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14 March 2010 The Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare) If you are visiting or new to Saint Ignatius, we hope that you will feel welcome and at home. Please join us after Mass for Coffee Hour downstairs in the Parish Hall, and, if you will, fill out a visitor’s/newcomer’s card so that we can keep in touch. Infant & Toddler Nursery is located just adjacent to the Parish Hall downstairs, please ask an usher to show you where to go. We have professional child care avaialble and parents are welcome to come and go throughout the service. Plainchant differs from modern music in that it is monodic, rather than harmonic; it is meant to be sung without instrumental accompaniment; it does not employ strict time-values (although some plainchant authorities disagree); it uses “modes” which differ significantly from the modern major and minor scales, and it uses “square-note” notation on a four-line staff. — Antonio Ramirez and Douglas Keilitz Lenten Liturgical Colour and Church Decoration Traditionally at Saint Ignatius, following the customs of the Western Rite, the liturgical color for the Sundays in Lent is Purple (except 4 Lent when we will, as is our custom, use Rose vestments and hangings). For ferial masses, we use Lenten white vestments and hangings, also known as the Lenten Array. In England before the Reformation the use of the Lenten Array—in which all sculpture and images were veiled in unbleached linen, often decorated in red and black with the Instruments of the Passion and other symbols—was almost universal for ferial celebrations. The Lenten Array is symbolic of the pared-down simplicity, even austerity, of the season and is very beautiful. It marks a stark contrast with ferial vestments of the post-Epiphany season and the oxblood red vestments of Passiontide, not to mention the lavish white, gold and red silken vestments of Eastertide. It also makes a clear visual distinction between Lent and Advent. The Lenten Array came back into wide use in England and America from the 1920s through the 1960s with the popularization of the so-called English or Anglican Use and the work of the Rev’d Dr Percy Dearmer. The Lenten Array altar frontal upon the Lady Chapel altar is from this period and is the work of the Warham Guild. The Lenten Array is still to be found in many places throughout the Anglican Communion, including Westminster Abbey and the monastery church of the Society of St John the Evangelist in Cambridge, Mass. Lent is now upon us. This is a season of preparation, contemplation, and fasting. By means of a variety of spiritual disciplines, we prepare ourselves in body, mind and spirit for the rigors of Holy Week and the unbridled joy of Easter. This season is, then, an appropriate time to remind us all how important it is that we make plans for the end of our life and for our death. The Church teaches that it is the responsibility of every Christian to have a will—and indeed one that conforms to Civil Law to ensure that your wishes may be honored—and to make arrangements for advance medical directives and powers of attorney for those times when we may be too ill to make decisions for ourselves, as well as give direction for the conduct of a funeral and other post-mortem arrangements. We can help you with any of these issues, as well as provide information about planned giving and charitable remainder trusts. Please contact the Rector, one of the clergy, or the Treasurer, Charles Knapp. As many of you know, one afternoon this past September, the hot water tank that had been placed many years ago in the bell tower failed. It breached in several places and water came running down into the organ chamber below. Three of the organ’s four divisions were severely compromised, rendering the instrument unplayable. The damage was severe, but not fatal. As good stewards of our property, we were insured, and the Church Insurance Company determined that they would cover the entire loss. Indeed, we are most grateful to the people at Church Insurance for their speedy response. While we were all deeply saddened by this terrible accident, we realised, however, that we were handed an extraordinary opportunity. Organist and Choirmaster Douglas Keilitz undertook to examine the instrument and its overall condition. We concluded that with so much of the instrument needing restoration, we were in a position to take strategic action to provide for our future needs. Indeed, it would be a missed opportunity not to upgrade the instrument in several key areas. In short, a few crucial pieces of additional work would render the instrument better that it was when it was installed in 1966. In order to make this upgrade possible, this past week we officially kicked off our 2010 Organ Campaign with letters to all the members and friends of the parish detailing all the work to be done. Our basic goal is to raise $30,000 to effect the repairs and upgrades necessary to restore and enhance the instrument and help provide better music for our liturgical life and broader music program. We hope that everyone who loves music at Saint Ignatius will be able to join in this effort. If you have not yet received your letter, or would like more detailed information about the project and how to contribute, please be in touch with the Rector, one of the Churchwardens, Treasurer Charles Knapp, or Mr Keilitz. We join our prayers with those from around the world for the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the devistating earthquake this past week. The Episcopal Church in Haiti is part of the Episcopal Church USA and our church agencies are deeply involved in the relief effort. Please visit the diocesan web site and that of Episcopal Relief and Development to learn how you can help. We will have more information as the relief efforts unfold. Christian Formation programs have started-up again. We have plans for a full year of opportunities for adults and children. The Sunday School: The Sunday School begins on Sunday mornings immediately following the 9 o’clock Mass. Please bring your children to the Nursery. Sunday Adult Christian Education: New series starting up: “The Medieval Month of March” TODAY, March 14th: Parishioner Leanne Dodge will talk to us about Chant. Originally passed along through oral tradition, plainchant eventually started to be notated on paper (the earliest known manuscripts date from about the ninth century). She will look at some of the ways in which the oral and written transmissions of chant contribute to music’s liturgical roles in the pre-Tridentine Mass. Leanne is a Ph.D. candidate in music history at Yale. March 21st: Parishioner