HOLY WEEK AND EASTER / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
THE TRISAGION A JOINT NEWSLETTER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCHES OF HUNTINGTON, WV Things you should know about Easter ...and some things you might not know. FR. JIM MORGAN, Trinity Episcopal Church A Christian’s most important day of the year is Easter. The feast of Christ’s resurrection. Easter day is the annual Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament. The day is also known as the Pascha or Christian Passover. Faith in Jesus’ resurrection on the Sunday or third day following his crucifixion is at the heart of Christian belief.
Gethsemane The grass never sleeps. Or the roses. Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts unƟl morning. Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.
Easter sets the experience of springtime next to the ancient stories of deliverance and the proclamation of the risen Christ. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. Eastertide, or the Easter season, last seven weeks ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday. Christians refer to the week before Easter as Holy Week which commences on Palm Sunday and last seven days through Holy Saturday and is the end of Lent. In Western Christianity, Holy Week contains the days of the Easter Triduum including Maundy Thursday – commemorating the “new commandment” and the Last Supper as well as Good Friday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.
The cricket has such splendid fringge on its feet, and it sings, have you noƟced, with its whole body, and heaven knows it never sleeps.
Easter and Christmas are two of the seven principal feasts in the Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, those days usually represent our largest church attendance and the only church attendance for some members. Christmas commemorates the Incarnation of the Word of God in the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a popular fixed date secular holiday and is always on December 25 but the date rests on no historical foundation. The Christmas season last until January 5, the day before the Epiphany.
Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe the wind wound itself Into a silver tree, and didn't move,
Easter and its related holidays are movable feasts, not falling on a fixed date; its date is computed based on the solar year plus Moon phase. The First Council of Nicaea (325 CE) established the date with only two rules, namely independence
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THE TRISAGION
HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11 Things you should know about Easter
Around the Diocese
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Bishop Coadjuter Consecrated
from the Hebrew calendar and worldwide uniformity. Details for the computation were not specific and had to be worked out in a process that has taken centuries and generated a number of controversies including which ancient calendar was correctly to be used. Today it is generally calculated to be on the first Sunday after the astronomical full moon after the March (Vernal) equinox. Easter 2022 is celebrated/observed on Sunday, April 17. In January 2016, Christian churches again considered agreeing on a common, universal date for Easter, but no agreement was reached.
On a snowy Saturday, March 12th, at Wesley Chapel in Buckhannon, WV, The Rev. Matthew D. Cowden was consecrated as a Bishop in the Episcopal Church by our Presiding Bishop, The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry. He will serve as Bishop Coadjuter in our Diocese until The Rt. Rev. Michie Klusmeyer retires in October of this year. At that time, The Rt. Rev. Matthew Cowden with become the Eighth Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Diocese of WV. Bishop Cowden comes to his new role after serving as Rector of St. Michael and All Angels in South Bend, Indiana. We are excited to welcome Bishop Cowden and his wife, Melissa, to our churches as he beings his ministry with us.
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by its name Pesach, its origin (according to the synoptic Gospels, both the crucifixion and the resurrection took place during the Passover), and by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position on the calendar. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services, midnight vigils, exclamations, and exchanges of Paschal greetings. The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection in Western Christianity, traditionally decorates the chancel area of churches on this day and for the rest of Eastertide. Other non-Christian observances include Easter parades, the Easter Bunny and egg hunting.
There are photos from Bishop Cowden’s Consecration throughout this publication and you can watch a video of the Consecration Service here: http://wvdiocese.org/pages/aa-Consecration-Coadjutor.html
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead established him as the Son of God and is cited as proof that God will righteously judge the world. For those who trust in Jesus’s death and resurrection, “death is swallowed up in victory.” Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation, being physically resurrected to dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven. On Maundy Thursday, in the upper room during the Last Supper, he prepared himself and his disciples for his death. He identified the bread and cup of wine as his body, soon to be sacrificed, and his blood, soon to be shed. Good Friday is a reminder of the day Jesus was crucified. This, in and of itself, doesn’t sound like a “good” thing to do, but as Pope Francis reminded us in his Lenten message 2019, Christians are “welcoming Christ’s victory over sin and death into our lives,” during this period of time.
