Dear Brothers and Sisters,
If you were listening to rock albums in 1987, or to popular radio stations, I’m sure you heard REM’s song “It’s the end of the world as we know it//And I feel fine.” As I thought about the upcoming Sunday of Christ the King, that’s the song that came into my head. That and the hymn “King of glory, King of peace” (Hymnal #382), which we sang in October. I should have saved it for this week.
Why, you’re probably wondering, would I choose two such disparate songs? The hymn is obvious—Christ the King Sunday and a hymn that begins addressing the King of Glory. The REM song might also obvious, if you are one of those people who pay attention to the church’s liturgical calendar, which is not at all the same as the civil calendar. Oh, the dates are the same, but what we’re doing on any of those dates is usually completely different. (Maybe I should do a class on this during coffee hour…..hmm.)
The Sunday on which we celebrate Christ the King is the LAST Sunday of the church year. This year the lectionary—the schedule of Scriptures that we read on Sundays—is Year C, the year of Luke. The first Sunday of Advent, we will begin Year A, the year of Matthew. So you can guess that Year B is the year of Mark. And then readings from John get scattered through all the years. John doesn’t get its own year, because it’s a different kind of Gospel.
So Sunday is the end of the year, the end of the last year ‘s world as we knew it. And I CERTAINLY feel fine, because I love Advent, which promises new beginnings still to come. This year, we’re closing off the year with Thanksgiving—looking back over the year and giving thanks for God’s presence among us is the ideal way to put Year C to bed.
Praying daily with you, for our nation, our diocese, our parishes, and the world,
Mo. Laura
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COMING UP!
- November 23: Giving Tree put up in Narthex
- November 30: First Sunday of Advent
- December 1, Advent Book Study, 7:00 p.m., online. A Child Is Born: A Beginner’s
Guide to Nativity Stories. Preregistration required (send note to Laura) - December 5-12, Iglesia Luz de Esperanza services, 7:30-9:30
- December 9: Wreath and plant delivery
- December 14: Stewardship Sunday
- December 21: Giving Tree Families Arrive
- December 24: Christmas Eve
- December 25: Christmas Day.
- Wednesday evenings, yoga class at 6:00 (discount for St. M members)
- Wednesdays, noonday prayer via zoom at 12:00
- Saturdays, Seventh Day Adventist congregation, 9:00-3:00