James the Great Anglican Church Smiths Station, Alabama A Mission of the Anglican Province of America

Fr John Klein can be reached at (334) 663-2985 / [email protected] Newsletter #26 - Easter Day 2018

Traditional, orthodox – Catholic and Evangelical – for modern people.

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SCHEDULE Maundy Thursday: Eucharist at 7:00 PM (ET) and Watch 'til midnight. Good Friday - Evening Prayer (sung): 7:00 PM (ET) Holy Saturday - The Great Vigil of Easter: 8:00 PM (ET) Easter Day: Choral Eucharist 11:00 AM (ET) Natalya Klenovskaya will play the prelude on the violin, the Healey Willan Gloria in excelsis returns, our choir will sing the Te Deum laudamus to Anglican chant by E.G. and W. Croft, and Coffee-Hour will feature Easter treats.

"Holy Rus" [1901-06] by Mikhail Nestorov [(Russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Не́стеров] 1862-1942. Mikail Nestotov's oil painting of visiting the Slavic people was inspired by a very ancient tradition that after ' resurrection he - with the Holy Peter, James the Great, and John the Beloved - came to bring the Good News to Russia. According to one account, those who listened were the humble, farm-folk in the countryside. They, in this account took the name of Christ, which when written phonetically in our - Western alphabet rather than in Cyrillic is "Kristiany". Now the word for the lowly farm people in Russian is "Kristiany". Thus, those who believed the of God took upon themselves Christ's name. This story is similar to the English tradition that the young boy Jesus Christ came to Cornwall and Glastonbury with St. of Arimathea. It is perhaps more possible that Saint Andrew the went to Russia to convert the Slavic people. And for us at Saint James the Great, we simply have to figure out which of the apostles in the painting is our own St. James. JWK+

The Church of the Resurrection of Christ, St. Petersburg, Russia CALENDAR:  Sunday, Eucharist at 11:00 A.M. (ET) followed by Coffee Hour- Class. We are now studying Faith and Practice by Frank Wilson.  Wednesday 6:00 PM Mass followed by supper and Study. We are now studying the Resurrection Appearances of Jesus.  April 7th - First Saturday: Society of Mary at 10:00 AM (ET) - The Angelus, coffee, and .  2018 DEUS Synod, July 16-20, 2018. St. the Church, Matthews (Charlotte) N. C. will be our host parish.  Fr Klein is being joined by Chad in leading a to the Holy Land in February 4th - 13th, 2019.  Birthdays: Elsa Bisset (Birthday March 29th) Ruth Alleyn Francis Birthday (March 30th) Don Bowman (Birthday April 1st)

Words from the Vicar

Dear fellow Anglicans, We have accomplished so much in the brief year and a half of our mission. It is really marvelous to witness, and all to the greater glory of God - A.M.D.G. We are now about to observe our second Holy Week and Easter. We finished our year-long study of Saint John's Gospel - "Signs and Sayings". On Sunday mornings at the coffee hour we just completed Rod Dreher's magnificent, must-read book: The Benedict Option. We have started to read and study Bishop Frank Wilson's classic apology: Faith and Practice, 1939. Our Lenten Teaching Mission on 's Day was stupendous. Fr. Paul Rivard of St. George the in Simpsonville, SC led us through the pitfalls of "Higher Criticism" and presented a proper understanding of Apostolic and Patristic methods of interpreting the Bible. At the same time, we were blessed with the beautiful Irish music of Brian Fowler who gave us many CDs of his music, which we have sold to benefit our church. Every month, even in winter, we get compliments on our beautiful church garden tended by my wife Linda. And, ' Anglican Church in Dothan gave us two wonderful roses to expand the garden. We count our sister-relationship with St. Matthias as a great blessing. They have supported us with time, talent, and treasure. God bless the Anglicans of Dothan. Soon, very soon, we will be getting beautiful vintage solid-hardwood pews from Minnesota. An antique leaded-glass window of the Baptism of Christ should appear in the near future too. The People's Warden, Chip Mosley, along with the altar guild are renovating - perhaps "creating" is a better term - our sacristy. At the same time I am knocking heavy plaster walls down upstairs as a prelude to opening up our ceiling heavenwards. We will have a twenty-five foot church vault when finished. Simultaneously with these activities, Sandra Thornburg, the Vicar's Warden, has been putting all the Saint James' Newsletters, there are now twenty-five of them, on our web site. Sandra faithfully drives me to Dothan every week to minister to our sister-church. We are actually the "daughter" in this relationship. Elsa Bisset, the Altar Guild Directress, is going to make a red brocade frontal for . If it is half as beautiful as her Easter frontal, we will have to double our insurance. The choir led by Alexey - no praise is enough for these dedicated singers - has worked on anthem after anthem with only one chorister really "reading music". It is extraordinary what they have done. My goal was perhaps seven anthems and they are now past twelve. On Easter Day they will do the beautiful ever-popular Te Deum laudamus to Anglican chant by E. G. Monk / W. Croft / E. G. Monk. This anthem, as with all we are learning, is intended to be used in multiple ways. In the Te Deum case, when I must be away it can be used as the center piece of Morning Prayer. So far at least, our absolute admiration of Russian and Chinese musicians has not been called "collusion". The truth is we simply love our church musicians: Alexey Trushechkin, Nikita Krylov, Wei Liu, and violinist Natalya Klenovskaya. Incidentally, if you are reading this, and in doubt where to go Easter morning, Natalya is going to present to God a prelude to Mass on the violin. I really don't know why everyone isn't coming to Saint James the Great, Smiths Station. In that spirit I wish you all a very Holy Week and Triumphant Eastertide. Fr. John Klein, SSC

In Greek: Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη! In Latin: Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere! In English: Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. In Spanish: ¡Cristo resucitó! ¡En verdad resucitó! In German: Christus ist erstanden. Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden. In Old Church Slavonic: Хрїсто́съ воскре́се! Вои́стин воскре́се! In Modern Russian: Христос воскрес! Воистину воскрес! And Mandarin: 基督復活了！他確實復活了！

"The Risen Christ" by Titian [circa 1511]

Natalya Klenovskaya will play the violin on Easter Day at 11:00 AM (ET). Welcome the Lord's Resurrection with the most beautiful music.

The Holy Land Pilgrimage Save the Date - February 4 - 13, 2019 Come see and trace the footsteps of Jesus. Join me on a journey to and the holy sights of our Lord’s ministry next year. If you have a mom or dad who has always wanted to go to the Holy Land, give them this gift. Perhaps friends who go on cruises every year, this is the best ever. I think all Christians, if they can afford the time and treasure, owe it to themselves to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The package price - including airfare on Delta Airlines, four star hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, all entrance fees, a trained guide and with Bishop "Chad" Chandler Holder Jones and me as the spiritual directors of the pilgrimage - is hopefully to be less than $3000.00 per person. There will also be some airport taxes and gratuities to the driver. This is a ten day religious pilgrimage in a traditional, orthodox Anglican manner. We will pray Morning and Evening Prayer daily, celebrate the Eucharist at major holy sites, and sing sacred hymns in the holiest settings. We will even carry a wooden cross along the Via Dolorosa as we walk the Way of the Cross. Come and see, see so many places that will enlighten your understanding of the Bible and our Faith For the itinerary - which is being refined at this point - please see: https://www.explority.com/groups/nli/58d7b4ed61061600047b7fff?org=AMI-Travel Don't miss this incredible opportunity! Fr. John Klein, SSC

Saint James the Great

Saint James the Greater by Guido Reni [1575-1642] ℣. Saint James, pray for us. ℟. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.