Saint James the Great Anglican Church Smiths Station, Alabama A Mission of the Anglican Province of America Fr John Klein can be reached at (334) 663-2985 / kleinjw@tigermail.auburn.edu Newsletter #23 - Lent 2018 Traditional, orthodox Anglicanism Catholic and Evangelical for modern people. Lenten Teaching Mission March 17th at 10:00 AM (EST) On the Authority and Interpretation of Scripture Featuring Fr. Paul Rivard of Saint George the Martyr, Simpsonville, SC on the subject of "Higher Criticism of Scripture" and an orthodox way forward.
We begin on Saturday, March 17th Saturday with coffee, then prayers and the first lecture, Eucharist at 11:30 AM, followed by lunch, the second lecture, prayers, and tea at 2:30 PM. We are having Irish Stew and Irish Soda Bread for lunch and promise to sing "I bind unto myself" to St. Patrick and "Lord of all hopefulness" to Slane. We may even have Irish tea at the end of the day. Fr. Paul addressed the APA Diocese of the Eastern United States clergy at our winter conference and it was breathtaking. His topic was "Higher Criticism" but could just as easily have been called "The authority of Scripture and how it has been distorted." He is adjusting his lectures to be accessible by lay people and he will explain how the mainline churches have been eroding away the authority and inspiration of Scripture for a very long time. Then he has suggestions based upon Patristic models from the Fathers for teaching our people how to read and understand the Bible in a thoroughly orthodox manner. Fr. Rivard, the rector of The Anglican Church of St. George the Martyr, Simpsonville, SC came to the southern United States from Saskatchewan, Canada in the mid 1990 s. In the small town of Toccoa he met his wife Sarah, a native Georgian, and they were married in 2001. After living in northeast Georgia and Atlanta for several years, they have now happily settled in Greenville with their four children Jonas, Anna, Elise, and Sasha. Fr. Paul received his bachelor s degree in English from Toccoa Falls College and his Masters of Divinity from Erskine Seminary in Due West, SC. After being a member of the Anglican Province of America since 2003, Fr. Paul was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Walter Grundorf in July 2010 at St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Dunwoody, Georgia. The Lenten Program This year began February 23rd and features Evening Prayer on Fridays of Lent at 6:00 PM (EST) with a simple poverty supper following. First we saw over two weeks: The Letters: The Untold Story of Mother Teresa. Then we will see, over two weeks, a marvelous film about: Ignatius of Loyola: Soldier, Sinner, Saint.
Saint James' parishioners will not want to miss our two featured movies on Fridays of Lent. The Letters about Mother Teresa of Calcutta is simply splended. If your life is not changed by seeing this film I will be surprised. Much the same can be said for the very different film on the life and witness of Ignatius of Loyola: Soldier, Sinner, Saint. These are two very different saints, both, however, present us with challenges to live "in Christ" and for Christ with greater intention and will. Please bring a friend too. This is a wonderful occasion for evangelism. Share the faith of Christ.
The film on Saint Teresa of Calcutta - The Letters: The Untold Story of Mother Teresa - is truly inspirational especially as we Anglicans pursue building a second school for children in India. Read the following announcement regarding the Bishop's Lenten Appeal to see that to which I refer:
The Holy Land Pilgrimage Save the Date - February 4-13, 2019 Come see Galilee and trace the footsteps of Jesus. Join me on a journey to Jerusalem and the holy sights of our Lord s ministry next year. If you have a mom or dad who has always wanted to go to the Holy Land, give them this gift. Perhaps friends who go on cruises every year, this is the best ever. I think all Christians, if they can afford the time and treasure, owe it to themselves to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The package price - including airfare on Delta Airlines, four star hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, all entrance fees, a trained guide and with Bishop "Chad" Chandler Holder Jones and me as the spiritual directors of the pilgrimage - is hopefully to be less than $3000.00 per person. There will also be some airport taxes and gratuities to the driver. This is a ten day religious pilgrimage in a traditional, orthodox Anglican manner. We will pray Morning and Evening Prayer daily, celebrate the Eucharist at major holy sites, and sing sacred hymns in the holiest settings. We will even carry a wooden cross along the Via Dolorosa as we walk the Way of the Cross. Come and see, see so many places that will enlighten your understanding of the Bible and our Faith For the itinerary - which is being refined at this point - please see: https://www.explority.com/groups/nli/58d7b4ed61061600047b7 fff?org=ami-travel Don't miss this incredible opportunity! Fr. John Klein, SSC This is Nazareth where we will stay.
