April 13, Palm Sunday

Hands of the Angels  Saturday April 12, 10:00 a.m.

The Hands of the Angels  Knitting group will meet this Saturday at Alladin’s Rugs in Montrose to look at area rugs for the Parish Hall Living Room 

In the parish’s Three Other Sanctuaries;  Grappling with the Real Thing 

In the Food For Thought article for last week:  Five Rules for A Happy Life, in section four, “Taking Religion Seriously,” the author wrote,  “The Sunday School stories I learned as a child bear no resemblance to Christianity taken seriously.  You’ve got to grapple with the real thing.” 

 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is Christianity taken seriously at the developmental levels of our children.  Sofia Cavalletti talked about the “Greatest things for the smallest ones.”  Grappling with the real thing is what Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is all about as you can see from what is happening in the Atriums this Sunday.

 April 13, 2014

Level I Atrium

 Biblical reference:  Luke 22:7-13; Mark 14:17, 22-24, 26

 Last week we looked at a model of the city of Jerusalem.  In it contained a few buildings that were significant to Jesus’ life; one being the Cenacle.

 The Cenacle is the room where Jesus and his disciples held the Last Supper.   

 In the Imperial Roman age, the term Latin cenaculum pronounced (chay-nah-koo-loom) was part of an insula, the popular multi-floor apartment house of Rome.  The Cenaculum resides in the upper part of the insula.  The insula was made up of the cenacula, again divided into cubicula, exedra and medianum.  The medianum was a kind of atrium with access to the other rooms.

 At the Last Supper, the night before he died, Jesus anticipated the total gift of himself in his death and resurrection with the words he spoke over the bread, “This is my body, given for you,” and over the wine, “This is my blood, poured out for you.”  With these words, Jesus expressed his wish to remain with all people of all times, totally giving of himself under the sign of bread and wine.

 In the atrium, we present this historical moment in Jesus’ life, when he gave us his presence in the bread and wine, focusing on the words of gift, given and for you.   We heard the above-referenced passages.  This presentation also invites a fuller participation in the liturgy.  Jesus is saying, “It’s me, in the flesh & blood.”  “Here I am for you, in bread and wine, giving all my love.”  It is his wish to remain with us until the end of time.

 We continue to be amazed at the growing of our wheat grass, and how different each planting looks from one another.  Just how does it keep growing?

 Next week, please notice the time change.  We will begin in the main sanctuary at 5:15 am.  Once we receive our light from the Paschal candle, Level I and II children will retreat to the atrium to hear and participate in the Liturgy of the Light.

 Level I will look at the place where Jesus and his disciples participated in the Last Supper.  The room they held this special meal is called the cenacle.  It is an upper room of what would have been a multi-floor apartment house.

 Level II continue to experience Jesus as the True Vine.

 Level III are looking at the Old Testament reading for the Great Vigil of Easter. 

 At the Easter Vigil Sunday, 20 April, all levels will meet in the main church sanctuary at 5:15 am.  Levels I & II will be excused to retreat to their atrium to participate in their own Liturgy of the Light.  Level III will remain in the main sanctuary. 

Holy Week Heads Up: 

A short description of the events in Holy Week and why we do them.

 Good Friday

 Good Friday is the day that Jesus died on the Cross.  That being the case, some wonder why the day is called “good.”  The name really derived from God as in “God’s Friday.”  As is to be expected the liturgy for this day is very somber. 

 One might also ask, why are we revisiting this a second time?  Didn’t we hear about Christ’s Passion on Palm Sunday?  We did indeed.  But while both days mark the same event, each day presents the Passion in a very different way.  On Palm Sunday we hear the Passion of Christ from one of the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) in a order that rotates every three years.  On Good Friday the we always hear the Passion of Christ from the Gospel of John.

 The Passion as depicted in the synoptic Gospels portrays Jesus as the victim of the events.  This is most graphic in the Gospel of St. Mark, and less so in the Gospel of St. Luke.  However in St. John’s Passion, Jesus is not the victim, but rather directs the whole action from beginning to end.  That is because for St. John, Jesus crucifixion is his glorification, his exaltation.  In the 12^th Chapter of his Gospel, St. John quotes Jesus as saying, “When I am lifted up, I will draw all to myself.” 

