From Rob Lehman, Organist & Choirmaster

During this time of living with isolation and social distancing, I marvel at how we, as The Church of St. Michael & St. George, continue to “be the Church” as we navigate these unsettling times. As I reflect, it seems poetic to me that this time of uncertainty coincides with Lent, Holy Week, and Eastertide. Liturgically, this is the richest time of the church year as we pass through darkness and death to light and resurrection. 

Today is Maundy Thursday, the beginning of the Triduum, or the Three Days. In the Gospel lesson for the liturgy of Maundy Thursday, Jesus performs an act of abject humility, servitude, and love as he washes the feet of his disciples gathered in the Upper Room. He then says to them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). The mandate is clear: put your love into practice such that your acts of love and charity exemplify whose disciple you are.

Later – on a mountain top, in a post-resurrection appearance – two great acts of love are performed: “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age’” (Matthew 28:16-20). In worshipping Jesus upon encountering him, the disciples perform an act of adoration and love. Jesus, in charging the disciples with the “Great Commission,” performs a divine act of love in promising his ongoing presence and companionship – the indwelling of the Spirit – to his disciples: “I am with you always.”

Through our daily communal prayer (streamed online) and through each member of the CSMSG community being in touch with, checking on, and performing acts of kindness for those whom we love and are in our care, we both live into the commandment Jesus gave to his disciples in the Upper Room and emulate his promise of companionship. Even in our quarantine we pray for and are present to one another . The Spirit is alive and moving within the CSMSG community and we continue to “be the Church.”

As we continue to go about the task of “being the Church,” let us remember first do as the disciples did on the mountain top and worship Jesus with our clergy online every day. Worship is prayer. Prayer is our response to God in thought, word, and loving deed. Love is the nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, and in our acts of charity and kindness toward each other. Our time of isolation and grief is short, but love is long. Love is with us always, even to the close of the age.

Rob Lehman
Organist and Choirmaster



Holy Week Schedule
  • Maundy Thursday 7 PM
  • Good Friday 12 Noon
  • Easter Sunday 10 AM

  • Be on the look out for a phone call from Church Receptionist Becky Arthur or other staff members, as we update our Realm directory.