Knead Bread

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Aidan Kavanagh, a liturgical scholar, has been quoted as saying that he never had any trouble believing communion was the Body of Christ; he had trouble believing it was bread! One is not likely to have that issue at St. Nicholas. Our fragrant and fresh communion bread is baked by members of our community. We are seeking more hands to bake the bread for our liturgies. If you are interested, there is a sign-up sheet in Holy Innocents Hall. If you would like to find out more about what is involved, ask any one of our current bread bakers: Anna Stefaniak, Denise Butera, Hal Stratton, Steve Raftery, Katie Black, Donna Tamaski, Jennifer Garcia, Douglas VanHouten, Manny Borg, Sean Khor and Mike Craig.

Our own bishop, Jeffrey Lee, writes in his book, Opening the Prayer Book that “the quality of a liturgical experience has to do with the quality of its fundamental signs. Sacraments effect by signifying. Sacraments make real; they do not make true . . . the bread and the wine of the eucharist do not make the presence of Christ true, they make it real. And if the purpose of sacraments is to make these things real, then the quality of the signs themselves matters very much.”

We knead you! Please consider joining our happy rota. There is a sign-up sheet in Holy Innocents Hall.

Gremlins On the Day of Pentecost

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Today started out beautifully cool; all the doors were propped open to get as much air as possible into the worship space, as we normally have very hot mornings this time of year and in fact next Sunday we’ll begin worshiping in the air-conditioned Holy Innocents Hall. However today was pleasant as we gathered, wearing red, for choir practice.

A short delay happened when we went to sing something that had been printed in the bulletin… the new stack of bulletins for today was nowhere to be found. We broke off to search, and interrupted the Bishop’s Committee meeting to verify that the bulletins had indeed been left in the usual place, and were missing.

After some consternation, they were found where a helpful gremlin had left them in the big recycling bin outside, still in usable condition so we didn’t have to go “old school” and hand out hymnals and announce hymn numbers. A few minutes later, choirmistress Mary Fletcher-Gomez reported “I have no organ…” just as she was about to practice something, and we found that the power cord had been pulled out (probably when we were rearranging some chairs in the “choir jail” section.

The portable microphone worn by the priest was also turned off, as was the mic for the reader’s stand – those gremlins were certainly busy this morning, but all of these glitches were dealt with, and the service itself continued without further gremlonic disturbance.

Katie Black performed a beautiful solo piece, and Father Paul Brouilette officiated – and how wonderful it was to see him in a deep red chausuble, standing at the altar! He has been on the prayer list for some time with an illness, so hearing his voice lifted once again to sing the Eucharistic Prayer was deeply moving. Father Manny gave the homily, expanding on the stirring readings for today, the birthday of the Church.

May we all be filled with a fiery spirit to go out into the world, bringing light and warmth:

Acts 2:1-13

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

7 Utterly amazed, they asked: Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?

9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome

11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs— we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!

12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, What does this mean?

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, They have had too much wine.

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Our Journey Is Almost Complete – Events This Week at St Nicks

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We’re almost there…the week when Christians the world over embark upon a most sacred spiritual journey with Christ. We venture, along with our Lord, to the ancient and holy city of Jerusalem…the gates are opened wide and Jesus enters in triumph, astride a donkey, with the people of the city cheering his entry. In little time, the atmosphere changes…the sky darkens and the people’s hearts harden. Jesus is reviled, vilified and denounced. The Pharisees and Scribes, the Roman authorities and many of Jesus’ own people turn against him and betray him.

We take this trip with Jesus, right into Jerusalem, though we need not venture too far from our homes. We walk with Christ and we do so as we engage, celebrate and take part in the Liturgies celebrated at St. Nicholas.

We begin with the April 17th, 10am Palm Sunday Liturgy

We celebrate Jesus’ glorious entry into the Holy City of David, as well as commemorate the Passion of the Lord; of that fateful Friday when Jesus surrenders his mortal self, to defeat sin and shed eternal light upon all God’s children. The highs and lows of this particular Liturgy are striking: as we begin with such joy and happiness, palms waving as we welcome Jesus. Soon, we enter into the darkness of human grief and sadness as we follow the steps of Christ. What love is this, that God sacrifices His only son for us?

