Thursday, September 30, 2021

Out & About!

 
















Communion today with this sweetie! 

Thanks Doug!

Doug Breckenridge brought by this beautiful painting of St. Alban's as a gift to the congregation. Wow!


Fall colors are coming soon...

Thanks from Grandma!

Dear St. Alban's friends:

Will and Sydney Phelps and I are so grateful for the outpouring of gifts and support for the twin babies soon to expand our family. As Will put it, "we felt the love." 

Thank you so much,

Deacon Bette

Jerome

Jerome, Priest and Scholar, 420

The Collect:

O God, who gave us the holy Scriptures as a light to shine upon our path: Grant us, after the example of your servant Jerome, so to learn of you according to your holy Word, that we may find the Light that shines more and more to the perfect day; even Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever. Amen.

Jerome was the foremost biblical scholar of the ancient Church. His translation of the Bible, along with his commentaries and homilies on the biblical books, have made him a major intellectual force in the Western Church.

Jerome was born in about 347, and was converted and baptized during his student days in Rome. On a visit to Trier, he found himself attracted to the monastic life, which he tested in a brief but unhappy experience as a hermit in the deserts of Syria. At Antioch, he continued his studies in Hebrew and Greek. In 379, he went to Constantinople where he studied under Gregory of Nazianzus. From 382 to 384 he was secretary to Pope Damasus I, and spiritual director of many noble Roman ladies who were becoming interested in the monastic life. It was Damasus who set him the task of making a new translation of the Bible into Latin -- into the popular form of the language, hence the name of the translation: the Vulgate. After the death of Damasus, Jerome returned to the East, and established a monastery at Bethlehem, where he lived and worked until his death on 30 September 420.*

* The Lectionary, James Kiefer - http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Jerome.htm Much more information is at this link.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Millstones

Good words from Toyohiko Kagawa and Alston Boyd Johnson, the Dean of St. Mark's Cathedral. Click here.





Tuesday, October 5

 


Saint Michael and All Angels

Saint Michael and All Angels

The Collect:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

On the Feast of Michael and all Angels, popularly called Michaelmas, we give thanks for the many ways in which God's loving care watches over us, both directly and indirectly, and we are reminded that the richness and variety of God's creation far exceeds our knowledge of it.

The Holy Scriptures often speak of created intelligences other than humans who worship God in heaven and act as His messengers and agents on earth. We are not told much about them, and it is not clear how much of what we are told is figurative. Jesus speaks of them as rejoicing over penitent sinners (Lk 15:10). Elsewhere, in a statement that has been variously understood (Mt 18:10), He warns against misleading a child, because their angels behold the face of God. (Acts 12:15 may refer to a related idea.)

In the Hebrew Scriptures, it is occasionally reported that someone saw a man who spoke to him with authority, and who he then realized was no mere man, but a messenger of God. Thus we have a belief in super-human rational created beings, either resembling men in appearance or taking human appearance when they are to communicate with us. They are referred to as "messengers of God," or simply as "messengers." The word for a messenger in Hebrew is malach, in Greek, angelos, from which we get our word "angel" [Digression: angelion means "message, news" and euangelion means "good news = goodspell = gospel," from which we get our word "evangelist" used to mean a preacher of the Good News of salvation, and, more narrowly, one of the four Gospel-writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.]

By the time of Christ, Jewish popular belief included many specifics about angels, with names for many of them. There were thought to be four archangels, named Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. An alternative tradition has seven archangels (see Tobit 12:15 and 1 Enoch 20). Sometimes each archangel is associated with one of the seven planets of the Ptolemaic system (the moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). Michael is associated with Saturn and Uriel with the Sun. The other pairings I forget, but I believe that you will find a list in the long narrative poem called "The Golden Legend," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (I believe that a pairing is also offered in the opening chapters of the Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, by Irenaeus of Lyons, but I have not the work at hand.)

Michael (the name means "Who is like God?") is said to be the captain of the heavenly armies. He is mentioned in the Scriptures in Daniel 10:13,31; 12:1 (where he is said to be the prince of the people of Israel); in Jude 9 (where he is said to have disputed with the devil about the body of Moses); and in Revelation 12:7 (where he is said to have led the heavenly armies against those of the great dragon). He is generally pictured in full armor, carrying a lance, and with his foot on the neck of a dragon. (Pictures of the Martyr George are often similar, but only Michael has wings.)

