From Fr. Ron Pogue  

Preparing for Worship

Sunday, February 26, 2012    

First Sunday in Lent     

Collect

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings     

Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-9; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:9-15 

Services

7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I  

9:00 a.m., Holy Eucharist Rite II  

11:15 a.m., Holy Eucharist Rite II    

Others Serving This Sunday

Music     
Hymns  

150, 146, 559       

Click HERE for a link to an online index to the 1982 Hymnal that will allow you to read the texts and listen to the tunes for Sunday's hymns.

Organ   

In many places it is tradition to sing the Great Litany in procession on the First Sunday in Lent. Like many of our "Christian" traditions, the Great Litany has its roots in paganism. The practice of verses sung responsively between a leader and a group of people and in procession goes back long before the time of Jesus, possibly even earlier than the history of the Hebrew nation. Early Christians began early litanies mainly with the psalms, as we do to this day, singing in responsorial fashion. Such rendition of the psalms is a form of Litany. In early times, as the forces of nature such as earthquakes, floods and fires sometimes ravaged crops and destroyed livelihoods, litanies by the people invoked the Creator's mercy and compassion. Thomas Cranmer, author of The First English Prayer Book (1549), added harvest petitions, hour of death supplications, biddings of the Saints, and deprecations of our imperfections to his one Great Litany (so called to distinguish it from other litanies in our Prayer Book). Much of the language that is in our Great Litany today is directly from the pen of Cranmer (bloody sweat, beat down Satan under our feet, etc.).

For Lent we are using the Mass Ordinary settings by Schubert (9:00 service) and Willan (11:15 service), settings that Episcopal Church parishes and cathedrals have immortalized by consistent use through the years. Schubert's Deutsche Messe lives on due to Richard Proulx's setting of this mass in English, and is now one of the most popular settings used throughout the Episcopal Church. Though only the melody is printed in the bulletin, the congregation is encouraged to sing the harmony parts found at S96, S130, and S164. Healey Willan was an English emigrant to Canada and served as organist of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Toronto, a notable Anglo-Catholic church in the Anglican Church of Canada, from 1921 to 1967. Willan's melodic style hearkens back to the ancient Church modes and tends to be stepwise and melismatic (i.e., several notes for one syllable of text, such as in the Kyrie), setting him apart from his fellow post-Romantic composers.

O Sorrow Deep is an anthem by contemporary composer David Hurd, who is Professor of Church Music and Organist of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at General Theological Seminary in Manhattan, New York. The Lenten text, a compilation by the composer, evokes the mood of penitential sorrow, and text painting abounds in the music with frequent seventh chords and other interesting harmonies on key words.

This is the Good Shepherd Prayer List. Each day at noon, the persons on this list are lifted up in prayer. On Sundays during the Prayers of the People, the Intercessor pauses while we pray aloud or silently for each of those on the prayer list, which is published in the bulletin. You are also invited to add these names to your personal prayer list.