Let Us Pray + Holy Wednesday

March 30, 2021

Dear Hearts,     
O God, by the passion of your blessed Son
you made an instrument of shameful death
to be for us the means of life:
Grant us to glory in the cross of Christ,
that we may gladly suffer shame and loss
for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect for Tuesday in Holy Week,
BCP, p. 220
Dear Hearts,
Among the inspiring reflections in my daily inbox, are meditations from Washington National Cathedral.  You can subscribe to themhere.  Canon Theologian Kelly Brown Douglas, wrote the following, as part of her meditation on today's propers:
     "On the cross Jesus entered into utter solidarity with those people trapped in the crucifying realities of his day—like the poor, widows, and lepers—those whose daily lives were threatened by the social sins of the time that did not value their very sacred creation. Essentially, in going to the cross, Jesus let go of those aspects of his life—his male, cultural, and ethnic privilege—so to have a “passionate” understanding of the death that shadowed the lives of the marginalized, forgotten, and cast out of his day. In so doing, Jesus pointed the way to the new life that is God’s future. It is the way of the cross."
     The "shame and loss" of today's collect are Brown Douglas's "crucifying realities" of our day.  When Jesus asks us to pick up the cross, he is asking us to challenge the "crucifying realities" that would trap us and our neighbors denying us participation in "the new [Risen] life that is God's future" for us all.
     If her name is familiar to you, Brown Douglas was the interviewer/editor of the Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris's memoir, Hallelujah, Anyway!  And, she was one of the "talking heads" in Prof. Henry Louis Gates' "The Black Church" series on PBS last month.  
Let us also pray for all who are commended to the parish's prayers:
All who are ill, including
Duffy, Robert, Patty, Virginia, Amy B,
Jim R, Kevin and Danielle;  
and all who are contending  with Covid-19 disease;
for the medical caregivers who minister of God's healing gifts;
and for all facing financial hardship because of the pandemic.
May they all know the healing power of
Christ's presence and love.
 
And for others who have died, including the 
over 550,000 of our fellow citizens
claimed by the coronavirus.
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord;
may light perpetual shine upon them.

Look with favor, O Lord, upon
Anne Christofferson, and Pat Daunic,,
as they celebrate their birthdays.
May they continue to grow in grace and wisdom.

Please also continue to pray for Carol U, Diane L, Jason, Peter, Dale, Buster, Jimmy C, Patrick and family, Felipe, Richard D, Alice M, Elizabeth Ann, Parker, Webb, Jill, Andrew E, Ed C, Pastor Bryan Meyers, Bob C, Sue S, George H, Alex & John H, Jeremy H, Shelly, Philippe, Kate, Frank, Jack, Judy & Ed S,  Michael M,  Richard D, Dave K, Brian A, Annie, John, Joan G., Lois C., Winnie Z, Bernie and family, Susie & Paul, Pam McG, Julie H,  Murray E., Brooke & family, Kate S., Tracy M., Carl, Michael S, Joanne N-R,  Madeline H, and Kelly G,
Also: Leslie P, Paul D, Susan S, Linda B, Charlie K, Anne C, Mark S, Angela G, Maria, Bob, Olivia, and Jo B.
Please also remember:  St. Luke’s School & Church in Martel (Haiti)
To add names and concerns for Wednesday's and Sunday's intercessions, and this "Let Us Pray" letter, please send them to YFNR at [email protected] with any details you care to share.  Names will move to the longer term list upon request. 
 
"A River Through the Desert," our Lenten Discussion, concludes today, Holy Tuesday.  "The Garden" will be the final stop in our "Virtual Lenten Pilgrimage" through the geography of the Holy Land with St. George's College in Jerusalem.    Expect some photos from my Holy Land pilgrimages.  Join the conversationhere.
 
Our Wednesday Order for Evening will include the BCP version of the Great Litany, plus readings and hymns for the day.  The livestream of the service will start before 7p.m. via www.facebook.com/cecguilford.
 
Thursday Bible Study continues April 1 at 9:30a.m. as we turn to Commandments 5-10 about our relationships with one another.  Join the conversation via this Zoom code.  There are no prerequisites or homework!
 
Sadly, our Palm Sunday Prayers-in-the-Garden service, was rained out.  We hope the weather will cooperate with our Child-friendly Good Friday service at 5:15p.m. and an Easter service at 1p.m. with a take-home flower for our children in place of an Easter egg hunt.  These services will be in the Garden weather permitting.
       Because Guilford remains solidly in a Connecticut "red zone," all our indoor services will continue to be livestreamed viafacebook.com/cecguilford .
 
Other Holy Week offerings:  J.S. Bach's Passions of St. Matthew and St. John are essential performances for some during Holy Week.  The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is offering a virtual performance Bach's St. John's Passion by its own choir and orchestra from March 29-April 28; you can find it here.
     The Way of the Cross is a venerable Lenten devotion, emulating the eight biblical and six traditional "stations" on Jesus' Via Dolorosa, "Way of Sorrows," in Jerusalem.  Virginia Theological Seminary has published a virtual Way of the Cross with original images and music.  You can find it here.  Look for the video at the bottom of the page.
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family,
for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed,
and given into the hands of sinners,
and to suffer death upon the cross;
who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
 
In the faith, hope and love of Christ,
Harrison+
Your Friendly Neighborhood Rector