Gabriel (the name means "God is my champion") is thought of as the special bearer of messages from God to men. He appears in Daniel 8:16; 9:21 as an explainer of some of Daniel's visions. According to the first chapter of Luke, he announced the forthcoming births of John the Baptist and of our Lord to Zachariah and the Virgin Mary respectively.

Raphael (the name means "God heals") is mentioned in the Apocrypha, in the book of Tobit, where, disguised as a man, he accompanies the young man Tobias on a quest, enables him to accomplish it, and gives him a remedy for the blindness of his aged father.

Uriel (the name means "God is my light" -- compare with "Uriah", which means "the LORD is my light") is mentioned in 4 Esdras.

It is thought by many scholars that the seven lamps of Revelation 4:5 are an image suggested by (among many other things) the idea of seven archangels.

What is the value to us of remembering the Holy Angels? Well, since they appear to excel us in both knowledge and power, they remind us that, even among created things, we humans are not the top of the heap. Since it is the common belief that demons are angels who have chosen to disobey God and to be His enemies rather than His willing servants, they remind us that the higher we are the lower we can fall. The greater our natural gifts and talents, the greater the damage if we turn them to bad ends. The more we have been given, the more will be expected of us. And, in the picture of God sending His angels to help and defend us, we are reminded that apparently God, instead of doing good things directly, often prefers to do them through His willing servants, enabling those who have accepted His love to show their love for one another.*

*The Lectionary, Jame Kiefer - there is much more information here too - http://satucket.com/lectionary/Michael.htm 

Join us tonight, Wednesday night, September 29, for Evening Prayer and to learn a little more about Angels and Cherubim in our Bible Project video!

Zoom Evening Prayer & Bible Project Video
Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJPc3
VOVTh3K21Idz09  
 
Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595
Passcode: 530
Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or  +1 346 248 7799


Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Paula and Eustochium

Paula and Eustochium of Rome, Monastics and Scholars, 404 and c. 419

The Collect:

Compel us, O God, to attend diligently to your Word, as did your faithful servants Paula and Eustochium; that, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we may find it profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness; and that thereby we may be made wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Paula of Rome (AD 347–404) was an ancient Roman saint and early Desert Mother. A member of one of the richest senatorial families, Paula was the daughter of Blesilla and Rogatus. In her mid teens, Paula was married to the nobleman Toxotius, with whom she had four daughters and a boy.

At the age of 32, Paula was widowed. She continued to dedicate herself to her family, but became more interested in religion as time went on. Through the influence of Saint Marcella and her group, Paula became an enthusiastic member of this semi-monastic group of women. In 382, she met Saint Jerome, who had come to Rome.

A year after the death of her husband, Paula pursued a pilgrimage to tour all of the holy sights traveling with large entourages of both men and women including her daughter Eustochium and Jerome himself. In conclusion to her journey, Paula decided to remain in Bethlehem to develop a monastery and spiritual retreat with Jerome. Once settling in Bethlehem, Paula and Jerome built a double monastery including one for Paula and her nuns and another for Jerome and his monks. The addition of a roadside hostel was also constructed to serve as an economic source to fund the monasteries. Once completed, the monastery segregated each gender from one another during manual labor and meals, but practiced prayer in the same locale. During its functioning, Jerome and Paula's retreat attracted large crowds of visitors both from Christian backgrounds and general travelers from a variety of regions including Ethiopia, Persia, and India. Along with this, aristocratic refugees were also drawn to the locale due to Jerome's extensive network of followers.

Paula is noted as maintaining her ascetic devotion through intensive studies of the Old and New Testaments, often under the guidance of Jerome. With this, she also practiced a strict fasting regimen, abstinence, and pursued a destitute lifestyle “to preserve a singular attachment to God” as stated by Jerome. While practicing this life of isolation, Paula still continued to interact with local clergy and bishops and maintained devout attention to teaching the nuns under her sovereignty. Paula, through these practices, became a recognized figure in the Christian community. Upon her death on January 26 404 AD, her funeral was noted as having a significant portion of the Palestine population arrive in her honor. A year after her passing, Paula obtained the title of Saint recognized by the Latin Church.

