The Fourth Sunday in Lent |
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“He revives my soul.”
This week’s scriptures bring us the familiar lines of Psalm 23, perhaps the best known and most memorized of all. It is a song of shepherds, crafted with the imagery of rolling hills and wandering sheep – which is not like the world most of us live in today, yet the words endure. I think that is because it speaks from our longing to be seen, to be known, to be gathered up and brought into the fold. The fears and hungers of our human conditions find ease, and so much more, as God meets them with the generous grace of healing. Valleys remain, yet when we walk in the shadowlands (and we will), God is there, fully present. God comforts and sustains, tends our weary souls, and prepares a feast, even as we bleat and continue wandering like sheep. Behind and before, the goodness and mercy of God are there. And even now, all around us, shoots of green are starting to push through the cold ground of winter and erupt from barren branches, reminding us that God is ever at work, bringing forth new growth and reviving us from deep within. Twila+
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Sunday, March 19: Holy Eucharist at 8 and 10:15 a.m.
All are invited for in-person worship, at 8 and 10:15 a.m. Sundays.
• Between worship services: 9 a.m. “Caring Cafe,” in the Walker Room (lower level), with coffee and conversation.
• After the 10:15 a.m. worship service: (about 11:30 a.m.) Faith Foundations with the Dean will meet in the Richmond Chapel. We’ll be looking at membership in the church, including rites of initiation, reception into the church, and more.
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Wednesday Evenings in Lent:
Soup and Beloved Community
6-8 p.m. Wednesdays – St. Philip’s and The Cathedral
This past week, more than 20 gathered at St. Philip’s for prayer, a soup supper, and discussion. This coming week we’ll be at the Cathedral, then the following week return to St. Philip’s. rsvp
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Faith Foundations
After the 10:15 a.m. worship service on Sundays in Lent (starting around 11:30 a.m., in the Richmond Chapel), Dean Twila is offering a peek into foundational understandings of our faith and a look at the present. Come for any or all.
This Sunday: What does “membership” in the church mean? We’ll take a look at baptism, confirmation, reception, and rites of initiation
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Organ Updates
The music task force made a recommendation and this past week the Vestry approved another phase in the Organ Transformation. There are several behind-the-scenes projects that will get underway right after Easter and continue into August. One of the first items you may notice is the disappearance of the Trompeta Real, which includes the horizontal, silver trumpet pipes in the Gallery. These will leave the Cathedral for a few weeks, for restoration, then return, shined-up and ready for Pentecost. The Trompeta Real, or Spanish Trumpet, includes 85 pipes – given to the Cathedral in 1965, in memory of Canon Mitchell Haddad, who served St. Paul’s nearly two decades. At nearly 60, these pipes need attention. Organ work through the summer is made possible through a designated fund that includes donations from multiple sources. Additional funds will need to be raised for remaining projects envisioned and you will hear more about that in the coming months.
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Dean Away Next Week
Dean Twila will be away Sunday afternoon through Saturday of the coming week for a clergy gathering on Lake Chautauqua, then a meeting with the Bishop and senior staff with the Dioceses of Toronto and Niagara, and will wrap-up the week in Erie, with an “emerging vocations” weekend, which she coordinates for our Diocesan Partnership.
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Property Updates
• Images in Glass has re-installed the stained glass windows on the Church Street side of the Richmond Chapel, which have been away the past few weeks for restoration work.
• Plasterwork begins this week (and is expected to continue for a few weeks) on the lower level of the Cathedral, in two areas adjacent to the Walker Room and the stairwell between the lower level and the Richmond Chapel. The rooms were both damaged by water in prior years, resulting in crumbling walls and peeling paint. Rob Jones has been instrumental in coordinating bids and getting this work underway. Once these areas are repaired, the areas will be painted, as we will move on to plaster repairs in other areas of the church and the ministry center.
• Door repairs have been made and others are underway. In the “when it rains, it pours” category, last week there were six set of doors on our repair list! Thanks to Kim O’Connell for her efforts to get these repairs addressed.
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Easter Lilies
Memorial gifts may be made through Palm Sunday, April 2, for Easter lilies to adorn the altar. Forms are available at the church or you may download one. After worship at Easter, lilies are delivered to persons who are at home or in nursing care and unable to attend in person.
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Palm Sunday 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., Sunday, April 2
We begin with the blessing and distribution of palms at the back of the church, then process in, recalling Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and Passion on the cross. Holy Week begins on this day and red is the liturgical color. “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Maundy Thursday 7 p.m. Thursday, April 6
This service marks Christ’s Last Supper and the initiation of the Eucharist. From the Latin word mandatum, meaning “command,” (John 13:34), Maundy Thursday recalls the new commandment given to us. The Holy Eucharist is celebrated and, in accordance with the Gospel of John, foot washing (and hand washing) will be offered. At the close of the service, the high altar will be stripped and elements carried to the Altar of Repose for a vigil, to stay awake an hour with Jesus. This begins the Paschal Triduum, the three days ending on Easter Sunday, commemorating Jesus’ death and resurrection. There is no dismissal, as it is considered one, continuous service.
Good Friday 12-3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday, April 7
The Cathedral will be open all day for prayer and devotion. Stations of the cross, prayer services on the hour, and music will mark our observances beginning at noon, with 33 strikes of a bell at 3 p.m., marking Jesus’ death. At 7 p.m., we will observe the liturgy of the day, including the Passion from the Gospel according to John and music.
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The Great Vigil of Easter 8 p.m. Saturday, April 8
The first celebration of Easter begins in darkness and includes the service of Light, with the chanting of the Exsultet; readings of scripture; baptism and the renewal of our vows; and Holy Communion. We keep the ancient Easter feast, in one of the most ancient customs of the church – with candlelight, prayer, music, and incense – rising to new, joyous life in Christ.
Easter Sunday 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Sunday, April 9
Bishop Sean Rowe will preach and preside at both worship services on the Sunday of the Resurrection, the first of the Easter season.
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Prayer and Pastoral Care
• If you have requests to add to the weekly Prayers of the People or a name to add for the prayers of clergy and the Pastoral Care Team, please email prayerrequests.
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If you are with a group meeting on Zoom,
use the following link, unless specified otherwise:
Meeting ID: 716 855 0900 Password: 4cathedral
By Phone: 929-205-6099 Access code: 716 855 0900 Password: 535 007 8352
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Diocesan Partnership and Church News
• See the Diocesan Partnership newsletter here.
• For more news about the Dioceses of WNY and NWPA and to sign up for emailed newsletters, go here.
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St. Paul's Cathedral | 716-855-0900 | 139 Pearl Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
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