Download entire newsletter The Way May 2010
From the Rector . . .
“Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote. The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth. The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne; And smale fowles maken melodye, That slepen al the night with open ye -- So priketh hem Nature in hir corages -- Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.”
The above is of course the opening in Middle English of the late 14th Century Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, a revealing tale of a good deal more than a pilgrimage as a motley group goes to the shrine of Thomas a’ Becket at Canterbury. It was the most richly appointed shrine in England until Henry VIII stripped it like he did everything else. Needless to say, a monument to a cleric who defied a king was not much to Henry’s liking. Unfortunately we don’t often go on real pilgrimages in April when the weather is better (and I’m guessing May in Montana is more like an English April) but we do start thinking of going places. It always helps our mind and spirit to be elsewhere and see what adheres and what falls away. God is involved in that process.
Our May calendar has lots going on. I think most of us remember the verses from Ecclesiastes that say to everything there is a season. It was a popular folk song when I was young. It’s good to remember those old songs so when your teenagers misbehave you can threaten to sing them in front of their friends. This is the season of frantic activity, followed by the season of somewhat-less-frantic-activity, followed by the welcome slowing down of fall.
Our vestry had a retreat in early spring to look at the health of our parish. We have had many success and some failures as well. I suspect our own lives are not dissimilar. The vestry believes we need to have some time together as a parish both to worship together, eat together and vision together. Our first such event will be after the 9 A.M. service on June 20th. Church will be followed by a potluck so bring something to eat. We will look at our success as a parish at that time.
Our next time together will look at what we think the needs of our community are – not the whole of Billings but rather our community of the church and our immediate neighborhood – a need we rarely think about.
Do remember that during the summer we continue with our 5 pm, Saturday service but we have only one service on Sunday at 9 am. There will be no Wednesday noon service during the summer. Starting next September, we will have only one service on the first weekend of the month. That means no Saturday service either. The vestry felt a need to meet as a whole parish once in a while. That service will be at 9 am with a brunch afterward and a program. This means we can’t be on autopilot when looking at what time church is This will not please some of you but it will allow us to vision together as a parish.
Faithfully, Canon Gary Waddingham
From the Rector . . .
“Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote. The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth. The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne; And smale fowles maken melodye, That slepen al the night with open ye -- So priketh hem Nature in hir corages -- Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.”
The above is of course the opening in Middle English of the late 14th Century Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, a revealing tale of a good deal more than a pilgrimage as a motley group goes to the shrine of Thomas a’ Becket at Canterbury. It was the most richly appointed shrine in England until Henry VIII stripped it like he did everything else. Needless to say, a monument to a cleric who defied a king was not much to Henry’s liking. Unfortunately we don’t often go on real pilgrimages in April when the weather is better (and I’m guessing May in Montana is more like an English April) but we do start thinking of going places. It always helps our mind and spirit to be elsewhere and see what adheres and what falls away. God is involved in that process.
Our May calendar has lots going on. I think most of us remember the verses from Ecclesiastes that say to everything there is a season. It was a popular folk song when I was young. It’s good to remember those old songs so when your teenagers misbehave you can threaten to sing them in front of their friends. This is the season of frantic activity, followed by the season of somewhat-less-frantic-activity, followed by the welcome slowing down of fall.
Our vestry had a retreat in early spring to look at the health of our parish. We have had many success and some failures as well. I suspect our own lives are not dissimilar. The vestry believes we need to have some time together as a parish both to worship together, eat together and vision together. Our first such event will be after the 9 A.M. service on June 20th. Church will be followed by a potluck so bring something to eat. We will look at our success as a parish at that time.
Our next time together will look at what we think the needs of our community are – not the whole of Billings but rather our community of the church and our immediate neighborhood – a need we rarely think about.
Do remember that during the summer we continue with our 5 pm, Saturday service but we have only one service on Sunday at 9 am. There will be no Wednesday noon service during the summer. Starting next September, we will have only one service on the first weekend of the month. That means no Saturday service either. The vestry felt a need to meet as a whole parish once in a while. That service will be at 9 am with a brunch afterward and a program. This means we can’t be on autopilot when looking at what time church is This will not please some of you but it will allow us to vision together as a parish.
Faithfully, Canon Gary Waddingham
Last modified: Wednesday, 28 April 2010, 12:51 PM