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Synergy Quintet at Ravinia

I just got more information on Synergy Quintet's performance at Ravinia this Sunday, August 21st: they will be playing for an hour starting about noon, which means most of us may not be able to attend owing to our 10:30 am Eucharist.

However, the St Columba service is at 9:00 am. so it's still possible for some to go to both.

Synergy's appearance is part of Ravinia's anniversary celebration, and admission is only 25 cents.

Synergy Quintet August 28th!

Synergy Brass Quintet returns to Holy Innocents on Sunday, August 28th at 4pm. It'll be a hot time with cool music. Dessert will be served afterwards in the undercroft.

The group performs the week before at Ravinia on Sunday August 21st. More information will be posted when it becomes available - it could be fun to go to both concerts. Fan club members, please refrain from swooning and making spectacles of yourselves (you know who you are).

This picture was taken at last year's concert.

May 4: Ascension Eve With Bishop Persell

The Rt. Rev. William D. Persell will be preacher and presider at our celebration for the Eve of Ascension at Holy Innocents Wednesday, May 4 at 7:00pm. Holy Eucharist will be jointly hosted for area Episcopal churches by Holy Innocents, Incarnation, and St. Columba.

Synergy Quintet News

Holy Innocents and St Columba's members who were lucky enough to attend one of the two concerts we hosted for Synergy Brass Quintet will be happy to hear they are doing very well, and are constantly on the road doing concerts. In fact, a check of their concert listing not only still shows their previous concerts here at Holy Innocents (good times!) but some very exciting future dates in July/August 2006. Yes, they're booked to perform during Evensong for a week at Bristol Cathedral, and then they will perform a concert one night at Canterbury Cathedral.

There is a possibility they'll be in the area of Ravinia in late August of this year, so watch this space for more information as it becomes available. As Chris said in his email "You guys always have such a fun crowd." We'd better dig out our "Synergy groupie" T-shirts just in case.

For Sale: Cypriot Copper Mine Fit for King Herod

NICOSIA (Reuters) - A copper mine in Cyprus where the metal has been mined since Biblical times faces closure unless the Church of Cyprus can find a buyer, officials said on Wednesday.

The Skouriotissa mine, which produced copper ore at a site where there has been mining for some 4,000 years, suspended operations in January, leaving its workers unpaid and with debts labor unions estimate at 14 million pounds ($31.1 million).

Herod the Great, who in the Bible ordered the Massacre of the Innocents in an attempt to murder the infant Jesus, has been recorded among those having rights to mine at the site in Cyprus's picturesque Troodos Mountains.

Amazing - this ancient copper mine is linked to the sad history of our patrons, the Holy Innocents. That it should still exist after all this time, and be in danger of permanently closing and throwing so many people out of work is particularly poignant.

John Paul II Links

It is a momentous event when any world religious leader dies; it is even more momentous when that leader has been in office longer than an entire generation has been alive. Americans of many faiths respected Pope John Paul II as a great and influential world leader for peace and evangelism, but many of us had difficulty with some of his teachings.

Still, there was no denying his genius for connecting with the people, and making connections between people. He will be much missed in this strife-torn world.

Chicago Tribune: Full Coverage
New York Times: Full Coverage
Catholics in America: A Restive People

Daylight Saving Time: Spring Ahead

Remember to set your clocks ahead 1 hour tonight!

He Is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia

The strife is o'er, the battle won, the Easter eggs have mostly been found. Alleluia!

Pictures from this morning's festival Eucharist of Easter at St Columba have been posted on the new gallery photo pages for both parishes. More photos are being added so please stop by and vote for your favorites.

The New Fire was kindled last night outside the door of Holy Innocents, and the flames leapt up from the brazier and shone into the darkened sanctuary. The Paschal candle was lit, and then as the altar party processed through the door, light came into the church. Gradually, the light was passed from candle to candle held by all members of the congregation, and the first half of the service continued by candlelight.

The songs of exaltation were sung, the many readings were read, and in the end the Resurrection was proclaimed. All went away filled with spiritual food. As there was a reception after the service downstairs, everyone also went away filled with actual food, and there was even a cake shaped like a lamb.

