Meals for the PourHouse

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Pour1
On Saturday, members of our Youth Group and congregation gathered to prepare sack lunches to distribute through the PourHouse. The PourHouse assists individuals experiencing homelessness in overcoming barriers to housing, treatment and healthcare. Through community-style street outreach and a unique peer advocacy approach, they help people define and achieve their goals and reestablish vision for their lives.
Each Wednesday and Sunday evening, 250 sack lunches are distributed downtown on Monument Circle. The Pour House relies on volunteer donations to provide these meals. Members of our youth group and congregation made 250 sandwiches and then packed them in paper bags with fruit, chips, and a dessert. With all the hard work from each volunteer, we were able to prepare and assemble all the lunches in less than and hour. The Youth Group plans to prepare meals for the PourHouse on a regular basis. Please send us an email if you would like to participate. hfecyouthgroup@gmail.com
Pour2 Pour3


Firefighters, Flames, and Forgiveness

Firefighters

This weekend members of our Youth Group gathered to cook and deliver pizzas to firefighters at Station 91 in Fishers. As part of their Lenten lock-in, students wanted to serve those in our community who typically serve others.

Pizza 1

Pizza 2
Gathering
Upon returning to the church, Deacon Cathy led a spiritual session about forgiveness.
Candle
Our new pal, Larry the bear, even took time to reflect with the students.
Burning
As part of the meditation, everyone wrote down the name of someone who had been forgiven, needed forgiveness, or had offered them forgiveness. The names were offered up in prayer and firelight.
The evening finished with a pizza dinner and typical lock-in activities. For more information about Holy Family’s Youth Group please contact hfecyouthgroup@gmail.com.


Meet Larry

Acolytes
Larry the Bear, named for his home church St. Laurence Cowley in England, came to Holy Family as part of the Friendship Bears project. This project began on the day that the Primates of the Anglican Communion applied sanctions to the Episcopal Church of the USA. The Primates did this because they disagreed with the Episcopal Church’s stand on the full equality of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning people.
 
Many members of the Episcopal Church of the USA clearly value the Anglican Communion and the historic link with the Church of England. In the Church of England many members value the Episcopal Church for its dynamic commitment to the Gospel and social justice. They couldn’t stand by and see their brothers and sisters hurting, so they began sending out friendship bears.
 
The members of Holy Family Episcopal church thank St.. Laurence Cowley for their support and for sending Larry.
 
 Click on THIS LINK to follow Larry’s adventures at Holy Family!


Snacks for Miracle Place

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Group
 
Students from our Disciples Sunday school class, grades 4-6, gathered recently to learn more about the children’s programs at Miracle Place in Indianapolis. Doing homework, reading, playing games, participating in Cub Scouts, decorating cookies, shooting hoops, and participating  in the fitness  program  provide the  children with  a  safe,  warm  and loving environment.  The  care and  concern of the staff  and  volunteers at Miracle Place give  the children a sense of belonging.  Lessons in politeness,  respect, and self-discipline are emphasized each day.
 
Gather
 
They gathered in our newly-renovated Narthex space to hear about the program and facilities, a discussion led by Deacon Cathy Scott and parent Susan Stahly. Following the discussion, the students and leaders prepared snacks that will be enjoyed by students who attend the Miracle Place after school program.
 
Food 1 Food 2 Food 3 Food 4 Food 5
Larry snack
Larry, our new friend from England, stopped by to help pack a few snacks and sign notes to the children.
 
Bless
Disciples class students presented the snacks during the Offertory at Sunday’s 10 AM service and helped bless them before they were delivered to Miracle Place during the week.  More information about outreach projects at Holy Family can be seen by clicking HERE or contacting the church office. admin@hfec.org


Ash Wednesday 2016

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Debbie
 
Betty
 
Sophia
 
Communion
 


Explanation of Changes in the Church and Liturgy During Lent

Lent changes
There are a number of alterations made both in the decorations of the church as well as in the regular liturgy during Lent. Some of these include:

Liturgical Colors -The altar hangings are purple, a color of Jesus’ royal kingship and of his royal priesthood, as he embraces suffering and finally death on the cross for his people.

Processional Cross -The regular shiny brass processional cross is replaced by a plain, wooden processional cross, reminding us of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on a tree. His sacrifice defeats death and makes us whole.

Flowers – There are no flowers on the altar during Lent, reflecting the focus on repentance over celebration.

Penitential Order – There are changes in the liturgy during Lent as well. The service starts with the Penitential Order, which focuses on confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness from the very beginning of our worship.

Music – The music used for the regular parts of the Eucharist changes; it is more in a minor key and in a more transcendent style.

Eucharistic Prayers – During Lent we will use Eucharistic Prayer C which is more penitential and requires greater participation from the congregation.

Post Communion Prayer – At the end, the post-communion prayer is different, demanding our attention to the actual words of what we are praying.

Alleluia – All Alleluias are dropped during Lent, reflecting that Lent is again about penitence over celebration.

Hymns – The hymns during Lent are different in character, with words that draw us to the holiness of God and our need for God’s forgiveness and grace.

All of these changes to the liturgy during Lent are designed to get our attention and force us to engage the experience in a more present way. Hopefully our Lenten Services will help to take each of us out of our comfort zone and truly reflect on our lives and relationship with Christ.

Many Blessings My Friends,

Fr. Mike



Shrove Tuesday 2016

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Burning Palms
Ashes liturgyShrove Tuesday at Holy Family was particularly exciting this year as we celebrated the first large-scale use of our new parish hall. We held a liturgy to burn palms from 2015, the ashes from which will be used in our services tomorrow on Ash Wednesday.
Bury
We “buried the Alleluia” and put away our gold and white banner until Easter Vigil.
Pancakes
Finally, we enjoyed pancakes with all the extras in our annual Pancake Supper youth group fundraiser. Special thanks are extended to all those who cooked and served food at tonight’s event.
Cooks
Dinner 2
Kids
Dinner 1