Welcome and Service

From time to time I see clear signs that this parish community has entered a new phase of its common life.  Every generation of a community like ours has its own focus and mission.  It is the mission of our generation at Saint Mary's to share what we have, to extend the love of Christ and to grow the size of the parish.  On Ash Wednesday it was clear to me that the ministry of welcome, one of the most significant ways we begin to invite others into our community, is being shared broadly by members of the parish community.  I like it a lot.

Liturgy in Lent

Some things about Lent are simple.  There are no flowers on the altar except on two occasions, the Fourth Sunday and the Feast of the Annunciation.  Other than Saint Joseph's Day and the Annunciation no other commemorations interrupt the cycle of Lenten Weekdays.  The weekday Mass propers for Lent are especially well done.  And here at Saint Mary's, as in other liturgical parishes, a sense of preparation and restraint are reflected in all areas of our common life.

Lent

In the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd young children are introduced to the liturgical year through the use of color.  Three year-olds like special words like "Pentecost" and "Epiphany."  They aren't too interested in the meaning of the word at this point in their development; yet the words help them begin to develop a vocabulary they will use to express their wonder at the gift of life and the history of salvation.

Fruit in Due Season

On February 13 the Episcopal Church commemorates the life of Absalom Jones (1746-1818), first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church.  This year the Daily Office Lectionary provided for the second reading at Evening Prayer to be Mark's account of the Cursing of the Fig Tree:

From the Curate:  Why do we do what we do?

Liturgy is important in the Episcopal Church.  Instead of the 300-page catechism or Biblical fundamentalism we have the Book of Common Prayer and the liturgy contained in it to keep us bound together and well behaved.  Not much can be tinkered with in the 18-page catechism or with the Bible.  So for Episcopalians, especially the clergy, liturgy becomes the venue for their creative expression.   

About the Mass: The Liturgy of the Word (Part I)

Early Christians gathered to listen to the story of salvation, to pray and to break the Bread.  This is still what we do.  Today we call it the Mass.  Things haven't changed essentially from the days when the Apostles gathered with each other in amazement at the presence of the Lord.

About the Annual Meeting

In the Episcopal Church an annual meeting of the congregation is held every year.  It is the occasion for the members of the congregation to receive reports from the rector and vestry on the temporal affairs of the community and to hold parish elections.  It is also a time when the parish leadership reports to the community about its work in the past year and plans for the new year.

About the Liturgy: Entrance Rite

I get questions from time to time about the shape of the Entrance Rite in the Mass.  This is the first part of the Eucharistic celebration, from the opening chant through the collect of the day.  In the Prayer Book tradition this part of the service is not really separated from what is usually called "the Liturgy of the Word" - the first Lesson through the Peace.  Yet the Entrance Rite evolves as a separate and later element to what we might call the original shape of the Eucharist.

Wanted: Evangelists

Members of the parish community have heard me since my arrival as your rector speaking, preaching, writing and teaching about the need for us to be a community where people who have no community of faith can become Christians.  One expression I use is to say that I hope we will be worthy enough so that God will send us the unbaptized.  Perhaps instead of waiting for God to act, we ought to be asking ourselves if we have the capacity to learn how to bring people to faith.

Friends

As rector of Saint Mary's I am very aware of the unusual importance of our local parish community for members of the wider Episcopal Church.  I regularly receive letters that comment on our common life from people who either read parish publications or who occasionally attend worship here.  Sometimes these are letters of thanks; sometimes these are letters of judgment. 

Merry Christmas

One of my good friends always says of the Christmas Eve service, "It goes so fast."  She's right.  More than any other liturgy of the church year, it seems to me that the Midnight Mass goes so very quickly.  Perhaps it isn't entirely our fondness for and familiarity with this liturgy that makes it seem short to me.  We have been living for months in a world surrounded by shoppers and entertainments, a world in which we all participate to some degree.  When we

Of the Father's Love

The earliest of our Christmas hymns in The Hymnal 1982 is "Of the Father's love begotten."  It is ascribed to Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-410?).  In early Christian hymns there is a theological directness and simplicity that is helpful and spiritually powerful.  Think of, for example, the Good Friday hymns "Sing, my tongue,

Grace Lacurto, 1899 - 2000

Grace LaCurto, the oldest member of Saint Mary's, died on Tuesday, December 5, in Greenwich, Connecticut.  She was born on January 16, 1899.  She was confirmed at Saint Mary's on December 18, 1947 and had been an active member of the parish until she could no longer manage the commute from Connecticut every Sunday.  Older members and friends of the parish will remember that for years she presided over the pouring of coffee after the Solemn Mass on Sundays. 

Unique

Our community life at Saint Mary's is full of wonderful events and celebrations that sustain us and keep us in our journey in faith.  As a Christian community most of these events tend to be centered in worship and the fellowship that surrounds worship.  We are people gathered at the Table and we feel at home at the Table as at no other place.

Unique

Because of the production schedule for this weekly newsletter I can't write today to tell you all about the parish's patronal feast.  I am expecting it to be a special evening in so many ways.  Every day of our lives has its uniqueness.  The greater festivals of the church year amplify that uniqueness, especially in a church like Saint Mary's.

Christ the King

The Solemnity of Christ the King is not an ancient Christian feast.  The celebration was introduced by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and was appointed for the Sunday before All Saints' Day.  On the surface it seems like a good idea.  Certainly Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  It is not a bad thing to be reminded of this.  Pope Pius XI called for hearts to be consecrated anew to the Christ on this day.  Again, not a bad idea at any time.

Honest and Correct

Last week our middler seminarian Jennifer Reddall was working on a paper for one of her classes, the title: "Leadership, Power Dynamics, and Systemic Realities."  She asked about Saint Mary's.  I responded to some specific questions about the structure of our parish community and the role of the rector within the structure.  In addition, my response included the following paragraph:

Weavings

On Michaelmas, September 29, I had a small role at the installation of the new rector of the Church of the Transfiguration, the Reverend Charles Miller.  Next to me in choir was the Reverend Frederick Robinson, rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Sarasota, Florida.  Charles, Fred and I were at Nashotah House at the same time.  Charles was in the class one year ahead of me and we ended up living in the same house in the cloister for a year.  Fred served as a curate for the Reverend Charles Jenkins in Arlington, Texas.

Saint Mary's Matters

There was a good congregation for All Saints' last night.  It was a lovely evening in so many ways.  Robert Church played a wonderful recital before Mass (and finished with Alain's Litanies as a postlude!).  The Mass, well, it was Saint Mary's on All Saints'.  Has All Saints' Day ever not been observed with Solemn Mass in this building?  The fact of our worship and the character of our worship matters for us and for others.

Our Response

At the last meeting of the Board of Trustees I observed that the parish was really well organized for running a $200,000.00 a year deficit in the operating budget.  There is a deep emotional commitment to the common life at Saint Mary's among us who are here now.  But those of us who are here, however, are not paying our way and we are spending the capital that sustains this historic plant at an alarming rate.