At one point during a hymn there was a small disaster; the large Paschal candle fell off its stand to the floor with a crash. The music continued. After a short but intense pause, the people sitting closest to the spot moved quietly and purposefully into action, since the altar party were pretty far away and something needed to be done to make things right. One lifted the candle up carefully and tenderly and helped the acolytes fix it more securely into the stand. Others quickly swept up the broken glass (the candle was topped with a follower which shattered when it fell). They all did what needed to be done quietly and efficiently, like a well-rehearsed damage control team, and got things put right just before the music ended.

It seemed like a metaphor for when things go wrong; sometimes with even the most carefully choreographed plans, they will go awry... but someone quite unexpected will be there, see the need, and offer assistance. Aside from the loss of the follower, it was actually quite moving to witness.

There was much laughter and gladness after the service (and not a little relief from those of us in the choir), and jokes about various small disasters that have occurred during the Triduum. No one really took my suggestion seriously that we should make them all annual traditions, but they certainly made this year one to remember.

The Blessing Of The Easter Baskets: Gentlekids, Start Your Engines

This morning's festival Eucharist at St Columba was a joyful celebration; not only were the pews packed with people of all ages, there was an Easter egg hunt immediately after the service, all around the grounds of St Columba.

The service was conducted similar to a Family Mass - children were given jobs such as carrying a small processional cross (topped for the occasion with Easter lilies) or torches or the Gospel. Some children wore special robes, some did not. All helped make the Easter celebration special and fun.

At the end of the service, all the children were invited forward to have their Easter baskets blessed - some didn't have baskets, but were given flowered fabric bags they could sling over one shoulder. There were one or two adults who also came forward to have baskets blessed. Then they were invited to join the procession out at the end of the service, which put them in "post position" at the door of the church, waiting for the checkered flag.

The littler ones were allowed a head start, and then the larger ones were released to run around looking for one of 200 or so candy and plastic eggs that had been scattered and hidden all over the lawns and in the trees. All the children but one headed off in the same direction, and one little boy had the entire front lawn and all its candy to himself for a while until the others caught on. However, there were plenty of eggs for everybody. It turned out that the children with flowered bags had an advantage, because the eggs tended to bounce out of the baskets, causing their owners to have to stop and retrieve their lost candy. Still, nobody really came up short, and some were quite successful. According to some watchful and suspiciously knowledgeable adults, not all the eggs were found.

There's always next year.

Re-joice Now, Heav'n-ly Hosts And Choirs Of An-gels

This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin, and are restored to grace and holiness of life.

The preparations are nearly done; the feast is being prepared. All has been made ready for the Vigil tonight at Holy Innocents. The people will enter the darkened church and take hand-candles and find their way to their seats - no mean feat in the "gloom of sin." Families have gathered from near and far, and young people have come home from school to help serve at the altar or carry torches in procession. Earlier today, there was an air of expectation as the altar party worked out their route and the ladies of the Altar Guild arranged spring flowers and Easter lilies around the altar and re-laid the Coronation altar cloth, which has been stored away since the beginning of Lent.

The service begins at 8:00pm, and a reception will follow downstairs - everyone brings finger foods to share and many other good things to eat. Tonight is the main celebration of Easter at Holy Innocents.

Tomorrow morning, Easter Sunday, there will be a festival Easter Eucharist at St Columba at 10:00 am, and no morning service at Holy Innocents.

Maundy Thursday

What is "Maundy" Thursday? We celebrate it tonight at Holy Innocents at 7:00 pm.

Father Ted will wash the feet of one of the Bishop's Committee members, who will then in turn stay and wash the feet of another, who will then in turn wash the feet of another, and so on... we will serve one another with humility until all who wish it have had their feet washed. Please don't feel shy about coming forward; this rite is an ancient and honorable one that stems from the some of the oldest traditions of hospitality in the Middle East.

The service of Maundy Thursday footwashing is "the oldest observance peculiar to Holy Week." Maundy is an obsolete word that is closely related to the modern words "command" and "mandate." It commemorates the new commandment of Christ for us to drink the wine and eat the bread in remembrance of Him. It also reminds us of the obligation of a spiritual or temporal leader to serve the people.

