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Choral Evensong

Sunday, February 5, 2012
4:00pm - Saint Thomas Church

THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY (SEPTUAGESIMA)

The three Sundays prior to Ash Wednesday are not ten days apart (that would indeed be quite miraculous), but nevertheless tradition gives these three "Gesima Sundays" the prefixes of Septua (70), Sexa (60), and Quinqua (50) as a countdown toward Lent. Quinquagesima is indeed 50 days before Easter, but Sexagesima and Septua aren't quite 60 and 70. Lent itself is that 40 day period (excluding Sundays, which traditionally are not penetential) from Ash Wendnesday to the Great Vigil on Holy Saturday.

In 2012, Septuagesima falls on the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany. In 2011, Septuagesima fell on the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany. How can this be?

Epiphany is always on January 6, beginning immediately after the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 through January 5). We then have a period of "Sundays after Epiphany." However, the number of these Sundays after Epiphany varies because, beginning with Ash Wednesday, the church calendar switches over to its paschal cycle, which is determined not by fixed calendar dates (such as December 25, January 6 and February 2), but rather by the movable date of Easter, which the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 established as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox. The date of Easter can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. That's quite a wide range.

Therefore, the "Sundays after the Epiphany" also have a wide range, because they have to fill the gap between the fixed date of Epiphany (January 6) through to the moveable date of Ash Wednesday (always 40 days before Easter, excluding Sundays). Sometimes there are only five Sundays after the Epiphany; sometimes there are nine. However many there are, the last three are always the gesima Sundays.

So now you know why the church has historically utilized the gesima system. The gesima weeks help the faithful to transition from a fixed cycle to a paschal cycle. As soon as you see the gesima Sundays appear on the calendar, you know that Ash Wednesday, and therefore Lent, is close at hand.

Collect:

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins and give us, we beseech thee, the liberty of that abundant life which thou hast manifested to us in thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Above: We are delighted to welcome back the distinguished British viol consort Fretwork to accompany the choir at Evensong today. They were with us previously for Choral Evensong in November 2010.

Today at Choral Evensong, Fr Joel Daniels preaches Sermon 2 of our 15-part series on prayer called "Lord, Teach Us to Pray." The sermon today is on the topic of "Father," the second word of the Lord's Prayer. See the complete list of sermons in the series here.

About Choral Evensong: Based on the services held daily in the medieval Church, Choral Evensong as arranged in the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church has been sung regularly since the Sixteenth Century. Many people who are new to worship at Saint Thomas prefer to come to Choral Evensong because it is relatively passive. The service includes readings (just as would occur at Evening Prayer) and prayers led by a priest. An anthem as well as a setting of the Magnificat and the Nunc dimittis are sung by the choir. Read more about Choral Evensong here, or view the Choral Evensong Service Card posted to the bottom of this page, where links to the webcast will be posted during and after the service.

►There is no Mass following Choral Evensong on Sundays. If you would like to make your Holy Communion for the week, consider attending one of the morning Eucharists, or else at any of the other sixteen masses at Saint Thomas later this week.

►If you are new to Saint Thomas, new to the Episcopal Church, and/or new to Christianity, consider attending the Rector's Christian Doctrine Class, which began anew on Tuesday, January 10 and continues on Tuesday, February 7 at 6:30pm.

Officiant:	Fr Mead
Preacher:	Fr Daniels
Lesson:	Isaiah 57:14-21
Lesson 2:	II Timothy 2:14-21
Sung by:	The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, accompanied by Fretwork
Prelude:	Consort Set in A minor - Fantazy, Fantazy, Aire, William Lawes (1602-1645)
Responses:	Thomas Morley (c. 1557-1602)
Psalm:	47, Festal Setting (Byrd)
Service:	The Second Service, Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
Anthem:	See, see the Word is incarnate, Orlando Gibbons
Voluntary:	In Nomine in 5 parts, William Byrd
Hymn:	489 The great Creator of the worlds EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS
Hymn 2:	703 Lead us, O Father, in the paths of peace SONG 22

Webcast

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Leaflet

Choral Evensong Service Card

Sermon: Sermon Text | Download

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