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 OUR CHURCH: The Messenger
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Psalm |
First Lesson |
Second Lesson |
Gospel |
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Feb 1 |
111 |
Deuteronomy 18:15-20 |
1 Corinthians 8:1-13 |
Mark 1:21-28 |
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Feb 8 |
147:1-12,21c |
Isaiah 41:21-31 |
1 Corinthians 9:16-23 |
Mark 1:29-39 |
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Feb 15 |
30 |
2 Kings 5:1-14 |
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 |
Mark 1:40-45 |
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Feb 22 |
50:1-6 |
2 Kings 2:1-12 |
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 |
Mark 9:2-9 |
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Feb 25Ash Wednesday |
103 |
Isaiah 58:1-12 |
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 |
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 |
Parish Register
Deaths: Gus Palmer, Sr.
Walcott Cokley
1712 - 2012
The Library, History and Archives Committee has begun to prepare for our parish's 300th anniversary on May 11, 2012. We are honored and pleased to present in this box on a monthly basis ‘factoids' from this long history. We have divided our topics into three broad categories: The Parish, The Church and the Cemetery. It is our hope you enjoy these sentences as much as we have had in compiling them. If you have a piece of history, including a memory to share, please let a member of the committee know!
Divine worship began on this hill in 1712. A church or chapel has stood on this spot since 1719, and possibly earlier. Did you know that...the first known building was a log cabin built c.1719. The first major improvement was to cover the dirt floor by adding a wood plank floor in 1727. Our current building (1772) had the same issue. The dirt floor was not covered with a wood floor until around 1810!
Divine worship began on this hill in 1712. In our long history, we have seen many interesting things, people and events. Did you know that ... In a periodic report to the Maryland Assembly in 1730, Prince George's Parish is referred to as being in the Frontier! There were only farms and a very tiny village near the church.
Did you know that ... the Rock Creek Burying ground is one of - if not the - oldest continuously used cemeteries in the United States? The first recorded burial was in 1774, but interments probably go back closer to 1719 as was Anglican tradition. There are currently over 100,000 souls at rest in the church yard.
In our long history, we have seen many interesting things, people and events. Did you know that ... St. Paul's Center was built in 1928 and was designed to match the colonial church. It replaced a Sunday School building erected 1903 (demolished 1936) which sat opposite the gatehouse & matched it architecturally. Betty Cheeney was baptized in the old Sunday School Building in 1921.
Divine worship began on this hill in 1712. A church or chapel has stood on this spot since 1719, and possibly earlier. Did you know that ... When the church was remodeled in 1869 (to it's current shape and facing), the Washington newspapers reported that the recessed chancel was one of the largest in the District of Columbia?
A Note For You
I have not always enjoyed the ringing of church bells. In fact, while studying and living at the Royal School of Church Music outside London in the 1970's I had a particular dislike for the bells of the Addington Parish Church which was just down the hill from my bedroom window. The bell ringers of Addington Parish Church always practiced on Saturday mornings beginning at 8:00 a.m. Friday night was my only chance to enjoy the nightlife of London-the pubs and clubs of Piccadilly. The bells were an unwelcome successor to the jazz and throbbing rock of the night before.
These days I like the sound of bells marking the hours of the day and declaring the presence of their churches. Nearby the office in which I spent my weekdays before coming to St. Paul's was the tower of Foundry Methodist Church at 16th and P, NW. They have ten bells in their tower and these bells have a unique sound and ringing style. The Foundry bells are cast aluminum and have a very rich harmonic sound. The Foundry tower was not strong enough to carry the weight and burden of swinging bells made of cast bronze as is the tradition. They were an experiment done by a bell casting company in Switzerland. The bells do not swing, but are struck in a stationary position. They do not attempt to play tunes on these bells, but they are rung in the traditional eastern European style in which the larger deep-toned bells are rung at a slower speed than the smaller higher pitched bells. It is a festive and a beautiful sound.
Washington Cathedral has two sets of bells in its tower. One set of bells is a 53-bell carillon upon which tunes and composed pieces may be played. The other set of bells, 10 in number, is intended for "change-ringing." That is a method in which each bell is numbered and the bells are rung in numerical permutations according to traditional patterns. This is a distinctly English method of bell ringing and the Cathedral bells were cast in England by the Taylor Company. For more information and a good story in which "change-ringing" is found I would direct you to Agatha Christie's "The Nine Tailors."
Most Sundays I can hear the bells from the nearby National Shrine and the Ukrainian Catholic Church as I walk between buildings on the Glebe. The 56 Shrine bells were cast in France. Some mornings I think the Ukrainian bells are either French or Dutch. Each country's bells have a unique sound partly from the ratio of different metals used in the casting, and partly from the tuning method used after the casting. Vocal choirs are like that also-an English choir sounds very different from a French choir, which sounds different from a German or Russian choir, and on and on.
St. Paul's, Rock Creek has a 100 year old bell in its tower. It was cast by what was known as the Baltimore Bell Foundry which today is known as the McShane Foundry. In the recent work on the roof and tower of the Church I put forth the idea that an automatic striking mechanism should be added to the bell. This type of mechanism would allow the bell to continue to be rung on the rope when desired but it would also allow the bell to automatically strike the hours of the day and to toll for funerals and burials in the churchyard. This mechanism would also have reduced the stress to the tower from the swinging bell. I think a boat was missed by not going forward on this idea. That is okay-I don't think the tower, the bell, or the Director of Music are going anywhere for a while.
In former days the voice of the bells speaking high from the towers above was regarded as a voice of God, reminding all creation of that constant Presence. I like that idea. The bell, as well as the Church itself exercises what I call a "ministry of Presence." People of the world are so distracted by daily survival that we need to remind them that God is still God and that we, the Church, are present and praying for them no matter if they choose to join the prayers or not.
Listen for the voices of church bells-they have something to say to you.
Grace and Peace, Michael
Ash Wednesday is February 25th
Two services for the imposition of ashes: noon and 7:30 pm. Visit the tract rack in the Narthex of the church and pick up a copy of "Peace & Compassion" 2009 Lenten Meditations produced by Episcopal Relief and Development.
New Website
St. Paul's new website is now official. The site came up live the last week end in January. It provides much of the same information as our old website but in a more user friendly format. Information is categorized in three major headings: Our Church, Our Cemetery and St. Paul's Center and each heading has specific pages with appropriate detailed information. We are still working on the site adding additional information as appropriate. For now, requests to post information to the website need to be sent to the church office (churchoffice@stpaulsrockcreek.org) for vetting and posting. Please take a look at the new website and let us know what you think!
New parish office hours. Effective the first of this year the cemetery office is no longer open on Saturday nor are Saturday burials accommodated.