In England, Maundy Thursday is observed with a ceremony of penance and charity by the reigning monarch - earlier today, Queen Elizabeth II made a public appearance to hand out a small and symbolic payment in a tradition dating back to Edward I :

To reflect the Queen's age on her next birthday, 79 men and 79 women received 79p in silver Maundy coins contained in a white leather purse.

The Ceremony of the Royal Maundy dates back to Edward I - previously the monarch would wash poor people's feet.

Maundy Thursday is remembered by Christians as being the time when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. - Queen's Maundy Money Observance

After the footwashing and final celebration of the Eucharist, the consecrated elements of communion will be processed to The Altar of Repose. The main altar will be silently stripped of its furnishings. Then a vigil will be held until midnight. Each half-hour is "covered" in prayer by a specific person, but many of Holy Innocents' parishioners that attend tonight will just stay and remain in contemplation until the service ends, at midnight.

Tomorrow, there will be Stations of the Cross at Holy Innocents at noon, and the Good Friday Liturgy will be at 7pm at St Columba.

Stations of the Cross

A service of Stations of the Cross will be held at Holy Innocents on Good Friday, March 25th at noon.

Palms and Psalms And Passion And Sorrow

Today's Palm Sunday service came off a little differently than I thought; instead of walking around the outside of the church, singing "All Glory Laud And Honor" while trying to stay on key and at the same tempo, we stayed inside. There were several good reasons for staying inside - there were several parishioners who really didn't need to go traipsing around in the cold for health reasons, first day of Spring notwithstanding. Also, have you ever tried to sing "All Glory Laud And Honor" outdoors while hopping from tussock to tussock in dress shoes on a damp tundra? Unless everybody stays bunched up, you can't hear anyone else, and the results are "less than optimal" musically.

But there was an unexpected bonus this morning. Just before we gathered everyone for the Liturgy of the Palms, Father Ted asked Linda Milner if she could have the church school children scatter palm leaves one by one during the procession, as the kids would all be in a bunch at the end. They were to take whatever leaves were left on the table after they were blessed, and after everyone else had picked up a palm leaf to carry.

The blessing went off normally, and we started off on a circular route from the door across the front of the altar, and then around the edges of the sanctuary, singing loudly. We had enough people, once everyone got moving, for the altar party to catch up to the group of church school kids, who were enthusiastically strewing palm leaves every few feet.

Then it appeared that we were all in a great unbroken circle, singing and waving palms and endlessly traveling together on the palm-strewn road to Jerusalem. At last, we were able to do this difficult and triumphal hymn justice from beginning to end, without getting "imbrangled."

I just wish I could say the same about the sung psalm. I thought I had it, but the pitches eluded me in the clutch.

"Why, what evil has he done?"

The reading of the Gospel for Palm Sunday went off with a bang - following long tradition the speaking parts were distributed among a number of people. All the first-timers did very well and projected their voices stongly - we'll probably never stage a full-on Passion Play, but we're good at reading parts.

I complimented this year's "Pilate" on his portrayal, as he managed somehow to make the governor of Judea sound like a bored bureaucratic paper-pusher trying to deal with a troublesome problem, and finding a way to make it somebody else's responsibilty.

The Gospel always ends with the Crucifixion, so in a way it anticipates the events that are played out on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. We started in triumph, and we ended in grief. As the choir assembled to practice the special music for the upcoming services, the Altar Guild and servers draped all the images and statues with purple mourning cloths, and hung the white backdrop over at the side where the Altar of Repose will be. Thursday night, it will become for a while the Tomb, floating in a sea of white Easter lilies. Every white candle we've got will be burning for the Vigil.

So now, we wait.

Palm Sunday Tomorrow

This photo is from Palm Sunday 2003; that's our previous vicar, The Rev. Marion Kanour, in the scarlet cope. Rather than traipse around the entire building over the frozen tundra that is the church lawn, we opted that year to stick to the sidewalk that runs on 2 sides of the building. It was much easier on everybody's shoes and less disruptive to the singing.

