The Eagle - January 2006

Dear Friends,

As I knelt this morning in the Chapel and came, in the Morning Office, to the Confession, I found the words of Alexander Pope from his Essay on Man echoing in my head.

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of Mankind is Man.

Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state,

A being darkly wise, and rudely great;

With too much knowledge for the Skeptic side,

With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,

He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;

In doubt to deem himself a God, or beast;

In doubt his mind or body to prefer;

Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;

Alike in ignorance, his reasoning such,

Whether he thinks too little or too much:

Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confused;

Still by himself abus'd, or disabus'd;

Created half to rise and half to fall;

Great Lord of all things, yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of Truth, in endless error hurl'd:

The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

Oh, what a puzzle I am to myself! Oh, how I find this journey of life more like a roller coaster than a straight and narrow path! Oh, the mystery that, amidst it all, God accepts me, nourishes me, upholds me, and forgives me.

I wonder if, in these somewhat dreary days of February, we mightn’t make good use of our time by making a point of seeking a deepening understanding of the complexity which is each of us...of using these days that, to some degree, I often find days I just want to get through in order to reach closer to Spring, quietly to reflect…to read….to listen…and to pray. One might suggest that such is a good way to prepare to begin Lent on the 1^st of March…a good manner in which to make use of somewhat dreary days. Perhaps you might we might find it useful.

Faithfully,

The Reverend Robert L. Ficks III, Rector

Stewardship for the year 2006 ~ In December you should have received the request of the Vestry for your support of Saint John’s Operating Budget during fiscal year 2006. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter please feel free to call Mary Schinke, the Stewardship Chair at 860-355-8609. If you did not receive this letter and wish to receive one, please call the Office (868-2527) and let us know. We will send it right along.

Family Sunday ~ This Sunday, February 5^th is Family Sunday. We look forward to greeting all members of the Parish in church during the 10.00 am liturgy. There will be childcare provided in the Undercroft.

Evensong for the Feast of the Presentation ~ Evensong will be sung this Sunday, February 5^th at 5.00pm to mark the Feast of the Presentation…also known as Candlemas. It is a most ancient and beautiful occasion at which the gift of light to the world is celebrated; thanks is offered for the willingness of Mary to be the bearer of that light which is the Incarnation; candles are blessed; a procession takes place; and what (to this writer) are some of the most beautiful hymns of the Church are sung. We hope you might be here for this wonderful occasion.

Introducing Randall Balmer ~ Through a series of fortuitous circumstances we have an opportunity to have in our midst, Dr. Randall Balmer, professor of American Religious History at Barnard College/Columbia University. Dr. Balmer is to be ordained a Deacon in the Church in the Diocese of Rio Grande later this year. In the meantime, he will serve at Saint John’s in a number of liturgical roles as part of his becoming more familiar with those aspects of the life of an Episcopal parish. He brings with him credentials of a most wonderful quality. He is the Ann Whitney Olden professor of American Religion at Barnard College/Columbia University and earned his PhD from Princeton University in 1985. He has published widely in a number of scholarly journals and in the popular press. He has authored a number of books and is a scholar of fine standing. Doctor Balmer is married to Catharine Randall, a scholar of 16^th Century Calvanism and a professor of French at Fordham University. The Balmers live in Woodbury and also in New Mexico. In the months ahead, it will be Randall’s pleasure to teach a series in the Adult Forum which will be a lsource of edification and pleasure for members of this Parish. More details will follow soon regarding the subject and the dates the forums will take place.

Please go out of your way to welcome Randall and Catharine in our midst. They are a fine addition to our journey here. It would be safe to say that few parishes in the country share the distinction of having two scholars of such note as Dr. Balmer and the Revd. Dr. Rowan A. Greer as contributors to their life. We are blessed and should be extremely grateful for such a wonderful state of affairs.

Loaves & Fishes ~ Our day for Loaves & Fishes is February 17^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 June 17^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 meeting of January 15, 2006 the following received attention:

A time for any questions concerning the operating budget for 2006 took place with enthusiastic support of that document.

Mary Schinke conducted a most informative review of the current status of this year’s Stewardship effort. The Vestry remains enthusiastic and optimistic in this regard and urges all members of the Parish who might not as yet have pledged for the coming year to do so as soon possible.

Final preparation for the Annual Meeting to take place on January 22, 2006 occurred. All seems to be in order.

The next meeting of the Vestry will be February 19 at the home of Mary and Steven Schinke.

Music Notes ~ Is anything ever as over as Christmas? Certainly by New Year's Day, Christmas seems pretty much all packed up and back on the shelf. Shops are already festooned with red hearts, boxes of chocolates, and bizarre little stuffed animals that ask you to be their Valentine when you squeeze their paw. Christmas is history. What a shame. For the season of Epiphany, so often under-acknowledged, is really quite an exhilarating time, elucidating the themes introduced at Christmas - a sort of Christmas Plus. It is surely a season that deserves to be celebrated in poetry and song. Even the astronomical timetable appears to agree by giving us ever increasing minutes of light with each passing day.

Not that there is the slightest chance of the following suggestion being adopted, but why not keep the decorations of the Christmas Season, especially the lights, under cover until sundown on the 24th of December? At that time, symbolizing the light that comes into the world with the birth of Jesus, Christmas lights could be turned on for the first time, and kept burning throughout the season of Epiphany. After all, it is the season that begins when the three kings, led by the brilliant light of a star, arrive at the manger with their gifts, the season during which we celebrate the manifestation of the light of Christ. Wouldn't it make more sense to burn lights then rather than during Advent, a time when we are still awaiting the birth of Jesus? Or, if not through the entire Epiphany season, we might at least keep the lights shining until the Feast of the Presentation on the 2nd of February, when we commemorate the ceremony at which Jesus was presented in the Temple, and when the aged Simeon, recognizing Jesus as the long-awaited Saviour, spoke the abidingly moving text of the Nunc Dimittis: 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace...' This feast, also known as Candlemas, is historically the day on which the candles to be used throughout the church year are blessed. Thus one might envision this entire span of Epiphany-tide as one which begins with the light of a star and culminates with the light of candles.

But hold on a minute. 'Once again', you may well say, 'he's writing a music article having nothing whatever to do with music'. Not at all. In fact, all the foregoing is intended to make you feel that life will be insupportable if you miss Evensong on the 5th of February, at which service we will be celebrating in prayer and music the Feast of the Presentation. In addition to traditional festal hymns appropriate to the day, the choir will sing Herbert Sumsion's stirring setting of the evening canticles, Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis, and Johannes Eccard's justly renowned Presentation anthem: When Mary To The Temple Went, one of those rarefied pieces that speak volumes in the simplest and most economical musical terms. A gem!

All of us in the Choir hope that as many of you as possible will plan to attend and join in celebrating one of the most beautiful and significant feasts of the liturgical year. And do, please, mention it to your non-St. John's friends who may enjoy and respond to the prayerful atmosphere of Evensong.