PARISH NOTES

Sunday 12 November 2017

Fortunio Matania, The Last General Absolution of the Munsters at Rue de Bois (1916)

FROM THE RECTOR

The painting above depicts a Catholic priest on horseback -- notice his violet stole -- giving General Absolution to the soldiers of the Second Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, an Irish regiment of the British Army, on May 8, 1915, the eve of the Battle of Aubers Ridge in France during World War I. The next day, the battalion suffered the loss of 600 of its 800 men. The painting was commissioned by novelist Jessie Rickard, widow of the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Rickard (depicted on horseback at the right) who died in the battle. (For more information on the painting, click here.)

Printed in numerous newspapers, reproductions of the painting were displayed in many homes in Ireland for a time, but then disappeared as political attitudes changed. In the newly-formed Irish Free State, the sacrifices of Irish Catholic soldiers in the British Army during the Great War were systematically ignored and forgotten, while Irish Nationalists who fought and died in the 1916 Easter Rebellion and the subsequent War of Independence were remembered and celebrated. 

The point is that collective human memory can be enormously selective. We are prone to forget what we find unpleasant, painful, or disturbing. For several decades after Vietnam, America tried to forget -- as the currently airing PBS documentary series by Ken Burns makes clear. The goal of Remembrance Sunday, by contrast, is simply to remember. There is no political agenda for or against this or that particular war. The Church's only agenda in this commemoration is prayer: for the dead, and for peace. Please join us.

-- Fr. John D. Alexander

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS

Proper 27, Year A (at 8 am)

Amos 5:18-24
Psalm 70
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13

Remembrance Sunday (at 10 am)
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 8:31-39
John 15:9-17

THIS SUNDAY’S MUSIC

Maurice Duruflé—Requiem, Op. 9

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Stewardship Sunday – is next Sunday, November 19th. Pledge cards have been mailed out, and you should be in receipt of them by now. Please bring them to hand in during Mass. (If you have not received a pledge form by then, you may obtain a blank card from one of the ushers on the day.)

Advent Lessons and Carols – On Sunday 3 December at 5:30 pm, we will offer our annual service of Lessons & Carols. Seasonal readings and musical selections set the stage as we prepare for the coming of the Lord. A reception will follow in the Great Hall. All are welcome and invited to attend.

Nave Flooring Project – Over the coming few months the entire tile floor under the pews will be covered over with a layer of birch paneling that will vastly improve the church's appearance and create a smooth surface underfoot. This project will not impact our Sunday worship schedule, but please exercise all due care and avoid any areas that have been cordoned off for this construction.

FOR YOUR PRAYERS

Prayers have been requested for: Norman, Shannah, Sister Carolyn, William, Gerald, Hannah, Kaitlyn, Mary, Gus, Leonard, Harrington, Joan, Katherine, Sally, Sandy, John, Ed, Virginia, Richard, Priscilla, Kiersten, Beverly, Deborah, Angela, Bobby, Douglas, Beverly, Allora, Carlos, Rhoda, William, and James.

Birthdays this week: Karl Benziger (Friday 11/17).

The faithful departed: Year’s Mind: Alison Morgan Henning Stebbins (12 November 2012), Eric Ernest Bernard Hall (16 November 1987), and Alice Esposito (18 November 1994).

Anglican and Diocesan Cycles of Prayer – In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, please pray for the Diocese of Ughelli - (Bendel, Nigeria): The Rt Revd Cyril Odutemu; and in the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, please pray for the people and clergy of St. Martin’s, Providence.

THE SUNDAY ROTA

Acolytes – MC S Brazil; Subdeacon F Pisaturo; Thurifer Z Painter; Crucifer NONE; Torches L Verdelotti, C Sylvia
Lector – T Oakes
Ushers – George Ryan and Chris Martel
Coffee Hour – Modu and Family

THIS WEEK AT S. STEPHEN’S

EXTRA-PAROCHIAL EVENTS HOSTED AT S. STEPHEN’S

Monday 13 November
Epiphany Soup Kitchen Board Meeting 7:00 pm (Great Hall)

Saturday 18 November
Epiphany Soup Kitchen 2:30 pm (Great Hall)

LITURGICAL CALENDAR & SERVICE SCHEDULE

Sunday 12 November
TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST / REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Morning Prayer & Low Mass 8:00 am Proper 27, Year A (G)
Solemn Requiem Mass for Remembrance Sunday 10:00 am (Black)

Daily Office and Mass Lectionaries: Proper 27, Year One

Monday 13 November
FERIA (G)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm

Tuesday 14 November
Samuel Seabury, First Anglican Bishop in North America, 1796 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm

Wednesday 15 November

Albert the Great, Dominican Friar, Bishop, Teacher, 1280 (W)
Evening Prayer 5:30 pm
Low Mass 6:00 pm

Thursday 16 November
Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 1093 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12 noon
Low Mass 12:10 PM

Friday 17 November
Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, 1200 (W)
Noonday Prayer 12:00 noon
Low Mass 12:10 pm

Saturday 18 November
Elizabeth of Hungary, Princess of Thuringia, 1231 (W)
Morning Prayer 9:30 am
Low Mass 10:00 am

Sunday 19 November
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (G)
Morning Prayer & Low Mass 8:00 am
Solemn Mass 10:00 am

NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS (19 November)

Proper 28, Year A
Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
Psalm 90:1-8, 12
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:14-30

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