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From the Vicar...
"Better to light a candle..."
The powerful image of Jesus as the light of the world takes on particular importance for the church during the dark days of winter. This time is sprinkled with holy days that seek to illuminate the faithful, from the great festival of Christmas, with its candlelight singing of "Silent Night" to the Epiphany Feast of Lights and its glorious telling of the spread of the light of Christ from the Apostles to the entire world.
The Epiphany season in which we now find ourselves takes its name from the Greek word for "shine upon" and during this season, which lasts until Ash Wednesday, there is another great candle-lit feast: the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, celebrated on February 2nd. The story behind it is the passage from Luke, chapter 2, which recounts two different temple rites (the Purification and the redemption of the first born). It is a moving account of how the new-born Messiah enlightens and brightens the lives of two faithful, elderly people: Anna and Simeon. In the Episcopal calendar, it is one of only six fixed or dated feasts that "take precedence of a Sunday."
The feast is also known as Candlemas. It received that name because of the custom of blessing the candles to be used in church for the rest of the year on that date (piggy-backing on the words of the Nunc dimittis, used that day, "the light to enlighten the Gentiles"). The worship may begin that day with a "Candlemas Procession," which has an order of worship in the Episcopal Book of Occasional Services.
As Candlemas falls on a Sunday in 2014, we will be celebrating it on that first weekend of February in both of our churches.
On Saturday evening, Feb. 1 at Trinity Church, our 5:00 service will begin in a darkened church, and the congregation will receive unlighted candles as they enter. The service starts with an opening acclamation, followed by a lucernarium (a responsorial prayer for light) based on the Nunc dimittis. Following a prayer, the candles are lit, and the procession begins. As the procession reaches the altar, the altar candles and the church lights are lit, the Collect of the Day prayed, and the candles carried by the congregation extinguished. An Evensong service, similar to the one with the Epiphany Feast of Lights begins, follows. We will have music and choir that night and encourage people from both churches to come.
Our celebration at Christ Church will be the opening portion of our 10:30 Eucharistic liturgy, and while we cannot do it in a darkened church as will be the case the night before at Trinity, we will let the liturgical actions and texts of the Candlemas Procession speak for themselves as we make our way from a darkened chapel (where the procession will begin) around the church to the tune of some of the most beautiful music in our Hymnal.
I have celebrated this feast in three other congregations over the years, and it has been one of the most beautiful worship experiences I've been a part of. I invite you to come and add your light as we gather together shake off the darkness and gloom, and rejoice in our Lord who is "the light of the world" and of our hearts.
See you in church,
Fr. Chip
Notes on the January Bishop's Committee meeting
The Bishop's Committee's January meeting was something of a transitional gathering, as Trinity had already held its Annual Meeting, but Christ Church had not yet. Nevertheless, two of Christ Church's nominees attended, along with Trinity's new members, so there was a very full table - and a good, full discussion.
In its individual session, the Trinity Church Bishop's Committee approved the lease of a new Kyocera copier to replace the failing machine currently in use. Installation will occur late next week, and the new machine will be connected directly to the office computer, allowing printing of bulletins and other documents directly from the computer. There was also discussion of the upcoming "Serve with Liberty" day, on which volunteers from Liberty Mutual will perform repairs on the Hobbs House's facilities. It was agreed that, this time, we will ask them to concentrate on the upstairs bathroom, which needs painting and freshening.
Meanwhile, the Christ Church group was gathering to discuss the upcoming Capital Campaign in that congregation. Concern was expressed that this campaign will be a "tough sell" for some, as it represents another investment in our building when our long-term sustainability remains in question. We need to ask ourselves some hard questions about the ministry enabled by our infrastructure and how we can make this campaign a reflection of our overall ministry and not just repaying the boiler loan. There was also discussion on next steps in selling or donating the "Holy Roller" bus, which has fallen into such disuse as to not justify the cost of maintaining it.
The major item of business before the combined Committee was the "Come and See" campaign, the kickoff for which has already occurred at Trinity, and will occur this Sunday at Christ Church. The diocese has provided funding for a saturation postcard mailing, but funding for local ads will need to come out of our own treasuries. It was agreed to place two ads in the Seacoast newspapers, Feb. 13/14 and 20/21, for the three-week campaign. Donations will be sought to help cover the cost, as our advertising budgets did not anticipate this additional expense - but all agreed the expense is well worth undertaking.