*Christ in Gethsemane” by ar st Michael D Obrien
Gethsemane Con nued from page 1
In many Christian countries, Easter, as well as Good Friday, is often a public holiday. The custom of the Easter egg originated in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion. A modern custom is to substitute decorated chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans; as many people give up sweets is their Lenten sacrifice, individuals enjoy them at Easter after having abstained from them during the preceding 40 days of Lent. The celebrated House of Faberge workshops created exquisite, jeweled Easter eggs for the Russian Imperial family. The Easter Bunny is a popular gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture.
maybe the lake far away, where once he walked as on a blue pavement, lay sƟll and waited, wild awake. Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eyeshut, that could not keep that vigil, how they must have wept, so uƩerly human, knowing this too must be a part of the story.
A sure-fire Easter greeting: “Alleluia, the Lord is risen!” The response: “The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!”
From “Thirst” A book of poems by Mary Oliver
Blessings for the Lenten and Easter seasons. Father Jim +
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HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
THE TRISAGION
THE BIG FISHERMAN NEWS FROM ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH upon the resurrection with fear. It shows his sons and daughters just exactly how far God is willing to go for love.
My Son, My Only Son THE REV. DEBORAH RANKIN Vivian reminded us of the newsletter deadline for the Holy Week edition yesterday while I was working on my sermon for 4 Lent. I was thinking about the Prodigal Son. It never before occurred to me think of that story in connection with the death and resurrection of Jesus. God’s love reaches out to his adopted sons and daughters in both cases, showing the depth and power of the love that God has for us. The father let the Prodigal have his inheritance. He must have been pretty sure what would happen. Sure enough, the son squandered it all on high living. If I was his father I’d have known to the day and the hour when he started to wonder if he should come home. I’d hire an informant. I’d listen and watch because I love him. But the father waited, waited for some real repentance to make an appearance. He didn’t rush to help. His son was a man, and he needed find his own way home. But because the father was watching and listening he knew when to meet his son on the road. He didn’t require his son to walk all that way and then grovel. He met his boy and embraced him, celebrated his return. Jesus took most of the heat from his opposition among the Jews over his association with sinners—eating with them, healing them, inviting them into relationship. He would not back down from his love for us. That’s love with some muscle.
God is the one who determines who lives and who dies. When we believe that, as Jesus did, we can be stronger and more determined than we can even imagine. It’s a good thing, because our times call for strength and determination. I believe the resurrection of Jesus is a permanent sign of God’s love for his adopted sons and daughters. Love overcomes sin, suffering and even death itself. That father who met his son and embraced him on the road, loved his boy, forgave him for the sake of love. Jesus loved the sinner and would not back down. God reaches across the breach caused by sin to embrace his children in both stories, destroying the power of sin and death over us. Love won’t allow God to remain passive. God’s love lets us live, love and act for ourselves, and then responds to us with love so generous that it changes history. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16 NRSV May your Holy Week and Easter resonate with shouts of deliverance! Mother Deborah +
BISHOP’S VISITATION
Every human alive in any time or place suffers when someone else with power abuses it, take Russian aggression in the Ukraine, for a current example. Jesus stood for God’s love for the sinner, and he was met with firm, powerful opposition. He could back down from his stand or die. Jesus chose to die, and God accepted his choice. God’s heart broke that day, like I imagine it must break over all our hard, brave choices.
April 3 the Rt. Rev, Matthew Cowden, Bishop Coadjutor
God has the power to overturn the wickedness of the world, and he did that for the sake of his son when he raised him from the dead. Those who killed Jesus were not stopped from harming him. They were thwarted in a purposeful and permanent way when God showed us, his sons and daughters, the reward when we give our lives for love. Every tyrant who lives should look Continued in next column
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***We will have only one service at 9 am*** The church will provide a light lunch at 10:30 am. You may bring a small dessert if you would like. Packing care bags at 11:30 am Possible Evening Prayer Service at 4 pm (watch for more information)
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HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
THE BIG FISHERMAN CONTINUES
SPECO Community Update St. Peter’s Episcopal Community Outreach (SPECO) is happy to announce that the group has received grant funding for their blessing box and feeding program. The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) award SPECO with $6,000 to help increase the amount of food distributed in the area. This funding will go towards increasing supplies in the weekly blessing box distribution and also supplying more meals as the need continues to rise. Data reports from Feb. 3, 2022, to March 3, 2022, show that SPECO distributed 380 meals at Harmony House in Huntington, and had no leftovers at every weekly distribution. With this in mind, we plan to use the EFSP funds to help more of our community members find a nutritional, hot meal.
