Holy Eucharist Rite II Sunday Live 10 a.m.
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Worship Notes
May 31, Day of Pentecost or Whitsunday
The Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m., Rite II Live via Facebook
The Holy Eucharist, 11:20 a.m., Rite II, recording of 10 a.m. service available
Fr. Ben Hankinson officiating
Kevin Babb, Eucharistic Minister
Henry H. Evans, Organist
Coffee Hour via Zoom following the service
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Worship Information: Day of Pentecost | Whitsunday
- Acts 2:1-21
- Psalm 104:25-35, 37
- 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
- John 20:19-23
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The Holy Gospel |
John 20:19-23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
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Day of Pentecost | Whitsunday
Pentecost means "fiftieth day." In the Christian tradition, Pentecost is now the seventh Sunday after Easter. It emphasizes that the church is understood as the body of Christ which is drawn together and given life by the Holy Spirit.
Some understand Pentecost to be the origin and sending out of the church into the world. The Day of Pentecost is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year in the Episcopal Church. The Day of Pentecost is identified by the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) as one of the feasts that is "especially appropriate" for baptism. The liturgical color for the feast is red.
Pentecost has also been known as Whitsun or Whitsunday, a corruption of "White Sunday." This term reflects the custom by which those who were baptized at the Vigil of Pentecost would wear their white baptismal garments to church on the Day of Pentecost.
(Source: The Episcopal Church website.)
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Weekday Schedule
for the week of May 31
- Morning Prayer, 9 a.m. daily*
- Compline/Evening Prayer, 7 p.m. daily*
- Chat with Fr. Ben via Zoom, Thursday at 10 a.m. (Link via email.)
- Midday Moments, 12 Noon, three or times during the week*
*Livestreamed from facebook.com/StAndrews.Edwardsville
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Highlights of the May 28 Vestry Meeting
- Father Ben's announcements included the cancellation of Cursillo, Church Camp, and St. Michael's Conference. He also indicated he would be on vacation July 6-12.
- Junior Warden Walter Bohn reported that repairs in the undercroft have been completed and a check from Church Insurance for the church's claim for damages has been received. Also, the date for the new roofs on the church and addition plus the annual elevator inspection have been scheduled. He also reported for the Men's Group that the new dishwasher for the kitchen will arrive in 7 to 10 days and be installed before Lance Greve leaves for his summer home in New York.
- Treasurer Riley Atwood provided a report on parish finances and the federal Paycheck Protection Program. St. Andrew's may be applying for assistance through the latter program.
- Communications Coordinator Marian Smithson indicated In Touch and the newsletter continue to have high open rates (75% to 80%) and In Touch will be published monthly this summer (June, July, August). She also indicated that The Intelligencer began publishing church service information drawn from web sites and Facebook at no cost when the stay at home order was issued. This service will be continued into summer so new, updated information has been provided for St. Andrew's.
- Mary Bohn joined the vestry via Zoom to report that scrip cards for groceries and gas have been provided to families in need.
- The parish picnic, originally scheduled for June 7, will be rescheduled to a late summer or early fall Sunday. Brian Pezza will contact the township regarding this change.
- A draft Alcohol Use policy, reflecting discussion in prior vestry meetings and a 2015 General Convention resolution, was reviewed and some modifications were recommended. Marian Smithson will present an updated document to the vestry for their approval at their June 18 meeting.
- Fr. Ben reported that St. Andrew's Sunday service, daily prayers, and midday moments will be live-streamed from Facebook until further notice and right now no in-person attendance is planned. Some new options related to worship may begin June 7 and options were considered during a lengthy discussion. Fr. Ben will update the parish as soon as any decisions are made.
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In the News |
ENS
Bishop Curry Calls for National Day of Mourning on June 1
“I encourage Episcopalians to join with other people of faith this weekend to grieve and honor those who have died from COVID-19,” Curry said in a press release. “Let this tragic moment not pass without us honoring the many among us who have lost their lives or lost their loved ones and commending them and ourselves to God’s love and peace.”
