat less in order to master our passions and desires. Self-examination is reflecting on our conduct in light of God’s commands and holiness. Confession is a biblical practice that we do after self-reflection.
Here is the schedule for the day:
9:00-9:15 Morning Prayer
9:15-9:30 Refreshments
9:30-10:15 Session 1
10:15-10:20 Break
10:20-11 Session 2
11:00-11:05 Break
11:05-11:45 Session 3
12 Mass
Lessons and Carols
When: December 19 at 5pm
Where: The Upstairs Church at St. Paul’s
Lessons and Carols is a service full of Scripture readings and music that gets us prepared for Christmas!
After Lessons and Carols there will be a 4C’s coffee hour: Christmas Cookies, Cake and Coffee! Bring some of your favorites to share.
Moments at Mass - Episode 1: Why Do We Call It Mass?
Moments at Mass is a series of short videos explaining the Anglican liturgy according to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the Anglican Missal. In this episode, Fr. Wesley explains why the service is called the "Mass."
80th Anniversary Presentation of Pearl Harbor Presentation by Dwight and Cathy Gates
On December 4th at 11am, Dwight and Cathy Gates will give a presentation on Cathy’s grandfather, Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder, Hawaiian Department G-2 (Intelligence). General Fielder played a key role leading up to and during the Japanese attack on December 7th at Pearl Harbor. His leadership abilities following the attack calmed the fears of the Hawaiian people, was instrumental in the formation of the Nisei 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and prevented the internment of 15,900 Americans of Japanese ancestry. Included in the presentation are official and personal photographs belonging to the family.
The presentation will occur in the Parish Hall of St. Paul’s.