From the Rector –
Holy Living & Holy Dying – Resources for Planning for the End of Life
Thank you to everyone who attended sessions of our Lenten series, Holy Living & Holy Dying. Your questions, experiences, and reflections made it a fruitful endeavor. I also offer thanks to our guest speakers and those who prepared materials for the series: The Rev. Charles Cloughen, The Rev. Joshua Rodriguez-Hobbes, Jeff Titcomb, Laura Davis, and Richard Drehoff.
If you were unable to attend any of the sessions but would like materials, please visit the table in the narthex to pick up booklets that lead you through writing a will, creating an advanced medical directive, and planning your memorial service, along with a brochure about our Columbarium. We are still waiting for a delivery of the “Five Wishes” planning booklets, so continue to look for those. These resources can also be downloaded from our website.
As I mentioned in various ways throughout the series, my role as your priest is to be present with you at all stages of life and death. If you have outstanding questions, please let me know. If you would like to set up a time to meet to discuss further any aspect of end of life planning, let me know. If there are copies of documents you would like to have kept on file at the church, let me know. The plans we make in advance are not only a gift for our loved ones, but a statement of our trust in God to whom we will return.
As the Commendation from the Burial Rite says –
You only are immortal, the creator and maker of mankind;
and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return.
For so did you ordain when you created me, saying,
“You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grace we make our song:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Formation
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
9:30 – 10:15 a.m. Lower Level
Preschool through High School
It’s April – and spring is here! Time flies when we are having fun with your children in our Sunday School program. Just last month we were talking about “the beginning of Lent” with the distribution of mite boxes. The coins you are saving during Lent will benefit the school children in Tanzania as part of our A is for Africa outreach project. Your mite boxes may be turned in during Palm Sunday and Easter services, and we thank you for your continued support.
During our last 4th Sunday group activity, students had fun learning the art of bread making with the help of Jeannie Pellicier. She is a faithful Altar Guild bread maker and our Senior Warden. Each student had a chance to taste their own creations right out of the oven. Delightful! Thank you, Jeannie.
There will be a change in our normal Sunday School schedule during the month of April. Please note the following dates:
April 7th
Regular class schedule with the exception of the middle-high school class who will attend Bishop Sutton’s forum on Why Am I Christian? (Upstairs in the Great Hall)
April 14th
Palm Sunday group activity during class time: “Passport to Jerusalem”
April 19th
Good Friday at 4:00 p.m. Holy Week with Children
April 21st
Easter Day: No Sunday School classes; Easter egg hunt between services
St. James’ Teaching Team:
Yvette Allen – Preschool Bible Stories
Betsy Davis and Jessica Bahorich – Kindergarten-2nd Grades
Natalie DelRegno – 3rd-5th Grades
Joan Fader and Peter Sabonis – Middle-High School
Nancy Nanavaty – 4th Sunday Group Activities
Mara Snyder – Children’s Music
May Book Group Gatherings
Grab a copy of Bishop Michael Curry’s The Power of Love and plan to gather with friends for discussion and reflection. Choose from two dates, May 7th or May 30th – both sessions will meet at the Mt. Airy Tavern from 7:00-8:30. Sign up tables are in the narthex to help us plan for table reservations, or email Kristin+ (rector@stjamesmtairy.org).
Music/Choir
Hi everyone! We spoke last month about the early Judeo-Christian worship services, discussing the psalms and canticles that were commonly sung or chanted. This month, we’ll continue by discussing religious music of the first century and Plainsong.
If you’ve been following along, you know that the psalms and canticles were chanted in early Christian services, and if you come to the Easter Vigil service at Grace Episcopal Church in New Market, you’ll hear Mara Snyder perform a chant setting of Psalm 36 that I composed.
By the time first century rolls around, we begin to see definite melodies that would correspond to specific texts. As tunes and texts begin to become paired with one another, we start to see a yearning for new tunes and thus new texts.
This was a heated point of contention in the early church; after all, who gives us permission to write our own hymn texts – aren’t the psalms and canticles substantial enough? Logic prevailed, however, and individuals began to justify the composition of new hymns and lyrics by comparing them to the new prayers and sermons that were being written during the same era.
One of the earliest (and most popular) texts that existed outside of the psalms and canticles is the “Te Deum laudamus,” often simplified to “Te Deum.” The first line translates as “We praise thee, O God,” and the text has been set by composers across the centuries (a few of my favorites are below):
Other popular texts included the “Vox Gilarum” (or “Gladsome Light”) and “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” (although a different tune than that in our hymnal today).
This eventually lead into the idea of Plainsong Chant, which has several distinct characteristics: (1) Each note is of equal duration (except the last note of a line), (2) there is one melodic, unaccompanied line, (3) the melody consists of smooth, singable steps that gradually rise and fall, and (4) the text is in Latin, which made it easily singable because of the vowels.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a great example of this. Listen to the first 45 seconds of this recording, by the Gesualdo Six, for an accurate recreations of what this chant would have sounded like in the first few centuries. (This version, arranged by Philip Lawson, features the original chant and then a new harmonization).
Next time, we’ll talk about the role of musical instruments in the church and how they’ve shaped the way music has been written for the church. Until then, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about the music ministry here at St. James’ (music@stjamesmtairy.org).
Warmest, Richard
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office Schedule for the week of April 7.
Monday – Thursday 10-4.
Bishop’s Discretionary Fund
As is customary when we receive a diocesan visitation, our loose-plate offering will be given to the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund which sets aside funds to be used for 13 ministries in our diocese. You are welcome to write a check made payable to the “Diocese of Maryland” designated for the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund and drop it in the offering plate on Sunday, April 7. We will have one service at 10:30 am.
Easter Egg Hunt!
It’s time to get ready for our Easter Day egg hunt! We are asking folks to bring in filled plastic eggs – stickers, erasers, seashells, charms, and printed scripture verses (as well as candy!) are all possible ideas. Empty eggs are available to pick up in the narthex, please return them to the marked plastic bin by Easter Day.
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
John and Betsy Davis (Robert)
Cory and Natalie DelRegno (Tyler, Kyle)
Leslie Dickinson and Peter Sabonis (Jacob)
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
Readings for the Palm Sunday: The Sunday of the Passion, April 14, 2019 :
Zechariah 9:9-12
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 19:28-40
Luke 22:14-23:56
| This week’s Commemorations (A Great Cloud of Witnesses, 2019, Church Publishing Group)
April 7 Tikhon, Patriarch of Russia, Confessor and Ecumenist, 1925 |
