Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday May 1, 2025)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

This Thursday is the first day of May, also known as May Day, and is traditionally viewed as the beginning of summer in the British Isles and elsewhere. Among the traditions associated with May Day is going a maying on May Eve, gathering the flowering branches of the May Tree, crowning a May Queen on May Day, dancing around the Maypole, and Morris dancing. 

In Catholic parishes May Day is marked by special devotions in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These observances include processions, May Crownings in which a statue of Mary is crowned with a wreath of flowers, and the recitation of the Rosary. 

In the seventeenth century the Puritans banned the traditional May Day practices along with Christmas and Easter. They were revived at the time of the Restoration. They also enjoyed a revival in the nineteenth century.

This evening’s message responds to the question, “Is it a sin to not go to church on a Sunday or a holy day?”

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

Open this link in a new tab to hear William Coulter and Barry Phillips’ instrumental arrangement of the Shaker tune LOVE IS LITTLE.
This tune was composed about 1834 at South Union, Kentucky. The composer is anonymous.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that
are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life. Amen.

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as
it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.

Open this link to hear Carl P. Daw Jr.’s paraphrase of the Phos hilaron, “O Light Whose Splendor Thrills and Gladdens.”

1 O Light whose splendor thrills and gladdens
with radiance brighter than the sun,
pure gleam of God's unending glory,
Jesus, blest Anointed One;

2 As twilight hovers near at sunset,
and lamps are lit, and children nod,
in evening hymns we lift our voices
to Father, Spirit, Son: one God.

3 In all life's brilliant, timeless moments,
let faithful voices sing your praise,
O Son of God, our Life-bestower,
whose glory lightens endless days.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s responsorial setting of Psalm 113, “Blessed Be the Name.”

Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the LORD
for ever!

1 Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
May the name of the LORD be blest
both now and forevermore!

Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the LORD
for ever!

2 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
praised be the name of the LORD!
High above all nations is the LORD,
above the heavens his glory.

Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the LORD
for ever!

3 Who is like the LORD, our God,
who dwells on high,
who lowers himself to look down
upon heaven and earth?

Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the LORD
for ever!

4 From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the ash heap he raises the poor,
to set them in the company of princes,
yes, with the princes of his people.

Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the LORD
for ever!

Open this link in a new tab to hear Paul Inwood’s “Holy Is God” (Psalm 117).

Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.

1 Sing the Lord’s praise, ev’ry nation,
Give him all honor and glory.
Strong is his love for his people,
His faithfulness is eternal.

Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
(Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.)

2 Praise to the Father almighty,
Praise to his Son, Christ the Lord;
Praise to the life giving Spirit;
Both now and forever, Amen
(Praise to the Father almighty,
Praise to his son, Christ the Lord;
Praise to the life giving Spirit;
Both now and forever, Amen)

Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
(Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.)
Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
(Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.)

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from Paul’ Letter to the Colossians.
Colossians 2:16-3:11

So don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths. These religious practices are only a shadow of what was coming—the body that cast the shadow is Christ. Don’t let anyone who wants to practice harsh self-denial and worship angels rob you of the prize. They go into detail about what they have seen in visions and have become unjustifiably arrogant by their selfish way of thinking. They don’t stay connected to the head. The head nourishes and supports the whole body through the joints and ligaments, so the body grows with a growth that is from God.

If you died with Christ to the way the world thinks and acts, why do you submit to rules and regulations as though you were living in the world? “Don’t handle!” “Don’t taste!” “Don’t touch!” All these things cease to exist when they are used. Such rules are human commandments and teachings. They look like they are wise with this self-made religion and their self-denial by the harsh treatment of the body, but they are no help against indulging in selfish immoral behavior.

Therefore, if you were raised with Christ, look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God’s right side. Think about the things above and not things on earth. You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

So put to death the parts of your life that belong to the earth, such as sexual immorality, moral corruption, lust, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). The wrath of God is coming upon disobedient people because of these things. You used to live this way, when you were alive to these things. But now set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language. Don’t lie to each other. Take off the old human nature with its practices and put on the new nature, which is renewed in knowledge by conforming to the image of the one who created it. In this image there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all people.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Silence.

