Day 19

A Season of Prayer - Day 19

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Day 18

A Season of Prayer - Day 18

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles and Martyrs

Today, the Church remembers, together, Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Join us today, Wednesday, June 29, at St. Thomas' on the Bayou for Noonday Prayer at 12:10 p.m. or tonight for Evening Prayer to learn more about why these saints remembered today are a parable for our times.

Zoom Evening Prayer & Study - 5:30 p.m. with Father Whit+

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJPc3VOVTh3K21Idz09

Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 779

Passcode: 530

Saint Peter and Saint Paul

The Collect:

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 

The Confession of Peter ("Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God") is commemorated on 18 January, and the Conversion of Paul (on the approach to Damascus) a week later on 25 January. On 29 June we commemorate the martyrdoms of both apostles. The date is the anniversary of a day around 258, under the Valerian persecution, when what were believed to be the remains of the two apostles were both moved temporarily to prevent them from falling into the hands of the persecutors.

The Scriptures do not record the deaths of Peter or Paul, or indeed any of the Apostles except for James the son of Zebedee (Acts 12:2), but they are clearly anticipated, and from an early date it has been said that they were martyred at Rome at the command of the Emperor Nero, and buried there. As a Roman citizen, Paul would probably have been beheaded with a sword. It is said of Peter that he was crucified head downward. The present Church of St Peter in Rome replaces earlier churches built on the same site going back to the time of the Emperor Constantine, in whose reign a church was built there on what was believed to be the burial site of Peter. Excavations under the church suggest that the belief is older than Constantine.*

 * The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Peter&Paul.htm

The 17th Day

A Season of Prayer - Day 17

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Day 16 in Week 3

A Season of Prayer - Day 16

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Day 15 - Week Three Begins Today

Season of Prayer - Day 15 - Week Three Begins Today

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr 

The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Join us at church or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, June 26, 2022, The Third Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 8 at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas. 

Holy Eucharist, Rite Two

St. Alban’s  - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.* 

St. Thomas' on the Bayou - 10:00 a.m.* 

St. Patrick’s – 11:00 a.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet with this link -  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s_4v2s3JAnJsFYWutWstwQ_KoefHF_-E/view?usp=sharing      

La Santa Eucaristía: Rito Dos

Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo - 5:00 p.m. (transmitido en Facebook)             

Zoom Compline - All Welcome 

Sunday -  8:00 p.m. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83861688528?pwd=WFdBcndxV3hzbUpETDNTSFFzc3Z0QT09 

Meeting ID: 838 6168 8528

Passcode: 800

or dial in at  +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799 

We hope to see you all on Sunday!

Rita+, Rob+ and Whit+

Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org

Day 14

A Season of Prayer - Day 14

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

From Bishop Jake

In the link below you will find Bishop Jake Owensby’s response to yesterday’s SCOTUS decision about abortion rights. Please read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it today, or at your convenience. Per his instruction, I am making it available to you. I will  have hard copies available in church tomorrow. The Bishop advised that it not be read aloud in church, but privately, saying, “ It needs to be read and considered.”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18uhNLFYSP1iOj0Ug_mV_OEf9r0nyq3Jn/view?usp=sharing

(Note: the link above corrects a typo on twitter in Perry's quote)

Friday the 13th and a Birthday?

A Season of Prayer - Day 13 - The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

And on June 24th, the Church remembers the Nativity of John the Baptist.

The Collect:

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Prayer for the 12th Day

A Season of Prayer - Day 12

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Saint Alban's Day

Today, the Church remembers Saint Alban.

Join us today, Wednesday, June 22, at St. Thomas' on the Bayou for Noonday Prayer today at 12:10 p.m. or with area Episcopalians tonight for Evening Prayer to learn more about Britain's first martyr.

