March 25, 2016
In This Issue
From the Priest-in-Charge
Youth & Family Ministry Update
From the Senior Warden
From the Junior Warden
Service Notes & Music
Sunday Service Schedule
About the Gospel
Quick Links
The Gospel According to St. Mark's




What is the name of the deep breath I would take over and over for all of us? Call it whatever you want, it is happiness, it is another one of the ways to enter fire.
-Mary Oliver
Easter Day Services:
8:45 am Festival Eucharist
11:15 am Festival Eucharist with Incense
5:00 pm Contemplative Eucharist
Please Join us!
From the Reverend Michele Morgan, Priest-in-Charge



This is from a friend of Michele's. We think it's pretty awesome as well as useful as we get ready to greet people we may not see that much during the year.
What Not to Say on Easter, by Jeremy Lucas
My thoughts turn to all the people who will be church on Easter Sunday. Attendance is usally double most other Sundays of the year and in the Epicopal church people joke that they are members of the Church of C and E (Christmas and Easter). I think it is wonderful anytime someone shows up on a Sunday. Because there will be a lot of new people in churches this Sunday I offer this list of what to do and not to do when you meet them. I am a little embarrassed that I would even need to say this but...


1.  Say hello to someone you do not know. This is very simple and a matter of basic manners.  You do not have to share a 5 minute conversation. Just say "Good morning" or "Happy Easter". Whatever you share in authentic kindness will go miles towards making someone feel welcome.


2. DO NOT think you are being cute by telling people you don't recognize "You know we are here every Sunday" or "You know we are open more than Christmas and Easter". This applies to clergy as well as members of the congregation. There are so many ways we shame people and make them feel bad about getting up and out of the house with their family to come to a place where people say stupid things to them. You are not cute or funny, it is rude, don't do it.
3. If you walk into church and someone is sitting where you normally sit, go and sit somewhere else. That is not your seat or your pew, even if you have been sitting in it for 30 years. If you say anything like "You are sitting in my pew" I would like to speak to the person who taught you what it means to be a follower of Christ. I would like to find out if you have ever learned what hospitality to the stranger means. If you know you might be upset if someone is sitting in the pew you normally sit in, and you are afraid that you might say something stupid,  make a copy of Hebrews 13:2 and carry it with you. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."


4. Be helpful. I am not even sure why I should have to say this. If you see someone new to you who looks lost or appears to be looking for something or someone, speak to them. Ask if you can help. The family with 4 kids, all in their uncomfortable Easter best, might not have any idea where the nursery or bathroom is. Offer to help. See Luke 10: 29-37 if you have any questions about this one.


5. Be yourself. You do not have to say exactly the right thing to someone and you do not have to carry on a long conversation. Simple kindness and good manners go a long way. If you really care about people it will show.
From Caroline McReynolds-Adams, Director of Youth & Family Ministries



Friends,



In the midst of this Holy Week, we have a couple great opportunities for families to experience the spiritual significance of this season. These events aren't only for children and their families-- all are welcome!



On Saturday from 2pm-3pm we are offering a fun and creative way for families to engage in the story of Holy Week. We are calling it the "Holy Saturday Vigil for the Young and the Restless." This event simulates a journey through Holy Week, but we will find ourselves a few steps behind Jesus at every turn. Along the way we will encounter a few people who help to tell the story and show us where to go next as we move closer and closer to Easter Sunday. Led by our wonderful clergy and some very animated parishioners, this will be a great way to experience the story of Holy Week as a family while we all prepare for Easter Sunday. 


After Holy Saturday Easter is upon us, so decorate those eggs and don your baskets- the Annual St. Mark's Easter Egg Hunts are almost here! Be sure to make plans to join us on Easter Sunday, March 27, for an Easter Egg Hunt after both the 8:45am service and the 5pm service.


To participate, please bring a dozen eggs (hard boiled or plastic w/candy) per child and drop them off on the marked table in Baxter Hall before the service begins. 


We will gather in Baxter Hall after each service to receive instructions for the hunt. 


After we have had our fill of hunting, all families are encouraged to gather back in Baxter Hall to participate in our Salvation Army Grate Patrol Outreach initiative. We will all help make sandwiches and put together bagged meals for our homeless neighbors in metro D.C. This is a wonderful opportunity to engage all ages in the act of service and to give back to our community on this holy day.


With a splendid Easter Egg hunt and a meaningful outreach opportunity, this Easter is sure to be both fun and fulfilling for families of all ages. Questions? Send me an email at caroline.mcreynoldsadams@stmarks.net. Join us!


-Caroline




From Peter Sherer, Senior Warden
 
Dear Ones,
 
Three quick notes.
 
Save the date for Claggett - June 11 and 12.
 
We will gather at Claggett on Saturday morning June 11th for some big fun and serious planning for next year. There is room for everyone and lots of activities for young and old. We will stay through lunch on Sunday. Many more details to follow including news about very comfortable accommodations and highly recommended food. Please plan on bringing the whole family.
 
A Gift for Ed Green and his Crew
 
After decades of faithful service Ed Green has decided to complete his assignment at St Marks. The Fabric Committee and the people who have worked closest with Ed and his people would like to collect a "purse" as a going away present. If you would like to contribute please write a check to St Marks and write "Green Staff Appreciation" in the memo line. Please do this quickly because we are going to say goodbye formally at the services on April 17th and we would like to be able to give the gift then.
 
