June 20, 2021, The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

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This period in the Church year is known as “The Season after Pentecost” or “Ordinary Time.”  The term “ordinary” refers to how the New Testament passages are generally read in order or in sequence, as opposed to being arranged by specific theme as in other seasons.  During this season the Gospel passages focus on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and how he is revealed to the world as the Christ.  In Year B (the second in a three-year cycle: A, B & C) most of the Gospel passages are from the Gospel according to Mark.  The Old Testament Lesson and the Psalm are chosen because they relate to the words and message of Jesus.  The New Testament Lesson is independent of these readings and is almost always taken from one of the Letters in the New Testament that reflects the common life and mission of the first Christian community.

Our Preacher this morning is the Rev. Matthew Hoxsie Mead, Rector.

Today’s In Person Worship

  • Every Sunday at 8am the Eucharist (Rite 1) is celebrated in the Church.  The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 323, and includes 2 pre-recorded hymns, and lasts about 45 minutes. Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
  • Every Sunday at 10am the Eucharist (Rite 2) is celebrated in the Church. The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 355.  See below for detailed music information.  The service lasts about an hour.  Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
  • Please review these Guidelines before attending worship at Christ Church.

NOTE: Limited congregational singing (with masks on) will resume this Sunday.  We will add more congregational singing at the 10am in the the coming weeks.

Today’s Live-Stream Worship & Sermon Archives

Sunday Offerings & Financial Donations to Christ Church

Christ Church is supported by the generosity of members and friends who donate time, talent, and money to the church to ensure that it is open, staffed, safe, and active. God has given each of us many gifts and we are called to use them to build up the church and to show the spread the love of God to our community. Click on the Donate Button for a variety of ways to support Christ Church, including one-time donations, annual pledges, and raising funds through FaceBook or Amazon.

Today’s Propers (Collect & Lections from Holy Scripture)

The Collect

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving­ kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Old Testament

Job 38:1-11

The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!  Or who stretched the line upon it?  On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together, and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb? — when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?”

The Psalm

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 Confitemini Domino

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, *
and his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim *
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.

3 He gathered them out of the lands; *
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

23 Some went down to the sea in ships *
and plied their trade in deep waters;

24 They beheld the works of the Lord *
and his wonders in the deep.

25 Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose, *
which tossed high the waves of the sea.

26 They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths; *
their hearts melted because of their peril.

27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards *
and were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, *
and he delivered them from their distress.

29 He stilled the storm to a whisper *
and quieted the waves of the sea.

30 Then were they glad because of the calm, *
and he brought them to the harbor they were bound for.

31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the wonders he does for his children.

32 Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people *
and praise him in the council of the elders.

The Epistle

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

As we work together with Christ, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”  See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see– we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.  We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return– I speak as to children– open wide your hearts also.

The Gospel

Mark 4:35-41

When evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

 

Today’s Music

At the 8am and 10am services, the following recorded hymns will be offered by our full choir:
Hymn: “Lift every voice and sing”
Words: James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938). Public Domain.
Music: LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING, J. Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954). Public Domain.
Performed by Laurelyn Watson Chase, Jann Degnan, Jeffrey Hoffman, and Simon Cram, professional choristers;
with members of the parish choir Linda Gerra, Cheryl Greenhalgh, and Emily Kane;
Jeffrey Hoffman, organist & director of music.
Recording, photography, and video production by Jeffrey Hoffman.
This presentation copyright © 2021 by the Parish of Christ the Redeemer (Christ Church), Pelham, New York.
All rights reserved.

Hymn: “For the fruit of all creation”
Words: Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000), alt. Copyright © 1970 by Hope Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Licensed under OneLicense.net A-713125.
Music: EAST ACKLAM, Francis Jackson (b. 1917). Copyright © 1960 Francis Jackson.
Performed by Laurelyn Watson Chase, Jann Degnan, Jeffrey Hoffman, and Simon Cram, professional choristers;
with members of the parish choir Linda Gerra, Cheryl Greenhalgh, and Emily Kane;
Jeffrey Hoffman, organist & director of music.
Recording, photography, and video production by Jeffrey Hoffman.
This presentation copyright © 2021 by the Parish of Christ the Redeemer (Christ Church), Pelham, New York.
All rights reserved.

At the 10 am Eucharist, organist Jeffrey Hoffman will offer the following selections:
Prelude: Adoration by Florence Beatrice Price (1887-1953)
Voluntary: Parade March: “Buffalo City Guards” by Francis Johnson (1792-1844), adapted and arranged by Jeffrey Hoffman (b. 1970)

Florence Beatrice Price (1887-1953) was the first African-American woman to achieve success and acclaim as a composer of concert music when her Symphony No. 1 was premiered by the Chicago Symphony at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Born Florence Beatrice Smith in Little Rock, Arkansas, she studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in  Boston and briefly chaired the music department of Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, a historically black college, before she married attorney Thomas J. Price in 1912 and returned for a time to Little Rock with him. The dangerous conditions of the Jim Crow South led the Prices, together with many other African-Americans, to join the Great Migration and move to Chicago in the late 1920s. Price was a lifelong organist who composed many pieces for the organ, a part of her oeuvre, which included several large scale works for orchestra and numerous songs.