Zoom Evening Prayer & Study - 5:30 p.m. with Father Whit+

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJPc3VOVTh3K21Idz09

Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 779

Passcode: 530

Alban, Martyr, c. 304

The Collect:

Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyr Alban triumphed over suffering and was faithful even unto death: Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

There were probably Christians in the British Isles already in the first century. However, Alban is the first recorded Christian martyr. The traditional date of his death is 304, during the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian; but many scholars now date it as around 209, during the persecution under the Emperor Septimius Severus. Alban was a pagan, and a soldier in the Roman Army. He gave shelter to a Christian priest who was fleeing from arrest, and in the next few days the two talked at length, and Alban became a Christian. When officers came in search of the priest, Alban met them, dressed in the priest's cloak, and they mistook him for the priest and arrested him. He refused to renounce his new faith, and was beheaded. He thus became the first Christian martyr in Britain. The second was the executioner who was to kill him, but who heard his testimony and was so impressed that he became a Christian on the spot, and refused to kill Alban. The third was the priest, who when he learned that Alban had been arrested in his place, hurried to the court in the hope of saving Alban by turning himself in. The place of their deaths is near the site of St. Alban's Cathedral today. *

* The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Alban.htm

A Season of Prayer - Day 11

A Season of Prayer - Day 11

Our thirty days of prayer will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Day 10

A Season of Prayer - Day 10

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

A Season of Prayer - Day 9

A Season of Prayer - Day 9

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

The Second Sunday after Pentecost & Father's Day - Our Prayers Continue

The Second Sunday after Pentecost & Father's Day

A Season of Prayer For Revival - Day 8 - Our Second Week Begins

Happy Father's Day!

All Episcopalians are invited to join together for a season of prayer for the Church. In this dedicated season, we pray for The Episcopal Church, who by God's grace is becoming a new and re-formed church, to be the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, a church that looks, acts, and loves like Jesus and who follows his way of love.

Starting today, June 19, The Episcopal Church and Forward Movement extend an invitation to join us in our second week of this season of prayer. Your prayers will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. You can find these prayers here, along with additional resources, at https://iam.ec/ensopr.

Drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, these prayers will be posted daily on Facebook, Instagram,and Twitter, #seasonofprayer.

The Second Sunday after Pentecost & Father's Day

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Join us at church or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, June 19, 2022, The Second Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 7 & Father’s Day at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas. 

Holy Eucharist, Rite Two
St. Alban’s  - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.* 
St. Thomas' on the Bayou - 10:00 a.m.* 
St. Patrick’s – 11:00 a.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet with this link -  https://drive.google.com/file/d/16O5lVqV4RIMLjimKaN76kq-QWoKIucQq/view?usp=sharing     

La Santa Eucaristía: Rito Dos
Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo

12:00 p.m. ¡Solo este domingo! 
(y transmitido en Facebook)               

No Zoom Compline this Week - Enjoy time with your fathers & family! 

We hope to see you all on Sunday!

Rita+, Rob+ and Whit+

Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org

Day 7 - Week Two Begins Tomorrow

A Season of Prayer - Day 7

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr 

A Season of Prayer - Day 6

A Season of Prayer - Day 6

Our thirty days of prayers for The Episcopal Church's General Convention continue. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Day 5

A Season of Prayer - Day 5

Our thirty days of prayer will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Day 4

A Season of Prayer - Day 4

Our thirty days of prayer will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

Evelyn Underhill

Today, the Church remembers Evelyn Underhill.

Join us today, Wednesday, June 15, at St. Thomas' on the Bayou for Noonday Prayer at 12:10 p.m. or tonight for Evening Prayer to learn more.

Zoom Evening Prayer & Study - 5:30 p.m. with Father Whit+

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJPc3VOVTh3K21Idz09

Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 779

Passcode: 530

Evelyn Underhill, Mystic and Writer, 1947

The Collect:

O God, Origin, Sustainer, and End of all creatures: Grant that your church, taught by your servant Evelyn Underhill, may continually offer to you all glory and thanksgiving, and attain with your saints to the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have promised us by our Savior Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Evelyn Underhill was born in 1875 and grew up in London. Her friends  included Laurence Housman (poet and brother of the poet A E  Housman) and Sarah Bernhardt (actress), and Baron Friedrich von Huegel, a writer on theology and mysticism. Largely under his guidance, she embarked on a life of reading, writing, meditation, and prayer. From her studies and experience she produced a series of books on contemplative prayer. Underhill taught that the life of contemplative prayer is not just for monks and nuns, but can be the life of any Christian who is willing to undertake it. She also taught that modern psychological theory, far from being a threat to contemplation, can fruitfully be used to enhance it. In her later years, she spent a great deal of time as a lecturer and retreat director. She died on June 15, 1941.

