Rogation Sunday - Rector's Rambling for May 5, 2024

     What a wonderful day we have planned for today, May 5th!  The last few Sunday’s have been chock-full of activity in addition to our worship, and today is no exception! 

First, a thank you to all who pitched in to help make last week’s baseball outing a success.  To Pat Walter and Pat Burson who coordinated the hot dog cooking (with help from Martina Stevenson), to all those who invited family and friends to join us for worship and the game following.  The weather was looking uncooperative in the morning, but it cleared up nicely by game time, and the Tigers had a solid 4-1 victory to continue to play over .500 - something they haven’t done in the month of April in several years.  As interesting to note that in 23 years of this outing (no outing during 2020 because the MLB was not allowed to have spectators in the stadium), we have had only ONE rain out!

Today on the Liturgical Calendar we celebrate Rogation Sunday, an opportunity for us to pray for God’s blessing on the beginning of the agricultural season.  We will have a procession outside, around the perimeter of our building as a symbol of our ‘beating the bounds” of our parish boundary.  We sing the Litany Hymn while doing this.  More information on this is on Page 4 of this Chronicle.

Also, being the first Sunday in May we have our Annual Malawi Ingathering in support of the Church in Malawi.  For nearly 30 years now St. John’s has supported the Church in Malawi through the ministry of Bishop Jackson Biggers.  Some years, it was for general diocesan support.  A few years our offerings helped to build the convent for the Sisters of the Community of St. Mary and their ministry to orphans.  Recently, our support was designated to the Leonard Kamugu Theological School for the training of priests, and more recently, our gifts are being used to support the Bishop Jackson Biggers Secondary School.  Information about the school and its recent accomplishments can be found on the insert in today’s Order of Service.  On a related note, please keep Bishop Biggers in your prayers.  He now lives in a retirement community for clergy in Malawi and has had some recent health struggles.

The third special thing today is that we have the baptism of Bennett Antonio Hardy.  His parents Samantha and Shawn were married here at St. John’s in 2018, and we are most grateful to be able to incorporate Bennett into the family of God through this Sacrament.

Looking forward, we have more special events coming up in the next few weeks including Mothers Day, Pentecost and Hans and Ellen’s 50th Wedding Anniversary Blessing, our Outreach Giving Sunday, and the institution of a new member of the Daughters of the King. 

Sundays are the day for us to gather as the people of God to be fed in Word and Sacrament, and to be encouraged in the Faith through fellowship.  All these special events help us to see the big picture of the Church in action!

 

Tiger Baseball Sunday - Rector's Rambling for April 28, 2024

      In 1858 when Henry Porter Baldwin bought the apple orchard across Woodward Avenue from his country house, and proposed to his neighbors to build a church there, he did so under the assumption that the City of Detroit would grow to the north, away from the river, as major cities eventually do. 

Most likely, he never imagined that that growth would go beyond large Victorian homes and estates like his own.  Within the first decades of St. John’s opening, the neighborhood developed into a lovely, sprawling, affluent neighborhood.  And then the next neighborhood beyond it became more attractive and even his own nephew, Henry Porter Baldwin II (our second senior warden), built his new house further north where Wayne State University is now.

By the time of Henry Porter Baldwin’s death in 1892, the neighborhood had developed into a commercial district and within a few years the Victorian homes would become boarding houses, theatres would be built (Fox theater in 1928), and the affluent moved out to neighborhoods like Indian Village and eventually to the new suburbs such as  the Grosse Pointes and Hazel Park. 

By the 1960s and 1970s, this neighborhood was primarily commercial and more and more becoming derelict.  Many of the Churches up and down Woodward closed, and a few were just barely holding their own, including our beloved St. John’s.

With the renovation of the Fox Theatre, and eventually the development of the stadiums, new housing, and the still ongoing District Detroit, we are seeing a renaissance of our neighborhood and Detroit in general. 

Today’s Tigers Outing is the fruit of that renaissance.  Comerica Park opened in 2000, Ford Field in 2003, and Little Caesars Arena in 2017.  I am sure that Henry Porter Baldwin could not have imagined that our front steps would be 250 yards from Tigers Home Plate and 250 yards from the Red Wings/Pistons Center Ice/Court!  And yet here we are with these things, new office buildings, new housing, and now building underway for a University of Michigan graduate innovation center 3 blocks to our west!

