Rogation Sunday - Rector's Rambling for May 22, 2022

     Today, in addition to being the 5th Sunday after Easter, is known as Rogation Sunday.  Today, at the 10:00 AM service (weather permitting), we will process around the perimeter of the building, singing the litany hymn in a symbolic “beating of the boundaries” of the parish.  It is an opportunity for us to implore God’s mercy upon us and our community as we begin the planting season.  Our common welfare is tied up with the ability for crops to be planted, grow, and be harvested so that we can be nourished.  The Church this weekend acknowledges that all things are a part of God’s providence, including the temperate weather and the ability for us to grow and harvest.

Today is also our Outreach Giving Sunday.  We thank God for the various ministries that are taking place in and around Detroit, and we are grateful to be able to participate with them by providing some funding toward their work.  The Vestry made a decision when we signed our development lease for the property that is currently our parking lot, that we would give away a tithe of that income to other groups in the community, and today we are doing our yearly joy by continuing to make good on that decision.

Thank you to Cathy Morgan who is spearheading this project and to all the committee participants who visited applicants and made decisions how to best distribute these fund.  Blessings received and blessings shared!

And a reminder that this Thursday is the 40th Day of Eastertide and a major feast day!  We celebrate the Feast of the Ascension.  Holy Communion will be celebrated on Thursday morning at 9:00 AM to keep the Feast.

On Friday we begin our preparation for Whitsunday with our daily Holy Ghost Novena.

 

Pre-Pentecost? - Rector's Rambling for May 15, 2022

     I once heard this Sunday referred to as ‘pre-Pentecost’, and I think that is an appropriate title.  Today’s Gospel Lesson is about Jesus’ teaching that the Holy Ghost is going to come to those who are witnesses of the Resurrection and put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord, but it is not without some apprehension on the part of those disciples.

The apprehension is two-fold.  One is that Jesus warns them that he must go away and of course that causes concern.  Mind you, this teaching is coming BEFORE the Cross, and immediately following Jesus saying to them that persecution is coming, and that those who may kill you think they are doing it for God!  Imagine hearing that and then followed immediately by Jesus saying He will be going away!  And for us reading it during Eastertide we also envision that this must also be in the minds and heart of the disciples as they are now seeing Jesus after the Resurrection.   But He is coming and going, and we know in hindsight that He will  be Ascending into Heaven and once again the relationship will change.

Change is scary.  The unknown is scary.  We settle into a routine, and some routines are good for us.  Perhaps a better word for this would be discipline.  We are routine, or disciplined, about getting up at a certain hour, saying our prayers, studying scripture, and exercise.

But changes happen and sometimes God is at the center of that change.  Not just change of routine but changes around us of our circumstances, and internally to us as well.

The disciples following Jesus during his earthly ministry saw lots of changes in 50 days….The cross, the empty grave, the appearances, and then the ascension.  Yet in the midst of all of it we hear Jesus bidding us “peace be with you” and ultimately sending to us God the Holy Ghost to guide us and lead us into all truth. 

Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, and lighten us with your celestial fire!  May we rest assured of our Lord’s presence and guidance today and always!