Advent Carol Service: St John’s Cambridge 1982 (George Guest)

Rachel Held Evans Funeral

Here's the original link to the service livestream: https://rachelheldevans.com/funeral
 (I've also included the YouTube version made of it below.)

The link also includes the bulletin pdf with the participants, hymns, etc.  Liturgical participants included Nadia Bolz-Weber preaching, Sarah Bessey and Austin Channing Brown reading, Audrey Assad singing, and Winnie Varghese celebrating (I recognized her soothing voice from General Convention before I knew she was there). There were others, but those are the ones with whom I was familiar and whose presence was somehow comforting - how much more to her family and friends. I had also become familiar with Jeff Chu through that time of prayer while Rachel was sick, and his leading of the Prayers of the People was moving.

But hearing from her little sister Amanda Held Opelt both made me laugh and moved me to tears. Plenty to think about, too. One thing she said that I don't think will necessarily get quoted seems important to me: "What was most special about her was her love. She's one of the least branded people I know. We all know, she was horrible at Instagram. She was the worst. And I think while other writers were working on their image and working on their brand, Rachel was working on her relationships. She was listening, she was leaning into people's pain, she was hearing their stories, she was being changed by their stories."  She wrote a song about her sister after she'd read Rachel's Searching for Sunday - that she never sang to her - I think it's called "Bloodlines and Intercessions." Hope someone publishes the words. Maybe she'll record it... Meanwhile, you should watch the service and listen - it's somewhere around the half hour mark. Wish I could be such a good sister to mine...

From her service (1979 Book of Common Prayer via the online bulletin):

O God of grace and glory, we remember Rachel before you and thank you for giving her to us to know and to love as a companion in our pilgrimage on earth. In your compassion, console those who mourn. Give us faith to see that death has been swallowed up in the victory of Christ so that we may live in confidence and hope until, by your call, we are gathered into the company of all your saints; by the power of your Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.



COMMENDATION

Leader: You only are immortal, the creator and maker of humankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and to earth shall we return. For so did you ordain when you created me, saying, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." All of us go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

People: Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

Leader: Merciful Savior, we commend Rachel to you. Receive her as a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Accept her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of your saints.


And here's something from the BCP (p.507) that wasn't in the bulletin but that is really important. And it lines up well with what Nadia Bolz-Weber's sermon, which you simply must hear for yourself. It starts right about minute 50 on the video.

The liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy. It finds all meaning in the resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we too, shall be  raised.

The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,  nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else  in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ  Jesus our Lord."

This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love  we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted  by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend. So, while we  rejoice that one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn.

So hold them all in your prayers, especially Dan, her husband, and her little ones.  And hold yourself gently if you, too, are grieving right now, as so many are. 

Peace be with you all.

Great Paschal Vespers

Please join us:

Sunday, April 8 at 4:00 pm

Great Paschal Vespers is an ancient evening service of processions, prayers, chants, and hymns offering praise to God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

St. Margaret’s Chapel

30 Harden Hill Rd

Duxbury, MA 02332

https://www.facebook.com/events/1867721790186715/

http://societyofstmargaret.org/

Holy Week & Easter schedule at the convent

These services will be in our new chapel.

The Holy Saturday Liturgy will be at noon in the convent oratory next door. We also have several daily office services on a special schedule - call or email if you're interested in the times.

For Maundy Thursday this year, we will be going out to various parish liturgies in the area.

Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation, a day in which we hear about Mary and Joseph bringing the baby Jesus to the Temple as required for first-born sons by the law. They came with two pigeons to sacrifice - not much, but what was required for those without means. What a surprise it must have been to have the elderly Simeon and prophet Anna praise God and speak of the child to the people around as well as to them!  I would love to meet Anna, especially, and hear the story from her perspective.

• Malachi 3:1-4
• Hebrews 2:14-18
• Luke 2:22-40
• Psalm 84
• or Psalm 24:7-10   (Thanks to the Lectionary Page.)

On this feast day at the convent, we celebrate the profession anniversary of one of our sisters, which adds another special note.

