We have much to celebrate this coming Sunday. Not only do we have another Sunday of Eastertide, but this Sunday is also within the Octave of the Patronal Feast. On April 25 the church celebrates Saint Mark the Evangelist, and it was on April 25, 1885, that Queen Emma died and received true life in Christ.
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This coming Sunday our focus changes at the Rector's Study. We will commence a study of the mass, and this focus will continue throughout early summer. We will cover the texts and rituals of the mass, drawing from the lectionary, the Prayer Book, and historic missals. Whether you serve at the altar, sing in the choir, or worship in the pews, I commend joining us on Sunday nights.
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Last Saturday morning I met with a cross section of lay leaders who devote many volunteer hours to our worship ministries. Our task was to evaluate what went well with Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, as well as what we might improve for the future. We also looked at the upcoming feasts.
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The Annunciation celebrates the announcement of the Angel Gabriel to Mary that she shall bear the Christ Child. Normally we celebrate the Annunciation on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas, but this year March 25 was Holy Monday. Whenever this happens, the Annunciation is transferred into Eastertide. Most churches, if they celebrate the day, did so this past Monday, the first available day after Holy Week and Easter Week.
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We shared an amazing Holy Week this year. I want to thank everyone who worked so hard. The worship guilds, musicians, and acolytes did a superb job. All those extra practices paid off. I was especially struck by the vitality of the human relationships at the receptions after the Easter celebrations. The Easter Eve party is always a joyful occasion, and this year the Aloha Hour after the Easter Day Solemn Mass did not finish until 2:30 pm! You really enjoy spending time with each other.
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When Holy Week arrives at the end of March, people are surprised at its arrival. This is true for non-Christians who associate Easter with April; true for nominal Christians who have not observed Lent; and even true for faithful Christians, who find they have less time to prepare.
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Holy Week begins this Sunday, but first I want to thank everyone for the beautiful mass we enjoyed on Saint Joseph's Day. The choir did a superb job, as is regularly the case, and many were grateful for the Bach voluntaries by Kathy Crosier, our organist. This was the first time we celebrated this feast with more than a low mass, and as several of us reflected the day after via texts and phone calls, celebrating Saint Joseph with a sung mass was well worth it. The attendance was small, but those who came were full of devotion, and in the end we do not offer worship for ourselves but for God.
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This coming Sunday is already the Fifth Sunday in Lent, and in another week Palm Sunday arrives and Holy Week begins. If last Sunday offered us some refreshment and repose, being Laetare Sunday, rejoicing in Jerusalem's renewal and a foretaste of Easter glory, the Fifth Sunday in Lent marks the beginning of Passion-tide, when the statues, images, and crosses in the church are veiled. These signs of the resurrection are covered, because it is now that Jesus consistently vanishes from our sight. His presence is veiled, again and again, for his time has not yet come to do his great work.
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Two Sundays ago at the Rector’s Study, we began our study of Holy Week, looking particularly at Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday. This Sunday’s class will focus on Good Friday, and we may even touch upon the Easter Vigil. It all depends upon how much trivia the participants make me unpack as we study these liturgies.
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