From Father Mead: Christian Formation

I am waiting for a sign.  On Monday I ordered a large sign with this fall’s Christian Formation schedule on it.  The sign is supposed to be finished by the end of the week.  It is my hope that this sign will bring attention to the classes that we are offering this fall at Saint Mary’s.  Such a sign is a good way to promote something: it’s big, it’s colorful, and (hopefully) eye-catching . . . but why stop with just a sign?  I don’t want people to see what we are doing this fall; I want people to come to these events.  In that vein, I am going to use this (and probably every other) opportunity to promote our fall Christian Formation curriculum. 

For the past two years I have offered a weekly Bible Study.  This fall, beginning Wednesday, September 12, we will study Saint Paul’s life and writings.  “All Paul, all fall.”  The Wednesday Night Bible Study features a dinner each week provided by participants on a rotating and voluntary basis.  Nothing lavish or expensive, just delicious.  I hope you will join us for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about Saint Paul and have dinner with a great group of Saint Marians. 

I am very happy to announce that we are starting a new series on the basics of Christianity.  The series is entitled Introduction to Christianity, and it will be offered on Sundays after Solemn Mass.  The classes cover such things as buying and using a Bible, Church History, Liturgical Music, the Sacraments, and a short series on several important figures in Anglican and Saint Marian history.  The series will continue in the winter and spring.  Saint Mary’s has grown constantly over the last few years and I think that a regular series that covers what it means to be a Christian, an Episcopalian, and a member of Saint Mary’s will be of value to our long-standing and new members, and those yet to come.

The sisters of the Community of Saint John Baptist living in the Mission House have opened the door to a variety of events focusing on Spirituality and Prayer.  Sister Laura Katharine and Sister Deborah Francis are offering Quiet Days on September 15 and December 15 as well as Introductions to the Enneagram and Centering Prayer.  Additionally, the Spirituality and Reading Group continues to meet throughout the fall on the third Sunday of every month. 

Finally, I am pleased to note that the Right Reverend Richard Grein will lead our annual Advent Bible Series.  Bishop Grein will do a four-part series on the Parables of Jesus. 

I loved seminary because I loved learning about my faith.  I hope that the classes we are offering this fall will bring the same joy to members of Saint Mary’s, and it is with that in mind that I invite you to make Christian Formation a part of your regular experience of our parish.  For detailed information on all of the classes offered this fall please visit the parish website or take a look at the big, colorful, and (hopefully) eye-catching sign at the back of the church!   Matthew Mead

PRAYER LIST . . . Your prayers are asked especially for Fred, Gert, Steven, Henry, Pamela, Joan, Hilyard, Charles, Virginia, Daisy, Joseph, Marcia, Ana, Kevin, Gloria, Ray, Tony, William, Eve, Virginia, Mary, Gilbert, Rick, Suzanne, Thomas, priest, Henry, priest, and Charles, priest; and for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Steve, Patrick, Brenden and Christopher     . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . August 27: 1961 Leslie Evans Roberts; August 29: 1959 James Edward Emanuel, 1961 James B. Thornell.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Congratulations to Heather Kopelson and Michael Innis-Jiménez on the birth of their son Mateo Stephen Akiro Innis-Kopelson, born Wednesday, August 22 at 4:24 AM, 20.5 inches and 7 pounds, 7 ounces . . . On Sundays throughout the summer child care during the 10:00 AM Sung Mass and 11:00 AM Solemn Mass will be available.  The nursery is located next to the sacristy (down the hallway from Saint Joseph’s Hall) . . . We are delighted to announce that the Presiding Bishop will be celebrant and preacher for the Solemn Mass on Annunciation, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 . . . Confessions will be heard on Saturday, September 1, by Father Mead and on Saturday, September 8, by Father Gerth . . . Attendance last Sunday 357.

NOTES ON MUSIC . . . This Sunday at the Solemn Mass, the prelude is an improvisation on ‘Regent Square’.  The postlude is Präludium und Fuge c-moll, BWV 549 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).  The cantor is Ms. Ruth Cunningham, soprano, and the music at Communion is Ms. Cunningham’s setting of O lilum convallium.  Robert McCormick

LOOKING AHEAD . . . The liturgical calendar has a few highlights in the month of September: the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Cross Day and Michaelmas . . . Our principal service for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be Friday, September 7 as we celebrate the Eve of the feast with a Sung Mass at 6:00 PM.  Additionally, we offer a said Mass at 12:10 PM on Saturday, September 8 . . . On Thursday September 13 we begin our celebration of the Feast of the Holy Cross with Solemn Evensong at 6:00 PM.  On Friday, September 14 we continue to celebrate the feast with a Sung Mass at 12:10 PM and our principal service, a Solemn Mass, at 6:00 PM.  This liturgy will include the opportunity to venerate a Relic of the True Cross . . . On Friday, September 28, we celebrate the Eve of the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels (also known as Michaelmas) with a Sung Mass at 6:00 PM.  Additionally, we offer a said Mass at 12:10 PM on Saturday, September 29.