And, lucky me, I got to celebrate - which also means I got to wear my favorite chasuble with the amazing embroidery.

I found a blessing and dismissal for this feast on the Church of England at  http://www.oremus.org/ (marvellous site worth your support). They are not from their Book of Common Prayer (1662 version, still in use!) or from Common Worship (their modern language version).  I think The Promise of His Glory must be a sort of Enriching Our Worship, English style, though far more traditional. Fortunately, this blessings and dismissal lend themselves well to being sung, as we prefer to do on feast days.

THE DISMISSAL
9	The president may say THIS BLESSING. Christ the Son of God, born of Mary, fill you with his grace to trust his promises and obey his will; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen. [8]
10	Minister Go in the light and peace of Christ. Thanks be to God.

You can find this and the rest of their liturgy here as well, including a couple of post-communion prayer options.

I also found a nice solemn blessing from Common Worship on the C of E website, but it might have required my passing out a copy to everyone so they could come in properly with the Amens. (Yes, the sung tone really does cue you, but early in the morning, extra help is always nice.) 

It's on the very last page of this pdf document.

one last view of the baby Jesus for this liturgical year

Where's the baby Jesus? I swear he was here just a moment ago...

With or without liturgy, we rejoice with Simeon and Anna and Jesus' parents today as we remember that moment and seek to incorporate it into our own lives.

May the One who was presented in the Temple be so welcomed into the heart of each one of us.

signs of things soon to come

Getting ready for my favorite service of the year, the Easter Vigil.
If you're curious, you can look at the liturgy here:  http://www.bcponline.org/SpecialDays/EasterVigil.html
You have to add arrival in the dark, then fire and candles, then the liturgical equivalent of storytelling around a campfire (Paschal Candle!), then bells and music, lots of music! and the Eucharist. Such a celebration of resurrection.

all set up for the New Fire, which is quite something in the dark - we start at 4AM!

hand candles for the congregation

bells for the congregation to ring when we sing our A......a!

I must ask for the story of this bell marked 1770...

getting the Paschal candle stand ready

altar cover back on for Easter
Sunrise is usually around the time of communion, light streaming through the window behind the altar. So perfect.

The rest of the set-up will wait till 3AM, I think. Maybe more flowers tonight? 

Look, even the green things realize it's time to come back to life!

The song sparrows have been practicing.

Even the crows are dressed up in their finest and looking lovely.

So join us in the Chapel at 4AM if you are feeling adventurous!
30 Harden Hill Road, Duxbury MA

We'll be here. 

Now. To sleep, if I can. The wee hours are when I wake (um, more or less) in great anticipation of the great dawn.

Good Friday Anthem 1

We glory in your cross, O Lord,
and praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of your cross
joy has come to the whole world.

May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance, and come to us.

Let your ways be known upon earth,
your saving health among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

We glory in your cross, O Lord,
and praise and glorify your holy resurrection;
for by virtue of your cross
joy has come to the whole world.


Book of Common Prayer 1979 p. 281

Maundy Thursday, especially on foot-washing

Maundy Thursday
St. Margaret's Chapel, Duxbury

Tonight we will have our Liturgy for Maundy Thursday in the Chapel. If you are in the area, please join us at 7PM (30 Harden Hill Road, Duxbury, MA).

I am awed by the gift of being able to preside at the beginning of the long liturgy that encompasses the next three days.  The washing of feet is especially powerful, and it may be precisely because it is not comfortable. We must both learn to do for others what Jesus has done for us AND learn to accept, as Peter had to, receiving this as well.

