On Friday evening, May 14th, the Vestry and Staff gathered at 6 o’clock in the Parish Hall and began our Retreat with Evening Prayer.Following the dispatch of our regular monthly business, i.e. Treasurer’s Report, Junior and Senior Wardens’ reports, Rector’s Report, Staff reports and committee updates, we turned our attention to a reflection on the question “What and how are we doing?”Saturday morning began with a tasty breakfast and Morning Prayer at 9 a.m.We continued our discussion on current ministry and then turned our attention to the future with the question, “Where are we going?”
“Low Sunday” (Dominica in albis) is a liturgical term that was originally used in contrast to the “high” Feast of Easter Sunday itself. While “high” and “low” serve as descriptive liturgical terms, a more common place understanding by clergy and laity alike is that “Low Sunday,” practically speaking, refers to the fact that many parishes, I suspect most, experience lower attendance on “low Sunday” than on Easter Day.Why is this the case?
With the advance of spring, the Season of Easter and the flight of birds, I was put in mind of a poem that George Herbert wrote that associates resurrection, redemption and new beginnings with flight – the flight of birds and our flight during Easter as we soar towards the heavens on the wings of a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.
Lent is a season of the Church year when we are invited on Ash Wednesday to be led into the wilderness by the Spirit. The common place understandings of Lent as a forty-day season in preparation for the Resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday is marked by fasting, alms giving, penitence, prayer, self-examination, self denial, reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. Like Jesus we are also invited to set aside a time for self-discovery and the opportunity to renew our vocation as sons and daughters of God and discern our gifts to further the ministry of Reconciliation.
As we now come to the end of Christmastide and anticipate the Epiphany, January sixth, and the six Sundays that comprise the season after Epiphany, I thought it might be helpful to offer information regarding these two seasons of the Church year.
In the Christian calendar, Advent marks a period of preparation for the coming or arrival (Latin: adventus) of Christ in the flesh at Christmas (incarnation) and his second coming (parousia) in the future on the “Day of Judgment.” The season originally consisted of six Sundays, now four, and continues through the day of Christmas Eve.
For the past two years, the heart of our Stewardship Campaign has been the sharing of what Emmanuel means to various members of their church family. These testimonials have been informative, moving and inspirational. Building on such sharing, this year’s every-member canvass will have at its heart a sharing of what we as a parish family are doing in terms of ministry. Said differently, how do we use the pledges received; how do we spend the dollars and organize the gifts and talents of our members in carrying out Christ’s ministry.
From our founding, we as a nation have espoused the notion that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are inalienable rights. Today at least 45 million people in our country are without the most basic human right, life, which assumes a modicum of health. Health and health care is an individual and social responsibility. Moreover for Christians it is a moral responsibility.
Shortly after the beginning of the summer a rather detailed Worship Survey consisting of 54 questions was sent to all members of the parish. The Worship Committee received 61 responses and published the results to include comments made by individuals regarding the content, structure and style of our worship services here at Emmanuel.
By now you have no doubt heard of the actions taken by General Convention to affirm that “any ordained ministry” (to include the office of bishop) is open to gay and lesbian persons. This action ends what many regarded as a moratorium on ordaining gay bishops, which the Church passed at its last General Convention three years ago.
As I was preparing a brief “Welcome from the Rector” greeting for our parish website, I was mindful of the fact that we are a somewhat unique parish church. The uniqueness I refer to has to do with the composition of our membership, specifically, it strikes me that we have three congregations within our parish family.
Over the course of the past year and a half, several of you have expressed an interest in having an “inquirers' class”/confirmation instruction to explore the nature of Anglicanism and what it means to be an Episcopalian......Given such interest, I offer the following proposal: a series of early evening gatherings to explore who, what and how we are as Episcopalians.