Tomorrow we'll process with palms and glad singing, and then during the service the drama of the Passion is staged with readers. So we start with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and we end with the fury of the crowd and the indifference of the secular authorities.

The liturgical color for the day changes from purple (mourning, penitence) to scarlet (Passion, triumph) and then often switches back to purple or even black. At one parish I attended years ago, the choir had colored tabards in all the liturgical colors - they were double-sided for reasons of economy. The scarlet one had a black reverse, and on Palm Sunday they used to quietly slip off the tabards and turn them over to the black side at the point in the service when Jesus arrives at Golgotha. It was quite unnerving.

The drama will play itself out tomorrow and later this week as it does every year at Eastertide. Will you be there...?

The Scent Of Jesus

My supervisor at work mentioned this yesterday, and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about: something about a scented candle that smells like Jesus. We joked around at the end of the day, speculating that Jesus would actually smell like sawdust, the dust of the road, wine, bread, olive oil, old sandals... and blood.

But then I ran across it in another Episcopal blog and a well known "tech/culture" blog, and realized it was, incredibly, a real product:

Now there's a candle that lets you experience the scent of Jesus, and they've been selling out by the case.

"We see it as a ministry, " says Bob Tosterud, who together with his wife came up with the idea for the candle.

Light up the candle called "His Essence" and its makers say you'll experience the fragrance of Christ.

Bob Tosterud and wife Karen say the formula is all spelled out in Psalm 45.

"It's a Messianic Psalm referring to when Christ returns and his garments will have the scent of myrrh, aloe and cassia," says Karen Tosterud.

Interesting, I would have thought it was a reference to King David, but that's the beauty of metaphor.

The candles are sold via a website and they've sold more than 10,000 so far. The lines from the Psalm that inspired this product are

Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever, *
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you *
with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia, *
and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.

Candles are important in our worship - there is a Presence light that burns perpetually in the sanctuary, and there are smaller votive candles in stands on either side. One side is devoted to Mary, with a small prie-dieu (kneeling stand) next to it. The other side is devoted to remembering the dead. During worship there are often a pair of torches that accompany the Gospel in procession.

On Maundy Thursday, a week from today, the Presence light will be taken from its normal position just to the right of the Tabernacle (the small gated enclosed cupboard behind the altar) and moved over to the side altar next to the remembrance votives, and the entire area will be dressed as an Altar of Repose, all in white and surrounded by lilies and other candles.

At Easter, a Paschal candle will be baptized by dipping it in the font, and nails will be pressed into it to form a cross. Candles don't just symbolize Christ for us, they often stand in for Him. Although ours aren't scented, the incense that we occasionally burn will have to do.

Holy Week Schedule of Services

You don't have to stop thinking when you walk into church. Come experience an atmosphere where faith and thought come together in a spirit of fellowship.

Palm Passion Sunday March 20th

St Columba at 820am, Holy Innocents at 10:30am

Lessons

Procession and Liturgy of the Palms

Maundy Thursday March 24

Holy Innocents at 7pm

Lessons

Eucharist with footwashing and Vigil. There will be a sign-up sheet posted for parishioners to cover each half-hour of the Vigil.

After the celebration of the Eucharist, the Reserved Sacrament, symbolic of the Body and Blood of Christ, will be processed to a side altar for a solemn Vigil of Repose. At the conclusion of the Vigil, the candles are extinguished, the flowers are taken away, and the altar is stripped in token of grief and mourning. In the end, all is silence.

This rite is part of the Sacred Triduum of the season of Holy Week and Easter. Keep watch with us, in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection.

Good Friday Liturgy, March 25th

St Columba at 7pm

Lessons

The Reserved Sacrament is distributed for Communion, as there is no celebration of the Eucharist on this day.

Also a part of the Triduum, one's first Good Friday service in the Episcopal Church can be unnerving. Many fast for the entire day. Old, old hymns and chants are sung, and sound like funeral dirges. The feeling of sorrow or grief is tempered by hope, however.

The Great Vigil of Easter, with the kindling of New Fire

Holy Innocents SATURDAY March 26th at 8pm

Lessons

In this, the first Festival Eucharist of the Easter Season, we go from darkness and silence to Light and joyful rejoicing as the New Fire is kindled and the words of the Exsultet are chanted.

