Notes for Sunday, March 11

Sunday is the Third Sunday in Lent.

SCRIPTURE:

The First Reading: Psalm 63:1-8
The Second Reading: Luke 13:1-9

BELL CHOIR ANTHEM:

"A Ringer's Prayer," J. Hunnicutt.

ANTHEM:

"And No Bird Sang," D. Wagner.

Have you ever been in the forest (or elsewhere for that matter) when the birds fell silent? The absence of the bird song and chatter is discomforting. One feels very alone. Strangely so.

As we have been singing these past weeks, Jesus walked the lonesome valley by himself. Alone. No birds sang to keep him company. We must on occasion bear a similar loneliness, and do the same.

HYMNS:

#261, God of Compassion, In Mercy Befriend Us
#422, God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending
Response: Lead me, guide me.
Response: Let us be bread.

OTHER ITEMS:

Prelude: Novelettes I and III, F. Poulenc
Offertory: O Haupt voll Blutt und Wunden, M. Reger

Poulenc composed the three Novelettes in 1927, 1928, and 1959 (yes, that's '59). Poulenc did not adopt the virtuoso keyboard style of Debussy or Ravel. His compositions are classical in their simplicity. The theme of the third Novelette is from the ballet El Amor Brujo, by Manuel de Falla.

Until Sunday, Bonnie