Be Splendid: Mission of St. Mary the Divine (CBEC)

This blog has been consolidated

2009-01-02T10:14:00.001-08:00

See you all at our new location, http://oregoncollyridians.wordpress.com

Happy new year!

Sunday reflections, Nov. 23, 2008

2008-11-22T11:21:00.001-08:00

Read it here
(This will be available online for seven days. Members of St. Mary the Divine or St. Lydia's can access archives.)

Mid-week reflections, Wednesday, Nov. 19

2008-11-19T13:01:00.001-08:00

Read here (up for a week) .

Members of St. Mary the Divine or St. Lydia's can access archived reflections.

Sunday reflections for Nov. 16, 2008

2008-11-16T15:28:00.001-08:00

Read it here.

Mid-week reflections for Nov. 12

2008-11-13T07:55:00.001-08:00

Read it here...

Mid-week reflections are kept online for a week. If you would like to access the archive, you must be a member of either St. Mary the Divine or St. Lydia's .

Sunday reflections, Nov. 9, 2008

2008-11-08T13:41:00.001-08:00

Sunday, November 9, 2008 (10 Werde 3328)
Feast of Saints Eustolia and Soprata
Proper 27, Year A

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

the Eternal, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that, by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in the consolation of the Spirit. Amen.

Sunday reflections
By the Rt. Rev. Sarah A. Morrigan
Rector, Mission of St. Mary the Divine, Portland
The Episcopate of Saint Brigid, an affiliate of the worldwide Collyridian Britannic Episcopal Church

An order of the liturgy of the words is found here: http://collyridianliturgies.wikispaces.com/order+of+service+for+a+lay-led+worship

Psalm 78:1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

78:3 things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us.

78:6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children,

78:7 so that they should set their hope in the Eternal, and not forget the works of the Eternal, but keep her commandments.

Wisdom of Solomon 6:12 Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her.

6:13 She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.

6:14 One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for she will be found sitting at the gate.

6:15 To fix one's thought on her is perfect understanding, and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,

6:16 because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.

6:17 The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her,

6:18 and love of her is the keeping of her laws, and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,

6:19 and immortality brings one near to the Eternal;

6:20 so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.

Amos 5:18 Alas for you who desire the day of the Eternal! Why do you want the day of the Eternal? It is darkness, not light;

5:19 as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.

5:20 Is not the day of the Eternal darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

5:21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

5:22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.

5:23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.

Pillar of Light 1:1. Upon the Heaven are these words inscribed, the words of thy salvation. Upon the Heaven in signs of

fire before the dawn of time. Upon the Crystal Tablet that passeth not away.

1:2. In the tongue of tongues are they inscribed, and in the tongue of angels that was before all tongues.

1:3. What is your language of the earth, My children? What are the words of thy speech?

1:4. Are they not fallen from the first, the mother language? Are they not broken and impaired?

1:5. Yet I have brought to you a clear recital; a faultless sound of the celestial voice.

1:6. I have forged your words into a crystal mirror that they may reflect the Truth; and the words that are writ upon the Heaven are

transcribed without fault upon the earth.

Change. This seems to be the keyword for these past days. Many in the world look forward to the days when the Change truly becomes possible, and many of the world's ills cured. "Yes, we can!" echoing the battle-cries of the late Cesar Chavez, people are placing a lot of hope in whom who promises hope and change.

It is part of human nature to both seek future changes and to find the roots in the ancient past. Much to the chagrins of the early 20th century utopians, we are more interested in spiritual matters than the previous generations, and churches today are increasingly rediscovering the values of traditional religions. We humans have difficult relationships with the past and the future. Often we regret the past--something we cannot really do much about now--and dread the future that has not yet come. During the course, we lose sight of the present and miss a lot of opportunities at our hands to create change and hope. It is easier to talk about the future changes and future hopes. It is likewise easier to point fingers at the past or reminisce upon the "good old days." Likewise we tend to forget that we as individuals also play important parts in making changes and hopes possible, especially when there appears to be a charismatic leadership.