Francis Johnson (1792-1844) was the first African-American composer to have his works published (his Collection of New Cotillions in 1818). Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the period before the Civil War, it is believed he was born in Martinique and emigrated to Philadelphia at the age of 17, though one biographer gives Philadelphia as his place of birth (June 16, 1792) and of his baptism (September 23, 1792; at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church).  Renowned as a virtuoso on the keyed bugle and as a bandleader, Johnson was the first African-American musician to give public concerts and to perform for a racially integrated audience. A popular bandleader, he wrote many compositions for the bands, orchestras, and other ensembles he conducted. The surviving manuscripts and published piano transcriptions suggest his compositional style was to employ a musical shorthand which, like both jazz and Baroque music, required an inventive and improvisatory performance practice. In 1837, he and a small group of African-American musicians traveled to England and performed for Queen Victoria. His Frank Johnson Orchestra was considered by many of his contemporaries to be one of the finest American ensembles of his day. Johnson was also very active in performing sacred music, introducing African-American congregations in Philadelphia to such European masterworks as Haydn’s Creation, which he conducted at the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia in 1841. 

Parish Prayer List

Please note that names are listed alphabetically by last name of the person being prayed for (if it is known).  We do not list last names for privacy reasons. For pastoral emergencies call or text one of the clergy: Father Matt (914.471.0260),  Deacon Katie Lawrence (914.589.1628), Deacon Chisara Alimole (914.338.5194), or call the parish office (914.738.5515) .  If you have any updates (birthdays, prayers additions, etc., please let us know.) Please submit names you wish to be included by Tuesday morning, to Marie at: marie@christchurchpelham.org.

Our prayers are asked especially for: Marion, Shane, Rosemary, Rob, Marcia, Mike, Anne, Ginny, Beverly, Barbara, Mary, Ralph, Jed, Didi, Josephine, Sammy, Ryan, Monica, Rebecca, Janet, Amina, Alexia Grace, Alison, John, Emma, Hildy, Martin,  Jason, Yen, Terry, Susan, Sue, Xandra, Sigi, Joyce, Julie, Scott, Sherrie, Michelle, Karen, Lisa, Laurelyn, Rob, Drue, Rob, Bill, Andrea, Sue,  Lael, M & D, Sandy,  and Katie.

We give thanks for those celebrating birthdays this week and in the coming week:  Ellen Dierking (June 17), Michael Kurth (June 17) and Bishop Allen Shin (June 26).

We pray for those in our Armed Services especially: Joseph, Kevin, Jack, Leopold, Philip, Jake, Matthew, Robert, Philip-Jason,  Nicholas, Sam, Jack, Helen, Mitchel, Alec, Tia, Tyrese, and Terrence.

We pray that all elected and appointed officials may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world, especially Joseph our President and Andrew our Governor.

We remember and pray for all Americans who have died from COVID-19, and we pray also for all who mourn.

We pray for those who have died, especially James Watson (June 13), and Claire-Louise Vail Fiero (June 18).

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord

And let light perpetual shine upon them.

May their souls and the souls of the departed, through the mercy of God,

rest in peace.  Amen

Announcements & News

CLICK HERE

 

June 13, 2021, The Third Sunday after Pentecost

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This period in the Church year is known as “The Season after Pentecost” or “Ordinary Time.”  The term “ordinary” refers to how the New Testament passages are generally read in order or in sequence, as opposed to being arranged by specific theme as in other seasons.  During this season the Gospel passages focus on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and how he is revealed to the world as the Christ.  In Year B (the second in a three-year cycle: A, B & C) most of the Gospel passages are from the Gospel according to Mark.  The Old Testament Lesson and the Psalm are chosen because they relate to the words and message of Jesus.  The New Testament Lesson is independent of these readings and is almost always taken from one of the Letters in the New Testament that reflects the common life and mission of the first Christian community.

Our Preacher this morning is the Rev. Deacon Chisara Alimole.

Today’s In Person Worship

  • Every Sunday at 8am the Eucharist (Rite 1) is celebrated in the Church.  The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 323, and includes 2 pre-recorded hymns, and lasts about 45 minutes. Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
  • Every Sunday at 10am the Eucharist (Rite 2) is celebrated in the Church. The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 355.  See below for detailed music information.  The service lasts about an hour.  Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
  • Please review these Guidelines before attending worship at Christ Church.

Today’s Live-Stream Worship & Sermon Archives

Sunday Offerings & Financial Donations to Christ Church

Christ Church is supported by the generosity of members and friends who donate time, talent, and money to the church to ensure that it is open, staffed, safe, and active. God has given each of us many gifts and we are called to use them to build up the church and to show the spread the love of God to our community. Click on the Donate Button for a variety of ways to support Christ Church, including one-time donations, annual pledges, and raising funds through FaceBook or Amazon.

