Sunday, March 7, Third Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, March 7 is the Third Sunday in Lent. Find the readings here.
Dear Friends in Christ,
This week’s worship videos are now available:
Morning Prayer, Rite II
Morning Prayer, Rite I
While we've been fortunate to have avoided any cases of Covid-19 in our congregation (as far as I know), I'm very aware of the toll it has taken, and I'm sure that some members of our parish have lost family and friends to the disease. Those people especially might be interested in the Cape Ann Museum's new COVID-19 Memorial.
"In partnership with the City of Gloucester and LuminArtz, the Cape Ann Museum COVID-19 Memorial is comprised of three parts: a video art installation from LuminArtz, the Cape Ann Cairns Memorial, and the Gloucester Memorial Quilt. These interconnected projects seek to humanize the unfathomably large number of deaths in the past year, place the deeply felt local losses in the broader national conversation, and provide a space for visitors to take steps toward the long process of grief and healing."
The Memorial will be dedicated at a Virtual Memorial Ceremony on Wednesday, March 10 at 6 pm. If you wish to add the name of someone who died of Covid, the deadline is Tuesday, March 9 at 12:00 pm. Click here to learn more about the Memorial, schedule a visit, or watch the livestream of the ceremony.
I chose to step back from participating in the ceremony because I represent one of the few communities that has not had a Covid case, and because, due to the strict limit of 20 participants, my attending might have prevented someone who needed to be there more from doing so. Here's the schedule:
5:50 pm: Begin Streaming: View of Memorial
6:00 pm: Brian King and Nathan Cohen, “Who Knows Where the Times Goes”
6:05 pm: Caroline Harvey, Poem
6:15 pm: Oliver Barker, Director
6:20 pm: Mayor Theken
6:25 pm: Senator Tarr
6:30 pm: Miranda Aisling: Memorial Description + Walkthrough
6:40 pm: History + Tradition of Cairns by Associated Clergy of Cape Ann
6:45 pm: Prayer or Psalm
6:50 pm: Closing Kaddish
6:55 pm: Oliver Barker, holding a moment of silence
7:00 pm: End
Please join us for coffee hour at noon:
• To join on a computer, tablet, or smartphone with the Zoom app installed, click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86398096400?pwd=dk5oTjNkYzNIOVl4TEExcCtiZEw2dz09
• To call in on a smartphone, tap here: +16465588656,,86398096400#,,,,,,0#,,296917#
• To call in on a conventional phone, call (646) 558-8656 then enter the Meeting ID: 863 9809 6400 and the Passcode: 296917
Here are Mark's music notes:
Hymn 152, “Kind Maker of the World, O Hear” is a Latin office hymn ascribed to Gregory the Great (540-604), the namesake for “Gregorian Chant.” It is likely a poem from perhaps the 7th century. The words first appeared in the Hymnal 1940 along with the same tune “A la venue de Noël.” One notices that this tune is actually a French Christmas song! The tune is documented in French royal music books from the late 1400s. It was popular enough to invite variations by organists from the 18th century and continuing through the 20th century. The tune is included in Charpentier’s great Messe de minuit pour Noël. Being in a minor key, it is at odds with our Victorian Christmas (lullaby) ideal. The Hymnal 1982 Companion states: “Here the dark modal quality of the tune is in keeping with the deeply penitential nature of the text.”
Hymn 436 “Lift up your heads, Ye Mighty Gates” seems like an unusual choice for Lent, yet it is a faithful commentary on the Gospel reading: John 2:13-22.
Our choir check in this past Thursday included participating with the Royal School of Church Music in England in their weekly recorded Compline. The service was shared to 2 singers, that works within the context of online singing. It also included a small choir who sang several short pieces by Tallis, which we had copies and could sing along! You can see this here: https://youtu.be/N_Es5oLu7kI. We had several guests and you too can join us by contacting me: mark@stjohnsgloucester.org