Popped over to the little neighborhood Episcopal parish this morning for church, since I wasn't in the mood to go off on an excursion around town to go someplace different. I slipped out right after communion, and it was 12:18; I'd go to this church a lot more if they didn't seem to think two hour-plus regular services were okay. Their problem? This morning, they spent 35 minutes passing the peace and doing announcements. Peace passing? Announcements? I'm not in the pews to be social.
When we look at the liturgy, we trace our passing of the peace to the Latin direction, Offerte vobis pacem, or, "Offer each other peace," in the Roman Catholic Mass. The General Instructions to the Roman Missal, which is the book that explains what is being done, why, and how it should be accomplished, admonishes, "It is appropriate that each one give the sign of peace only to those who are nearest and in a sober manner." It also notes that passing the peace is "optional." So, if and when we actually have to pass the peace, I don't want to have to shake hands with more than three or four people. I don't want to hug. I don't want to empty out of my pew and have to go greet dozens of people in the congregation. I don't want the priest to leave the sanctuary and come down to my pew to greet me. This isn't a time for a congregational chat. Unfortunately, a lot of "contemporary" parishes seem to think we need to interrupt our personal prayer and worship time with a Rotary club mixer.
Anyway, this was the first Sunday at this church that I really didn't like the music. They did a song called "Keep Your Lamps" arranged by Andre Thomas as the offertory anthem. This piece included accompaniment by the young white seminarian playing the bongos, in addition to the organist. Unfortunately, the choir had a hard time this morning agreeing on unison pitch, especially on the last note. That happens sometimes. Whatever, the song wasn't to my personal taste.
This parish has the tradition of doing a couple of unusual choir offerings. At the beginning, they did an uncredited song as an introit called "I sing the mighty power of God," and after communion, they were slated to do an "orison" called "Give Thanks" by Henry Smith. Personally, I would cut both of these in the interest of time.
The rest of the music was very standard, with Truro as the processional hymn, St. Petersburg as the sequence, and Land of Rest as the recessional. Scheduled communion hymns (I didn't stick around) were scheduled to be "It is well with my soul," "Great is Thy faithfulness," and "Lead me, guide me."
Mass setting was a mix, with Franz Schubert's Deutsche Messe settings of the sanctus and benedictus and the agnus Dei, Albert Hay Mallotte's "The Lord's Prayer," and David Hurd's New Plainsong Mass version of the fraction anthem.
The rector served as celebrant and homilist, and spent his 20 minute sermon illuminating the Gospel reading about the five wise and five foolish virgins and their oil lamps before a wedding feast, a parable that doesn't translate well to modern times and culture. I'm still confused.
A personal journey through faith as a moderate Christian and former choir boy.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Mass and a holy day all in one
Przemek insisted on going to the noon Mass at the Basilica again this weekend, when, what with the extra hour of daylight savings time sleep, this would have been a great chance to have gone to one of the earlier Masses at a different church around town. Turns out he wanted to go to confession again, as if his long confession last week (that made him late to Mass) wasn't enough. Now, Przemek is the very definition of innocence and naïveté, so I can't imagine whatever he must have done to warrant the need for another absolution, and my curiosity is piqued since he blushed so when I asked him what he'd done this past week.
They were celebrating the solemnity of All Souls today at the basilica. The highlight of the Mass was the Fauré Requiem, which they managed to work in as the Mass setting for most of the service (though once again, they defaulted to Hurd's New Plainsong Mass for the great thanksgiving and the consecration. Then for post-communion ablutions, the choir did Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine. They rounded out the francophile service with a French composer for the prelude, Jean Berveller and his Épitaphe.
Hymns today were "O Lord, to Whom the spirits live" (familiar words but to a traditional sounding hymn tune I didn't know) for the processional and "I know that my Redeemer lives" to Duke Street for the recessional.
What is shocking at the basilica are the gift shops. As you may know from previous posts, they have two stores downstairs. One is more of a bookstore with books and music and the other is all the rest of religious oriented bric-a-brac. Well, I walked in, and the giftshop was playing a contemporary version of "Little Drummer Boy" and when I went to the bookstore, they were playing "Gesu Bambino." It's not even Advent yet and they are playing Christmas music in church!
