Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA
Register For Christian Education/Sunday School and Youth Group
Starts in Coffee Hour and breaks out into smaller classes — 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Sundays. If you have problems registering, please email Crystal Furman, Debbie Stallings, or Fr. Tommy.
Youth Group meets Sundays at 4:00 p.m. Zoom Links available in your 9/20/2020 newsletter, The Messenger.
Tea And Conversation — Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m
Written and compiled by Kyle Osborne, Director of Music at St. Matthew’s
The office of Morning Prayer was created by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer combined the offices of Matins (the nighttime vigil), Lauds (which took place at Dawn) and Prime (which took place around 6am) from the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office which marked the hours of each day with prayer) to create Morning Prayer.
Invitatory and Psalter
At the Invitatory, the Venite (Psalm 95) or the Jubilate (Psalm 100) are said or sung. The Venite, a carryover from the office of Matins (Vigil), is an invitation to worship. The Jubilate, which was used as an entrance song in The Temple, is a song of thanksgiving and praise. The Jubilate was also the opening Psalm at Lauds (Dawn Prayer). This coming Sunday we will be singing a setting of the Venite (S-35).
Venite Psalm 95:1-7
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
Jubilate Psalm 100
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Canticles
After the first and second lesson at Morning Prayer a Canticle is said or sung. A Canticle is a song of praise with a biblical or biblically inspired text. Perhaps the most famous Canticles are the Gloria (Glory to God in the highest) and the Magnificat (Song of Mary). See BCP pages 85-96 for a list of Canticles 8-21. Canticles 1-7, which use traditional language, can be found on BCP pages 47-52. Many different musical settings of the Canticles can be found, including chant, choral, organ, and metrical paraphrase.
We will be using metrical paraphrases for both Canticle 12 – A Song of Creation (Benedicite, omnia opera Domini), and Canticle 21 – You are God (Te Deum laudamus) this coming Sunday.
A Song of Creation is from the Greek Septuagint version of the book of Daniel. This Canticle is often referred to as the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were the three young men who praised God even after being placed in the fiery furnace during the Babylonia Exile). A Song of Creation was originally used in Christian worship as a canticle at Easter Vigil and Thomas Cranmer suggested its use as an alternative to the Te Deum during Lent.
Our setting for Canticle 12 comes from Wonder, Love, and Praise #885. The metrical paraphrase of the text is by Carl Daw. The music is by Williams Bradley Roberts and was written specifically for the text.
Let all creation bless the Lord,
till heav’n with praise is ringing.
Sun, moon, and stars, peal out a chord,
stir up the angels’ singing.
Sing, wind, and rain! Sing, snow and sleet!
Make music, day, night, cold and heat:
exalt the God who made you.
All living things upon the earth,
green fertile hills and mountains,
sing to the God who gave you birth;
be joyful, springs and fountains.
Lithe waterlife, bright airborne birds,
wild roving beasts, tame flocks and herds:
exalt the God who made you.
O men and women everywhere,
lift up a hymn of glory;
let all who know God’s steadfast care
tell out salvation’s story.
No tongue be silent; sing your part,
you humble souls and meek of heart:
exalt the God who made you.
Carl P. Daw, Jr.
The Te Deum is one of the oldest hymns of praise. Dating from c. 387 the authorship was traditionally ascribed to Saint Ambrose (d. 397) but is now considered to be by an unknown author. Traditionally, the Te Deum was said at the end of Matins on all days that the Gloria was said at Mass.
Our setting for Canticle 21 is #366, verses 1-4, from The Hymnal 1982. The text is attributed to Ignace Franz and translated by Clarence A. Walworth. The music GROSSER GOTT is from Katholisches Gesangbuch, Vienna, c. 1774.
Holy God, we praise your name;
Lord of all, we bow before you;
all on earth your scepter claim,
all in heav’n above adore you.
Infinite your vast domain,
everlasting is your reign.
Hark, the loud celestial hymn
angel choirs above are raising;
cherubim and seraphim
in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
“Holy, holy, holy Lord.”
Lo! the apostolic train
join your sacred name to hallow;
prophets swell the glad refrain,
and the white robed martyrs follow;
and from morn to set of sun,
through the church the song goes on.
Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name you;
while in essence only One,
undivided God we claim you,
and adoring bend the knee,
while we sing this mystery.
I encourage you to take time to read, explore, and meditate on the Canticles. Listen to different musical settings and be refreshed.
