Dear Incarnation Family and Friends,

One resource I turn to for my daily devotional time is the YouVersion Bible App. Yesterday’s devotion included the following sentence: “Does my passion for justice and my desire for results sometimes make worship seem self-indulgent?”

In a similar vein, last week I attended a clergy lunch at which a colleague delivered a talk and said this: “You know work has become an idol when rest feels like sin.”

Worship and rest are the defining marks of the Sabbath. They are entirely necessary if we are to devote our whole selves – mind, body and spirit – to Jesus as his disciples. And yet, they can be the first things to go when life gets crazy and something's gotta give.

As we near Holy Week, I invite you to give yourself the gift of coming before God who loved you into being. To follow Jesus into the Passion, knowing that you were in the mind of Christ at every step he took. To sink into the many opportunities for worship and emerge with the words of Jesus on your lips: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

Creating spiritual space in your calendar is not an act of selfishness. It's an act of faith. It's trusting that God is at work, even and especially when we're not, so that the Holy Spirit can tend our hearts.

I look forward to our shared journey with Jesus to the cross and beyond. Wherever you spend the holiest week of the year, may Christ dwell in you richly and lead you to the threshold of new life.

Adrian+

Palms will be distributed at both services of Holy Eucharist on Palm Sunday, March 29. We begin the 11:00 a.m. service with a long procession - outside and around the block! - led by the children of the parish. (Children gather in the back of the church to line up at 10:50 a.m.)

After the Peace, children who painted a Station of the Cross will have the opportunity to present their Station in "show and tell" fashion. Click here for more information on tomorrow's painting event.

At the end of the service, the Incarnation Choir will offer a sung version of the Passion Gospel. The service ends with a silent recessional in darkness.

On Maundy Thursday, April 2, the Eucharist will be celebrated at 6:30 p.m., with the ceremonial “stripping of the altar." We will also include the traditional practice of foot washing at this service to imitate the humility and selfless love of Jesus, who washed the feet of the Twelve Apostles at the Last Supper.

The Maundy Thursday Prayer Vigil will follow in the Chapel of the Nativity until 10:00 p.m. You are invited to pray in the chapel at any time throughout the Vigil as we remember how Jesus asked his disciples to keep watch while he struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane with his impending sacrifice.

On Good Friday, April 3, at 12:00 p.m., we have the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday with communion from the reserved sacrament. We also will hold a Stations of the Cross prayer service at 2:00 p.m., using Stations created by Incarnation children. The church will remain open that day until 3:00 p.m. for prayer and meditation.

The Great Vigil of Easter will be held on Easter Eve, April 4, at 6:30 p.m. The service begins in darkness and consists of four parts: the Service of Light (kindling of new fire, lighting the Paschal candle, the Exsultet); the Service of Lessons (readings from the Hebrew Scriptures interspersed with canticles and prayers); Renewal of Baptismal Vows (with holy water and asperges); and the Eucharist. Join us for this first celebration of Easter when we move from darkness into light and let our "alleluias" ring out to celebrate the passing of Jesus from death to life.

After the early service at 8:30 a.m., the principal service of Easter Day, April 5, at 11:00 a.m. is a Festal Eucharist that expresses the very center of our faith: Jesus appears, risen from the dead. The joy and wonder of his followers is matched by the joy and wonder of our worship. 

This year's Easter worship will include a special musical offering by Incarnation children! (All children are welcome to join. Read more below.) After the service, we'll have an especially festive Coffee Hour and an Easter Egg Hunt for children.

Easter Music is one of my particular loves: brass, tympani, organ, and choral-congregational singing is to my mind’s “ear” what music is all about. Easter music is, for the most part, simple and tuneful - it is bold, assertive, rhythmic, and grounded in traditional harmonic structures. Because of these strong building blocks, it invites joyful singing and participation. Its language is simple, unadorned, and directly scriptural. It reflects the Protestant musical tradition at its very best; the Easter hymns are a combination of German chorales, Calvinist psalms, folk tunes, and Gregorian chant. 

We use modern sung parts of the mass known as the ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) to maximize participation. Our tradition as Protestant is intended to maximize participation to emphasize “the word” as a way of teaching scripture. Singing was an early instance of using multiple senses to learn – that multiple sensory approach became the foundation of modern learning theory.

For choral music this Easter, we will enjoy a wonderful Victorian classic with brass and tympani “Christ Our Passover” by MacFarlane – not surprisingly it is as fresh today as ever. The introit is a pulsing Surrexit Christus Hodie by Scheidt, an early German Baroque composer - it uses a toe tapping rhythmic motif in 3/8 time. At the offertory we will all become Southern Baptists and sing “Up from the Grave He Arose” with our brass quintet – we might even do some marching and stamping with our kids. Of course, there’s the Widor Toccata at the service end with a brass arrangement dedicated to our late director of music, David Ralph. Perhaps we could talk the brass into playing the perennial favorites from Holst’s Country Dance.

I guess it’s the one time of the year when it’s appropriate to contravene Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s aphorism “less is more” with “more is more” [JOY]! 

On Easter, Incarnation will be adorned with beautiful flowers, and we will enjoy enhanced music through generous donations to remember and honor your loved ones. Click here to donate online and select "Holiday Flowers and Music" in the drop-down menu. You can type up to 45 characters in the memo line to note "in memory of" of a departed loved one or "in thanksgiving for" a special person or blessing in your life.

If your submission is over 45 characters, you can email it to Thomas Reefer. Or you can print this form and send it to the church with a check.

Donations received by Good Friday, April 3, will be recognized in the Easter Day service leaflet.

Easter Day, April 5, 10:30 a.m.

All children are invited to participate in a simple and special rendition of "Up from the Grave He Arose" during worship.

Parents and children are asked to join Music Director Dr. Thomas Reefer and Children's Minister Amanda Bell for a rehearsal in the church at 10:30 a.m. This musical offering will include singing and movement, so please wear comfortable shoes.

Sunday, April 12, 10:00 to 10:40 a.m.

Sunday morning Bible Study returns in the Parish House. Join Fr. Greg for the first in a three-part series on "The Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus."

We will read and discuss the major passages describing these events as we re-discover them through the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Bibles will be provided.

Sunday, April 12, 12:30 to 2:00 p.m.

All young adults in their 20s and 30s are invited to a relaxed and engaging gathering in the new Parish House Conference Room. This time will include thoughtful conversation on faith, along with games and lunch in a welcoming and joyful setting.

Come as you are, bring a friend, and be part of a vibrant community. Contact Seminarian Romy John Abraham to RSVP.

Thursday, April 23, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

We warmly invite you to the Assembly Hall for A Celebration of Hymns and Faith led by Seminarian Romy John Abraham. This evening will center on the beauty and power of sacred music, bringing us together in worship, song, and shared spiritual experience. We will be using 1982 Hymnal and taking requests, so come ready to sing your favorite hymns.

It's a potluck! You are welcome to bring a dessert to share. Coffee and tea will be provided.

May God bless you with a spiritually fruitful Holy Week and a joyous Easter.

The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight.

Book of Common Prayer, p. 486

Church of the Incarnation | 209 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 | 212-689-6350 

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