Eastertide continues
with “Wear-Your-Jeans-to-Church Sunday!” This coming Sunday, May 4th
and the 3rd Sunday of Easter, we will have ONE service only at 9
o’clock, followed by a hearty coffee hour hosted by the Liturgy Committee, to
fortify us for the All-Parish Workday that will follow. We hope that you will
come to church dressed for helping with chores – indoors and out. So if you
have favorite equipment – rakes, trowels, gloves, tarps, pruning supplies –
bring them along with you. The snow has melted and the grounds are ready for
our attention, and there are indoor chores as well, like window washing. Come
lend a hand. We’ll be out by noon. Thanks!
Readings for this
coming Sunday: Acts 2:14a, 36-41, Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17, 1 Peter 17-23, Luke
24:13-15.
Don’t miss our special preacher
this Sunday! All of us who are baptized into Christ are called to live as
Christ’s hands and heart in our world. We live out our vocations in a vast
variety of ways. Marty Cloran has a
special place in his heart for children who have suffered profound abuse and
neglect at the hands of their parents and extended family members. For a number
of years Marty has been a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Volunteer,
supporting these children as a special advocate as they and their families make
their way through our legal system toward safe and supportive homes for these
young people. As a parish, we have supported CASA through our Outreach &
Mission efforts. On Sunday Marty will open our hearts and give us an eye-opening
window into the lives of some of the children he works with. Thank you, Marty,
for the work that you do and for your willingness to claim the pulpit!
Introducing “First
Wednesdays!” During Lent a number of us gathered each Wednesday evening at 5:30 for
a simple shared meal of soup, bread, and salad. As we ate, we listened to a
20-minute reading that was followed by discussion. We closed with a brief
Eucharist, departing by 7 o’clock. Those of us who were regular
found ourselves missing that mid-week gathering – the table fellowship, the
simple, tasty food, and the thought-provoking conversations. We are proposing
to continue that form, meeting once a month, rather than every week. Hence,
“First Wednesdays” – with the plan to meet on the First Wednesday evening of
each month. Please join us. Contact Rev. Heidi if you'd like to provide
something for the meal. We will meet
this coming Wednesday, May 7, at 5:30.
Food for thought,
reflection, and prayer….
I offer to you one of my very favorite Easter poems, this
one by perhaps the best-known of Anglican poets, George Herbert (1593-1633). As
one of his contemporaries puts it, “Herbert speaks to God like one that really
believes in God, and whose business in the world is most with God. Heart-work and Heaven-work make up his book.”
You may already, unknowingly, be familiar with some of
Herbert’s poetry through these hymns: King
of glory, King of peace, I will love thee (382), Let all the world in every corner sing, my God and King! (402), Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: such a life
as gives us breath (487), and Teach
me, my God and King, in all things thee to see (592). His poems frequently reflect the church year, unfolding for
readers and hearers spiritual depths that many of us might well have missed. He
is both a poet and theologian, pastor and person of prayer, always ready to own his shortcomings and God’s abundant grace.
A note on the “thee/thy” language… Many of us growing up in
the U.S. in 20th and 21st century, have been (mis)led
into thinking that thee and thy are archaic, out-of-style words that
belong in the dead-letter pile of vocabulary. If you count yourself in that
category, please think again! Our contemporary spoken English language has only
the words you and yours, regardless of how well you know
the person you’re speaking to. But if you know a little French, Spanish, or
German, you know that in those languages one uses a separate form of you if the one you are addressing is a
lover, precious child, dear friend, family member, or Almighty God! So when we
pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” we are addressing God
as our beloved. It is not “stuffy” language at all; it is precious, tender
language of deep affection.
Knowing that, I offer you this poem “Easter (I):”
Rise heart; thy Lord
is risen. Sing his praise
Without delays,
Who takes thee by thy hand, that thou likewise
With him mayst rise:
That, as his death calcined [burnt to ashes] thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and much more just.
Without delays,
Who takes thee by thy hand, that thou likewise
With him mayst rise:
That, as his death calcined [burnt to ashes] thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and much more just.
Awake, my lute, and
struggle for thy part
With all thy art.
The cross taught all wood to resound his name,
Who bore the same.
His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key
Is best to celebrate that most high day.
With all thy art.
The cross taught all wood to resound his name,
Who bore the same.
His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key
Is best to celebrate that most high day.
Consort both heart and
lute, and twist a song
Pleasant and long:
Or since all music is but three parts vied
And multiplied;
Oh let thy blessed Spirit bear a part,
And make up our defects with his sweet art.
Pleasant and long:
Or since all music is but three parts vied
And multiplied;
Oh let thy blessed Spirit bear a part,
And make up our defects with his sweet art.
See you in
church.
Easter
Blessings,
Heidi+
Heidi+
