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A WORD FROM THE RECTOR
Greetings in the
Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
On 3 March 2009, the Feast of
Bl. John Wesley and Bl. Charles Wesley, our own Bishop Gray and Bishop Hope
Morgan Ward of the United Methodist Conference of Mississippi entered into A
Covenant for Common Life, under which our churches make a beginning to move
into common mission and common community.
This covenant itself flows from an agreement entered into at a national
level and following-on from a resolution adopted at the 1988 Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion. The Wesley’s may have founded the Methodist
movement, but they were priests in the Church of England, and both died in full
communion and holy orders of the Church of England. The separation of the Methodist movement from
Anglicanism resulted from issues of church polity and governance more than from
differences in doctrine, and we can but speculate what the Church would look
like if a spirit (dare we say the Spirit) of mutual charity had prevailed more
at the time of separation. Anglicanism
would be perhaps more joyous and Word-focused in worship and practice, and
Methodism would be more sacramentally-focused. Regardless, our Lord speaks to us all when He
says that there is to be “one flock and one Shepherd” (John 10.16), and in the
Creed we confess to “one holy catholic and apostolic Church”.
All this is not to minimize that differences
do exist. We are not in full communion
with the
The decision to enter into
further relationship with the clergy and people of
On 31 May, at the Feast of
Pentecost, we will gather for common worship at
This is a start, a “right
beginning”. Under the covenant which we
will solemnize at Pentecost, we commit to work to share in ministry and
mission, including and annual shared worship service, and to pray for each
other at every worship service held in either church. We’ll explore areas of common mission, and
how we can best work together. The joint service won’t happen without a lot of
work by people in each congregation, and neither will joint mission and
ministry. As we celebrate Pentecost, as
we celebrate that God’s Spirit is available to each and every one of us, pray
that the Holy Spirit will move and empower your heart to do God’s work in
service with all of His people!
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Vestry Highlights:
Treasurer's Report: There is a balance of %230.95
in the Operating Account, and $16,523.55.
The chimneys on the Trulove
House will be capped, following water damage.
An estimate has bee obtained on insulating the Trulove House, in light of utility costs. The cost of insulation is too high, and the
attic only will be insulated. Additional
costs to be included in mid-range planning the rectory.
Men’s Fellowship: The Men’s
Fellowship will meet Monday, 11 May, at 6:30 p.m., at Jim Byrd’s house in
Prairie. Bring your own steak, or
something else to grill, and your favorite libation.
Grace Notes
Holy Days: The month
begins with the Feast of St. Philip and
The Feast of the Ascension
falls this year on 21 May (a Thursday). This is one of the “principal” feasts
on the Church calendar; i.e., it cannot be moved to another day (hence
no Wednesday celebration of Holy Eucharist in this week), must be observed by
the congregation, and is considered a feast which of equal obligation as Easter
and Christmas.
The story of Jesus’ ascension
into heaven is found at Act 1.6-11, ending with angels telling the disciples
that Jesus “... will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Traditionally, churches are “oriented”
(worship faces east), because we expect Jesus to return from the east. This is also why graves face east, that at
the Second Coming the dead may rise to meet their judge.
Lesser feasts in May include Monnica (d. 387), mother of Augustine of Hippo, whose
constant prayer finally converted her son from paganism; the great mystic Dame
Julian of
May ends with the Feast of
Pentecost (this year on 31 May). This
feast commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church (Acts 2.1-13),
which is considered to be the “birthday of the Church”.
Music: Sarah has been with us for a year, and we
celebrate the fact that we now can worship with her every Sunday. In addition, there is now a Wednesday choir
practice (7 p.m.), and the choir has grown.
We are now offering anthems in addition to hymns, and, of course, the
new organ has made a major difference in our musical life in worship. Anthems are coming from a variety of sources,
and in May include a variation on the hymn favorite, “The King of Love my
Shepherd Is,” and the ancient invocation of the Holy Spirit, ‘Veni Sancte Spiritus”. In addition, we’ll experience music of
African origin in “Jesu, Jesu,
Fill us with Your Love”.
Easter themes dominate through Ascension Day,
including 296, We know that Christ is raised,
213, Come away to the skies, my beloved, and arise, and 208, The
strife is o’er, the battle done.
Echoing the message of Peter’s sermon at Acts 4.5-12, we’ll also sing
the old favorites 518, Christ is made the sure foundation (to a famous
tune of Henry Purcell) and 525, The Church’s one foundation. Easter music then modulates to “pneumatic”
music, praising the Holy Spirit, as we get closer to Pentecost.
At our joint Pentecost service
with St. Paul U.M.C. we’ll be able to experience and contribute to a different
musical style than that which we are more used to. Whether you enjoy this style of music or not,
remember that all worship which is offered to God as empowered by the Holy
Spirit is godly worship. Let’s keep our
hearts and minds open to the Spirit’s presence in our worship!