Seek wisdom, the writers of the holy scriptures teach us today. The wisdom that is not merely a product of popular trends, mass media, cultural phenomena, or political campaigns. This is the eternal wisdom that stands above and beyond the confines of time, geography, languages, cultures, and even religions. St. John the Gospeller, often thought of as a mystic, calls it the word that was with God since the beginning. This differs from a more popular beliefs of literalist Christians; rather, as the New Testament says, "the faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word (rhema) of God." It is worthy noting that the Greek word here is rhema, not logos. The former refers to the word of the Spirit spoken directly to our hearts.

To seek God's word, rhema, one cannot merely sit and wait, and expect something to fall out of the sky. Rather, one must actively seek her words (Wisdom 6:12-15).

"To fix one's thought on her is perfect understanding, and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care, because she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought."

Mid-week reflections for Wednesday, Nov. 5

2008-11-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the new Wednesday newsletter...

A Collyridian eucharist in modern English

2008-10-10T07:56:00.001-07:00

A Collyridian eucharist in modern English

A newly revised, and now largely complete, liturgy for a Collyridian holy eucharist service is now available for use by CBEC congregations and others.

http://collyridianliturgies.wikispaces.com/Holy+Eucharist+A

The daily office liturgies are also found on the CBEC Commission on Liturgy and Worship website at http://collyridianliturgies.wikispaces.com/Praying+the+Hours

September 8: Feast of the Incarnation of Mary

2008-09-07T14:38:00.001-07:00

http://www.wf-f.org/BirthofMary.html

As Collyridians, we encounter questions about the incarnation of Mary
as a Jewish woman in the first century C.E., just as most Christians
have long grappled with the nature of the incarnation of the Word of
God as Jesus Christ.

Was the biblical Mary an incarnation -- an avatar -- of the Most High
herself? Was the story of Jesus' incarnation a later "splitting" of
the universal incarnation story to adapt to the economy of a
patriarchal Jewish or Greco-Roman religion?

If the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River was the demonstration of
the unity between God and the Man, it is the reported conception of
Mary by the Holy Spirit the ultimate (and likely the original) such
sign of unity between Dea and the Maid.

The mysterious "reversal" of the Mother-Daughter role in Christian
storytelling -- in which Anna assumes the mother role while Mary as
daughter, in contrast with other ancient mythological sources in which
the MA etymon is attributed to the mother while AN etymon belongs to
the daughter -- points to the truth that ultimately the bond between
mother and daughter is not about age but is about eternally existing
relations, and that the triune persons are by their very nature
co-equal and without beginning and the end.

Ave Maria,

+SM

A proposal for ordination of local clergy and proposal for an appointment

2008-08-26T13:14:00.001-07:00

The Episcopate of Saint Brigid
The Collyridian Britannic Episcopal Church
Ceremonial see: Oregon City, Oregon

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

This letter is to announce that the Episcopate of Saint Brigid recommends for an ordination of Mr. Markus Mössner to diaconate in support of the Collyridian mission in Germany and Europe, in pursuant to a provision of the Church commonly referred to as "Canon Nine," (so called after the old Canons of the Episcopal Church) which provides for a raising up of the indigenous clergy.

Further, this Episcopate recommends for an appointment of Mr. Mössner as a Canon Missioner in affiliation with this Episcopate.

+Sarah Morrigan
Bishop ordinary

A proposal for ordination of local clergy under a provision commonly known as "Canon 9"

2008-08-26T13:07:00.001-07:00

The Episcopate of Saint Brigid
The Collyridian Britannic Episcopal Church
Ceremonial see: Oregon City, Oregon

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

This letter is to announce that the Episcopate of Saint Brigid recommends for an ordination of Miss Lindsey Rey Gibson to transitional diaconate and priesthood in support of the Collyridian mission in Iowa, in pursuant to a provision of the Church commonly referred to as "Canon Nine," (so called after the old Canons of the Episcopal Church) which provides for a raising up of the indigenous clergy.

+Sarah Morrigan
Bishop ordinary

Rhea and the holy Trinity

2008-08-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

[See also http://lovelymissiris.blogspot.com/search?q=rhea for my previous discussions on this topic.]

