Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Remembering the Reverend Dr. John Ruef

Download Office of Christian Burial and Holy Eucharist 112916

Coming Events during Advent & Epiphany

Advent and Christmas Service Schedule

·         Holy Days: Nov. 30 St. Andrew, Dec. 21 St. Thomas,

                Dec. 26 St. Stephen, Dec. 27 St. John, Dec. 28 The Holy

               Innocents

·         Blue Christmas/ Longest Day Service, Dec. 14 at 7 PM

·         Greening of the Church, Dec. 18

·         Christmas Eve Midnight Mass:  10:30 carol sing,

                11 PM Liturgy

·         Christmas Day, 11 AM Holy Eucharist

.            Monday Dec. 26     Feast of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, Evening Prayer 7 PM

.         Tuesday Dec. 27     Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, Evening Prayer 7 PM

.         Wed. Dec. 28          Holy Innocents, Evening Prayer 7 PM  

·         Christmas 1 Lessons and Carols Service with Eucharist.  Jan 1.

·         Feast of Epiphany on Jan. 6, a Friday.   7 PM service.

·         Epiphany 1 is The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, on Jan. 8.

Feast of Kamehameha and Emma

The Collect -

O Sovereign God, who raised up (King) Kamehameha (IV) and (Queen) Emma to be rulers in Hawaii, and inspired and enabled them to be diligent in good works for the welfare of their people and the good of your Church: Receive our thanks for their witness to the Gospel; and grant that we, with them, may attain to the crown of glory that never fades away; through Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Click here to learn more about Kamehameha and Emma, King and Queen of Hawaii, 1864, 1885.

Celebrating a new beginning – the Reign of Christ

The Reverend Dr. Regina Christianson

Last week we remembered Veterans and their families with a special collect and the singing of America the Beautiful. The last week in October we remembered our ancestors in the faith as we sang joyfully I sing a song of the saints of God.

The lighting of candles during the Sunday Service for All Saint’s and All Soul’s Day, while the choir and congregation sang, gave opportunity to express in solemn ritual both our sorrow and our lively faith.

Today, as we remember that all things come to an end, we celebrate it as a commencement – a beginning – the Reign of Christ. As T. S. Eliot wrote, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

November calls us to remember - from All Saints and All Souls through Veteran’s Day to Thanksgiving to the Last Sunday in Pentecost, closing out the liturgical year. As the days shorten, the sun is lower on the horizon, the leaves turn and fall, and the colder wind scours the land, we become aware of our own vulnerability, our own losses.

At our best, we remember that the thin places between this world and the Golden Land – paradise – are always there, we remember that God always holds all souls in life, and we remember it is by blessing those memories that we bring healing into this wounded world.

Sunday, after all, is always a recalling of the Easter Mystery - Sunday worship a re-entry into the feast of victory over fear, evil, and death. By fully entering into the liturgical life we hold again the touchstone of the reason for our lives of faith, hope, and charity.

This particular season, both individually and as a community, we experienced several losses. The death of the Rev. Dr. John Ruef on All Hallow’s Eve was keenly felt by all. Alice Overbey and Richard Chaney, though not members of our parish, were nonetheless mourned, their memories cherished. Several members of our parish have recently lost beloved pets. The shock of sudden or repeated hospitalization has challenged others.

And it would be remiss of me as your spiritual leader not to mention the loss felt by members of our parish and community at the national and local election results, even as others among us rejoiced. We have been called in this time to be particularly tender towards each other, to lead by example in compassionate presence.  

Thank you for the tender care you have given, the steady presence of compassion in our parish.

Feast of James Otis Sargent Huntington

The Collect -

O loving God, by your grace your servant James Huntington gathered a community dedicated to love and discipline and devotion to the holy Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ: Send your blessing on all who proclaim Christ crucified, and move the hearts of many to look upon him and be saved; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click here to learn more about James Otis Sargent Huntington, Priest and Monk, 1935.

Feast of Clement

The Collect -

Almighty God, you chose your servant Clement of Rome to recall the Church in Corinth to obedience and stability; Grant that your Church may be grounded and settled in your truth by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; reveal to it what is not yet known; fill up what is lacking; confirm what has already been revealed; and keep it blameless in your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Click here to learn more about Clement, Bishop of Rome, c.100.

Feast of Clive Staples Lewis

The Collect -

O God of searing truth and surpassing beauty, we give you thanks for Clive Staples Lewis, whose sanctified imagination lights fires of faith in young and old alike. Surprise us also with your joy and draw us into that new and abundant life which is ours in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Click here to learn more about Clive Staples Lewis, Apologist and Author, 1963.

Service Bulletin for the Last Sunday after Pentecost

Download 112016

Feast of Elizabeth

The Collect -

Almighty God, by your grace your servant Elizabeth of Hungary recognized and honored Jesus in the poor of this world: Grant that we, following her example, may with love and gladness serve those in any need or trouble, in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click here to learn more about Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary, 1231.

