April 2019
March Memories
Pastor's Note
There has been a fairly consistent image woven through the texts we have encountered in worship during Lent so far, and which we will see even more in the weeks leading up to Easter. That image is a stone.
Jacob slept on a stone when he had his dream of a ladder, then set that stone up to mark that God was truly present in that place. In Psalm 19, which we just read this week, the psalmist calls God “my rock and my redeemer.” We will soon read about the hope of a new thing that Isaiah grounds in the image of the rock from which God brought water for the Israelites in the desert. Then we will hear from Jesus that if the Palm Sunday crowd was silent, the stones would shout out. Finally, we will celebrate the iconic Easter image of the tombstone rolled away.
A stone is a simple thing, one of the most ordinary parts of creation. And yet, as a kid who often filled my pockets with neat rocks, and then later in my childhood established a considerable rock collection, I can’t help but think that there is something more to these ordinary parts of our world. There is something about stones that grounds us (pun intended!) in our faith life.
In times of disconnection, where relationships and opportunities seem to be crumbling, we need a solid foundation of connection with God and our community. But also, we often need a new perspective, a new outcropping from which we can see more wholesome forms of connection.
In our everyday lives, amid things as mundane as rocks, we need a marker that God is with us. But also, we need a hope that something new and meaningful and life-giving can spring up from the deserts of our lives.
In uncertain times (and God knows the Methodist church is facing some uncertain times), we need a rock to support us. But also, we need a stone rolled away, a call deeper into the profound mysteries of God, an opportunity to be even more unsettled so that we can truly encounter our risen Lord and follow him to renewed places.
These rocks mark many journeys – through God’s saving work in scripture and through God’s saving work among us today. Let us see what more these ordinary rocks can teach us as we journey ever closer to this year’s Easter celebration.
Stations of the Cross
From now through Holy Week, we will have some unique stations of the cross set up in our hallways. Traditionally, the meditative tool called “stations of the cross” follows the steps Jesus took from being condemned to death to being buried in the tomb. It is well worth reflecting on the actual path Jesus took millennia ago, but we also know that God hurts when we hurt now. We believe that the suffering of Christ encompasses the suffering of our world even now.
So, our stations will reflect the suffering we have seen around our world this past year. You are invited to take time on a Sunday or during the week when the church is open to use this meditation tool and walk through the stations at your own pace. There will be more instructions set up in the hallway, but I hope you take some time to reflect through these stations as we near the observance of Jesus’s crucifixion on Good Friday.
Resurrection Stories
Last year, we had the real privilege of hearing stories from many of you about how you have experienced resurrection in your lives. These stories ranged from how the stones in our garden bear witness to the life, death, and new life of a beloved pastor and family member to the renewed hope of a long lost dog returning home as well as many other experiences of new life.
I would love to highlight more resurrection stories during the season of Easter, from April 28 through June 2. If you have a story of finding new life, please email or call Patrick, preferably before Easter Sunday. These can be funny or meaningful, can relate to new opportunities in our jobs or families or friendships, can be things that have happened to us or others close to us, or many other things. The point is to identify some form of new life. For there is new life and resurrection all around us and we want to celebrate it!
Coming Up...
Please see below for Holy Week information
Tuesday, April 2
6:00 p.m. Young Lives
Sunday, April 7
1:00 p.m. Lent Study
4:30 p.m. Meet at Oak Lawn UMC to serve at Oak Lawn Community Meal
Monday, April 8
1:00 p.m. DoveNotes - make greeting cards with us in the Fellowship Hall! No crafting skills required to help out.
