Last Sunday (Pentecost 6, Year A, July 20, 2014)
July 27 – 9:00am, Holy Eucharist , Rite I, Pentecost 7
July 27 – 11:00am, Morning Prayer , Rite II, Pentecost 7
This Sunday at St. Peter’s – Servers, Readings
Vacation Bible School, July 28-31, 10am-12pm
by Becky Fisher
VBS time is almost here. I can’t wait. The kids are going to have a great time hearing stories all about hospitality and welcoming. We will be learning about people who welcomed travelers, cared for strangers, and demonstrated peace. The children will hear about Sarah making bread for visitors (Genesis 18:1-15), the Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), and many other great stories. There will be music, hands on activities and great games, too. So bring the kids and grandkids out July 28-August 31, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.
A note for adults. Now is a great time to reflect on ways that people have welcomed us, shown us hospitality, and demonstrated peace. Someone told me, several months ago, about how welcoming Genevieve Davis was to her once at church even though she was a stranger. It was a positive impact of God’s great love. I also recently heard about some nurses in our congregation who stopped and helped an unknown traveler, whose car had broken down on Route 17. These are examples of God’s great love. Can you think of ways that you’ve been touched by someone’s hospitality, welcoming, or peace? Was it God’s great love? That’s what the kids will really be learning about!
Last year’s VBS pictures (Aug 12-14, 2013) are here – Day 1,
Day 2, Day 3
Last week we celebrated the human spirit reaching to space (45 years ago), overcoming disease and we even found the revival of that spirit in places such as Rwanda. This week we encounter another anniversary, a bleak one – 100 years since World War I. "The Great War, the war to end all wars". But it didn’t – it created technologies to kill more and more horribly. We have a variety of sources here to examine this.
But why remember at all ? It’s the stories we can’t forget- yes, the human spirit confronting war – the story of the brave English nurse Edith Cavell, the poems of John McCrae, the silent films of Charlie Chaplin and the conscience of Episcopal Bishop Paul Jones. And remembering a generation that never got old. As Mark Knopfler sings, "We will remember them, remember them."
Some parts of the war never left us. Phrases popularized at that time continued but have shifted in meaning over the years – "To chew the fat" meant to sulk, to be resentful or talk in such a manner; now means have a discussion. "To break new ground" was involved with digging a trench but now to do something not done before. "Crummy", a reference to the eggs of the lice being like crumbs of bread. Now associated with "lousy."
Appropriately for the beginning of this massive conflict, the scriptures this week have Solomon asking for wisdom to guide him. It may be argued, in fact, the more we struggle; the less perfect we are, the more we need to speak to God and ask for His help. What is even more amazing is that God still loves us even after countless incidents of outrageous human behavior, pride and disloyalty, a part of the Romans selection this week. Certainly fits the war. The Gospel has several parables about realizing and living the Kingdom of God here and now as a counter to our man made disasters such as World War I. Rev Canon Gina Campbell of the National Cathedral writes, "In the smallest of things, in the leavening of experience, in hidden realities, one discovers the possibilities of great joy and profound hope. "
Marking 100 years since World War I
From the National Cathedral
The “Great War” began on July 28, 1914. This conflict led to dramatic and unforeseen changes in warfare, and altered Europe, the larger Western culture and the Middle East in ways that still impact us today. The “War to end all Wars” reshaped nations, changed the geopolitical landscape, and left 16 million dead and 20 million wounded in little over four years.
The World War I Commission, established by the United States Congress, invites faith communities to reflect on the suffering of the “Great War”, resolved that we might muster the will to end war and suffering for future generations. In order to facilitate this remembrance, the Commission invited Washington National Cathedral to create resources for worship on the weekend marking the beginning of the First World War.
People of all faiths will gather on Sunday, July 27 to mark 100 years since the beginning of the First World War, and reflect on the effects and consequences of that terrible conflict. The World War One Centennial Commission invites faith communities Commission-Cathedral logos across the nation to mark the occasion somberly, and consider the suffering of that time and resolve to avoid such agony in the future. In order to facilitate this remembrance, the Commission has partnered with Washington National Cathedral to create resources for worship on that Sunday.
The following resources were developed by the Rev. Canon Gina Gilland Campbell, canon precentor at the National Cathedral. They include collects, prayers suitable for a litany or shared reading which might be interspersed with singing, and homiletic reflections on Scripture suggested by the Revised Common Lectionary adapted for the day.
1 Kings 3:5–12
Solomon prays for wisdom rather than wealth or the misfortune of his enemies
Psalm 119:129–136a
Those who trust in God’s commandments are satisfied
Romans 8:26–39
Paul proclaims that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus
Matthew 13:31–33; 44
Three parables of the possibilities of small things
A Century Ago, the July crisis in 1914 that brought about World War I
1. The July crisis is described by this BBC Special , the 6 weeks that led to war.
The event that set off the explosion was the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne by a Serb nationalist on June 28, 1914. A month later Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia that through the alliance system of the time embroiled Europe. The big countries were unwilling to back down. By early August, all Europe was involved.
