Lent cont. on page 9

March 2017March 2017March 2017March 2017

Let’s face it. Lent is in trouble.

Let me explain. Most of us have favorite

holiday seasons. For some it’s Christmas,

with the family get-togethers and presents. For others it’s the

Fourth of July and summer, filled by a sense of national pride

and beach vacations to boot. But each year at just about this

time, it strikes me that very few of us would pick Lent, a sea-

son that seems to most of us as grim as the weather that usu-

ally attends it.

Think about it: crossing off days on the calendar until Ash

Wednesday; leaving work just a little early, saying “I’ve got to

get my Lenten shopping done;” advertisements on billboards

and television reading “only 12 more days ‘til the day of

Ashes;” or little kids going to bed, asking their parents, “How

much longer ‘till Lent is here?” It just doesn’t happen.

The trouble with Lent, I think, is fairly clear. It’s buried right in

the heart of the primary reading for Ash Wednesday, from the

Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6: “And when you fast…

Actually, you don’t have to read the whole verse, as the brunt

of the problem of Lent is in the first four words, “And when

you fast....” And when you fast?! C’mon. Except for the occa-

sional crash diet before summer vacation, who fasts anymore?

And there it is in a nutshell! The trouble with Lent is that it

feels like this strange, weirdly outdated holiday that cele-

brates things we don’t value and encourages attitudes we

don’t share. Maybe it’s too old-fashioned or too medieval for

many contemporary people to handle.

So, let’s face it. Lent is in trouble. Rarely is there the same kind

of enthusiasm or expectancy which greets Advent. Notice we

don’t sponsor Lenten Adventures for our kids; we don’t have

an Adult Lenten Dinner and Party. We don’t yearn to sing

Lenten hymns ahead of time. Lent is in trouble.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s that there are no presents at the end,

Is Lent in Trouble?

and no fun and games along the way. Or, maybe it’s that Lent

asks us to give up things. Haven’t we had to sacrifice enough

already to get our kids through college, to save for retire-

ment, to put a new roof on the house? Why should we give

up anything more for Lent?

Or, maybe it’s the themes of Lent that trouble us. Penitence.

Sacrifice. Contemplation. These are the words of Lent, and I,

for one, have a hard time believing they were popular even

with the Puritans let alone now!

Who really needs Lent, anyway?

But, no matter how I think of it. No matter how I feel about

it. I keep coming back to the same answer. Who needs Lent?

I do. I need Lent. I need a time to focus, to get my mind off of

my career, my social life, my next project, and a hundred

other things to which I look for meaning, and, center myself

in Meaning itself.

I need a time to help clear my head of the distractions and

re-orient myself towards the Maker of all that has given me

life and everything in it. I need the opportunity to clear my

eyes of the glaze of indifference and apathy which comes

from situation after situation where I feel nearly helpless so

that I can fasten my eyes once more on the almost unbear-

able revelation of the God who loves us enough to take the

form of a man hanging on a tree.

When I sit and pray about it, I realize that Lent really isn’t

mine to do with whatever I please. Lent isn’t even the

Church’s to insist upon or discard at will. Lent isn’t any of

ours to scoff at or observe. Lent is God’s. Lent is God’s gift to

us – a people starved for meaning, for courage, for comfort,

for life.

If we can imagine that Lent is not ours at all but is wholly

God’s, then maybe we’ll also begin to recall that we, too, are

New Service Time: Beginning Sunday, March 5, we will move to one service at 10:00am!

Page 2 Reports: Vestry Page 6 Announcements continued/Recent Events

Page 3 Reports: Vestry financials Page 7 Registration form for Spring Luncheon

Page 4 Reports continued: Outreach/ Christian Ed. Page 7 Ministry Schedule

Page 5 Christian Ed. Continued/Announcements Page 9 Continued articles from pages 1 and 2

Vestry continued on page 9

VESTRY

2222

ReportsReportsReportsReports

Greetings,

The 101st

Vestry of the St. Matthew’s

Episcopal Church of Indianapolis held its

beginning-of-the- year retreat on Satur-

day February 17th

. We came away from

it feeling energized, organized, inspired

and excited to take on the work we set

for ourselves. As your lay leadership, we

used our time together to ask a lot of

hard questions about who we are and

where we are going. For many of those

questions we did not have answers, but it

they provided focus and guidance as we

discern what God is calling us to do.

