Thursday, March 24, 2016

Maundy Thursday Behind the Scenes


Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday but not by us, is the annual service that commemorates the Last Supper. At St. Michael's it's a fairly long but rather fun ritual, full of fellowship and symbolism.



We gather in the Smith Parish Center for a meal that vaguely resembles a Seder but not really, with lamb and salad and some kind of grains, hummus and pita and wine. We read from the Old Testament and the New,bless the bread and wine and food, and sing a few simple chants. One person from each table is the "servant," charged with bringing out the food from the kitchen.



After we eat, the clergy and their helpers (acolytes) come around with water, soap and sponge, and wash the feet of the servants, while everyone else sings. (The "servant" at my table declined, so I was nominated. How's that for a selfie?)



They we process into the church, singing, before proceeding with the last Eucharistic Prayer before Easter Vigil.



People receive Communion as usual, but most of the rest of the service after that is unique. Acolytes carry the big candles from the altar and the Crucifer carries the cross, hidden behind a wrapping of purple cloth, as the priest (the Celebrant) carries the unconsumed portion of the Eucharist down the aisle to the back of the church. (I can tell you that those candles are heavy, and not especially sturdy!) The Communion is locked away on the Walsingham altar, which becomes the Altar of Repose.
Meanwhile, the congregation is singing, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"



Clergy and acolytes return to the sanctuary, now bereft of the symbols of Christ's presence, and we begin the Stripping of the Altar. We carry out altar clothes and linens, and the straight pins that hold them in place.


This year, we carried out absolutely everything - linens, books, even seat cushions!


We bring it all into the sacristy, the little room just outside the sanctuary, where the Altar Guild collects the linens for folding and washing.




While the Altar Guild works in the sacristy, clergy and subdeacons are scrubbing the now-bare altars. The congregation is left to leave on their own, in silence.

I read a few days ago that the reason there is no dismissal at the end of Mass on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday is that it's basically all one long service, with pauses from one evening to the next. There will be no consecration of bread and wine on Good Friday or the morning of Holy Saturday. Jesus is symbolically absent from the altar, except in the form of a rustic crucifix that we venerate on Good Friday. But on Thursday night and Friday, we can wait with him at the Altar of Repose, and try not to fall asleep as Peter, James and John did at Gethsemane before the arrest.

The Holy Week marathon service continues at 7 PM tomorrow with the Good Friday service. And I'm due to watch at the Altar of Report in 40 minutes, from 11:30 PM to midnight.

Karen

The Messenger, Easter 2016

The first 2016 issue of The Messenger is finally available! It features a guest column on measuring church successes, updates from the Senior Warden and Nominating Committee, a report from a Lay Leadership Retreat at Chapel Rock, lots of school news, a look at the new church website, a Guatemala update from Ila's recent trip, and a reminder to us all to appreciate and thank each other. All in eight pages! Check it out! :)

Front page of The Messenger, Easter 2016

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Announcements for Holy Week 2016

Mark your calendar for Sunday, April 3rd at 2 PM for The Fox Sextet Concert. The concert will be performed by the University of Arizona’s Fred Fox School of Music’s Student Jazz Ensemble. Concert will benefit Youth on Their Own. The suggested donation is $10 per person.


LAST CALL FOR EASTER FLOWER DONATIONS – Simply place your donation in an envelope making certain your donation is clearly marked for “flowers” and drop in the collection basket ~ also everyone is invited to bring flowers to the Altar of Repose any time during the Watch Before the Altar which in turn will be used to decorate the Church during Easter.



HOLY WEEK BEGAN WITH PALM SUNDAY ~ You are urged to make every effort to attend these most solemn services of the Christian year. These services have a wonderful cathartic effect and will truly make your Easter very joyful and special.

Wednesday in Holy Week
7:00 PM – Tenebrae Service

Tenebrae (Latin for "shadows" or "darkness") is a Christian religious service celebrated in the Holy Week within Western Christianity, on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Tenebrae is distinctive for its gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited. - Wikipedia. We celebrate Tenebrae this Wednesday at 7 PM.

Maundy Thursday
7:00 PM – Parish Center – Seder Meal ~ Liturgy of the Word ~ High Mass of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper with Sermon, Procession to the Altar of Repose

This Maundy Thursday's service begins in the Parish Center at 7 PM with a Seder Meal representing the LORD’S Supper, followed by Washing of the Feet. We then move to the Church for the remainder of the High Mass, ending with the procession to the Altar of Repose and the Stripping of the Altars. Reservation sheet for dinner is located in back of church.

