Contents:
- Rector’s Mini-Ramblings: Laetare Sunday
- Propers (Collect and Lessons) for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, with hymns.
- Link to “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream” on our parish website.
- Parish Announcements for the week of March 30th, 2025
Rector’s Mini-Ramblings: Laetare Sunday
Laetare Sunday is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of (restrained) celebration within the austere period of Lent. This Sunday gets its name from the first few words (Incipit) of the traditional Latin entrance verse (Introit) for the Mass of the day. “Laetare Jerusalem” (“Rejoice, O Jerusalem”) is Latin from Isaiah 66:10.
It is also known as “Rose Sunday” because the some churches use rose-colored (“pink”) vestments – as on Gaudete Sunday, during Advent – in lieu of the more penitential purple used otherwise in Lent. And it is sometimes referred to as “refreshment Sunday” due to this break in the penitential austerity of Lent, which is reinforced by the Gospel lesson, recounting Christ’s feeding of the five thousand, with five loaves and two fishes provided by a young lad.
Laetara Sunday is, as noted, considered a day of relaxation from normal Lenten rigours; a day of hope with Easter at last within sight. Traditionally, weddings (otherwise banned during Lent) could be performed on this day, and servants were released from service for the day to visit their mother church, the place in which they received the sacrament of baptism (hence “Mothering Sunday,” as this day is known in the UK and parts of the Commonwealth).
Wishing everyone a holy, blessed, and restrainedly joyful Laetare (Rose, Refreshment, or Mothering) Sunday, and a holy conclusion to the Lenten season!
Propers for the Fourth Sunday in Lent.
The Book of Common Prayer 1928.
The Collect.
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Epistle. Galatians iv. 21.
TELL me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not: break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
The Gospel. St. John vi. 1.
JESUS went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Hymns:
Processional Hymn: “Now that daylight fills the sky” – #159
- Second Tune: Herr Jesu Christ (harmonized by Bach)
Sermon Hymn: “O mother dear, Jerusalem” – #584
- Second Tune: Materna (cf. “O beautiful, for spacious skies”)
Communion Hymn: “Bread of heaven, on thee we feed” – #212
Recessional Hymn: “When I survey the wondrous cross” – #337
Our website is found at cca-nc.org. This website should simplify and streamline our information-sharing quite a bit, including the fact that our most current YouTube live-stream will always be found at “Watch this Sunday’s live-stream,” accessible from the menu-bar at the top of the page.
The website is also a place to check our “Current operating status” – in other words, whether or not the church is open for services, in case of inclement weather (or unusual episodes like the sabotage of transformers a few years ago). If in doubt, check us out! Other options include Meet Our Clergy, Who We Are, Services and Office Hours, and How to find us.
All of these links can also be found by scrolling down the main page, as can also sections on “Find Your Place” – ministries of the parish, which you may wish to join – “Recent Media,” both video and audio, and “Recent Posts” on our nascent blog page. The goal is for this to become a “one-stop shop” for information about Christ Church Anglican.
If you have any questions or issues, please contact our media team at [email protected]. And if you wish to volunteer for our media team, please contact our IT/AV/Social media specialist, John Fesq, at [email protected].
Announcements for the Week of Sunday, March 30th, 2024
If you are visiting us: Welcome to Christ Church Anglican, Southern Pines! Thank you for being with us. We are very pleased to have you join us for the service, and hope that your worship here is a blessing to you. Please sign the guest book on the table in the narthex, and provide appropriate contact information. Include your email address in order to be placed on our parish email list: you won’t be bombarded with mail, but it’s a good way to keep in touch. And may God bless you!
Easter Lilies: If you would like to donate one or more Easter lilies to beautify our church – in honor or in memory of someone special, or to the glory of God – for the Feast of the Resurrection, now is the time to order them! The suggested donation is $20; please contact Sandy Parsons at our church contact page.
Stations of the Cross – Fridays in Lent: We will offer the traditional Lenten observance, the Stations of the Cross, at 5 o’clock this Friday. The practice of pilgrims to the Holy Land – following the Way of Sorrows from the house of Pilate to the Holy Sepulchre – was the origin of this devotion, which became widespread in the later Middle Ages, although it was not completely formalized until the eighteenth century. This is a popular and appropriate devotion during Lent and Holy Week.
5:00 p.m. Fridays – Stations of the Cross
Adult Christian Education for Lent and Easter suspended: Our proposed Christian education study based on Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, dealing with the classical disciplines of the Christian faith, has been suspended due to lack of response.
Church cleanup day: We will be holding a cleanup day on April 12th (April 19th as backup) to clean the church building and grounds prior to Easter. Please put this day on your calendar – we’d appreciate help from “all hands” if you’re available to assist!
Re-launch – Children’s Vegetable and Herb Garden: Some may recall that there had been an intention to create a children’s garden next to the church, last year, but that for a variety of reasons that never occurred. Junior Warden Amanda Goodwin LeVasseur presented the following proposal to the Vestry at our last meeting:
“Proposal for a Parish garden this year: The plan from last year was to have children, and those young at heart, to plant a modest vegetable and herb garden along the north exterior wall of the church. I have an assortment of seeds and would like to sprout them so children and others can plant them sometime in late March. This would require very little cost to the church. We have sprinklers and would just need to run them regularly so the plants could thrive. There would need to have adequate garden soil in the area selected and donations of timbers or stones to define the beds. This is already in the planning stages. I would also like to propose that we plant the flowers in the front bed at this same time.”
Note that the proposal is for “children and those young at heart”! That means that adults who are interested in getting their hands in the dirt are more than welcome to join in. If you are interested in being part of this project on any level or in any capacity, or just desire further information, please contact Amanda at at our church contact page.
Holy Days for the Week of March 30th, 2025:
Tuesday, April 1st – Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest (1872)
Wednesday, April 2nd – James Lloyd Breck, Priest (1876)
Thursday, April 3rd – Richard of Chichester, Bishop (1253)