She wrote, “To go up alone into the mountains  and come back as an ambassador to the world,  has ever been the method of humanity's best friends. The windows of Christ's Mysteries split the [Light] up into many-coloured loveliness, disclose all of its hidden richness...make its beauty more accessible to us...And  within this place we too are bathed in the light transmitted by the windows, a light which is yet the very radiance of Eternity.”*

* The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Evelyn_Underhill.htm 

A Season of Prayer - Day 3

A Season of Prayer - Day 3

Our thirty days of prayer will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. #seasonofprayer - more info at https://iam.ec/ensopr

A Season of Prayer For Revival - Day 2

A Season of Prayer For Revival - Day 2

In this dedicated season, we pray for The Episcopal Church, who by God's grace is becoming a new and re-formed church, to be the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, a church that looks, acts, and loves like Jesus and who follows his way of love. Your prayers will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. Drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, these prayers will be posted daily on Facebook, Instagram,and Twitter, #seasonofprayer.

A Season of Prayer For Revival - Day 1

A Season of Prayer For Revival - Day 1

All Episcopalians are invited to join together for a season of prayer for the Church. In this dedicated season, we pray for The Episcopal Church, who by God's grace is becoming a new and re-formed church, to be the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, a church that looks, acts, and loves like Jesus and who follows his way of love.

Starting today, June 12, The Episcopal Church and Forward Movement extend an invitation for a season of prayer. Your prayers will offer the foundation for The Episcopal Church's gathering of the General Convention, a time of worship, prayer, legislative action, and community building. You can find these prayers here, along with additional resources, at https://iam.ec/ensopr. Drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, these prayers will be posted daily on Facebook, Instagram,and Twitter, #seasonofprayer.

Saint Barnabas

Saint Barnabas the Apostle

Today the Church remembers Saint Barnabas.

“Joseph,” a Levite, born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (son of encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles." (Acts 4:36f). This is the first mention we have of Barnabas. His new name fits what we know of his actions. When Saul (or Paul) came to Jerusalem after his conversion, most of the Christians there wanted nothing to do with him. They had known him as a persecutor and an enemy of the Church. But Barnabas was willing to give him a second chance. He looked him up, spoke with him, and brought him to see the other Christians, vouching for him. Later, Paul and Barnabas went on a missionary journey together, taking Mark with them. Part way, Mark turned back and went home. When Paul and Barnabas were about to set out on another such journey, Barnabas proposed to take Mark along, and Paul was against it, saying that Mark had shown himself undependable. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance, and so he and Mark went off on one journey, while Paul took Silas and went on another. Apparently Mark responded well to the trust given him by the "son of encouragement," since we find that Paul later speaks of him as a valuable assistant (2 Tim 4:11; see also Col 4:10 and Phil 24).*

We add our prayers for the clergy and people of St. Barnabas in Lafayette.

