April –May 2007

THE DOOR IS OPEN … come worship with us this Easter. The full Holy Week schedule is on page 9.

As I write, Easter is almost upon us . . . ah, Easter! The celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! A wonderful, joyful feast . . . the highpoint of the church year.

Just the other day I was discussing the resurrection with a couple of people in my office. They had called a few days before and asked for this meeting, wanting to get to know me a little better. It turns out that they also had a couple of faith questions they wanted to discuss . . . and the resurrection was one of the issues causing them the most trouble. Did I believe in it? How could it have happened? What was the risen Jesus like?

Of course, these are questions that we’d all like answers to. Unfortunately, however, these are not questions that interested the evangelists. We hear nothing in the Gospels about what happened in the tomb — only that Jesus isn’t there when his friends arrive expecting to find his body. The appearances of the risen Lord don’t help us much, either.

Sometimes the evangelists tell us that Jesus’ appearance is so altered that his friends don’t recognize him (remember Mary Magdalene outside the tomb in the Gospel of John) and that he can apparently pass through locked doors appearing and disappearing at will. All of this seems to indicate a transformed “spiritualized” Jesus. Yet at other times Jesus offers his very concrete, physical body to be touched (remember his appearance to the disciple Thomas) and shares breakfast with his friends. All of this seems to indicate a very real human Jesus. No, the evangelists don’t tell us how the resurrection happened or what the risen Jesus was really like.

So what DO the evangelists tell us about? . . . What are they really interested in? They’re interested in what happens to the people who encounter the risen Lord. In the Gospels, the important thing about the resurrection is not how it occurred or what the risen Jesus was like. The important thing about the resurrection is the transformation that occurs in those who meet the risen Christ.

Remember, the disciples flee when Jesus is arrested. And, except in the Gospel of John which places the beloved disciple at the foot of the cross, all of the disciples are in hiding throughout the crucifixion. Yet when they meet the risen Christ, the uncertain and terrified disciples are truly transformed into apostles, filled with the faith and courage that leads them to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world. Those who encounter the risen Christ experience the Kingdom of God in the here and now. And they are utterly transformed. THIS is what interests the evangelists.

It interests them because this transformation is still possible. We too can encounter our risen Lord and be utterly transformed. God is still with us. In Christ, the eternal God has come to us and lives with us. As William Willimon writes, “The world is alive with the intrusions of God, the comings and goings of the divine.” We simply must be alive to this reality, alert to the presence of the divine in the events of our lives. Christ comes to us over and over again.

May your Easter be filled with joy . . . the joy of meeting our risen Lord and Savior. May all your uncertainty and fear be washed away, and may you experience the Kingdom of God in the here and now. May you be transformed into apostles of love and peace, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

An important fund of the parish, the Flower Fund depends entirely on special contributions by our parishioners. Since we have been in Lent, we have not been seeing the lovely flowers that Charles Morse and others regularly arrange to adorn the church, but Easter is coming, and, with the “queen of seasons,” return the flowers.

We are asking for contributions to the Flower Fund as Easter memorials or thanksgivings — an envelope is included with this newsletter — and we will ask again at Christmas. (Other weeks of the year we accept the gift of flowers as memorials to loved ones or for other reasons — for these we ask a contribution of at least $40.)

The flowers that so beautify our church are not provided for in the operating budget, so if we do not receive enough in special contributions to pay for the flowers, we will not have them. In addition to the special envelopes that we send out for Easter and Christmas flower memorials, there are two yellow envelopes in your set for Flower Fund contributions. If you do not use one of the special envelopes, please mark your check clearly “Flower Fund” (and, of course, add your number).

Our Rector, the Rev. Richard A. Maxwell, and his partner, Paul Kline, were joined in a civil union ceremony at their home in West Hartford on January 31, 2007. The ceremony was performed by Sara Carson, a Connecticut justice of the peace, and reported in the following Sunday’s New York Times. A religious celebration and blessing of their union took place at Holy Cross Monastery on February 11, with monks, family members, and close friends present.