 As the Passion unfolds, Jesus is master of the action.  When they come to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks who they seek.  When they say, “Jesus of Nazareth,” they are thrown off their feet.  Jesus makes sure that his disciples are released.  Later in the interrogation, it is Jesus who takes charge calling first the High Priest, then most powerfully, Pontius Pilate to account, exposing their falsehood for all to see.  In his crucifixion, Jesus commends his mother to the care of the Beloved Disciple, and his last words are, “It is accomplished.”  His side is pierced by the spear and out flows blood and water.  The Gospel writer is firm that this is the truth.  The early Church theologians saw this outflow of blood and water as the setting forth of the Spirit and the baptism of the whole world, in fact the whole cosmos.  For St. John, the moment of Jesus’ death is the moment of his ultimate triumph. 

 Good Friday services are done in many ways.  In some places it has been a long practice to have a service from 12 to 3 to mark the time Jesus was on the cross.  Often the service has a meditations on Jesus’ last seven words.  At Church of the Angels we follow the liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer.  Out liturgy begins at 12:00 and usually ends by 1:45 p.m

 The liturgy is in several parts.  The first part is the Liturgy of the Word.  This involves the reading of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah, a long passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, and the Passion of St. John.  This is followed by the homily.  The homily is followed by a period of silence, then as set of prayers called The Solemn Collects.  On Good Friday we make a special effort to concentrate our prayer on the needs of the world for which Christ died.  The Solemn Collects are quite profound.  There may be a traditional choir anthem called The Reproaches.  The Reproaches are a dialogue between God and his people where God enumerates all that he has done for us in Salvation History only to be met by our response of the different acts that make up the Passion.  There are other musical anthems that are also used instead of The Reproaches.  A concern among some people is the anti-Semitic tone of both the Gospel and The Reproaches.  However, anyone paying attention to the Liturgy will soon discover that the cause of Christ’s death is not just the Jews, but all of humankind. 

 After this comes the Veneration of the Cross where the black veil is removed, and then we conclude with the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.  We move the Sacrament from the Altar of Repose to the main Altar.  We recite the Confession, hear the Absolution, recite the Lord’s Prayer and make our Communion from the bread and wine consecrated at the Liturgy on Maundy Thursday. 

 When the Sacrament has been consumed, all the candles are extinguished.  The Tabernacle door is opened because it is now empty.  There is no longer the Presence of Christ in the Sacrament anywhere.  On those times when in the Eastern Orthodox and Western Church calendars, Easter falls on the same day, this means that after Good Friday there is no Eucharist celebrated anywhere in the whole world.   I lay down the candles sticks and turn over all the communion vessels leaving them in a wreaked pile on the Altar.  It recalls that hymn “In the Cross of Christ I glory, towering over the wreaks of time.”  There is a final prayer and we go out. 

 We are left with the wreckage on the Altar and the Cross in shining splendor over it.  It is the radical paradox of the death that brings life to the whole world.  The sacrifice that unites God and all things always and forever. 

 You might say that it is accomplished, but not finished.  It will be from here that at the Great Vigil of Easter we begin the journey back from darkness to light, from death to life with no death at all.

 Easter Preparations  2014

 With the coming of the Fifth  Sunday of Lent, it is time to turn our attention to our preparations for Holy Week and Easter.

 Reflective Dinners in Holy Week  2014

 Once again we will have our Reflective Dinners in Holy Week.  We  will hear  some readings from the Christian Tradition as we eat a simple meal together.  After that we hear one chapter from the Last Supper Discourses from the Gospel of St. John each evening, followed by one third of Jesus High Priestly Prayer from the 17^th Chapter of St. John.   We conclude with a simple Eucharist around the table  and finish with desert and conversation.   On these three nights we capture some of the sense the Last Supper.  People are still welcome to sign up and attend the Holy Week Dinners. 

 Our Presenter this year will be Kelly Russell. 

 Everyone is welcome to participate in the Reflective Dinners in Holy  Week. 

Each evening has a team preparing the meal. 

This Sunday we will have sign up sheets for each evening.  Please sign up after Church.

Easter Breakfast 2014

 This year’s Easter breakfast will be much like last year’s and we hope it will be an enjoyable event.  The menu will be quiche, breakfast casseroles and other favorite breakfast foods,  ham, fruit, hot cross buns/pastries, and some kid-friendly food.  Drinks will include coffee, orange juice, milk, water, and some wine and champagne if people will bring it. 

 Kelly Russell, Jim Goltz, and Fr. Bob are coordinating the Easter Breakfast. 

