From the Rector: Great Thanksgiving

Reading Sacrifice Unveiled: The True Meaning of Christian Sacrifice by Robert J. Daly, S.J. has sent me back to the books to look afresh at what I think I know about Eucharistic prayers.  In particular, one of his sentences got to me, “the primary focus, indeed the very purpose of the transformation of the bread and wine, is the transformation of the assembly” (page 18).  For some very good reasons, my gut focuses on other dimensions of the Eucharistic mystery.

From the Rector: One Body, One Cup

The first time I attended a service in an Episcopal parish church was sometime during my teenage years.  I was there with friends and, frankly, I don’t remember much.  But I do remember how everyone received communion.  They were drinking from the same cup.  In the Southern Baptist congregations in which I was brought up, we drank from individual cups.  In my paternal grandparents’ Roman Catholic Church,

From the Rector: New Schedule Beginning June 14

Beginning Sunday evening, June 14, there will be a new worship schedule here at Saint Mary’s.  There will be no evening Mass Monday through Friday, except on Holy Days, when an additional Mass will be offered.  Depending on the day, this will be a said Mass at 6:20 PM following Evening Prayer, a Sung Mass at 6:00 PM or a Solemn Mass at 6:00 PM.  Eves of principal parish feasts will continue to be observed with Solemn Evensong.

From the Rector: Seeking Spiritual Gifts

Yesterday at the local Food Emporium I stood behind a man who was about my age who was asked to provide proof he was over twenty-one.  I couldn’t help myself.  It was probably a good thing it was my day off and I was not in clericals.  “Did you just ask him for an ID?”  The clerk replied, “Company policy.”

From the Rector: Thirty Years at the Office

In May 1979 I was in Chicago when a priest I had come to know said to me, “When are you going to do something about your vocation to the priesthood?”  At that point I had been accepted to an M.B.A program.  After three years studying British Indian history at the University of Chicago I was looking forward to being back in Charlottesville, Virginia, where I had gone to college.

From the Rector: Recovering Easter

The phrase “radical welcome” is used by some to describe an invitation to join in the life of the Christian community without any requirement other than to be present.  In the Episcopal Church, many congregations invite all people to receive Holy Communion whether or not they have been baptized.  Frankly, there is something very compelling about that kind of invitation, that kind of grace.  I confess that, from time to time, I have found myself thinking: Jesus fed all who were hungry on the mountain.  Why shouldn’t we?

From the Rector: Living Members

I’ve been thinking about the phrase “living members” from the postcommunion prayer we use at the end of Mass and, in particular, about the words, “you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ” (Prayer Book, page 365).  I’m pretty sure I have taken it to refer to the Eucharist.  On reflection, it seems to me to be a baptismal reference.  It is at our baptism that we become “living members” of the Body of Christ.

From the Rector: Easter Agenda

I have an “Easter Agenda.”  Across the fifty days of the Easter Season, I use the permissions in the Prayer Book to keep the sense of the season as strong as possible.  This kind of agenda, if you will, comes naturally to the Church during the twelve days of Christmas or the forty days of Lent.  For many centuries, these seasons have had a pull on the hearts of Christians that Easter has just not had.  There are many reasons for this, but there is no reason to be stuck with a shallow Easter.  And it really isn’t very hard to do this.

From the Rector: Sabbatical Notes

One of the jokes I’ve been using since my return from sabbatical is that the word “sabbatical” has replaced the word “salvation” as a favorite.  That’s not true, of course, but I’d like to think I was and am thankful for the special gifts of time and money that made study and travel possible.  I am also very aware and thankful for the colleagues and lay leaders of our parish community who made this possible.

From the Rector: Easter Gratitude

Easter Day Evensong is one of my favorite services.  It’s the last liturgy of the Easter Triduum and Holy Week.  I know my body and mind is ready for a rest, and surely this is part of the appeal.  But I really love the lessons we hear every year from John and Luke.  These are the appearances of Jesus on the evening of the first day of resurrection.