9:00 PM – Beginning of the Watch

The schedule for a Watch before the Altar of Repose is located in the back of church. Be sure to sign up to spend some time with Our Lord in prayer and meditation between Holy Thursday and the Good Friday liturgy.


Good Friday 
12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM – Service of Reflection on Christ’s Last Seven Words on the Cross ~ Opportunity for Confession and Reconciliation ~ Priest Available

7:00 PM – Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday

Noon until 1 PM is a Service of Reflection on Christ’s last seven words on the cross. The opportunity for confession and reconciliation is available. The Good Friday Service begins at 7 PM in church.

Holy Saturday

8:30 AM – Liturgy of the Day

7:00 PM – The Great Vigil of Easter ~ Service of Light, Holy Baptism and the First High Mass of Easter

BRING AND RING YOUR BELLS - participate in ringing your very own bells throughout the Gloria (along with a great organ fanfare and singing) at the Easter Vigil service.

EASTER VIGIL BREAK-FAST - everyone is invited to break the fast after the 7 PM Easter Vigil Service. In the Parish Center, special dishes of eggs, fruit, and hot cross buns will be served. Sign-up sheet located in back of church

Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day

7:45 AM – Mass with Homily

9:00 AM – Family Mass (Easter Egg Hunt Following Mass)

10:15 AM – High Mass with Sermon

12:30 PM – Misa en Español

(No 5:00 PM Mass Easter Day)

Parish offices closed ~ Good Friday and Easter Monday






Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Holy Week and Easter Schedule


Monday in Holy Week ~ March 21, 2016 
7:30 AM - Morning Prayer
5:30 PM - Low Mass (for World Peace)

Tuesday In Holy Week
7:30 AM - Morning Prayer
8:10 AM - Lower School Mass
11:00 AM - Service of Renewal of Clergy Vows and the Blessing of Holy Oils (Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix)

Wednesday In Holy Week
7:30 AM - Morning Prayer
12:10 PM - Healing Mass with Laying On of Hands and Stations of the Cross
7:00 PM - Tenebrae Service

Maundy Thursday
7:30 AM - Morning Prayer
7:00 PM - Parish Center - Seder Meal ~ Liturgy of the Word ~High Mass of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper with Sermon, Procession to the Altar of Repose,
9:00 PM - Beginning of the Watch

Good Friday ~ Strict Fast and Abstinence
12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM - Service of Reflection on Christ’s Last Seven Words on the Cross ~ Opportunity for Confession and Reconciliation ~ Priest Available
7:00 PM - Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday
Fast Until After the Vigil

Holy Saturday ~ Special Devotion and Self-Denial
7:00 AM – Walk To the Cross on the Top of the Hill ~ St. Ann’s Convent on Sabino Canyon
8:30 AM – Liturgy of the Day
7:00 PM – The Great Vigil of Easter ~ Service of Light, Holy Baptism and the First High Mass of EasterLenten Fast EndsWe will break the Fast and celebrate in the Parish Center following the Holy Eucharist.

Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day
7:45 AM – Mass with Homily
9:00 AM – Family Mass (Easter Egg Hunt Following Mass)
10:15 AM – High Mass with Sermon
12:30 PM – Misa en Español
(No 5:00 PM Mass Easter Day)

Parish offices Closed ~ Good Friday and Easter Monday

A Minor Easter Mystery






Someone has been playing Easter Bunny in the church office restroom! First, a dozen plastic eggs were placed around the room, some more hidden than others. This week, they are highly decorative! No one to date has taken credit for the stealth egging.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Fifth Anniversary of Taizé at St. Michael's!

A few moments from tonight's Taizé service in pictures:








Congratulations and Happy Anniversary! Our Taizé (pronounced TAY-zay) is a contemplative service, mostly by candlelight, at the Marian altar. It is made up of music, prayers, spiritual readings, and silence.  The service is at 6:45 PM and held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Is Coming to Mesa!



The Brotherhood of St Andrew invites you to join us for a reception and dinner banquet with the Presiding Bishop and Primate, Michael Curry, and special guests Bishop Kirk Smith, and Canon Chuck Robertson

Bishop Curry is the Honorary President of the Brotherhood of St Andrew, and will be the keynote speaker at the opening of the Brotherhood 2016 National Council meeting in Mesa Arizona.

