Dear St. Mary’s Family,
Last Sunday morning a congregation of 21 people were present for the Holy Communion at St. Mary’s, and another 11 were present for Evening Prayer that evening. Seven people gathered on Tuesday evening to celebrate with me and receive a teaching on The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I was glad to be joined by someone most days last week for Morning Prayer.
This is often the way it is in the Church, where two or three are gathered… But in fact, where two or three are gathered, the whole Church is there, as we acknowledge in the Te Deum:
To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee;
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee;
The noble army of Martyrs praise thee;
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee,
The Father, of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true, and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
There are two words that came to mind this week in the midst of these uncertain and anxious times. The one was “stability” and the other was “sobriety.” We need to maintain our stability, according to the words of St. Paul, “Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” ( 2 Corinthians 15. 58). And we also need to maintain our sobriety, as in “and grant O most merciful Father for his sake, that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life.” ( The General Confession). The reference to sobriety here has to do not so much with not getting drunk on alcohol, as it does not being overwhelmed and overcome by our afflictive emotions, as in anger, worry, fear, anxiety, etc. A colleague said to me this weak, “I am so tired of angry and critical people!”
So what does it mean for us abound in the work of the Lord, and maintain our stability and sobriety? Our historic and traditional practice has been to pray the Morning and Evening Prayer.
Starting this week, Morning Prayer will be offered daily at 8.30 a.m. and Evening Prayer at 5.30 p.m. Those whose schedules allow it, are invited and encouraged to come.
There are three special occasions in our calendar this week. On Monday we will celebrate Holy Cross Day with Holy Communion following a shortened Evening Prayer, and on Wednesday and Friday this week we will observe the “Autumn Ember Days” with a focus on praying for the Bishops , Priests, and Deacons of the Church on Wednesday, and praying for the Agriculture and Industries of our land on Friday.
This Sunday we are having a short Family Service at 10.30 a.m. and weather permitting, we will walk down to the park and the end of Montague Street to visit, and if so desired to eat bag lunch.
Starting next Sunday I will be offering a class following Evening Prayer, designed especially for our candidates preparing for Baptism, but which will be open to one and all. Then topic of our first class class: Who is Jesus Christ?
Blessings to you all for your Lord’s Day worship!
Claude
WORSHIP THIS WEEK AT ST MARY’S
| Sunday | 10:30 AM Family Service 7:00 PM Evening Prayer |
| Monday to Friday | 8:30 AM Morning Prayer 5:30 PM Evening Prayer |
| Monday | 5:45 PM Holy Communion for Holy Cross Day |