From the Rector: The Easter Triduum

Lent ends as the sun sets on the Thursday before Easter Day.  With this sunset, the Easter Triduum begins.  Triduum (Latin for “Three Days”) is the common name for the celebration of the Passover of the Lord across the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Day.  The services are celebrated with a particular richness, integrity, and simplicity here at Saint Mary’s.  Especially if you are new to the Church, I invite you to make every effort to be here.  For many, these celebrations renew faith as few others can.

From the Rector: Holy Week

In Luke’s gospel we read, “When the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him.  And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:14-16).  John’s gospel has a different perspective, but a careful reading of Mark, Matthew and Luke suggests that no one in that upper room, including the Lord himself, knew how those last days would unfold and what they would come to mean. 

From Father Smith:  “Things that were cast down are being raised up…”

Last Sunday I worshipped in a church in suburban Buffalo.  The final hymn at the 11:00 AM “choral Eucharist” was “Lift High the Cross,” a favorite of mine.  I stood up, opened my hymnal and got ready to sing.  To my surprise, as the procession cleared the center aisle and the celebrant went into the large narthex of the very modern church building, the vast majority of the members of the congregation left their pews and headed on home.  I stood my ground with ten or fifteen others, along with the members of the choir; and we did our best to do justice to that very fine hymn.

From Father Mead: Celebrate the Annunciation at Saint Mary’s
From Father Mead: Celebrate the Annunciation at Saint Mary’s

I write on Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19.  When the sextons saw a white chalice veil set for last night’s evening’s mass for the Eve of Saint Joseph, they called my cell phone to confirm the color: not to confirm that they should change the tabernacle veil to white, but instead to confirm that someone had made a mistake.  Since lesser feasts are not observed at Saint Mary’s during Lent, it’s been purple vestments since Ash Wednesday. 

From Father Smith: When Words Become Word

Those of you who have been around this parish long enough will have heard the Rector refer to Saint Mary’s as a “full-gospel church.”  It’s a phrase that Father Gerth, raised a Baptist in the great commonwealth of Virginia, always uses with a smile on his face – and in his voice.  He knows full well the cultural and denominational connotations of the phrase “full-gospel”; and he also knows that those Christians who emblazon their church signboards with it are seldom, if ever, high-church Anglo-Catholics.

From Father Mead: The Language of Lent

My son Liam, who is not quite two and a half years old yet, is learning to speak English at a rate that I find quite surprising.  For the past few days he has thoroughly enjoyed climbing up on the couch cushions so that he can look out the window in our living room.  Once settled on his perch, he exclaims: “Look at my up here!”. 

From Mr. Kennerley: Come, let us sing unto the Lord!

One may well be surprised that a member of the lay staff at Saint Mary’s is writing this week’s Angelus article: indeed, looking back over the archives of past articles, I think this may be the first time that a Music Director has written one!  I am grateful to my colleagues, the curates, for giving me the opportunity, and I hope that it might offer them some relief during Father Gerth’s sabbatical.  I want to write about singing, and how we might use this distinctly personal gift as part of our Lenten journey towards the glory of Eastertide.

From Father Smith: A Prayer for Lent

In the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syrian has traditionally been said at each weekday service during Lent.  The prayer goes like this: “O Lord and Master of my life!  Take from me the spirit of laziness, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.  Give instead to your servant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love.  Yes, O Lord and King!  Let me see my own errors and let me not judge my brothers and sisters.  For you are blessed unto ages of ages.  Amen.”

From Father Mead: Something about the Scriptures

One of the features of daily life at Saint Mary’s is the occasional overlap of lectionaries that are used.  For instance, right now the Gospel according to Mark is being read at Sunday Mass, at Evening Prayer, and at daily Mass.  Because each of these three services follows a different lectionary the Gospel is being read at differing paces, and we are at three different places in the narrative.  This Sunday we continue to read from the first chapter of Mark, and we will crawl through the narrative all year. 

From Father Powell:  Enjoying the Gift

I never intended to become a regular at St. Mary the Virgin.  I knew the church existed and had read about it from time to time but I figured it was a precious anachronism that would never appeal to me.  I was wrong.  From the first Sunday I dropped in, I have been hooked on St. Mary the Virgin and worshiping here, even as infrequently as I do, has deepened my faith.