ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
838 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel: (617) 547-7788 ● Fax: (617) 868-6818
WEEKLY BULLETIN
The Third Sunday in Lent
March 7, 2010
Welcome to St. Peter’s
We are delighted that you have joined our worship this morning. If this is your first visit, we invite you to sign our Guest Book near the front door. While we welcome any contributions to the work of our church do not feel obliged to give to our collection, because you are our guest today. Between our services you are invited to an informal discussion of the Sunday readings, beginning at 9:10am and ending at 10:00am. After the 10:30 service, join us, please, for a refreshments and treats downstairs in the Undercroft.
The Rev. François Trottier will preside and is this morning’s Homilist.
This Morning’s Hymns and Music:
- Prelude – Prélude from “Prélude, Fugue et Variation,” Op. 18 César Franck
“Hear my prayer, O Lord” from Biblical Songs, Op. 99, No. 6 Antonín Dvořák
Josh Pelkey, soloist
§ First Hymn(Processional) – 655, O Jesus, I have promised Nyland
§ Kyrie - S88
- Second Hymn (Sequence) – 635, If thou but trust in God to guide thee
Wer nur den lieben Gott
§ Third Hymn (Offertory) – LEVAS 228, Go down, Moses
§ Doxology - 380, Praise God from whom all blessings flow (v. 3) Old 100th
§ Service Music –
o Sursum Corda – S120
o Memorial Acclamation – Spoken
o Sanctus – S130
o Agnus Dei – S164
- Fourth Hymn – 685, Rock of ages, cleft for me Toplady
- Communion Anthem-“Incline thine ear to me” Friedrich Himmel
James Dargan, soloist
- Fifth Hymn (Recessional) – 145, Now quit your care Quittez, Pasteurs
- Postlude – “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten”(Whoever lets our dear God
rule) from the Orgelbüchlein BWV 642 J.S. Bach
LEVAS – Lift Every Voice and Sing is the black and red hymnal found in the pew bookrack
WLP – Wonder Love and Praise is the green hymnal found in the pew bookrack
The Collect of the Day (Read by all)
God of mercy, alone we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. When we are confronted and discouraged by the breadth of our weakness, help us to turn and follow Jesus, our pattern and our hope; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Reading from the Book of Isaiah:
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8 (See insert)
The Second Reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians:
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke:
At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them - do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’
Luke 13:1-9
A Brief Summary of Each Reading
Isaiah 55:1-9
In a hymn of joy and triumph, the prophet celebrates the approaching consummation of Israel’s restoration, and invites all people to share in the abundant life of the people of God.
Psalm 63:1-8
This is a magnificent example of a song of trust in God. There is clearly a delight in turning all over to God on a daily basis. The unmistakable relationship between a trusting and faithful soul and our God who sustains us is a joy to behold in these verses.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Our reading is a warning against overconfidence: baptism and partaking in the Lord’s supper do not guarantee salvation anymore than perhaps analogous events the Israelites experienced during the Exodus. Even those who have been called by God can be condemned for behavior unbefitting a Christian!
Luke 13:1-9
Jesus challenges his listeners to renounce sinful ways, to turn to God, and to live a life worthy of God’s chosen people.
From the Rector:
“The two classes of people who are my particular friends in the gospels are the crooks and the crocks…Our weakness and our sinfulness are our greatest claims on the mercy of God.”
Charles Handy
British Economist
This Week at St. Peter’s
Today, March 7 – The Third Sunday in Lent
8:00 a.m. Contemplative Holy Eucharist, Sacrament Chapel
9:00 a.m. Choir Rehearsal, Chancel
9:10 Study of the day’s scripture readings, Undercroft - All are welcome!
10:30 Sung Holy Eucharist, Sanctuary
Monday, March 8
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St. Elizabeth’s Chapel
Tuesday, March 9
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St. Elizabeth’s Chapel
6:45 p.m. Vestry Meeting, Undercroft
Wednesday, March 10
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St. Elizabeth’s Chapel
6:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist, Good Shepherd Chapel (Homilist: François Trottier)
7:00 p.m. Supper, Undercroft
7:30 p.m. Adult Forum: Jesus and Non-Violence, Undercroft
Thursday, March 11
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St. Elizabeth’s Chapel
Friday, March 12
8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer, St. Elizabeth’s Chapel
Saturday, March 13
2:00 p.m. CommonCare, Undercroft
5:00 p.m. Choral Evensong, Church
Parish Staff and Their Ministries
The Rev. Dr. Edward Kienzle, Priest Associate
The Rev. François Trottier, Rector
Stephanie Budwey, Organist and Choir Director
Vyonni de Mel, Afterworks Director
Karen J. Williams, Church School Coordinator
Christine Cassels, Pat Drake, Margaret Greer, Bernadette Montasse,
Alicia Williams, and Diana Williams, Children’s Ministers
Sue Grundy, Parish Administrator
Clarence White, Sexton
Officers: Patricia Drake, Senior Warden;John Kristensen, Junior Warden; Elaine Denniston, Clerk; Michelle Porche, Treasurer; Steven Peters, Assistant Treasurer; Joy Lucas, Collector
Vestry: Merrill Hassinger; James Houghton; Elizabeth Lennox; Gillian McMullen;
Bernadette Montasse; Ellyn Titterington
Today’s Sacristan: Alvin Lindo
Layreaders Today: Readers: Laetitia Aby, Frank Smith; Intercessor: Gillian McMullen
Coffee Hour Hosts: Allison Brown and James Houghton
Clean Up Volunteer: Merrill Hassinger
Next Sunday’s Scripture Readings: Joshua 5:9-12; Psam 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21;
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
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We invite you to become a part of this growing community as we strive to restore people to unity with God and each other. We walk together on a wonderful pilgrimage that we hope will embrace young and old, as well as seekers and believers witnessing to God’s love for all humanity. For more information about us please visit our website at, www.saintpeterscambridge.org.
