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Benedictine Breakfast

Posted in Parish Events, Prayer on February 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »


Following our usual weekday Matins at 7:30, Saint Alban’s “little chapter” of those who gather for the office had a Benedictine breakfast with readings to commemorate Saint Benedict Biscop.  This holy abbot founded monasteries in Weremouth (AD 674)  and in Jarrow (AD 681).  These monasteries of St. Peter and Paul, respectively, followed the Rule of St. Benedict and were extraordinary centers of learning, the Venerable Bede being foremost among the scholars frome Weremouth.

One of Bede’s works was ‘The Lives of The Holy Abbots of Weremouth and Jarrow’, a self-explanatory account which begins thus:

The pious servant of Christ, Biscop, called Benedict, with the assistance of the Divine grace, built a monastery in honour of the most holy of the apostles, St. Peter, near the mouth of the river Were, on the north side. The venerable and devout king of that nation, Egfrid, contributed the land; and Biscop, for the space of sixteen years, amid innumerable perils in journeying and in illness, ruled this monastery with the same piety which stirred him up to build it. If I may use the words of the blessed Pope Gregory, in which he glorifies the life of the abbot of the same name, he was a man of a venerable life, blessed (Benedictus) both in grace and in name; having the mind of an adult even from his childhood, surpassing his age by his manners, and with a soul addicted to no false pleasures. He was descended from a noble lineage of the Angles, and by corresponding dignity of mind worthy to be exalted into the company of the angels. Lastly, he was the minister of King Oswy, and by his gift enjoyed an estate suitable to his rank; but at the age of twenty five years he despised a transitory wealth, that he might obtain that which is eternal. He made light of a temporal warfare with a donative that will decay, that he might serve under the true King, and earn an everlasting kingdom in the heavenly city. He left his home, his kinsmen and country, for the sake of Christ and his Gospel, that he might receive a hundredfold and enjoy everlasting life…

The hearty souls up at such an early hour kept silence during a plain meal of hot homemade oat porridge, bread, fruit and tea, while listening to readings from the life of Saint Benedict Biscop, the Monastic Breviary and the portion of the Rule of Saint Benedict (the great) appointed for the day.  We hope that this event will repeat-with advance notice-following Matins on days on or near the Benedictine commemorations throughout the year.

 

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Reminder:“Contemplating Prayer-Three Advent Meditations”

Posted in Advent, Parish Events, Prayer, Retreats on December 12, 2010| 1 Comment »


PARISH QUIET DAY RETREAT-SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18th

Saint Alban’s Advent Quiet Day Retreat of prayer and meditation has been moved to Saturday, December 18th beginning at 9:00 a.m. The three meditations will focus on the nature of prayer, proper ways of praying and the thoughts on maintaining a good prayer life. Meditations will be loosely based on the short book Prayer: A Field Guide by Canon Nalls, but no prior readings are necessary for the retreat. Copies of book, will, however, be available for purchase after the retreat with all profit going to the ACC’s Society of Saint Paul to support mission work. The retreat schedule is as follows:

0900-Matins
0930-Coffee
0945-First Meditation-Why pray?
1045-Break
1100-Second Meditation-Problems of prayer: what if God says, “No”?
1200-Benedictine Lunch (Soup and Bread) with a Reading
1300-Third Meditation-Prayers to redeem the time.
1400-Break
1415-Evensong

Silence will be kept throughout the day, including break times, except for the readers and during Matins and Evensong.
Please e-mail the church office at stalbansacc@gmail.com or ring 804-262-6100.

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Advent Quiet Day of Prayer and Reflection

Posted in Parish Events, Retreats, Special Events on December 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »


Saint Alban’s Advent Quiet Day Retreat of prayer and meditation has been moved to Saturday, December 18th beginning at 9:00 a.m.  The three meditations will focus on the nature of prayer, proper ways of praying and the thoughts on maintaining a good prayer life.  Meditations will be loosely based on the short book Prayer:A Field Guide by Canon Nalls, but no prior readings are necessary for the retreat.  Copies of book, will, however, be available for purchase after the retreat with all profit going to the  ACC’s Society of Saint Paul to support mission work.  The retreat schedule is as follows:

0900-Matins

0930-Coffee

0945-First Meditation-Why pray?

1045-Break

1100-Second Meditation-Problems of prayer: what if God says, “No”?

1200-Benedictine Lunch (Soup and Bread) with a Reading

1300-Third Meditation-Prayers to redeem the time.

1400-Break

1415-Evensong

Silence will be kept throughout the day, including break times,  except for the readers and during Matins and Evensong.

Please e-mail the church office at stalbansacc@gmail.com or ring 804-262-6100.

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December Family Movie Night

Posted in Parish Events on November 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »


Once again it is time for Saint Alban’s Family Movie Night.  Dinner (chili) will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 3rd, with a showing of Miracle on 34th Street to follow.  Come join us for an evening of great fellowship and fun with this Oscar-winning, holiday classic on the big screen.

