ACP This Week - 16 April 2025

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ACP This Week

Hello ACP Family,

Please view this video message from Pastor Paul reflecting on our Holy Week services: the Maundy Thursday Love Feast, the Good Friday Tenebrae Service, and the 4 Easter Resurrection Services. See the times and details below.

Tomorrow (Thursday)

Maundy Thursday Love Feast: 20h in the Sanctuary. Maundy Thursday is the remembrance of Jesus' last supper with his disciples before his death. Maudy is old French/Latin which means "Commandment" and refers to the great commandment Jesus gave his disciples at that meal - that we love one another...

We will feast! Come and join us for a special Maundy Thursday service where we will worship and share in a Holy meal together during worship. Bring a food item (such as crackers, baguette, fruits, vegetables, etc.) to share at the table with others.

This Friday

Good Friday Tenebrae Service: 20h in the Sanctuary.
Good Friday service is where we remember the last steps and words of Jesus before his death. It's a Tenebrae service which means the sanctuary will grow darker as each reading ends with the blowing out of a candle, until we end in complete darkness.

This Sunday - Easter

Easter Services:

Sunrise service: 6h45 on the quai d’Orsay.
Easter breakfast: 7h30 in the Thurber Room
Traditional service: 9h in the Sanctuary; musical prelude begins 8h30
Traditional service: 11h in the Sanctuary; musical prelude begins 10h30
- The 9h and 11h Traditional services are identical with choirs, soloists, and other musicians.
Children’s Worship: 11h and 14h.
Contemporary service: 14h in the Sanctuary.

We encourage ACP members to attend the Sunrise 6h45, Traditional 9h, or Contemporary 14h services, as the 11h service is extremely crowded. Help us to welcome as many visitors as possible.

Scripture Readings
- Matthew 28:1-10
- Matthew 28:11-20

Easter Monday, 21 April: Church offices closed.

ACP is recruiting our future Director of Music Ministries. As we consider the years to come for our Music Ministry and the skills and profiles of our Director, we want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out our survey at acparis.org/dmm-survey. For more information or to talk with a member of the search task force, please contact dmm@acparis.org.

Please Support the ACP

Next Week & After

Centering Prayer Workshop: Thursday, 24 April 19h in Pastor Paul’s office and on Zoom. Join us for a workshop on the background and practice of Centering Prayer led by Ildiko Viczian, Contemplative Outreach commissioned Presenter of Centering Prayer. From the Christian Contemplative tradition, Centering Prayer is a silent Prayer of Consent, a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship to move beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Him. Register at acparis.org/centering-prayer.

Membership Inquiry Classes: Sunday, 27 April 12h30 and 15h30 in the Senior Pastor’s office and on zoom. Interested in learning more about ACP: who we are and what we believe? We would love for you to join our membership inquiry class! Register at: acparis.org/signups.

Prayer Workshop: 27 April 12h15 in the 2nd Floor Library. You are invited to join our interactive prayer workshop. This session on “The Examen” will be led by Daphne Elfferich. All are welcome.

Atelier Nouveau Concerts: selected Sundays at 17h30. 11 May Pianist Matthew Odell, 8 June Organist Samuel Gaskin and Mezzo-Soprano Jacquelyn Matava; 15 June String Quartet Les Sources with Mezzo-soprano Francine Watremez and Clarinettist Myriam Carrier . Free entry with a donation. acparis.org/concerts

New

Conversation on Family: Wednesday, 15 May 19h-20h30 in the Theater and via Zoom, led by Pastor Allison Wheeler, ACP’s Director of Children’s Ministries. Family, from our ideas to our expectations, is shaped profoundly by our experiences of it. In our next Thursday Conversation we will discuss the cultural contexts, personal experiences, faith traditions, and shared biblical heritage that influence our understanding of what family is and our responsibilities as members of the "family of God." Register at acparis.org/family.

Anxious for Nothing Study: Wednesdays, 4 June to 9 July 19h-20h30. Join Pastor Rebecca for a transformative six-week journey through Max Lucado’s uplifting book, “Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World.” This study goes beyond surface-level remedies by empowering participants with actionable spiritual disciplines that cultivate inner peace and resilience amid anxious and chaotic times. Register at acparis.org/anxious.

Previous Weeks' Sermons

In case you missed it, Sermon - 13 April 2025 - What to Do When Your God Changes. Sermons are available at acparis.org/sermons. Other previous worship livestreams are available on YouTube.

ACP's services are available with subtitles in English and other languages, beginning on Tuesdays, on ACP’s YouTube channel youtube.com/c/TheAmericanChurchinParis. Click the CC button on the video to enable closed-captioning and translations.

Announcements & Opportunities to Serve

In need of prayer? If you are in need of prayer, a lay caregiver is available in the chapel on Sundays to pray with you. If you would like members of the lay care ministry team, members of the prayer chain, and the pastoral team to uphold you in prayer, you may contact us at acparis.org/prayers.

Food Box: In order to best serve our neighbors who seek help from our church, you are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to place in the box (located in reception). The box is open to anyone who is in need of food and additional supplies go to Serve the City-Paris.

Sandwich Ministry: Thursdays promptly at 17h. Our ACP sandwich ministry meets weekly to make sandwiches to help feed over 100 unhoused persons a week. All materials are provided. Join at acparis.org/sandwich.

Call for CE volunteers: Do you enjoy coming to the various learning opportunities such as Bible studies and Thurber Conversations? Interested in helping with set-up, attendance, technical assistance, etc.? Please contact christianeducation@acparis.org.

Call for teachers and hobbyists to give one-off or continuing Zoom lessons to girls sheltered at one of ACP’s missions: Hope for Women and Girls Tanzania. This is one concrete way we can help out and keep in touch with the girls at the safe houses. Perhaps you can give an informal lesson or two in English as a Second Language, lead songs, teach knitting, or share the latest fashion trends for knitwear and jewelry? Contact Rose at hwgt@acparis.org.

Call for Docent Team volunteers: Would you like to learn about the rich heritage of ACP and share it with our members, neighbors, and the wider Paris community? Docents give tours after the 11h service on the second Sunday of every month and make open-door visits of the sanctuary possible on most Thursday mornings. If you are interested, please contact docents@acparis.org.

Nursery Volunteers: We need many new volunteers to welcome children (ages 0-2) in our nursery at both the 11h and 14h services! Without volunteers, we don’t have a nursery. If you would like to serve, contact Oshi Peiris at nursery@acparis.org.

Ushers and Greeters needed: It takes a team of volunteers to welcome our Sunday attendees with love, and help them feel connected and ready to worship together. Join the team at acparis.org/welcome-ushering.

Join the Adult Choir! All voices are welcome as we lead music every Sunday at 11h with traditional anthems, spirituals, gospel, world music, and more! Regular rehearsals are on Wednesdays 19h30-20h45h in the Theater and Sundays 9h45-10h30. Contact Natalie McConnell at cmusic@acparis.org.

Join the Bell Choir! Rehearsals are on Thursdays 19h-20h30 in the Theater. Director: Mathilde Duriez; Contact Natalie McConnell at cmusic@acparis.org.

Audio Visual Ministry: If you’d like to be a part of our worship tech and A/V team for both Sunday services, we welcome your help. Contact: cmusic@acparis.org.