Update in the parish - Rector's Rambling for March 29, 2020

Between the Bishops of Michigan order that  the parishes be closed until May 10, and now the Governor of Michigan ordering us to “Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stop the Spread” for three weeks, things have gotten pretty quiet at St. John’s Church.

The three week Governor’s Order now puts us past the celebration of Holy Week and Easter, as does the Bishops’ directive.  Even though only a four-person skeleton crew can be present in order to livestream the videos, we will be keeping all the special liturgies of Holy Week and Easter.  But it won’t be the same without everyone here to celebrate together.

The parish office is now closed.  Occasionally one or another staff member may be popping in to get materials or to get something from their computer.  I will be in shortly before the weekday Masses in order to livestream them, and leaving shortly afterwards.  Please be patient with us if we don’t get back to a voicemail left on the church phones.  It is best probably to e-mail us so that we can try to deal with things from home as best we can.

In addition to livestreaming Masses and Wednesday Evening Prayer, our programs associate, Cam Walker, is producing a series of videos on the stained glass windows in the church.  And we are working on other things to put out there, including perhaps a Zoom Conference call so people can see each others’ faces and check in on each other.

These are trying times, and in the midst of them I hope that people will take the opportunity to take some extra time to be prayerful and do some reading of Scripture, so that there is still some semblance of Lent to our routine, even if we cannot worship together at the church.  As I mentioned in last week’s sermon, “never thought we’d have to give up going to Church this Lent!”

As a note, our oldest parishioner John Deaver passed away last Sunday afternoon.  A recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII, student of Buckminster Fuller and Milton Freedman, Dr. Deaver was the chief economist for the Ford Motor Company, former treasurer at St. John’s, and most importantly a good churchman who loved our Lord and His Church.  Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery.

A note from St. John's Senior Warden Peter Grim

What challenging times have befallen our world in the past months!  COVID-19 (commonly known as the Coronavirus) has spread rapidly from Asia, through Europe and to the North American continent.  All of our daily lives are impacted in one way or another.  Families are having to deal with school closures and how to manage children while parents may still be called on to work.  Teachers, people employed by the restaurant and bar industry, and many others, are without work and are challenged to make ends meet.  I am intimately involved in making day to day decisions for those who work for my company, and I struggle to balance the welfare of our team members and the good of the company.  Long-term, these become well-aligned.  Challenging times indeed.

Today, as I absorb the latest information regarding the virus and strive to lay the plans necessary to respond to any number of scenarios that may confront us, I had moments of calm, of peace, and of solace, remembering my grand-niece’s baptism now more than a week ago, and the joy Denise and I found in watching Fr. Kelly’s 10:00 service this past Sunday live on Facebook.  Obviously, we missed the comradery of our typical “face-to-face” worship, but we respect the effort we must all take to protect each other and not cause more potential exposure than is absolutely necessary.  Worshiping as families, as individuals, as friends, whether face-to-face, or now by Facebook and YouTube, we are STILL worshiping as a congregation!  You might be pleasantly amazed to know that, beyond our own congregation, our “on-line” ministry reached nearly 2,000 viewers just since this past Sunday!  Imagine the joy, the comfort, and the strength our message brings to so many souls we have yet to meet!  In times such as we are now living, we must remain strong, resolute and ever more compassionate in support of St. Johns and in support of God’s message that we so gladly share with his blessing to so many others.

While we urge our parishioners to worship remotely, obviously the work of St. Johns will go on – especially now – especially in these times – to “Know Christ and to make Him known”!  I request and I pray that you will remember to join me and the rest of our congregation in continuing our financial support of St. John’s on a regular basis.  We are working to make it ever more convenient to make your contributions.  Denise and I went “old school” and just sent our offerings in by the U.S. Mail since we missed the past two Sundays.  And we already have established methods worshipers can use to contribute on-line.  If you have any questions, please let us know – reach out to a member of the Vestry – and we can certainly help guide you through a method that is most convenient for you.

May the Lord continue to bless you, your families and all of those who will hear and see God’s on-going message through the work of our congregation!

