Flyer for Evensong of St. Mark on April 28, 6:00pm at Grace Episcopal Church, 55 New Park Ave, Hartford, CT
Join us this month for a plainchant Evensong in honor of St. Mark the Evangelist.
Mark is often depicted in art accompanied by a winged lion, although in a curious failure of realism, the lion is rarely sitting in the middle of his manuscript demanding pets and dinner.
The only thing we can be truly proud of is Love itself, beyond us and in us, the Love that surpasses our understanding and embraces all the weaknesses we cannot bear. To be proud of that love is to set it above all our gifts and strengths; to let it rule them and use them for its own purposes. ⚓
Cover of the book "Mystics and Zen Masters"
“So many Christians exalt the demands and rigors of law because, in reality, law is less demanding than pure charity. The law, after all, has reasonable safe limits!”
(Thomas Merton, Mystics and Zen Masters, p. 186-7)
The Exsultet is the Church's ancient song of defiance in the face of death. Curious, nervous, or enthusiastic about chanting it? Join us in Hartford for a workshop on Saturday, March 14. All skill levels welcome; lunch will be provided. Register & more info here: forms.gle/9nbAV6Kiz4Fr...
The Virgin Mother Mary, Star of the Sea, serene in the midst of the storm because she has never heard of an "ice dam".
Inescapably, what with being to-be-vowed religious, we are Anglo-Catholic, and we believe that neither gender not sexuality has a role in how much God loves you. Or us! 'Cause we've got just about a whole rainbow flag in our people. Not "welcome," home.
Our home altar with red paraments.
Happy Pentecost from our morning prayer! 🕯️
Ever thought you wanted to sing with us, but weren't sure if it was the right time? This is the one!!
Pretty please, subscribe to my parish's YouTube channel! We need a few more to be able to stream from a mobile device, but #smallchurchproblems they are hard to come by! Pretty please, subscribe!
www.youtube.com/@GraceEpisco...
Evensong "by the books"--Presented by Haven Religious, Hosted by Grace Episcopal Hartford, 6PM, 29 April 2025, 55 New Park Avenue, Hartford. Evensong with the Prayerbook, the Hymnal, and a Bible (and psalms from the Plainsong Psalter, we'll photocopy!) A user-friendly Evensong using easy-to-find resources!
Altar with white frontal, tabernacle with don't art and 6 lit candles, although the 5th from the left doesn't look lit. It is, though.
Speaking of gifts, St Francis house is transitioning and gave us this altar, seen here newly polished and installed. In furniture miracles, the tabernacle we got from closed Christ Church Norwich fit the tabernacle nook exactly. ⚓🕯️
An arguably big day for Haven Religious: Our 1st day living as a community without Amazon Prime. We are attempting to divest from billionaire-support as best we can. Of course, not all small businesses are good nor are all large businesses bad, but your recs for awesomely ethical shopping welcome! 🕯️
Commentary 2/2: Often it will be appropriate for an individual to manage these contacts as they see fit; however, the Head should be made aware of significant requests, changes, or sensitive issues in those relationships, and the community as a whole must approve new commitments.⚓️🕯️
Commentary: 1/2 The Prior is the "face" of the community and its primary point of contact with the world. Our Head serves a similar role in a very different situation. Each of us will have contact with various external people and organizations in the course of our ministry. ⚓️🕯️
Rule/Commentary: First, St. Albert: The Prior’s cell should stand near the entrance to your property, so that he may be the first to meet those who approach, and whatever has to be done in consequence may all be carried out as he may decide or order.
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Poster announcing first evensong of Holy Name and Watch Night at Grace Episcopal Church in Hartford, CT. December 31, 6PM
Greater Hartford, join us at 6 and St. Monica's at 10 on December 31!
This is true both of each individual and of the community as a whole: none of us knows exactly where we may be called in "many and varied" ways. We must balance among: individual adapting to the community, community adapting to the individual, and both jointly adapting to external circumstances.⚓️🕯️
Dedication to Christian life is open to all, as we are. It also requires from each one of us an openness to change without our knowing in advance what that change will look like - we know only that change in the image of Christ will be life-giving. ⚓️🕯️
Commentary 1/3: The basic standard for Christianity is "allegiance to Jesus Christ". This is where we start. Everything else is conditional. ⚓️🕯️
Rule/commentary pairing, first, St. Albert:
"Many and varied are the ways in which our saintly forefathers laid down how everyone, ..., should live a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ — how, pure in heart and steadfast in conscience, he must be unswerving in the service of the Master." ⚓️🕯️
The Axiom of Conscience: Just because you’re getting away with something doesn’t mean it’s right. Community norms are a good faith attempt to describe what is right and wrong, but they do not determine what is right and wrong; we are each responsible to follow and strengthen our own conscience. ⚓🕯️
Our customary contains many axioms! The Axiom of Criticism: When a situation is “not as YOU would have it,” assume neither (A) that it IS as others want it, nor (B) that it is NOT as others want it. Adopt curiosity, inquire and discover what others think and feel about the thing you’re observing. 🕯️⚓
We would love to build more bridges between Religious life and other forms of intentional community. Our head has many friends living in cohousing.
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Not hermits as these communities were, we draw from the eremetical tradition:
• Solitude & solitary prayer
• The individual's rel. with God
• The individual’s growth & development
• Self-responsibility & personal integrity
• These consciously held WITH cenobitic values of community and relationship.
www.ocds.info/LegislativeD...
On Section 1: This Rule is part of our inheritance in the tradition of Christian religious life, & we are responsible to interpret & live out in the best way we can for our time. Our inheritance is complex, as are each of our own histories and what we do with them.
So, what is our #RuleofLife? There are two *basic* options: choose an ancient rule or write your own. As you'll see is our basic vibe, we've gone both ways! We adopted the Rule of St. Albert, the traditional Carmelite Rule, but we have our own takes on it! www.ocds.info/LegislativeD...
⚓️🕯️Greetings! Haven Religious would love to be included!
Follow us for commentary on our #RuleofLife, our collection of #axioms, and our building of a new religious community, a new religious order. We love the tradition, and we do not worship the tradition. We love scripture, and we believe in interpretation. We love reason, and believe in mystery. 🕯️⚓️