They were celebrating the solemnity of All Souls today at the basilica. The highlight of the Mass was the Fauré Requiem, which they managed to work in as the Mass setting for most of the service (though once again, they defaulted to Hurd's New Plainsong Mass for the great thanksgiving and the consecration. Then for post-communion ablutions, the choir did Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine. They rounded out the francophile service with a French composer for the prelude, Jean Berveller and his Épitaphe.
Hymns today were "O Lord, to Whom the spirits live" (familiar words but to a traditional sounding hymn tune I didn't know) for the processional and "I know that my Redeemer lives" to Duke Street for the recessional.
What is shocking at the basilica are the gift shops. As you may know from previous posts, they have two stores downstairs. One is more of a bookstore with books and music and the other is all the rest of religious oriented bric-a-brac. Well, I walked in, and the giftshop was playing a contemporary version of "Little Drummer Boy" and when I went to the bookstore, they were playing "Gesu Bambino." It's not even Advent yet and they are playing Christmas music in church!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
All Hallows' Eve Mass
St. Paul's K Street opted to hold their festival All Saints Day service on the eve of the day (All Hallows' Eve, you know), so I started off my Halloween evening in church. While they ended up with a full church, it wasn't packed and standing room only the way it often is. I suppose Halloween had a lot to do with that.
This was my first time to hear Robert McCormick, their new organist-choirmaster stolen this past summer from Smokey Mary's in New York City. He's interestingly young looking, even younger than his chronological age of thirty.
McCormick started off the service with Bach's Präludium und Fuge c-moll, BWV 546 as the prelude, then he played the opening hymns, first Sine Nomine (For all the saints) then Zeuch mich, zeuch mich (Who are these like stars appearing). It takes two hymns at St. Paul's since they do a full, formal, solemn procession around and about the church.
After a quick switch with John, he conducted the choir for the Mass setting while John played. They used Edward Bairstow's Communion Service in D, which, apparently, I've never done before, because I didn't recall the "spookiness" of it in places. The Agnus Dei became the communion motet.
Other hymns last night included "Ye Holy Angels Bright" to Darwall's 148th for the sequence, Land of Rest during the ablutions, and Lasst uns erfreuen for the recessional. The choir sang the psalm to Anglican chant by Charles Villiers Stanford, and both the Nicene Creed and Lord's Prayer were chanted by congregation and choir.
The offertory anthem was a lovely rendition of William H. Harris's "Faire Is the Heaven." He also got featured in the postlude, when John played his "Flourish for an Occasion."
The rector served as celebrant. Guest homilist was Father Wood from the Church of Ascension and St. Agnes.
They had a reception following the service where I ate too many deviled eggs and smoked salmon canapés washed down with shiraz wine. Fun fun.
Their construction project is coming along and should be done by the end of the month. They are waiting on the city to give them certificates of occupancy, though, and that can take a while. I'm anxious to see evetything when they get moved in to the new space.
This was my first time to hear Robert McCormick, their new organist-choirmaster stolen this past summer from Smokey Mary's in New York City. He's interestingly young looking, even younger than his chronological age of thirty.
McCormick started off the service with Bach's Präludium und Fuge c-moll, BWV 546 as the prelude, then he played the opening hymns, first Sine Nomine (For all the saints) then Zeuch mich, zeuch mich (Who are these like stars appearing). It takes two hymns at St. Paul's since they do a full, formal, solemn procession around and about the church.
After a quick switch with John, he conducted the choir for the Mass setting while John played. They used Edward Bairstow's Communion Service in D, which, apparently, I've never done before, because I didn't recall the "spookiness" of it in places. The Agnus Dei became the communion motet.
Other hymns last night included "Ye Holy Angels Bright" to Darwall's 148th for the sequence, Land of Rest during the ablutions, and Lasst uns erfreuen for the recessional. The choir sang the psalm to Anglican chant by Charles Villiers Stanford, and both the Nicene Creed and Lord's Prayer were chanted by congregation and choir.
The offertory anthem was a lovely rendition of William H. Harris's "Faire Is the Heaven." He also got featured in the postlude, when John played his "Flourish for an Occasion."
The rector served as celebrant. Guest homilist was Father Wood from the Church of Ascension and St. Agnes.
They had a reception following the service where I ate too many deviled eggs and smoked salmon canapés washed down with shiraz wine. Fun fun.
Their construction project is coming along and should be done by the end of the month. They are waiting on the city to give them certificates of occupancy, though, and that can take a while. I'm anxious to see evetything when they get moved in to the new space.