Other Blogs: The Power Of Song

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Music is a big part of worship at St Nicholas, and it’s been a big part of the experience at St Bede’s as well.

At St Nick’s, we often sing or chant psalms; St Bede’s uses a book of praise songs, and both communities are familiar with various hymns.

Here’s an item from Huffington Post on the subject:

So, I feel bad for the biblical psalms. In Hebrew, their home language, the collection is called tehillim — “songs of praise.” This ups the mystery ante. After all, the book is dominated by complaint. Evocative expressions of pain and suffering — all kinds and on all levels are far more common than happier sentiments. Yet somehow, all together, they are “Praise Songs.” And how poignant that the book’s Greek title, Psalms, comes from a word that may refer as much to a stringed instrument as the “songs” it accompanied.
Now, you may call me sacrilegious, but as much as I wish we knew the full music of those biblical texts, I do not believe that they alone possess sanctifying power. I do not believe that the sacred is bound by text or that the divine is circumscribed by religion. Holiness happens in the oddest places and may be carried along by something as profound, as singular and transitory, as a song.

Link: The Power of Music: Holiness Hitches a Ride – The Huffington Post

At St Bede’s Today: “I Am The New Vine”

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"I am the new vine," Napa Valley vineyard, photo by Ginny Gibbs

Today’s service at St Bede’s was nearly standing room only, with plenty of people gathered together to celebrate. The music was from the Songs of Praise book, and a bit of a jazz/folk jam session broke out after the end of the service. Afterwards, there was a delicious brunch served by members of St Bede’s.

The Rev. Jim Steen, Director of Ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, spoke briefly during the announcements to greet the congregation and read a letter from the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D Lee, Bishop of Chicago. Father Dru read the Gospel for the day and gave the sermon, a scholarly explanation of the text:

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” — The Lectionary Page: 5th Sunday of Easter

After the service, but before the dismissal, Father Manny also responded to the Gospel by talking about the new growth he saw in his own backyard.

It is on the people of St Bede’s and St Nicholas, as we prepare to combine our communities, to bear much fruit and become disciples of Christ.

Photo credit: Ginny Gibbs, taken at Summers Winery, near Calistoga CA in the Napa Valley.

National Day of Prayer in Elk Grove Village: Father Manny’s Prayer for Ecumenism

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National Day of Prayer, Elk Grove Village IL May 3 2012

It’s tough to break away for a midweek gathering, especially as early as 7am. Consequently, I wish to share the prayer I offered at the Interfaith gathering at Christus Victor Church earlier today, as our nation celebrated National Prayer Day. Certainly, I hope you enjoy and find inspiration in the words and the message of peace and acceptance of all God’s people.

PRAYER FOR ECUMENISM

Creature, Divine One, Father Almighty, Mother of all children,

Abba, El Dios, Yahweh, El Shaddai, Jehovah, Allah, Elohim,

The Great I am: You are called by many names, yet You have always been and You will always be the One True God: The God of Adam and Eve, of Abram and Sarai, of Moses, Joshua and David, of Rebecca, Rachel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Elisha and Obadiah. The God of Mohammed, John the Baptist, Joseph Smith and John Wesley. The God of John Calvin and Gandhi, of Brigham Young and C.S. Lewis. The God of Ignatius of Loyola, Nicholas of Myra, Francis and Claire of Assisi, Bonaventure and Augustine, the Dalai Lama, George Fox, Karl Barth, Edith Stein, Albert Einstein, Mary Baker Eddy and John Huss. The God of Martin Luther and Dorothy Day. The God of Henry the VIII and Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots and Martin Luther. The God of Louis Farrakhan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Billy Graham, Robert Schuller, Benny Hinn and John MacArther. The God of all who came before us, the God of all who are today and the God of those yet to come.

You masterfully fashioned the earth: galaxies abound beyond our own: the depth of the waters, the hills both mighty and meek, the valleys green and the tawny deserts, all are the masterpieces of Your divine imagination. All creation is of Your handiwork. In Your own image You molded humankind. Your breath occupied our lungs with life, You filled our minds with wisdom and curiosity, and You gave us the knowledge to distinguish between right and wrong.

Humankind, diverse and yet united in flesh, blood and bone, we are all children of the Creator: The multitude of cultures and the world’s religions seek You. The inquiring mind and the searching soul ever journey onward for deeper meaning and a fuller understand of You, the author of life, the maker of all that is in the heavens above, upon this earth of ours and all that lives below the seas.

In Your hope for us Your children, You desire of us to be supportive and a blessing. We bring you much joy when we reach out and are an aid to one another. You shun the violence we have far too often embraced while foregoing peaceful resolutions to the differences our diversity plainly distinguishes. You have great hope for us that we carry neither a grudge against another nor relegate to violence and forgo the prospects of peace and unity.

In our worship and liturgy, in music and dance, in art and in literature, in silence and with tongues alit by the Spirit, a multitude of voices, sacred noise and deafening silence all bear witness to Your might and majesty. All humbly subject themselves to You, our loving God, our benevolent Parent. Like any protective and concerned guardian, You willed Your children to live in harmony. Time and again, alas, we failed to listen and

resorted to more and more vicious means of inflicting pain and suffering to others, and sadly, in Your Name did we bear arms against our neighbor. Pray, in earnest and desire, in despair and in dire straights that the people of this time and age are to be heralds of peace, children of the Light, the generation that once for all puts an end to war and ushers in a new world order, where religions once divorced one from the other, unite in worship and celebration, embracing both diversity and sameness!

In cathedrals of glass, to huts of thatch and mud, polychromatic images that reflect the sun’s brightness, statuary and starkness, marble pillars and wooden beams of oak and pine: the people of Your own making seek shelter in such structures and there we pray, meditate, rejoice and weep, openly question, humble repent, sincerely fall prostrate and leap with joy at the sound of Your Holy Name.

