Sunday, July 4, Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, July 4 is the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Find the readings here.
From Mark Nelson, Music Director: We welcome our preacher The Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris, Bishop Suffragan of this Diocese speaking from historic Old North Church. We continue to draw on our library of music to draw attention to the Bible readings and themes of the day. George Sibley reads the lessons. Rick Britton found some great prayers to read in the BCP. Pages 814-835 are filled with all manner of prayers for nearly every need. We commend this section for your study. The BCP is available online: https://www.bcponline.org Today’s video includes the first hymn where all 16 windows of the expanded Acapella app are filled which we did in January. “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.” We updated an earlier version of Hymn 519, “O Beautiful, for spacious Skies.” David and I added the bass part just on Friday and realized what a powerful prayer it is for America right at this moment. I hope Katherine Lee Bates words ring out in you in a new and fresh way. Organ music is by Black composers, settings of spirituals. It seems appropriate that we remember that the US was built in so many ways on the backs of the oppressed. We expect to return to choral singing in the fall and I'm looking forward to returning Sunday morning Parish Choir singers, perhaps you'd like to join us? I'd love to talk to you about it. Please don't hesitate to give me a buzz or send a message. This fall marks 20 years since I began directing music here. I'd like to celebrate by commissioning a choir anthem which will enrich what we do. One of the anthems we sing (and heard in this week's video at 19:10) is "Beloved, let us love one another" by Michael Sitton. I think we like this because it is so gentle and simple sounding, yet challenging to keep the 2 parts in sync! I'm speaking with Dr. Sitton about him writing another piece not unlike this. His fee is $2,500 and I hope you'll join me in helping to make this happen. You can contribute to the project by sending a check to the office with “Anthem Commission” in the memo line. Thank you. Looking way ahead, please save the date: March 13, 2022, for an organ concert by David Briggs. David is currently artist in residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. He’s also been organ scholar at King’s College in Cambridge as well as Music Director at Gloucester Cathedral! He spent part of the Covid lockdown in Ipswich regularly practicing on the Fisk, opus 62 at Ascension. Check out to his YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/briggs-organ I know that in this post pandemic time along with an interim period we'll be looking at new opportunities for worship, singing, fellowship and even food! We're working on developing a Second Sunday of the month "Choral Compline" at 7 pm, including the not unfamiliar service and adding some more advanced choral music for some of us who would like to have more challenging fare than Sunday morning. This would consist of some of the Sunday morning choir, other friends, and perhaps you, if you’re looking for a challenge! Finally, thanks are due, to Bret for setting a great example of video, and for encouraging me to take it up, to Jim LaBelle who helped out enormously at Christmas time, to the Wardens and Vestry for approving a computer capable of doing the work, all who sang (especially my long-suffering spouse), played, read, and prepared for these videos, and for all who provided feedback and encouragement.