From the Rector

Peace be with you. The annual meeting of the parish was wonderful. Same Cote's slide presentation on her trip to Honduras with the Youth Leadership Academy gave us all a window into the impact of the experience on her life. She is a future leader of the church and I am proud that St. Anne 's is one of the foundations of her journey. We were also privileged to experience the way Lisa Kinser teaches her 4,5,6-grade class. It was fast-paced, interesting and informative. Great job Lisa! She made us want to look up passages in the Bible.

There are several copies of the annual report in the narthex if you were unable to
come. Please take the time to read the individual reports because they paint a picture of St. Anne's in a variety of settings. The new leadership contact sheet is included in this issue for your information.

The focus of this issue is the Lenten calendar of events. Ash Wednesday is February 9. The St. Elizabeth Guild will host the Ecumenical Lenten luncheon at 11:45 AM at The First Congregational Church in Billerica center. (That evening at 7:30 PM, there will be a traditional Ash Wednesday service at St. Anne's.) Every Wednesday during Lent a different church will serve the meal and lead the worship. You are invited to all of them. The schedule is posted on the bulletin board. Each Friday at 7:30 PM Pete Jeffrey will walk the Stations of the Cross. On Sunday, Feb. 13 there will be special coffee hours following both services to honor specifically those members who have been apart of this parish family for thirty years or more. If you are a new member or somewhere in between new and seasoned please come and share the fellowship and food that is being prepared.

We are very pleased to be offering the newest Episcopal study about Christianity. It is called the "Via Media " and is really the Episcopal Church's parallel to Alpha. It differs from Alpha in that there is a round table discussion of a diverse group of people on various topics (God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, sin etc.) instead of the voice of one person. Most of all it is my hope that you will listen and come away with a sense of reverent diversity within the church and an understanding of why there is such a wide range of interpretation within the body. A very well done eight-week study. The evening course will begin on February 17. There is a sign-up sheet outside the kitchen. The video will begin at 7:30 PM; small group discussions will follow and we will end at 8:30 PM or very shortly after with Compline. The same course will also be offered on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 AM beginning on Feb. 15.

Young mothers and their little one/s have been invited to meet informally on Feb. l9 at 10:00 AM in the Nichols Room to see if there is a desire for another M.O.M. 's group. If you did not receive a note and would like to come, please do so. There will be refreshments.

Aside from February 20 when three little boys will be welcomed into the
household of God at St. Anne 's in a service of Holy Baptism --the -worship -will consist of Morning Prayer with the Holy Communion. This different rhythm will mark the Lenten season just as there will be no flowers on the altar.

This year there are nine confirmands who have signed agreements of commitment to meet regularly with mentors assigned to them as they study and discuss their textbook Keeping The Promise. They will also have the benefit of attending a day-long deanery wide confirmation retreat at St. Paul's Church in Newburyport. Bishop Harris will be there to meet with them. They will attend a vestry meeting and will help out in the Thrift Shop as additional requirements. The confirmation will be on May 5 at St. Anne's Church in Lowell at a time yet to be determined.

There are two mission opportunities, one is the continued support of all those affected by the devastating tsunami. A basket is placed on the piano and all moneys will be forwarded through the Episcopal Relief & Development Fund. The other missionary opportunity involves my neighbor, Katrina Berg. For two years she was a Peace Corp volunteer in an African village in the northern province of Zambia. During her time there she helped the people build a library with reference materials on fish farming, the HIV virus and malaria prevention. It was so helpful to the people of that village. They were able to be better fish-farmers - a major source of work - and to take better care of themselves. She was recently promoted to Peace Corp volunteer leader. She now has her own little house and travels by bike to all the villages in the province helping people with their needs. They also need libraries. There are so many termites that they need to pour cement and it is expensive. They need corrugated roofs and not thatched because they last longer. Pictures of her and her work are on the bulletin board. Her e-mail address and address are also included so you can be in contact first hand with the mission. Any moneys collected will be sent to her as soon as they are received.

Holy Week begins on March 20 with the liturgy of the Palms. Maundy Thursday
will focus on the traditional "foot" washing and stripping of the altar and there will be a Good Friday liturgy at Noon and a more elaborate service of the Stations of the Cross at 7:30 PM. On Holy Saturday there will be a special presentation of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at 1:00 PM, followed by the annual Easter egg hunt outside (weather permitting). On the Day of Resurrection there will be two services of Festival Eucharist with special music and choirs.

It is my hope that there is a Lenten event for every age group and that you will
deepen your faith in relationship, worship and study these forty days.

"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the church, to the observance of a holy
Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word." (BCP p. 265)

Faithfully,

Peggy