· Fr. Max is a member of the bishop and diocesan executive council of the Diocese of Connecticut. Prior to his call to Grace Church, he was assistant minister at the Church of the Incarnation in New York City. A graduate of Stanford University, he holds master’s degrees from Union Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary.

· Paul is a photographer and painter who has exhibited at the West Hartford Art League and elsewhere. Formerly, he was the director of finance and operations at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York City. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, was a Fulbright Scholar in Poland, and has taught English as a second language at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland.

Holy Cross Monastery is in West Park, NY, on the west bank of the Hudson River. Dedicated in 1904, it is the oldest monastery of the Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican (Episcopal) order which was founded in 1884, by the Rev. James Otis Sargent Huntington, for whom a stained glass window in our church is dedicated. It follows the Benedictine monastic life. Max and Paul met at Holy Cross and pursued the monastic life there prior to their returning to the secular world.

Civil unions were authorized in 2005 in Connecticut by Public Act No. 05-10. Eligible persons legally joined in civil union have all the rights granted to married spouses under the laws of this state, as well as the same benefits, protections, and responsibilities and the same inheritance rights and income and estate tax exemptions.

Max and Paul vacationed in the Dominican Republic prior to returning to Connecticut. A reception honoring their civil union took place at Grace Church on Sunday, March 18, 2007.

Crucifixion (1502-03) by Raphael (National Gallery, London). Christ with the Virgin, St. Jerome, Mary Magdalene, and St. John the Evangelist. Originally part of an altarpiece for the Church of San Domenico in Cittá di Castello.

After the final supper with his friends, Jesus led his disciples out to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray with him. As the hour of his arrest and execution drew near, he was in a state of great anxiety and torment of mind.

According to the Gospel of Mark he …began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them: “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death: remain here and watch (stay awake).” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

The disciples are unable to stay awake. Three times he asks them to watch and pray with him and each time they fall asleep. Then the soldiers and Judas arrive to arrest him; the disciples flee and Jesus is taken prisoner and his long ordeal of interrogation and execution begins.

In the liturgy of Maundy Thursday we reenact symbolically this scene. After the mass, the reserved consecrated hosts are carried to the altar of repose in the chapel which has been decorated with many flowers and candles to represent the Garden of Gethsemane. Every year a few hardy souls volunteer to watch and pray with the Lord throughout the evening.

This is a very special time of prayer. Alone or with one or two others you agree to sit in silent prayer for one half hour watching and praying in the quiet church. In some parishes, and sometimes at Grace, it has been possible to find people to maintain the vigil all through the night, but normally we expect to keep watch only until 11 PM or midnight when the church is locked.

In Christian churches all over the world this memorial is being kept and at this time of night faithful disciples will try to keep awake to pray for themselves, their families and friends, their parishes and the whole church. So we join with sisters and brothers in the body of Christ silently watching with the Lord as the sorrowful events of Good Friday draw closer.

Even Jesus’ closest companions, failed to accompany him through that original agonizing night of betrayal and arrest, but we have the advantage of knowing that beyond the defeat of suffering and death we are also waiting and watching for a Resurrection.

The Grace Parish Choir participates in our full liturgical life with a complete Holy Week schedule.

· On Wednesday, we will sing the solemn Tenebrae, this year with responsaries by Healey Willan — music that, although not new, is new to us.

· Maundy Thursday will be celebrated with a choral mass, with full liturgical music for the feet washing and the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose. Following the Gloria in excelsis Deo, the organ will remain silent (except for practice!) until the same point in the Easter Vigil Mass, when it will be heard at full volume — a necessity because of the pealing bells.

· The stark service of Good Friday, known as the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified, will be complete with full liturgical music including the sung “Passion Gospel” and the increasingly rare “Reproaches.”

