The Annual Meeting was held last Sunday, January 29, and announcements were made that are important to us as a community. Among the most exciting was that The Rev. Julia Nielsen and The Rev. Sherman Hesselgrave will be sharing the interim duties at St. Michael’s during this transition period. You can watch the meeting here on STMAA Connection.
out the transition process as St. Michael’s searches for a new rector
Thank you to all who responded to our requests for committees and vestry membership. The vestry leadership is in the process of going through the letters of interest and will be reaching out soon. Please plan to join us by Zoom for the Annual Meeting on January 30 at 12:15 pm. We will vote at that time for vestry members, Endowment Fund Committee members and convention delegates.
Edward Elgar (1857-1934) will be a featured composer this Sunday. One of Elgar’s most famous works is his Enigma Variations, an orchestral composition consisting of fourteen variations on an original theme. “Nimrod,” the ninth and most famous variation from this set, will be played as the prelude at the 9:00 am and 11:00 am services, arranged for organ by Robert Gower.
Some of this Sunday’s music dates from the 16th century! The organ prelude at the 9:00 and 11:00 am services is by the Spanish composer Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566). His piece Diferencias sobre ‘El canto llano del caballero’ is a set of keyboard variations (“diferencias”) on a Renaissance secular song. Like several other famous organists through the centuries, Cabezón was blind, but that didn’t stop him from rising to prominence as an organist and composer for the royal family of Spain, Charles and Isabella.
I’m struggling not to be completely self-absorbed while in exile. Fortunately, it’s the season after the Epiphany, when God reveals themself to us through the Christ. I find the cure for my selfishness to be Evening Prayer, which includes both the Song of Mary, with its radical reordering of the human economic/political sphere, and the Song of Simeon. As a musician, I’m drawn to the multitude of great settings of Simeon’s canticle from the Gospel according to St. Luke, mostly using the old translation from the 1549 Prayer Book.
It has become increasingly clear to me that one of the hidden jobs of being a rector is to encourage the community to be involved in the work of the church by serving on various committees. As Jr. Warden for the People, that job has been delegated to me.
Would you like to grow spiritually in 2022? Would you like to find a way, along with others, to reflect on the Gospel reading each week and discover its deeper meaning for your life? A small group of other community members who meet weekly for one hour to pray and reflect together on the upcoming Gospel reading may be what you are seeking.
In their January 9 forum, Outreach & Justice featured a speaker from the organization WeShine, which seeks to provide transitional micro-housing for the homeless in every Portland neighborhood.
Each season of the church year, we change the musical settings, such as the Gloria/Song of Praise/Kyrie, Sanctus, Fraction Anthem, etc. These are the musical parts of the service that remain constant during an entire season, unlike the hymns, choir anthem and keyboard voluntaries that change from week to week.
Sunday Worship Schedule
7:30 – Spoken Traditional language (Rite 2 with no music)
9:00 – Traditional Service with Choir
11:00 – Inclusive Language with Choir
1:00 pm – Misa en Español
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