Eustochium (c. 368 – September 28, 419 or 420), was Paula's daughter and is also venerated as a saint and was an early Desert Mother.

Eustochium spoke Latin and Classical Greek with equal ease and was able to read the scriptures in the Hebrew text. Many of Jerome's Biblical commentaries owe their existence to her influence and to her he dedicated his commentaries on the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.

The letters which Jerome wrote for her instruction and spiritual advancement are, according to his own testimony, very numerous. After the death of Paula in 404, Eustochium assumed the direction of the nunneries. Her task was a difficult one on account of the impoverished condition of the temporal affairs which was brought about by the lavish almsgiving of Paula.

* Wikipedia, via The Lectionary - http://satucket.com/lectionary/paula&eustochium.html



Monday, September 27, 2021

Euphrosyne/Smaragdus

Euphrosyne/Smaragdus of Alexandria, Monastic, fifth century

The Collect:

Merciful God, who looks not with outward eyes but discerns the heart of each: we confess that those whom we love the most are often strangers to us. Give to all parents and children, we pray, the grace to see one another as they truly are and as you have called them to be. All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our only mediator and advocate. Amen.

Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria (fl. 5th century CE) was a female saint who adopted male attire and lived at a local monastery as an ascetic.

Euphrosyne was the beloved only daughter of Paphnutius, a rich man of Alexandria, miraculously born in her parents' old age in answer to a monk's prayer. Her loving father desired to marry her to a wealthy youth.

But having already consecrated her life to God and under pressure to break her vow, she dressed as a man and assumed the identity of "Smaragdus" ("emerald"). She then escaped to a nearby men's monastery, where she made rapid strides toward a perfected ascetic life. She was under the guidance of the abbot, who also happened to be the same monk who had prayed for her birth.

Years later, when Paphnutius appealed to the abbot for comfort in his bereavement, the abbot committed him to the care of Euphrosyne, still under the guise of Smaragdus. Paphnutius received from his own daughter, whom he had failed to recognize, helpful advice and comforting exhortation. Not until she was dying did Euphrosyne reveal herself to him as his lost daughter. After burying her, Paphnutius gave up all his worldly goods, and became a monk in the same monastery. There, he used his daughter's old cell until his own death ten years after.*

*Wikipedia via The Lectionary, http://satucket.com/lectionary/euphrosyne.html

A dying Euphrosyne reveals herself to her father


Sunday, September 26, 2021

Ordination Day

God willing, and the people consenting, The Rt. Rev'd Jacob W. Owensby, IV Bishop of Western Louisiana, will ordain The Rev'd Deacon Rita T. Jefferson to the Sacred Order of Priests on Saturday, October 2, 2021 at Grace Episcopal Church in Monroe. The liturgy begins at noon. Your prayers and presence are requested.

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Sergius of Radonezh

Sergius of Radonezh, Monastic, 1392

The Collect:

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we, through his poverty, might be rich: Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Sergius, may serve you with singleness of heart and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

To the people of Russia, Sergius is a national hero and an example of Russian spiritual life at its best.

Sergius was born around 1314, the son of a farmer. When he was twenty, he and his brother began to live as hermits in a forest near Moscow. Others joined them in what became the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, a center for the renewal of Russian Christianity. Pilgrims came from all Russia to worship and to receive spiritual instruction, advice, and encouragement. The Russians were at the time largely subservient to the neighboring (non-Christian) Tatar (or Tartar) people. Sergius rallied the people behind Prince Dimitri Donskoi, who defeated the Tatars in 1380 and established an independent Russia.

Sergius was a gentle man, of winning personality. Stories told of him resemble those of Francis of Assisi, including some that show that animals tended to trust him. He had the ability to inspire in men an intense awareness of the love of God, and a readiness to respond in love and obedience. He remained close to his peasant roots. One contemporary said of him, "He has about him the smell of fir forests." To this day, the effect of his personality on Russian devotion remains considerable.

St. Sergius died at an extremely advanced age in 1392, amidst the lamentations of his contemporaries.*

*The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Sergius.htm

Sunday, September 26


Sunday, September 26, 2021

Join us for “at church” or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, September 26, 2021, The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas. Remember - Masks are again mandatory for all, and communion will be offered in one kind - bread only. We strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated. Please maintain social distance in non-family groups.

