From Deacon Ron Reno:
God willing, Father and Anneliese will be here this weekend. Pray for traveling mercies while they travel which includes driving to Minnesota to visit family. It is always a blessing when Father comes to give us the acclamation of God through our liturgy and feed us with the body and blood of Christ, under the humble signs of bread and wine. We are called to be the Body of Christ because we do God’s bidding. The Eucharist is indeed the substantial sacred food He offers.
Nebraska has experienced snowstorms, tornadoes, a derecho and about a week ago, hurricane like winds that destroyed thousands of trees and brought Omaha down to its knees. We need to keep praying for all of our affected friends during a rash of adverse weather. We need to continue praying for the displaced families in California from wildfires and our friends in the Atlantic states. Maybe God is trying to get our attention.
Our Tenth Sunday after Trinity collect says it all.
LET thy merciful ears, O Lord, to be open to the prayers thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our homily and our Sung Morning Prayer with Communion of the Presactified Gifts are attached, God bless, Deacon
celebrated the Feast Day of Saint Peter and the celebrant colors were red. Father did the rite of sprinkling water (asperges) right after the opening hymn. The blessing and sprinkling of holy water is a reminder of baptism normally done at Easter but can be done at other times. Father chose to do this on this last Saturday in accordance of the liturgical calendar. The music was great and while the choir was singing, “I sought the Lord,” in my mind I was singing, “I sought the Lord and the Lord won and I sought the Lord and the Lord won.” That may be a takeoff from an Eric Clapton song. I thought “For thy dear saints, O Lord” as a closing hymn especially reflective of this mass.
O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excellent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed thy flock; Make, we beseech thee, all Bishops and Pastors diligently to preach thy holy Word, and the people obediently to follow the same, that they may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
We had a lovely sung morning prayer and Communion of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts this past weekend. Thank you Nick for leading us in MP. Your voice is a gift from heaven and our small choir is testimony of God working through you. Robert did a wonderful job reading the first lesson. It is a blessing for us to chant our canticles, the Venite, Te Deum and the Benedictus. Learning to chant properly is a work in progress for me.
nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that thou being our ruler and guide, we may pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O Heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
prelude from the “Organ Mass for the Convents” was a great intro to the Litany and to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. We are so lucky to have such God filled music in our midst.
We were blessed! Father Andrews and Anneliese made it for the Ascension service. After all our tornado activity recently; it was wonderful to see them here safely. Earlier in the week Father suggested we do the Ascension of our Lord service. Father aspersed everyone while the choir sang the Vidi Aquam for that Rite. It was pretty dramatic that Pascal candle was extinguished during the reading of the Gospel as “He departed them.” Father also called all the mothers attending to the front to give them a blessing. That was another special moment. Thank you Father for all you do for this mission church. After Mass our mission group along with Father and Anneliese went to lunch at the LaCasa Restaurant. Thank you Vestry!
chapel. We will sing Evensong to celebrate Whitsunday/Pentecost. Our worship will be held this Sunday, May19 at 4PM. Please take note of this change. There will be no Anglican service at the Chapel this Saturday.
all of Eastertide. It is a chant that dates back to the 13th Century of praise and veneration of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. From antiquity, Mary has been called “Theotokos” or God bearer (Mother of God) and deserves our gratitude through this Eastertide. The word “Theotokos” has been in use since the early third century. We have had a magnificent festal season this year that has focused on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without Jesus we are nothing and of all things to do, we need to cling our souls to the Risen Lord. Chanting the Regina Coeli honors her and shows our love of God. Because through her, He became incarnate in the flesh. Thank you God.
Father Andrews did not make his journey here last week because of bad weather. We seem to have had many tornadoes dancing all around the eastern part of the state. Many houses have been destroyed and families displaced. We need to pray for them and perhaps we should donate to the Red Cross. The Red Cross here does an admirable job. God willing Father and Anneliese plan to journey here May 11, for the Sunday after Ascension service. We need to pray for traveling mercies for them.
We were blessed to have Father Andrews and Anneliese for our Palm Sunday Service. Without Father we would not be able to feed God’s children with the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Father always makes sure we have both elements in our tabernacle for use of the Presanctifed Gifts which I am allowed by our Bishops to do. Baptism, Confirmation and Communion brings us to the fullness of our life in Christ. Receiving Holy Communion brings us grace that affects us both spiritually and physically. Spiritually it helps our souls to be united with Christ and physically it leads us closer to sanctification of our own bodies. God bless you Father for all you do for this mission church.
blessing and distribution of the Palms. Thank you choir! The vocal postlude “Behold and SEE” from Handel was exceptional. We actually succeeded doing the Passion of Mathew as a church group; it was a true blessing.
We will be blessed to have Father Andrews and Anneliese for Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. David and Julie will be here also for another two weeks before they travel back to Michigan. Father will have two acolytes and a Deacon serving this week. God will be pleased that all of His children are doing His work. God willing, our little group will do Mathew 27: The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It will be a challenge but we can do it for the glory of God.