Easter II worship audio available

March 30, 2008

Our worship audio from this morning's service is now available.
Today's guest preacher was our own Rev. Canon Cecil Scantlebury. His sermon has been posted on our Sermons page, for those of you who wish to simply hear the sermon.

For those of you who wish to worship with us, you will find the audio in the usual spot on our Worship page or by using this link.

Today's service music and hymns:
Processional Hymn: 193
Gloria: S278
Psalm: 111:1-4, 9-10
Gradual Hymn: 209
Offertory Hymn: 212
Sanctus: S128
Fraction Anthem: Christ Our Passover
Communion Hymns: Lift Every Voice and Sing (LEVAS) 88 & 152
Closing Hymn (omit v. 3): 208

Details of Latest Audio files

We are recovered from our hectic Triduum and Easter Day schedule.

Apologies for not giving details for the Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Day services when we initially posted them. Maundy Thursday was recorded in analog rather than digital format, so it will take a little longer to extract the sermon for the website. Keep checking the sermon page for our latest postings.

To remedy this, we are sharing the music and service details now. Better Late than Never...but Always Better On Time! We are hoping to soon provide copies of the weekly bulletins with our audio, but the office had enough to do with getting everything set for Holy Week. Our team didn't want to add any more to their workload.

Good Friday

The service starts with a silent procession in. The altar is bare; the cross is shrouded in black cloth. Choir and priests are in black. Moments of silence allow for reflection and remembrance.

The women of the choir sing the plainsong psalm. All is stillness.

At the time of the Gospel, members of the choir take their positions at the lectern and pulpit and steps to the choir stalls. The Gospel is chanted. This year, our chorister who sang Jesus' words got a frog in his throat near the end. How appropriate for him to have difficulty when Jesus says from the cross, 'I am thirsty' and 'It is finished.' Somehow, this moment conveyed a hint of the realness of Jesus' suffering.

Why, some ask, did the church use chant instead of reading texts? In the days before audio amplification, when not everyone could read, when there were not lots of books in pews with which to follow along, one voice had to reach many ears in a large space. Spoken sound does not carry as far as sung or chanted sound. Hence, chanting was a way to make sure people could hear the prayers and lessons.

Music during the service:
Psalm: 40:1-14
Gradual Hymn: 442 (In the Cross of Christ I glory)
Passion Gospel of John
Anthem: My Lord, My Love, Was Crucified
Choral Response: The Ballad of the Judas Tree
Hymn at Procession of the Blessed Sacrament: 330 (Therefore we before him bending)

Motet at Communion - yes, we had one, and - yes, the sound system did a bunk on it. Sigh. We suspect that the amount of silence at communion made the system suspend processing. It recovered in time for the final prayer.

Easter Vigil

We can think of one good thing about Easter being as early in the year as it is this year: It was dark enough at the Vigil for us to be truly dependent on the candles we all held!

The Paschal Candle leads the procession into the church where all sit in the deepening darkness of evening. We hear the call, 'The light of Christ' and respond with 'Thanks be to God' three times during the procession. Once the Paschal Candle reaches the front of the church, the flame is used to light the candles of the choir and congregation.

A cantor sings the Exsultet - an ancient hymn (you can follow along here or in your Book of Common Prayer, p. 286) and then begins the Liturgy of the Word. This portion of the Vigil focuses on readings that remind us of the long history of humankind being saved and redeemed by God.

You will hear the second lesson's reader have difficulty at first. Her candle was low and it was difficult to read the passage in the dimness. One of our young folk in the choir came to her aid with another candle and all was well.

When we sing the Gloria, the candles in the congregation are blown out as the lights come on and the acolytes light the candles on the altar. Now it is the first Eucharist of Easter. The Alleluias have returned from their Lenten exile.

Music during the Vigil
Liturgy of the Word:
Hymns 648, 679, 413
Gloria: S278
Procession of the Gospel: S70
Offertory Anthem: Sing Ye to the Lord
Offertory Hymn: 200
Sanctus: S218
Fraction Anthem: Christ our Passover
Anthem at Communion: This is the Day the Lord hath Made
Communion Hymns: 204, 190
Closing Hymn: 207
Voluntary: Processional in G Major (Stanley)

Easter Day Eucharist

The recording we have posted for you is the 11:00 a.m. service from Easter Day (the 9:00 a.m. service had the same structure as the 11:00 a.m.). The church is decorated with lilies and tulips and hydrangea and daffodils and pansies. Lots and lots of pansies in all the windows. Every child is encouraged to take a pot of pansies home with them. And every year, we wonder if we will run out, and every year we don't! This year, we had an Easter Egg hunt between the 9:00 and 11:00 o'clock services which all enjoyed, young and old.

Our sound system behaved itself except for a little bit during communion. It seems when things go quiet, such as when the choir takes communion before the communion hymns, the system sometimes stops responding. Then when it comes back, we have some distortion for a few seconds before it kicks into gear. This is advance notice that you won't hear the organ introduction to the first communion hymn.