In the upcoming weeks, SPECO will be helping Fiona Reynolds, church member and outreach volunteer, with her “Mini Save-a-Life Day” senior project on April 2, 2022. More information and updates on the project will be posted in the next Trisagion and an exclusive interview with Reynolds will be posted to SPECO’s social media platforms during and after the event. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will also have Bishop Coadjutor-Elect Cowden's visit on April 3, 2022, and he will be helping SPECO with the monthly care bag pack that will be happening on that Sunday. More information on his visit will be posted in the next edition. Jessie Maynard, SPECO’s Outreach staff member, posts to SPECO’s Facebook page weekly with updates and donation items. Jessie is at the outreach center on Saturdays, 12pm to 5pm, for anyone who would like volunteer hours or needing to drop off a donation. SPECO will be placing a donation bin and current list of donations being taken in the undercroft of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Adams for any church member who would like to donate items there. Currently, SPECO is currently asking for:
SPECO has also been doing their monthly care bag packs at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church since January 2022. This coming-togetherness of SPECO and our church members after Sunday service has been an overall success so far. While members gather to pack care bags on the first Sunday of the month, SPECO volunteers distribute them on the street all over Huntington throughout the month. From Feb. 3, 2022, to March 3, 2022, SPECO reported that they distributed around 140 care bags to our community members. According to Sequoia Ware, SPECO plans to continue to push out 150 to 200 bags a month going into the spring and summer time to attempt to meet the need.
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Unscented baby wipes Fruit Cups Crackers Tuna and/or chicken salad snack kits Storage shelves
Sequoia Ware; ware532marshall.edu
BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS Over the next several months I will be training up lay people who want to learn how to lead and preach at Morning Prayer. I will be taking time individually with those who want learn basic skills for interpretation of Scripture, together with historical, religious and spiritual understandings that support the work of preaching. The pandemic required me to meditate on endings. I want our particular understanding in the Episcopal Church of the love of God that brings justice to endure. One way to do that is to teach. I found some willing souls at St. Peter’s, and maybe there are more of you out there. I will be emailing questions for the text every week, following the hermeneutical instruction of David Tracey. I ask students to use the questions and analogies from their life experiences to create themes for preaching. I show them through my first drafts, written during the week and emailed late in the week, how those questions and analogies become themes for preaching. Once students understand the method, we will focus more strongly on biblical, historical and religious understandings. Questions for the lessons for the week go out on Monday, and I will respond via email to students who wish to turn in their work during the week and to the group with a weekly zoom meeting. A secondary objective is to develop a working group of people who support one another as they lead worship in our church. 4
HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
THE TRISAGION THE BIG FISHERMAN CONTINUES
HOLY WEEK OBSERVANCES Palm Sunday, April 10th 8 and 10:30 a.m. in the Main Sanctuary.
Maundy Thursday, April 14th 7:00 p.m. in the Main Sanctuary
Good Friday, April 15 Noon, Stations of the Cross
Easter Sunday, April 17th 8 and 10:30 a.m. in the Main Sanctuary
LENTEN PROGRAM ON NEIGHBORHOOD OUTREACH CONTINUES
SPECIAL NOTES
We are continuing to offer Live In-Person services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. each Sunday. Sunday School is currently meeting at 10:30 a.m.
Beginning with the Bishop’s visit, we will resume our coffee hour/ fellowship time after our services.
Masks are now optional
Please let us know if your address or phone number has changed in the last few years. We are putting together a new directory.