Blessings,
Kyle Osborne
Director of Music and Organist
Links for listening:
Te Deum in alternatim – The Te Deum sung by the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame-de-Paris led by Cantor Jehan Revert, in alternatim with Pierre Cochereau at the Grand Orgue of Notre-Dame. The choir sings the first half of the verse. The organ, representing the Heavenly Choir of Angels, plays the second half of the verse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDqL6pjpjY
Te Deum for Solo, Chorus and Orchestra by Marc Antoine Charpentier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxZQ1ODN1iU
Coronation Te Deum by William Walton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lfKdAHgGw
Jubilate Deo by Benjamin Britten
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lfKdAHgGw
Te Deum by Anton Bruckner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgDBhcF8mus
Magnificat from Collegium Regale by Herbert Howells
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpB9mQHORlg
Nunc Dimittis in C by Charles Villiers Stanford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e17kukPiXz8
Let all Creation bless the Lord – A song of creation by Alice Parker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB6UxsYRwXQ
Glory to God in the Highest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBWbAmKr5OU
Earlier this month, the Church Preschool Board and the Vestry reviewed the documents Juanita Little had prepared for reopening the preschool. Juanita spent an inordinate amount of time going through CDC and other recommendations that applied to the safe opening of preschools. We so appreciate her time and effort spent in this; she was able to take a large volume of information and distill it into policies and procedures for reopening the preschool following CDC guidelines. After reviewing those documents, the Executive Board and the vestry approved reopening the preschool, provided that COVID 19 counts in the surrounding area served by the preschool do not dramatically go up. The current plan is to open the preschool on September 14.
The first question many of us might ask is, “Why the preschool and not the church building?” There are two key reasons for this. First, the diocese allows the Episcopal Schools and Preschools to go by the recommendations of the CDC, whereas the churches go by the decision of the bishop, based on input from his advisors. Second, the demographic for the preschool (predominantly young children and their teachers) is very different from the demographic for the church. Additionally, the preschool is designed to keep each class separate from the other classes – in teaching, and in exercise and bathroom breaks. This is not something we are able to do in the church.
Please know that we have teams working on preparing the church for a time when the buildings can be opened – we want to be ready to offer safe on-site worship as soon as we get clearance to do it. In the meantime, please join us if you can for online services: Monday and Friday Compline at 6 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday Healing Service at 10:00 a.m., and Sunday Worship at 10:00 a.m. All these services may be accessed using the link to Facebook on our website, or by going directly to the St. Matthews page on Facebook. And all the services are recorded, so you can watch them anytime!
One of the key lessons from both the Gospel and the Old Testament readings last Sunday was the idea of fostering Holy Trust. Elijah was looking to God to save him from what he thought was certain death at the hands of Jezebel. Elijah believed that all the other prophets of Israel had been slain and that there was no one left to acknowledge God as Supreme other than he. Peter challenged Jesus to prove him self and Jesus invited Peter to get out of the boat and walk to him on the water. And it worked, until Peter took his eyes off Jesus.
As a community of Christ, we find ourselves in a time of Holy Trust. We are five months in to this pandemic, and the trust we had five months ago that God was in control of what is happening in the world – well, that trust may not feel as strong today as it was in March. I don’t know about you, but I must be careful here, because my trust in God gets tangled up with what I think God should be doing. In other words, I may find myself trusting God if things move in a direction of which I approve. If things don’t seem to be moving at all, or they are moving in a direction which I don’t agree with, then my trust in God – well, safe to say it takes a beating. And sadly, that’s not really trusting God – rather, it’s asking God to trust ME – to bring about that which I think is right.
I know that we are not all in agreement about whether we should be able to come together in the sanctuary to worship. However, this is the bishop’s call, and I believe he is going by the counsel of health experts in making his decisions. Last week, the bishops of the Episcopal Church had a Zoom meeting with Dr. Anthony Fauci. From Bishop Rob’s report, Dr. Fauci commended the Episcopal Church for its wisdom in NOT returning at this time to in person worship.
So I am going to humbly ask you to hang in there, and hold tightly to Holy Trust – trust that we WILL get through this and that, in the interim, we will use the gifts of social media to stay connected. In Peace, Liz+
Celebration of Life Service forWe are moving into the middle of summer, where families who have not yet been on vacation are planning to take off for perhaps cooler parts, or at least the beach. Normally, some families would be planning that last, long weekend trip before school starts. It goes without elaboration that this is not like any other year.
Some of you have gone to the mountains, or to the beach, or out west. Some have opted for “stay-cations”. Either way, you have taken time to come together as family, traveling perhaps under new rules, or staying home, but still spending quality time together. It is interesting to me that we Americans are a resourceful bunch: we understand the challenges the world is throwing at us, but we do not let it defeat us. It is not just the patriotism of our recent July 4 holiday that makes me proud to be American – it is all of you – willing to find ways to still look outward, in the midst of a pandemic, to see what help you can provide to others. Our May food drive, the Co-op BBQ dinner in June and the on-line VBS program this month are all examples of this. A BIG shout of thanks to all who participated in these events – you know who you are, and you know how it feels when deep down, you realize you’ve done something good.
At St. Matthew’s, we continued to plan for an eventual reopening of the campus, and for being able to have services on-site. However, as all of us know, this stubborn virus continues to thwart establishing a date we can depend on for when this will be. The bishop announced on June 17 that churches could return to on campus worship after July 1, and of the 117 worshiping communities in the Diocese of Atlanta, five opted to do this. However, with the numbers ever increasing, the bishop asked them to delay, and they did. If you follow the news, you will know that other denominations are also struggling with this and many have delayed plans to reopen. We will announce a return to sanctuary worship when your advisory committee and vestry feel it is most safe to do so, and the bishop allows it. Stay tuned to your weekly Messenger for updates on this.
Last week, we sent out a survey to all of you, asking for your input on what directives would need to be in place for you to return to sanctuary worship. I encourage all of you – any member in the household 16 and over, to fill out this survey. For those of you who are not comfortable doing online surveys, we have paper copies available. Call Charmaine or Susan in the church office and they will send you one. There will be instructions on how to get your paper responses input into the computer so that YOUR opinion can be counted. The deadline for return of this information is July 23.
On another note, I ask you to pray for safe travel and new beginnings for two of our families who are leaving us. Lois and Jim Sivert are on their way to the airport as I write this. They are moving to California to be closer to their children. The company for the senior complex here in Snellville has found them a nice apartment in one of their facilities in Vista, California. You can contact Gini Reid for their new address. At the end of the month, Beth and Gail Still will head for Colorado. Please pray for safe travel, for success in the move and for both families to find a wonderful Episcopal Church of which to become a part!
I will be taking vacation from July 21-31. Chances are good I won’t be traveling to Florida this year, but I have promised myself that I will turn off my phone and relax. Senior Warden Becky Olbon and Father Tommy will both be around and will know how to reach me in an emergency, as will Susan Carson and Charmaine Warmington. But I take this break, knowing that the parish is in excellent hands.
Beloved, you remain in my prayers. Please pray for your clergy, staff and parish leadership, Lord knows we can all benefit by prayer! God’s Peace, Mother Liz+
As we move from June to July and head to an Independence Day weekend, my prayers continue to be for your good health and your safety. Last week I provided information from the Diocese of Atlanta about the decision to allow churches to reopen after July 1, provided the churches follow a list of safe practices. First and foremost, we would LOVE to have worship available on campus, but we want to be sure we can offer a space where everyone feels confident they are safe. We have a number of teams working on ideas for worship, gathering materials needed to disinfect the buildings after use, signage to remind us of what each of us can do to best keep the areas safe for ourselves and for others, and logistics around how to gather no more than 35-50 people on a given Sunday. Even as we do this work, we are mindful that the increasing number of cases in Gwinnett County may delay our opening beyond July. So, I was excited to see a wonderful offer from the Diocese!
Working through a consulting group called “Holy Cow Consulting” (you gotta love the name!), the diocese has underwritten the cost for any parish to survey its members on how they are engaging in worship and other online options; it also asks questions about your needs or what concerns you or your family has, and what measures we need to take to help you feel safe to regather when the time comes. The survey is only 17 questions and it takes no more than ten minutes to complete. The consulting group will collect the data, analyze the data for our parish, compare our responses to other churches in the diocese and then meet with us to discuss the results. You will be able to take the survey any time between July 8 and July 15. If everyone participates in the survey, we will obtain some very good information and guidance on how to use the data, all at no charge to the parish.