We started the retreat with a look at our-

selves – What standards do we want to

hold for ourselves to. We established

covenants and ground rules that we will

want to operate under. One significant

covenant we developed is our communi-

cation with you. It will be our goal to

insure you have the Vestry Meeting

Notes available quickly and give you the

opportunity to provide us with timely

feedback. We are also going to schedule

two to three Vestry meetings throughout

the year before a Sunday service so that

if you have a desire to attend a Vestry

Meeting, you will have the opportunity to

do so. You are always invited to attend

our regularly scheduled meetings on the

third Monday of the month at 7:00pm,

but we know that many church members

don’t wish to be out that late or drive

when it is dark.

We next took a hard look at the reality of

our current state. This included the

many accomplishments from the past

year, the current state of our buildings

and grounds, our current and projected

finances, attendance trends, the compo-

sition of our congregation, our internal

partnerships (Hope Counseling, Boy

Scouts, Daughters of the King, etc.), Fa-

ther Frank’s time and energy, and revis-

ited the strategic plan, our purpose, our

mission and our vision. Not surprisingly

we discovered there are many chal-

lenges, but we also have a good feeling

about what we do have.

From here we had a good discussion on

the topic of our identity at 8320 E. 10th

Street. The purpose of the discussion

wasn’t to come away with actions, but

mostly an opportunity to bring into

focus our energy, our evangelism, and

our direction. We asked - are we a full-

time church or a part-time church? Are

we an Irvington Church, or a Far East

Side Church? As cars speed by us at 45

mph, what do they see? Do they even

see us? As you think of other Episcopal

Churches in the diocese an identify

quickly comes to mind – St. Albans/

Community Garden, All Saints/LGBT

Community, St. Johns/Hispanic Com-

munity, St. Matthews/? Is it important

that we have an identity? We feel like

there needs to be, but we don’t know

what that is and we will explore this in

our meetings to come. We felt that

whatever this identity is, it needs to

have a strong connection to the East

Side in order for our congregation to

stay vital, relevant and grow. I encour-

aged the Vestry members to focus on

the beginning of our vision statement,

“…we aspire to open our hearts to the

community.” I shared that a vision

without action is just a dream.

So with all the discussion, reflection

and prayer, we developed goals that

we felt would help us realize our vison

and address all that we had discussed.

Here are goals we set for the parish:

By the end of 2017 to not only

afford but to sustain a full

time priest. We have a

budget that forecasts we can

afford this, but the challenge

here is to sustain this into

2018, 2019 and beyond.

To be stewards of our buildings

and grounds, our congrega-

tion, and our community –

both internally and exter-

nally. And when we say stew-

ards, we just don’t mean to

maintain these, but to sustain

and grow. This one is a softer goal,

but it is a goal that we feel will

help us to stay vital internally

and externally.

Grow membership by 10% by the

end of 2017. In the business

world, we would call this our

stretch goal. It’s a strong goal,

but one we feel is realistic and

necessary for our growth and

our mission.

We also revisited the open and ongoing

activities from the 2016 Vestry and

looked at what we felt we could accom-

plish in 2017. Father Frank encouraged

us that with a Vestry size of six, we

should use the mind set of “High Im-

pact/Low Organization”. Here is what

we are committing to do:

A Lenten Adult Forum Book Read

on “The New Jim Crow: Mass

Incarceration in the Age of Co-

lorblindness”.

A continued connection with the

Indianapolis Metropolitan Po-

lice Department.

Increase our digital presence using

the website and FaceBook.

A continued development of Child

Formation programs and learn-

ing

The introduction of the use of a

Labyrinth

Over the next few Vestry Meetings we

will also consider other events and ac-

tivities that will engage the congrega-

tion in strengthening our connection to

the community. One of these activities

will be to partner with the Centennial

Committee to produce a Community

Day at St. Matthews. Some groundwork

has already been laid and we know

there are a lot of moving parts, coordi-

nation and planning. We feel this is a

first step to being relevant to the East

Side of Indianapolis.