In all of this, St. John’s has remained faithful and steady as all around us has changed for the worse and for the better.  We minister the same unchanging Good News.

 

St. George, and projects to come - Rector's Rambling for April 21, 2024

     This week on Tuesday we will be celebrating the Feast of St. George,  patron saint of England.  The Flag of St. George is flying from the flag pole near the ministry center in anticipation of the Feast Day this week.  

Spring is finally upon us, at least it is starting to feel that way.  Easter Day was 3 weeks ago, we look forward today’s Baby Shower for Pregnancy Aide, the Tiger Baseball Outing next Sunday, and then our Malawi Ingathering for the Bishop Biggers Secondary School the following week.

Spring also means the beginning or resumption of outdoor projects around St. John’s.  TLC is being applied to the garden with trimming and pruning, and some new planting of Easter flowers.  Notice will be given of opportunities to pitch in!

Last week, master artisan Oscar Cotton began the yearly touch up of our magnificent doors.  Having stripped and re-stained them over the last few years, he will be doing a yearly touch up and re-varnishing to keep them in tip top shape.  Also, the handrails and retaining wall fence along Woodward will also be getting some much needed attention.

Along the freeway side of the building, an important project will be beginning to rebuild the cement divider between the property and the sidewalk, and to repair and protect the cast iron fence.  This portion of fence is the oldest part of our fencing. It is of a craftmanship that is hard to replicate today. 

In the coming weeks, a new Michigan Historic Building sign will be installed to replace the nearly 40-year old one there now.  The wording has been changed slightly to correct some historical inaccuracies, and of course the new one will be shiny and new.  This was funded through a grant from the organization that makes the signs as well as the generosity of a parishioner.

The new sign, spruced up garden, touched up doors and fencing all contribute to the ‘curb appeal’ of our wonderful building to the many passersby on Woodward, both by foot and by car.  The sign introduces them to the parish, and a well-kept exterior signals that we are a congregation that is active and attentive to details such as this.       

 

Good Shepherd Sunday - Rector's Rambling for April 14, 2024

     In a 5 day period in 1994 I graduated seminary, was ordained a transitional deacon, celebrated my 28th birthday, and moved to the Philadelphia suburbs to began my first position as a clergyman in The Episcopal Church.

I was so grateful to have been hired as the curate at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.  At the time, it was one of the premier Anglo-catholic parishes in the Diocese of Pennsylvania with a long, storied history of glorious worship and meaningful ministry.  Every two years or so, a new curate would be hired to cut his teeth as the assistant clergyman under the tutelage of the Rector of the parish, and the caring (and patient) community of faithful parishioners. 

It was there that I began this journey to learn how to shepherd a flock.  The Rector at the time, Fr. David Moyer, led both by example and instruction, and the people in the pews helped in innumerable ways by encouraging (and sometimes challenging) me to be the leader that God desired me to be as a priest of the Church.

Let’s face it...as urban/suburban congregation there (and here) the idea of being an actual shepherd  to a flock of sheep is an alien concept.  Yet it was in that parish dedicated to Jesus as the Good Shepherd that I began to appreciate why our Lord used this as a metaphor for ministry.  Yet I am reminded that I am an under-shepherd who is called to lead and guide to the one who is THE Good Shepherd, Jesus.  May we learn  to hear his voice and follow his lead!

 

Eastertide - Rector's Rambling for April 7, 2024

 “Wouldn’t it be great if we could celebrate Easter for a long time?”  I overheard this statement at brunch, uttered by a young boy as he added treats to his basket at the candy bar.

I am pretty sure that his reason for wanting a longer celebration was probably centered on that basket of candy, but in fact Easter is a long-time celebration!  Forty days on our calendar and then a 10-day ancillary celebration following – from Ascension to Pentecost.

Yes, friends, it is still Easter!  We will continue the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ until May 10.  Just as Lent was a 40-day season, so too is Eastertide.  During this time we will look at what the Resurrection means to us believers in Jesus Christ.

We have several great opportunities for learning, fellowship, and outreach to the community during these next 50 days (40 for Eastertide until the Feast of the Ascension, and then 10 days later the Feast of Pentecost.) 