Closed until May 10? - Rector's Rambling for March 22, 2020

This has been the worst Lent for me, ever.  Every year I look forward to Lent; the disciplines, classes, and extra worship opportunities are things I love!

As we now know, our country has been trying to fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus, also known as the Novel Coronavirus.  Lent started with the virus seemingly far away and not an immediate concern for us – “just be sure to wash your hands”.  But quickly it appeared on our shores and scientists and experts began the work of figuring out how to slow down the spread.  Each day has brought another recommendation and restriction.

Now we are fully under urgent need to “flatten the curve” of the spread through “social distancing”, which means we are not supposed to be gathering in groups, and should be avoiding public places as much as possible.

On Tuesday, March 17, the bishops of the four Episcopal Church dioceses in Michigan issued a Pastoral Directive, stating,

“In addition to continuing to forgo all public, in-person worship services, we direct you to cease all other Sunday, Saturday and weekday in-person gatherings, including weddings, funerals, memorial services, bible studies, prayer meetings, and non-emergency baptisms, and place all of the groups that gather at your congregation on hiatus for the CDC’s recommended eight weeks, or until May 10th, including both Holy Week and Easter.”

So now we enter a new, temporary reality of being The Church, and doing church, without gathering together at the church building.

One bright point is we are WAY AHEAD of the curve on livestreaming our Services over the Internet.  On Sunday, March 8, three-hundred-and-twenty-six people joined the service live on-line, and by the end of that day over fifteen-hundred people had watched the Service on YouTube and Facebook.  And even our Tuesday 12:15 PM Mass had 206 people watching.  We are reaching out in remarkable ways.

The Vestry and other leaders, along with the staff and I, are already at work developing more on-line material to keep us, and our Internet community, engaged.  In addition to worship livestreams, classes will be recorded and posted, and social media engagement taken up another notch.

And of course, we have to have all parishioners and friends continue to support the parish prayerfully AND financially throughout these times.

A parish in Florida posted on Instagram “Fearless Faith in Frantic Times“.  This time is full of much uncertainty and anxiety, but when it comes to our faith in Jesus Christ, we move forward with fearlessness as we strive to fulfill the St. John’s Mission Statement –  To know Christ and to make Him known.

Let us pray for each other during these trying times.

Weekdays too - Rector's Rambling for March 15, 2020

Last week I wrote about the Daily Office, and its expansive use through the Anglican Breviary.  Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer is a great way for all, clergy and laity, to be regular in the disciplined life of daily prayer.

Today I want to encourage another important devotion and discipline of the spiritual life: the weekday celebration of the Holy Communion.

The Holy Communion is at the center of Anglican Christian Worship.  Our Lord Jesus Christ admonishes us that “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” (John 6:53–56)

This is accomplished through the Sacrament of the Holy Communion, instituted at the Last Supper when Jesus took the bread and wine of the Passover Meal and told us that the bread is His Body and the wine is His Blood.  “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 28:26–28)

We have the opportunity, as a part of our bounden duty to worship God every Sunday in His church, to receive the Holy Communion.  But during the week there are three more opportunities (five during Lent) to receive Holy Communion at our weekday Masses.

The Sunday 10:00 AM Mass is our big “hurrah”, where we pull out all the stops and sing and pray together.  The Sunday 8:00 AM Mass and the Weekday Masses have a different tenor to them.  They are of a smaller, quieter, more intimate nature.  Fr. David Ousley, while rector of St. James the Less in Philadephia, wrote that the Sunday Mass Choral or High Mass is like a big state dinner with the king; formal, well attired, and meaningful in a big way.  But the low Masses during the week are like a smaller, intimate family meal with dad.  It is shorter (about 30 minutes – no music and a short homily).  But it is no less meaningful and powerful in a grace-filled way.

Weekday Masses are usually Tuesday and Wednesday at 12:15 PM, and Thursday at 10:30 AM (April – September it is at 9:00 AM), and for Lent we also have Mass on Thursday at 6:00 PM and Friday at 11:15 AM.

