Circumambulation - Rector's Rambling for May 25, 2025

     Today we celebrate Rogation Sunday, which means we take a walk around the church perimeter (circumambulation) as a representation of the walking of the boundaries of our parish, asking God to bless us with the fruits of the field as the crops begin to be planted.  Although we are not an agricultural parish (with the exception of some community gardens nearby), it is good to be reminded of our dependence upon God to give the blessing of the fields in cooperation with human labor.

Rogation Sunday is also a good reminder that we are sowing seed (of the Word of God), tending fields (by loving our neighbors as ourselves), and harvesting for the Kingdom of God (bringing people to Jesus).  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are also Rogation Days and will be celebrated on Tuesday at the 12:15 PM Holy Communion, proceeded by the Litany at noon.  Weekday Masses are about 30 minutes long, and are of a quieter, more introspective nature than our grander Sunday Service.

The Feast of the Ascension, the 40th Day of Easter, will be celebrated at the 10:30 AM Mass that day. 

On Friday, in the midst of the 9 days between Ascension and the Feast of Whitsunday/Pentecost (celebrating the gift of God the Holy Ghost) we will begin our yearly Novena of prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Ghost.  Paper copies are available in the narthex (the church lobby) and will be emailed daily and posted on the parish Facebook page. 

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“Where is my kneeler?”  About 1/3 of the kneelers have been removed from the Church and sent to be restored.  Over the next two months or so eventually all of the kneelers will be removed and returned.  If you don’t have a kneeler in your regular spot you are welcome to try another pew, or move a kneeler from another pew into your favorite spot.  With a church that seats 800 people even with 1/3 of the floor level kneelers out of the building there are plenty of them left here for use.

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Last week we announced that organ scholar Grace Jackson will be leaving St. John’s this summer.  Today we can announce that our new Edwards Organ Scholar has been hired.  Chanmi Kim will be joining us in mid-August, God willing, as she begins her Doctoral work at the University of Michigan.  A full bio will be published nearer her arrival date. 

 

 

The Edwards Organ Scholar - Rector's Rambling for May 18, 2025

     
In 2004 I received a phone call from a lawyer in South Carolina informing us that the parish had been left a bequest from the estate of a Mr. William Edwards, a retired chemist.  The bequest was from the estate of him and his sister Eleanor, the late Human Resources Director of the old Hudson’s store on Woodward.  The bequest was for music at St. John’s, in memory of their father John Leigh Edwards, Choirmaster and Organist at St. John’s from 1904 to 1947.

This is how the Edwards Organ Scholarship came into being. A two to three year award, the Scholar assists  not only by playing the organ, but learns what it takes to be a part of a world class Anglican choral program.

We recently received this from the Episcopal News Service.

  The Church of St. John the Divine, Houston, Texas, and the Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM) are pleased to announce the appointment of Grace Jackson as the recipient of the 2025–2026 AAM Gerre Hancock Internship. The Gerre Hancock Internship program was established to create full-time mentoring opportunities for extraordinary young church musicians who demonstrate a strong interest in the music and worship of The Episcopal Church. This annual internship is jointly funded by AAM and the host institution and offers the intern ten months of practical experience through intense and intentionally formative work as part of an outstanding music program. During her time at St. John the Divine, Grace will be mentored by Mr. Steven Newberry as well as the other St. John the Divine staff.

Grace Jackson is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in organ and sacred music at the University of Michigan, studying with Nicole Keller. She also studies carillon with Tiffany Ng and serves as the carillon contributing editor for The Diapason. Jackson earned a Master of Sacred Music from the University of Notre Dame, where she was an organist and graduate assistant for the Liturgical Choir at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. A native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, she holds a Bachelor of Music in organ and piano performance from Oklahoma City University. Jackson currently serves as organ scholar at St. John’s Episcopal Church (Detroit, MI) under the direction of Huw Lewis and is a Graduate Student Instructor for the Department of Musicology at the University of Michigan.

 We are sad to hear that Grace will be leaving us, but so grateful that she has this great opportunity to continue her learning in Houston!  Of the seven Hancock Internships that have been awarded, since its foundation, Grace is the third St. John’s Edwards Organ Scholar to receive this honor! 

As of now Grace plans on being with us into July and she will be missed! The search is already underway for the next Edward Organ Scholar to join us for the new academic year.

 

Honoring Mothers - Rector's Rambling for May 11, 2025

     

As a liturgical church, one with an inherited liturgy and calendar, The Episcopal Church keeps the second Sunday in May as whatever Sunday after Easter it is (Easter being a Feast Day that moves according to a lunar calendar).

In my last parish we had a few people from local protestant churches who attended our church on this day because we did not celebrate Mother’s Day as a liturgical holiday, with all hymns, readings, and the sermon based on the virtue of being a mother.  They were unmarried, or unable to have children, and appreciated that although we certainly acknowledged Mother’s Day, we were bound by the scheduled readings and ecclesiastical calendar for our worship and sermon theme.

Here at St. John’s, I hope we strike a happy medium with our wonderful Mother’s Day hymn, written by a former priest of this parish, and a hearty welcome and thanksgiving in prayer for mothers present and those who have gone on to eternal life.

But primarily we are today about the Third Sunday after Easter, with the emphasis on the Resurrection, and our looking forward to Jesus’ Ascension and the coming of the Holy Ghost.

Today, as all Sundays, is a wonderful opportunity for us to pray that Jesus Christ may be known and loved by more and more people.  And weekday Masses and Evening Prayer Services add to this as well.  It is good for the community, the world, and good for us, to be praying to glorify God, to be instructed in His Holy Word, to offer our intercessions and needs before his throne, and to be praying together (whether physically or via livestream).

 

High, Low, baseball Sunday- Rector's Rambling for May 4, 2025

What a blessing it has been to have TWO Sundays in a row with lots of guests at St. John’s!  What wonderful worship that we had on Easter Day with the full choir, brass, and so many guests and friends joining us.  This is always a highlight to the Church year!  Kudos to Dr. Lewis, Grace Jackson, and the Choir for the wonderful musical offering that day.  And also a hearty “thanks be to God” for all who pitched in in  the sacristy, sanctuary, narthex and undercroft (Altar Guild, Servers, Readers, Ushers and Coffee Hour Hosts).

The Sunday after Easter is referred to as Low Sunday, anticipating lower attendance.  The Choir had the day off, and we did our best to sing without their leadership.  But because it was our Tiger Baseball Sunday we actually had 50% MORE people in Church than our normal 10 AM Service attendance because of guests joining us for worship, lunch, and then to go over to the game! One parishioner alone had 38 friends buy tickets for the game!  Thank you John Barge for your diligence in spreading the word about our Sunday Baseball Outing.

We do have a few things scheduled in the coming weeks in addition to our regular Worship.  Today we have a special collection in support of the Bishop Biggers School in Malawi, next week is Mothers Day (no better way to honor mom than Church), and the week after that we will be hosting a baby shower in support of Pregnancy Aid, a crisis pregnancy center on Detroit’s east side.  On June 1st we will be having the recipients of our Outreach Giving joining us for worship so that we can recognize them and the good work that they are doing.

Planning is also underway to put together a regular general Sunday Social Outing and also one for a revival of our 20s/30s group.  Stay tuned for more details soon!

Lent, Eastertide and beyond, every Sunday is a good Sunday to be at St. John’s to glorify God, be nourished by His Word and Sacrament, and encouraged in parish fellowship .