The New Pews We will finally have church pews. They are currently in Afton, Minnesota but will soon be installed in our church building. Our thanks are due Linda Wilkins Klein for this generous gift to Saint James the Great.
Healey Willan (1880-1968) Healey Willan is our most often sung, and arguably most popular, church musician and composer at Saint James. We sing his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena every week throghout the Church Year. It has borne the test of time since it was composed in 1928. Named for the Toronto parish of Saint Maty Magdalene, where he dedicated the majority of his creative life, this setting for the Eucharist is an incomparable blessing for us. The best, most beautiful music, is not always the easiest, but it is always worth the work once mastered.
Don't forget that Mothering Sunday is March 11th. Please write a letter thanking your mother and we will place it on the altar at the offertory during Mass. We will also have a Simnel Cake straight from an English traditional recipe. Count on us singing "Sing of Mary pure and lowly" to Pleading Saviour too. Ah, yes, rose vestments as well. This is becoming a favorite local tradition.
CALENDAR: Sunday, Eucharist at 11:00 A.M. (ET) followed by Coffee Hour-Class Wednesday 6:00 PM Mass followed by Bible Study of St John's Gospel. First Saturday: Society of Mary at 10:00 AM (ET) - The Angelus, coffee, and Rosary. FRIDAYS IN LENT 6:00 PM (ET) Evening Prayer followed by Supper and two movies: on St. Teresa of Calcutta & St. Ignatius Loyola. 1. March 2 nd - Supper & The Letters 2. March 9 th - Supper & The Letters 3. March 16 th - Supper & Ignatius Loyola 4. March 23 rd - Supper & Ignatius Loyola. Lenten Teaching Mission featuring Fr. Paul Rivard of Saint George the Martyr, Simpsonville, SC on the subject of "Higher Criticism of Scripture" on Saturday, March 17th Saturday at 10:00 AM, followed by coffee, first lecture, Eucharist at 11:30 AM; lunch, second lecture, concluding with tea at 2:30 PM. 2018 DEUS Synod, July 16-20, 2018. St. Michael the Archangel Church, Matthews (Charlotte) N. C. will be our host parish. Fr Klein is being joined by Bishop Chad in leading a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in February 4th - 13th, 2019. Birthdays: Sandra Thornburg (Birthday February 24 th ) Linda Wilkins Klein (Birthday March 11 th ) Bryant Mosley (Birthday March 22) Elsa Bisset (Birthday March 29 th ) Ruth Alleyn Francis Birthday (March 30 th ) Children eating Hot Cross Buns in England (BBC photo from Google Images).
. Saint James, pray for us.. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ. O glorious Apostle, Saint James, who by reason of thy fervent and generous heart was chosen by our Lord, Jesus Christ, to be witness of his glory on the mount of Transfiguration, and of his agony in Gethsemane; thou, whose very name is a symbol of warfare and victory: obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending warfare of this life, that we like yourself, having constantly and generously followed Jesus, may be soldiers in the strife and receive the victor's crown of glory in heaven, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela If Christians today do not stand firm on the rock of sacred order as revealed in holy tradition ways of thinking, speaking and acting that incarnate the Christian in culture and pass it on from generation to generation we will have nothing to stand on at all. If we don't take on everyday practices that keep the sacred order present to ourselves, our families, and our communities, we are going to lose it. And if we lose it, we are at great risk of losing sight of the One to whom everything in that sacred order, like a divine treasure map, points. That has been the main argument of this book." Rod Dreher in The Benedict Option, p. 236.