From the Rector's Desk

Dear friends,

I am pleased to be writing to you about a Lenten program that has greatly excited my interests, and I hope will stimulate your enthusiasm, too.

We are going to have a liturgy of Evensong each Thursday in Lent, at 6:30 p.m. Evensong is a service of great beauty and dignity, drawn initially from the English monastic tradition, and developed to a high degree of elegance and sophistication at English universities.

Evensong is a sung form of Evening Prayer. The basic liturgy of Evening prayer is found in the Book of Common Prayer, page 115 to 126. It consists of psalms, readings and canticles, (canticles are sacred songs usually drawn from scripture or tradition) followed by prayers. Some of the most beautiful English church music has been written for this liturgy and Evensong remains one of the most beautiful, artistic, meditative liturgies in Anglican tradition.

But we are not just going to stay in the past. Yes, we will begin on 7 February with a traditional Elizabethan language Evensong. But then we will continue on successive Thursdays, with a modern Evensong; an ancient lamp lighting service called a Lucernarium; then a liturgy using contemporary inclusive language texts, a liturgy using feminine imagery for God, and finally, a liturgy of Compline, the liturgy for the end of the evening.


These will be musical services. Gordon is assembling a volunteer choir to lead the chanting of the psalms and canticles. We will provide some music for you to sing. The clergy will take turns singing the liturgy. If you would like to help, we can use readers and perhaps an acolyte on a couple of occasions.

This should be exciting. I am eager to make this liturgy a part of my own Lenten devotions and I hope you will join me.

Faithfully,


The Rev’d Lloyd Prator
Rector