Take the opportunity this Lent to attend a weekday Mass to strengthen your faith and be filled by the grace afforded in the Sacrament.  This is not instead of Sunday, but as an extra occasion of worship.

Who normally attends weekday Masses?  Parishioners, of course, but we also have a regular stream of guests and folks who work downtown and take the opportunity to join us.  And more and more we have tourists popping in to see the church, and staying to worship.  Come and join us!

The Daily Office - Rector's Rambling for March 8, 2020

The Daily Office is one of the crown jewels of the Book of Common Prayer.  Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, in the 16th Century, developed the first prayer book (with the help of others) to reflect the western Christian worship of the Church, BUT in English, and in some ways, streamlined, so that it would be accessible to not only the clergy, but the laity as well.  The Holy Communion, of course, is lead by the clergy, but the Daily Office could be said by all, and not just in Church, but in one’s own home as well.  However, with the cost of purchasing a book in the 16th Century, combined with relatively low literacy rates among the laity, it would take some time before this would become more common.

The Daily Office of Morning Prayer is a combination of the old Latin offices of Matins and Lauds, and Evening Prayer a combination of Vespers and Compline.  The offices of Prime, Terce, Sext, and Nones (smaller, minor offices between morning and evening) were jettisoned all together.

As time has gone on, and there has been a revival of the religious life in the Anglican Communion (Monks, Nuns, Friars, etc.), there has been a movement to redevelop a fuller expression of the daily prayers for those who have the dedicated time for it as a part of their vocation and ministry.

One great example of this is a book called The Anglican Breviary, based on the pre-1950s Monastic Breviary translated into Prayer Book English, but retaining many of the ancient hymns of the church lost in Cranmer’s compilation.

It is something that takes time.  Morning Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer has three to four Psalms, along with two lessons of Scripture, and two Canticles.  In the Breviary, Matins and Lauds has 15 Psalms and Canticles, and either three or nine lessons, depending on the day in the calendar.  And those lessons are not just Scripture, but also the writings and sermons of the saints.  The rest of the seven Offices have three Psalms (or for longer Psalms, three portions) each.  Whereas the 1928 BCP accomplishes the entire 150 Psalms in a month, the Breviary does it in a week.  It’s a lot of praying.

For Lent I am tackling the Anglican Breviary as a devotion.  It is wonderful. And in my teaching note on page 5, I am sharing with you the wonderful Hymn in Lent for Matins.  Sums up this season so well!

Knee time - Rector's Rambling for March 1, 2020

Knee time.  That is the expression glibly used to refer to prayer time in the chapel at my seminary.  When we were stressed, or overwhelmed, the prescription from the faculty and spiritual director was to make more time for knee time.

As we begin Lent, with all its extra classes, giving things up, and special devotions, one of the best things to do is to make a special emphasis on more time in prayer, both corporate and private.

Corporate prayer is prayer that we do together.  Holy Communion, Evening Prayer, and Stations of the Cross are all prayers that we do in a group setting.  Stations and Evening Prayer can also be done individually, but there is a special grace for those coming together in a small or large group to pray together.  Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”. (Matthew 18:20).  The Book of Common Prayer implies in it’s very title that it is prayer done in common!  Praying with others uplifts us and helps is to connect with God as well as with others.  It is highly encouraged, and as you see from the parish schedule, there are plenty of opportunities to do this at St. John’s during the week.

Morning and Evening Prayer, the Stations of the Cross, and other devotions such as the Rosary can also be prayed privately, and their foundation in Scripture which points us back to Jesus, is a helpful aid in the life of prayer that we are called to do.  Their solid foundation helps us with the habit of prayer – to pray regularly.

And of course, we also need to learn to spend time in personal prayer.  This is that time of intimate conversation – speaking directly to Our Lord, and pouring out our praises, gratitude, petitions, and intercessions in our own words.

As my favorite professor at seminary used to say, “if you make time for prayer, you will find you have more time for everything else”, and I have found this to be true, over and over again!  So, this Lent, let us be dedicated to more and more knee time!

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ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.