Volume 52, June 2023

PENTECOST

At the first Pentecost after the resurrection “suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind... and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance,” (Acts 2.2-4).

St Peter, on that occasion interpreted that event as the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, that in the last days, the Spirit would be poured out on all persons, and not exclusively so to the religious and political leaders of Israel. Joel (maybe b. 9th century B.C.) wrote:

“Afterwards I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my Spirit,” (Joel 2.28-29).

Not for nothing Joel was called the ‘Prophet of Pentecost.’

As the story unfolds in the Book of Acts, wherever the Christian message was accepted and men and women were baptized and received the laying on of hands, the Spirit was made manifest. In the Book of Acts and in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit was speaking in “tongues.” St. Paul challenged this narrow interpretation of what receiving the Holy Spirit meant as in Corinth it was insisted that everyone should speak in a tongue and this insistence turned out to be disruptive and divisive. He did not deny that speaking in tongues was a gift of the Holy Spirit but claimed that every Christian was given a gift of the Holy Spirit and that these gifts covered a wide spectrum:

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit...” etc. (I Cor. 12.7-10).

St. Paul goes on to write that while these gifts of the Spirit are numerous and varied there is one gift of the Spirit that all Christians should have and make plain in their lives- the gift of love. St. Paul’s description of love (agape) in First Corinthians, chapter thirteen, is one of the most important passages in the New Testament. That passage is nothing less than the best description of what the Spirit of Christ is and of the quality of his life that gives us a blueprint for our own Christian living:

“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends;...(1 Cor. 13.4-8).

The Christian religion is a work of the Holy Spirit from beginning to end. Jesus’ life was conceived by the Spirit. He was continuously responsive to the Spirit throughout his life. At the end, that same Spirit was delivered to and made manifest in the Christian fellowship. Under the influence of the Spirit the Church recognizes the Lordship of Christ.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22.17, 22).

Yours sincerely,

Douglas Dupree

Pentecost

PENTECOST is not the feast of the Holy Ghost, it is the feast of his descent upon us. The Son of God came down and was made man in the womb of Mary. 

The Holy Ghost came down and was made human in the souls of Christians. When Jesus was ripe for birth, he left Mary's womb, to grow up and be himself. He outgrew first her womb and then her lap, first her protection, last her person and her mind. 

But as the Holy Ghost grows in us, it is not he but we who grow. He does not grow up and leave us behind, we grow up into him. He becomes the spring and substance of our mind and heart. He is the never-failing fountain of which Jesus spoke to the Samaritaness. We break up the stony rubbish of our life again and again, to find and release the well of living water.



Austin Farrer (1904-29)

June Interview

An interview with Tim Tuller and Carole Clifford about the beautiful St. John’s Cathedral Psalter they have produced and recently published. Douglas Dupree [HDD] interviewing.

Tim Tuller has been Canon for Music at St. John’s Cathedral for over sixteen years. He is originally from Upstate New York, and did his undergraduate degree at Ithaca College, followed by graduate work at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Tim considers music to be ‘both my vocation and my hobby!’

Dr Carole Clifford is a professional opera singer and voice teacher and a member of the St. John’s Cathedral Choir. She has had a long association with the Cathedral having been invited to sing with the St. John’s Art Singers in 1979 on return to Jacksonville after completing her master’s and doctorate at FSU. In later years, after a successful musical career in New York and abroad, Carole returned to Jacksonville and made the Cathedral her spiritual home.

HDD: We all know the Bible has a book or section called ‘the Psalms.’ What is the difference between the Book of Psalms and a ‘Psalter’?

TIM: Well, I don't think this is a technical definition, but I think of a Psalter as a stand-alone volume containing the Book of Psalms, often (but not necessarily) set to some sort of chant or music, and/or perhaps containing some reflections or other devotional material relevant to the Psalms. 

HDD: At which services does the Cathedral choir sing Psalms?

TIM: It varies greatly throughout the year. We always chant the Psalm at Evensong services, but it changes throughout the year on Sunday mornings. Oftentimes we will sing an Anglican chant Psalm as a communion piece as well.

HDD: What were the specific or acute needs of the Choir and worship that led you to say, “We need a new Psalter?” How long in the works was this project? i.e. starting date and publication date?

TIM: Because of our incomplete Psalm collection, I would often have to simply assemble specific Psalms myself to cover what we needed at any given time. The result was an unwieldy file cabinet stuffed full of makeshift, Xeroxed Psalms. I finally decided it was time to clean everything up, fill in all the gaps, and get all 150 Psalms together in one place set to the tunes our choir was accustomed to. 