Holy Eucharist, Rite Two

St. Alban’s - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.*

St. Thomas' - 10:00 a.m.*

St. Patrick’s – 1:30 p.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. 

Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet. 

Holy Eucharist -  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MaPdO51O2ioFmqpMr

X9BWVpA1OLjTmoy/view?usp=sharing       

La Santa Eucaristía: Rito Dos

Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo - 5:00 p.m.

y vía transmisión en vivo en nuestra página de Facebook.


Zoom Compline 
Sunday -  8:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 838 6168 8528
Passcode: 800
Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

We hope to “see” you all on Sunday as you are most comfortable!

Dawnell+, Whit+, Rob+ and Deacon Rita

Friday, September 24, 2021

Anna Ellison Butler Alexander

Anna Ellison Butler Alexander, Deaconess and Teacher, 1947

The Collect:

Loving God, who called Anna Alexander as a deaconess in your church: Grant us the wisdom to teach the gospel of Christ to whomever we meet, by word and by example, that all may come to the enlightenment that you intend for your people; through Jesus Christ, our Teacher and Savior. Amen.

Anna Ellison Butler Alexander (circa 1865 – September 24, 1947) was the first and only African-American consecrated a Deaconess in the Episcopal Church. She served in the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia during her entire career.

Anna Alexander was born in 1865 to recently-emancipated slaves on the Butler plantation on St. Simons Island, Glynn Co., Georgia. Her father had been taught to read by the English actress Fanny Kemble (who later wrote an influential book condemning slave life there). Perhaps this encouraged Anna's interest in education.

The Alexander family soon moved to Pennick, Georgia, just outside Brunswick, to take advantage of land south of the Altamaha River previously held by poor whites. Her father became a carpenter-builder and a community leader.

Anna first taught at the public school in Pennick. Later, she moved to Darien, Georgia, where her sister Mary founded a school affiliated with St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, and all three sisters taught. In 1894, with the cooperation of the Brunswick priest, Anna founded a mission in Pennick, while still teaching at Darien during the week, making a 40 mile round trip by boat and foot. The mission faltered when Anna accepted a position at St. Paul's Normal and Industrial School (as well as enrolled in the new teachers college there) in Lawrenceville, Virginia. In 1897, she returned to Pennick and revitalized the mission. The congregation was renamed Church of the Good Shepherd, and Alexander also started a school. She supported herself by taking in sewing, and managed to buy property in 1902, where her brother Charles Alexander and other men then erected a church.

In 1907, bishop Cleland Kinloch Nelson addressed the second annual meeting of the diocese's council of colored churchmen, held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, and consecrated Anna as a deaconess. She became the first and only African-American deaconess. She worked in the Altamaha River area for the rest of her life, teaching not only academic subjects, but also moral values.

The diocese of Georgia split in 1907 and Nelson chose to associate with the new Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. His successor in the Diocese of Georgia, Frederick Focke Reese, excluded African-Americans from church government in the diocese, and extended almost no diocesan financial support to African-Americans. This forced Alexander and others to make do, as well as seek support from outside the diocese, including from the Episcopal Board of Missions. During the bad crop years of the late 1920s through the Great Depression, Alexander continued to work in her hardscrabble community, whose members built the current wooden church building in 1928.

Alexander died on September 24, 1947 and was buried at the cemetery at Camp Reese, a diocesan camp on St. Simons where she had worked. In 2004, she was reinterred at Good Shepherd Church in Pennick, which she had founded and where she had worked for many years.*

*Wikipedia, The Lectionary - http://satucket.com/lectionary/anna_alexander.html

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Thecla of Iconium

Thecla of Iconium, Proto-Martyr among Women, c. 70

The Collect:

God of liberating power, who called Thecla to proclaim the gospel and did not permit any obstacle or peril to inhibit her: Empower courageous evangelists among us, that men and women everywhere may know the freedom that you offer us in Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Thecla was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The earliest record of her life comes from the ancient apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla.