In some Episcopal churches, the Vigil takes place on Saturday night, and the Rite of the New Fire is part of a pre-dawn service Sunday morning, with the coming of the Light into the world time to coincide with dawn. In the early days of the church, of course, the Vigil simply went all night. In these modern times, the services are combined into one late on Holy Saturday, the final day in the Sacred Triduum.

There will be no Sunday morning service at Holy Innocents, but there will be a Festival Eucharist at St Columba.

Easter Sunday, March 27th - Festival Eucharist

St Columba, 10am

Lessons

A Festival Eucharist at St Columba's is a special event! We hope to have a choir in addition to organ music for this service. If you like to sing and have been too shy to show up at choir practice, please feel free to lift up your voice with us on this bright and glorious day of Resurrection.

Via Media

The Via Media Lenten program continues on Tuesday, March 15th, with a program entitled "The Bible." This week it will be at St Columba, and the supper will be hosted by Holy Innocents.

If you haven't been able to attend one of the Via Media programs, take some time out of your busy week and drop by for some soup, thought-provoking discussion, and "face time" with your fellow Holy Innocents and St Columba parishioners.

Just as a reminder, there will be no meetings during Holy Week or Easter Week. Via Media will resume after Easter on April 5th.

via media is a powerful resource for building Christian community, bringing people into the Church who previously have felt alienated or unwelcome. Our Church stands on the threshold of a marvelous evangelism opportunity, and the actions of General Convention 2003d the door. via media is the resource we need tothe door even wider and keep itfor all who seek the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Volunteers are needed for hosting suppers and providing childcare. Please see Pat Hoesel at St Columba's or Colleen Muehl at Holy Innocents.

Via Media Schedule
6:30 p.m. Tuesday evenings

Date/Topic	Location	Meal Host
Mar. 15 The Bible	St Columba's	Holy Innocents
Holy Week	No Meeting	(off)
Easter Week	No Meeting	(off)
Apr. 05 Sin	Holy Innocents	St Columba's
Apr. 12 Thy Kingdom Come	St Columba's	Holy Innocents
Apr. 16 - Retreat So, What?	To Be Announced	Holy Innocents & St Columba's

Small Church Development

Resources for small churches are outlined on this page at the national Episcopal website.

There's a wealth of information at this site, and it's worth a deeper look.

The Martyrs Of Japan

Who were the Martyrs of Japan? As it happens, the webmistress has actually been to their memorial.

As explained in the link to the lectionary page for today, the Martyrs of Japan were six Franciscan friars and twenty of their Japanese converts, some very young. They were crucified in Nagasaki in 1597, and persecutions continued off and on for another 40 years, until the Japanese Christian community had been driven totally underground. The political tensions of the time were the biggest cause; the ruler or shogun feared either a peasant uprising, or invasion by the various European nations that were sending Catholic missionaries to Japan.

I took a trip to Japan in 1993, and while there I attended church at an Anglican parish in Nagoya. The service was conducted entirely in Japanese, but an English "expat" kindly translated parts of the sermon for me and showed me where the "eigo" or English transliteration of the prayers was in the service booklet. The service was familiar and yet strange. Following Japanese custom, everyone removed their shoes and put them in a cubby just inside the entrance; I arrived a few minutes late but figured it out in time so that I didn't commit a "shoe crime."

The next week, I had wandered by train as far as Nagasaki, and stumbled upon the memorial to the Martyrs, which was in a park or plaza near a Catholic church (a modern one, not the cathedral that was nearly destroyed in the city center by the atomic bomb). The martyrs' memorial is very sombre compared to the Peace Park downtown, where school groups had been hanging garlands of origami cranes (symbolic of eternal life) all morning. It was so busy at the Peace Park that I took a walk or a tram ride up the hill with the vague intention to check out the memorial, which was marked on my tourist map. It was almost noon when I got there. I was taking pictures and someone had just offered to take mine, standing in front of the memorial, when an eerie wailing filled the air. Everyone got very, very quiet. Someone who spoke a little English explained quickly that the sirens always went off at that time to commemorate the moment the atomic bomb was detonated, and there would be a couple of minutes of silence.