6:30 p.m. "Dr. Death" at Lakewood Library (see below)
7:00 p.m. Finance
Monday, April 15
6:00 p.m. Trustees
7:00 p.m. Administrative Council
Tuesday, April 16
6:00 p.m. Young Lives
Holy Week at Lakewood
April 14, Palm Sunday
10:30 a.m. worship service with special musical offerings
April 18, Maundy Thursday
7:00 p.m. worship service
April 19, Good Friday
7:00 p.m. worship service
April 21, Easter
8:30 a.m. Easter brunch in the Fellowship Hall
10:30 a.m. worship service in the sanctuary
11:30 a.m. Kids' Easter egg hunt in the garden
"Dr. Death" at Lakewood Library
Our very own Laura Beil will hold a discussion, hosted by the Friends of the Lakewood Library, about the 10-episode podcast she researched and narrated, "Dr. Death." In the podcast, Laura tells us about the criminally inept Dallas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch and the Texas medical system that failed us by protecting him. Laura will be joined for this discussion by Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Michelle Shughart.
Monday, April 8
Doors at 6 pm
Program at 6:30 pm
Lakewood Branch
6121 Worth Street
Dallas, TX 75214
From the Choir Loft
In two weeks time, Holy Week will be upon us beginning with Palm Sunday. A very traditional processional hymn for this special day is “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” (UMH 280). Below is a short history of the grand hymn.
"All Glory, Laud, and Honor" is an English translation by the Anglican clergyman John Mason Neale of the Latin hymn "Gloria, laus et honor", which was written by Theodulf of Orléans in 820 A.D. It is a Palm Sunday hymn, based on Matthew 21:1–11 and the occasion of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Theodulf became the Bishop of Orléans under Charlemagne. When Charlemagne died and Louis the Pious became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Theodulf was removed as bishop and placed under house arrest at a monastery in Angers during the power struggle following Louis' ascension, mostly due to his opposition to icons and Louis' suspicion that Theodulf supported an Italian rival to the throne.[5] During his arrest, Theodulf wrote "Gloria, laus et honor" for Palm Sunday. Although likely apocryphal, a 16th-century story asserted that Louis heard Theodulf sing "Gloria, laus et honor" one Palm Sunday, and was so inspired that he released Theodulf and ordered that the hymn be sung thereafter on every Palm Sunday.
In 1851, John Mason Neale translated the hymn from Latin into English to be published in his Medieval Hymns and Sequences. Neale revised his translation in 1854 and revised it further in 1861 when it was published in the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern. “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” is set to a 17th century German melody written by Melchior Teschner.
Resources for this article include an article by C. Michael Hawn, retired Professor of Sacred Music at SMU.
Summer Music Camp
Lakewood is hosting its second Summer Music Camp! We will give you more details as they become available, but here's the most important stuff:
When:
July 15 - 25, Monday - Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Performance on Thursday evening, July 25
Who:
Campers ages 5-12
Counselors ages 13-16
Volunteers any age!
Cost: $300
For more information, contact the church office at (214) 823-9623 or office@mylakewoodchurch.org.
Happy birthday to...
Patrick Littlefield 4/1
Andrew Noel 4/6
Jeanne Cherry 4/9
Grace Robertson 4/9
Francis Shoemaker 4/15
Glenn Kinkade 4/17
Mary Zaby 4/17
Katie Neuroth 4/21
Joan O'Brien 4/25
Joyce Wentz 4/26
Wilma Elrod 4/27
Becky Jones 4/30
This month, we pray for...
Kathryn Bagley; Gail Baldwin; Lynn Bruce; Carole Bryde; Linda Castor; Shirley Dunn; Wilma Elrod; Mary Ann Finley; Jean Fowler; Chris Gann; Leck and Cynthia Heflin; Michael Hilley; Harold Logan; Jan Logan; Carolyn Miracle; Marie Miranda; Mike Miranda; Tim Miranda; Pat Norvell; Jorge Ortiz; Brandon Owen; Tracy Penfield; Pontis Ministries; the family of Susan Price; Kathy Purvis; David Rentz; Michelle Ried; Shelly Robertson; Elizabeth Robbins; Robin Robbins; Ginny Salinas; Beth Saxton; Debbie Schwartz; Jeanne Scroppo; Linda Simmons; Alan Smith; Kelly Smith; Travis Smith; Chris Venable; Betty Watson; Louise Williams
