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Dear Friends in Christ,
It’s Lent, and we have some celebrating to do. That’s an ironic statement for a season characterized by penitence and fasting. Yet last week, I was exploring options for green beer and balloons.
Confirmation Sunday, which falls on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, will be an especially festive occasion with our brand-new Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd. We not only have a sizable confirmation class of six, but we also have Adrian's installation as Rector. It’s an occasion for extra joyful worship. While we can’t ring out the “alleluias” until Easter, a jazz trio will liven things up. Then bring your appetite to the Parish House for a Coffee Hour with plenty of goodies and Irish fare!
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Our next cause for rejoicing will be on Palm Sunday, March 24, when we’ll have the official launch of the Common Chord Capital Campaign for restoration of the organ. Both Coffee Hour and a special launch event will take place in the church immediately after worship.
As mentioned in prior communications, our campaign goal is $800,000, with a stretch goal of $900,000. The Capital Campaign Committee has been hard at work behind the scenes, and we’ll have a big announcement of how much money has already been pledged toward our goal! You’ll also get to hear some informative and inspirational remarks from clergy and lay leadership. And, once again, we’ll have an extra special Coffee Hour. Cue the champagne and balloons!
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Despite all this pre-Easter partying, we still have time and opportunity to sink into the solemnity of Lent. We hope your Lenten disciplines have been laying the groundwork for Holy Week and our journey to the cross with Jesus. If not, don’t worry. Join us in worship throughout Holy Week, and you will most certainly experience Christ’s sacrificial love – a love made manifest in the pain of crucifixion and glorified in the victory of resurrection.
Now for a preview of Holy Week and Easter services.
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Holy Week and Easter Worship |
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Palms will be distributed at both services of Holy Eucharist on Palm Sunday, March 24. We begin the 11:00 a.m. service with a long procession led by the children of the parish. This year, we'll take the procession outside and around the block! Later in the service, the Incarnation Choir will offer a sung version of the Passion Gospel. A new twist – Adrian will be singing the part of Jesus. (She invites your prayers.) The service ends with a silent recessional in darkness.
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On Maundy Thursday, March 28, the Eucharist will be celebrated at 6:30 p.m., with the ceremonial “stripping of the altar." We will also include the traditional practice of foot washing at this service to imitate the humility and selfless love of Jesus, who washed the feet of the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper.
The Maundy Thursday Prayer Vigil will follow in the Chapel of the Nativity until 10:00 p.m. You are invited to pray in the chapel at any time throughout the Vigil as we remember how Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch while he struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane with his impending sacrifice.
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On Good Friday, March 29, at 12:00 p.m., we have the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday with communion from the reserved sacrament. We also will hold a Stations of the Cross prayer service at 2:00 p.m., using stations recently created by Incarnation children. The church will remain open that day until 3:00 p.m. for prayer and meditation.
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The Great Vigil of Easter will be held on Easter Eve, March 30, at 6:30 p.m. The service begins in darkness and consists of four parts: the Service of Light (kindling of new fire, lighting the Paschal candle, the Exsultet); the Service of Lessons (readings from the Hebrew Scriptures interspersed with canticles and prayers); Renewal of Baptismal Vows (with holy water and asperges); and the Eucharist. Join us for this first celebration of Easter when we move from darkness into light and let our "alleluias" ring out to celebrate the passing of Jesus from death to life.
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After the early service at 8:30 a.m., the principal service of Easter Day, March 31, at 11:00 a.m. is a Festal Eucharist that expresses the very center of our faith: Jesus appears, risen from the dead. The joy and wonder of his followers is matched by the joy and wonder of our worship. After the service, we'll have Coffee Hour, an Easter Egg Hunt, and the Parish Easter Luncheon. These events are described in more detail below.
