Please join us for our Palm Sunday procession on Sunday morning. We will be gathering with the parishioners from St. John’s and El Buen Samaritano on Valencia between 21st and 22nd Streets for the blessing of the palms and then we will process singing and marching and waving palms to Holy Innocents.

The Blessing of the Palms will be at 9:30 and we are anticipating our entrance into the church will be at 10:00 …

If you do not feel able to make the walk to the church, feel free to bring your car to drive, or to simply meet us at the church at 10. Acolytes please be at the church to vest at 9 and we will go to Valencia together. A couple of cars will be taking us and our materials there, and those cars can also bring a few people back who cannot make the procession.

Additionally, this is the last Sunday of the month so there is just ONE SERVICE … Hospitality is Potluck, and people are encouraged to bring whatever they would like for a brunch-type meal.

THERE ARE HOLY WEEK SERVICES EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK THIS WEEK. PLEASE MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND ALL YOU POSSIBLY CAN … I will be sending out a more informational email message about the remainder of the services tomorrow, and you can expect me to send several email reminders and updates throughout the week.

As many of you know, Buddy Stallings (my bff from college who served with me here at Holy Innocents for a year) is the Vicar of St. Bart’s in New York City. St. Bart’s is one of the leading parishes in the country. Every week I receive an email from St. Bart’s, half of them Buddy writes and half, their Rector, Bill Tully writes. If you want to start receiving these reflections visit their website at: http://www.stbarts.org

This week’s reflection on Holy Week was by Bill, and I found what he had to say about Holy Week so well said that I wanted to share it with you. He gives us a lovely perspective on ‘The Great Week’ and our participation in it. Please read and enjoy!

May you have a blessed Holy Week,
Rosa Lee+


From St. Bart’s, NYC – The Great Week
In 1987, this item appeared in the famed Diary feature of The Times of London:

“Overheard in a Chiswick jeweler’s shop, assistant to customer examining a collection of crucifix pendants: ‘Are you looking for a plain one, or one with a little man on it?’”

We can’t afford to be judgmental about such breathtaking religious illiteracy, but we can’t be complacent either.

This coming week we commemorate the death of the “little man” on the cross. The death of Jesus has meaning, because his life and teaching had the power to change the world and change lives. Whatever your religion, or none, he is a Big Man of history.

You might want to think of Holy Week as a progression or pilgrimage. The intensity of it, the sheer honesty of it, can be experienced at any point along the way. Of course, the more you take in, the more you’re likely to gain.

And what might that gain be?

You might gain understanding of the human condition. You will certainly hear voices representing the best and worst our kind has to offer. You won’t hear easy answers, but you’ll gain the sense that life can be lived out of a center of faith — a gift, for sure — that means our freedom, our mistakes and our hardest questions are part of the life-giving order of things.

Many years ago, I attended a church where this week was titled simply The Great Week. In it, they lived out the story of the cross in which the little man became a big deal. He has been ever since for me.

May it be so for you. See you along the way.

Bill Tully