· Both the Vigil and the principal service of Easter will include full choral music, from the Exsultet to the orchestral mass (Haydn’s Little Organ Mass, for chorus, strings and organ). A favorite of everyone is to sing the great hymns of happiness on Easter, and throughout the season.

On the same subject, there will be Asperges on the Sundays of Easter at the High Masses. Accompanied by the choir’s “Vidi aquam” and hymns, it is a tradition of Anglo-Catholicism that helps us realize that Easter lasts all the way through the Sunday after the Ascension and into Pentecost.

The musical offerings at Grace Church hardly slow down after the Triduum. We immediately begin rehearsals and preparations for the remaining Sundays and Feast Days through Corpus Christi (7 June), including Ascension Day, Pentecost (Whitsunday), and Trinity Sunday. The repertory will include Berliner Messe, by Arvo Pärt (based upon harmonies derived from bell tones), Friedell’s “Draw us in the Spirit’s tether,” and Williams’s dramatic “In the year that King Uzziah died.”

Holy Week at Grace

Palm Sunday, April 1 ~ Sunday of the Passion

Distribution of palms at both services

8:00 am: Low Mass at Grace Church

10:30 am: Gather on the Grace Street porch

Blessing of the palms and procession

Solemn High Mass with Reading of the Passion According to Luke

Monday in Holy Week, April 2

5:30 pm: Low Mass in the Chapel

Tuesday in Holy Week, April 3

5:30 pm: Low Mass in the Chapel

Wednesday in Holy Week, April 4

7:15 am: Low Mass in the Chapel followed by “Breakfast Club”

7:00 pm: Office of Tenebrae

Maundy Thursday, April 5

6:00 pm: Solemn High Mass

Stripping of the Altar and “Night Watch” in the Chapel of Repose follow

(Please sign up for your half hour or more of devotion)

Good Friday, April 6

Noon: Good Friday Liturgy and Veneration of the Cross

Confession (Sacrament of Reconciliation) Available Immediately Following

(Appointments for confession may be made with Fr. Maxwell)

6:00 pm: Stations of the Cross

Saturday in Holy Week, April 7 ~ Easter Eve

9:00 am: Holy Saturday Liturgy

9:00 am: Proper Liturgy for Holy Saturday

9:15 am:

7:00 pm: The Great Easter Vigil and the First Mass of Easter

Traditional lamb and baked ham dinner following Mass in Nason Hall

(The meal is prepared by the choir and proceeds benefit the Russell Music Fund)

Easter Day, Sunday, April 8 ~ The Feast of the Resurrection

8:00 am: Low Mass with hymns

10:30 am: Solemn High Mass with music for organ, strings, and choir

featuring Haydn’s Missa brevis St. Joannis de Deo (Little Organ Mass)

Following the Mass – Children’s Easter Egg Hunt

Members of the Fountain Ensemble are Alistair MacRae (cello), Cyrus Beroukhim (violin I/II), Jesse Mills (violin I/II), Dov Scheindlin (viola), and Gilad Harel (clarinet). They are headquartered in New York City.

The Fountain Ensemble of New York City will present the next Parkville Classicals Concert at Grace Church on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Fountain is one of its generation's most accomplished and versatile chamber music groups. Its recent seasons have included a sold-out Carnegie Hall recital debut, critically acclaimed performances at Zankel Hall and West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center, and concerts throughout the United States.

The Ensemble has won Artists International's New York Debut Award and also received honors at the Concert Artists Guild and Chesapeake Chamber Music Competitions.

Individually, Fountain's members are among New York City's most active chamber music players. They have performed at some of the country's most distinguished institutions, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall's Making Music Series, and the Ravinia Festival. They have performed this season in New York and Pennsylvania. The concert at Grace Church is the only one they are doing in Connecticut. As is customary, a reception in Nason Hall to meet the artists follows the concert. There is no admission charge but seating is limited and is available on a first come, first serve basis.