In order to make this work, we do need your help.  Here is what we are looking for:

 Quiche and other breakfast foods

We need 20 quiches.  In place of quiches, people are welcome to prepare other breakfast type dishes that can be heated and served on Easter morning.  So please sign up for your favorite.   You are encouraged to bring these to the Parish Hall on Holy Saturday

 Kitchen Help

We need someone to take responsibility for getting things in the ovens Easter morning, and .   help with putting the food out for the breakfast.

Fruit Czar/Czarina

We need someone to oversee the preparation of the fruit.  We’d like to have such things as grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple, etc.  We need people to cut up the fruit and prepare it on Saturday to be put out with the breakfast on Easter. 

Saturday Set Up

We need people to help with the setting up of tables and chairs on Holy Saturday

Drinks

We’ll set up coffee and there will be juice and milk.  People are invited to contribute wine and champagne. 

Clean Up

Our custom is that everyone jumps in and helps clean up and put away tables and chairs.

 We still need some more food and drink, and assistance. 

A sign up sheet will be on the table outside Church during the Sunday’s in Lent.  You can also e-mail the Church Office to sign up to help as well. 

We look forward to a wonderful time.

 Easter Flowers 2014

Sign up on the sheet and write the offering or memorial so we can acknowledge it in the Easter Bulletins.  Palm Sunday will be the last opportunity to sign up for Easter Flowers.  Please put your Easter Flower Offering in the envelope by the Sign Up Sheet

 Emmaus Road 

Emmaus Road will begin a new book after Easter.  We will read Jesus by Fr. James Martin SJ.  We’ve read two other books by Fr. Martin, The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything, and My Life with the Saints.  Fr. Martin is an engaging writer and we look forward to a good time with his book.  Here’s a brief description.  James Martin, SJ, gifted storyteller, editor at large of America magazine, popular media commentator, and New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, brings the Gospels to life in Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and invites believers and seekers alike to experience Jesus through Scripture, prayer and travel.

Vroman’s computer says they may have it in stock.  It can also be obtained from Amazon. 

By Your Side End of Life Vigil Training April 29 – May 27

The next By Your Side: End-of-Life Vigil Companion Training is scheduled to begin April 29 and lasts for five weeks.  This class can be a great help to anyone who is helping to care for a person coming to the end of their life.  At some point everyone of us will have to do this for someone we love.

 Previous  By Your Side classes were attended by Kris Hillary, April Bond, Marybeth Song, Jim Goltz, Fr. Bob & Tracy,  Nancy Ohlson, Georgie McAdams, Bill Serafini, and Susan Stanley.  They all got a lot out of it and found it tremendously helpful in caring for either close family or friends and acquaintances.   

 The cost for the class is $70.00 which includes all materials. 

 Training Location:

All Saints Episcopal Church  (Downstairs in the Forum

132 North Euclid Ave.

Pasadena, CA 91105

Parking  on the corner of Euclid and Walnut

 Training Time:  7:00-9:00

Schedule:

 Tuesday, April 29:  Serving as a Compassionate Presence:  Understanding Healing and Wholeness

Tuesday, May 6:  Navigating the End of Life:  The Physical Dying Process

Tuesday, May 13:  Elements of End of Life Care:  What Impacts Quality of Life?

Tuesday, May 20:  Volunteering in Clinical Settings

Tuesday, May 27:  Processing Vigil Experiences:  Avoiding Caregiver Burnout

 The By Your Side Brochure will be outside Church on Sunday. 

 Food For Thought

This coming Sunday, Palm Sunday, we will hear from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where talking of Jesus he will say:  He did not count equality with God something to be grasped but instead emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.  We will also hear in the Preface at the Eucharist, and by his suffering and death, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who put their trust in him.

 On the Food for Thought Table this Sunday, we will have two articles that tie into both of these as appropriate for Holy Week.

 1.  From The New York Times:  What Suffering Does.  Columnist David Brooks reflects on how while we all shoot for happiness, we feel formed by suffering.  It’s not anything we would wish, but in it we do discover depths and grow in compassion.

From The Wall Street Journal:  A review of the book, The Twilight of the American Enlightenment.   This review reflects on a shift in people’s thinking from values something beyond one’s self, to personal self-fulfillment as the highest moral good.  Can personal self-fulfillment really provide the ground for shared convictions and values?