Veiled - Rector's Rambling for April 6, 2014

As you may have noticed, the crosses on the altars and around the church are now veiled.  Although most Episcopal churches follow the modern Roman Catholic form for veiling the crosses on all the Sundays of Lent, we keep to the old tradition of doing so from Passion Sunday onwards.  Dr. Taylor Marshall, a former Episcopal priest writes on his blog Canterbury Tales, “In the old days, Passion Sunday (5th Sunday) ‘ramped up’ the Lenten season.  Passion Sunday (also called Judica Sunday from the opening Introit) is the traditional day for veiling the crucifixes and statues in the churches.  The practice allegedly derives from Bavaria (though I’d love for someone more knowledgeable to shed light on the origin of this custom).  The crosses and images remain veiled and add to the dramatic effect of the Paschal Vigil when they are unveiled for the glory and wonder of our Lord’s resurrection.  The famous medieval triptychs that opened and closed were constructed for the purpose of closing them for this season.”

Today is also the first Sunday with a Tigers home game for 2014.  You may notice some changes to the traffic pattern around the church.  The gatehouse entrance on Montcalm will be closed on game days, but the gate closer to Woodward on Montcalm will be open and attended.  Our gate on the service drive will be open to enter, and if it is closed when you are departing, the next gate on the service drive further east will be open and attended for you to exit.