According to the Acts of Paul and Thecla, Thecla was a young noble virgin who listened to Paul's "discourse on virginity" and became Paul's follower and a Disciple of Paul's teachings and Ministry. Thecla's mother and her fiancé Thamyris became concerned Thecla would follow Paul's demand "one must fear only one God and live in chastity", and punished both Paul and Thecla.

Thecla was miraculously saved from burning at the stake by the onset of a storm and traveled with Paul to Antioch of Pisidia. There a nobleman named Alexander desired Thecla and attempted to take her by force. Thecla fought him off, assaulting him in the process, and was put on trial for assaulting a nobleman. She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts, but was again saved by a series of miracles when the female beasts protected her against her male aggressors.

Thecla gained a massive "cult-like" following, and became perhaps the most prominent figure for female empowerment at the time. She listened to Paul's teachings to fear nobody but God, and live in chastity. She demonstrates these teachings on several occasions starting from the first time she heard Paul speak by leaving Thamyris, fighting off Alexander, and surviving several life threatening situations. She traveled to preach the word of God and became an icon encouraging women to also live a life of chastity and follow the word of the Lord.*

*Wikipedia via The Lectionary - http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Thecla.html

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Philander Chase

Philander Chase, Bishop, 1852

The Collect:

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith: Grant that like your servant Philander Chase we might have the grace to minister in Christ’s name in every place, led by bold witnesses to the Gospel of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Philander Chase was born in New Hampshire in 1775. He graduated from Dartmouth, and then entered the ministry in the Episcopal Church. He served congregations in Lake George, Poughkeepsie, New Orleans and Hartford, but felt the calling to preaching on the frontier and so moved west in 1817. He became bishop of Ohio in 1818, and also founded Kenyon College, raising the necessary funds in England. He ran into conflicts, both in his diocese and in the college, and so resigned his positions in 1831 and moved to Michigan. However, the newly-formed diocese of Illinois called him in 1835 to be its bishop, and he served in this position until his death, and as Presiding Bishop from 1843.*

*The Lectionary, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Philander_Chase.htm 

Join us tonight, Wednesday night, September 22, for Evening Prayer and to learn a little more about our Christian Tradition!

Zoom Evening Prayer & Class
Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJPc3VOVTh3K21Idz09  
 
Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595
Passcode: 530

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or  +1 346 248 7799

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Saint Matthew


Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

The Collect:

We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

One day Jesus was walking and saw a tax collector named Matthew sitting at a tax collection post, and said to him, "Follow me." And Matthew stood up and followed Him, and became one of His twelve apostles. Tax collectors in those days were social outcasts. Devout Jews avoided them because they were usually dishonest (the job carried no salary, and they were expected to make their profits by cheating the people from whom they collected taxes). Patriotic and nationalistic Jews hated them because they were agents of the Roman government, the conquerors, and hated them with a double hatred if (like Matthew) they were Jews, because they had gone over to the enemy, had betrayed their own people for money. Thus, throughout the Gospels, we find tax collectors (publicans) mentioned as a standard type of sinful and despised outcast. Matthew brought many of his former associates to meet Jesus, and social outcasts in general were shown that the love of Jesus extended even to them.

The name "Matthew" means "gift of the LORD." Mark and Luke, in the story of his calling, name him "Levi." Perhaps this was his original name, and he received a new name from Jesus when he became a disciple. 

Of Matthew's life after Pentecost the Scriptures tell us nothing. Later accounts of his life vary, some reporting that he was martyred, others that he died a natural death. The Christian community since early times has commemorated him as a martyr.*

*The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Matthew.htm

Monday, September 20, 2021

John Coleridge Patteson

John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs, 1871

The Collect:

Almighty God, who called your faithful servant John Coleridge Patteson and his companions to witness to the gospel, and by their labors and sufferings raised up a people for your own possession: Pour out your Holy Spirit upon your church in every land, that, by the service and sacrifice of many, your holy Name may be glorified and your kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

John Coleridge Patteson was born in London in 1827. He attended Balliol College, Oxford, and graduated in 1849. After a tour of Europe and a study of languages, he became a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, in 1852. In 1855, he heard Bishop George Selwyn of New Zealand (see 11 Apr.) call for volunteers to go to the South Pacific to preach the Gospel. He went there, and founded a school for the education of native Christian workers. He was adept at languages, and learned twenty-three of the languages spoken in the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands of the South Pacific. In 1861 he was consecrated Bishop of Melanesia.