Lastly, we organized ourselves with fo-

cus areas that will have oversight and

3333

ICAN has a collaborative with the University of Indianapolis.

Undergraduate nursing students have completed a community

assessment and is working with the ICAN volunteers to provide

a health fair for the patrons.

4444

Christian EducationChristian EducationChristian EducationChristian Education

A doxology is defined as any trinitarian declaration of praise.

Reformed liturgy has always contained a variety of those

statements of praise. For example, in the liturgy we cele-

brated the Last Sunday of Epiphany, doxologies were con-

tained in the last verse of the opening hymn, the opening

statement (Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And

blessed be . . ), the sung Gloria and, of course, the Offertory

Hymn. And they all concluded with the oft-uttered (and hope-

fully not perfunctory) Amen – a statement meaning so be it,

truly, verily, “I really mean it!”

To align the elements of the liturgy with the penitential nature

of Lent, we will be changing the tune of the doxology sung at

the conclusion of the Offertory to a more reserved melody.

We have been using the familiar tune Old 100th

. In its place

ICAN has several new opportunities for volunteers. There is

an identified need to deliver groceries to homebound persons.

ICAN is seeking volunteers who are interested in helping with

calls or with delivery. If interested, call Carolyn Kirkendall 317-

894-1186 Volunteer coordinator

OUTREACH

Financial gifts may be mailed to ICAN c/o IAM, Emerson Ave-

REMINDER: Financial donations are not used to purchase

food. They go toward bus passes and grocery store cards.

Volunteers needed: Food Pantry at Downey Avenue Christian

Church. The pantry is open 1-3 on Thursdays. Volunteers

should arrive around 11:30 to help set up. If you are inter-

ested, contact Carolyn Kirkendall at 317-427-3087.

nue Baptist Church, 308 N. Emersion Avenue, Indianapolis,

IN 46219. Non-perishable food items and clothing may be

placed in the ICAN basket in the narthex at St. Matt’s

its place will be The Eighth Tune (also known as Tallis'

Canon). You will recognize it as the melody for the hymn All

praise to thee, my God, this night. The last verse of that

hymn as well as the last verse of Thomas Kens' morning

hymn (Awake, my soul, and with the sun) are the same as

the words we sing at the offertory.

During Eastertide, where we burst forth again with our

“Alleluias,” we'll add that word with the offertory hymn text

and sing it to Lasst uns erfreuen (the tune of Ye watchers

and ye holy ones and All creatures of our God and King). And

don't fret. During the season of Pentecost, we bring back

Old 100th

. I am confident that you will experience our famil-

iar friend with a renewed freshness and vigor. Praise Father,

Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Our Continuous Doxologies by Dale Caldwell

Top Ten Things you can try for this Lenten Season:

10. Try an electronic fast. Give up TV, Facebook, texting,

tweeting, e-mail, and all things electronic for one day (or

everyday of Lent! Use the time to read & pray.

9. Start a prayer rhythm. Each day of Lent, pray for another

person.

8. Go deeper into the Bible. Read something every day.

7. Forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it (maybe even

yourself.) Study a book on forgiveness.

6. Give up soft drinks, fast food, tea or coffee. Give up some

food or drink as a way a to grow closer to God. Give the

money you save to help folks in a different part of the

world who are in crisis. Pick a current global issue and help

change the world.

5. Create a daily quiet time. Spend 10 minutes a day in

silence and prayer. Read something devotional for

Lent. See how it can help you add spiritual practice to

your daily life beyond Lent.

4. Cultivate a life of gratitude. Write someone a thank

you letter each week and be aware of how many peo-

ple have helped you along the way.

3. Participate in a Lent Photo-a-Day practice and pray

each day with your camera in your hand.

2. Volunteer one hour or more each week with a local

shelter, tutoring program, nursing home, prison minis-

try.

1. Pray for others you see as you walk to and from classes

or drive to and from work.

5555

The next Wednesday Pitch-In will be on

Wednesday, March 29, following the

10am service. Come join the fun. Bring

whatever; there’s no set menu.

AnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncementsAnnouncements March Birthdays

March 7 Kaye Palmer

March 10 Bill Dernier

March 13 Brenda Runyon

March 14 Joseph Weaver

March 15 Jessica Weir

March 16 Denny Krauser

March 26 Cheryll Wyne

March 31 Pam Miltner

March Anniversaries

March 3 Jeff and Natalie Weir

There will be NO blood pressure clinic in March. A St. Mat-

thew’s nurse will be available for the clinic starting again on

April 2 at 9am.

Friday, March 24, 2017, is the deadline for sending in

any calendar events, meeting dates and times, articles,

and announcements for the April issue of sMATTerings.

Remember:

Please sign up for Coffee Hour

Irvington Lenten Series begins

Wednesday, March 8 at 6pm: Irvington Lenten series with Soup Supper

Soup Supper at 6pm, Lenten Prayer Service at 7pm

The Lenten Schedule is a s follows:

3/1 Host: Gethsemane Lutheran Preaching: Rev. Trey Flowers, Downey Ave. Christian Church

3/8 Host: St. Matthew’s Episcopal Preaching: Fr. Rick Ginther, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic

3/15 Host: Our Lady of Lourdes Preaching: Fr. Frank Impicciche, St. Matthew’s Episcopal

3/22 Host: Downey Avenue Christian Preaching: Rev. Barbara Dahl, Gethsemane Lutheran

3/29 Host: Ellenberger UCC Preaching: Reb. Bob Heimach, Irvington Presbyterian

4/5 Host: Irvington Presbyterian Preaching: Rev. Justin Thornburg, Emerson Baptist Church

*Wednesday, March 8 Lenten Supper and Prayer Service at St. Matthew’s: Martha Cooper has offered to help lead this event.

We need 4-5 people who are also willing to make soups for that evening. Please let Martha and me know if you are willing to

prepare soup or any other snacks. We also need coffee, water, and drinks like lemonade and ice.

Lenten Adult forum

Angie Wilkinson has agreed to lead the Adult forums for Lent.

We will be reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in

the Age of colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It is a book

suggested by the national church. Fr. Frank will purchase five

(5) copies of the book for those who would like to purchase a

Reminder: New service time beginning March, 5. We will

move to having only one (1) service. It will begin at 10:00am

We will start the new Adult Forum for Lent at 11:15 (after the

service).

copy.

We will start the new forum on the first Sunday of Lent,

March 5, 2017, at a new time: 11:15 (after the service). We

will conclude no later than 12 noon.

Don’t forget to spring forward.

Daylight savings time begins at 2 a.m. on

Sunday, March 12. Please remember to

SPRING FORWARD; turn your clocks ahead 1

hour before you go to bed on Saturday, March 11.

6666

Recent EventsRecent EventsRecent EventsRecent Events

Book, Yarn, and Prayer will meet

Monday, March 6th at 7:00 PM.

This month we cover chapters 4-6 of

the book “Disunity in Christ” by Chris-

tena Cleveland. The final question

from chapter 6: “What kinds of self-

affirmation exercises would you do in

order to prepare to listen to diverse

viewpoints? What prayers would you

pray? What Scripture passages would

you meditate on?”

We have decided to keep knitting the infant hats and give

them to the hospitals. The hats can be any color, but

should be made with Orlon or polyester. We invite the

parish who would like to continue making the hats to do

so.

Come with your hoops, hooks, or needles. Hope to see you

on the 6th at the church.

Contact: Alice Moody, Jan Higbie, and Amanda Lloyd-Jones

for more information.

Honored Woman Nominee

The Diocesan Episcopal Women’s Ministry Council (EWM) is

busy planning ways to honor our women. This year they are

adding a new tradition of honoring our women, and we hope

for our parish to participate.

Fr. Frank is asking each of you to consider submitting one

name of a woman from St. Matthew’s that you would like to

nominate for the Honored Woman for EWM. This should be

a person who gives so much of herself to the parish, commu-

nity and world.

The deadline for submitting a name to the EWM Council is

March10, 2017. So PLEASE SUBMIT NAMES TO FR. FRANK

NO LATER THAN SUNDAY, MARCH 5!

The Honored woman from each parish will be invited to the

EWM Spring Luncheon which is on Saturday, April 8, 2017, at

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Columbus, Indiana.