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From the Director of Music |
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"And in our music God is glorified! On March 17, we expand our choir for Confirmation and Adrian's Installation, incorporating a mellow jazz trio featuring our own Incarnation Choir member Sarah Pillow. Holy Week follows with musical offerings from our talented singers, and then Easter Day a brass quintet, tympani, organ, and music from Stanford, Gray, Victoria, Gabrieli, Widor and Holst.
Our very special Easter Brunch at Slattery's follows, and then I'd say a well deserved Easter nap with abundant gratitude for the gifts God has given us this joyful season. Be it a roll of the tympani on "The Strife Is O'er" or the dance-like Holst Second Suite after the Widor Toccata, we celebrate God's Glory and Resurrection through music and the word."
– Dr. Thomas Reefer
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Easter Egg Hunt and Parish Easter Luncheon |
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Children are invited to our annual Easter Egg Hunt after the 11:00 a.m. service on Easter Day, March 31; meet in the first floor lobby of the Parish House. There will be baskets available, but your child is also welcome to bring his/her own. Children are also very welcome at the Easter Luncheon.
We will be returning to a private room on the second floor of Slattery’s Midtown Pub on East 36th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues for the luncheon. We also have reserved seating on the first floor for those who would rather not manage the stairs.
The buffet menu includes Chicken Marsala, Baked Ziti, Beef Tips in a Burgundy Sauce, sides and dessert. Cost is $35 for adults and $25 for children. There is also a cash bar.
CLICK HERE to make a reservation and pay online. Or you may use the sign-up sheet in the Parish House and pay by check. Family and friends are of course welcome, but we urge you to make reservations, as seating is limited.
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On Easter, Incarnation will be adorned with beautiful flowers, and we will enjoy enhanced music through generous donations to remember and honor your loved ones. CLICK HERE to donate online and select "Easter Flowers and Music" in the drop-down menu. You can type up to 45 characters in the memo line to note "in memory of" of a departed loved one or "in thanksgiving for" a special person or blessing in your life.
Donations received by Good Friday, March 29, will be recognized in the Easter Day service leaflet.
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Upcoming Events for 20s/30s |
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We have two events planned for our 20s/30s Group during Holy Week and Eastertide. |
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Holy Saturday Meditation, Easter Eggs & Brunch
March 30, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
In the Episcopal tradition, the Saturday after Good Friday–the day in between Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection–is called “Holy Saturday.” It is generally celebrated Saturday morning, before the Easter Vigil, which begins at sundown on Saturday evening. Holy Saturday commemorates the day when the dead body of Jesus lay in the tomb, which in some traditions, is also the day the crucified Christ visited the dead.
The liturgy for Holy Saturday is a solemn reflection, and includes elements of the burial rite. It aims at helping us experience the deep tragedy of that moment, so that we might also more deeply experience the deep joy that comes through Easter’s dramatic reversal of death.
At 10:00 a.m. this Holy Saturday, March 30, we’re inviting all 20s/30s to a Holy Saturday Meditation and service project. We’ll begin with a Holy Saturday mediation in the Chapel of Nativity. Then, we’ll spend some time hiding Easter eggs for the Easter Egg hunt on Easter Sunday. Afterwards, we’ll have coffee and a light brunch for those who can stick around for some fellowship, wrapping things up by noon.
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“Spring to Life” Roof Party
Save the Date coming soon!
Spring is just around the corner, and we’ll be kicking things off in style. A party on the rooftop of a fellow member of our 20s/30s group is in the works, and it’s sure to be one to remember. Food and drink will be provided (think classic cookout food) as well as Spring themed drinks…so come ready to party!
We’re finalizing the date right now, but are looking for a time on the weekend of April 27-28. Details coming soon!
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Formation Opportunities in Eastertide |
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During the season of Easter, we have two great formation opportunities available for Incarnation adults. |
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Sunday “Sermon Talkbacks” begin April 7.