2. Mr. C. uses a handy acronym (MAIN) – M(militarism), A (Alliances), I (Imperialism) and N (Nationalism) to talk about the war’s causes in this video.
The basis for the war was a combination of old issues that had not been settled between France and Germany and increasing nationalism in the Balkans. The alliance system and the advancing arms race helped to take these issues into world war.
"The Passion of Edith Cavell", a World War I heroine
"The Passion of Edith Cavell" is a 14-panel installation of paintings by London-based artist Brian Whelan, commissioned by Norwich Cathedral in the UK, that tells the story of the World War I British heroine and nurse Edith Cavell (1865–1915); the full series will be on exhibit in St. John’s Chapel at Washington National Cathedral from July 24 through September 18.
The paintings will then be shown briefly in Europe before coming to Norwich Cathedral for Easter 2015, to be displayed in the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of her execution by firing squad by the Germans in 2015.
So who was Edith Cavell ?
World War I Poetry- A Moveable Feast
We try to understand war through memorials, the written word and art among other mediums. In particular, poetry flourished in this war among young soldiers. World War I saw a number of fine poets on the battlefields emerge. Here are sites that discuss these contributions:
1. The Lost Poets
2. Hanover History Dept
3. War Poetry website
4. The Digital archive
5. British War Poetry
The most famous World War I poem is "In Flanders Fields"
In Flanders Fields
"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
"We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
"Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."
-John McCrae
McCrae was a Canadian physician and fought on the Western Front in 1914, but was then transferred to the medical corps and assigned to a hospital in France. He was asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis Helmer, a friend, because the chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after the burial, John began the draft for his now famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.
McCrae died of pneumonia while on active duty in 1918. His volume of poetry, In Flanders Fields and Other Poems, was published in 1919.
The influence of the war poets continued beyond their time.
In 1962, Benjamin Britten wrote his "War Requiem" for the consecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral destroyed in World War II. However, it was dedicated to four friends he lost in World War I. For his text he used 9 poems of World War I poet Wilfred Owen interspersed with the Latin Mass for the Dead. Here is his use of an Owen poem "The Next War" :
"Out there, we’ve walked quite friendly up to Death, —
Sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland, —
Pardoned his spilling mess-tins in our hand.
We’ve sniffed the green thick odour of his breath, —
Our eyes wept, but our courage didn’t writhe.
He’s spat at us with bullets and he’s coughed
Shrapnel. We chorussed when he sang aloft,
We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe.
"Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum.
No soldier’s paid to kick against His powers.
We laughed, — knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags."
Owen died at just 25.
We are still looking back in this era. In 2009, Mark Knopfler, the former front man for the British Band Dire Straits, released a song called "Remembrance Day". Remembrance Day is the English equivalent of Veterans’ Day.
Here is a part of this moving song:
"Time has slipped away
The summer sky to autumn yields
A haze of smoke across the fields
Let’s sup and fight another round
And walk the stubbled ground
"When November brings
The poppies on remembrance day
When the vicar comes to say
Lest we forget our sons
"We will remember them
Remember them
Remember them"
Check out the video with pictures from the time. Here are the complete lyrics.
Looking Back – What effect did the Great War have ?
1. IWM has a wonderful site with an article on "Why Remember ?"
"I felt that I didn’t want to live, I’d no wish to live at all, because the world had come to an end, then, for me, because I’d lost all that I’d loved."
Kitty Morter remembering the birth of her baby after her husband had died on the Somme.
2. World War I centennial project. Congress chartered the commission to encourage private organizations and state and local governments to organize activities commemorating the centennial.
3. PBS "Great War" site. This was done to spotlight the 8 part 1996 series on WW1. It won 2 emmys and a host of journalistic awards. The site was redone to add among other things this article "Shaping of the 20th century". You can watch a number of the original episodes here.
The Episcopal Church and World War I
"Only a handful of American churchmen stood against American participation in World War I," wrote historian Ralph Lord Roy. One was Bishop Paul Jones, a position which cost him his church position.
In April 1918, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church tried to silence a prominent Episcopal voice against World War I, Bishop Paul Jones. Jones, serving then-Missionary District of Utah, was forced to resign his post when he revealed his deep convictions about war, stating “I believe that the methods of modern international war are quite incompatible with the Christian principles of reconciliation and brotherhood…”
However, Jones’ work for peace continued. He was a founder of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and its secretary for 10 years. He helped found the Episcopal Peace Fellowship prior to his death in 1941. During World War II, he helped resettle Jews and others who fled Nazi Germany, and he argued for greater understanding in relations with Japan.
Jones is honored on the Episcopal calendar on Sept. 4. Jones’s resignation precipitated a major crisis within the Episcopal church, dividing both clergy and laity within the Diocese of Utah and throughout the nation. The church today has made a place for Jones’ views.
The church supports those who choose military service and other who choose other participation including non-participation. "It condemns aggressive use of war in national policy as contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ." "All decisions regarding participation or non-participation require active discernment informed by scripture, theology, and relevant knowledge of history and contemporary conditions."