Inspire leaders of state and church, the vocal voices of cantors and preachers, and the tongues of the faithful the world over, to proclaim an unending year of unity and commonality. Bless us with the insight to respect the languages of worship as spoken by all faiths, none claiming superiority or fuller authority, shunning any thought of a monopolizing of Your attention solely to one and not to all. Teach us, instruct us and if so, chastise us in knowing and comprehending that superiority does not a stronger faith make. Rather a humility and meekness, fortified with an inner peace and sublime faith does draw favor from You, our God.

Loud Hosannas fill space and time, while the wings of the angels swirl about us, giving air and lift to our voices, raising them heavenward, like sweet incense that burns as an oblation unto You. Holy, Holy and ever Holy Lord, God of infinite power and unimaginable patience and love: gather Your people, one and all, leaving none behind and bless us, bless us, and again, bless us till we are bent over with grace, our souls bursting with Sacred Delight and our minds drowning in a wisdom that enlightens and humbles.

We ask of You, The Great I Am, to continue Your work within us: Your breath to continue to occupy us with life and Your wisdom to fill us to overflowing measures. We condescendingly ask this of You Your benevolence and grace, we shuffle with embarrassment and betwixt with confusion, always your children for You are always our Father, our Provider, our God, living and eternal, forever wed with the Holy Spirit and the Redeemer, Jesus the Christ, all who lives and reigns, who overwhelms and mystifies, now and forever and always.

Amen.

manny@stnicholasepiscopal.org

Manny

May Is For Mothers

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May is for Mothers: Annunciation to Mary Mother of Christ
May is the month dedicated to our mothers. Let’s celebrate Mom the entire month, whether our Moms are near or far, with us still or having returned to the Creator. Please, consider bringing a framed photo of your Mom. We will place that photo on a table that will be positioned near the Women of Faith Shrine at the entrance to the worship space. Whether your Mom’s photo is large or small, black or white…it does not matter. What matters is how we celebrate…as a community of faith that loves our Moms!

Risen in Glory: Wilma “Billie” Matkov

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Parishioner Wilma "Billie" Matkov smiles into the future to the right of the procession party.

From Father Manny via a newsletter update:

It is with sadness that we share the news that St. Nicholas parishioner Billie Matkov passed away this afternoon. Fr. Manny anointed her today, and she was with her family when she was received into heaven.

Please keep Billie’s family and loved ones in prayer.

There will be a memorial service for Billie on Tuesday at Friendship Village in Schaumburg; details to follow once the arrangements are made.

This is literally the iconic picture of St Nicholas on the web at the moment: it shows the triumphant recessional party at the end of our “big media moment” when Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori visited in 2008.

It’s now our Facebook icon, but is shown here in its largest format in order to commemorate a beloved member of St Nicholas who entered into glory today.

Wilma “Billie” Matkov will always look joyfully into the future for us at St Nicholas; she is shown smiling into the camera just to the right of the crucifer and torchbearers.

We will remember Billie and her family in our hearts and prayers perpetually.

Father Manny’s Reflections: The Price of Faith

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It has not gone unnoticed and we all have our issues with it, but the price of a gallon of gas has certainly climbed to unappreciated and unprecedented heights. There are a few things we can do about it and many of us are already altering our way of life to better deal with high gas prices. I recently received an email from a high school classmate who shared his views about the price of gas and who is to blame. I didn’t agree with him and shared my own views in, of course, a peaceful, factual and gentlemanly manner. He wrote back, along with several other classmates and friends who had been ‘copied’ to my response, and they agreed with my argument. It wasn’t my intent to make any waves but merely to share my point of view and suggest ways we can all be better stewards of the earth and our limited natural resources.

In my email response, I made mention that Europeans and those in the Far East have long paid high petrol fuel costs. I remember the first time I was in Malta, way back in 1977, the price of a gallon of gas was 3 times the cost of what I would have paid back here in the States. My cousins laughed it off, though they did inform me that the cost of fuel in Europe has always been high and we Americans have it ‘easy’ compared to the rest of the world. Today, I have a greater appreciation for the financial hardships my European family and friends have had to endure with regards to fuel cost and the price of driving a car.

This brings me to the cost of faith: it is a practical issue that we must consider. I realize and appreciate the sacrifices we all make in order to celebrate our faith and in our efforts to support and strengthen our Community of St. Nicholas. It is, to say the least, an expensive endeavor. Just getting to church is costly as most of us drive to get there and back home. Maybe we can look at a simple solution like car-pooling and sharing rides to church. We all benefit this way; less gas is used, friendships are created and strengthened and we get to know our sisters and brothers that much better. Another idea: when we do come to church, whether on Saturday or Sunday, why not stay longer and get involved in some of the ministries of the church. Sign up to help keep the facility clean and orderly. There is always some thing to be done as the church and hall are used every day. Stay late and get involved, have coffee with the community and share in lively conversation and discuss church issues. Be part of the study and discussion groups that currently and/or will be meeting on scheduled weekends. We will have more of these group gatherings in May, as we discuss the upcoming merge of St. Bede’s and St. Nicholas. And later in the year we will have more topics to share, study and discern.

Of course, there will the Little Boots Rodeo and Life Line Health Screening in June, our church/community picnic in July, events in the Village, and the rummage sale in mid-August just to name a few events. Why not stick around…we’re already at church. So come and worship, celebrate, socialize, study and pray a while longer with the rest of the community. Let’s stretch that gallon of gas and make full use of being at St. Nicholas. We are a community of faith…but we can be so much more to one another…we just need to stick around and be part of it all. After all, St. Nicholas Church is not just a weekend place. It is so much more and then some!

manny@stnicholasepiscopal.org

Manny