2022 Lenten program on March 23, 30, April 6 at 7 pm. in the undercro at St. Peter’s. Gather at 5:30 pm for simple, easy to clean up meal, for those who want to eat together. Program at 7pm. March 23 ‐ on the street Dr. Sydnee McElroy will speak about how our work is vital to ge ng people healthy. March 30 ‐ Naloxone program CK Babcock from Marshall will talk about the importance of narcan and how our work has impacted overdoses. April 6 ‐ Lot of Love garden/ Recovery‐ Jerome will tell success stories of recovery. They will all speak for 20 mins and allow for 10 mins of ques ons. Followed by Compline. 5
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HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
THE TRINITARIAN NEWS FROM TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Good Friday: It is well Have you ever had the experience of gathering with children, siblings, cousins, classmates or others with whom you have shared life experiences and coming away totally baffled? As you begin to tell stories from the past, you start to notice that you all had the same experience, and EACH of you remember it differently -- Really differently. This is what we find in reading the Gospel narratives about Jesus’ last hours on the cross on Good Friday. Did you know they are all different? Of course, we don’t know exactly who was there when; we do know the disciples were scared for their lives and certainly incognito, if they were there at all. So whether they actually watched Jesus die and listened to his last words or whether they heard secondhand the accounts from the women who knelt at the cross, each of the four Gospel writers records the story a little differently. And while all four of them tell of Jesus’ final hours and three of them let us know that he cried out in a loud voice before he took his final breath, it’s only Luke (which we don not read in this year’s Good Friday lectionary) who tells us what Jesus said when he cried so loudly. Do you remember?
Trinity’s David Johnston leads the Clergy Procession at the Consecration of Bishop Coadjuter Matthew D. Cowden on March 12th in Buckhannon, WV.
PALM SUNDAY, 4/10 8 AM and 10:30 AM
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And then, Luke says, Jesus breathed his last. Perhaps you recognize these words from somewhere else. The psalmist uses them in Psalm 31, and it’s likely we’ve heard them in the context of our lectionary at other times during the year, not just Good Friday. Although we might or might not recognize them, the folks standing around Jesus’ cross that day would certainly have recognized those words. You see, the phrase “into thy hands I commit my spirit” was used by religious Jews each day. It was the prayer they prayed every night, the last thing that left their lips before they closed their eyes, a familiar mantra that led them to rest. It was the kind of phrase you could recall without any conscious thought, it was so ingrained in your psyche. Do you know what I’m talking about? Continued on page 7
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MAUNDY THURSDAY, 4/14 7PM GOOD FRIDAY, 4/15 4 PM—Community Good Friday Service at Johnson Memorial The Way of the Cross 4 PM 7PM—Joint Good Friday Service with St. John’s held at Trinity EASTER VIGI, 4/16 8 PM—Joint Service with St. John’s held at St. John’s Celebrant: The Rt. Rev. Matthew Cowden EASTER SUNDAY, 4/17 8 AM and 10:30 AM.
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THE TRISAGION THE TRINITARIAN CONTINUES
Good Friday Continued from page 6
How many of can remember our mother’s voice floating on the night air through the house as she rocked whichever one of us was the baby to sleep. She’d sing a lullaby over and over, her voice getting quieter as sleep came on. Sometimes it was a single verse from a favorite Christmas carol “Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.” Do you remember the lullaby your mother sang? When I hear it or sing it, is there a peace that floods over you? Perhaps you can eve feel your mother’s arms around you, the steady rhythm of her rocking, the warmth of her embrace, and that utter feeling of safety, of knowing that now it’s OK to go to sleep because there you are, being held safe by your mother. This was the kind of thing Jesus was calling to mind as he cried out in a loud voice: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Those words must have shocked the bystanders. In the deepest moments of anguish, with the darkness of the sky casting shadows everywhere, with doubt and grief and regret washing over everyone -- not just Jesus -- those words must have seemed so strange. Maybe that’s why some of the Gospel writers left them out. Maybe they thought Jesus was delirious with pain; maybe they thought he didn’t know what he was saying. But, you know, he probably did! Today, as the darkness descends again on you and me, we are grateful that Luke remembered to tell us these words of Jesus. It seems that Jesus, bloody and writhing with pain, gave us the most amazing gift when he spoke these words. In the middle of the deepest human darkness anyone could ever experience, Jesus spoke firmly and forcefully -- loudly, Luke says -- these words of complete comfort and ultimate love. He spoke them in forceful defiance of the despair and hopelessness that haunted his final hours. He did not let despair be the final word. He would choose where he would place his life, and he chose to place everything he had left into the hands of God. If anyone had reason to despair, it was Jesus on the cross. There was nothing pretty about what Jesus went through. All of his friends had just let him down; surely the memory of Judas’ kiss or Peter’s denial had not left his mind. He’d knelt in the garden alone, talking to God and begging. Could there be any other way to walk