Feast of Hilda of Whitby

The Collect -

O God of peace, by whose grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church: Give us the grace to recognize and accept the varied gifts you bestow on men and women, that our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Click here to learn more about Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, 680.

Feast of Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln

The Collect -

O holy God, you endowed your servant and bishop Hugh of Lincoln with wise and cheerful boldness, and taught him to commend the discipline of holy life to kings and princes: Grant that we also, rejoicing in the Good News of your mercy, and fearing nothing but the loss of you, may be bold to speak the truth in love, in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click Here to learn more about Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, 1200.

Feast of Margaret, Queen of Scotland

The Collect -

O God, you called your servant Margaret to an earthly throne that she might advance your heavenly kingdom, and gave her zeal for your Church and love for your people: Mercifully grant that we who commemorate her this day may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click Here to learn more about Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 1093.

Feast of the Consecration of Samuel Seabury

The Collect -

We give you thanks, O Lord our God, for your goodness in bestowing upon this Church the gift of the episcopate, which we celebrate in this remembrance of the consecration of Samuel Seabury; and we pray that, joined together in unity with our bishops, and nourished by your holy Sacraments, we may proclaim the Gospel of redemption with apostolic zeal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Click Here to learn more about Samuel Seabury, First American Bishop, 1784.

Service Bulletin for the Twenty Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Download 11132016_Morning Prayer

Feast of Charles Simeon

O loving God, we know that all things are ordered by your unerring wisdom and unbounded love: Grant us in all things to see your hand; that, following the example and teaching of your servant Charles Simeon, we may walk with Christ in all simplicity, and serve you with a quiet and contented mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click here to learn more about Charles Simeon, Priest, 1836.

Feast of Martin of Tours

The Collect -

Lord God of hosts, you clothed your servant Martin the soldier with the spirit of sacrifice, and set him as a bishop in your Church to be a defender of the catholic faith: Give us grace to follow in his holy steps, that at the last we may be found clothed with righteousness in the dwellings of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click here to learn more about Martin, Bishop of Tours, 397.

Feast of Leo the Great

The Collect -

O Lord our God, grant that your Church, following the teaching of your servant Leo of Rome, may hold fast the great mystery of our redemption, and adore the one Christ, true God and true Man, neither divided from our human nature nor separate from your divine Being; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Click Here to learn more about Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 461.

Burial Office for the Rev. Dr. John Ruef Set for Nov. 29 at 2 p.m.

The Office for the Burial of the Dead for the Reverend Dr. John Samuel Ruef, with Holy Eucharist, will be said at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Tuesday, November 29 at 2 p.m..  The Rt. Reverend Herman "Holly" Hollerith IV, Bishop of Southern Virginia, will be the Celebrant and the Reverend James W Mathieson will preach.

Dr. Ruef passed away on October 31, 2016 at the age of 89.

Feast of Willibrord

The Collect -

O Lord our God, you call whom you will and send them where you choose: We thank you for sending your servant Willibrord to be an apostle to the Low Countries, to turn them from the worship of idols to serve you, the living God; and we entreat you to preserve us from the temptation to exchange the perfect freedom of your service for servitude to false gods and to idols of our own devising; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Click Here to learn more about Willibrord,

Archbishop of Utrecht,

Missionary to Frisia, 739.

Stewardship Renewal Begins at Emmanuel

During this time each year, Emmanuel asks all parishioners to renew their commitments of time, talents, and money to the work of the parish and the larger church.

Jayne dePaulo, Senior Warden 2016, in her letter to the parish reflects on all of the changes and accomplishments which have occurred during 2016 and how the events of this year position us to grow and move forward together in service and love to God, our communities, and each other.

    Read Jayne’s letter to the parish.

As we contemplate our stewardship commitments for the coming year, the Reverend Dr. Regina Christianson, offers some thoughts about what it means to be Christians:

“Stewardship is what we, as Christians, do…. As parishioners, we are called to invest time, treasure, and talent. Faithful stewards of God’s bounty, we are called to prayerfully consider how best each one of us can support this particular parish, this particular congregation, this particular mission of God.”

    Read Dr. Christianson’s letter to the parish.

Finally, attached is a draft of parish goals and committees for the coming year. Please read, think, make recommendations, make comments, and respond to the vestry accordingly.

    Read the draft Emmanuel Goals and Committees.

Please join us at Emmanuel on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. for Holy Eucharist, followed by Coffee Hour, and meet our new priest, the Reverend Dr. Regina Christianson.

Confirmation Classes Have Begun

Confirmation Classes have begun. 

Should you be interested, it's not too late to join in. Please call Jayne dePaulo or Dr. Christianson for more details.

Feast of Richard Hooker

The Collect -

 O God of truth and peace, you raised up your servant Richard Hooker in a day of bitter controversy to defend with sound reasoning and great charity the catholic and reformed religion: Grant that we may maintain that middle way, not as a compromise for the sake of peace, but as a comprehension for the sake of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Click here to learn more about Richard Hooker, Priest, 1600.

Feast of All Faithful Departed

The Collect -

O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.