7pm Maundy Thursday, April 21st

…has us recalling the Lord’s Last Supper with His disciples. At this Liturgy, we will also make good on the commandment to be servant to others. Jesus washed the feet of the 12 Apostles. The congregation is invited and encouraged to come forward and have our hands washed. This physical gesture is symbolic of the need for cleansing away the stains of sin and transgression that separates us from God and also serves as a reminder of the call, the commandment, to serve others, to see to their needs and to offer comfort and guidance. The altar is stripped of all vestments and linen, the tabernacle is cleared…to remind us that Jesus is soon to leave us, for but a short while. We enter the worship space in song though we depart in silence…allowing ourselves to ponder the great events we recalled and are about to experience in the following days.

7pm Good Friday, April 22nd

…though death brings us grief and sorrow, this is truly a day we are to celebrate, for Jesus’ tragic and criminal death is a day that brings us all Good News, for His death is our invitation to New Life. We enter into the worship space as we departed the night before, in silence and with reverence. The altar is venerated and paid homage as the clergy prostrates before the “table of sacrifice.” Again, we will proclaim the Passion Narrative from St. John’s Gospel, recalling Jesus’ sacrifice of self for the salvation of all God’s people. Because Jesus is not with us on this day, for he lays in the tomb in human death, there is no Holy Communion…though we share in the comfort and grace of the Holy Spirit, which sustains and strengthens us. The Liturgy concludes with the Lord’s Prayer, a closing prayer and we leave the worship space in silence.

8pm Holy Saturday, April 23rd…the Great Vigil

…this is the greatest and most important of all the Liturgies we celebrate. Christians around the world commemorate the victorious Christ and his triumph over sin and death. The Liturgy is lengthy…and for good reason! The New Fire is lighted…the Baptismal Font is filled with new and fresh water…the Pashcal Candle is marked and blessed for the new church year and season, culminating with the renewal of the promises made at our baptism. We listen with open heart to the Salvation Readings taken from the Old Testament, along with the New Testament scripture passage and the Gospel of St. Matthew. Single voices in song, choir anthems along with the entire congregation singing, will provide beautiful musical accompaniment, ensuring a most wonderful and glorious Liturgy.

“This is the night when you brought our fore-bearers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land. This is the night when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin and are restored to grace and holiness of life. This is the night when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell and rose victorious from the grave.”

What a glorious night indeed…come let us adore Him.

10am Easter Sunday, April 24th

…is hardly a wrap-up of events, rather a continuation of the great celebrations we started a week earlier on Palm Sunday. Certainly, this Sunday Liturgy is a bit more relaxed and less involved in comparison to the Great Easter Vigil celebrated the night before. Nonetheless, Easter Sunday is when, the world over, bells ring out the great news that Jesus Christ is Risen! We will conclude our Easter Sunday Liturgy with our traditional social gathering in Holy Innocents Hall and with a lively Easter Egg Hunt. Weather permitting the hunt will be outdoors on the front lawns. And, if nature doesn’t cooperate, we’ll move things indoors. Children of all ages are invited…that means every one can have some fun!

All we need is the community of St. Nicholas to come and be part of this week-long profession of our faith, the commemoration of Jesus’ sacrifices made for us and the celebration of Our Savior’s glorious and divine triumph over mortal sin and human death. This is an invitation; to one and all–to friends and visitors, to those who are curious and those longing for a deeper relationship with Christ–come and let us all honor our God with prayer, in song and with hearts open to the gifts of God the Almighty, Jesus the Son and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Just as God’s love far exceeds what we could ever require of Him, St. Nicholas has more than enough room for everyone. Let’s fill the seats and make a most holy noise in song and exultation. God bless us, one and all.

Peace,

Manny

manny AT stnicholasepiscopal.org