News and Reflections from St. Marks Episcopal Church in Moscow, Idaho.
Join us in a Jazz Mass celebration of the Feast of St. Mark–here at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church–featuring the music of Lynn Wright and the Sidemen Trio. Afterward, we’ll enjoy some down home Southern cooking! Worship starts at 5 PM, Saturday, April 24–supper starts when the Eucharistic feast has ended. All are welcome to this worship service of traditional Southern Gospel music. Join us–”Make a joyful noise!” Find us at 111 South Jefferson, across from the public library.
The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, March 28, 9:30 AM
The Holy Eucharist, with The Liturgy & Procession of the Palms, and a reading of the Passion Gospel according to Luke
Holy Week
Monday: Holy Eucharist 5:30 PM
Tuesday: Holy Eucharist 5:30 PM
Wednesday:
Holy Eucharist 12:10 PM
Holy Eucharist, 5:30 PM
Music@SaintMark’s, Holy Music for Holy Week, 7:00 PM
Maundy Thursday:
Foot washing and Holy Communion, 6 PM (with choir) followed by stripping of the altar and the Vigil of Repose with Our Lord
Good Friday:
The Proper Liturgy/Holy Communion (reserved sacrament) 7 AM
Proper Liturgy/Holy Communion (reserved sacrament) 6 PM (with choir)
Holy Saturday: The Proper Liturgy with reflections, 12:10 PM
EASTER DAY
“Sunrise service”—The Great Vigil and Holy Baptism, 6:00 AM
This service, which begins in the dark, features the kindling of new fire; the first half of the liturgy is by candlelight. The choir will offer traditional Easter music. The grandest liturgy of the year includes the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. We’ll unearth the “alleluias” we buried, and when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, we’ll decorate the church with them.
[Easter Breakfast, 8:00 AM]
[Confetti-egg-hunt-and-toss, 9:00 AM]
Festal Eucharist for the Day of Our Lord’s Resurrection, 9:30 AM
This service begins with the congregation’s “flowering of the cross.” The choir will offer traditional Easter music.
Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost, we’ll celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, the Body of Christ in the world. How are we called to be Christ’s hands and feet to our sisters and brothers, our neighbors, and all of creation? This is the question that we’ll spend the rest of our lives answering. And we’ll begin (again) that answer on Sunday when we gather at the Table for the Heavenly Banquet. During the service, we’ll have special rites for welcoming those who’ve joined the St. Mark’s family since last year’s Feast of Pentecost, and we’ll commission our new acolytes and Wardens/Vestry members. Wear red–the liturgical color that represents (among other things) the Holy Spirit, described in Acts 2 as resembling tongues of fire in its descent upon Jesus’ friends.
After we are fed at Christ’s table, we’ll adjourn to the lawn for a potluck picnic. Please join us, even if you can’t bring a dish to share. We’ll have an abundance. We are children of an Abundant God!
This week at St. Mark’s we celebrate the Rogation Days and the Feast of the Ascension. The Rogation Days focus on the theme of our faithful stewardship of creation. During these days (Monday the 18th through Wednesday the 20th), we offer special intercessions for our gardens–and the crops in the fields of the Palouse. We sing The Great Litany–a special liturgy of responsive prayer–during Morning Prayer, Monday through Thursday at 8 a.m.
Thursday, May 21st is Ascension Day (forty days after Easter Day), one of the church’s principal feasts. We’ll celebrate Holy Eucharist at 12:10 p.m. On this day, we recall and celebrate Jesus’ ascent “far above all heavens that he might fill all things.”
We will offer our usual mid-week Eucharist on Wednesday, May 20th at 12:10 p.m. By scheduling the celebration just after noon, we offer an opportunity for a worshipful break from the rigors of the workday. Please join us.
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There is nothing so important this month as the invitation to the rich worship offerings during Holy Week and Easter Week, particularly during the Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) and Easter Day, the centerpiece of the Christian year. Experiencing these liturgies in their totality, in sequence, lends particular depth to the experience of these holy days. The worship schedule is below. I invite you to the special joys of this season, in our Lord’s name. –The Rev. Robin Biffle
April 5: The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
Proper Liturgy for the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, 9:30 a.m., with a dramatic enactment of the Passion Gospel
April 6-8: Monday-Wednesday in Holy Week
Holy Eucharist, 5:30 p.m.
April 8: Wednesday in Holy Week
“Holy Music, Holy Lent,” 7 p.m., free concert with St. Mark’s Choir and UI cello/bass ensemble
April 9: Maundy Thursday
The Proper Liturgy for Maundy Thursday,with foot-washing, 7 p.m. (with choir) followed by the stripping of the altar
Gethsemane Watch: an all-night vigil with our Lord
April 10: Good Friday
The Proper Liturgy for Good Friday, with Holy Communion from the reserved sacrament, 7 a.m.
The Way of the Cross, 12:10 p.m.
The Proper Liturgy for Good Friday, with Holy Communion from the reserved sacrament, 7 p.m. (with choir)
April 11: Holy Saturday
The Proper Liturgy for Holy Saturday, 12:10 p.m.
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The Right Rev. James Waggoner, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, will visit Moscow on Sunday, March 1. He will preach and celebrate Holy Eucharist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 111 S. Jefferson in Moscow, during the regular 9:30 a.m. service. At 3 p.m., he will officiate at a celebration of new ministry for the Rev. Robin Biffle. The public is invited to both services.
At the 9:30 service, Waggoner will confirm a new member of the church. In the Episcopal Church, the sacrament of confirmation is performed only by a bishop, who lays hands on the person and prays for the Holy Spirit to strengthen him or her.
Biffle was called last summer to be rector at St. Mark’s and began her duties Aug. 1. She is a graduate of the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. Biffle received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Whitman College in Walla Walla. She was a journalist for 12 years and then spent 17 years in law enforcement.
Waggoner is in his ninth year as head of the Spokane Diocese, which includes 41 Episcopal parishes and missions in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. He visits each congregation in the region at least once a year. For more information, contact St. Mark’s at 882-2022.
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Fourth Sunday of Advent (12/21). Holy Eucharist. God’s promise of favor is fulfilled and Jesus. A mystery is revealed. The Gospel focus is on Mary, the mother of God, the Mystic Rose.
Christmas Eve
4:45 PM Family carol sing.
5:00 PM An Order for Celebrating the Holy Eucharist. This liturgy will reflect the many ways in which we treasure not only the Infant Jesus, but all the children among us. Children will serve as ushers and help distribute the bread and wine. There will be a children’s sermon.
10:00 PM Vigil for Christmas Eve. A service of candle-lighting, carols, and brief readings, this service offers as a time of quiet gathering and reflection before the festal Eucharist.
10:30 PM Holy Eucharist. This will be as festive a service as we can make it! Lots of carols, some special music, a short sermon—closing, of course, with a candle-lit “Silent Night.”
Christmas Day
9:30 AM Holy Eucharist. This will be a simple service, with some Celtic overtones.
Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr (12/26)
12:10 PM Holy Eucharist. Simple. In lieu of a sermon, a brief reflection on St. Stephen. Approximately 30 minutes.
Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist (12/27)
12:10 PM Holy Eucharist. Simple. In lieu of a sermon, a brief reflection on St. John. Approximately 30 minutes.
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