The idea originated from a group of Christian leaders including Curry that meets regularly, led by Jim Wallis, founder of
Sojourners
. The group issued a statement saying that “an unprecedented group of 100+ national faith leaders — from Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions” had signed on to the call, as well as the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The grim milestone of 100,000 dead Americans coincides with a time that is sacred to all three Abrahamic faiths, said the Rev. Charles Robertson, canon to the presiding bishop for ministry beyond The Episcopal Church. Muslims have just finished celebrating
Eid al-Fitr
, the end of Ramadan; Jews will celebrate the feast of
Shavuot
May 28 through 30; and Christians will celebrate Pentecost on May 31.
“So that’s why, as we hit this 100,000 number in the U.S. alone, it seems appropriate that people in churches, synagogues and mosques throughout the nation recognize this moment and not let it pass without us honoring those who have lost their lives and their families,” Robertson told ENS.
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A Prayer for National Day of Mourning on June 1
A Prayer for the Power of the Spirit
Among the People of God
God of all power and love,
we give thanks for your unfailing presence
and the hope you provide in times of uncertainty and loss.
Send your Holy Spirit to enkindle in us your holy fire.
Revive us to live as Christ’s body in the world:
a people who pray, worship, learn,
break bread, share life, heal neighbors,
bear good news, seek justice, rest and grow in the Spirit.
Wherever and however we gather,
unite us in common prayer and send us in common mission,
that we and the whole creation might be restored and renewed,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Note: Presiding Bishop Curry and his Lutheran counterpart, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, invite congregations to pray this prayer from Pentecost through the first Sunday in September.
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A Tale of Two Fonts
(Part II)
The Lawnin memorial font, described in Part I, has moved around over the years. During the rectorship of Fr. Stephen Weissman (1975-1990), it was situated at the front of the nave on the left side as one faces the altar, where baptisms could be easily seen by parishioners. But it did not remain there.
When Mother Virginia Bennett became St. Andrew’s rector (1996-2013), that font had been moved to a point behind the last pew on the left as one entered the nave. Weissman’s successor, Fr. David Gable, must have been responsible for its relocation. As Mother Bennet remembers, it just “sat at the back behind that back pew with nothing around it to make it look important, as it should be.”
Several changes followed. The Lawnin memorial font was moved to the sacristy and repurposed as a
piscina,
an appliance used to properly dispose of water used sacramentally and in the washing of sacramental vessels. Ours accomplishes this by returning the water to the soil by means of a simple drainage system, visible in last week’s picture. A more imposing marble baptismal font, the font that we use for baptisms today, had been found by
Mother Bennett and purchased for the church by Margaret Slaughter as a memorial to a cousin, Moreland V. Alozery.
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It was placed in a dedicated space or baptistery in the narthex that Mother Bennett created by means of a triptych iron screen, on which she hung several icons and votive candles. The space was expanded with the completion of the new addition and set off from the rest of the narthex by distinct flooring.
There may be symbolic significance in the location of the font, its shape, and embellishments. Baptismal fonts are often placed near the entrance to a church’s nave, as ours is, to remind arriving worshippers of their own baptisms as the means by which they became part of the body of Christ. Moreover, both the Lawnin and the Slaughter fonts are in the shape of octagons. The eight-sided shape is claimed by some to be symbolic of the “Eighth Day,” the day following the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), when Christ rose from the dead. The four-lobed symbols incised into the font’s periphery may also be symbolic of Christ’s death and resurrection, in which we share by means of the sacrament of baptism.
“It is safe to say that the fonts have become larger and more prominent in many churches…, especially Anglican or Lutheran. This shows a greater concern about the importance of the first sacrament and a desire to increase congregational participation and the fullness of the sign,” says
The Oxford History of Christian Worship
(pp. 797-98). St. Andrew’s recent baptismal history would appear to reflect that trend. -Jim Weingartner
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Stewardship: Online Giving
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The St. Andrew's Week-End Update
, a weekly emailed newsletter, is designed to update parishioners on church activities. Please send news items to Jane Weingartner
by 11 a.m. on Tuesday to have them appear in the following Friday's newsletter.
Newsletter Editor Jane Weingartner
Newsletter Editor Marianne Cavanaugh
Newsletter Editor and Designer Marian Smithson
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