HDD: I know Carole Clifford was very important in your desire to produce a new Psalter for the Cathedral Choir.

TIM: Yes, I worked with Carole Clifford to get all the music and text together for all of the Psalms, and she set the text and did the typesetting for the music. The entire project took over two years. At the time this was simply supposed to be a volume for our own choir to use in-house. I had zero aspirations to publish anything or sell anything. That came about later once we saw how well the project was going.

HDD: Carole, what gifts or experiences as a musician did Tim Tuller see in you as a potential collaborator with him on this project? 

CAROLE: I believe my knowledge of the program Finale for type setting the music was a big plus. It also doesn't hurt that we are both perfectionists. Were mistakes made? Absolutely! We've already got a list going for the second edition!

HDD: As someone who sings in the choir, how does this new Psalter ‘feel’ as an aid to the choir in their contribution to worship?

CAROLE: One of the requirements that Tim required was that it had to lie flat. Most musicians are aware of having to break the spine of a hymn book, a Psalter, or any other book that comes into your life. We have the music at the top of each page, so no flipping back and forth.

Our publisher, Tim Ware of Digital Print and Media (which is only 2-3 blocks east of the Cathedral on Church Street) helped us make practical decisions which really helped propel us to make this Psalter available to anyone who finds it useful or just interesting. Ware is also a musician at Riverside Presbyterian... and proof the world is small—Tim’s wife, Bridget, is the one who made our singing masks for Covid-19 using one of our old choir robes.

Click here to continue reading the interview.

Bishop's Institute 2022-23 Foundations Course

Sixteen lay men and women from churches in the Diocese of Florida have completed the Bishop’s Institute’s Foundations Course--- a ten-month course that met monthly from September 2022- June 2023.

The graduates received a certificate from Bishop Howard at the final meeting of the course on Saturday, June 3 at the Diocesan Office. The Bishop’s Institute is grateful to the Dean and staff of St. John’s Cathedral for providing a venue for some of the monthly meetings. Another special thanks goes to Sue Engemann for providing the course with plenty of coffee and delicious lunches.

The course, designed and guided by Father Charlie Holt, with a number of priests from the Diocese teaching specific papers, provided a foundation in the Scriptures, Church History, Creeds and Doctrine. It provided also a practical guide to Biblical hermeneutics and apologetics designed for lay leaders.

Pictured above from left to right: Father Holt, Katie Bennett (San Jose, Jacksonville), Jennifer Santarone, (St. Patrick’s Church, Jacksonville), Arlene Jones (St. Philip’s Church, Jacksonville), Rich Phelan (Good Shepherd, Jacksonville), Heather Johnston (Redeemer, Jacksonville), Bishop Howard, Gail Kraynak (St. James’, Lake City), Jay Watson (St James’, Lake City), Martye Groble (St. Mark’s, Jacksonville), Father Dupree, Kathie Nevin (Church of Our Saviour, Jacksonville) and Bob Nay (St. Patrick’s, Jacksonville).

Not in the photo but receiving certificates: Nicole Crouch (St. Patrick’s, Jacksonville), Ed D’Avi (St. Francis in- the- Field, Ponte Vedra Beach ), Anne Ellis (St. Mark’s, Jacksonville), Warren Jackson (Trinity Parish, St. Augustine), David Michal (Good Shepherd, Jacksonville) and Barbara Stevenson (St. Mark’s, Jacksonville).

June Quiz

This month’s Quiz is based on Jason Ryan’s book One Thousand Testimonies, 2018 and matching the life and witness of some former atheists and agnostics to Christian faith. Place a number (corresponding to a name) by each of the descriptions below.

_____ French psychiatrist whose parents were freethinkers and who joined the Communist party at age fifteen; broke with the party in 1937 and eventually became a Roman Catholic priest.

_____ Phenomenologist philosopher who converted to Roman Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun; declared a saint by John Paul II.

_____ Nobel Prize-winning dissident author of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Gulag Archipelago who converted to the Orthodox Church.

_____ Physician-geneticist, noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes; Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute; former atheist.

_____ Chinese student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989; converted to Christianity in 2009.

_____ Baptist minister, author and the son of atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

_____ Poet and wife of C.S. Lewis.

_____ British novelist and author of Brideshead Revisited who converted to Roman Catholicism from agnosticism.

1. Ignace Lepp

2. Evelyn Waugh

3. Joy Davidman

4. Edith Stein

5. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

6. Chai Ling

7. William J. Murray

8. Francis Collins

For the correct matches, please click here.

