Dear friends,
Many years ago when I was in seminary studying the different services of Holy Week, my liturgics professor Marion Hatchett (one of the chief architects of both the prayer book and hymnal) encouraged us not to use palms on Palm Sunday. It would be far better, he said, to use whatever native branches are available rather than buying imported palms. After all, he commented, the people in Jesus’ day used palms because that’s what was available, not because they had any special value or significance.
How ludicrous, I thought. Who could imagine a Palm Sunday without palms?
Well, here we are almost 30 years later and guess what? Day after tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and we don’t have any palms! Well, actually we do, in the refrigerator at church. But there aren’t any at my house and I guess there aren’t any at yours either. So I invite you to do what Marion Hatchett suggested all those years ago. Go into your yard or neighborhood, if you can, and get a branch of something growing. Pine, azalea, forsythia — it really doesn’t matter (even if it’s flowering). Cut something and bring it in to celebrate Palm(less) Sunday. I can see my dear friend Marion smiling at us from heaven.
Cathy and Charlie Leake send their thanks to everyone who has made or donated face masks. Their three daughters, Debbie, Rhonda, and Audra, all work in hospital emergency rooms. The need for masks continues. Even if some are found online the orders are taking a long time to arrive. Continued donations of masks are appreciated (see earlier emails for patterns). And if you don’t sew, she could also use donations of washable materials (sheets and t-shirts are fine) that others can use to make the masks. They also can use headbands, head coverings, and buttons 5/8″ or 1″ (these are to sew on headbands so that ER workers can attach their masks to them to keep the back of their ears from being irritated). If you have any of these things to donate let Cathy know, and she will arrange pickup.
Our parishioner Jessie Leyden was featured in a front page story in the Marietta Daily Journal this week about the challenges of teaching online while also caring for one’s own children. God bless Jessie and all teachers who continue to care for and teach their students from a distance.
See you for Night Prayers this evening at 8.
With love, Tricia
Since we can no longer live-stream worship from church, I added my photo to all of yours. I look forward to the day when we are all together in church in body as well as spirit.