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through this? He’d hung on the cross and uttered -- as Matthew and Mark report -- his sinking suspicion that God had abandoned him and that he was all alone. After these things ... after all of these things, then, Jesus does the most incredible, faith-filled thing: he struggles to suck in one last breath and calls out words of comfort and peace. These final words -- Jesus cried them out, and when he did, these words rang out with defiant hope into the dark despair. Horatio G. Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago with a lovely family - a wife, Anna, and five children. However, they were not strangers to tears and tragedy. Their young son died with pneumonia in 1871, and in that same year, much of their business was lost in the great Chicago fire. Yet, God in His mercy and kindness allowed the business to flourish once more. On Nov. 21, 1873, the French ocean liner, Ville du Havre was crossing the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe with 313 passengers on board. Among the passengers were Mrs. Spafford and their four daughters. Mrs. Spafford lived, but all four daughters perished. Mr. Spafford boarded a ship to join his wife. While on the way, he penned the famous hymn: “It is well with my soul.” I don’t know how Horatio Spafford summoned the courage to write these words of hope into the dark abyss of his situation. I think it might be possible that he remembered a Savior who had also suffered those feelings of hopelessness and chose, instead of surrendering to the darkness, to defiantly place everything he was into the hands of God. I suspect I might have gotten stuck at “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But as we remember Christ suffering and death on Good Friday, a day of darkness devoid of hope, we should thank Luke for reminding us that Jesus didn’t finish with that. Somehow, he managed the simple act of declaring the the least likely sentiment -- a prayer of comfort and peace instead of despair and death. Jesus turned his back on the darkness and laid in down in the one place he’d learned to believe in from the time he was a baby -- into the hands of God. On this, the darkest of days of our church year, we hold close this miracle of God with us. And as we stumble our way through this day and through the pain of our human lives, often unable to see through the darkness, we can, too. We can take our lives – exactly as they are -- and place them into the hands of God in an utterly defiant, totally revolutionary act of faith: “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”
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HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
CONSECRATION PHOTO GALLERY March 12, 2022 All Consecra on photos by Renee Preston Photography
The Episcopate Gathers on this joyous day!
The Cowden family prepares to celebrate. Fr. Josh gives instruction to the unruly banner bearers.
Presiding Bishop Curry and Bishop Klusmeyer in their Sunday best!
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HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
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The Consecration of our Bishop Coadjuter Presiding Bishop Curry shares a laugh with the newest Bishop of the Episcopal Church
The Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden celebrates for the first time as Bishop Coadjuter for the Episcopal Diocese of WV
Vivian Kost carries the St. John’s banner in procession. The newly Consecrated Bishop blesses the people. Verger, Chuck Andrus, leads the Clergy Procession Klárá Kovács follows The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry carrying the banner representing the National Church
Nathan Thomas with the Diocesan banner during the Clergy Procession
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THE ST. JOHN’S EAGLE NEWS FROM ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
A Tale of Two Processions It’s nearly Holy week and Jesus’ journey towards the cross has begun. By the time some of us read this, we will have already processed around the church on Palm Sunday, and bought Easter eggs and hot crossed buns, diverting our attention from the real meaning of Easter to its commercialized version. How many of us are sucked in? What is the focus of your thoughts as we head through Holy week – is it on the life, death and resurrection of Christ or is it on the upcoming Easter egg hunt and whether it will be warm enough to wear your new spring outfit? Most of us know that Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphant procession into Jerusalem on donkey’s back, but few of us are aware of just how subversive this act really was. As we walk through Holy Week toward the cross, Jesus’ actions become more and more subversive and radical. We have in fact entered the most subversive week of Jesus life.
William A. Murphy, organist for the Consecration of The Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden, leads the congregation in singing “Come Thou fount of every blessing.”