The Chapel Chronicle recently had an intriguing discussion on Sai Rhave and Greek goddess Rhea and makes a connection between the "Rhavic" nature and the Third Person of the Holy Trinity:

Now, Who is it to whom, in the Filianic Creed are the following words are applied?

And I believe in She that stands beyond these Two,
Whose Name has not been spoken on this earth:
For She is the Beginning and the End;
the First Principle and the Final Cause;
the unoriginated Origin of being.

To the Dark Mother, of course. They might be applied to Dea as a whole, but the Dark mother is truly the first Principle and the final Cause even of the more outward manifestations of Dea. She is the Head of all Streams, the Scatterer of All Colors. She is the Moveless Mover.

As I had noted earlier, rhea in Greek comes from the same root for rheo, to flow. In the Gospel of St. John, this verb rheo was used (and is the only occurrence in the entire New Testament) to describe the flowing of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39).

Oddly enough, the Christian popular fiction author William P. Young in his allegory of the triune God gave the name "Sarayu" to what would be the Holy Spirit (so far two random people told me I should play Sarayu on stage if anyone ever makes a theatrical production of The Shack--I suppose I look like her, from Young's depiction). Sarayu, in Sanskrit, also means "to flow," and a river in India is named thus.

Friday, Aug. 22 -- Feast of the Queenship of Mary

2008-08-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

[Visit http://marylinks.org/ for a comprehensive list of resources
pertaining to Mary.]

Collect of the Day:

Holy, Eternal One, our queen and mother:
With thy support may we come to share the glory of your children in
the dominion of heaven.
We ask this through thy Eternal Daughter, our redeemer, who lives and
reigns with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Queenship of Mary (August 22)

"In the Old Testament, royal titles are commonly given to God and
those specially anointed by God. Titles of royalty were given to Jesus
and Mary from earliest times by Christians as signs of the special
power they possessed. In prayers and hymns like the Salve Regina and
the Regina Coeli, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is called Queen. (At
right: Fra Angelico's depiction of the crowning of Mary). Instituted
in 1955, this feast follows the feast of the Assumption, as it points
to Mary's privileged place in heaven. Mary "was taken up body and soul
into heavenly glory when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the
Lord as Queen over all things." (Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 59)"
-- http://www.cptryon.org/compassion/mary/trad08.html

Feast of St. Mary (Assumption)

2008-08-15T14:34:00.001-07:00

Today is the feast of St. Mary, also called Assumption or Dormition. We have had a small and short Collyridian eucharist at the Blue Lake Regional Park in Fairview, Oregon in honour of the feast and of Our Lady.

The feast of the Coronation of Mary is next week, and it will be our "name day" for the Mission of St. Mary the Divine. Celebration of the feast next week will be transferred to the Sunday following.

"What do you think of Jesus?"

2008-08-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Sarah responds candidly: http://lovelymissiris.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-do-you-think-of-jesus.html

Virtual parish to delay its inauguration

2008-07-31T11:59:00.001-07:00

The Episcopate of Saint Brigid

31 July 2008

Virtual parish to delay its inauguration

July 31 — St. Lydia's Collyridian Britannic Episcopal Mission, the first fully-online "virtual parish" of the Episcopate of Saint Brigid, Collyridian Britannic Episcopal Church, is delaying its inauguration by up to two weeks due to a personal emergency of the Rt. Rev. Sarah Morrigan, interim vicar of St. Lydia's.

The vicar will be mostly offline during this period while attending to some urgent business, and one should expect at least three days of delay in response when contacting her.

In the mean time, those who are already on the St. Lydia's email list are encouraged to introduce one another and engage in informal conversations. The list can be signed up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stlydiascbec

Reflection on lectionary, Sunday, July 28 (St. Anne, transferred)

2008-07-28T15:56:00.001-07:00

Joshua 10:12-14 On the day when the Eternal gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Eternal; and Joshua said in the sight of Israel, 'Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.' And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in mid-heaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Eternal heeded a human voice; for the Eternal fought for Israel.

