The Observance of Lent at St. Elizabeth's 

Some highlights of the season: 

  • Wednesday Eucharists at 6:30 am and 12:00 noon.  Coffee and blueberry muffins will follow the 6:30 am service. 

  • Children's Service on Ash Wednesday at 4:30 pm  All children of St. Elizabeth's and their parents are invited to attend.  Ashes will be distributed, and we will use age-appropriate language to talk about sin and forgiveness.

  • Weekday Services of Morning Prayer at 8:30 am  Quiet fellowship and a sense of holy community characterize this liturgy.  We do the entire service seated, there is no singing, no preaching.  We use the Rite I (traditional) version of Morning Prayer, and the entire service lasts perhaps twenty minutes.

  • 5 Monday Night Potluck Suppers  Beginning on Monday, March 2, we will offer evenings of fellowship, dinner, teaching, and conversation.  We will have a time of informal fellowship at 7:00, serve dinner at 7:30, and be finished at about 9:00 or so. To assist with planning, please sign up in advance.

  • The Rutter Requiem on Sunday, March 29  The week before Palm Sunday the preaching will be done by the choir, who will offer the Rutter Requiem at the 10:00 am service.

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Liturgical changes in Lent will include:

  • The Great Litany on the First Sunday in Lent at 10:00 am;

  • The Penitential Acclamation at the beginning of each Eucharist;

  • The omission of the word "Alleluia" and the Gloria in the Eucharist;

  • The Prayer of Humble Access in the Rite I Eucharist;

  • The recital of the full Ten Commandments instead of their summary;

  • The more complete form of the invitation to Confession;

Other elements of Lent at St. Elizabeth's include:

Palm Sunday (April 5):  The 9:50 am service will begin on the front lawn with the Liturgy of the Palms and continue with the procession into the nave.  This service also includes the reading of the Passion Gospel. 

Holy Week:  Morning services at 6:30 am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

Maundy Thursday (April 9):  The Holy Eucharist will begin at 7:30 pm.  The liturgy concludes with the reading of the account of the Last Supper and the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the stripping of the altar, and the gradual darkening of the church in preparation for Good Friday. 

Good Friday (April 10):  Good Friday Liturgy at 6:30 am and 12:00 noon.  The Good Friday Liturgy with the reading of the Passion Gospel from Luke will also be offered at 7:30 pm.  The evening liturgy will last about 45 minutes.  

Holy Saturday (April 11):   Easter Vigil at 8:00 pm.  This service marks the transition from Lent to Easter.  For the first half it is conducted entirely by the light of candles held by the congregation and clergy.  Like the midnight Christmas Eve service, it is rich with music, symbolism, and deep power. 

JGH

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Lenten Dinners:  Fellowship and Fundamentals 

For the first five Monday evenings in Lent - from March 2 through March 30 - we will offer evenings of fellowship, dinner, teaching, and conversation. 

We will gather at 7:00 pm in the Parish Hall, begin dinner at 7:30, have a brief presentation at about 8:00 pm followed by conversation around our tables until about 8:45, and then clean up and be finished by about 9:00 pm.  The programs will follow this schedule 

Monday, March 2     "Faith"  We all talk about it, we often wish we had more, we sometimes see it more clearly in others than in ourselves.  What is faith, what does it do, where does it come from, and how do we nurture it in ourselves will be topics we address. 

Monday, March 9     "Hope"  What is the difference between "hope" and wishing?  Does hope need a basis, and, if so, what is it for us?  When we talk about "the Christian hope" what do we mean? 

Monday, March 16    "Love"  We use the word "love" in so many ways and often with very different meanings.  What does it mean for Christians, and how do those meanings compare with what "love" means in our larger culture? 

Monday, March 23   "Absolution and Forgiveness"  Most of us hear these words every time we come to Church, but what do they mean to us?  What difference do they make?  If you do not hear the words of absolution for days or weeks at a time, do you feel any different?  What do we need to do, to understand, to experience, for absolution and forgiveness to lift up our hearts in a way that makes a positive difference for us? 

Monday, March 30   "Alleluia and Resurrection"  These are two words we will hear frequently on Easter and in the Easter season.  Whatever they may mean for you in the future, do they have any potential to make a difference for you now?  We will consider what resurrection is, and what it isn't, and conclude by preparing to hear, and perhaps experience, it anew at Easter. 

JGH

 

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Make the Lenten Potluck Suppers Happen! 

To offer the Pot Luck Suppers described in the previous article, we need people to sign up to share in the preparation of the meals.  There is a sign-up sheet for each week - figure out what you can bring to the table, and join the group.  As we sing in one of our great hymns, "no arm so weak but may do service here"  ("Come, labor on, #541, stanza 3) 

We need five weekly chairs who will each oversee coordinating the dinner for their week. This is the job description: see that the tables are set, coffee and tea made, wine opened, and everything cleaned up at the end.  The wine is purchased, the food is brought by others,  the clergy are responsible for the program, but each week needs a manager to ensure that it all comes together.  

Ann Dowling has created a set of instructions to make this job even easier.  The dates of the potluck suppers are March 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30. 

Look for the sign-up sheet in the corridor this month and sign up. 

JGH

 

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