Holy Innocents Day - Rector's Rambling for December 28, 2025

     Merry Christmas!  I hope that you haven’t already tired of hearing that phrase since today is only the fourth day of Christmas!  Christmas is a SEASON, which runs from December 25 until January 5.  The 12 days of Christmas are these 12 days, not the days preceding the Feast.

After Christmas there are three immediate Feast Days on the Church calendar.  December 26 was the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr.  December 27 was the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, our patron because the parish was incorporated on that day in 1858.

Today’s Feast Day is tragic.  The event itself, chronologically, occurred much later after the birth of Christ.  Herod, jealous that the wise men told him that a new king was born, and angry that they did not come back to tell him where Jesus was, orders the destruction of all children under the age of two.  St Augustine says of the slaughter “they are the first buds of the Church killed by the frost of persecution; they died not only for Christ, but in his stead .” (“Sermo 10us de sanctis”)

These three Feasts are placed on the calendar so close to Christmas because “These dates have nothing to do with the chronological order of the event; the feast is kept within the octave of Christmas because the Holy Innocents gave their life for the newborn Saviour.  Stephen, the first martyr (martyr by will, love, and blood), John, the Disciple of Love (martyr by will and love), and these first flowers of the Church (martyrs by blood alone), accompany the Holy Child Jesus entering this world on Christmas day.”

On the revised calendar, this Feast Day is no longer observed on Sunday.  It is transferred to Monday.  Most members of the Episcopal Church and the other churches using the new lectionary will most likely know nothing of these innocents who died for and in the place of Christ, since not many attend weekday Masses (if they are held at all).

And as the Collect for today reminds us, we should pray that God will “mortify and kill all vices in us, and so strengthen us by thy grace” so that we glorify Jesus this Christmastide, and all our lives.

~ Portions excerpted from www.catholic.org/encyclopedia

 

Are we there yet? - Rector's Rambling for December 21, 2025

 “Are we there yet?”  “How about now?”  “How much longer?

Those of us who are parents have heard those phrases said from the back seat of the car or mini-van, as children are anxious to be done with a long trip and be at the anticipated destination (or perhaps we remember saying that ourselves).  Over on Twitter there is a funny account called, “Is it Henley Regatta time yet?”, and every day at a set time that account tweets, “no” (this rowing regatta in England is in July).

Well, just as during the car trip an answer of “almost there” is a small consolation, the Fourth Sunday in Advent is our “almost there” Sunday.  The church got a head start on the decorating Friday, and today after the service, the sanctuary will be decorated, as well as the rest of the church and chapel.  We can sense even more poignantly the “almost there” of Christmas.

So, as you do all the last-minute preparations for Christmas, one thing to add to that list is to decide which Christmas service you will attend!  Though the 4:00 PM Christmas Eve service includes the Children’s Pageant, it isn’t just for families with children, but for all parishioners and friends.  The 8:30 PM Carol Prelude and 9:00 PM Candlelight Mass are our primary services for Christmas Eve, and the Christmas Day 11:00 AM service in the chapel is our smallest attended service (but growing), with a hearty amount of carol singing during the otherwise simpler spoken Communion Service.  And the 11 AM Christmas Day Mass has a different set of readings than the ones we do on Christmas Eve.  A few parishioners attend both days and you are welcome to do so as well.

If you haven’t already done so now is the time to invite friends, family, and neighbors!  Your invite may be the way that God is bringing someone back into the practice of attending church, and attending St. John’s!  And of course you should  be sure to come to the great celebration that is almost here!

If you will be out of town be sure to bring us a service bulleting to share with us so that we can see what other parishes are doing to celebrate!

 

Advent/Christmas Eagle - Rector's Rambling for December 14, 2025

     As we continue our way through Advent, we are looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ in glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, and as the weeks of Advent progress we can’t help but focus more sharply on the upcoming celebration of His first coming as an infant in the manger in Bethlehem.

Back in March we celebrated Jesus’ Incarnation when He took human flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, She received the good news from the Archangel Gabriel that this conception would be by the Holy Ghost Himself.  We look with anticipation to the celebration of His birth with great joy!

But we still have some Advent left to go and we look to the state of our souls as if Jesus may return today, or we may go to meet Him through our own bodily death.  Either way we must be prepared!

In this newsletter there is not only the Christmas worship schedule but also the things leading up to it like the Advent Soup Luncheon and Greening of the Church.  The Warm Fuzzy Tree is ready to receive your gifts of hats, gloves, sweaters, and socks (and thank you for your support of the Giving Tree and St. Catherine’s Guild Pantry Sale).

Looking further ahead, God willing, to 2026 we see the celebration of The Epiphany on January 6th, The Annual Parish Meeting on January 25th, The Feast of the Presentation on February 2nd, and on February 15 we welcome Bishop Wendell Gibbs for a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Fr. Kelly’s arrival as Rector of St. John’s. 

Being mindful of First Things First, let us be sure to be in Church this Sunday for worship!  And please invite your friends and neighbors to join us Sundays, Holy Days, and the variety of special events offered here at St. John’s this season and throughout the year.

 

Anglican Christianity Class - Rector's Rambling for December 7, 2025

     Last week we got Advent off to an rough start with a Saturday night, Sunday morning snow storm.  In my 25th Advent here at St. John’s we most often find issues with snow on the 3rd Sunday in Advent.  I am grateful for those who were able to make it last week, especially  those from the city and east side where accumulations were much lower.  Several people contacted me about how nice it was to be able to watch the livestream since they were unable to attend.  The forecast for today gives me hope that we will see a better attendance this week.

