[Magdalen] Funeral Service at Saint Martin's, Houston.

[Ginga Wilder]

The webpage of St. Martin's is here:  https://stmartinsepiscopal.org/

I have known of the Rev. Russell Levenson, rector of St. Martin's, for a
number of years - during South Carolina's wind up to schism.  He is very
conservative and also made a deliberate decision not to take schism-making
into his parishes.  He is a member of Communion Partners - An Episcopal
Community in Anglican Mission.  (Read about that organization here:
http://www.communionpartners.org/ )  I appreciate that he did not choose to
'go' apart from TEC.  If I have learned one thing from the schism in SC it
is that both sides of the issues are necessary.  We need both conservatives
and progressives to hold the center in tension.  The Via Media.  Being
either/or is the way we go today...and we have lost the center be it in the
church or in the government or in the culture.

Guilty,
Ginga Wilder



On Sat, Apr 21, 2018 at 3:47 PM, Eleanor Braun <eleanor.braun at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Well it was in the diocese of Texas , and that is the full
> name—ThegreatstateofTexas!  ;-)
>
> On Sat, Apr 21, 2018 at 3:22 PM Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com
> >
> wrote:
>
> > And somewhere near the end, was it the Bishop of our great state Texas –
> > oh my.
>
>
> Eleanor
>
> >
> >
> > Marion, a pilgrim
> >
> > Sent from Mail for Windows 10
> >
> > From: Eleanor Braun
> > Sent: April 21, 2018 2:18 PM
> > To: Magdalen
> > Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Funeral Service at Saint Martin's, Houston.
> >
> > Well it pretty much followed the BCP Rite 1 burial service.
> >
> > A tiny detail that threw me off....in the retiring procession both the US
> > flag and the Texas flag were carried, but not the Episcopal flag. I've
> > never seen a state flag in procession, and these days very rarely the US
> > flag.
> >
> > Eleanor
> >
> > On Sat, Apr 21, 2018 at 2:07 PM, cantor03--- via Magdalen <
> > magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Even though I tuned in somewhat late, I saw the
> > > entire Barbara Bush televised funeral service.
> > >
> > > Funerals tend to be highly personal, even sometimes
> > > in denominations with a strong fixed liturgy like the
> > > Anglican churches.  This funeral seemed not to evidence
> > > much from the Anglican Tradition, being as it was a sort
> > > of free form prayer service with no reference to either
> > > the Prayer Book Eucharist or Morning Prayer.  The BCP
> > > final Burial Office and the opening funeral anthems were used.
> > >
> > > There were two standard hymns that one finds across the
> > > board in the various Christian denominations, including
> > > that ever popular "Amazing Grace," augmented with
> > > trumpets on the last verse that made it seem to be out
> > > of an English Coronation.
> > >
> > > Saint Martin's is newish, and very large by USA standards.  Even
> > > with the place packed for this funeral, there appeared to be at
> > > least a 3-4 second reverberation time.  What a marvelous
> > > place for choral music.
> > >
> > > Two Protestant warhorses sung by church choir and a soloist
> > > were "In the Garden," and "Jerusalem."  They are (?too)
> > > frequently heard in my family Methodist Church, and in this case,
> > > must have been something the senior Bushes brought with them
> > > from (was it?) their youthful Presbyterian background.  Barbara Bush
> > > was apparently Confirmed in 2015.  At least that's what the Rector
> > > of Saint Martin's implied.
> > >
> > > Several bishops in rochet and chimere were there, and the Bishop
> > > of Texas gave the final Comendation and Blessing.
> > >
> > >
> > > David S.
> > >
> >
> >
>