The Collect:

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well­being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

*The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Barnabas.htm

Ephrem of Nisibis

Ephrem of Nisibis, Deacon and Poet, 373

The Collect:

Pour out upon us, O Lord, that same Spirit by which your deacon Ephrem declared the mysteries of faith in sacred song; that, with gladdened hearts, we too might proclaim the riches of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Ephrem was a teacher, poet, orator, and defender of the Faith.*

*The Lectionary, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Ephrem_Edessa.htm

Coumba of Iona

Columba of Iona, Monastic, 597

The Collect:

O God, who by the preaching of your servant Columba caused the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland: Grant, we pray, that, remembering his life and labors, we may show our thankfulness to you by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In the troubled and violent Dark Ages in Northern Europe, monasteries served as inns, orphanages, centers of learning, and even as fortresses. The light of civilization flickered dimly and might have gone out altogether if it had not been for these convent-shelters. Columba, a stern and strong monk from Ireland, founded three such establishments. He founded the monasteries of Derry and Durrow in his native Ireland, and the island monastery of Iona on the coast of Scotland. Iona was the center of operations for the conversion of the Scots and Picts, and became the most famous religious house in Scotland. There Columba baptized Brude, King of the Picts, and later a King of the Scots came to this Abbot of the "Holy Isle" for baptism. The historian Bede tells us that Columba led many to Christianity by his "preaching and example."*

 *The Lectionary, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Columba.htm

Melania the Elder

Today, the Church remembers Melania the Elder.

Join us today, Wednesday, June 8, to learn more  at St. Alban's for Holy Eucharist today at 12:10 p.m. or join all our Monroe Episcopal churches tonight for 

Zoom Evening Prayer & Study - 5:30 p.m. with Father Whit+

Zoom Evening Prayer
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86781577595?pwd=VjNnZTZnUFFadkJPc3VOVTh3K21Idz09

Meeting ID: 867 8157 7595
Passcode: 530
Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 779
Melania the Elder, Monastic, 410

The Collect:

Most High and Merciful God, who called your servant Melania to forsake earthly comforts in order to devote herself to studying the scriptures and to welcoming the poor: Instruct us in the ways of poverty and the grace of hospitality, that we might comfort those who have no place to rest and teach the way of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Melania the Elder, (born in Spain, ca. 350–died in Jerusalem before 410 or in c. 417) was a Desert Mother who was an influential figure in the Christian ascetic movement (the Desert Fathers and Mothers) that sprang up in the generation after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion of the Roman Empire. She was a contemporary of, and well known to, Abba Macarius and other Desert Fathers in Egypt, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Saint Paulinus of Nola (her cousin or cousin-in-law), and Evagrius of Pontus. She promoted the asceticism which she, as a follower of Origen, considered indispensable for salvation.

Melania, one of the wealthiest citizens of the empire, was married at fourteen, and moved from Spain with her husband to the suburbs of Rome. Her husband and two out of three sons had died by the time she was twenty-two. She became a Christian in Rome and, leaving her son with a guardian, set off to Alexandria, accompanied by her servants, to join other Christian ascetics to visit the monks at Nitria. When persecution broke out after the death of Bishop Athanasius in 373 and many of the monks were exiled to Diocaesaraea in Palestine, Melania followed and supported them financially. She built a convent in Jerusalem, and a monastery on the Mount of Olives for the monk and theologian Rufinus of Aquileia.

Around the year 400 she left for Rome to see her son. Due to her influence, her granddaughter, known as Melania the Younger would later take up the religious life. When the Visigoths marched on Rome in 410, Melania, her daughter-in law, Albina, and granddaughter Melania and her husband fled to Sicily. They then went to Jerusalem, where Malania died around 417. *

 * The Lectionary, via Wikipedia, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Melania_elder.html

ALL Things

The First Book of Common Prayer

The First Book of Common Prayer – 1549
Observed on a weekday following the Day of Pentecost

The Collect:

Almighty and everliving God, who through the Book of Common Prayer restored the language of the people in the prayers of your church: Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us so to pray in the Spirit and with understanding, that we may worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In 1549, under the reign of Edward VI, successor to Henry VIII, the primary language of public worship in England and other areas ruled by Edward was changed from Latin to English, and the first Book of Common Prayer came into use. It was first used on Pentecost Sunday, 9 June 1549, and the occasion is now commemorated "on the first convenient day following Pentecost." The Book was the work of a commission of scholars, but primarily of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.

More information on The Book of Common Prayer – 1549, including a facsimile copy in pdf can be found here - http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1549/BCP_1549.htm