Notices
Afterworks Annual Fundraiser
We will be having our Annual Cake Fundraiser for Afterworks today and next Sunday (March 7th and 14th) after church. The delicious cakes we sell are from the Boston Tea Cake Company. Please buy one or more cakes to support our afterschool program: Afterworks. Judy Bibbins and Elisa Pepe will be available on both Sundays to take orders from you. Thanks for your support!
Choral Evensong
Please join us on Saturday, March 13th at 5pm here at St. Peter’s for a service of choral evensong. Our choir will be singing Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Evening Service in C” as well as Johannes Brahms’ “Geistliches Lied” (Sacred Song). There will be many opportunities for sung participation by the congregation as well! We will be joined by students and faculty from Boston College and the University of Wuerzburg, Germany as they will be ending their weeklong conference on Liturgical Theology at Boston College. We hope you will be able to join us for this beautiful service from the Anglican tradition, and to give a warm St. Peter’s welcome to our visitors from Boston College and Germany!
Lent Extended Preludes
During the season of Lent, please join us at 10:20am each Sunday for an extended prelude featuring both organ and vocal music. We will be hearing some of the exceptional, rich music that has been written especially for the season of Lent. Our preludes will feature the music of Bach, Handel, and many others. We hope you will join us for this wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the music that draws us into the prayerful season of Lent.
Special Lenten Study
We continue our series on “Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way.” This study is based on Walter Wink’s book of the same title. Our study examines Wink’s thinking on the issue of nonviolence, including the relation of Jesus and his message to politics and nonviolence, the history of nonviolent efforts and how nonviolence provides a way past violent conflictual situations. We begin at 7:30 pm and end at 9:00 pm with the evenings free and open to all.
Music Notes
Today’s prelude is by César Franck (1822-1890), a Belgian born composer and organist who spent most of his life in France. He taught organ at the Paris Conservatory (teaching such future influential organists as Louis Vierne and Charles Tournemire) and was organist at St. Clotilde from 1858 until his death. Many say that Franck was the greatest composer for the organ after Bach, and I wholeheartedly agree! Franck’s “Prélude, Fugue et Variation,” Op. 18 (dedicated to the organist Camille Saint-Saëns) is from his Six Pièces (1860-62). In his book Playing the Organ Works of César Franck,Rollin Smith notes that “this is Franck’s most popular organ work…The appeal of the Prélude, Fugue et Variation lies in its primitive, naïve, yet penetrating charm.” He goes on to say that the piece is “admired by players and audiences for the emotion it evokes.”
Our choral prelude is Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s (1841-1904) “Hear my prayer, O Lord” from his Biblical Songs (1894). This is a collection of 10 pieces for voice and piano with texts derived from the Psalms (with minor modifications by Dvořák) taken from the Czech-language Bible of Kralice (1579). Following the death of his friends Tchaikovsky and von Bullow and the news that his father was terminally ill, Dvořák turned to his faith and composed this cycle of ten songs in only twenty-one days. The piece you will hear today is the sixth song from this collection, and it is based on Psalm 61:1, 3, 4 and Psalm 63: 1, 4, 5. Psalm 63:1-8 is our psalm for today.
Our communion anthem, “Incline thine ear to me” is by German composer Friedrich Heinrich Himmel (1765-1814). In addition to composing operas, sacred music and pieces for instruments Himmel was also a pianist. The text of this piece is based on Psalm 71:2-3. You will first hear the melody sung by James Dargan, and then by the choir.
Prayer List
Please help us out by periodically checking the names you have asked to have added to the prayer list, and let us know when we are able to remove those names. We will be paring down the list at the end of March; if you would like names to remain on the list, please let Sue know.
Please Help Stock the CommonCare Pantry
Our CommonCare cook-ins began last Fall and have been very well attended – but we could use your help. We welcome all who would like to share in the meals on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month through June. You can help with preparation, setting up, clean up, and/or just enjoying the wonderful meals we all prepare together. You can also help by donating non-perishable items to the food basket at the back of the church. Any canned meats, vegetables or fruits, or dry goods such as rice, pasta, or cereal are a big help. Also useful would be milk that does not need to be refrigerated (such as Parmalat milk). Thank you to all who support this ministry.
Important Dates to Remember
Please mark you calendars and make note of these upcoming dates of activities and deadlines for the months of March and April:
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Sat., March 13
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5:00pm
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Choral Evensong – St. Peter’s Choir
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Sun., March 14
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Daylight Savings Time Begins – Turn clocks ahead one hour
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Holy Week Schedule
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Sun., March 28
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Palm Sunday – Great Procession begins at 10:30am
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Mon. March 29
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8:00am
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Holy Eucharist
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Tues. March 30
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8:00am
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Holy Eucharist
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Wed. March 31
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8:00am
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Holy Eucharist
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6:00pm
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Holy Eucharist
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7:30pm
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Set up of Garden of Repose
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Thur. April 1
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8:00am
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Morning Prayer
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6:30pm
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Last Supper Meal
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This page was last updated: Friday, March 5, 2010 @ 6:07 am |