The slave-trade was technically illegal in the South Pacific at that time, but the laws were only laxly enforced and in fact slave-raiding was a flourishing business. Patteson was actively engaged in the effort to stamp it out. However, injured men do not always distinguish friends from foes. After slave-raiders had attacked the island of Nakapu, in the Santa Cruz group, Patteson and several companions visited the area. They were assumed to be connected with the raiders, and Patteson's body was floated back to his ship with five hatchet wounds in the chest, one for each native who had been killed in the earlier raid. The death of Bishop Patteson caused an uproar back in England, and stimulated the government there to take firm measures to stamp out slavery and the slave trade in its Pacific territories. It was also the seed of a strong and vigorous Church in Melanesia today. Patteson and his companions died on 20 September 1871.*

*The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/John_Patteson.htm

Saturday, September 18, 2021

Edward Bouverie Pusey

Edward Bouverie Pusey, Priest, 1882

The Collect:

Grant, O God, that in all time of our testing we may know your presence and obey your will; that, following the example of your servant Edward Bouverie Pusey, we may with integrity and courage accomplish what you give us to do, and endure what you give us to bear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The revival of High Church teachings and practices in the Anglican Communion, known as the Oxford Movement, found its acknowledged leader in Edward Bouverie Pusey. Born near Oxford, August 22, 1800, Pusey spent all his scholarly life in that University as Regius Professor of Hebrew and as Canon of Christ Church. At the end of 1833, he joined John Keble and John Henry Newman in producing the Tracts for the Times, which gave the Oxford Movement its popular name of Tractarianism.

His most influential activity, however, was his preaching—catholic in content, evangelical in his zeal for souls. But to many of his more influential contemporaries, it seemed dangerously innovative. A sermon preached before the University in 1843 on “The Holy Eucharist, a Comfort to the Penitent” was condemned without his being given an opportunity to defend it, and he himself was suspended from preaching for two years—a judgment he bore most patiently. His principles were thus brought before the public, and attention was drawn to the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. From another University sermon, on “The Entire Absolution of the Penitent,” may be dated the revival of private confession in the Anglican Communion.

When Newman was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845, Pusey’s adherence to the Church of England kept many from following, and he defended them in their teachings and practices. After the death of his wife in 1839, Pusey devoted much of his family fortune to the establishment of churches for the poor and much of his time and care to the establishment of sisterhoods. In 1845, he established the first Anglican sisterhood since the Reformation. It was at this community’s convent, Ascot Priory in Berkshire, that Pusey died on September 16, 1882. His body was brought back to Christ Church and buried in the cathedral nave. Pusey House, a house of studies founded after his death, perpetuates his name at Oxford. His own erudition and integrity gave stability to the Oxford Movement and won many to its principles.*


*A Great Cloud of Witnesses, Copyright © 2016 by The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Friday, September 17, 2021

Summer's Last Sunday


Sunday, September 19, 2021

Join us for “at church” or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, September 19, 2021, The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas. Remember - Masks are again mandatory for all, and communion will be offered in one kind - bread only. We strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated. Please maintain social distance in non-family groups.

Holy Eucharist, Rite Two

St. Alban’s - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.*

St. Thomas' - 10:00 a.m.*

St. Patrick’s – 1:30 p.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. 

Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet. 

Holy Eucharist -  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LYmngX7I3EaziZ

FtCVGWQD67lN5A4WGg/view?usp=sharing      

La Santa Eucaristía: Rito Dos

Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo - 5:00 p.m.

y vía transmisión en vivo en nuestra página de Facebook.


Zoom Compline 
Sunday -  8:00 p.m.
Meeting ID: 838 6168 8528
Passcode: 800
Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

We hope to “see” you all on Sunday as you are most comfortable!

