Common sense steps to lower infection risks at Holy Communion and all church activities

Dear Companions on the Journey of Faith,

As the second wave of flu season continues, the increase in news reporting about COVD-19 coronavirus gives us an opportunity to make sure we are taking necessary steps to lower risk of infection as we gather for worship, fellowship, and ministry. The Episcopal Diocese of Newark have provided some common-sense guidelines. Click here to read.



Welcome

Trinity Church Welcomes All through its "Big Red Doors" with Tibetan prayer flags flying in the wind. It would be hard to find a more diverse group of believers, used-to-be believers, and sort-of believers. Many of us were born into other religions and denominations, and have found ourselves to be part of the inclusiveness of God's love.

Easter

The great 50 Days of Easter ends on the Feast of Pentecost. There is no Confession of Sin. The privilege of standing, not kneeling, during the Great Thanksgiving of the 50 Days dates back to the Council of Nicaea. No fasting or abstinence.

Ascensiontide

The 40th day of the 50 days of Easter rejoicing.

The Ascension of Jesus the Christian teaching found in the New Testament that the resurrected Jesus was taken up to heaven in his resurrected body, in the presence of eleven of his apostles, occurring 40 days after the resurrection.

The Pentecost Novena begins. A time of prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

What are you doing here?
We are looking for Jesus.

What are you doing here?
We have questions to ask.

What are you doing here ?
We seek hope; we seek healing.

What are you doing here?
We have heard God calling our names.



You have ascended in glory, O Christ our God,
having gladdened Your disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit;
and they were assured by the blessing
that You are the Son of God,
the Redeemer of the world.
(Troparion, Tone 4)

Pentecost Novena Prayer

Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; and heal our souls, gracious One.

May 25 - Bede, the Venerable, Priest, and Monk of Jarrow

When the monks of Jarrow sang, “Lord, leave us not as orphans,” it is said that Bede would often weep. As a child he was left orphaned in a dark, hostile, and dangerous land. He was cared for and reared by kindly monks. When he was but a youngster, plague struck the monastery, almost wiping it out. The only surviving souls were Bede and the old abbot. Bede naturally had a strong sense of the importance of community, of the fine line between life and death, and of our utter dependence upon the Creator.

He rarely ventured outside the walls of Jarrow monastery, yet his knowledge of theology, geography, and language was worthy of the most sophisticated of his time in Western Europe. He wrote a number of excellent books on various subjects, but he is best remembered for his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. This work has justly earned for him the title “Father of English History.” Unlike some of the careless historians of his day, he was meticulous in listing his authorities and sources. He took care to separate known fact from hearsay, but his descriptions are lively and dramatic. Bede thought of himself as a teacher, and he seems to have built most of his teaching around the Divine Offices which the monks read daily. It is altogether fitting that he was pronounced a “Doctor of the Church” by Pope Leo XIII. Bede"s remains rest in Durham.

May 26 - Augustine, First Archbishop of Canterbury

Augustine and a group of monks were sent to Britain by Pope Gregory (see March 12) in 597. Three centuries prior to this, Christianity had been introduced to the British Isles during the Roman occupation (see June 22 and March 1 and 17). However, when the Roman forces withdrew, the pagan Anglo-Saxons invaded the isles and forced the Christians to flee into the hills and forests of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, or to face a tenuous existence in England. Augustine found that his task was not only to convert the Anglo-Saxons but also to re-establish contacts between the British (or Celtic) and Roman churches. Now, Augustine seems to have been a rather timid and reticent fellow who had accepted this assignment with something less than enthusiasm. He did not speak the Anglo-Saxon tongue and was terrified at the prospect of confronting these notorious savages. He was relieved and delighted upon landing in Britain to find that the Anglo-Saxon queen, Bertha, was already a Christian and that the king was not unfriendly. The latter, King Ethelbert, eventually was converted and in time most of his subjects followed suit. Augustine established his cathedral at Canterbury in Kent. This was destined to become the most important bishopric in England and the mother diocese of the Anglican Communion. Archbishops of Canterbury are still said to hold the Chair of Augustine.

May 27 - Bertha and Ethelbert, Queen and King of Kent

Bertha was a Frankish princess, the daughter of Charibert I and his wife Ingoberga, granddaughter of the reigning King Chlothar I and great-granddaughter of Clovis I and Saint Clotilde. Her father died in 567, her mother in 589. Bertha had been raised near Tours. Her marriage to the pagan Æthelberht of Kent, in 580 AD, was on condition that she be allowed to practice her religion. She brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her to England. A former Roman church was restored for Bertha just outside the City of Canterbury, and dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It was the private chapel of Queen Bertha before Augustine arrived from Rome.