The 26th day of July is celebrated as the feast of St. Anne, who is known as the mother of St. Mary according to church traditions.

In many ancient and prehistoric cultures, "Ana" or "Nana" was one of the names of the supreme deity. The Sumerians had their Inanna. In Christianity, Mary and Anne were reversed in order, yet their attributes are iconologically intact: St. Anne as the teacher (she is seen holding a book) and the doorkeeper (to the heavenly realm); St. Mary as the solar Queen of Heaven who stands on the crescent moon and above the ocean.

Originally the Sun was feminine. The Queen of Heaven was the ruler of the Sun above all heavenly hosts.

Fifty-one years ago in Fatima, Portugal, Our Lady revealed Herself as an undeniably solar figure. She has shown Herself in moving solar spectacles.

In the book of Joshua, She demonstrates Her sovereignty over the stars and spaces -- and more importantly time -- by holding up the Sun for one full day. To Her, time is all relative and is under Her authority. She is the ruler and creator of all space and time.

A virtual Collyridian church

2008-07-28T15:18:00.001-07:00

St. Lydia's Mission is being inaugurated on Sunday, August 3, to respond to the growing interest in the Collyridian Britannic Episcopal Church. The mission, functioning as an all-virtual, all-ladies proto-parish, will allow those who have been unable to become part of the CBEC community (the canons of the CBEC allows only bishops and abbots/abbesses as its members; non-clergy persons had to join a parish or a mission).

While St. Lydia's is open to ladies only at the moment, there is a general-audience discussion list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/philomarianites, which may or may not eventually turn into another virtual congregation. The Philomarianites list is run by Markus Moessner, a candidate for transitional diaconate in the Episcopate of St. Brigid.

Episcopate of St. Brigid launches virtual parish

2008-07-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

In response to the growing worldwide interest and positive responses, the Episcopate of Saint Brigid will inaugurate a virtual parish on Sunday, August 3. This is done so that the Mission of Saint Mary the Divine will remain focused on its activities and ministries in Portland, Oregon, while allowing those outside the area to feel welcome as an important member of a community instead of an outsider.

The newly established parish will be known as St. Lydia's, after the saint for August 3.

Email lists of interest

2008-07-22T09:08:00.001-07:00

In addition to our web forum there are two email discussion lists for the interest of CBEC members. The Philomarianites (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/philomarianites ) list is open to the public. The other list, SOTSG-Mary, is sponsored by the Sisters of the Sacred Grove, and is by invitation only. Our forum (http://saltsmmc.netfreehost.com ) also provides an open venue for discussion and networking.

Feast of St. Anne, July 26

2008-07-22T08:57:00.001-07:00

The 26th day of July, this Saturday, is the feast of Saint Anne.

Reflection on Sunday lectionary, A-Proper 11

2008-07-20T07:42:00.001-07:00

Today take a moment and meditate on the width and depth of God above and beyond all material form--who dwells above yet within us. "Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there." Psalm 139:7-8 (NRSV).

Uniting convergent people under Our Lady

2008-07-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is the very first pastoral letter I sent out officially today. I discuss the matter of unity and diversity, creating an environment that is welcoming to all. I welcome follow up discussions in the forum.

+Sarah

http://thecbec.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/uniting-convergent-people-under-our-lady/

Lectionary reflection for Sunday 13 July (A-Proper 10)

2008-07-12T22:16:00.001-07:00

[Isaiah 55:10-13] Modern natural science knows that an atom is always preserved no matter what shape it may take. Thus hydrogen molecules and oxygen are perpetually present, passing through many forms of manifestation cyclically between the atmosphere and the soil, watering the planet and life forms. The perennial truth of the Eternal is like so, always present though may appear differently or obscure on the surface.

A Collyridian liturgy of the hours

2008-07-11T15:58:00.001-07:00

The liturgy of the hours, long part of the monastic tradition of the church that left a great influence on Anglican spirituality, is now being readapted to a Collyridian use.

A trial version is here: http://stanneslts.wikispaces.com/Praying+the+Hours