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<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 46pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><STRONG><SPAN
class=109140917-08032007><FONT size=2>The rector of Saint John's Church asked me
to forward this message. It is for a service that recognizes the
Police, Fire Department, and Paramedics of Baltimore City. Please send it
on as you see fit. </FONT></SPAN></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 46pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><STRONG></STRONG></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 46pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><STRONG>The
Annual <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Baltimore</st1:City></st1:place><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoTitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><o:p><STRONG> </STRONG></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoSubtitle style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 156pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Bodoni MT Poster Compressed'"><STRONG>‘BLUE
MASS’<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 26pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><STRONG>A
Community-wide Service of Prayer<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>for the Police, Fire-fighters, and
Paramedic Teams of Baltimore City<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 70pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Bodoni MT Poster Compressed'">Tuesday, 24
April, <st1:time w:st="on" Minute="30" Hour="18">6.30
PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></SPAN></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 36pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'">SAINT
JOHN</SPAN></st1:City></st1:place><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 36pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'">’S
CHURCH<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=6><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address
w:st="on"><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'">3009
GREENMOUNT AVENUE</SPAN></st1:address></st1:Street><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H2>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'">Greenmount
Avenue</SPAN></st1:address></st1:Street><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"> at <st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Thirtieth
Street</st1:address></st1:Street><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'">A Reception follows
the Service<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'">to thank our
Fire-fighters, Police, and Paramedic Teams for all their good work on our
behalf.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><STRONG><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">N.B.</SPAN></I><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Baskerville Old Face'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is a sacred Service of Prayer to
help meet the Pastoral needs of the men and women of the Police and Fire
Departments, sponsored by Saint John’s Church as an act of gratitude for the
many acts of courage and sacrifice made on our behalf.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This sacred time and place of
reconciliation is NOT the forum for complaints or
politics!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 48pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><STRONG>Could you do
it??<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Could you do what they
do?</SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could you rush into raging flames for a
stranger?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could you put yourself
between a gun and someone you’ve never met?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could you chase down and tackle someone
twice you size?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could you carry out
a dead child to its parents?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could
you put in the IV drip?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Could you
close a gaping, bleeding wound?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>They can, and do- your fire-fighters, police and paramedics.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They do it on a weekly
basis.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Why have a service of prayer for our
Police, Fire-fighters, and Paramedic Teams? </SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Because these individuals do for our city
and its communities what we ourselves are not able to do, or choose not to do,
but know needs to be done; because they engage in work which is both physically
and spiritually dangerous on our behalf and in our place; because <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">for us</I> these individuals routinely
expose themselves to an underground society and the underside of ordinary life
that most of us can scarcely imagine.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>A public service of prayer is a gift to them which makes us mindful of
their particular need for spiritual support, and of our responsibility to help
them to bear what we ask of them.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">There is a long tradition in
Baltimore</SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> of
a religious service for the Legal Profession, commonly called the “Red Mass”
because of the colour of the vestments of the clergy for the patron saint of the
Profession.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In this case, because
Fire-fighters, Police, and Paramedics all have different patron saints, a common
date was chosen: the feast of Saint George, a martyred Christian soldier (ca.304
AD) who was devoted to the ideals of his faith, the duty of his office, and who
gave his life in the course of service.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>He is honoured for his courage and devotion to his companions, for his
fearless willingness to put himself in danger for others, and above all for the
zeal of his faith.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The special
colour of his day would customarily be the red of a martyr, or white, which can
always be used for any saint.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is
a happy coincidence that in the English customs followed at Saint John’s Church,
blue is an equivalent substitute for white, and so our offering of a “Blue
Mass”, is especially appropriate for “our men and women in
blue“.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The Service</SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> takes the form of a Christian rite and
uses Christian language, but it <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">is
prayer to the God of us all, the God of every language, people and
nation</B>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Everyone is invited to
enter into the prayer, the Spirit, and the meaning of this Service as deeply as
possible.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If the forms seem
somewhat traditional, it is because Christian worship is very ancient, and
because its language deliberately recalls the eternal presence of those who have
gone before us in life, faith, and hope.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The forms are Christian, but the prayer is universal, embracing the
living with the dead and soaring through God’s eternity which we experience as
our present.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The form of prayer for this Service is
our most sacred ritual</SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">, in which Christians believe Holy
Communion may be made with God himself, and with those who have loved Him.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In this rite we offer to God our praise,
our prayers for ourselves and on behalf of others, our sorrow for wrong-doing,
our promise of renewal, and all our very being.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We join these to the supreme offering of
the Son of God who gave his own life as a ransom for many.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">On this occasion, baptised Christians who
are communicant members in good standing in their own church are encouraged to
receive the Holy Communion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Those
whose faith does not permit the reception of Holy Communion in other Churches,
non-Christians, or those who for any reason whatsoever are<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>unable to join in receiving the Holy
Sacrament, are invited to come forward with others at the time of Holy Communion
to receive instead a personal blessing by the priest. </I><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We hope that everyone will engage in all
aspects of the Service and in the Holy Spirit in which it is offered.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">We encourage you to come to this
celebration</SPAN></B><SPAN lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">
with a heart full of gratitude, and full of prayer for those who serve, protect,
and preserve us as our Police, Fire-fighters, and Paramedic
Teams.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></I><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 8pt">...The People, Rector, Churchwardens and Vestry of
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Saint John’s</st1:City></st1:place> in
the Village</SPAN></I></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>