All Souls Weekly                 
Volume 3, Number 18, March 28, 2010

PALMS AND PASSION

This Sunday we conclude the regular Sundays in Lent with the day known as The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. The Palm Gospel is read at the very beginning of the liturgy as we recall how people rejoiced at the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, greeting him as a king and a savior.  The blessing of palms, procession, and singing evoke the celebration and excitement of a parade.  But then the mood changes.  Light turns into shadow.  The music becomes less festive and things slow down. We begin to notice that the crosses in our church are veiled.

The Passion, the part of the Gospel that describes the death of Jesus, is then sung by the choir. In other churches the entire congregation reads or sings a chant version of the Passion, dividing up the parts as though enacting a drama.  Whether we sing or listen, we are a part of the drama. The words and images draw us in and invite us to find our place at the foot of the cross.

Though the liturgy of Palm Sunday arose out of the worship practices of Christians in Jerusalem in the fourth century, other sources have combined to shape the service as we see it in our Prayer Book.  For us, the liturgy provides a kind of foretaste of Holy Week, a preview of the spiritual highs and lows into which the Church invites us.

It is always tempting to compare the current Holy Week with that of another time and place (when we were young, when we were in a particular city, when we worshipped at a particular church, when we were with certain people or perhaps heard a particular piece of music).   But I would urge you to allow the liturgies of Holy Week to wash over you and meet you exactly where you are this year, in this place, with these people.  Miracles don’t happen so much in the past or the future, but in the moment, when we are open to God’s presence.

Palm Sunday begins with a crowd and ends with a cross.  But it is a cross that also has the strength and the power to carry us from pain into joy, from misery into music and from death into life.  Notice there are opportunities for worship every day of Holy Week.  I hope you will join us when you can. John Beddingfield

Around the Parish . . . Yoga during Lent concludes on Saturday, March 28.  Enormous thanks to Richard McKewen for his leadership, guidance, and teaching . . . The April/May edition of The Message is available in the undercroft.  Please take your copy and save the parish the cost of postage . . . Attendance March 21 at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 36; at the 11 a.m. Mass, 143 . . . Total pledge offerings were $11,396.25 and the plate offering was $1,578.00.

Your prayers are asked for . . . Clark Ball, Frasier, MaryJane, John Matthews, Bob and Louise Osborne, Joan Shapiro, Ann Dixon, Lorenzo Martinez, Family of Tom Martin, Hugh Yeomans, Helen Horne, Erling Hansen, Tim Dill, Mona Bauer, Mary Backus, Sandy Jenkins Dixon, I. Kathryn McKewen, Thais Blanchard, Bruce MacDonald, Bob Colborn, Elizabeth McKee, Freddie Cameron, Robert Long, Barb Chaffee, Harriet Martin, Chris Cobb, Landis Vance, Vickie Drell, Stephanie Russell, Ruth & Fred Huber, Jim St. George, Mark Henderson, Martha Holdgate, Chip Meyers, Walter and Sally Jason, Arthur Andrew Warren, Mary Beth McCutcheon, Bryan Powell, Regina Dading, Julia Gutierrez, Ted Field, and for the repose of the soul of Scott . . . Pray for members of the parish in the foreign service and others who are working overseas, especially Chuck Hunter, Steve Kerchoff, Brad Moore, and Michael Pate . . . Pray also for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Jack Severson, and Timothy Zlatich . . . If you wish to participate in our ongoing Internet Prayer Circle please contact Vicki Lowe at lowevg1@verizon.net.

Liturgical Notes . . . There are several traditions around veiling objects in church during Lent.  The oldest tradition simply veiled any object that seemed to be of particular value or worth, especially if it was colorful or shiny.  Another tradition developed later, that of veiling crosses in unbleached fabric, or in red or purple.  We keep the tradition of veiling some crosses and images on Passion  Sunday . . . Please note the schedule for Holy Week published in the back of all service leaflets and posted on the parish website.  Especially as we move toward the end of the week, please feel free to come and go during services as your schedule permits.

The Heifer Project works with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. Giving to this project works to “pass on the gift.” Response to the Heifer Fund Collection for acquiring animals for Haiti has been slow and steady. This week is the last Sunday of collecting. A very generous parishioner has offered to match donations given this Sunday up to $1,000.00. This is it. Bring your CHECKS and your CHANGE. We have so much. This is your chance to share some of what we have. Carolyn Farmer and Charles Boone

Join us for the Adult Forum . . . Today at 10 a.m. in the undercroft Joe Howell his five session series on “The Evolution of Belief.” This week he will focus on animism and “primitive religion”, which according to Joe is really not all that primitive. Could you be a closet animist? Come and find out.

Men’s Fellowship in April . . . The Episcopal Men’s Fellowship group will be meeting next on Thursday, April 15 at 7 p. m. in the Undercroft. Our speaker will be Norman Whitmire, who will talk about life in the seminary after his first two years of study at the Virginia Theological Seminary and his upcoming summer assignation. We will be providing a tasty meal and drinks for the always low price of $15. To RSVP please sign up in the Undercroft or else email ike.brannon@gmail.com.

Country Western Night . . . The February blizzard forced us to postpone the dancing, brushing up on our two-step, and perfecting the chili recipes. Join us on Sunday, April 18, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for a Chili Cook Off and Country Western Night.  We’ll do some eating, some drinking, and lots of dancing.  If you would like to lend a hand in the planning or execution—bartenders and kitchen help always needed—please contact Marcia Anderson at Marcia513@verizon.net.

Adopt an apartment . . . All Souls is furnishing an apartment for a homeless family through the Transitional Housing Corporation's Adopt-an-Apartment program. Move-in day is Saturday, April 17. You can see a list on the All Souls website (www.allsoulsdc.org). We'll also need donations of cash (all beds and bedding must be purchased new) and help on move-day. Finally, we could use a co-chair for this effort; if you're interested please contact Heidi at hfritschel@verizon.net.

All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church

The Reverend John Beddingfield, rector; The Reverend Christopher Worthley, adjunct clergy;

Mr. Seth Walley, seminarian; Mr. Isaac Borocz, parish administrator; Dr. Philip Cave, director of music and organist

2300 Cathedral Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008-1505;Voice: 202-232-4244, Fax: 202-232-8593

Email: allsouls1@aol.com; website: www.allsoulsdc.org