In other business:
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Plans for the goal-setting retreat on Feb. 8 were discussed. The Bishop's Committees will gather at St. George's, York Harbor, Maine, for an all-day retreat that will carry our Shared Ministry into its next phase. Our time together will be based on the pioneering work of the Rev. Dr. William Easum, whose book on the subject has a wonderfully witty, but astonishingly accurate title: Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers. By setting goals that are realistic, instead of the perpetuation of what may be unrealistic "sacred cows," we can open new possibilities as 2014 unfolds.
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Both churches' applications for Fair Share adjustments were reviewed and approved. These need to be submitted to the diocesan Mission Resources Committee by Jan. 31, and a group of leaders from each church will attend a hearing in Feb. to defend our proposals and hear the Committee's determination as to what relief we might receive.
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Gary Dozier provided an update on our photo directory project. Data compilation has been a slower process than anticipated, but we still hope to produce the directory by this spring. He will be bringing proof pages to our next meeting in Feb.
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It was agreed to move future Bishop's Committee meetings to 7:00 on the third Tuesday of each month beginning in Feb.
Full minutes will be posted as they become available. Upcoming meetings are as follows:
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Special meeting with Bishop Hirschfeld: Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at Christ Church. Bishop Hirschfeld will be discussing with us the progress of our Shared Ministry and how it fits in with the larger ministry of the Episcopal Church on the Seacoast.
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Planning retreat: Saturday, Feb. 8 from 9 a.m.-3 pm. at St. George's, York Harbor, Maine.
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Regular meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at Christ Church
Elected at Trinity's Annual Meeting
On Sunday, Jan. 19, Trinity Church held its Annual Meeting, and several new members were added to our Bishop's Committee and diocesan delegation:
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Patrice Wood was re-elected as Senior Warden.
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Diana Jodoin was elected Clerk, succeeding Rusty Bridle.
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Hope Murray and Wes Rowe were elected Bishop's Committee Members At-Large. Hope succeeds Ginnie-Lee McCaddin; Wes was re-elected for a second term.
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Jim Ashworth, Robert Bischoff, and Patrice Wood were elected for two-year terms as delegates to Diocesan Convention and Seacoast Convocation.
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Anne Newell and Sally Bowden were elected for two-year terms as alternates.
Our congratulations to all who were elected.
Christ Church Annual Meeting
Christ Church will hold its Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 26th. Please plan to attend and bring a potluck item.
Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer for January
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Jan
Feb
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26
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Christ Church Annual Meeting; Bruce Chambers; Bill & Monika Bottlinger
Our newly elected Bishop's Committee members; Shad Christopoulos; Ginny & Ted Bridle-Russell
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January Calendar
January 23
7:00 p.m. Special Bishop's Committee Meeting with
Bishop Hirschfeld at Christ Church
January 25
5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite One, at Trinity Church
January 26 Annual Meeting Sunday at Christ Church
8:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Trinity Church
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite Two, at Christ Church
12:00 p.m. Annual Meeting at Christ Church
Fundraising Committee
There will be a fundraising meeting at Christ Church on Sunday, February 9th, directly after the service at Christ Church. This is our first meeting for the new year so please plan to attend.
Bishop's Committees to meet in retreat Feb. 8
On Saturday, Feb. 8, our Bishop's Committee retreat at St. George's Church, York Harbor, Maine, will build on what we did in a similar setting last year. We will be spending time developing goals and objectives that will give us a measurable and attainable yardstick for assessing our ongoing work together as it blossoms and grows under our new Covenant for Shared Ministry. Our time together will be based on the pioneering work of the Rev. Dr. William Easum, whose book on the subject has a wonderfully witty, but astonishingly accurate title: Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers. By setting goals that are realistic, instead of the perpetuation of what may be unrealistic "sacred cows," I have confidence God will work within us to open new possibilities as 2014 unfolds. I ask your prayers for your congregational leaders as they gather to do this important work.
- Fr. Chip
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