John 13:1-17 - Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

"Bare" - an excerpt from Br. Curtis' reflection (see link below):

Many people are rather self-conscious about their feet.  Feet are a usually-hidden part of our body. There have been some years in the past when, on Maundy Thursday, I have made sure to wash my own feet ahead of time and put on fresh socks. (I wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on someone having to wash my feet.)  When we bare our feet, we are quite exposed, literally and symbolically.  So tonight, what does the footwashing signify to you?  Is there anything you are prone to keep disclosed or hidden from Jesus that needs to come into the light?  What is it about you – your body, your fears, your needs, your memory, your future – that you otherwise keep covered, where Jesus is inviting you to uncover, to be seen and known, held and washed?  Is there dirt that needs to be washed cleaned?  What does footwashing symbolize for you just now?
...You may discover – far beyond your control – that you are being washed by the gift of tears tonight.  Maybe you didn’t even know something was wrong, something was hurt, something was soiled, and you experience tonight a washing of your soul through the gift of tears.
- Maundy Thursday Remembrance – Br. Curtis Almquist

Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Collect from the Liturgy for Maundy Thursday (BCP online)

More on Maundy Thursday:
https://twitter.com/aNunsLife/status/583616522557489153
Maundy Thursday 2015: The History Behind The Holy Thursday Before Easter

Holy Week and Easter at St. Margaret's Convent, Duxbury

We invite you to join us in worship as we journey through Holy Week to Easter.

Good Friday, St. Margaret's Chapel

April 2 Maundy Thursday 7 PM

April 3   Good Friday         3 PM

April 4 Holy Saturday 12 noon

April 5 Easter Vigil         4 AM

All services will be held in St. Margaret's Chapel, 30 Harden Hill Road, Duxbury MA.

St. Margaret's Chapel
30 Harden Hill Rd.
Duxbury, MA

You are also welcome to stay with us so as to enter into the events of Holy Week more fully. We will be in silence from Maundy Thursday until after the Easter Vigil, allowing those who join us to enter as deeply as possible into prayer during this time.

We still have space available to join the Sisters in worship and prayer for Holy Week or Easter Week. The cost is $75 per night, per person. Rooms are available for individuals as well as couples, and guests may arrive Tuesday afternoon and stay through Sunday afternoon. For more information or to make a reservation, please contact us at 781-934-9477 ext. 501 or at convent@ssmbos.org.

Palm Sunday Processions in Cange

Cange, Haiti, is the place to be on Palm Sunday. Not only is it Palm Sunday, but it's also their celebration of thanksgiving to God: "Mesi Bondye 2012" reads the banner.  I wrote this post a few years ago when I was living in Haiti. Due to issues with power and low band width, I couldn't get my pictures to upload, so I put off posting it. Well, it's been a while, but Palm Sunday has rolled back around this year, so it's about time I finally shared this.

banner over the road for the occasion

Palm Sunday Processions in Cange

I didn’t have time to post anything earlier on Holy Week and Easter, but there were quite a number of amazing things I would like to share with you.

The first is from Palm Sunday. We went to Cange, home of the hospital run by Zanmi Lasante/Partners in Health, Paul Farmer’s organization. I hadn’t realized it was on the same campus as the Episcopal Church. It was wonderful to see it after hearing about it for so many years. If you haven’t already done so, you should immediately find yourself a copy of Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder and read all about it.

Art Center for the Cange Campus of the Episcopal Church and the hospital run by Zanmi Lansante/Partners in Health
I am still very sorry I never got to go shopping here! I hear the art for sale is really wonderful, and I've seen some of the iron work produced in the area. For example, in the pictures of the church interior, look at the crucifix on the back wall.

Right now, however, I would like to focus on two amazing parts of the Palm Sunday liturgy. Palm Sunday is the anniversary of their founding, so they always have a special thanksgiving as part of the service – and do they know how to give thanks! And, so very Episcopalian of them, they can process. The Palm Sunday procession with the palms and the offertory procession were like nothing I have ever seen.

lining up in the yard behind the church

The Liturgy of the Palms began behind the church. Multiple choirs and a band, acolytes galore, parishioners, clergy, sisters, visitors – any who wanted to participate gathered for the blessing of the palms. Led by the cross and the thurifer swinging the thurible with sweet-smelling incense, band playing and choirs singing, we headed down the long, curving driveway and down the hill.

 I was toward the back with the clergy, so by the time we reached the highway, traffic had long since been stopped we all processed down the street. Mind you, this is the main north-south highway in the area, not a side street. People were standing on rooftops and hanging out windows to watch.

