[Magdalen] Interesting Sunday

[cady soukup]

Yes,

We've kept MP in rotation all through the decades. At the moment, the
Lay-led services are to save what fees we can while awaiting a new
rector. With all 3 services, we average just under 100 ASA, so each
service tends to be under 40 attendees.

All we have heard from the Search Committee (who are legitimately
sworn to silence) is that we have received names, several look good,
and they are working on getting a good, new rector.

As of July 31 we are without a rector. Bill Queen - who has been very
good for us - hopes for a ministry as an interim rector, has kept his
family home in Richmond, must return to live in Richmond or face IRS
penalties. We are exploring the idea of Lay-led services for at least
August and possibly longer if needed. We're still actively making
decisions. We celebrate the renovation of the Rectory on June 11th
with a blessing of the house for Trinity participants, and an Open
House for the community (Trinity Church: of the community, by the
community, for the community). It should be grand fun, with tents in
the Washington Baptist Church parking lot in case of inclement
weather.

Stepping forward into the unknown, along with everyone else!

Cady

On 5/30/16, Joseph Cirou <romanos at mindspring.com> wrote:
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> -----Original Message-----
>>From: Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
>>Sent: May 30, 2016 5:24 PM
>>To: "magdalen at herberthouse.org" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
>>Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Interesting Sunday
>>
>>Wow, Cady!!
>>Having supplied at your church many times over the years, I know these are
>> major changes--whew!  Your summer schedule was a killer; the first time I
>> filled in there for three weeks, I couldn't imagine doing that every
>> Sunday all summer. Services were at 8,9, and 10.
>>The move to more Morning Prayer services is interesting, although I know
>> you've kept MP in rotation all along. Is that just for the time before you
>> call a new rector? And is there any sense of when that will be?
>>Congratulations on leading a sung Morning Prayer service! That's always
>> challenging.
>>Will Bill Queen continue as your interim, or is his contract up? I heard
>> good things about him when he was at All Saints in Richmond.
>>And I love Johnson's "The Creation"! At the church I attended for the
>> Easter Vigil this year, that was the first reading--a wonderful choice!
>>
>>I never think of Trinity as small--maybe because it has three services and
>> has such a variety of ministries.What is your ASA?
>>
>>Keep up the good work!
>>Grace
>>
>>> On May 30, 2016, at 11:02 AM, cady soukup <cadyasoukup at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear ones,
>>>
>>> Our small church, Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, VA, is
>>> nearing the end of an interim rector's year (Bill Queen) after the
>>> retirement of our long-term (42 years!) rector Jennings Wise Hobson
>>> III (whose father and grandfather were both Episcopal priests). It's
>>> been a year of all those "fun" interim activities: tightening our
>>> budget belts, learning who we are and who we want to be, stretching to
>>> meet goals, examining our "business practices" to bring them into line
>>> with more modern church expectations, renovating the Rectory and the
>>> Parish Hall, keeping up with the expected schedules, creating a Parish
>>> Profile and starting the search process. The vestries (last year's,
>>> this year's, next year's) have been, are, and will be working harder
>>> and longer than what has been the norm, and have done very well.
>>>
>>> One tiny outcome of all this has been a re-examination of lay
>>> leadership roles. There have been meetings and will be training for
>>> various positions (Litanist, Lay Eucharistic Minister, Lay Eucharistic
>>> Visitor, others). We have 3 regular Sunday services: 8am Rite I spoken
>>> Holy Eucharist; 9:15 am Rite II family service with folk music,
>>> alternating between HE and MP; 11am Rite II "formal" service
>>> alternating between HE and MP. The service bulletins are now uniform
>>> (Grace Cangialosi can attest to the previous complexity of the
>>> bulletins!) and the service elements are more uniform.
>>>
>>> And we have moved from requesting Supply clergy at a fee, to having
>>> Lay Led MP services when our rector is gone. He was gone previously,
>>> and Mike Mahoney was one of the Lay Leaders. He was gone yesterday for
>>> his youngest son's college graduation (yes, scheduled on the Sunday of
>>> Memorial Day weekend!). I was the Lay Leader for the 11am (summer
>>> 10:30am) MP service. First time through.
>>>
>>> We had an unexpectedly full service with a few new people (one of whom
>>> I know as he graduated high school with our youngest son) and some
>>> "visitors" from other services. I am grateful for: the deep training
>>> of our congregants as I forgot to announce several of the service
>>> moves from one element to another; our 4-member choir including our
>>> substitute pianist/organist Danny Wilson who stepped up to the
>>> challenges of a fully sung MP service, our Altar guild members who are
>>> coping with great grace and forbearance as they cope with only a box
>>> for their supplies during the enormous Parish Hall renovation. We even
>>> had a lovely coffee hour that I forgot to announce. <sigh>
>>>
>>> For the homily, the Rev. Bill Queen provided a poem "The Creation - A
>>> Sermon in Verse" from "God's Trombones" by James Weldon Johnson
>>> (partially because the previous lay-led Sunday's homily was a reading
>>> from one of the Church fathers that was not well received by the
>>> family service). I hadn't printed it out, so read it from my iPhone.
>>> The congregation had the grace to pay attention, including a few
>>> unexpected younglings.
>>>
>>> I am so very grateful for the honor of being able to perform this
>>> function, even if this is the only time it happens. Praise God!
>>>
>>> virtual hugs & virtual beverages for all !
>>>
>>> Cady
> I think the National Cathedral did that version for its Easter vigil. I only
> got to watch to the third reading.
>
> Joe
>