A spiritual fellowship and prayer group is shaping up at Grace Church for this spring. It is an offshoot of a Spiritual Discernment Group led by Kathy Jaeger as part of her “MEEP” program. “MEEP” is the Ministry Exploration and Education Program of the Diocese of Connecticut. It is a 2-year program designed to permit baptized members of the Diocese who have been members of an Episcopal church for at least 2 years to explore God’s call to a lay ministry or to an ordained ministry.

The Spiritual Discernment Group at Grace presently consists of Jay Cummings, Robert Duncan, Dennis Kane, Janet Marotto, Pamela Melusky, and Kathy Jaeger. They have opted to extend parish-wide the benefits of their regular, spiritually-focused gatherings and seek parishioners who are interested in participating in this program.

Depending upon the interests of the participants, the precise format of the gatherings may be shaped by the members’ desire either to focus on Christian fellowship amidst secular life or to focus on prayer for our own lives and the lives of others. If there is ample interest in each, two groups are possible.

The group(s) will meet Monday and/or Wednesday evenings beginning in mid to late April for a definite period of time. Meetings will continue into June. The members will then reevaluate whether to continue to meet during the summer, or to suspend sessions until fall, or to re-form with new members at a later date. If you are interested in participating, please contact Kathy Jaeger at 633-4448 or at kathjaeger@msn.com.

At our annual meeting earlier this year, Father Maxwell mentioned that he hoped this year would be one of growth. We have many dreams for more activities, a fuller church school, more in the pews with us, and more to help accomplish more of our Christian goals. But, how do we grow?

I looked for help by searching the on-line resources of the Episcopal dioceses. I found some interesting studies and reading in the website created by a group interested in forming a “2020 movement” in 1998. The group’s goal, that General Convention adopted in July, 2000, was that the Church would double its membership by 2020. Much of the work of the 2020 movement is in the hand of others. Isn’t it in ours too?

Sometimes I think it helps to start by thinking about what we are looking for in church. I found a summary of an adaptation of a hierarchy, created by Abraham Maslow, of the needs of a congregation. The adaptation was done by the Rev. J Hugh Magers while Evangelism Officer of the Episcopal Church, assisted by Ms Terry Parsons, Stewardship Officer of the Church. Do you see yourself in this grid?

Their Need from Church	Their Time Horizon	Their % of Typical Congregation	Call to Them	Comments
Purpose	Eternity	1-3%	Martyrdom	Sacrificial givers
Meaning	Lifetime	9-12%	Sacrifice	Not good vestry members since they are interested in meaning, not action
Identity	3-5 years	10-15%	Conversion	Will rebel if no leadership role
Community	1 year	35-40%	Leadership	They want to see how they fit in; communication is important
Safety	1-3 months	30-35%	Belonging
Survival	1-3 days	10-15%	Prayer	Prayer leads to hope

No matter whether you’re looking for “purpose,” “meaning,” “identity,” “community,” “safety,” or “survival,” Grace Episcopal Church welcomes you. Perhaps you’d like to share what you’ve found at Grace. As always, we have a full schedule to help celebrate Holy Week. Think about asking a friend or colleague to join us at church. It may be what they were looking for in addition to what we were hoping for!

I met with Betsy and Max for a brief orientation and to prioritize items that need attention at the church.

The Building Preservation Committee is currently meeting to review existing bids on roof and masonry work needed on the church. We have only one bid to consider that seems to cover all the work needed and may need to solicit others before selecting a contractor. This is a very large project which will require financing from the Diocese. We are hoping to get started on the work sometime in the spring.

Everything else seems to be operating smoothly in terms of the property but if you have any suggestions for items that need improving, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you would like to get involved with improvement and maintenance projects, we would welcome your help.

Thanks to Tori Burns, Cornelia Hamilton, Betsy Chicares, Rob Duncan, Jocelyn Hannahs, Kathy Jaeger, Fr. Max, Elizabeth MacKiernan Miel, Elaine Phillips, and Kyle Swann for their help and suggestions with this issue of “Grace Notes.”

55 New Park Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106