All women from St. Matthew’s are invited to attend the lunch-

eon to celebrate each other and the Honored Woman from

our parish. Bishop Cate Waynick will be joining the event and

honoring all women of our diocese.

Soon after the luncheon, the EWM Council will be forming a

committee to select one of the nominees to be recognized as

the Distinguished Woman for the Diocese of Indianapolis.

February 12 was Boy Scout Sunday at St. Matthew’s.

On Shrove Tuesday Troop 161 served a large crowd pan-

cakes and sausage. This troop just received the honor of

Troop of the Year. Their Scout Master is Don Weilhammer.

The committee chairman is Gerald Frazier, and St. Mat-

thew’s liaison to the troop is Jeff Higbie.

7777

You are cordially invited

to

Spring Luncheon

Episcopal Women’s Ministries Episcopal Women’s Ministries Episcopal Women’s Ministries Episcopal Women’s Ministries

Saturday, April 8, 2017 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

2651 California Street, Columbus, IN 47201

Times: Registration 10:30am Eucharist: 11:00am Luncheon 12:00pm Program: 1:00pm

A CHECK MUST ACCOMPANY REGISTRATION Make checks payable to Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis-

Detach and mail to

Ann Durkos

8104 Crest Hill Drive

Indianapolis, IN 46256-2022

Phone: 317-407-1955, E-mail: adurkos@gmail.com

Registration fee is $20

Registration deadline is March 25, 2017. Register for the luncheon by filling out and mailing the

registration form with your check. Upon receiving your

registration and check, a letter will be mailed/e-mailed

to you as your receipt. If you have questions, contact

Ann Durkos at adurkos@gmail.com or at 317-407-1955. Program:

Bishop Catherine Waynick, Bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis, as speaker

Recognition of Honored Women of the Diocese of Indianapolis *

*

Registration Form

Name

Address

City State

Parish

Special Needs Dietary Restrictions Circle one

Gluten-free Vegetarian

ZIP

Phone

Please only one registrant per form

State

E-mail Address

Sunday Ministry Schedule March 2017Sunday Ministry Schedule March 2017Sunday Ministry Schedule March 2017Sunday Ministry Schedule March 2017

If you are unable to serve, please find a substitute and advise the Parish Office. Thank you.

Ministry February March March March March April

Schedule 26 5 12 19 26 2

10:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:00 AM

Epiphany 8 Lent 1 Lent 2 Lent 3 Lent 4 Lent 5

Preacher Revd Frank Impicciche

Revd Frank Impicciche

Revd Frank Impicciche

Rev Mary Slenski

Rev Mary Slenski

Revd Frank Impicciche

Lectors Jennifer Albrecht Missy Ellis Steve Albrecht Natalie Weir Suzanne Kissling Denny Krauser

Lectors Bonnie Godfrey Crystal Black Andy Wilkinson Joe Hauptmann Jeff Higbie Joan Porter

Intercessor Joe Weaver Natalie Weir Crystal Black Steve Albrecht Jennifer Albrecht Joe Hauptmann

Chalice Jan Higbie Andy Wilkinson Joe Weaver Bonnie Godfrey Elaine Mattson Don Runyon

Crucifer/Server

Jacob Cooper Devon Teague Bonnie Godfrey Joe Weaver Brayton Les-wing Jacob Cooper

Ushers Kaye Palmer Joe Weaver Jan Higbie Andy Wilkinson Jeff Weir Greg Staab

Jeff Higbie Bonnie Godfrey Tom Higbie Angie Wilkinson Natalie Weir Missy Ellis

Greeters Jennifer Albrecht Kaye Palmer Greg Staab Jeff Higbie Angie Wilkin-son Joe Weaver

Jon Robbins Denyse Palmer Missy Ellis Natalie Weir Zella Rosene Jennifer Albrecht

Oblations Palmer Natalie Weir Suzanne Kissling Missy Ellis

Palmer Natalie Weir

Family Jeff Weir Jennifer Albrecht Greg Staab Family

Jeff Weir

Counters Denyse Palmer Jon Robbins Don Runyon Andy Wilkinson Jennifer

Albrecht Joe Hauptmann

Missy Ellis Angie Wilkinson Julie Hauptmann Zella Rosene Natalie Palmer Greg Staab

Altar Guild Team 4 Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 Team 1

not ours at all, but are wholly God’s — God’s own possession

and treasure.