The Alpha Course continues until April 21 after the 10 AM Service.  Also on April 21, we will be having a Baby Shower in support of Pregnancy Aid.  On April 28, we are going over to the Detroit Tigers game after the 10 AM Service and after eating our fill of hot dogs here beforehand. 

On May 5th, we will have our Ingathering in support of the Bishop Biggers School in Northern Malawi, Central Africa, and then on June 2nd we will welcome our community partners that we support through the Outreach Committee. 

I want to give a most heartfelt thank you to everyone who pitched in last week to make the Easter Day celebration (and all of Holy Week) so very special!  Altar Guild, Ushers, Servers, Office Staff, and Kitchen Volunteers all did a wonderful job, and you are appreciated!

 

He is Risen Indeed! - Rector's Rambling for March 31, 2024

     Alleluia! 

Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen

Indeed! Alleluia!

 After a long Lent of looking at our sins, and being reminded of God’s mercy and forgiveness, we come to the big day!   Jesus Christ, having been sacrificed on the Cross for our sins has now risen from the dead!  We rejoice with resounding Alleluia and celebration.

Sunday after Sunday, we look at the remarkable super-reredos in the church, that wonderful mosaic high above the altar, and see it for its beauty and artistic merit.  But more than that, it is a weekly reminder of today’s celebration.  There, recorded for us in gold leaf and colored stones is a mosaic re-creation of Ella Condi Lamb’s painting depicting the angel of the Lord greeting the three Mary’s who went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus.

But instead of finding Jesus, they came upon an empty tomb. 

We will be celebrating Easter for the next 40 days.  It only seems fair that if Lent was 40 days then so should be Easter.  On the 40th day we celebrate Jesus’ Ascension into heaven.  This year that 40th day is Thursday, May 9th.  The next day we begin our nine day prayer intention, known as a Novena, in preparation for the great celebration of the gift of the Holy Ghost, known as Whitsunday, or Pentecost.  During those days we will be praying for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, that they be renewed in His Church and on us as a congregation.

Sunday worship, weekday worship, and lots of activities are scheduled at St. John’s.  On April 21st we have a baby shower in support of Pregnancy Aid. The last Sunday of April we have our parish outing to the Tigers game,  May 5th is our ingathering in support of the Church in Malawi, and June 2nd we will be welcoming our community outreach partners which we support.

We are blessed to have a Risen Lord, and to have a wonderful parish!

Palm Sunday and Holy Week - Rector's Rambling for March 24, 2024

     
Today is a day of contradictions.  We begin our worship with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and then very quickly the tone and tenor of the worship turns to Jesus’ death and burial as we read the Passion Gospel lesson.

I wish that we could just spend the entire liturgy concentrating on the events of Palm Sunday, and those immediately following.  On the same day, he cleanses the Temple by casting out those who sold, and overturned the tables of the money changers – all of which must have been quite a sight.  He also has an encounter with the chief priests and scribes who are displeased that their children are proclaiming, “Hosanna to the son of David” to which Jesus responds, “Yea: have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:16).  And in between Palm Sunday and Jesus’ arrest there are five chapters of Matthew’s gospel full of some of the most important of Jesus’ teaching.

But the Church puts these two lessons together for a reason.  When the lectionary was developed centuries ago, it was assumed that attendance at a weekday service would not be as good as on Sunday, and that proves to be correct today.  Not as many people will join us for worship on Good Friday, although I would like to be proven wrong on that point this year.

During this week there will be ample, important opportunities to worship and enter deeply into the last days of our Lord’s earthly life.  On Wednesday we have a service of Psalms and Lessons, called Tenebræ, to set the mood for the upcoming Three Holy Days (Sacrum Triduum) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.  Tenebræ on Wednesday, and the Maundy Thursday service are both at 7:00 PM.  Good Friday worship is from noon to 3:00 PM (come for all or whatever portion you are able).

On Saturday evening, at 6:00 PM, we begin our celebration of the Resurrection with the deeply symbolic service of the Easter Vigil, and then, on Easter Day, we have our 8:00 and 10:00 AM services, with Brass accompaniment at the 10:00 AM Solemn High Mass (prelude at 9:30 AM).

Now is the time to set these dates on your calendar, and to invite friends, family, and neighbors to join us for worship!