The memorial to the Martyrs of Japan is very simple - even stark, and a little unnerving. I had never heard of them before that moment, when the sirens were wailing, but I never forgot them.

Via Media: Lenten/Eastertide Program

The Lenten and Eastertide program of Christian Formation this year will be Via Media, a new way to spread the message of the Good News in an Episcopal setting.

via media is a powerful resource for building Christian community, bringing people into the Church who previously have felt alienated or unwelcome. Our Church stands on the threshold of a marvelous evangelism opportunity, and the actions of General Convention 2003d the door. via media is the resource we need tothe door even wider and keep itfor all who seek the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The sessions will consist of a meal shared between Holy Innocents and St Columba's, followed by a video to watch and discuss in groups with a closing prayer.

Volunteers are needed for hosting suppers and providing childcare. Please see Pat Hoesel at St Columba's or Colleen Muehl at Holy Innocents.

Via Media Schedule
6:30 p.m. Tuesday evenings

Date/Topic	Location	Meal Host
Feb. 15 via media	St Columba's 1800 Irving Park	Holy Innocents
Feb. 22 God and Creation	Holy Innocents 425 Illinois Blvd	St Columba's
Mar. 01 God in Jesus	St Columba's	Holy Innocents
Mar. 08 God the Holy Spirit	Holy Innocents	St Columba's
Mar. 15 The Bible	St Columba's	Holy Innocents
Holy Week	No Meeting	(off)
Easter Week	No Meeting	(off)
Apr. 05 Sin	Holy Innocents	St Columba's
Apr. 12 Thy Kingdom Come	St Columba's	Holy Innocents
Apr. 16 - Retreat So, What?	To Be Announced	Holy Innocents & St Columba's

Reminder: Bring A Covered Dish

Many of us received calls yesterday reminding us to bring a covered dish to share at lunch after the Annual Meeting tomorrow. We were encouraged to actually put something in the dish to eat.

Well, darn.

I have to think of something to bring that would be quick to put together, easy, and wouldn't take a lot of time heating up in an oven.

Another Episcopal parish, somewhere in California, has a rock band that plays at their Annual Meeting. I think this year we'll stick to covered dishes and see how it goes.

Annual Meeting January 30

Mark your calendars! The annual meeting of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church will take place after Eucharist on Sunday, January 30. The service begins at the regular time of 10:30 a.m.

Refreshments will be available, and please bring a dish to share for luncheon afterwards.

Seabury-Western and Blogging

Much of this entry won't make much sense if you are new to "blogging," but there is plenty of interest to even non-technical Episcopalians.

A blogging and social software conference called BlogWalk Chicago is taking place at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary today (yes, some did make it in spite of the snow). AKMA, an Episcopal priest, the Seabury Professor of New Testament, and blogger, has more about this event on his personal weblog.

Of course, everyone is sitting around talking about blogging and social software, which is designed to bring people together in new ways. But some serious work is being done in the world of weblogs and social networking, and there are some who throw around words like "emerging democracy" in connection with blogging and self-publishing in countries like China or Iran.

Bringing people together in new ways can't be a bad thing, not for people who blog or people who attend church.

Laying The Groundwork

This looks interesting:

Groundwork:
Guide for Lenten Study and Action
Year A
The goal of Groundwork is to encourage personal and congregational transformation, to ask congregational members and leaders to dig deeply into the soil of their mission and context to do serious and joyful learning about evangelism, invitation, and welcome.

This Lenten guide includes:
• Lesson plans for a 5-week Sunday Morning Adult Form in Lent
• Lesson plans for 5 Mid-week Adult Programs in Lent
• Adaptations for use during the Easter Season
• Use of Groundworks in retreat settings
• Vestry Planning for Evangelism

I allso ran across a few interesting-looking books for seekers or beginners, or even old hands who always wondered about why things happen in a certain order, but never felt emboldened to ask.