An Interview with Phil Eschbach,

Photographer of Spires in the Sun

Pictured left to right: Jonathan Rich, Author with Phil Eschbach, Photographer of Spires in the Sun

Spires in the Sun: The Carpenter Gothic Episcopal Churches of Florida, written by Jonathan Rich and photographed by Phil Eschbach is in the final stages of publication with the publisher Frederic C. Beil of Savannah, Georgia.

Spires in the Sun will be the definitive history of many of our churches in the Diocese that were founded in the 19th century following the Civil War. All the churches included in the book are fully and beautifully photographed. In addition to being a first-rate history of many of our churches, it will be a beautiful book to possess, expertly published by a distinguished publisher.

Look for more information about the availability of Spires in the Sun and the launch of the book which will be available this Fall. Meanwhile, I hope you might enjoy this interview with the book’s photographer, Phil Eschbach. Douglas Dupree (HDD).

HDD: How many years have you been working with the author Jonathan Rich on Spires in the Sun?

Phil: Probably since around 2005.

HDD: How many churches in the Diocese of Florida have you photographed? Which ones did you particularly take to heart as a photographer?

Phil: I have photographed all 39 in the book plus a couple others that we did not choose to include. I particularly liked three – Melrose, Melbourne and Monticello all because I had a personal connection to them. Ancestors built or started the last two and Melrose was where I grew up.

HDD: As a photographer, how did you ‘approach’ photographing a church, i.e. did you have a preconceived plan or did you just arrive on the day and let what you found guide the direction of your shoot?

Phil: I already was familiar with the above-mentioned churches and knew what to expect. Since I was familiar with the style and general history of the others, I was already prepared to look for certain angles and details to shoot for. Before I retired, I was a commercial photographer, specializing in architecture, so I knew how to compose images with an architectural eye, to begin with. All that was necessary was to find the angle with the least distractions (telephone wires, fire hydrants, dead grass, etc. that showed the structure in the best light. I had to go back several times for better light. I also usually tried to capture the church from the same angle that was shown in an early B&W from the time it was built, that we had on file - for comparison.

HDD: Tell us about your interest in the Carpenter Gothic churches in the Diocese of Florida in relation to your own family history. Which of these churches do you have a family connection to?

Phil: The church at Melbourne was built by my great grandfather’s brother. In it are several family windows, so I was always attached to it. Next the church at Monticello was founded by several ancestors – the Eppes families and the Gadsden families. Two Eppes brothers married two of my ancestor’s daughters and another Eppes brother became its rector. The Eppes boys were sons of Francis Eppes who moved to Tallahassee early in the 1820s. Francis was the grandson of Thomas Jefferson. James Gadsden and his brother Octavious, both original members and founders have descendants in Monticello today that are cousins of mine. The church at Melrose was ever present where I grew up and most of its members were/are friends of mine. I also have a distant connection to the church at Hibernia which was founded by the Flemings. My grandfather’s daughter married William Fleming who was a cousin to the Hibernia Flemings.

HDD: Have you been a long-time Florida resident?

Phil: My family came to St. Augustine in the 1770s, making me a 9th generation Floridian. That patriarch brought with him 7 children, most of whom stayed in Florida producing many descendants and they were all Episcopalians. I keep running into cousins everywhere I go in “old Florida,” especially in north and north central Florida. I have written a book about that early family and their escapades from the time they arrived, up to about the time of statehood in 1845.

Click here to finish reading the interview.

Archdeacon's Corner

The Book of Psalms

The Israelites composed lots of poetry throughout their history. The largest collection of poetry in the Bible is the book of Psalms.

These poems or psalms were written by Israelite sages, kings, and prophets. Some poems were sung by choirs in the Jerusalem temple, while others were prayed by families at home. Over the centuries, the most important and widely read poems were compiled together to be read or sung on special occasions.

However, the book of Psalms isn’t just a collection of poems and songs. The hypothesis of a link between the five books of the Psalms and the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) has a long history. While not accepted or assumed by all interpreters, this view nevertheless passed from ancient Jewish interpreters into the early church and found favor with the early church fathers. This holds that each poem has been expertly crafted and then placed where it is for a reason, to create a storyline from the book’s beginning to its end. The Psalms poetically retell the entire biblical story, and they invited the Israelites and you into a literary temple.