SAINT MARY’S GUILD MEETS SEPTEMBER 1. . . The Saint Mary’s Guild will next meet Saturday, September 1 at the 12:10 PM Mass in the church and then move to Saint Benedict’s Study for lunch.  After lunch the Guild will clean the parish altar vessels and make necessary repairs to parish vestments.  If you are interested in joining the Saint Mary’s Guild, please speak to Sister Laura Katharine or Sister Deborah Francis, or simply come to one of the monthly meetings.   Sister Laura Katharine

MARIAN HYMN SING & OKTOBERFEST . . . You may have heard of Oktoberfest: the annual Bavarian celebration of German food, beer, people, and singing.  This October at Saint Mary’s we’re doing something similar.  Join a very jovial group of Saint Marians for a Marian Hymn Sing and Oktoberfest in Saint Joseph’s Hall (and the organ loft!) on Saturday, October 13 at 6:00 PM.  German-style beverages and organ accompaniment will be provided.  The rest is pot-luck with a German theme.  We hope you can join us!  R.M. and M.M.

FROM FATHER BEDDINGFIELD . . . Thanks so much to the entire parish community for making last Sunday such a memorable day.  It was extremely moving to have so many friends and parishioners in attendance, and Erwin and I are grateful for all the good wishes extended by those who are away.  Thank you so much for your generosity.  Saint Mary’s and all of its friends will continue to be in our prayers.  Should you be in Washington, please come and visit us at All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church, just off the Woodley Park stop of the Metro.  My installation service is scheduled for Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM.  The Bishop of Washington will preside and the Reverend Stephen Gerth has agreed to preach. 

DO YOU WANT TO SERVE AT THE HIGH ALTAR? . . . Saint Vincent’s Guild is the name of the group of laypersons who serve with the clergy at Saint Mary’s.  If you are interested in serving on Sundays or during the week please speak to Father Mead.  We are always looking for new servers!  M.M.

PLEDGING . . . A few weeks ago, everyone received pledge statements for the first half of the year. The statement shows whether or not you’re up to date with your pledge giving.  While we have no doubt that pledgers will eventually catch up with their giving, you may not realize how important it is to the financial health of the parish to keep those donations up-to-date.  Our bills don’t wait, and in the past two months, Saint Mary’s has twice had to draw down its reserves to cover ongoing operating expenses—utilities, payroll, maintenance, etc.  These are funds that would otherwise be earning investment income.  In the absence of up-to-date pledge funds, the church therefore ends up paying twice for ordinary expenses—we have to pay the money out and we miss out on potential investment accruals.  If you haven’t already, please look at your statement and send in your pledge. Thank you!

RICHARD HOOKER . . . The sanctification of days and times is a token of that thankfulness and a part of that public honour which we owe to God for admirable benefits, whereof it doth not suffice that we keep a secret calendar, taking thereby our private occasions as we list ourselves to think how much God hath done for all men, but the days which are chosen out to serve as public memorials of such His great mercies ought to be clothed with those outward robes of holiness whereby their difference from other days may be made sensible.  (This is taken from Hooker’s Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.)  Christians today may take celebrating the festivals of the church year for granted, but it was not so long ago that people like Richard Hooker were forced to defend such celebrations.  Anglicanism didn’t just pop out of thin air when Elizabeth ascended to the throne of England in the second half of the sixteenth century.  It was (and continues to be) hammered out by people like Richard Hooker, who navigated a middle way through the extremes of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation.  Who was Richard Hooker?  Find out Sunday, October 28.  M.M.

The Calendar of the Week

Sunday        The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Monday         Weekday

Tuesday         Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 430

Wednesday   The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist

Thursday      Weekday

Friday            Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, 651       Abstinence

Saturday       Of Our Lady

Sunday: 8:30 AM Morning Prayer, 9:00 AM Mass, 10:00 AM Sung Mass, 11:00 AM Solemn Mass, 5:00 PM Evening Prayer, 5:20 PM Mass.  Childcare from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Monday – Friday: 8:30 AM Morning Prayer, 12:00 PM Noonday Office, 12:10 PM Mass, 6:00 PM Evening Prayer, 6:20 PM Mass.

Saturday: 11:30 AM Confessions, 12:00 PM Noonday Office, 12:10 PM Mass, 4:00 PM Confessions, 5:00 PM Evening Prayer, 5:20 PM Sunday Vigil Mass.