Watchnight service on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation By William Lawbaugh On Saturday at the Community of Celebration’s Holy Spirit Chapel in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, we will celebrate Watchnight. Watchnight, developed in the early 18th century by Moravians and popularized by the Anglican Wesley brothers to counter the practices of coal miners in rural … [Read more...] about Bring Back Watchnight
Archives for December 2016
Drawn to Mystery at Princeton
The Rev. Joseph G. Wolyniak, the new Episcopal chaplain at Princeton University, is the guest on the Dec. 15 edition of Optimism Is Cool Again, a podcast of the Diocese of New Jersey. Wolyniak says Princeton students are drawn to the mysteries of Christian faith, as expressed through liturgy and worship. The chaplain jokes that his business card should include St. Paul’s … [Read more...] about Drawn to Mystery at Princeton
A Bishop’s New Easter Hymn
The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Bishop of Southern Ohio, and Stephan Casurella, music director at Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, have composed a new Easter hymn. Bishop Breidenthal wrote the text for “This Day of Days with Joy We Claim,” an Easter hymn for congregation, choir, organ, brass, and percussion. MorningStar Music Publishers offers previews of the … [Read more...] about A Bishop’s New Easter Hymn
Brodericks Read Auden
Kevin Coughlin reports for Morristown Green in New Jersey about actor Matthew Broderick’s role as guest reader: Broderick joined his sister, the Rev. Janet Broderick, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church this month for a reading of W.H. Auden’s For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio. Written during World War II, it places the Christmas story in the 20th century. Auden wanted … [Read more...] about Brodericks Read Auden
The Child
Christmas, Dec. 25 Isa. 9:2-7 • Ps. 96 Titus 2:11-14 • Luke 2:1-14 (15-20) “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). This is the dawn of a great light casting out all darkness, a light shining upon all nations and people, all tribes and races. Joy has increased. A child is born. A Son is given. Finally … [Read more...] about The Child
Visitation, Nativity
Cæli enarrant For Emily and Audra Visitation, as a divine act, in several scenes. First, a miraculously expectant Mary hastens to Elizabeth, herself wonderfully pregnant and “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Elizabeth, St. Luke says, cries out with a loud voice: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” And her prophecy continues: “Why has this … [Read more...] about Visitation, Nativity
Post-Katrina Church to Close
All Souls Church and Community Center, which Archbishop Rowan Williams visited and blessed in 2007, will celebrate its final service on Jan. 8. All Souls emerged from Episcopalians’ relief work in the Lower Ninth Ward amid the devastation that followed Hurricane Katrina. The church was based in a former Walgreens store at the corner of Flood Street and St. Claude Avenue in … [Read more...] about Post-Katrina Church to Close
Greetings from Lambeth
Greetings in the name of Jesus, the Word made flesh who by the action of God and the obedience of His blessed Mother, the Godb-earer, came to dwell among us, Emmanuel. In November, I visited Pakistan to express solidarity with Christian communities across the country, which have suffered much over recent years. We remember the slaughter of innocent worshippers on Easter … [Read more...] about Greetings from Lambeth