Welcome to Sunday: An Introduction to Worship in the Episcopal Church

by Christopher L. Webber





Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church

by Vicki K. Black



And of course, the beginners handbook:

Welcome to the Episcopal Church: An Introduction to Its History, Faith, and Worship

by Christopher L. Webber, Frank T., III Griswold



What I'd like to know is if it includes tips on gracefully juggling prayer book and hymnal, and figuring out that the Service music is in the front of the blue hymnal, but appears not at all in the front of the red hymn book. This one fact is probably the most deeply confusing thing for a person attending an Episcopal church for the first time.

Not that we're not already deeply confused anyway, but we mean well, and we manage to clear most of the confusion up during coffee hour.

Readings For This Sunday

Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Year A
BCP

Readings from the Episcopal Lectionary

Amos 3:1-8
1 Corinthians 1:10-17
Matthew 4:12-23
Psalm 139:1-17 or 139:1-11

As we've recently begun doing, the Psalm will be chanted by the choir, and the congregation will join in on a simple antiphon. The music for the chanted part is a little harder than it looks at first glance - deceptively simple, even. I think it's taken from the Hymn Tune Psalter.

Psalm 139:1-17 or139:1-11 Page 794, BCP Domine, probasti

1
LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

2
You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O LORD, know it altogether.

4
You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

5
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

6
Where can I go then from your Spirit? *
where can I flee from your presence?

7
If I climb up to heaven, you are there; *
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.

8
If I take the wings of the morning *
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

9
Even there your hand will lead me *
and your right hand hold me fast.

10
If I say, "Surely the darkness will cover me, *
and the light around me turn to night,"

11
Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day; *
darkness and light to you are both alike.

Family Mass Date Change

The next Family Mass will be on the second Sunday next month, February 13th at 9:15 a.m at St Columba. Gather at 9 a.m. so that children may be assigned tasks to assist in the service.

This is a more informal service suitable for young children or the young at heart. Questions are welcome; after the Eucharist there is a suitable time to ask Father Ted or one of the adults why things are done in a certain way.

The De-Greening Of The Church

There must be a place in the Kalendar for the Feast of De-Greening, because its opposite number seems to be a minor feast on the hectic last Sunday before Advent. On that day, as many people as possible are drafted at coffee hour to bring up the Christmas trees and Nativity figures from the storage room and to arrange garlands of greenery around the sanctuary. It took at least an hour, and some discussions of how it's been done in previous years must have taken place.

Today Ryan, one of the college-age members, volunteered two of the youngest boys to assist in an unsung but important task: taking all the decorations downstairs and putting them away. It didn't take very long at all. Why is deconstruction always so much faster than construction?

Father Ted's sermon told the story of his personal journey in faith to the Episcopal church, and how he was welcomed and accepted there as a young man. At the Eucharist he tells us each week, "and know that all are welcome at this God's table," so this is of special importance to him and to us.

Copies of the Kalendar are available on the information table just inside the entrance to the church, but don't look for the Minor Feast of the De-Greening to appear in it this year or any year soon.

We Three Kings

Today there was a special story time with the Holy Innocents kids, some of whom had participated in a procession to the Nativity scene bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Father Ted read from a Nativity story book and showed pictures, and each child was given a figure to represent Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus, a shepherd, an animal, or one of the Three Wise Men. As the story progressed, the children were invited to add their figures to the group at the foot of the altar, until a traditional creche scene had been set up.
Michael Milner models the "Wise Man" robes his grandmother Linda Milner made for him. Michael carried a beautiful treasure chest full of gold for the infant Jesus. The other children carried crystals representing frankincense and a fragrant oil representing myrrh. At the last moment the myrrh was put in a cruet from the sacristy to replace the plain green bottle they were originally going to use.

The Wise Men (and Woman) found their robes and crowns comfortable and stylish enough that they wore them throughout the entire service. They performed their roles well, and after the service children and adults were rewarded with special Epiphany cakes during coffee and fellowship time in the Undercroft. There were 2 cakes - one in the Hispanic tradition, and one in the Greek tradition. Symbolic trinkets were placed in the cake before baking and several were quite surprised to find them when they cut their slices!

Christmas Eve was wonderful, with plenty of music and color, and lots of food to eat afterwards. It started with a half-hour of carol singing, and continued with all the panoply and simple grace that Holy Innocents traditionally does to celebrate Christmas.