Music:
Voluntary: Entrada (Ives)
Processional Hymn: 205
Introit: This is the Day the Lord Hath Made
Gloria: S278
Psalm 118:14-17, 22-23 (setting: R.S. James)
Gospel Procession: 180
Gospel Response: Hallelujah Chorus (Handel) with the entire congregation
Offertory Anthem: Sing Ye to the Lord
Offertory Hymn: 200
Sanctus: S128
Fraction Anthem: Christ our Passover
Communion Hymns: 178, 204, 190
Closing Hymn: 207
Voluntary: Toccata (Widor)

He Is Risen! Alleluia!

We have made available the following services via audio:

• Good Friday


• The Great Vigil of Easter
  


• Easter
  

Palm Sunday Worship

Audio Available off our Worship page

Starting in the Parish House for the Liturgy of the Palms, the congregation then processed to the church. Arriving at the West door of the Church, the Celebrant knocked three times using the foot of the Processional Cross, and said, 'Open in the name of the Lord.' At this point, the organ began playing our opening hymn, 'All glory, laud, and honor' while the procession of acolytes, clergy, congregants, and finally choir, made its way into the church.

This was a challenge to record...starting in the Parish House, out of range of the wireless microphones that feed our sound system, and then needing to switch to the church. We took our digital recorder to the Parish House to record the Liturgy of the Palms. Then, during the processional hymn (Psalm 118:19-29), we turned off the recorder and ran back to the church to set up for recording the service. So the only parts missing in the recording are part of Psalm 118 and the priest's knocking at the door.

Palm Sunday is a day that begins in celebration and ends on a more somber note. Instead of a sermon, the Passion Gospel from Matthew was read.

Music in today's service:

Anthem at the Distribution of Palms:
    Hosanna to the Son of David (de Vitoria)
Processional: 157
Opening Hymn: 154
Psalm 22:1-11
Sequence Anthem: 162
Offertory Anthem: My Lord, my Love, was crucified (Tallis)
Offertory Hymn: 458
Sanctus: S125
Faction Anthem: S172
Communion Hymns: 158, 170
Post-Communion Hymn: 164

Lent V Service Audio Available

Dear worshippers in cyberspace:

Our apologies for the tardiness of posting last Sunday's worship audio. As we told you in an earlier posting, we had to use the cassette recorder. This means that getting the audio file ready takes much longer - once we have our hands on the cassette!

After retrieving the tape at choir practice last night, the audio has been converted to digital format and posted in the usual spot with a link from our Worship page.

The quality of the audio is not our best, but we hope you will forgive the foibles of the recording and join us in worship.

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday - another challenge for our recording team. The service begins in the Parish House (due to forecasted inclement weather, we won't start in the Chapel Garden) and processes to the Church for the Eucharist. Two locations, one recording device...hmmmm. We are brainstorming ways to cover this. Your support of this ministry has encouraged us to continue to experiment with improving our methods and expanding our capabilities.

With the Diocesan Learning Event (Marcus Borg) webcast in the Chapel on Saturday morning and Palm Sunday service on Sunday morning, we will be a busy committee!

A blessed day to you all.

Marcus Borg - Diocesan Learning Event

Saturday, March 15, from 9am to 1pm, the Diocese will be having a Spring Learning Event at Boston University. The featured speaker is Marcus Borg, well-respected scholar on the historical Jesus.

Those of us loathe to drive to Boston are thrilled that the diocese is making the event available to one and all via the Internet! Saint Barnabas will be one location where we can gather to watch and listen to Marcus Borg speak. We will hold small group discussions with those of us in attendance while those in Boston do the same.

If you can, join us for an event that promises to be enlightening and thought-provoking.

Lent V (March 10)

Our primary recording person was away this Sunday - and she had the digital recorder with her. We left our youth member, Tim, in charge of recording to the cassette deck. Unfortunately, there were heavy rains on Saturday. Tim reported that the signal seemed to go in and out. We will attempt to pull the service off the cassette and post it. First step is to retrieve the cassette from the Music Office!

Lent IV Worship Audio Available

We are happy to report that the sound system behaved itself today. The audio from our 11 o'clock Eucharist is now available for listening. You may continue to visit our Worship page and use the Sunday Worship link in the left-hand column or you may listen to the service by using this link.

For Lent, our service begins with a procession in silence (that is why you will not hear anything for the first few seconds of the audio file...) followed by the Penitential Order: Rite One. Because we start with the Penitential Order, we do not repeat the Confession of Sin after the Prayers of the People later in the service. We process out in silence as well.

Our Preaching Series continued today with Rev. Kate preaching on the prayer of humble access found on page 337 of the Book of Common Prayer:

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen

Today's music:
Kyrie: S91
Psalm: 23 (setting: R. James, 1990)
Gospel Procession: 567
Offertory: Nunc dimittis
Offertory Hymn: 645
Sanctus: S114
Agnus Dei: S158
Communion Hymns: 490, 429
Post-Communion Hymn: 493