Pope Gregory the Great sent a Mission led by Augustine of Canterbury, to restore Christianity to England in 596. The Mission's favourable reception upon arrival in 597 AD owed much to the influence of Bertha. Without her support and Æthelberht's good will, monastic settlements and the cathedral would likely have been developed elsewhere. In 601, Pope Gregory addressed a letter to Bertha, in which he complimented her highly on her faith and knowledge of letters.

John Calvin- May 28

Image result for John Calvin

was an influential French theologian, pastor and reformer during the Protestant Reformation. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions erupted in widespread deadly violence against Protestant Christians in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where in 1536 he published the first edition of the Institutes.

Joan of Arc (Jeanne D'Arc)- May 30

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) was born in France in 1412, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War when France and England were locked in an epic struggle over who should govern portions of what is now France. The daughter of a farmer from the village of Domrémy, Joan had no formal schooling and could not write her name without someone guiding her hand, but made her mark on history and the church.

At age twelve or thirteen, Joan began to experience visions. She heard the voices of Saint Michael the Archangel (see September 29), Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and others, telling her to raise the siege at Orleans and have the Dauphin crowned king of France. Based on a successful prediction of a reversal in battle, Joan gained credibility with the court and with military leaders. Soon the Dauphin was leading armies to victory based on her mystical visions, and after a stunning victory at Orleans, he was crowned Charles VII at Reims cathedral. But after a defeat at Compiègne, Joan was captured by the Burgundian troops, sold to the English, and tried at Rouen on charges of sorcery and heresy. She was found guilty and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. She was just nineteen years old. The French eventually won the war, and Joan's conviction was annulled by the church in 1456. Joan of Arc came to be regarded as a French heroine, honored for her courage, steadfast faith, and unwavering commitment to her country.

June 1-3 - Gun Violence Awareness


God our rock and refuge: keep us safe in your care and strengthen us with your grace, that we may pray to you faithfully and love one another boldly, following the example of Jesus, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives for ever and ever. Amen. (EOW 1 source: Veronese Sacramentary)

The Martyrs of Lyon-June 2

Lyons in Gaul (France) was the scene of one of the most terrible persecutions the early church had to endure. The Christians there were accused, as elsewhere, of atheism, blasphemy, treason, sexual perversion, and cannibalism. The governor, hoping to please the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, staged public trials which lasted for several days and in which the populace was stirred into a mad frenzy against the Christians. Many were imprisoned, tortured, and beaten to death. Their remains were thrown to the dogs.

Among those mentioned by name in the moving account written by Christian historian Eusebius was Alexander, a physician who was publicly roasted. He professed Christ and, when asked what God's name was, he replied, "God has no name as men have." As he died he pointed out to the pagans that they were the ones who consumed human flesh. There was Blandina, "a blessed woman who, "like a noble athlete," endured days of excruciating torture, abuse, and humiliation, saying only, "I am a Christian woman and nothing wicked happens among us." She was gored to death by a bull in the arena. Then there was the notable citizen Attalus, the elderly Bishop Pothinus, a deacon from Vienna named Sanctus, and a boy of fifteen, Ponticus. These and many others were subjected to brutal horrors and torments and were finally killed. Undaunted, they passed out of this world joyfully and victoriously, witnesses to the only living Lord.

June 4-John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli)

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was the fourth of fourteen children born to a family of sharecroppers who lived in a village in Lombardy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 10 August 1904 and served in a number of posts, including papal nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In a consistory on 12 January 1953 Pope Pius XII made Roncalli a cardinal as the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca in addition to naming him as the Patriarch of Venice. Roncalli was elected pope on 28 October 1958 at age 76 after 11 ballots. His selection was unexpected, and Roncalli himself had come to Rome with a return train ticket to Venice. He was the first pope to take the pontifical name of "John" upon election in more than 500 years, and his choice settled the complicated question of official numbering attached to this papal name due to the antipope of this name. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–65), the first session opening on 11 October 1962. His passionate views on equality were summed up in his famous statement, "We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly alike."


The Liturgical Seasons

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** This prayer is offer for Victims of Violence throughout of the world. Victims of verbal, physical, emotional, of hunger and thirst,economic abuse,warfare (especially Ukraine, Venezuela, parts of Africa, South America Asia and the Middle East, terrorist action, the death penalty, suicide, shootings (in our cities and neighborhoods), and other guise of violence. May their souls rest in peace and their families experience the Comfort of God. The Church bells will toll on Wednesdays @ 6:10pm.

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