The Eagle - April 2007

On April 1st, we will mark Palm Sunday and then, for the following six days, the events of Holy Week. On the seventh day, we will gather in great numbers to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection. This journey we make from Palm Sunday through Easter is the single most important passage which the Christian Church makes during the course of the year. It is so important because not only is it the story of the last days of our Lord's life, but also because it is the acting out of the story which is our lives as Christians. To see the worldly adulation of the entrance into Jerusalem give way to the betrayal of Maundy Thursday is to know the reality and emptiness of the world's power. It is to know, as our Lord knew, that it turns as quickly to betrayal as it has sprung to life as earthly glory. It is also to know that there are times when, no matter how grand the world around us says we are, within us are crosses we must bear and realities we must face which are ours alone and which we can only confront and overcome with God's help. It is to know with our Lord that the agony of Good Friday is real and that, no more than he would avoid it, can we. It is painful and it is lonely, but it is the truth. Yet through Good Friday, we pass to Easter Eve...to that most holy of all nights...in which we gather in a church shrouded in utter darkness and ever so slowly but surely behold the Light of Christ spread throughout this place until it is ablaze with the glory of new life...new birth...resurrection. And as our alleluias begin to echo and re-echo within its walls, and as we partake of the First Eucharist of Easter, that feast which will occur again and again the following morning, not just here but throughout the world, we know that our journey has been completed. The promise, which is our life in Christ, is fulfilled.

I pray that each of us will make this journey together. Let us not leave here on Palm Sunday and not return until Easter, for, if we do, we will miss the journey along the way...that journey which says so very much about our lives and the life of Him into whom we are baptized. And to miss it is to miss much.

Evensong will be sung on Palm Sunday, April 1^st at 5.00pm

As the anthem at the service, John Stainer’s

“The Crucifixion” will be offered.

This glorious, ancient service of prayer offers a fine way

to conclude this pivotal Sabbath in the Christian year

and to begin the journey of Holy Week.

We hope that you will attend.

Mite Box Sunday ~ On Easter Sunday, April 8^th, during the 10.00 am service, the children of the Church School are invited to be in Church with their families as part of the Easter Liturgy. They will present their Mite Boxes during this service. They received these boxes beginning the first Sunday in Lent and have put an offering in them during the course of this season. The gifts will be collected and sent to the Bishop’s Fund for Children. It is a wonderful thing which the young people do in this regard, and we urge all of you to congratulate them on their efforts.

Altar Guild ~ The Altar Guild’s day of preparation for Holy Week and Easter will be on Saturday, March 31^st from 9.00 – 11.00am. All Altar Guild members should gather in the sacristy for this important effort.

Services of Holy Week

Maundy Thursday ~ On Maundy Thursday, the service will take place with Communion and the Stripping of the Altar at 7:30 p.m. Following the Service, the Vigil before the Reserved Sacrament will begin at 10:00 p.m. As you recall from previous years’ discussion of the Vigil, the Tabernacle which stands in the corner of the Chapel contains the Reserved Sacrament…communion hosts consecrated at previous Eucharists and used with each Eucharist that takes place at Saint John’s in a literal and figurative commingling of all that has gone before with all that is happening immediately. The presence of this Sacrament, the body of Christ, is marked by the light which burns over the Tabernacle signifying the presence of Christ in our midst. This light is known as the Light of the Presence. During the hours of this particular night, which remembers our Lord’s betrayal, trial, and eventual murder, it is customary in many places throughout the Church for members of the congregation to keep watch in the Chapel by the Reserved Sacrament. This watching with Christ is, for many, a most powerful moment in the course of the year…one of silence, reflection, and prayer on the oft times painful realities of the human journey. The idea is that members of the Parish sign up for one hour “shifts” of keeping watch in the Chapel. It is perfectly reasonable to have more than one person in the Chapel at any one time, and we hope a response of such a magnitude might well be the case. Feel free to sign-up on the sheet provided at Sunday Services beginning later this month, call the Office, or simply to come to the Chapel during the hours of the Vigil. If you have any questions about this please feel free to give the Rector a call (868-2527).

Good Friday Services ~ On Good Friday, the service at Saint John’s will take place from Noon until 1:30. We will be using the liturgy from the Prayer Book for Good Friday allowing Communion to be received from the Reserved Sacrament. The Choir will be present for this service. We hope that you will mark your calendar now to be at Saint John’s for the full 1 l/2 hours from Noon until 1:30 p.m. to mark the hours of our Lord’s passion and death and to share with him in this time of anguish.

Easter Eve ~ There will be traditional Easter Vigils at Saint Michael’s Church, Litchfield at 7.30 p.m. and at Trinity Church, Torrington at 8.00pm. All members of Saint John’s are most cordially invited to either of these Services.

Easter Day Services ~ On Easter Day, services at Saint John’s will take place at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. At 8:00 a.m. the Eucharist will be celebrated with hymns and, at 10:00 a.m., the Eucharist will be a most festive celebration with music and an egg hunt afterwards. Please note that, at the 10:00 a.m. service, families are invited to bring their children. There is no Church School that day. There will be some snacks and juice set out in the Undercroft in case parents have a child who becomes very unhappy, and they would like to take them down stairs for a “break” for a few moments. Otherwise, it is our belief, on this day of days, the entire Parish Family ought to be together to mark the greatest gift we know as Christians.

