Holy Eucharist Rite II Sunday Live 10 a.m.
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Worship Notes
May 22, The Seventh Sunday of Easter
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: Sixth Sunday of Easter
- Acts 1:6-14
- 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
- John 17:1-11
- Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36
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The Holy Gospel |
John 17:1-11
Jesus looked up to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you
, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
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Weekday Schedule
for the week of May 24
- Morning Prayer, 9 a.m. daily
- Midday Moments, 12 Noon daily | Praying of the Ascensiontide Novena
- Compline/Evening Prayer, 7 p.m. daily
- Chat with Fr. Ben via Zoom, Thursday at 10 a.m. (Link via email.)
- Vestry meeting via Zoom, Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
- Regular Midday Moments resume in June with return to Ordinary Time
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Over the course of this week, I have spoken several times about stewardship in the context of Rogationtide. We have prayed, read Scripture, and considered together the implications on our worship, fruitful seasons, commerce and industry, and the whole of creation.
I hope in the course of my previous reflections it is clear that what we are called to be is a people who cares for what is entrusted to us. That caring often looks different based upon the context, and today I invite us to consider it in a tangible way with respect to our ties to St. Andrew’s.
Many of us find ourselves wondering how we are to go forward in the days ahead of us because church has never looked this way for any of us. And yet, one of the great beauties of the Gospel is that the teachings we find there are good and true regardless of the circumstances. Among those teachings, we find the call to be faithful givers in season and out, when things go according to plan and when they don’t.
Thus, when it comes to the concrete stewardship of giving our resources on behalf of the work of the church, they remain the same as any other time. The expectation continues to be that:
- We give firstly to God.
- We give fully to God in the tithe (10%).
- We give freely to God from a cheerful and trusting heart.
The call to give in support of the ministries and facilities entrusted to our care is unchanged. That is not to say that for those who have had a loss of some or all income that God expects you to give from what you do not have. If you’re working on a reduced income, then give accordingly from what you do receive, but continue to give. And those who are blessed with stable income, I invite us to not only give but to be sure that we are giving proportionately as we are able by God’s providence to us.
The Lord does not need for us to give him anything as if he were lacking something that we might have. Rather, it is we who are ever in need of being givers that we might remember that we are simply caretakers, and by our giving firstly, freely, and fully to God, we live and act on faith that it is God alone who provides more than we could ask or imagine.
-Fr. Ben
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In the News
(Chicago Tribune, May 22) Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday did not seem inclined to follow President Donald Trump’s call for churches to be allowed to reopen as essential businesses. “We’re going to continue to operate on the basis of science and data,” Pritzker said. “I’m as anxious as anybody to make sure that our churches or mosques or synagogues open back to where they were before COVID-19 came along. We’re gradually moving in that direction, but there’s no doubt, the most important thing is we do not want parishioners to get ill.”
—Bill Ruthhart
Note: Fr. Ben indicated today that he had received some materials from the Bishop regarding reopening and he would be discussing a plan with the vestry at its next meeting, Thursday, May 28.
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A Tale of Two Fonts (Part I)
The sacrament of baptism is the foundational event of our lives as Christians, by means of which we are initiated “by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s body, the church.”* It requires, as
The Oxford History of Christian Worship
points out, “a specific liturgical center and space.” The physical reality of that center and space has varied widely over the Church’s 2,000-year history, from second century Justin Martyr’s simple “where there is water,” to elaborate buildings or “baptisteries” dedicated to the sacrament of baptism, to spaces within churches that are set aside for the purpose.
The central feature of the baptismal space is the font, the receptacle which holds the water of baptism. These, too, have varied widely. Today, baptismal fonts are available in a bewildering variety of sizes and shapes and baptismal practices vary among the Christian denominations. The 1549
Book of Common Prayer
specified a “threefold immersion,” in which the celebrant was directed to dip the infant “discreetly and warily” into the water.
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The 1979
BCP
still provides for immersion, considered the most authentic mode of baptism, and one baptism performed by Mother Bennett is recorded as “this baby was dipped into the Baptismal water naked (as should be)….” She recalls performing two other such baptisms while at St. Andrew’s. Nevertheless, the sprinkling or pouring of water from the font on the head of the candidate, usually an infant, is the practice with which we Episcopalians are most familiar and is most common.
St. Andrew’s has two fonts, three if one counts a small font in the Children’s Chapel used for teaching purposes. For many years, baptisms were performed at a font that had been given at the end of the 19
th
century as a memorial to Joseph D. Lawnin, Jr., the two-year-old son of prominent parishioners Mr. and Mrs. Louis D. Lawnin. The dates of the Lawnin child’s tragically short life–1897-1899–are inscribed on the edge of the marble bowl, which is mounted on a graceful wooden pedestal. The font is furnished with a protective lid surmounted by a cross. Presumably, this font was originally situated in the building that preceded the one in which we worship today, which was opened in 1917. In the course of close to a century, water from it must have been used to baptize a small army of young St. Andrewsians.
But what became of this venerable artifact? For the answer, see next week’s installment. -Jim Weingartner
*
An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A-Z Glossary (online).
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New Parish Directory!
An updated parish directory is available by clicking here.
An additional directory which includes information on former clergy and friends of the parish is available here.
Updates to the directory should be sent to info@standrews-edwardsville.com. Save a copy in an appropriate app on your cell phone or the desktop of your PC!
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Pastoral Care Support
For those who need help getting groceries, medicines or other supplies, contact one of these members of the Pastoral Care Committee: Mary Caspers, Marianne Cavanaugh, Nancy Dickens, Julie Hamilton, Meg Solon, or Kay Werner. These volunteers will appreciate advance notice of your needs (24-48 hours) so that they can fit the delivery into their schedules.
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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 & Bulletin Editor Marianne Cavanaugh
Newsletter Editor and Designer, Marian Smithson
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