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The Messenger - April 15, 2011 - An Ecumenical Celebration of Christ

First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro: Christ for Life

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"An Ecumenical Celebration of Christ"

Every Communion Sunday, I invite visitors and extended family to join us in the Lord's Supper with these words:
This is not a Presbyterian table.
It is neither Democrat nor Republican,
neither conservative nor liberal,
neither Protestant nor Catholic.
This is the table of Jesus Christ,
and all those who look to Him
for hope and help in life
are welcome to receive these elements.

This Sunday, we have a chance to hear this sort of message proclaimed to us in song as the Chancel Choir presents a truly beautiful work of music, Ron Kean's "American Mass."

In the spirit of ecumenism, this contata merges traditional Catholic liturgy with lively Protestant hymns and lovely African spirituals to create a moving musical witness to the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. I listened to a recording of this "mass" several days ago, and I've been humming its lovely melodies ever since.

We're not Catholic, and we don't have to master ancient Catholic texts, but you might enjoy this work a bit more if you learned just a few words Latin. So, I thought I'd use the rest of this newsletter as "primer."

Movement 2 (the "Gloria") has several Latin words, but the most important ones are listed here:

  • Gloria in excelsis Deo: Glory to God in the highest.
  • et interra pax hominibus bonae volunatatis: "and on earth, peace to men of good will."
  • laudamus te, benedicimus, te, glorificamus te: "we praise you, we bless you, we glorify you."
  • to solus sanctus, tou solus dominus, to solus altissiumus: you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High.
  • Jesu Christie, cum sancto spiritus in glori dei patris: Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.

Did you notice that the first words come from the Christmas Story? See if you can memorize just 1 set of those words. Movement 3 (the Sanctus) has 20 distinct words:

  • Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus deus sabaoth:" Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might."
  • pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua: "heaven and earth are full of your glory."
  • Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini: "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
  • Hosana in excelsis: "hosanna in the highest."
The last 2 lines of this Sanctus come from the Biblical text of Palm Sunday. Movement 4 (the Agnus Dei) has 11 distinct words:
  • Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi: "lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world"
  • misereri nobis, "have mercy on us."
  • dona nobis pacem, "give us peace."

In this short piece, English speakers often confuse the verb misereri ( "have mercy") with the noun miseria (which became "misery" in English), but that fouls up the whole message, so don't make that mistake. Finally, Movement 1 (the Kyrie) has just 3 distinct words, so it's the easiest one of all:

  • Kryrie eleison, "Lord, have mercy"
  • Christie eleison, "Christ, have mercy."
  • Kyrie eleison, "Lord have mercy."

These 3 words are some of the oldest phrases ever used in Christian Worship. They actually predate the Catholic Church, and they comes come to us not from Latin but from Greek.

My hope is that your familiarity with at least some of these words will enhance your appreciation of the "American Mass." But even if you don't get too far with that, I know you'll love the familiar hymns Kean uses to bring these ancient texts to life. This program will be part of our morning worship.

I'll see you on Sunday!

Neal

Calendar

Fri, Apr 15
7:00 pm - Youth Hangout

Sat, Apr 16
9:00 am - Chancel Choir Dress Rehearsal
4:00 pm - Volleyball - FP6  vs  FP5
5:00 pm - Volleyball - FP3  vs  FP4
7:00 pm - Volleyball - FP2  vs  LW3

Sun, Apr 17 - Palm Sunday
8:30 am - Adult Sunday School
9:30 am - Worship - "American Mass"

Tue, Apr 19
7:30 pm - Session Meeting

Wed, Apr 20
7:00 am - Bible Study at Carrow's
4:00 pm - Parent Hangout
4:00 pm - Angel Choir
4:00 pm - Angel and Cherubs Storytime
4:00 pm - GG Devotional/Homework Hangout
4:30 pm - Cherub Choir
5:00 pm - Gospel Gang Choir
5:45 pm - Dinner for King's Chorus and SonLight Singers
6:15 pm - King's Chorus Choir
6:15 pm - High School Fellowship
7:00 pm - Bell Choir Rehearsal
7:00 pm - Prayer Group
7:15 pm - Junior High Fellowship
7:15 pm - SonLight Singers Choir

Thu, Apr 21 - Maundy Thursday
11:30 am - Forever Young Luncheon
7:00 pm - Maunday Thursday Service

Fri, Apr 22 - Good Friday

Sun, Apr 24 - Easter
9:00 am - 1st Worship Service - SonLight Singers sing
11:00 am - 2nd Worship Service - Angels and Cherubs sing

Erik Larson is the interim editor of the Messenger.
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