Fourth Sunday of Easter
Good Shepherd Sunday
The Fourth Sunday of Easter: April 26, 2015
Good Shepherd Sunday Mission Giving
The Sunday after next, Sunday April 26 is the Fourth Sunday of Easter and is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. That's because the Gospel reading is always one part of the Good Shepherd discourse in the 10th Chapter of the Gospel of St. John.
We've always made the Fourth Sunday of Easter a time when we make an appeal for donations for the National Association of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. It is one of our "Mission Giving," activities. What we've done for many years is send out a letter with an offering envelope enclosed.
This year we're going to make it a bit more special. We have a member of the Board of CGS coming. Her name is Patti Franz. She's a wonderful person and catechist. She will be giving the homily at both the 7:45 and 10:15 liturgies. In the homily she'll reflect on the theology of the Good Shepherd, how it touches our own lives, the work of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd here as well as in all the other places it is being done, and ask people to consider making a donation.
But in addition to this, she will meet with our catechists between the services a chance for support and encouragement.
Also, following the 10:15 Liturgy, there will be a lunch for Patti and parents and children of the parish to spend some quality someone who is very knowledgeable about Catechesis and the spiritual development of children to reflect on that process and how we can help facilitate it. That should be a lot of fun.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is more than just a curriculum, and impacts the entire congregation, not just children. On Good Shepherd Sunday we to celebrate the blessings it has brought to our entire parish and assist in making The Catechesis available to others so they may experience the same good things that we have.
PATTI FRANZ:
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Patti’s involvement in the work of CGS has spanned 21 years, beginning with her two sons’ involvement as three-year olds. From 1994 to 2004, she was blessed to be part of a rich and supportive regional catechist community that grew from shared experiences of formation and support. She completed all three levels of formation, acted as a volunteer program director for her parish, serving over 200 children, 15 catechists and 40 aides, and became active in the work of the national association of CGS (www.cgsusa.org).
In 2001- 2004, she took time away from directing a parish program to complete her MA in Theology and spend time with her family. But God called her to a job opportunity at Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit boys’ high school, where she has worked as Development Director for the last nine years and where she introduced un-catechized 6th grade boys to CGS. In 2013, Patti was elected to the board of CGSUSA.
Patti, her husband Tom, and their two dogs split their time between Phoenix, AZ and Lake Tahoe, CA.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Level 1
April 26, 2015: Easter 4
Baptism II
Water, the Word, and Holy Oil
Have you ever thought about the significance of water in the Scriptures? Beginning with Gen 1:2, the physical property of water is given the honor of being mentioned first among other components of the earth. It is also used in the telling of replacing old life with new life. In the Old Testament, two major events - the Flood in Genesis and the crossing of the “sea of reeds” in Exodus - represent images for the promise of a new creation, a new life.
There are other stories involving water, particularly in the New Testament: the baptism of Jesus, the turning of water into wine in Cana, and the healing at a pool near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. But the one that strikes me the most is the story about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in the Gospel of John, Chapter 4. It is a full story of juxtapositions: male/female, teacher/student, Jew/Samaritan [tension], greatness of Jesus/Jacob and patriarchs. But the relevant part of the story to this Sunday’s presentation highlights Jesus’ offer to the woman of not the physical property of water but the gift of “living” water or eternal life, through him, so she may never thirst again.
In the Level I atrium, we use the symbol of water for the presentation on Baptism. It is used not only for its traditional, ritual value of the Sacrament but, for the symbolic imagery of the new life for which it helps to reveal. In Baptism I, the light of the risen Christ is introduced. This week, we will look at the gifts of water, the Word, and the strength of the holy oil of Baptism, our acceptance into the sheepfold on the day of our Baptism, and ponder these gifts that we come to participate more fully in the abundant light and life of Christ.
Ms. Georgie
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: “Level 4”
Sunday, April 26, 9:00 a.m.
Last Sunday we returned to the story of Samuel to explore more deeply, “How did God talk to Samuel?” And exactly, how does God talk to people anyway and if he did what would he say, and how we know it’s actually him? This week we meet the first King of Israel, Saul, and we find that though this took place around 1100 years before Christ, it presents us with a contemporary concern, something we Americans call, “The Separation of Church and State.”
Coffee Hour for May and June
The Sign Up Sheet for Coffee hour for May and June will be outside Church this Sunday. Please sign up when you get your coffee.
Coffee Hour Needs for the Rest of April
Sunday April 26: 7:45 & 10:15 a.m.
You can email the office to sign up for any of these Sundays.
Food For Thought: Reprise: The Moral Bucket List
This article comes from New York Times columnist David Brooks about the difference between what he calls, “Eulogy Virtues,” rather than “Resume Ones.” What kind of person does one ultimately hope to be? He shares some interesting characteristics of people with unfakeable inner virtue. It fits with the Easter Season as we use this time to reflect upon and build our lives in the light of Christ’s resurrection.
The Resurrection in Four Rubrics
The second piece comes from a book I’m currently reading, The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology. It is from an article called, The Resurrection. It is just an excerpt but very interesting and we’re calling it, “The Resurrection in Four Rubrics