‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2023 September 19

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 19 September, in the year of our Lord 2023. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, S. Theodore of Tarsus, Bishop & Confessor.
  6:30 PM, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Ember Wednesday.
• Thursday: 8:00 AM, men's Morning Prayer and breakfast.
  6:30 PM, Mass, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, Ember Friday, with the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: Immediately following the Church Cleaning Party (Commencing at Noon), Mass, S. Linus, Bishop & Martyr.
  5:00 PM, if-needed.
• Sunday: 10:00 AM, Archbishop Gordon's official visit, Morning Office, Mass, S. Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist, followed by a pot-luck in the Parish Hall.

Please note the changes in the above-schedule. This-coming Saturday will be the Church cleaning party. We will scrub, dust, and vacuum from top-to-bottom, in anticipation of Archbishop Gordon's visit to Saint Matthew's on the following day.

THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE SERVICE ON SUNDAY, at 10:00 AM. We will begin with the abbreviated Morning Office, per the Prayer Book rubrics, followed by the Mass for Saint Matthew, our Patron of Name. Afterwards, we will continue to celebrate the day with a covered-dish luncheon, in the Parish Hall.

I had a conversation, yesterday, with Dave Radcliffe's son, Dana. Dave has been, for some while, living in a memory-care center in Fredericksburg. His mental condition has continued to slip, and he has also begun falling, of-late. Last week, he suffered a more serious fall, which lead to cranial bleeding. He was air-lifted from Fredericksburg to Richmond for surgery, which was successful.

The long-term diagnosis is, of-course, problematic, with the several aspects involved. Although there seems to be no immediate threat, Dana has begun to make arrangements, which is always prudent. This brings-up important matters that we all must consider. Have you written your will(s)? I have. Have you made provisions for the Parish in your final testament? I have. Have you made your final arrangements? I have not.

Amongst these latter, have you discussed the Service you would prefer with your Parish Priest? The only appropriate service for a Christian is the Requiem Mass. This may be done from either The Book of Common Prayer or the Anglican Missal. I've a form that can be used to list these choices.

Have you prepaid your funeral expenses ~ purchased the casket or coffin, the burial plot, paid the cemetery fees, etc.? Amongst the benefits of completing all of these tasks yourself is the fact that nothing is left to chance ~ your wishes will be followed. Additionally, you will save those who you love from the added burdens of having to scramble to make these plans at the last-minute; of having to spend money that they may or may not have to insure that things are done decently, and in-order; of having to determine what your wishes were, if you did not arrange them yourself, or, having made them, did not communicate them to those who will be left to tend to the details in your absence.

Please pray for Dave; for his health, and recovery. We, too, follow that path which leads to- and through the grave. Pray accordingly. I remain

in His praise,

The Rev'd Canon. T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish