Lent 2B 2021 St. James Anglican Church Service

Lent 2B 2021

Celebrant Fr. Carlos Raines

Preacher Fr. Anthony Velez

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Bishop's Note: Lessons and the Sermon

Bishop Eric Menees

Dear brothers and sisters, 

​

I pray that this Bishop’s Note finds you safe and well! Today we are continuing our examination of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer’s Pastoral Rites section. Last week we looked at the burial collects, and this week we’ll be looking at the lessons and the sermon.

I think the lessons for burial are one of the more underutilized sections of the burial service. Most people will gloss over them and think they’re something to use only when lessons are being decided for a burial service, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. These aren’t just lessons to be used for burial service, these are the passages of scripture that the church recommends as the most appropriate to read at times when we as Christians confront death. These are formally used for burials, but the BCP is pointing us to passages we can turn to any time we or others are struggling with death or lose sight of the hope we have as Christians. For example, if we start thinking of a loved one who has died a long time ago and start to think of how difficult it is not having them regularly in our lives, it’s a huge comfort to turn to Wisdom 3 and remember that, “the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.”

And being the most appropriate passages for this time, it’s important that they be the subject of the sermon that follows. Too often people want speeches just praising the life of the person who died. That’s not what a burial service is for. This service is to look at the underlying meaning of the death and to pray for the deceased and their family. We don’t earn a way into heaven through our actions, only through the work of Jesus Christ and our turning to him in faith. It is appropriate and good to mention the life of the person who died in the sermon, but the time for eulogies is the reception after the service. Preaching the Word of God at this time is of vital importance. It is a reminder to the congregation, who are understandably thinking existentially about life, that salvation is found through Jesus Christ and Him alone; the fact that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him” is of utmost importance. Many may want to hear humorous anecdotes about the deceased, but what they need to hear is the promise of Jesus Christ!

I pray you all a blessed Second Sunday in Lent!

The Lessons

One or more of the following passages from Holy Scripture is read.

Isaiah 25:6-9 (He will swallow up death for ever)

Isaiah 61:1-3 (To comfort all who mourn)

Lamentations 3:22-26,31-33 (The Lord is good to those who wait)

Wisdom 3:1-5, 9 (The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God)

Job 19:21-27a (I know that my Redeemer lives)

A suitable psalm, hymn, or canticle may follow. The following Psalms are appropriate: 39, 42:1-7, 46, 90:1-12, 121, 130, 139:1-11v.

Romans 8:14-19,34-39 (The glory that is to be revealed)

1 Corinthians 15:20-26,35-38,42-44,53-58 (The imperishable body)

2 Corinthians 4:16—5:9 (Things that are unseen are eternal)

1 John 3:1-2 (We shall be like him)

Revelation 7:9-17 (God will wipe away every tear)

Revelation 21:2-7 (Behold, I am making all things new)

A suitable psalm, hymn, or canticle may follow. The following Psalms are appropriate: 23, 27, 106:1-5v, 116.

John 5:24-27 (Whoever believes has eternal life)

John 6:37-40 (All that the Father gives me will come to me)

John 10:11-16 (I am the good shepherd)

John 11:21-27 (I am the resurrection and the life)

John 14:1-6 (In my Father’s house are many rooms)

If Communion is to follow, a passage from the Gospels always concludes the

Lessons. At a Eucharist, all stand, and the Deacon or Minister appointed says

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to ________.

People    Glory to you, Lord Christ.

After the Gospel, the Reader says

The Gospel of the Lord.

People     Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Lent 1B 2021 St. James Anglican Church Service

Lent 1B 2021

Celebrant Fr. Anthony Velez

Preacher Fr. Carlos Raines

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Bishop's Note: Burial Collects

Bishop Eric Menees

Dear brothers and sisters,  I pray that this Bishop’s Note finds you safe and well! We continue our examination of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, and more specifically over the last several months we’ve been examining the Pastoral Rites. Last week we looked at the opening anthem that begins the actual burial. Today we cover the short section that immediately follows it, the burial collects. Each Eucharist has a collect and these ones are similar in their structure and place in the service but with unique meanings. They help gather the thoughts and intentions of the service and summarize them. The first one does a wonderful job of framing the burial in the context of Christ’s resurrection. When we as Christians look back at the resurrection it’s not us looking at something that’s myth or even just a historic event that we’re disconnected from, it’s us looking at an event with implications that reverberate throughout creation. We as Christians know that the resurrection wasn’t just a singular event, it’s a preview of what will happen to all the dead when Christ comes again. As Christians we live and die in the hope of the resurrection, not a vain hope like so many in the world, but a firm trust in the promises of Christ. The second collect hits on that even more for pastoral reasons. The death of a loved one is hard but the death of a child is even worse. The collect is still about the resurrection, but it emphasizes God’s mercy and our trust in that mercy in a way the first collect doesn’t. It’s not that the collects contradict each other at all, it’s just a question of what our situation is and what does that lead us to in prayer. And we get that in the third collect as well. The first two collects need to be said depending on whether the burial is for an adult or child, but this collect is optional. This collect lifts up in prayer the loved ones of the deceased. Including it is a great way to lift up a family that’s struggling with a death and not only ask God directly to act in their lives, but remind them of the trust they can place in him. I pray you all have a blessed first Sunday of Lent!