The regular service began with a procession to the corner of the church where a Nativity scene had been set up. The Baby Jesus was carried and placed in his simple manger by Noah, one of the Holy Innocents church school children, and then we continued with even more hymns, readings, and carols.

The choir decided at the last possible second to change the party-piece to "Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming" because the original piece was judged to be "not quite there yet."

As in former years, near the end of the service, hand-candles which had been passed out to all the congregants were lit from person to person. The Light of the World was recalled as "Silent Night" was sung by candlelight. It was Father Ted's first Christmas at Holy Innocents, and it was certainly a warm and memorable one.

We Await His Coming

Today was the Third Sunday in Advent. Earlier in the week, members of both Holy Innocents and St Columba of Iona celebrated a combined evening service of Advent Reflection, along with a simple meal of soup and bread. The program was based on Cloth for the Cradle, a worship guide published by the Iona Community, a spiritual group based on the holy island of Iona in Great Britain.

There is a lovely carol associated with the Advent program we used, and as it is sung strips of cloth are laid one by one by each participant in a fruit crate to create a humble cradle, symbolic of the Manger of 2,000 years ago.

By the time the plain, rough wooden crate had been made comfortable and the strips of cloth (which included pieces obviously intended for a quilt but never completed) were laid in it, a colorful and comfortable- looking resting place had been created.

It now sits, waiting, on a table in the church on the stairwell landing. Everyone has to pass it on their way down to the Undercroft for coffee after services. Anyone who was not at Wednesday's service passed by with questions in their eyes, and those of us who were there tried to explain its significance. I couldn't do it justice when I was asked - something to do with the Celtic flavor of the carol we sang, and the feeling of expectant calm that descended on us as we sang the verses over and over while the peach crate was transformed into a Cradle. It's like the beginning to an unfinished story - next week more of us will walk past on our way down for coffee, or to help polish the church brass for Christmas Eve on Saturday, and wonder at its significance.

We're waiting now to see how it turns out, as we await His coming...

Upcoming Dates To Remember

• 
  
• Sunday, December 19 - 9:30 a.m. - Acolyte Training
• 
  

Persons wishing to serve in each of these areas or wishing to learn more are encouraged to attend.

• Friday, December 24, Christmass Eve
• • 5:00 p.m. Festival Eucharist at St Columba
  • 7:30 p.m. Carols at Holy Innocents
  • 8:00 p.m. Festival Eucharist at Holy Innocents (choir)
• Sunday, December 26, Christmass I - 10:30 a.m. Festival of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist at Holy Innocents
• Sunday, January 2, Epiphany
• • 9:30 a.m. Family Mass and Celebration of Epiphany at St Columba
  • 10:30 a.m. - Celebration of Epiphany and Holy Eucharist at Holy Innocents

Holy Innocents Welcomes You

The blog of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Hoffman Estates - watch this space for exciting developments in the life of our parish.

Today was the celebration of Advent 1, the first Sunday of Advent.

Upcoming Dates To Remember

• 
  
• Sunday, December 5 - 11:50 a.m. - Lector/Intercessor Training
• 
  
• Wednesday, December 8 - 6:30 p.m. - Advent Gathering: Prayers, Reflection, Soup and Bread
• 
  
• Sunday, December 12 - 11:50 a.m. - Chalice Bearer/Visitor Training
• 
  
• Sunday, December 19 - 9:30 a.m. - Acolyte Training
• 
  

Persons wishing to serve in each of these areas or wishing to learn more are encouraged to attend.

• Friday, December 24, Christmass Eve
• • 5:00 p.m. Festival Eucharist at St Columba
  • 7:30 p.m. Carols at Holy Innocents
  • 8:00 p.m. Festival Eucharist at Holy Innocents (choir)
• Sunday, December 26, Christmass I - 10:30 a.m. Festival of Lessons and Carols with Eucharist at Holy Innocents
• Sunday, January 2, Epiphany
• • 9:30 a.m. Family Mass and Celebration of Epiphany at St Columba
  • 10:30 a.m. - Celebration of Epiphany and Holy Eucharist at Holy Innocents