According to Borg and Crossan’s book The Last Week (Harper San Francisco, 2007), it is probable that there were two separate processions happening in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday – one that symbolized the Roman culture of Jesus day and the other with Jesus proclaiming a very different kind of kingdom. It would have been customary for Pontius Pilate to come with his soldiers to Jerusalem for Passover. His procession would have come from the west at the head of a column of cavalry and soldiers – an impressive and lavish procession specially designed to impress the people to discourage potential uprisings with a visual display of power: cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, all glittering in the sun. On the other side of the city, down from the Mount of Olives in the north, came Jesus and his humble procession – no soldiers or pagentry, dressed simply like the people, riding on the back of a donkey and followed by his disciples who were fishermen, peasants and the common people. I can even imagine the lepers he had healed and the once blind man dancing and rejoicing with him. And there is Lazarus with Mary and Martha a living symbol of Jesus’ power. Continued on page 10
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On Friday, March 25, The Rt. Rev. Michie Klusmeyer (left) presided at the institution of The Rev. Joshua A. Saxe (center), with The Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden (right). Fr. Josh is the son of Dr. Timothy and Susan Saxe and was a former member of St. John’s. We wish Fr. Josh, his wife, Catherine, and their daughters ,Willa and Clara, every happiness as they begin this next chapter in their lives.
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THE ST. JOHN’S EAGLE CONTINUES
Easter Lilies still available!
A Tale of Two Processions Continued from page 9
This year, we have much to celebrate! All signs are positive that Cabell County is now headed in the right direction!
There was rejoicing… Shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” greeted their passing. But this was a radical procession that was thumbing its nose at the Roman Empire with its power and wealth. It was a protest parade if there ever was one – and even if those shouting “Hosanna!” didn’t know it.
If you would like to purchase one or more Easter Lilies in memoriam or thanksgiving for friends and loved ones, please complete the form you’ll find in your Sunday bulletins or call the office to place your order. On your check, please note that the payment is for Easter Lilies.
How did Jesus follow up this entry into Jerusalem? He headed to the temple, overturned the tables and threw out the moneylenders making it clear to the religious leaders that their alignment with the power of Rome was completely unacceptable. And he caps the week off with a Passover meal, not revealing himself as an emperor messiah his followers and even his disciples were hoping, but washing feet! The last loving act of a radically different king. This week brought the simmering conflict between the kingdom of God and the empire of Rome to a head. Not just a theological statement but a political one as well. Jesus believed in the liberating, inclusive, non-violent, peace -seeking kingdom of God, while Roman policies continued to be oppressive, greedy and cruel.
PALM SUNDAY Sunday, April 10th @ 8 & 10:30 am & 5 pm In-person at St. John’s and streaming live on Facebook
Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem was obviously headed for a collision with the Roman empire. Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem may have begun with crowds shouting “Hosanna!” but it ends with Good Friday and what seemed like a win for evil and the world. It doesn’t end with a king’s crown but with a crown of thorns. It ends with Jesus, willing to take onto himself all the pain and suffering of our world so that together we can celebrate the beginning of a new procession on Easter Sunday that leads us into the feast of the Resurrected Christ.
MAUNDY THURSDAY Thursday, April 14th @ 7 pm In-person at St. John’s and streaming live on Facebook
THE WAY OF THE CROSS Friday, April 15th @ noon In-person at St. John’s and streaming live on Facebook
GOOD FRIDAY Friday, April 15th @ 7 pm St. John’s and Trinity joint service at Trinity and streaming live on Facebook
The question for all of us as we walk with Jesus from Palm Sunday to Good Friday is: Where are we? Are we part of that motley crew following Jesus -- aware that we are on a collision course with the values of the world? Or are we looking for the easy road -- willing to forsake the hard way of love where our radical and subversive Savior leads?
THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER Saturday, April 16th @ 8 pm St. John’s and Trinity joint service at St. John’s and streaming live on Facebook Celebrant: The Rt. Rev. Matthew Cowden, Bishop Coadjuter of the Diocese of WV
EASTER SUNDAY Sunday, April 17th @ 1 8 & 10:30 am In-person at St. John’s and streaming live on Facebook 11
HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
THE TRISAGION THE ST. JOHN’S EAGLE CONTINUES
THIS IS THE NIGHT Has there been a time for you when worshiping in community with each other at St. John’s has overwhelmed you with emotion? Perhaps peace, or joy, or awe or thanksgiving. Can you remember a moment like that? Not when you’re doing some sort of outreach or fellowship activity, but during our corporate liturgy. I can! For me, those moments most often occur in the Great Vigil of Easter. Last year in our Holy Week and Easter edition of The Trisagion, I was mourning the absence of the Easter Vigil for the SECOND year in a row. It is exciting to think we are about to feel, yet again, how beautiful the act of worshiping together can be. It will be the first time since 2019 that we will gather on this special night to hear the story of our faith come to life in a way that is unique to the Vigil. As the fire is kindled, we will be invited into this celebration with these words: “Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing his Word and celebrating his Sacraments, we share in his victory over death.” WE SHARE IN HIS VICTORY OVER DEATH! Lighting the Paschal Candle from the new fire of Easter and walking into the church behind the Paschal Candle, surrounded by clergy and choirs and our beloved community, I understand what Charles Wesley meant when he wrote about being “lost in wonder, love, and praise.” Then, in our darkening church, we will hear once again the ancient chant of the Exsultet echoing thru this space lit only by our candles. NOTE: Someone (raises hand sheepishly) forgot about Daylight Savings Time, so this year we will be gathering in our “not quite dark yet” church. But the Exsultet will be no less moving because of it! “Exsultet” comes from the first word of the ancient Latin chant Exsúltet jam angélica turba cælórum and it means “rejoice.” If the symbolism and pyrotechnics of the light in the darkness don’t make you realize what a special service the Vigil is, the Exsultet explains everything. Instead of a clergyperson directing us to confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness, as we have done at the start of each service throughout Lent, we command the choirs of angels in heaven, the whole of creation, and the church triumphant to rejoice! Rejoice because our mighty King has risen victorious from the dead! It is possibly the most beautiful and perfect piece of liturgical music ever written. (Mozart said that he would have given up all his works if he could have claimed authorship of the Exsultet.) Continued in next column
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I love hearing Dr. Castleberry’s clear tenor voice sing the Exsultet and I usually spend the next several days singing “This is the night” in my head over and over again. These words fill my being with wonder. In speech writing, speakers are encouraged to “Tell the listener what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” The Exultet does just that. It sets up the story we will hear in the scripture readings: “This is the night, when you brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of bondage in Egypt, and led them through the Red Sea on dry land.” It reminds us of the good news of the Resurrection: “This is the night, when all who believe in Christ are delivered from the gloom of sin,…when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell and rose victorious from the grave.” And it assures us of our oneness with all things heaven and earth: “How blest is this night, when earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God.” The Exultet then concludes with confidence in God’s never waning light in our world: “Accept our evening sacrifice, the offering of this candle in your honor. May it shine continually to drive away all darkness. May Christ, the Morning Star who knows no setting, find it ever burning – he who give his light to all creation.” Experiencing the Exultet and the entire Great Vigil of Easter it introduces is one of my mountain-top experiences of liturgy. We hope is that everyone who attends this service will experience the majesty, awe, love, thanksgiving, victory, and glory that is Easter. We are an Easter People! Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Dr. David Castleberry leads the Almost Heaven Choir and Dr. Mac Cowden in “Come my Way, my Truth, my Life.” during the Consecration of The Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden on March 12th.
THE TRISAGION
HOLY WEEK / / 2022 / / ISSUE NUMBER 11
Once there was a bunny named Bobby. Bobby Bunny lived in a small meadow outside the village where Jesus was teaching. He watched Jesus and how moms and dads and even children and animals listened to him. Bobby Bunny had always wanted to meet Jesus, but had only seen him from behind some tall grass because Bobby Bunny was very shy around people. Bobby Bunny and his friends went to school under a tree just near the edge of the meadow. One day, on his way to bunny school, Kids Corn er Bobby saw some other bunny boys playing with their Legos. His friend, Hopper, had some new Legos that Bobby Bunny had never seen before. He really, really wanted the blue one Hopper had because it was so cool! So, when his friends weren’t looking, Bobby Bunny put the blue one in his pocket. About that time, Jesus walked by with some of his people friends and all the shy bunnies scurried to pick up their Legos and hurry to the tall grass. Once everyone had passed, Hopper and Bobby’s other friends got their Legos out to play with them again and Hopper noticed his blue Lego was missing. He thought he might have left it at the edge of the meadow before they ran for the high grass, so all of his bunny friends went to help him look, Even though Bobby Bunny KNEW it was in his pocket, he didn’t say anything. After the bunny looked and looked for the blue Lego, they hopped back to the tree at the edge of the meadow to tell their teacher that Hopper’s blue Lego was missing. Hopper said “Mr. Whiskers, I think someone took my blue Lego. We’ve looked everywhere and we can’t find it.” Mr. Whiskers put down his book and asked all the boys, “Does anyone have Hopper’s blue Lego.” All the boys shook their heads and Bobby Bunny just looked down at his big bunny feet. So, Mr. Whiskers said, “I’m going to check everyone’s pockets to see if I can find the blue Lego, but first everyone must close their eyes…close them tight and don’t peek.” So they all closed their eyes as tight as they could. Bobby Bunny was VERY afraid. Mr. Whiskers began to check everyone’s pockets. First he checked Hopper’s pockets, and then Willie’s, and Charlie’s and Bobby’s. Bobby Bunny felt Mr. Whiskers take the Lego from his pocket, but Mr. Whiskers didn’t say anything. He just checked the pockets of the rest of the bunnies. Then Mr. Whiskers told them to open their eyes. He opened his big bunny paw, and there was the beautiful blue Lego that had been missing. Hopper was very happy to have it back, but Bobby Bunny still stayed quiet. Then Mr. Whiskers did something odd. He didn’t say any more. He just told them to open their books and he started teaching like nothing had happened.
