The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Matthew 22: 1-3
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Fr. Scott's sermon discussed the Gospel lesson for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity (Matthew 22: 1-14 BCP p. 218), the parable of The Wedding Feast. Our Lord, famous for parables, told them to illustrate a point about things above that were otherwise difficult to grasp. He normally left the interpretation to the audience, mostly farmers and the poor, though scribes and Pharisees were always in the crowds. Two thousand years of Christian meditation on these parables makes them more accessible to us then they would have been to the original audience. Often the meaning of the parable was hidden from those who rejected our Lord, though the scribes and Pharisees often understood enough to get mad. In this parable, we start with two characters, the King (God) and the Son (Christ) on the occasion of a wedding. The next people introduced are the servants and the people bidden to the wedding. Weddings in parables usally indicate the union between the Bridegroom, Christ, and the Bride, the Church. So you want to be at this wedding! The invited guests are the people our Lord invited first, the Jewish people. They gave excuses for not attending, some going so far as to kill the servants. The King then sent servants out to invite both the good and the bad (us) from all kinds of places.
The last section of the parable discusses someone that is attending the wedding but is not wearing the appropriate wedding garment. The wedding garment is symbolic of salvation and all the attendees need to be wearing one. To be at the wedding without the proper garment is like being at Church and not believing in Christ. At the end, those that rejected the invitation and those that are in attendance but not saved are cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The religious landscape today is similar to that of 2000 years ago, with many people making the same type of excuses. We have all been invited to the wedding feast. Are you attending? Do you have on your wedding garment? Have you been given one by Christ as you gave your heart to Him? Many are called, but few are chosen.
Please find Fr. Scott's complete sermon at the 20:15 minute mark at the following link:
Thank Fr. Scott, for the very heartfelt sermon.
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In Christian Education, Fr. Scott discussed 'Singing In the Church' and opened the discussion with the following quote from St. Augustine:
"To sing is to pray twice."
Since at least the 4th century, singing the Liturgy was the norm and considered the most dignified way of worshipping God, especially on Sunday. The priests in the Eastern Orthodox churches still sing the Liturgy including the Canon. Western churches, particularly Cathedrals and large towns, still use the High Mass which includes singing much of the service. However starting in the middle ages, many pressures led to the adoption of the Low Mass which excluded singing of the service, especially in country parishes.
High Mass -Sung, Solemm
-at the altar: Priest, Deacon, Sub-Deacon, Server,
Thurifer, 2 x Torch Bearers, and Crucifer
-Choir
-Incense
-Congregation sings: Kyrie Eleison, Gloria, Creed,
Sursum Corda, and Agnus Dei
-Asperges (sprinkling Holy Water) and Gospel
procession included
-Up to six candles on the altar
Low Mass -Said
-at the altar: Priest and Server
-No music
-Only server responds (not congregation)
-Leonine Prayers at the end
-Two candles on the altar
The Anglican prayer book made the Low Mass into the Prayer book service we know today. The ceremonial was greatly reduced in most services but was still used in the Cathedrals. Thus Anglican services fall along a spectrum between High and Low. Remembering the point of worship is to give honor and glory to Him in the best way we can, we should put as much as possible into worshipping our God.
Next Sunday Fr. Scott and Scott have scheduled a singing practice session during Christian Education so we can introduce some special music for the All Saints Service on Oct. 31.
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After services Rose Marie and Carole provided a wonderful Autumn lunch of chili, cold cuts, and home made cake!
Thank you for all the food and company!
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Due to wet and rainy weather on Saturday, we cancelled our yard maintenance day!
However, we have rescheduled for this Saturday, October 23 at 10 am. The work includes trimming bushes, picking up trash around the property, pulling weeds, removing some iris & day lilies, and generally sprucing up the yard.
Please join us as we keep the church looking nice! Please bring your garden tools (shovels, hedge trimmers, clippers, weed wackers, rakes, etc...) .
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All Saints Day - a Big Day!
We are celebrating All Saints Day on Sunday, October 31 - Halloween. Fr. Scott shared the following thoughts:
Everyone knows about Halloween but few know where it comes from. Halloween or Hallows Eve is a shortened name for All Hollows Eve. Hollows is another name for saint so we finally arrive at All Saints Eve as the original name for Halloween. The day after Halloween is the day we are celebrating called Feast of All Saints. During this celebration we are thanking God for all His holy ones throughout the ages both known and unknown. So, we can remember everyone that God has called to be His both officially like St. Paul or St. Peter and the unofficial ones like your godly grandma or super Christian father. Everyone that has accepted Christ and have gone before us and passed away in the hope of the Resurrection are remembered this day. The color of the day is white because we are thankful that God has given us such good examples to follow. In addition to the All Saints celebration we will commemorate our new memorial garden after the service!
As part of the celebration, Scott and Sue are sharing their amazing musical talents during the service!
At the end of the service, we are dedicating our completed Memorial Garden. Earl has worked very hard for almost three years constructing the Memorial Garden. His work includes building the rock wall, landscaping, and fabricating the cross for the Memorial Garden. Last week Fr. Scott and Scott helped Earl move the cross from Earl's garage to the Church.
Then they erected the cross!
The only thing left is the installation of the benches!
Everything looks beautiful! Thank you Earl for the years of hard work creating our Memorial Garden!
After the service and the Memorial Garden dedication we are having a light luncheon. Claudia is coordinating the food for us and is asking anyone coming to bring one of the following dishes. Please let her know what you plan to bring so we don't have too much duplication!
chicken salad croissants
other sandwiches
veggie tray with dip
fruit tray
deviled eggs
tray with cheese, crackers, & pickles
hummus with pita or other chips
guacamole with chips
other finger foods
cookies
dessert bars
Thank you Claudia for taking on this task!
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The APA sent out the following note along with a letter from Bp Grundorf and asked that it be shared with everyone:
Please share the attached Thank You letter from Bishop and Mary Grundorf with your congregations that so generously contributed towards the special gifts from the APA. It also includes pictures of the chalice and paten given to Bishop Grundorf, the inscription on the bottom of the chalice, and the gold and diamond cross given to Mary.
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Teresa and Agnes travelled to Hilton Head last week. Teresa sent this picture of their lunch with the members and priest from the Anglican Church of the Redeemer (APA)!
She also sent this picture of when they met up with Carole and her granddaughter. Everything and everyone look beautiful! Thank you for sending the pictures!
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Teresa sent information on this upcoming movie about CS Lewis. The website describes the movie as follows:
An elder C.S. Lewis looks back on his remarkable journey from hard-boiled atheist to the most renowned Christian writer of the past century.
The Most Reluctant Convert features award-winning actor Max McLean as the older Lewis and Nicholas Ralph – breakout star of PBS Masterpiece’s All Creatures Great and Small – as young Lewis. Beautifully filmed in and around Oxford this engaging biopic follows the creator of The Chronicles of Narnia from the tragic death of his mother when he was just nine years old, through his strained relationship with his father, to the nightmare of the trenches of World War I to Oxford University, where friends like J.R.R. Tolkien challenge his unbelief.
This movie is showing in theaters on Wednesday, Nov 3 - is anyone interested in meeting as a group to attend?
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