Karen Christian will give a presentation on medieval art. For more information about any of these offerings, please speak with the Rector, Deacon Kahn (Adult Programs), William Farris (Adult Programs), or Lucy Yates (Children’s Programs). Also watch this space and the Christian Formation section of our website for further details. Children’s Resource: We now have a wonderful new resource for children to use during the Mass, both as an aid to their own devotion and for their pure enjoyment: The Sunday Paper Junior. These coloring sheets, the creation of Connecticut Episcopal priest Gretchen Wolff-Pritchard, are now available (along with crayons) in the back of the church. New each week, they relate specifically to the lessons appointed for the day in the Lectionary. In Mother Pritchard’s words, The Sunday Paper is “informal, whimsical, faithful to Scripture, and in dead earnest. It is not condescending or cute. It helps children to acquire a vocabulary of crucial Scriptural images, and to relate the Gospel to the Old Testament, the life of the Church, and their own lives.” We hope you and your family will enjoy them. Fridays in Lent, beginning February 19th at 6:30 P.M. Traditionally home-made Simnel Cakes—an historic confection that has, since Medieval times, been consumed in the British isles on Mothering Sunday—have been blessed and served in the parish at both coffee hours on the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare), which this year falls on March 14th. In the past, the task of baking the cakes has fallen on a few dedicated parishoners. This year, the Rector would like to invite anyone who wishes to bake a cake, even if you have never tried it before, to make one and bring it in on that day. If you do not have a recipe, we would be pleased to share one with you. Please let the parish office know if you plan on participating. Eastertide Parish Retreat The retreat, to be led by one of the monks, will explore how modern monastics live out their medieval Benedictine vows, and how we can integrate this spirituality into our lives. There will be lecture and discussion, periods of silence, worship with the brothers as they chant four daily offices and celebrate Mass, and the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful grounds and woods. The cost of $215 includes two nights’ stay and six meals (Friday supper through Sunday lunch.) Transportation is extra. Space is limited. A deposit of 50% ($107.50) now will ensure your reservation. The balance is due at the beginning of April. Questions? Ask Deacon Paul. Memorial and Commemorative Gifts Given the times we are living in, I want to encourage parishioners to think about memorial and commemorative giving in new and different ways. Of course, if people wish to give altar flowers in memory of someone or to commemorate a special occasion, they are most welcome. Those wishing to sponsor flowers should simply call the parish office. At the same time, I would like parishioners to consider sponsoring a day or week-end of service in the Soup Kitchen ($75 or $150). Likewise one might wish to sponsor a portion or all of the liturgical music on a Sunday (gifts starting at $125). These ministries, our work in outreach and our music program, are both funded from our limited operating budget and are yet two of the most important ways in which we reach out to people in our communities. Sponsors would be listed in the weekly leaflet in the same way as those who sponsor flowers and you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you were contributing to the ongoing work of ministry here at Saint Ignatius. Those wishing to make donations should contact the parish office. The weekly deadline for donations to appear in the Sunday Leaflet is the previous Wednesday at 12 Noon. — Fr Blume Toiletries for Soup Kitchen Guests We would like to give our guests bags of toiletries. If you have collections of shampoo and soaps from your travels, or could pick up small toothpastes and hand lotions, we have a basket at the back of the church to drop them in. We will be giving them to our guests any Saturday when we have enough. — Lucy Kuemmerle St Ignatius Recycles: Blue recycling bins for beverage cartons, bottles, and cans are now located by the West End entrance, outside the Library door, and in the Choir Room. Recycling bins for paper and cardboard may be found outside the Library door, and in the Choir Room. Environmental stewardship is an essential part of our Christian vocation. Please join us in recycling! TODAY, Sunday, March 14th. The Fourth Sunday in Lent (Laetare). Friday, March 19th. Sunday, March 21st. The Fifth Sunday in Lent (Judica me). Prayer List: The weekly intercessions list is found in the Sunday Leaflet. The entire list of those for whom our prayers for healing are offered, which you will find on the next to last page of this Leaflet, will always be prayed in full on our Wednesday evening healing Masses. If you wish to place yourself or someone else, whether a member of the parish or not, on the prayer list, please contact the office either by or phone (212-580-3326). Please do let us know if you or a member of your family or a friend is sick and would like either our prayers or a visit from one of the clergy. In these days of strict privacy laws we will not know you or a member of your family is in the hospital or ill unless you tell us. Names will be placed on the list for six weeks, after which time they will be removed, unless renewed. Please contact the parish office to place names on the list. Names submitted by Wednesday 12 Noon will appear in the following Sunday Leaflet. Soup Kitchen Volunteers are Needed: Saturdays from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Mondays from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Please contact David Holkeboer at 212-874-1050 for information. Parish Care: Did you know that there is a group of your fellow Ignatians who are ready to help out if you are ill or are having a family emergency? We can help with cooking, shopping, household chores, doctors’ visits, or just by being a listening friend. Please contact the Parish Office so you can be referred to the Parish Care Group. Parish Newsletter: Copies of the Winter issue of The Ignatian may be found in the back of the church. The Spring issue will be coming out in a few weeks. Submissions are welcome. The About Us column shares small and large news items from members and friends of the parish, both current and past. Please share your news with us either by sending an email to or to Gwendolyn Chambrun in the . Next Week’s Readings: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:8-14; Luke 20:9-19 |