The Tabernacle and then later the Temple, are where the ancient Israelites went to meet with God. First in the desert (Moses and the wilderness) and then in Jerusalem (Solomon and Mt Moriah). When you arrived, you would see art and imagery everywhere. You’d see priests performing rituals, you’d hear songs and prayers, all of it symbolically proclaiming that God rules the world from this tabernacle or temple, and that you are in his house. Remember the Tabernacle and the Temple were designed and decorated to resemble the garden of Eden.

The temple wasn’t just a place to be in God’s presence, but also a place where you would immerse yourself in the story of God and his people. When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, plundered, and burned the temple, taking many Israelites into exile. The Israelites believed they had lost their connection to God. One can only imagine how traumatized they were believing that they were unable to be in God’s presence.

This Babylonian exile is where the book of Psalms comes in. It became a prayer book for exiles designed as a virtual temple. You enter the Psalms to meet with God, and to hear the entire biblical story of God’s Kingdom sung back to you in poetry. But how?

Starting with the book’s design. There are 150 poems in Psalms which can be categorized into broad sections “laments” and “praise,” that are designed for prayer and worship. These laments and praise poems can then be broken up into five clear sections. The five sections follow the Pentateuch as follows:

Book 1           Genesis           Psalms 1-41                David

Book 2           Exodus           Psalms 42-72              David/Korah

Book 3           Leviticus         Psalms 73-89              Asaph

Book 4           Numbers         Psalms 90-106            Unknown

Book 5           Deuteronomy  Psalms 107-150          David/Unknown

In the beginning, there is a short introduction using Psalms 1 and 2. They lay out the main themes of the entire book by reviewing the biblical storyline.  Psalm 1 looks back to the garden of Eden and its river of life. The first psalm paints a portrait of hope about an upright human who delights in God’s wisdom, which is called Torah, or “instruction.” This person is like the tree of life in the garden-temple, eternally blossoming.

Remember in Genesis that God made a promise to Adam and Eve, that from the seed of the woman, would come one, who would defeat evil and restore the world. That’s what Psalm 2 is about. It starts with the rejection of God’s rule by us and the nations. But God remains faithful and keeps His promise, that a king would come from the line of David. God appoints him to bring justice on human evil and to restore God’s Kingdom and peace over the nations. We know him as Jesus.

So, Psalms 1 and 2 introduce a savior to all exiles from the Kingdom of God.

After Psalms 1 and 2 the book can then be divided into five sections. The first two explore the complicated story of David and his royal family. The third section focuses on the tragedy of Israel’s exile and the downfall of David’s royal line. But like Psalms 1 and 2, the fourth and fifth sections rekindle the hope for the Messiah, a new temple, and God’s Kingdom on the other side of the exile. Then the book ends with a five-part conclusion, and ending with Psalms 148, 149, and 150 praising God for his faithfulness.

Many believe that only King David, wrote the Psalms. Yes, many were written by David. In fact, there are 73 poems connected to David, because his story is important. He experienced many times of hardship, but he trusted God with unwavering faith. In his poems, David shares his fears, confesses his failures, and offers thanks to his redeemer. And he’s constantly speaking of a deep longing to be in God’s presence in the temple. This portrait of David hoping and praying for God’s Kingdom and a future temple, represents the hopes of later generations, and so David’s prayers became theirs as well.

The Psalms are designed for a lifetime of slow re-reading and reflection. These prayers and laments and songs of praise are meant to become our own. They’re poems for exiles, who are learning to live by God’s wisdom and to seek God’s justice in the world, as they hope for the coming Messiah who will bring all exiles into the Kingdom of God. We know the Messiah has already come, and Jesus will come again. As we say each Sunday:

           “Christ has died.

             Christ is risen.

             Christ will come again.”

Praying that our Lord finds you and yours well. 



The Ven. Mark Richardson,

Archdeacon

Register Today:

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land & Jordan

Oct. 24 - Nov. 4, 2023

"View the Promised Land from where Moses viewed it, then cross into the Promised Land close to where Joshua crossed!"

Join the Rev. Canon Douglas Dupree this fall on Oct. 24 - Nov. 4, 2023 on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jordan, Asia!

During this trip, you will delve into the truths as you learn from some traditions and historical teachings from thousands of years, but most of all from the Holy Bible. You will walk where Jesus walked, learn of the homeland for the Christian faith, and return home, never to be the same again!

Destinations include as Mt. Beatitudes, Megiddo National Park, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and more!

To view the brochure, please click here. For more information, please contact the Rev. Canon Douglas Dupree: ddupree@diocesefl.org.

Jacque and Jay: Quilts, Paintings, and Drawings at St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville