A Note from Peter (March 2019)

The Church has the ability to transform the world. This fact is patently obvious if one looks at the last 2,000 or so years of world history. What may be less obvious is that the Church has been at its most influential when it has been committed to and sustained by regular spiritual practices. Christians taking on habits of retreat, study, and service have transformed the world in the past and can continue to do so in the present.

As I’ve prepared for sabbatical, I’ve been immersing myself in a great deal of early church history. As I’ve read about 1st-3rd century Rome, 5th-8th century Ireland, 6th-8th century Britain, and 13th century Assisi, a very clear pattern has emerged. That is, a small group of committed Christians, bound together by shared spiritual practices, can turn the world on its head. A few examples:

In the year 500, Britain was in chaos. Rome had long since left the island and with it had gone both literacy and most of the Church. Then, in 563 a group of a dozen Irish monks, led by a fellow named Columba, arrived at the tiny island of Iona in western Scotland. There they established a place of prayer, learning, and outreach to the local population. Sustained by common worship and common work, Iona soon began spreading the faith across Scotland and into northern England while also serving as a center of art, study, and diplomacy.

In 597, the year Columba died, a fellow named Augustine arrived in Canterbury, England. He had been sent to spread the faith in that region by Pope Gregory the Great. Both Gregory and Augustine were monks as well; they followed the rule of St. Benedict. Both men were sustained by regular practices of prayer, work, rest, and study – all done in community. When he arrived in England with his fellow monks, the first thing Augustine did was build an Abbey where these practices could find a home. Within 75 years, the Christian faith would have spread across Britain and the learning of British monks would help transform the educational systems of the rest of Europe.

In 1205, a war veteran named Francis enlisted for the second time, still bearing the scars of his last enlistment. While on the way to battle, a vision stopped him in his tracks and he returned home. Thereafter, he began ordering his days around receiving the Eucharist, contemplation, caring for the sick, and living simply. Others quickly flocked to Francis’ company and habits, and before long, these Friars (or brothers) and their female counterparts, the Poor Clares, were turning the Church and the world on their heads, calling them away from their excesses and back to the heart of the Gospel.

Like our ancestors in the faith, we are at our best as Christians when our lives are ordered around worship, study, and charity. We are most effective at transforming the world, when we have devoted our- selves to the habits that transform us.

Next Wednesday, I will stand in front of the congregation and read those familiar words of the Ash Wednesday liturgy: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination, and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” Truly, this season of forty days before Easter is our opportunity to recommit to a rule of life – to spiritual habits and practices – that will empower us for ministry just as they did for our ancestors for centuries.

What practices will you take on this Lent? Maybe you’ll recommit to making Sunday worship a priority – both here in Greenwood and wherever you find yourself on Sunday morning. Maybe you’ll recommit to the Bible Challenge, giving up on the idea of catching up, and instead joining us where we are. Maybe you’ll commit to volunteering in a ministry whose mission you believe in. Maybe you’ll join other church members in a discipline of weekday Morning Prayer.

Who knows, perhaps the spiritual practices we take on this Lent can become our way of life far beyond Easter! And with these habits of worship, study, and service sustaining us, who knows? We just might transform the world!

Peace, Peter+

Ash Wednesday

The 6 1/2-week period of fasting, self-reflection and spiritual practice that precedes Easter begins on Wednesday, March 6. All are invited to begin the observance of a holy Lent by worshipping as a church family. At noon, we’ll celebrate a Rite II Holy Eucharist with the imposition of ashes, and at 5:30pm, we’ll do a Rite I version of the same service. The nursery will be open during the 5:30 service.

The Choir Corner: Lent

David Williamson, Choirmaster and Organist

In Lent we bury the Alleluia, meaning we stop using the word in worship and in our hymns. As in Advent, we also give up the Gloria in excelcis, the festive music that comes just after the opening hymn at 10:30am worship. If you attended the noon service Ash Wednesday, we sang the Rite One setting of the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) and the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) from Healy Willan's Missa de Sancta Maria Magdelena.

We just passed the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. Willan, a great Anglo-Canadian organist, choirmaster, teacher, and composer. He's worth looking up! In Rite Two Eucharists, we are also going for a more solemn setting by using the Schubert setting of the Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy), Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Richard Proulx adapted this from Schubert's Mass in G. Schubert's short life was on the cusp of the transition from the Classical to the Romantic period, with his prime starting about the time of Beethoven's death.

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper

Loosen your belts, put on your dancing shoes, and join us for one more celebration before we begin Lent! Nativity’s annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper begins at 5:30pm, Tuesday, February 13. Join us for pancakes, sausage, Mardi Gras beads, and the last Alleluias of Epiphany before we begin the fast on Ash Wednesday.

A Note from Peter (March 2017)

With the 2017 Speaker Series this weekend and Nativity hosting Happening #85 the following weekend, one could be excused for forgetting that Ash Wednesday is March 1! But indeed it is, and so, at 12:05 and 5:30pm we will gather to pray for the world; to have ashes imposed on our foreheads; and for the invitation, once again, “to the observance of a Holy Lent.”

For the last ten years, my observance of Lent has always included listening to the St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. This massive work of classical music recounts and reflects upon the story of the last supper, Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. It was originally written to be performed on Good Friday in the church where Bach served as church musician. Truly, this is a piece of classical music meant to be an act of worship. It is crushingly beautiful, and at times inspiring, mournful, and surprisingly joyful in places. Each Lent, it allows me to dwell deeply in the story of our Lord’s suffering and death and his love for us.

My hope, this Lent, is to share that gift with you all in an adult forum class I’m calling “Bible Study with Bach.” We’ll read together Matthew 26 and 27, pausing periodically to watch a performance of the Passion from the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. In the performance, you get a sense for Bach’s own spirituality, how he interprets the biblical text, and what he thinks it all means. And just like reading scripture with any other friend, how Bach reads the story might shape how you read the story. These days, when I read of Judas giving back the money for which he betrayed Jesus, I hear the depth of his repentance that Bach puts into music. When I think of Peter in the garden denying Jesus, I hear the mourning that Bach puts into Peter’s voice. Two years ago, my entire Palm Sunday sermon was inspired by the music Bach composed for two words St. Matthew wrote: “wept bitterly.”

I’ll be assisted in this undertaking by our friend Ben Arnold, assistant professor of music at MVSU and known to many as a bookseller at Turnrow. St. Matthew Passion moves me on a deep level, but when it comes to talking music history and theory, I get out of my depth very quickly. I am grateful to Ben for helping me out in that department. In addition, David Williamson has given an introduction to Bach and the Passion elsewhere in this newsletter. As David points out, all of you already know music from the St. Matthew Passion. It’s in our hymnal, and it’s in a lot of weddings too!

This offering begins March 19 and will continue through Easter Day. Whether you’re a big music lover or not, why not take this Lent and this opportunity to spend a little more time with the story that makes all the difference in the world?

Peace,
Peter+