On April 7, and throughout the Easter season, we are bringing back our ever-popular “Sermon Talkbacks.” As we’ve been saying these past years, we at Incarnation believe that the preaching “event” is meant to be a community event. Sermons are not one-directional communications from the mind of God, through the mind of the preacher, to the mind of the congregation. Preaching is something the clergy do not only for God’s people, but with God’s people, in an ongoing conversation.
So, on each of these Sundays, grab your coffee and join the preacher of the day for a discussion about the sermon. The “post-resurrection” appearances of Jesus that are featured during the Easter lectionary are some of the most important passages of the New Testament, and yet also, some of the most misunderstood. They’re sure to provide food fodder for interesting discussions!
Talkbacks will take place in the Parish Dining Room from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. This will be a time when you can ask questions, give feedback, and help us all to deepen the conversation that the sermon has only just begun.
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Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton Book Groups begin April 8
After a string of wonderful book groups on contemporary texts written by present day authors, we’re back (by popular demand) to reading a spiritual “classic” for our Easter “book groups”!
G.K. Chesterton was one of the most famous and well-regarded authors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, having achieved renown as a playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and editor (among other things). His 1908 Orthodoxy is the best known of his many great books, and the most thoroughgoing explication of this thought – considered by many to be a “modern masterpiece.”
Written as an “intellectual and spiritual autobiography” of his conversion to Christianity, Orthodoxy offers a simple yet subtle defense of the timeless truths of Christianity. Taking on especially the challenges of “materialism” and “antisupernaturalism” – that is, the belief that the physical world is all there is, and that there is nothing beyond it – Chesterton guides the reader through his own path of discovery, leading to the earth-shattering realization that “orthodoxy” is the only satisfactory answer to the riddles at the heart of our universe.
The book groups will meet for five weeks, and there will be two meeting times for groups you can join:
- Mondays, 7:00-8:00 p.m. on ZOOM (begins April. 8)
- Tuesdays, 7:00-8:00 p.m. on ZOOM (begins April 9)
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Easter "Third Thursday" Dance Party! |
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Jesus is Risen, so what better way to celebrate…than to dance!
This Easter season, our monthly “Third Thursday” gathering – which follows Candlelight Communion – will be a dance party! Scripture often talks about dancing as a way of showing our joy before the Lord (Cf. Ecclesiastes 3:4; Lamentations 5:15; Psalm 149:3). We’ve also had a lot of fun with some impromptu dances at special events over the past year, and the momentum has been building for a full out dance party!
So, on Thursday, April 18, join us in the Assembly Hall for a night to remember. We’ll have some food, some music, and lots of time to mingle. This will be a totally “no judgment” space, so no matter what your skill level, we invite you to let loose and be free!
Third Thursday runs from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Please enter through the church. For those who need the elevator, access will be provided through the Parish House.
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Our parish supports the collaboration between Incarnation Camp and our partner in mission, Hour Children. Over the past few years, Incarnation Camp has enabled kids from Hour Children to attend camp free of charge, and parishioners have generously contributed toward the cost of tuition. You'll be excited to learn that a recent Hour Children camper will be on staff at the Camp this summer!
We recently discovered that the connection between Incarnation Camp and Hour Children goes back even further. Incarnation Camp alum, Jen McShane (who married her camp sweetheart!), directed the 2010 documentary Mothers of Bedford. The film follows five women incarcerated in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility as they struggle to remain engaged in their children's lives and become their better selves. Jen formed relationships with the families and staff of Hour Children in the making of this film.
On Wednesday, May 1, Incarnation will host a screening of Mothers of Bedford at 6:30 p.m., followed by Q&A with Jen. Please save the date and stay tuned for more details. This will be a fundraising event to send more Hour Children kids to Incarnation Camp.
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As we move through Lent toward Easter, we are grateful to share in the very full life of Incarnation. May the many ways and occasions to come together as a parish always feed your life in Christ.
With blessings for a spiritually fruitful Holy Week and a joyous Easter,
Adrian+, Nate+ and Deacon Denise
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