The cost for the reception and dinner is $60, and will be held on Thursday April 7 beginning at 5:00 PM at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center. You may register for the dinner online by going to our web site www.brothersandrew.net. Deadline for reservations is March 30, 2016

On Friday morning you are invited to join us for Men's Ministry Fair, sponsored by the Brotherhood of St Andrew, featuring National Leaders in Men's Ministry including Boy Scouts, Prison Ministry, Veteran's Ministry, National Coalition of Men's Ministry, Mankind Project, Lead Like Jesus Ministries, and National Recovery Ministries, just to mention a few. The Ministry Fair will start at 8:00 AM with Continental breakfast, and will end at noon with a buffet luncheon. The cost for the ministry fair including breakfast and lunch will be $50. Again you may register for this event online at www.brothersandrew.net  All events will take place at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center 5750 E. Main St, Mesa Arizona. For additional information or questions, please call 724 266-5810


Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Fox Sextet Jazz Concert - April 3rd, 2016


Please save the date, Sunday, April 3 at 2:00 PM., for the second of St. Michael’s “Music for Tucson” concerts.. The University of Arizona’s jazz band, the Fox Sextet, will perform for our enjoyment and to benefit Youth On Their Own.

Youth On Their Own is a local organization that helps homeless youth finish high school. Arizona is the fifth worst state for child homelessness. There are over 60,000 displaced and unaccompanied youth in the state. There are many causes for youth homelessness. Among them are death, poverty, abuse, and abandonment. These young people are facing great challenges through no fault of their own.

You may visit Youth On Their Own’s website, yoto.org, to read some of their stories. You will be as moved as I was.

Admission to the concert is by donation to Youth On Their Own. I hope we will fill the church.

- Joel Williams

Saturday, March 05, 2016

News from Guatemala, plus Announcements Through March 12th, 2016

A Note from Ila Abernathy and the Guatemala Project:
Dorothy and I are in Nebaj, waiting the word if Petrona de Paz, well known to RN Sarah, can leave the hospital in Nebaj tomorrow for new tests in El Quiche.  We had to cut short our time in rural Santa Clara Area (3 communities, 2 best approached on foot, after a 6-hour pickup truck ride to the first) in order to accompany Petrona de Paz to the hospital in Nebaj, for transfer to the cancer hospital in Guatemala City.  We were hoping for departure tomorrow, but it had to be delayed until Monday, while tests were ordered.  We are so concerned not to let this last opportunity slip away for Petrona that we are hiring a pickup truck to follow the ambulance to El Quiche, where two more tests have to be done before we arrive in the capital.  [Social worker got one for free, one at reduced rate, which we will pay].  See earlier note to a few folk below, which gives a bit about the medical condition.  Even the doctors here had never seen a carcinoma quite like this one.

This should have happened two years ago. With the cooperation of everybody, and our presence, and assurances we would accompany all the way to the capital, we got her out of remote Xecoyeu by ambulance on Wednesday (will send photo of the "road"). I sorta had to promise the moon to the sometimes-reluctant husband that we would cover any uncovered medical expenses and his food and transportation in the capital, so feel free to send tax-deductible donations to St. Michael's Guatemala Project, 602 N. Wilmot, Tucson, 85711. Dorothy Chao and I will cover any new expenses personally and get reimbursed after we return to Tucson March 10.

For you medical types, it's a "massive" (approx. 18 x 27 cm.) carcinoma of the left breast, and an earlier, much-delayed biopsy indicated it is a "comedocarcinoma." Dorothy promptly looked it up on her smart phone, and it's a type that usually doesn't metastasize. But this has gone on for three years, and there was also infection when we arrived. Wish the best for Petrona. She is 37, has 8 children.

Ila

More about Petrona and her journey: Patrona dePax Lopez - Welcomes to Ixil and Quiche Mayan Communities ______________________________________________________________

Announcements

United Thank Offering (UTO)

Envelopes and / or Thank Offering boxes are available in the back of church. Please be as generous as you circumstances will allow.
______________________________________________________________

~ You are Invited ~
Please join us THIS MONDAY, March 7th at 5:30 PM in the Smith Parish Center as we enjoy a meal with our friends for the Islamic Center of Tucson. (Reservation sheets in back of church).
______________________________________________________________

Ladies, mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 16th.  The Episcopal Church Women, ECW, will meet at 10:30 am. in the Smith Parish Center.  All women of St. Michael’s are considered members and are invited to attend for fellowship, lively conversation and a chance to make new friends.
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Dear Parishioners, I need your help. Our membership data base is seriously outdated.  People have moved, changed addresses, changed phone numbers and/or email addresses.  Please take a moment to complete an update form, even if you have not made any changes. Simply complete the update, fold it and drop in the collection basket, take it home and bring it back next week, or simply mail it. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration in this important task.              
 ______________________________________________________________