The Officiant then says The Lord be with you. People And with your spirit. Officiant Let us pray.   AT THE BURIAL OF AN ADULT O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that your servant N., being raised with Christ, may know the strength of his presence and rejoice in his eternal glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.   AT THE BURIAL OF A CHILD   O God, whose beloved Son took children into his arms and blessed them: Give us grace to entrust N. to your never-failing care and love, and bring us all to your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Officiant may add the following prayer Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: deal graciously with those who mourn [especially _________]. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Transfiguration Sunday 2021 St. James Anglican Church Service

Transfiguration Sunday Service

Fr. Carlos Raines Preacher 

Fr. Anthony Velez Celebrant

Dcn. Anna Hearn Deacon

https://www.stjas.org/sermons.html

Bishop's Note: The Opening Anthem

Bishop Eric Menees

Dear brothers and sisters, 

I pray that this Bishop’s Note finds you safe and well! We continue our examination of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, and more specifically over the last several months we’ve been examining the Pastoral Rites. Last week we looked at the section titled, “Concerning the Burial of the Dead” that describes some of the practical matters around death and burial. Today we start the very beginning of the burial rite itself, the opening anthem. 

This opening anthem made up of verses from scripture is something that Anglicanism added to the burial service during the Reformation. It’s a moment for the officiant of the funeral to use God’s Word to speak to what the people are seeing in the service. The opening anthem is not in place of the scripture readings but these verses of scripture, which may be sung or said, focus us on the hope of the resurrection that is the very foundation of our faith. 

These verses are here to remind people what death is to us as Christians and how it’s been changed by Jesus Christ. Many see death as a constant throughout the world. It just seems like something that’s certain and a given, as people often say like “death and taxes.” These verses remind us that wasn’t God’s intent and that’s why Jesus Christ became incarnate in the first place. As we hear from Jesus in the first passage, “I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” As Jesus tells us, God is not a God of the dead, but of the living. In him we have life and that gives us hope when we face death. The next verse speaks not just to that truth, but of the hope we have as Christians that accompanies it. Knowing Jesus as our redeemer isn’t just a nice thought we have, it’s true and it’s a promise we can trust in. As Job says, “at the last he will stand upon the earth,” “and my eyes shall behold, and not another.”

I encourage you to spend some time thinking and praying through these verses. People may associate them with death and funerals but they speak to the profound hope we have as Christians, that as Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” These sentences have even been put to music by many English composers and you can hear some of them at the links below.

I pray you all have a blessed Last Sunday of Epiphany and Ash Wednesday this coming week!

Epiphany 5B 2021 St. James Anglican Church Service

Epiphany 5B 2021

Celebrant Fr. Anthony Velez

Preacher Fr. Dale Matson

https://www.stjas.org/sermons.html

Bishop's Note: Concerning the Burial of the Dead

Bishop Eric Menees

Dear brothers and sisters,  I pray that this Bishop’s Note finds you safe and well! Last week we examined the section titled, “Reception of the Body” that describes what’s done when the body arrives at the church. Today we get the directions before the beginning of the service, “Concerning the Burial of the Dead.” It may feel like we just went over something similar in, “Regarding Christian Death and Burial,” but this is quite different. That first section gives an understanding of what death means to us as Christians, this section is more pragmatic. This section gives some of the rubrics or instructions that cover the service as a whole. The very first thing we read that I can’t emphasize enough, “The death of a member of the Church should be reported as soon as possible to… the Minister of the Congregation.” I’ve heard far too many stories of clergy who have learned about sicknesses and deaths of parishioners long after they’ve occurred. It’s a stressful time, and it’s understandable that in the stress of a situation a relative doesn’t think to call the church, but it pains clergy immensely to know they weren’t there to support a parishioner when they were needed the most. The solution to this is to make plans and communicate them. I have advanced directives and funeral plans, and I’ve communicated them to my family members and they know how important it is for my illness or death to be reported to the church. It should be the same for all of us as Christians. It not only frees our family members from the burden of having to make those tough decisions themselves, it’s a spiritually beneficial practice to acknowledge our mortality and our hope in Christ as our savior. Ideally this service is done by a priest for a Christian, from their church, and with the Eucharist, but this service is very flexible. It could even be done by a lay person authorized by the diocese for a non-Christian. Christian burial isn’t a sacrament, so non-Christians can be buried, but the service does need to be changed to acknowledge they didn’t have a saving faith in Jesus Christ. That’s because burying the dead has always been seen as a Christian act of mercy in the same light as visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, and sheltering the homeless. Even though they may have died, we can still show our Christian love for the deceased by burying them. I pray you all have a blessed Fifth Sunday of Epiphany!

Concerning the Burial of the Dead The death of a member of the Church should be reported as soon as possible to, and arrangements for the funeral should be made in consultation with, the Minister of the Congregation. The Baptized are properly buried from a church. This Burial Office is intended for those who have been baptized and profess the Christian Faith. Portions of this Office may be adapted for other circumstances. The coffin is to be closed before the liturgy, and it remains closed thereafter. It is appropriate that it be covered with a funeral pall or other suitable covering. The Committal normally follows the burial liturgy, at the place where the remains are to be interred. If necessary, the Committal and interment may take place before the burial liturgy. The Committal may also be used prior to cremation. A Priest normally presides at the liturgy. It is appropriate that the Bishop, when present, preside at the Eucharist and pronounce the Commendation. When the services of a Priest cannot be obtained, a Deacon or lay reader may preside at the liturgy. It is desirable that the Lesson from the Old Testament and the Epistle be read by lay persons. At the burial of a child, the passages from Lamentations, 1 John, and John 6, together with Psalm 23, are recommended. It is customary that the Officiant meet the body and go before it into the church (page 247) or towards the grave.  The anthems at the beginning of the liturgy are sung or said as the body is borne into the church, or during the entrance of the Ministers, or by the Officiant standing in the accustomed place.