At the Macy’s Department Store Thanksgiving Day parade, the actor playing Santa is discovered to be drunk by a whiskered old man. Doris Walker, the no nonsense special events director, persuades the old man to take his place. The old man proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main Macy’s outlet. While he is successful, Ms. Walker learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by Kringle’s doctor that he is harmless, Doris still has misgivings, especially when she has cynically trained herself, and especially her daughter, Susan, to reject all notions of belief and fantasy. And yet, people, especially Susan, begin to notice there is something special about Kris and his determination to advance the true spirit of Christmas amidst the rampant commercialism around him and succeeding in improbable ways

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A Voice in the Morning

Posted in Liturgy, Parish Events, Prayer on November 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »


“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, o Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” (Psalms 5:3)”

A Gread Way to Start (and End) the Day

This Advent start the day off with Morning Prayer at Saint Alban’s. The office will be said at 7:30 a.m. every weekday during this holy season.  Experience the gift of prayer in the still of the day.

The service presents an inevitable process, and a satisfying progress, in accordance with what is, as it were, a natural history of worship. The great steps of the progress are five. Coming into the Presence, entering expectant into God the Father’s house, the worshiper’s first instinct of un-worthiness finds expression in the confession of sin, led up to by exhortation, and culminating in the declaration of absolution, and the Lord’s Prayer, to which the Absolution serves as a bidding. The second inevitable and natural instinct is to give thanks to the Father for his manifold gifts, and this finds expression in repeated songs of praise, in Venite or Psalms, in first and second canticles. A third instinct, or desire, upon entering the Presence is to hear the word of the Lord, and the listening soul is satisfied by the lections from Old and New Testaments which alternate with the expressions of praise. The worshipers then come, united as they are in and through their corporate experiences of confession, praise and listening, to the climax of the service, the great gateway of the Creed, the symbol of their common faith, the pledge of their unswerving loyalty, through which they enter the final part of the service, the enjoyment of communion, the untrammeled outpouring of their souls in petition, intercession and thanksgiving to the Father of all.

It is this unfaltering rightness of the order, this genius of the service, which furnishes the answer to the question which every user of the Prayer Book must ask himself–What is it which makes this service, which commands my admiration and my love, a great service? For that it is great we instinctively feel, and of this excellence which makes the service a great expression of worship we are even ready to boast. We know that it is not merely because the form is ancient, or contains much Scripture, or chances to meet our habitual moods. We see the ground of its beauty and power in the unity and progress of its structure, and in its worshipful reasonableness.

The People’s Book of Worship A Study of the Book of Common Prayer, By John Wallace Suter and Charles Morris Addison (New York: Macmillan, 1919)

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Sun Trust Marathon Party-Nov. 13th

Posted in Evangelism, Parish Events, Special Events on November 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »


On Saturday, November 13th, come out and cheer on the runners in the Sun Trust Marathon whilst enjoying a party with the Saint Alban’s community. We’ll be out with refreshments and noisemakers from frontrunner to last straggler. Join us for a great chance to mingle with the neighbors and share a little breakfast. Come very early due to street closings.
We have been advised the intersection of Bellevue and Hermitage will be closed after 7:30 am and will reopen at 10 am heading South bound only.   The North bound lane will be closed the entire duration of the race. The alley behind the church can be accessed from Hill Monument Parkway or Peakwood (off Laburnum from 64). This is the only option to enter the church.
Come out and enjoy the morning, but remember: Do not feed the runners!

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Veterans’ Day Commemoration and Photo Wall

Posted in Parish Events, Special Events on October 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »


 

 

On Veterans’ Day we take a moment to honor all military veterans.  It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice
that ended World War I.  Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.  President Woodrow Wilson, in his proclamation setting aside  Armistice Day on November 11, 1919 said:

To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.

As previously announced, on November 11, 2010, Saint Alban’s will mark Veterans’ Day with a Mass of Remembrance at 6:30 p.m.  Those wishing to have a veteran, living or dead, or a unit or ship remembered, should let the Rector or the parish office know by noon on September 10th to insure that their names appear on the Roll of Honor to be read during the service.  Parish members, active or retired, eligible to wear their uniforms are encouraged to do so. (If your uniform has “shrunk” over the years, medals or ribbons are appropriate.

We also are initiating a photographic wall on one of the boards near the parish hall.  All are encouraged to bring photos of their time in service, veterans, or active duty personnel for our standing intentions.  These will be placed in the parish, as well as on a webpage as our website is revamped. Please indicate the names of those in the pictures and indicate whether they are living or deceased so that appropriate prayers may be offered for them. Photos may be dropped off at the parish hall or mailed to the church, but do send only copies of your originals.

Blessings,

Canon Nalls

 

 

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Autumn Gathering at the Pro-Cathedral

Posted in Parish Events on October 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »


Please join us at Saint Alban’s for An Evening of Food, Art and Entertainment,  Saturday, October 23rd, 6-8:30 pm in Smith Hall.  Preview paintings and other objects that will be auctioned at Twelfth Night, enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres and musical entertainment, as well as a silent auction.  Paintings from the family of Ralph Waldo Emerson will highlight the catalogue, along with 19th century landscapes attributed to Bernardo Hay, 20th century oils by Anthony Klitz, Robert Allen Gough, and a signed seriograph by band leader Xavier Cugat. The cost is a suggested donation of $25 per person, $30 per couple. Enjoy an evening out and support St. Albans.
The Grand Canal, Venice

A Typical Work by Bernardo Hay

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