I know we are still weeks away from the Summer Solstice, but in American culture June is the beginning of summer – school is wrapping up, we are past Pentecost, and the days are getting warmer. I will be taking a couple of weeks off in mid-June to travel to see our granddaughter, but the Rev. Canon Ryan Newman, a familiar face at St John’s will fill in on Sundays. I will be here for the next couple of Sundays and this week I have special honor of baptizing our grandson, Rowan, at the 10:00 service.
The church now begins the second half of Christian Year known as Ordinary Time. It is ordinary in the sense that it is not focused on the Christological seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. Here are things you will notice:
The color of this long season is green, although we occasionally will use other colors, like white for baptism.
We will introduce a new Eucharistic Prayer for a couple of months. For the next several weeks we will be using Eucharistic Prayer I from Enriching Our Worship. This will provide a bit of variety to our worship.
We will also introduce a new Sanctus. Throughout Easter we have been using S-130 from our hymnal, the popular arrangement of Franz Schubert’s Deutsche Messe by Richard Proulx. Now we will be using a setting by Proulx of the traditional American folk tune, Land of Rest. In addition to the Sanctus, we will sing a setting of the Memorial Acclamation and a new setting of the Agnus Dei, also based on the Land of Rest tune.
The lectionary for Ordinary Time has two options for the first reading. One option is a selection of readings related to the Gospel. However, for the first few weeks of this year, we will opt for the semi-continuous readings , beginning with the story of Samuel.
Samuel is a pivotal figure in the life of Israel. He could be considered the last of the judges, but he is also thought of as a prophet. Our reading this week explores his initial calling by God to proclaim the Word to Israel. Samuel serves a priestly role in anointing the first two kings of Israel (Saul and David).
In this Sunday’s reading from 1 Samuel 3, our hero is found in the temple, near the ark of the
covenant. In wonder, where will you be found this Sunday?
Enjoy your summer – but join us as we continue to be lost in wonder, love, and praise!
Jerry+