…(T)his Lent, you are invited to join me on the Quest for the Holy Grail… This is a quest to gain the “theological context and practical instruction” our bishop requires for the reintroduction of the wine. It is an endeavor to learn, to reconsider, and to delve deeper into the meaning of the Communion Cup. It is a quest to discover or rediscover the heart of the Christian faith.
Rector’s Message – March Newsletter 2022
Read the complete text of James’ letter about our Lenten Study
in the March Newsletter.
The Quest consists of two parts: The Mystic Path (theological context) and The Well-Travelled Road (practical instruction).
The Mystic Path will consist of two videos (released on YouTube and Facebook),and two opportunities for discussions of the themes presented in the videos. One discussion will be held in-person and one via Zoom (and recorded for later viewing).
- Video Release: afternoon of March 9
- Discussion 1: Sunday, March 13th after 10am service, in-person under the tent
- Discussion 2: Wednesday, March 16th online via Zoom; 6:30pm followed by Compline at 7:30 (video will be available 1-2 days after)
The Well-Travelled Road provides two opportunities to attend a practical, in-person walk-thru of the whys and hows of the Common Cup. Each opportunity will be similar, if not identical, so you only need to attend one. This session will also be recorded for viewing online, though this is not an ideal way to participate unless it can’t be helped.
- Session 1: Sunday, March 27th after the 10am service at the church
- Session 2: Wednesday, March 30th at 7pm at the church (video will be available 1-2 days after)
Below will find an offering of online resources for study and reflection on the themes of Communion and the Blood of Christ that will complement our Lenten Study: Quest for the Holy Grail. These resources will be gleaned from a variety of sources and viewpoints and with different audiences in mind, including children. They will be posted on our Facebook page as well as here on our website. Postings will be made each Tuesday and Thursday through Lent.
Resources
Tuesday, March 8
A meditation for your Lenten quest:
“Only the body saves the soul. It sounds rather shocking put like that, but the point is that the soul left to itself, the inner life or whatever you want to call it, is not capable of transforming itself. It needs the gifts that only the external life can deliver: the actual events of God’s action in history, heard by physical ears; the actual material fact of the meeting of believers where bread and wine are shared; the actual wonderful, disagreeable, impossible, unpredictable human beings we encounter daily, in and out of the church. Only in this setting do we become holy, and holy in a way unique to each one of us.”
– Rowan Williams, Where God Happens, 115-16
Tuesday, March 15
Quest for the Holy Grail resource:
Allan Rohan Crite (1910-2007) was a Boston based artist and committed Episcopalian whose work has been exhibited and collected by major museums around the world. The Boston Globe called him the Dean of African American artists in New England. Much of his art was inspired by his deep faith, reverence for Scripture, and the liturgies and practices of his beloved Episcopal church. He even created dozens of illustrations that graced the cover of his parish’s (St. Stephen’s in Boston) service leaflets. In the 1940s, Crite created a breathtaking set of brush drawings inspired by the Eucharistic prayer of the Book of Common Prayer (the 1928 version). These drawings were published by the Society of St. John the Evangelist in 1947. The drawings engage us with a vision of the spiritual reality that occurs alongside the physical reality of the church’s liturgy. Together, they form a visual treatise on the theology of Holy Communion. You can see download a PDF of these extraordinary drawings here.
Videos
Wednesday, March 9
LENTEN STUDY 2022: QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL
This video, The Holy Grail and the Eucharist in Scripture, marks the beginning of our Lenten Study Series, Quest for the Holy Grail. Please view it so you’re ready for our discussion next week.
There are TWO opportunities to join the discussion:
- Sunday, 3/13, in person following the 10AM service
- Wednesday, 3/15, 6:30pm on Zoom using our Compline link
Church of the Holy Apostles 