Rector Away ~ The Rector will be away from April 9^th through April 27^th. In his absence, The Revd. Roger White, Rector of Saint Andrew’s Parish in Kent will be available for emergency Pastoral call (927-3486). The Wednesday Eucharists will be celebrated by the Revd. Susan McCone and the Revd. George Hall. Sunday services will be celebrated by the Revd. Rowan Greer. We express our deepest gratitude to these members of the clergy who generously give of themselves to care for us at Saint John’s.

5^th– 8^th Grade Group ~ This group has been meeting with Bett Alter on a regular basis during this year and seems to be developing into a sound and worthwhile undertaking on the part of Saint John’s. During April this group will meet on the 15^th and the 22^nd at 10.00am in the Parish House Library. Refreshments will be served.

Adult Forum News ~ During April, the Adult Forum will offer two provocative, informative, and delightful opportunities for you to deepen your understanding of various aspects of the Faith…its role in our lives, in history, and in the wider world.

On April 22^nd and 29^th, the Forum will engage with the “Speaking of Faith” Discussion Group on the subject of “The Religious Roots of American Democracy.”

We hope very much that you will not fail to take advantage of these remarkable gifts in the life of this parish. Mary Schinke and Joan Beattie are most incredibly generous in offering their time in this manner. It would be a shame to take them for granted. The Forum meets from 9.00am to 9.50am in the Parish House Library. Coffee is available. There will be childcare in the Church Undercroft.

Loaves & Fishes ~ Our day for Loaves & Fishes is Friday, April 20^th. Please sign up for cooking food or delivering it and serving it at Loaves & Fishes. The sign-up sheet is in the Parish House. Please have the pans of food delivered by Noon on the 20^th. Please note: we are needful of volunteers to help with serving on that day. It will not take a great deal of your time, but it will be a tremendous help at the Soup Kitchen.

Vestry News ~ At its regularly scheduled meeting of Sunday, March 18, 2007 the following received attention:

Father Ficks opened with a prayer

Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer’s Report was reviewed and indicated an adequate financial position at present.

Stewardship Report: The Stewardship effort was reviewed… noting that $234,456 was currently pledged against a goal of $251,500. If all pledges made last year, and not yet made this year, are made, we will exceed our goal by $9,920. Mary Schinke is preparing letters to those individuals. The Vestry expressed its gratitude to Mary for the incredible amount of hard work she has been doing in her role as Stewardship Chair.

New Business: It was noted that it would be beneficial for the Outreach Committee to meet and begin discussing matters for this coming year. The Rector will call a meeting for March 25, 2007. The Vestry thanked Mary and Steve Schinke for the marvelous Vestry meeting and luncheon they held at their home in February. Holly Flor suggested that the Fundraising Committee and the Parish Life Committee be asked to report on their work at each Vestry meeting.

Music Notes ~ With apologies to Mr. T. S. Eliot, I venture to say that, for this year at least, April is the fullest month. Just consider the following line-up of events.

On the 1st of April, Palm Sunday, in addition to our regular morning services, the 5 PM Evensong will include The Crucifixion, John Stainer’s moving ‘Meditation on the Passion of the Blessed Redeemer’, a magnificent piece of music with which to begin one’s journey through the lamentations of Holy Week to the joys of Easter.

On the 5th of April, Maundy Thursday, during the stripping of the altar at the end of the 7.30 PM Eucharist service, the choir will offer Marc Antoine Charpentier’s rarely heard Le Reniement de St Pierre, a short but powerful work depicting in music the events surrounding Peter’s denial of Christ. It is a truly amazing composition, particularly in its final section set to the text ‘he (Peter) then went out and wept bitterly’. I cannot imagine why this small masterpiece is not more often sung.

Good Friday service will take place at noon on the 6th of April, and will include Victoria’s great motet O Vos Omnes (All Ye That Pass By). Surely there are very few pieces of music in which so few notes say so much.

The Choir will be joined by the Saint John’s Choristers for the joyous celebration of the Resurrection on the 8th, singing works by Willan, Tye, and Gabrieli, in addition to many of the beloved Easter hymns.

Two weeks after that, on the 22nd of April, the Alturas Duo, will perform the final concert of this year’s Saint John’s Concert Series. This unique and enchanting duo, Carlos Boltes (viola) and Scott Hill (guitar), is not to be missed. I was absolutely astonished when I first heard the shimmering beauty and seemingly endless variety of sound these two remarkable musicians are capable of producing.

On the following Friday, the 27th, my colleague Michael Bawtree and I will present an evening Salon, an event that will include, in addition to four-hand piano selections, light supper and libations. For this particular Salon, we even have a couple of mystery ‘guest’ appearances to add spice to the festivities. These Salons have in the past been gratifyingly well received and well attended. Bearing that in mind, and remembering the limitation of space in the Parish Hall, I do urge you to make reservations for this event by ringing up the office (868.2527).