For me, it is wonderful to be talking and planning about the possibility of on-campus worship. However, when that happens, please know that Father Tommy and I are committed to continuing on-line services so that we reach as many members of St. Matthew’s as possible. Stay tuned for more information on all of this.
Have a safe and happy Fourth!!!! Mother Liz+
As found in my article last week, Bishop Wright is allowing worship on campus beginning with the first Sunday in July, but with policies and procedures in place to create a safe worship service for those who attend. Putting a system in place to meet these requirements means that we will not have in-sanctuary worship until sometime in August or September. However, we WILL be continuing services online and that will be true even after we open.
When we do open the sanctuary for worship, the service will look very different from what it was in January and February. Let me share some of the significant details:
1. We can only have a maximum of 50 people in the sanctuary at one time, including those leading worship, the ushers, greeters, lectors, etc.
2. To comply with the limited attendance, you will need to sign up to attend a service, either on-line or by calling the office (for those who are uncomfortable trying to make reservations on-line), and will either be assigned seating or allowed a selection of seats. We are required to keep every other row empty and to seat singles, couples or family groups at least six feet apart. And we are required to wear masks during the service.
3. It will be very important that you sit in your assigned seat for contact-tracing purposes, should that become necessary.
4. So once we get here, what will the service look like?
a. Entering the church will look a lot like entering many retail stores during this time, with one-way markings to come in and go out. Ushers will help us maintain social distance in the courtyard and narthex until we are able to enter and be seated.
b. To avoid cross-contamination we will not be able to use prayer books, hymnals or service bulletins, so we are exploring the temporary use of video screens, or perhaps providing instructions on downloading the service bulletin to your phone or tablet.
c. At this time, the bishop is not allowing Holy Communion, so worship will either be Morning Prayer or Ante-Communion, such as we are doing on-line right now.
d. Due to the risks of spreading the virus by singing, we will not be able to sing the hymns for a while. We will still have Kyle at the organ, and beautiful music WILL occur on Sunday.
e. Passing of the Peace will be from where you are seated.
I would imagine by this time you might be wondering, “what’s left?”
1. We will be able to see and greet each other.
2. We will be able to see the sunlight coming through the St. Matthew’s window and the colors reflected on the altar.
3. We will have time to sit quietly and breathe in the Spirit that we feel when we are in the sanctuary.
4. We will have beautiful music to lift our spirits and our hearts.
5. We will be able to see our beautiful gardens, blooming in all of God’s glory.
Thank you for your continued prayers for St. Matthew’s as we strive to move forward during this pandemic. Please continue to pray for those working to “open” the church building and plan services that are both meaningful and safe for the those attending.
Beloved, I know that the times we are in are challenging. There will be a time when this has passed and we will be able to come together in full community again. Until then, we will use the technology available to keep us connected, remembering that the church has not closed because the church is US. And we WILL continue to be church!
God’s Peace,
Mother Liz+
On Wednesday, Bishop Wright announced to the clergy that churches in the Diocese of Atlanta may begin holding services in the church after July 1, with the first services being held on or after July 5. While this is good news, it also comes with a series of very specific requirements designed to ensure that when we meet together in the sanctuary for worship, we offer the safest space possible for all concerned.
The Advisory Committee met last night to discuss how we might move forward, now that we have the diocesan requirements and guidelines. There is a lot of planning and preparation required before we come together again as community, balancing our desire to worship together with creating the safest space possible for all our members.
While we have been given the permission to begin worship in the sanctuary, it will be awhile until we will be ready, and there is much to be done.
While we have been given the permission to begin worship in the sanctuary, it will be awhile until we will be ready, and there is much to be done. Consideration must be given to such stipulations as limited attendance and safety spacing, contact tracing, disinfection of the space, the challenge of worshiping without bulletins, hymnals or prayer books, and for a time, no Communion. As we review the diocesan requirements with various groups that help plan worship, we will get a better idea of the timeline. When we know more, we will share that information with you, with regular updates both in the Messenger, on our website and on our Facebook page. We can also use the Zoom coffee hour to give you the latest information.
While we long to worship together again in the sanctuary, it’s good to remember that the Church is not “closed”. WE are the Church, and we continue to do God’s work in God’s Kingdom. I ask your prayers for those who are engaged in the project to get us ready for on-campus worship. I know how anxious I am to see everyone again, and I’m sure that you feel the same way. However, the times in which we live means we must always err on the side of safety.
Blessings, Mother Liz+