Today’s Propers (Collect & Lections from Holy Scripture)

The Collect

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Old Testament

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Thus says the Lord God:

I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind.  All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.

The Psalm

Psalm 92:1-4,11-1 Bonum est confiteri

1 It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, *
and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;

2 To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning *
and of your faithfulness in the night season;

3 On the psaltery, and on the lyre, *
and to the melody of the harp.

4 For you have made me glad by your acts, O Lord; *
and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.

11 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, *
and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.

12 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord *
shall flourish in the courts of our God;

13 They shall still bear fruit in old age; *
they shall be green and succulent;

14 That they may show how upright the Lord is, *
my Rock, in whom there is no fault.

The Epistle

2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17

We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord– for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

The Gospel

Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”  He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

 

Today’s Music

At the 8am and 10am services, the following recorded hymns and anthems will be offered by our full choir:
Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”
Words: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892), alt.; Public Domain.
Music: REPTON, Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, (1848–1918), alt.; Public Domain.
Performed by Laurelyn Watson Chase, Jann Degnan, Jeffrey Hoffman, and Simon Cram, professional choristers;
with members of the parish choir Linda Gerra, Cheryl Greenhalgh, and Emily Kane;
Jeffrey Hoffman, organist & director of music.
Recording, photography, and video production by Jeffrey Hoffman.
This presentation copyright © 2021 by the Parish of Christ the Redeemer (Christ Church), Pelham, New York.
All rights reserved.

Hymn: “Let us break bread together”
Words: traditional Afro-American spiritual. Public domain.
Music: LET US BREAK BREAD, traditional Afro-American spiritual melody. Public Domain.
Harmonized by David Hurd (b. 1950). Copyright © 1985 by GIA Publications Inc. All rights reserved.
Licensed under OneLicense.net A-713125.
Choral arrangement by Jeffrey Hoffman (b. 1970), copyright © 2019. All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
Sung by professional choristers Tonna Miller-Vallés & Laurelyn Watson Chase, sopranos; Jann Degnan, mezzo-soprano;
Douglas Purcell & Jeffrey Hoffman, tenors; Simon Cram, bass-baritone
with members of the parish choir Jeff Bodenmann, Linda Gerra, Barbara Nelson, and Margaret Young
Jeffrey Hoffman, organist & diretor of music.
Recording, photography, and video production by Jeffrey Hoffman.
This presentation copyright © 2021 by the Parish of Christ the Redeemer (Christ Church), Pelham, New York.
All rights reserved.

At the 10am Service the following music selections will be offered  live by Jeffrey Hoffman, our organist:
Prelude: 4. “Herzlich tut mich erfreuen” (“The joyful summertime returns and does my heart good”) from 11 Choralvorspiele (11 Chorale-preludes), Op. 122 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Voluntary: 6. Nachspiel in G Dur (Voluntary in G Major) from 10 Vor- und Nachspiele, Op. 134 by Gustav Adolf Merkel (1827-1885)

Parish Prayer List

Please note that names are listed alphabetically by last name of the person being prayed for (if it is known).  We do not list last names for privacy reasons. For pastoral emergencies call or text one of the clergy: Father Matt (914.471.0260),  Deacon Katie Lawrence (914.589.1628), Deacon Chisara Alimole (914.338.5194), or call the parish office (914.738.5515) .  If you have any updates (birthdays, prayers additions, etc., please let us know.) Please submit names you wish to be included by Tuesday morning, to Marie at: marie@christchurchpelham.org.

Our prayers are asked especially for: Marion, Shane, Rosemary, Rob, Marcia, Mike, Anne, Ginny, Beverly, Barbara, Mary, Ralph, Jed, Didi, Josephine,  Sammy, Ryan, Monica, Rebecca, Janet, Amina, Alexia Grace, Alison, John, Emma, Hildy, Martin,  Jason, Yen, Terry, Susan, Sue, Xandra, Sigi, Joyce, Julie, Scott, Sherrie, Michelle, James, Karen, Lisa, Laurelyn, Rob, Drue, Rob, Bill, Andrea, Sue,  Lael, M & D, Sandy,  and Katie.

We give thanks for those celebrating birthdays this week and in the coming week:  Jackie Vigil (June 6), Simon Cram (June 7), Alexander Calder (June 8), Andrew Des Rault (June 8), Trabue Bland (June 10),  Tom Salvatore (June 10), Ellen Dierking (June 17) and Michael Kurth (June 17).

We pray for those in our Armed Services especially: Joseph, Kevin, Jack, Leopold, Philip, Jake, Matthew, Robert, Philip-Jason,  Nicholas, Sam, Jack, Helen, Mitchel, Tia, Tyrese, and Terrence.

We pray that all elected and appointed officials may be led to wise decisions and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world, especially Joseph our President and Andrew our Governor.

We remember and pray for all Americans who have died from COVID-19, and we pray also for all who mourn.

We pray for those who have died.

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord

And let light perpetual shine upon them.

May their souls and the souls of the departed, through the mercy of God,

rest in peace.  Amen

Announcements & News

CLICK HERE