Today we are beginning our class on Anglican Christianity.  Using Fr. Louis Tarsitano;s book An Outline of an Anglican Life we will  look into topics such as the church, sin, salvation and grace, the sacraments, the Bible and the Prayer Book.  We have copies of the text book available but you can attend, there will be outlines distributed each week, even if you are not reading the text book.  We are planning on meeting this week and next, and then take off two weeks before resuming January 4th.  We will begin after a short period of socializing at the coffee hour after the 10 AM Service.

Thanks be to God for yesterday’s Advent Tea sponsored by the Daughters of the King here at St. John’s.  Next Sunday evening we are having our 5:30 Service and lighting of the new Garden Tree, with a cookie reception to follow.  Friday the 21st we will have the pre-greening of the church, and on Sunday  we will finish decorating it after the Advent Soup Luncheon after the 10 AM Service.  Mark your calendars.

And of course now is the time to start thinking about who you are inviting for Chirstmas.

 

A new Church year - Rector's Rambling for November 30, 2025

     Welcome to the Church New Year.  Since our Lord has not returned in the past 12 months, we begin once again the cycle of the liturgical calendar, which starts with the season of Advent.

This is not a season of pre-Christmas, although there is an theological aspect of looking at the prophecies foretelling the coming of a Saviour.  I have come to accept that the local radio channels will start playing Christmas Music on November 1, whether I agree or not, and even that some of that music may leak into my house as well.  But theologically the church is not there yet.

We begin the year with what, I am sure I will mention in the sermon, is the observance of the “already and not yet”.  We are looking back at that which has already happened, the fulfillment of God to the people of Israel to send a Saviour.  That Saviour, of course, is Jesus Christ.  We know that God is faithful in fulfilling his promises, and looking back we can see that He has done just that.

Convinced that God is faithful in keeping His promises, we will also be looking at the “not yet” of Jesus’ return in glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead (as we say every week in the Nicene Creed).  Jesus is coming back, as He promised, and a part of the Advent observance is making sure that we are both convinced that He is Lord, and more personally that He is our own Lord, and that we are prepared spiritually to meet him.  That means we are striving to be in a “state of grace” by repenting of our sins and seeking to follow Him and live as He would have us live.

So Happy New Year!  Perhaps a resolution or two are in order?  More disciplined about daily prayer, attendance at Church every Sunday unless hindered by illness or only the most urgent matter, attending a Mass during the week or Evening Prayer on Wednesday at St. John’s, reaching out to others to share your love for Our Lord and His Church – these are all great ways to get off to a good start in the new Church year!

 

Discipleship - Rector's Rambling for November 23, 2025

One very important aspect of membership in the Church is what is known as Discipleship.  

The word disciple literally means one who follows.  We are disciples of Jesus Christ.  Although the word apostle is sometimes used as a synonym, apostle means one who is sent.  In the Bible the 12 apostles are also considered disciples of Jesus, but not all disciples are sent out as leaders. We are all called to be followers of Jesus Christ.

When we talk about discipleship in the Church we refer to our continued learning of The Faith, being equipped and built up for mission and ministry.  Baptism and Confirmation are beginning points, not an end point, in our learning.  We must continue to learn in order to be able to live the faith, and to share it. 

How do we do this?  Primarily we do it through worship.  The late Bishop Emrich said “In prayer and worship, which are the means of Grace by which God’s life comes to us, we become what we could not otherwise become.”  We are also transformed from the inside out by the Grace of the Blessed Sacrament and instructed by hearing Scripture read in worship, as well as expounded upon in the sermon.

But we have to take the opportunity to further our discipleship by learning the Scriptures through individual study as well as corporate study.  A bible through the year course, such as those offered through podcasts, are a great start!  The Daughters of the King have a regular bible study and in the new calendar year we will restart our Sunday Bible Study.

Also, starting December 7 will be offering a class An Outline of an Anglican Life, on Sundays after the 10 AM Service (and a bit of coffee hour). This 8 week course is an expansion of the Catechism and the Offices of Instruction found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Class dates are December 7 and 14, then January 4 through February 8.  If you are going to be away for some of the dates we can make a video of that lecture available to those absent that day.  PLEASE SIGN UP so we have enough books prepared for the class! 

  

166 years and counting - Rector's Rambling for November 16, 2025

     November 17th is the 166th Anniversary of the dedication of the Chapel of St. John’s in what was then the rural outskirts, outside of the City of Detroit.

It is hard for us to fathom that when the chapel, and then the church, were constructed, this was out in the country.  Our founder, Henry Porter Baldwin, purchased this land to build a church – it was an apple orchard at the time!  Future Governor/Senator Baldwin had built his country estate house where I-75 is located across Woodward Avenue.  He surmised that Detroit would grow in this direction and he wanted the Episcopal Church to be planted here for those already living out in the country, and those to come soon thereafter.

The book Fifty Years of St. John’s Church (1909) records for us:

The cornerstone was laid by Bishop McCroskey on Tuesday afternoon, April 19, 1859, with nine other clergy present. … And now the Chapel was nearing completion.  Two meetings were held in the Sunday School room of St. Paul’s and one in the unfinished Chapel, “to practice in congregational singing,” on which very rightly great stress was laid; and on Thursday morning, November 17, 1859, the congregation assembled for the first time for their common worship, on the occasion of the Consecration of St. John’s Chapel.  With the Bishop and the Rector were twelve other clergy. … At Evening Prayer the same day, the Rector ministered the first Baptism in the parish, to Louis Alden Grelling (see photo above of the original parish register).

By the time the chapel opened it was already too small.  Two weeks later the Vestry voted: Resolved that in view of the fact that every seat in the Chapel is already rented, and that there is a large demand for additional seats, it is desirable that efforts should be made for the immediate erection of a Church seating about one thousand persons.