4 Epiphany: Annual Parish Meeting; Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord; Chapel on the Green Report

February 2, 2019
 
Dear Hearts,
It's Saturday, and I am again writing while gallons of soup cools. It''s again Pat Kral's hearty vegetable-beef soup recipe, but this morning's batch is for Sunday's Annual Parish Meeting. This soup was so well-received at last week's Chapel-on-the-Green in New Haven, that we thought we should all enjoy some together.  For those of you who aren't fans of vegetable beef, then you may have a cup of the other delicious soup on offer -- Diana Stovall's (hamless) split pea. 

As you make your way to the Parish Hall, pick up cup of soup at the counter, and then find your way to the fully set tables  .I think we will all be giving thanks to the Evening ECW' for our six round table!.  The soup was served in paper soup cups last week, and will be again this week.  

A special thank-you to this morning's soup-makers and brownie chefs including Douglas E, Keelyn E, Rebecca E, Katherine F, Juliana H, Susan & Tony L,  Peter M,  Rose R, Winnie S, and YFNR; together they did all that cooking, got the tables up (thank you, Sheward) and set , and had the kitchen tidy and equipment washed and put away before noon! 

There will be pizza and activities for the children with Miss Laurie and her helpers on the Sunday School level.  You might think that they'll be having more fun than folks upstairs are, but there's a surprise in store for you!

This is also being written on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord.  This is the day when the Church recalls the story in the Gospel according to Luke where  Mary and Joseph present the baby Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem, and offer the appointed sacrifice of "... a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."(2:22-38)  While in the Temple, they met Simeon and Anna.  Anna, with the keen insight of a prophet could see what God was up to with Jesus, and Luke reports that she told everyone within earshot about him.  Simeon had been waiting to meet "the Lord's Messiah."  When the Spirit guided him to meet Jesus; he took the baby in his arms, and Luke reports he sang what we call "The Song of Simeon," or the Nunc dimittis: 
Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised.
For these eys of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your People Israel..
The theme of Light in Simeon's Song gave rise to the practice of blessing the candles to be used for the coming year on this day, and thus for today to be called, "Candlemass."  Light in the midst of this world's darkness is a theme that pervades this season after the Epiphany.  It shows up again in the blessing suggested for this season:
May Christ, the Son of God, be so manifest in you,
that your lives may be light to the world!
And, the blessing of  God Almighty, ...
This always seems to me a most appropriate blessing for Christ Church, bearing as we do the name of Christ,, and for our Annual Parish Meeting when we take counsel together for the life we share under Christ's banner.

Want to again thank everyone who helped prepare for and/or serve at the Chapel-on-the-Green.  The Committee on Weather came through for us brilliantly:  the temperature warmed into the 40s, the sun came out, and the wind stopped for a time. In addition to the soups and brownies, plus the snacks and water, we brought, the gloves, mittens and other cold-weather and personal care items that you provided.  All of them were very popular; we did have some leftover soup, but absolutely everything else was spoken for.  We gathered with at least a hundred of the Chapel's community and our neighbors to the north from St. John's Church.  With good company, good food, and the best weather for which we could have hoped, there were smiles all around!
I look forward to our worship and meeting this Sunday..  And don't worry; you'll have time to get home, have a nap, and still catch all of the preliminary shows preceding the Super Bowl!
In faith, hope, and love,
Harrison+
YFNR
p.s.  While I'm at it, another name for today is the Feast of the Purification of Mary.  This name reflects the Holiness Code's ordinances regarding the status of women -- in this case of a new mother:  On this day, 40 days following the birth of her son, and with the appointed sacrifices made, Mary would be considered purified and could be re-incorporated into the community in her new status as a mother.