Dawnell+, Whit+, Rob+ and Deacon Rita

Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen, Mystic and Scholar, 1179

The Collect:

God of all times and seasons: Give us grace that we, after the example of your servant Hildegard, may both know and make known the joy and jubilation of being part of your creation, and show forth your glory in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hildegard of Bingen has been called by her admirers "one of the most important figures in the history of the Middle Ages," and "the greatest woman of her time." Her time was the 1100's (she was born in 1098), the century of Eleanor of Aquitaine, of Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux, of the rise of the great universities and the building of Chartres cathedral. She was the daughter of a knight, and when she was eight years old she went to the Benedictine monastery at Mount St Disibode to be educated. The monastery was in the Celtic tradition, and housed both men and women (in separate quarters). When Hildegard was eighteen, she became a nun. Twenty years later, she was made the head of the female community at the monastery. Within the next four years, she had a series of visions, and devoted the ten years from 1140 to 1150 to writing them down, describing them (this included drawing pictures of what she had seen), and commenting on their interpretation and significance. During this period, Pope Eugenius III sent a commission to inquire into her work. The commission found her teaching orthodox and her insights authentic, and reported so to the Pope, who sent her a letter of approval. (He was probably encouraged to do so by his friend and former teacher, Bernard of Clairvaux.) She wrote back urging the Pope to work harder for reform of the Church. The community of nuns at Mount St. Disibode was growing rapidly, and they did not have adequate room. Hildegard accordingly moved her nuns to a location near Bingen, and founded a monastery for them completely independent of the double monastery they had left. She oversaw its construction, which included such features (not routine in her day) as water pumped in through pipes. The abbot they had left opposed their departure, and the resulting tensions took a long time to heal. 

Hildegard travelled throughout southern Germany and into Switzerland and as far as Paris, preaching. Her sermons deeply moved the hearers, and she was asked to provide written copies. In the last year of her life, she was briefly in trouble because she provided Christian burial for a young man who had been excommunicated. Her defense was that he had repented on his deathbed, and received the sacraments. Her convent was subjected to an interdict, but she protested eloquently, and the interdict was revoked. She died on 17 September 1179. *

* The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Hildegard_Bingen.htm

Thursday, September 16, 2021

Ninian

Ninian, Bishop, c.430

The Collect:

O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant and bishop Ninian you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in the land of Britain: Grant, we pray, that having his life and labors in remembrance we may show our thankfulness by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Ninian is also called Nynia, Ninias, Rigna, Trignan, Ninnidh, Ringan, Ninus, or Dinan. He was a Celt, born in southern Scotland in about 360, and is regarded as the first major preacher of the Gospel to the people living in Britain north of the Wall--that is, living outside the territory that had been under Roman rule. He is said to have studied in Rome (note that he is contemporary with Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine), but was chiefly influenced by his friendship with Martin of Tours, with whom he spent some considerable time when he was returning from Italy to Britain. It is probable that he named his headquarters in Galloway after Martin's foundation in Gall. Martin had a monastery known as LOCO TEIAC, a Latinized form of the Celtic LEUG TIGIAC. LEUG means "white, shining," and TIG means "house" (a shanty, or SHAN-TIG, is an old house). The suffix -AC means "little." Thus, Martin's monastery had a name which in Celtic means "little white house." At about the time of Martin's death in 397, Ninian built a church at Galloway, in southwest Scotland. It was built of stone and plastered white, an unusual construction in a land where almost all buildings were wood. He called it Candida Casa (White House) or Whithorn, presumably after Martin's foundation at Tours. Archaeologists have excavated and partially restored his church in this century. From his base at Galloway, Ninian preached throughout southern Scotland, south of the Grampian Mountains, and conducted preaching missions among the Picts of Scotland, as far north as the Moray Firth, He also preached in the Solway Plains and the Lake District of England. Like Patrick (a generation later) and Columba (a century and a half later), he was a principal agent in preserving the tradition of the old Romano-British Church and forming the character of Celtic Christianity. Some historians think that the number and extent of his conversions has been exaggerated, but throughout southern Scotland there are many and widespread churches that bear his name, and have traditionally been assumed to be congregations originally founded by him. 

Our information about him comes chiefly from Bede's History (Book 3, chapter 4), an anonymous eighth century account, and a 12th century account by Aelred. Aelred is writing 700 years after the event, and is for that reason rejected as untrustworthy by many critics. However, he claims to rely on an earlier account, "written by a barbarian." This suggests that he may have had an authentic record by a member of Ninian's community in Galloway. *

*The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Ninian.htm