Hello –
This Thursday at 7:30pm we begin out observance of the Great Three Days. Maundy Thursday at 7:30pm, Good Friday at noon and Easter Vigil on Saturday at 7:30pm. These are followed by the joyful codas of Easter Sunday services at 8am and 10am. Throughout we will be attending to two profound souls, Mary Magdalene and Olivier Messiaen.
Mary Magdalene was the Apostle to the Apostles. A new image, that is now on the wall in the vestibule to Duncan Hall, shows Mary preaching to the Apostles by saying simply “I have seen the Lord.” Mary, who was healed of 7 demons by Jesus, was among the handful of people, all women, who stayed by Jesus at the cross and at the tomb, and so, we remember, the risen Christ chose to reveal himself first to her. In my sermons on Good Friday and Easter I will be attending to this great Saint with you. I have been taught about her by Kate Moorehead, whose book Healed: How Mary Magdalene Was Made Well I have just finished and I highly recommend. I have ordered 10 copies. And here is the link on Amazon. It is a short book with 18 powerful, moving and applicable meditations.
Olivier Messiaen, along with Haydn and Bach, is a composer of the first rank who, above all, was a devout Christian. His music is in praise of God and emerges from a deep devotion to Jesus and to the full range of Christian mysteries, many of them cosmic. He composed one of his most popular works, Quartet for the End of Time, while a prisoner in a Nazi camp. He had a neurological condition that meant he saw rich colors when he heard chords and so often composed music like a painter. He loved nature and painstakingly transcribed bird songs and wove them into his compositions. You’ll hear many bird sounds, particularly at Easter!
Not only will we be accompanied by Mary and Olivier, we also have the privilege of worshipping with 4 other churches. On Maundy Thursday we will be joined at St. Paul’s by Bay Marin and Grace Marin churches, the latter of whom will be hosting a soup and bread supper for all starting at 6:30pm. At the Easter Vigil we will be joined at St. Paul’s by Nativity and Redeemer Episcopal Churches. Among us, we will be baptizing at least 4 people!
This Holy Week, our 150th as a church, promises to be particularly rich and joyful. Join us. The door is open.