22 April 2021

“Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” This sentence is from Psalm 90, and it is one of many verses dedicated to pondering our time in relation to God’s time. It’s been over a year that we have been enduring the current pandemic, and yet in the whole span of God’s time, this year has been minor when we consider God’s timelessness. When fathoming the infinity of time, our lives barely register as a speck, and yet because God has instilled a purpose into all of us, we number our days. God gives us the gift of time, and in response we number our days.

This past Sunday afternoon a subcommittee of our Liturgy and Formation Ministry gathered to intentionally study how St. Mark’s will live into the calendar of the prayer book (BCP p. 15) as we emerge from the pandemic. How will St. Mark’s engage the Daily Office going forward? What will the daily mass schedule be? Which principal feasts will be celebrated with solemn masses, and which principal feasts will be celebrated with said masses? Are there feast days that are not principal feasts that need special attention due to our context (Blessed Lili’uokalani, Saints Damien and Marianne) or due to our Anglo-Catholic heritage (Assumption BVM and Michaelmas)?

The subgroup also spent time discussing our current mass schedule on Sundays. As the pandemic recedes should we combine some masses? What does the congregation need, and what can we reasonably accomplish week after week? The subcommittee consists of Jeanne DeCosta, Michael Ida, Sandra Leialoha, and Erin Richardson Severin. Ultimately decisions regarding worship and music are the sole responsibility of the priest in the Episcopal Church, but I am grateful for the wisdom of the subgroup. In true St. Mark’s style, the conversations were focused on the needs of the congregation and wider community, and how we might serve as many people as possible through our worship offerings.

For now the Sunday mass schedule, including the Saturday evening Vigil Mass, will remain the same. We are also dedicated to developing to the fullest extent possible the offering of Sunday Evensong and Benediction. The beauty of having Saturday and Sunday evening services is that these worship times allow us to do many of the creative services within our Anglican heritage. Lesson and Carol services have been tentatively scheduled for the upcoming Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons. There is also a Service of Readings and Music for All Hallow’s Eve that may be worth trying, as well as the vigils for baptismal feasts such as Pentecost and All Saints. We even looked ahead to Holy Week and Easter of next year, partly due to requests from a number of congregants to do the full list of readings for the Easter Vigil in the future.

Beginning in May, the daily mass will become available to the congregation. Mass will be celebrated Tuesday through Friday at 6:00 pm and on Saturdays at 10:00 am. As for the Daily Office, Morning Prayer will continue via Zoom on weekdays, but on Saturdays it will be read at 9:30 am in the church before the 10:00 am mass. Evening Prayer will be read in the church at 5:30 pm Monday through Friday as a prelude to the daily mass. On Saturday and Sunday, Evening Prayer continues at 5:00 pm in the church.

So teach us, O Lord, to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. There is no better way to organize our lives than by the calendar and services of the church. It’s how we keep God at the center of our lives. As we anticipate greater freedoms due to the pandemic’s receding, the church stands ready to help the people of God number their days with worship and prayer.

Father Paul Lillie +