Our own July crisis – Unaccompanied Children at the Border
A 2 minute video on the origins of the crisis and US policy response can be found here, produced by GE.
Last week both the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the President of the House of Deputies, Gay Clark Jennings, published commentaries and reflections on the massive influx of child refugees from Central America.
The Episcopal and the United Methodist Bishops of Los Angeles visited the child detention center in Port Hueneme, CA, a part of their dioceses. With Muslim and Jewish faith leaders, they have prepared worship materials for the Interfaith Weekend of Compassion and Prayer for Unaccompanied Migrant Children.
Bishop Goff wrote this week about this subject on her visit to Guatemala
"This crisis of unaccompanied child immigrants points to the need for our nation to reform our immigration policy. The policy that requires each child entering the United States without a parent to have a hearing was put in place to protect children from sex trafficking. That same policy, meant to guard children from harm, is now a barrier as the wait for hearings becomes years-long. Change is needed to respond more quickly, fairly and compassionately to the children among us. They are children, after all. We are a nation that holds children and families in high esteem, and our immigration policies will be at their best when they honor families, promote justice, and care for the youngest and most vulnerable."
Lectionary, Pentecost 7, July 27, 2014
I.Theme – God works through us in difficult times
"The Parable of the Mustard Seed" – James Patterson
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – 1 Kings 3:5-12
Psalm – Psalm 119:129-136 Page 774, BCP
Epistle –Romans 8:26-39
Gospel – Matthew 13:31-33,44-52
Our readings this week reflect God’s love for His people. They show how God works through our difficult times and will often bless us through them. He works through and within our times of weakness and works for the good of all who love Him. Secondarily, the readings cover the topics of good and evil and discerning between them.
The Old Testament reading recounts Solomon’s prayer – “Solomon’s prayer – “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” It is the perfect prayer modest, recalling past blessings and confessing our ignorance. The value of discernment is praised, the capacity to see issues, recognize temptations, and know what is right and wrong, based on divine truths.
This leads naturally into the psalm, which immediately counters any notion that you have to be a king (or a Solomon, for that matter) to discern what is right: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Anyone who pays attention can discern the decrees of God, for it is God who is our teacher. The Word of God is a means of grace. Through the Word–which is both law and gospel–the Lord of Israel encounters the people of God.
Paul in Romans examines in detail how certain can we be that God will complete the execution of his plan of salvation. This is Christian life lived in the Spirit. Nearly every sentence is a new way of stating the promise that God has not abandoned "us," and is working on our behalf. The Spirit meets with her own intercessions and prayers – aiding our inability to pray. What is even more amazing is that God still loves us even after countless incidents of outrageous human behavior, pride and disloyalty. The Spirit helps us to resist the powers that would defeat us and separate us from God.
Today’s gospel, Matthew concludes a long series of parables about the reign of God. There are 5 parables in these verses. These parables encourage us to live the kingdom into being in every aspect of our lives. It addresses basic questions: "What is it ? How do we find it? What’s it like? What do I have to do to enter it?" In telling these parables, Jesus did not make the characters angels or kings, but a woman, a merchant, fishermen. And he did not use difficult or out-of-reach tasks, but everyday peasant-class things like baking bread and fishing. The kingdom is here but it’s modest. It’s hidden. It’s quiet. In fact, those who discover the kingdom sometimes tend to stumble upon it almost by accident. The kingdom is a great treasure but it may not reveal itself immediately.
Summing them up, Jesus praises those who have listened carefully and understood. This praise of the wise in today’s gospel seems to justify this choice of first reading Solomon’s request for wisdom.
Read more about the Lectionary…
A Union Soldier’s take on Solomon’s Prayer (Old Testament reading this week)
An unknown civil war soldier wrote this eloquent testimony:
"I asked for strength that I might achieve;
"I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
"I asked for health that I might do greater things;
"I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
"I asked for riches that I might be happy; I was given poverty that I might be wise.
"I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
"I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I had asked for, but everything that I had hoped for.
"Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered; I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
"So the Bible says that It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this."
Coming Sept. 16, 2014 at St. Peter’s, 7pm – a Lyra Concert
Review from Zions Lutheran Church, Weatherly, PA
"LYRA performed before a packed house at Zions Lutheran Church in Weatherly, PA. The sound from these six excellent singers was awesome. They invoked the solemnity of a Russian church during the liturgical portion of the program. Their dynamic range is incredible with every note heard in perfect pitch, even in the very soft sections of the music. Their volume seemed to be that of 20 singers in the loud portions. .
"The folk song portion of the program was enthusiastically received by the audience and many a toe was set to tapping. The members of LYRA were just as enthusiastic in their performance. What is amazing is that each member of the group is an accomplished soloist in their own right and yet they perform as tightly knit ensemble.
"LYRA received many extended applause and standing ovations. LYRA is a don’t miss act that will entertain and inspire the listener.
Sample Concert Program