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Bobby Bunny made a promise to himself that he would NEVER do anything like that again. And he didn’t. He grew up, got a little less shy and became a teacher in a Bunny School in the meadow outside another village. One day, MANY years later, he was hopping thru another village and saw the man Jesus teaching again. This time he was brave enough to hop over to where Jesus was teaching – even thought there were many people there. As he was hopping around the edge of the crowd, he looked up and there was a very old bunny sitting in the grass. He recognized the old bunny right away. It was Mr. Whiskers! He hopped up to him and said, “Mr. Whiskers! I recognized you. Do you recognize me?” Mr. Whiskers said, “No. I don’t think I do.” Bobby Bunny said, “I was one of your students at Bunny School and I became a Bunny Teacher because of you and what you did for me. I thought you might remember me because I was the one who stole a blue Lego from one of the other bunnies. You made us close our eyes and you searched our pockets and found the blue Lego in my pocket. You never told anyone that it was I who had stolen it. You didn’t lecture me or punish me or anything. You just went on teaching me and making sure I learned my lessons well. How could you not recognize me after that?” “Ah,” Mr. Whiskers said. “I didn’t recognize you because I didn’t know who had stolen the blue Lego. I closed my eyes too.” “Mr. Whiskers,” Bobby Bunny said with a tear, “how did you learn to love me that much when I had done something so wrong.” Mr. Whiskers simply turned his head and looked lovingly at Jesus and said, “I’ve been listening to MY teacher.”
Color Bobby Bunny while you think about what Bobby Bunny and Mr. Whiskers learned from Jesus. What do you think Bobby Bunny is teaching his family? 14
Easter Coloring Sheet
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ർ/ඈ St. Peter’s Episcopal Church 2248 Adams Avenue Huntington, WV 25704
THE TRISAGION THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE
OF
WV
The Rt. Rev. W. Michie Klusmeyer, Bishop Diocesan The Rt. Rev. Matthew D. Cowden, Bishop Coadjuter The Rev. Canon Chad Slater, Canon to the Ordinary Phone: 304.344.3597 On the web: wvdiocese.org/ Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/EpisDioWV
The Rev. Deborah Rankin Priest-in-Charge Cell: 330.671.6469 Email: Deb.rankin2013@gmail.com Lea Perkins Admin Phone: 304.546.1499 On the web: stpeterswv.com/ Follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/St-Peters-EpiscopalChurch-578162662263293
The Rev. Raymond J. Hage Priest (Ret.) Vivian Kost, Parish Life Dir. Email: office@stjohnshuntingtonwv.org Office Phone: 304.525.9501 Cell: 304.633.1797 On the web: stjohnshuntingtonwv.org/ Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/stjohnshuntington
ST. PETER’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH The Rev. James Morgan Interim Priest Kristi Meadows, Admin. Email: admin@wvtrinitychurch.org Office Phone: 304.529.6084 On the web: wvtrinitychurch.org/ Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/Trinity-EpiscopalChurch-Huntington-WV418519781555069