St. Anne’s Chapter of the ECW will meet on Wednesday, May 12th for our last meeting until the fall. We will meet at the Marriott across from Crabtree Valley Mall. We hope that other women from the church will consider joining us in the fall.

All of us from St. Anne’s want to thank the members of St. Timothy’s for their support of our Bake Sale. We will keep everyone informed as we begin to use these funds. If a group within the church knows of a need, please let us know.

Many thanks to all the men who helped last week with the Chicken Barbeque. Many worked countless hours to make the barbeque possible, and once again, David Elsea and Mike Lewis worked all Thursday night and all day Friday to bring us the delicious chicken dinners. The fundraiser brought in $852.39. This amount will certainly help the Men’s Fellowship in their works of service to the parish and the community.

Is someone you know graduating this spring? Each spring we like to recognize and pray for all those graduating from high school or college or receiving an advance degree. Please give Father James, Father Martin or Father Presler the person’s name, the institution from where the person is graduating, and, for high school graduates, the college or university they will be attending. It is important to recognize these accomplishments and to give God thanks for such blessings. We will have all of the graduates listed in the bulletin on Trinity Sunday, May 30th.

Bishop Keith Ackerman and his wife Joann have led many tours and trips to the Holy Land and Egypt. Bishop Ackerman is the retired Bishop of Quincy. With an extra excursion to Cairo, Egypt, Bishop Ackerman and Joann will lead their tenth tour of the Holy Land this October from the 19th through the 30th. The tour will leave from New York’s JFK Airport and fly Air France, making a short stopover at the Paris Airport and then continuing to Tel Aviv.

Traveling to Israel on pilgrimage encompasses many areas and affects all of our senses. The trip is enjoyable in so many ways; it is a spiritual awakening, it is educational, and it is recreational. Bishop Ackerman, who is well known in Israel, will introduce you to many people, places and things as well as teach and bring the Bible to life for you. The Land of the Holy One is beautiful to the eye, with magnificent aromas and flavors that stimulate. The sounds of the sea and the prayers fill the air, but most especially, one can touch the places where Jesus was born, crucified, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

The well known tour operator, Economy Travel and Tours agent George Kort, is very conscientious in making arrangements that will give you a life-changing experience. Participants will receive a fourteen-page booklet, “A Guide to Traveling to the Holy Land”, which should answer most questions from “What to wear?” to “Is it safe?”. They will also receive a Pilgrim’s Manual to carry with them each day which includes the liturgies, psalms and music that will be used. The hope is that anyone who may want this life-changing experience will have the opportunity to join.

You can contact Joann Ackerman at dovehaven2@verizon.net or 817-479-6831 to have a brochure mailed to you, or you can print out a brochure from the dovetracts.org website. Please send your deposit to Mr. Kort at Economy Travel and Tours quickly to ensure a place in the 30-member group. You can also call Mr. Kort toll free at 1-800-458-7636 regarding travel, hotels, booking or any other questions you may have.

The ECW is hosting a Pampered Chef Party on Sunday, May 2nd at 6 PM. Pampered Chef sells great kitchen products that are practical, durable and attractive. They make wonderful gifts for a bride or just inspire you in the kitchen! This party has the added benefit of being a fundraiser for Loaves and Fishes, an after-school and summer program for at-risk children and teens. Our hostess Cheri Coleman is the Academic Director at the program and contributes a portion of her sales back to Loaves and Fishes. Please join us for a light supper and a fun evening of cooking demonstrations and help our community. If you have any questions, please contact Betsy James at 781-3410.

We have volunteer opportunities for the following:

• VBS: For all four days or for one night, we need you to make the week a success!
• Teaching Church School next year
• Working with the children during Craft Sundays: We need every grade level to have a teacher; this helps with the organized chaos for the day.
• Leading Chapel Service or playing the piano for Chapel Service

Upcoming events:

• Sunday, May 2nd: Craft Sunday
• Sunday, May 9th: Mother’s Day
• Sunday, June 6th: Last Day of Church School

Please take the time to complete a parish survey. You may complete it online or on a hard copy. Hard copies of the survey are available in the narthex; providing your signature on the survey is optional. If you want to complete the survey online, e-mail the Parish Office, and the link (URL) to the survey will be sent to you. The Vestry will collect the surveys over the next couple of months, get the results compiled and report significant findings to the Parish. The deadline for completing the survey is Sunday, June 6th.

Bishop Marble of the Diocese of North Carolina will be with us for his annual visitation and confirmation of our confirmands on Sunday, April 25th. He will preach and celebrate at both the 9 AM and 11 AM Services, meet with the Vestry from 10 AM to 10:45 AM and attend the Coffee Hour after the 11 AM Service. We look forward to meeting Bishop Marble and giving thanks for the parishioners who will be confirmed by him on that day.

The Men’s Fellowship will be hosting their annual Chicken Barbeque on Friday, April 30th. Lunch orders can be taken out, and lunchtime delivery will be provided for five or more lunches. You may also join us in the Parish Hall beginning at 6:30 PM. The men will be taking pre-orders and selling tickets leading up to April 30th. The following dinners will be available:

• 1/4 chicken dinner: $6.50
• 1/2 chicken dinner: $7.50
• 1/4 all white meat: $7.50
• 1/2 chicken only: $6.50

Dinners include boiled potatoes, green beans, roll and dessert.

The St. Anne’s Chapter of The Episcopal Church Women is having their bake sale on April 18th in the Parish Hall following both the 9 and 11 AM Services. There will be cookies, pies, cakes and Sheila’s orange marmelade preserves. There will even be homemade treats for our dogs!