Lent reminds us of whose we are. The “sacrifices,” the disci-

plines, these are not intended as good works offered by us to

God; rather, they are God’s gifts to us to remind us who we

are, God’s adopted daughters and sons, God’s treasure, so

priceless that God was willing to go to any length and to any

depth to tell us that we are loved, that we have value, that

we have purpose.

Yes. I need Lent. I need an absence of gifts so that I might

acknowledge the Gift. I need a time to be quiet and still, a

time to hear again what was promised me at Baptism: “You

are mine! I love you! I am with you!”

I need Lent to remind me of who I am — God’s heir and

Christ’s co-heir — so that, come Easter, I can rejoice and cele-

brate with all the joy, all the revelry, all the anticipation, of a

true heir to the throne.

I need Lent. And to tell you the truth, I suspect that you do, too.

If Lent is in trouble, it’s only because we’re in trouble, so busy

trying to make or keep or save our lives that we fail to notice

that God has already saved us and has already freed us to live

with each other and for each other all the rest of our days. And

so, we have Lent, a gift of the church, the season during which

God prepares us to behold his own great sacrifice for us, with

the hope and prayer that, come Good Friday and Easter, we

may be immersed once again into God’s mercy and perceive

more fully God’s great love for us and all the world and in this

way, find the peace and hope and freedom that we so often

lack.

stewardship of the parish and each one of us will be the liai-

son for our assigned area. Those areas and assignments are:

Formation: Adult and Children’s – Angie Wilkinson

Community Partnerships: Internal and External –

Celeste Sheets-Eaton

Communications: Virtual, Internal, and External – Phil

Sowders

Worship – Father Frank

Building and Grounds – Jeff Weir

Finance – Greg Staab

Hospitality – Natalie Palmer

The role of each liaison will be both the representative of

their respective focus area for the parish, but also provide lead-

ership in maintenance and growth. If you have a strong passion

for any of these areas, please reach out to the respective liai-

son.

It is our privilege to be able to represent you and St. Matthew’s.

We have a lot of work ahead of us and we look forward to

working with you as we offer “…restoring, caring hands to send

forth the Good News to all with passion and determination.”

Greg Staab

Rector’s Warden

Vestry continued from page 2

Lent continued from page 1

May your blessings

outnumber

The shamrocks that

grow,

And may trouble avoid

you

Wherever you go.

Irish Blessing

March 2017March 2017March 2017March 2017

St. Matthew’s Mission Statement

The mission of St. Matthew’s is

“to restore all people to unity with God and each

other in Christ.”

We do this through worship of God,

education of ourselves and our children,

care for each other and outreach to others,

sharing faith stores with others,

and caring for all our resources (our time, treasure,

and talents).

Smatterings is published monthly except in the summer.

The deadline is the 15th of the month for the following

month’s publication.

Formatting and editing: Esther Weaver, Photos by: Tom Higbie, Esther Weaver

St. Matthew’s clergy and staff:

Services

• Sundays: Holy Eucharist Rite II

10:00am

• Wednesdays : Holy Eucharist 10:00am

Nursery available on Sundays starting at 9:45 Parish Office Hours: Wed., Thurs. 8am-5pm

The Revd Frank Impicciche, Priest-in-Charge

Ms. Carissa Riedesel, Parish Administrator

Crystal Black, Hand Bell Choir Director

Dale Caldwell, Music Minister

St. Matthew’s Episcopal ChurchSt. Matthew’s Episcopal ChurchSt. Matthew’s Episcopal ChurchSt. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

8320 East 10th Street8320 East 10th Street8320 East 10th Street8320 East 10th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46219−5399Indianapolis, IN 46219−5399Indianapolis, IN 46219−5399Indianapolis, IN 46219−5399 Phone (317) 898-7807

FAX: (317) 898-1443

http://www.stmattsindy.org

Parish E-mail office@stmattsindy.org

Priest-in-Charge E-mail frfrank@stmattsindy.org