A Chance to Spend Time with Michele
 
Many of you have said that you would like the chance to get to know Michele better now that she is planning to stay with us. Michele has indicated a number of dates over the next couple of months where she is free to meet in groups of between 6-8 people for a meal or coffee. Lucy Brown and Joe Calizo are coordinating the logistics and if you would like to host one of the occasions please contact them directly. You can reach Lucy at Lucybrown66@gmail.com and Joe at Jcalizo@gmail.com  They will let you know when guests can sign up.
 
Hugs all around
 
Peter
From Doris Burton, Junior Warden
 
Around the House....notes from the Junior Warden
 
The most fun part of this job is getting projects done...the garden work last year and the clean out, to name a few...and now, a huge project is in the works:
Last fall, after the death of parish historian and former Junior Warden ('63-'65) Bert Cooper, his widow, Mary, informed the Vestry that it was Bert's wish that a portion of his estate come to St. Mark's for the preservation of our beautiful nave windows. The Vestry gratefully accepted the gift and, later this summer, we will enjoy the results.
 
For those too new to have known Bert (Mary is Vestry Register and Archives committee member), he prepared the definitive study of our windows as a major portion of his book, St. Mark's, Capitol Hill: Its Architecture and Stained Glass and Some of Its History (on-line or hard copy available upon request.)  Mayer of Munich, a Bavarian/German glass firm established in 1945, made most of the floor-level windows, the earliest dating to 1888, as the nave was being built. Mayer windows are found across the globe including St. Peter's in Rome.   Several different companies fabricated the clerestory windows between 1905-1999, including J&R Lamb (NY, 1857), the firm that made the Winged Lion window in the east vestibule.
 
Bert's book has been invaluable over the years as work was periodically done to preserve and protect the windows. Now, this work is about to happen again-with an added bonus.  Bert (and Mary's) gift enables us to have all the windows in the nave done, including the massive Tiffany window above the baptistery. All frames will be sanded, re-painted, glass cracks and re-cementing done as needed. The biggest impact we'll see will be the result of the removal of the yellowed Lexan/Plexi-glass protective covers: these will be replaced with tempered glass (floor level only) allowing the windows to be clearly visible at night, when the nave is lit, and brilliantly during the day.
Associated Crafts, a company out of Arizona, will do the work over a period of 3 weeks this summer, dates to be announced.
Our gratitude goes to Bert and Mary for caring about and for our windows over the years--to our great joy.
(If you would like a close-up look at the work needed, please contact the JW).
Footnote: Please consider contributing to the purse to be shared by Green's Maintenance employees. They have served us faithfully for 30+ years and this is our way of showing thanks. Checks can be given to Peter or me, or sent to the office (payable to St. Mark's/Staff Appreciation Fund). Green's team will be celebrated on April 17.


Prelude
Variations on "Christ ist Erstanden" (Jesus Christ is Risen), J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
 
Introit
Fanfare for Easter Day, Gerald Bales (1919-2002) - Organ & Festival Brass
 
Opening Hymn
179 Welcome, happy morning, vv. 1, 4-6, Tune: Fortunatus
 
Gloria in excelsis S 280, Robert Powell
 
Sequence Hymn
LEVAS 219 This Is the Day, Words: Psalm 118:24, Music: Les Garrett
 
Offertory Anthem
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Words by Christopher Wordsworth, Music by William Mathias - Chancel Choir & Festival Brass          
 
Presentation Hymn
175 Hail thee, festival day! v. 1, Tune:Salve festa dies
                                                               
Sanctus S 129 Robert Powell
 
Memorial Acclamation S 138 McNeil Robinson II
 
Amen S 147, McNeil Robinson II
 
Fraction Anthem
H 417 This is the feast of victory for our God, Festival Canticle
 
Music During Communion
Hymn 210 The day of resurrection, Tune: Ellacombe


(8:45) Alleluia (from Exsultate, Jubilate, K. 165), W.A. Mozart, arr. John Leavitt - Boys & Girls Choir; Libbi Rivera, director; Conrad Chaffee, piano


And I saw a new heaven, Words: Revelation 21:1-2, 4, Music: Malcolm Archer - Chancel Choir


Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ Lay in Death's Strong Bands), Johann Hermann Schein - Marjorie Coombs Wellman, Marika Klein, Adam Caughey, soloists; Chris Herman, cello


(11:15) Hymn 192 This joyful Eastertide, Tune: Vruechten
 
Closing Hymn
207 Jesus Christ is risen today, Tune: Easter Hymn
 
Postlude
Prelude & Fugue in G Major, BWV 550, J.S. Bach

Schedule of Services 
Sunday, March 27
Easter Day
 

8:45 am Festival Eucharist

The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Presider and Preacher

The Reverend Rebecca Justice Schunior, Co-Presider

No Children's Chapel

No Sermon Seminar

   

10:00 am Easter Egg Hunt

No Sunday School

 

11:15 am Festival Eucharist with incense

The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Presider and Preacher

The Reverend Rebecca Justice Schunior, Co-Presider

 

5:00 pm Contemplative Eucharist

The Rev. Michele H. Morgan, Presider and Homilist

About the Gospel
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St. Marks Episcopal Church-Capitol Hill | 301 A Street SE | Washington | DC | 20003