Taizé is celebrating its 5th Anniversary at St. Michael’s! Join us
for a special reception following the March 15th Taizé Service at 6:45 pm.
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March 17th ~ POZ Café Luncheon.
St. Michael's is once again participating with 2 other churches and TIHAN in putting on the March 17th POZ Café luncheon. We have been asked to donate 40 rolls of paper towels, 80 boxes of Kleenex, and 320 disposable razors. These items will be put in the care packages that are given out at the luncheon. The razors and Kleenex can be purchased at the Dollar Tree for a dollar. Please help us fill up the chest in the back of the church. Cash donations to buy these items are also welcome.
We need 6 volunteers to help the day of the luncheon, March 17-time is 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.  (Sign-up sheet in back of church.) See Dianne Gundersen or Diane Tyron for details.
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JOIN PARISH LIFE FOR A St. Patty’s Day Feast!
Thursday, March 17th at 6:30 pm
St. Michael’s Smith Parish Center
$10.00 per person
Music provided by Dave Erhardt and friends!
And Piper ~ Michael Leeming

Dinner prepared by Chef Andy O’Bruno and includes traditional corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, carrots and bread pudding.  Beer additional. Reservations sheets in back of church and reserve no later the March 11th.


Thursday, March 03, 2016

Update - Dinner with Islamic Center of Tucson


 ~ You are Invited ~ Please join us on Monday, March 7th at 5:30 PM in the Smith Parish Center as we enjoy a meal with our friends for the Islamic Center of Tucson. (Reservation sheets in back of church). Please note that the meal has been rescheduled from Thursday, March 10th. As you may know, Muslims in Tucson and elsewhere have been under increased pressure recently due to ignorance, suspicion and outright bigotry on the part of other Americans. Please help us extend a welcome to our fellow Tucsonans in the spirit of tolerance and friendship.

Tuesday, March 01, 2016

Betty Malody

As many of you know, Betty Malody, long time parishioner, died last November 17, 2015.

Betty's Memorial Mass will take place THIS Saturday, March 5, at 10:00 am with a reception to follow interment.

May Betty's soul,and all the souls of the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Announcements for Week Ending March 5th, 2016

March 17th ~ POZ Café Luncheon.
St. Michaels is once again participating with 2 other churches and TIHAN in putting on the March 17th POZ Café luncheon. We have been asked to donate 40 rolls of paper towels, 80 boxes of Kleenex, and 320 disposable razors. These items will be put in the care packages that are given out at the luncheon. The razors and Kleenex can be purchased at the Dollar Tree for a dollar. Please help us fill up the chest in the back of the church. Cash donations to buy these items are also welcome. We need 6 volunteers to help the day of the luncheon, March 17-time is 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. (Sign-up sheet in back of church.) See Dianne Gundersen or Diane Tyron for details. ________________________________________________________________

Dear Parishioners, I need your help. Our membership data base is seriously outdated. People have moved, changed addresses, changed phone numbers and/or email addresses. Please take a moment to fill out an update form (even if you have not made any changes). Simply complete the update, fold it and drop in the collection basket, take it home and bring it back next week, or simply mail it. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration in this important task. Blessings, Nancy
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 ~ You are Invited ~ Please join us on Thursday, March 10 at 5:30 PM in the Smith Parish Center as we enjoy a meal with our friends for the Islamic Center of Tucson. (Reservation sheets in back of church).
____________________________________________

JOIN PARISH LIFE FOR A St. Patty’s Day Feast!
Thursday, March 17th at 6:30 pm St. Michael’s Smith Parish Center $10.00 per person Music provided by Dave Erhardt and friends! Dinner prepared by Chef Andy O’Bruno and includes traditional corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, carrots and bread pudding. Beer additional. Reservations sheets in back of church and reserve no later the March 11th. _____________________________________________________________

All are invited to attend the Taizé Service this Tuesday, March 1, at 6:45 pm in church. All are welcome.

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United Thank Offering (UTO) A program of the Episcopal Church since 1889 invites people to offer prayers of Thanksgiving to God and to distribute thank offering monies through the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Envelopes and / or Thank Offering boxes are available in the back of church. Please be as generous as your circumstances will allow. ___________________________________________________________________

CASA MARIA ~ FRIDAY MARCH 4 ~ 5:00 PM SMITH PARISH CENTER, BRING A FRIEND AND DOZENS OF HARD BOILED ~ SHELLED EGGS AND JOIN US FOR THIS GOOD WORK!