When we reached the other entrance to the campus, we turned back in and headed back up the hill and around into the church, where, unsurprisingly, the enthusiastic singing inside didn’t quite match the place in the music of the energetic band and singing outside. Some issues never change from church to church or from country to country. I felt right at home. And a joyful noise was made to the Lord.

Then there was the offertory. I don’t even know how to begin to describe it. I’ve gotten accustomed to beautiful offertory processions on patronal festivals, but this was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Not only was it beautiful and colorful, with the offerings slowly danced up the aisle, usually on baskets carried on the heads of the parishioners, but also it was incredibly varied – and it just kept coming.

First of all, the offerings themselves. I have seen the beautiful baskets of vegetables and fruit, and this was no exception – except there were baskets of all sizes, some so large it was hard to imagine their being carried. This is a real example of people giving of their life and labor in a tangible way. An entire stalk of green bananas – or maybe plaintains – arrived on the head of a man who made everyone laugh with his dance (most of which I couldn’t see). These offerings were mostly handed off to the acolytes in the front by the altar and taken to the sacristy. Flower arrangements were placed at the foot of the altar.

My first surprise was a series of items that were completely practical and nothing I had seen in a procession before. These, too, were laid at the foot of the altar as something that could be immediately of use to the church. Items I noticed included packages of copy paper, a mop, and a large jug of Clorox (essential in these days of cholera). I was impressed.

live turkey and chicken in offering baskets

Then there was the livestock. In the baskets along with the vegetables were quite a number of chickens. Live chickens. Afterwards in the sacristy, some of them were still sitting in their baskets on top of the vegetables. Others may have come up separately (I couldn’t see everything), as I saw a few handed off from acolyte to acolyte, wings flapping.

escaped chicken exploring the altar area

One got loose and proceeded to walk around clucking in front of the altar until someone noticed and scooped it up. There was a good-sized turkey as well. But what really astonished me was the goat, who was remarkably calm, all things considered.

live goat in offering basket
very calm, don't ask me how

I lost all sense of (American-mannered) propriety and began taking photos, something I would never do at home – but I was so far from being the only one. I did ask first, just in case. Most, including the clergy, were on their feet, craning their necks, laughing, admiring, enjoying the music, the thanksgiving and the praise. Picture-taking here is not often considered inappropriate in such circumstances, and even one of the other priests had a camera phone in use.

preparing the elements using wine brought up

Of course, there were the usual offerings as well, both the special offerings collected elsewhere in honor of the occasion and brought up in decorated boxes, and the plates that were passed.

offerings in decorated boxes

Later that day, I was remarking to a sister what an amazing offering that was, and I said, “… and it must have lasted at least twenty minutes!” She stared at me. “Twenty minutes??? Sister, it was an hour!” Time flies when you’re having fun, I hear. I shouldn’t be surprised. The 9AM service, which started around 9:30, lasted until around 1:30. Even with the procession down the highway, the time had to have gone somewhere. It certainly didn’t seem that long; I would have guessed two hours.

the clergy afterwards

So what happened to all those offerings?

offerings being sold behind the church

After the service, what usually happens is that the produce and animals are sold out back and the proceeds are given to the church. There was so much to sell that I actually saw the sale in progress.

Looks like we'll be bringing home some shopping, too. Easter dinner?

On the way out, we picked up two seminarians who were waiting for a taptap back to Port-au-Prince. Remember the live turkey I mentioned? He had been bought after the service and was already settled in the back of our vehicle, where we have fold-down benches.

traveling companion

The seminarians rode back with him, and there was no pecking.

Thanksgiving abounded.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

As long as I am posting and have found this, I'm going to add some of the pictures I took on the road on the way there and home.

Welcome to Mirebalais
This is the town where Partners in Health now has a second, much larger hospital, state of the art. What an amazing ministry that is. By the way, there is a link to donate to them off on the right side of my blog.

Mirebalais

Not too many of these houses anymore, but they're still around.