Is It a Sin Not to Go to Church on a Sunday or a Holy Day?

I spent the better part of my youth and adulthood in southeast Louisiana, a part of Louisiana which has a large Catholic population. In middle school and high school I was envious of my Catholic friends who were excused from school on holy days of obligation, days on which Catholics were required to attend Mass and to refrain from working or similar activities. Only later in life did I learn that the Catholic Church taught that missing Mass on a Sunday or some other holy day of obligation was a mortal sin unless a Catholic was very sick or excused by their parish priest for some other good reason.

The Catholic observance of holy days of obligation was one of the things that came to mind when I read this evening’s lesson from the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossae. In that portion of the letter Paul warns the Colossians against a form of early Gnosticism, a set of beliefs and practices which blended elements of legalistic Judaism with elements of ascetic Gnosticism.

Gnosticism is a religious movement which blossomed in the second century AD. It, however, had antecedents in Paul’s time, the first century AD. Its adherents believed that secret knowledge and a pure life could free people from the material world, which they believed was evil and had been created by an inferior god called a demiurge.

These early Gnostics were telling the Colossians that they needed to engage in certain religious practices. These religious practices included avoiding prohibited foods and beverages; keeping festivals, new moon observances, and sabbaths; practicing a harsh form of asceticism; and worshiping angels.

In this evening’s reading Paul points to the attention of the Colossians that these religious practices are human inventions and would not help them to live a life that was free from selfish immoral behavior. Paul goes on to instruct the Colossians in what will help them in this regard.

I had to wonder what Paul would have thought of the Catholic Church’s holy days of obligation.

In middle school and high school, I attended an Episcopal church. While church attendance was encouraged, it was not treated as obligatory. How often an individual attended church was left to the conscience of the individual. Young people were taught that going to church was the right thing to do: it was one of the ways that Christians showed their love for God ad their love for each other. It was recognized that an individual’s particular circumstances played a part in determining the individual’s frequency of attendance. Sermons and other religious talks were broadcast on the radio for those who were unable to attend church. Episcopal clergy regularly visited their parishioners and brought the communion elements to parishioners who were homebound. Some parishes also had friendly visitors who made home visits to infirm, elderly, or other housebound parishioners.

The Episcopal Church, also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church, is a daughter church of the Church of England. It was organized as a separate church in the newly-formed United States of America after the War for Independence. The Church of England traces its roots all the way back to the time Britannia was a province of the Roman Empire and Christianity was brought to the British Isles.

Mandatory church attendance was the practice in the Church of England even after the English Reformation. During the English Reformation the English Church underwent a series of reforms in its beliefs and practices which were brought more into line with the teachings of the Bible. The English Church, however, did not discard the medieval Catholic practice of requiring everyone living within the bounds of a parish to attend church on Sundays. But its reasons for keeping this requirement did change. The Book of Common Prayer which had replaced the Medieval Catholic service books prescribed lengthy readings from the Holy Scriptures at Morning Prayer and Ante-Communion, which with the Litany were read straight through without a break between them. With the singing of metrical paraphrases of the Psalms, these services formed the typical Sunday morning liturgy on most Sundays.

English clergy who were not licensed to preach sermons were required to read a portion of a homily from one of two authorized Books of Homilies, expounding the duties of a loyal subject of the English Crown as well as the Reformed doctrines of the English Church. Only clergy who had systematically studied the New Testament and the sermons of the Swiss Reformer Heinrich Bullinger under the supervision of their archdeacon were granted a preaching license. This ensured that the populace were exposed to the teachings of the Bible and the Reformed doctrines of the English Church.

Attending church on Sundays was also seen as a way of showing one’s loyalty to the English Crown. Parishioners who repeatedly failed to attend church without good cause were suspected of Recusancy, of being a Catholic. Since the Pope had declared the English Queen as not a legitimate successor to the English throne and the English throne as up-for-grabs to any Catholic monarch who seized it and absolved of the sin of regicide anyone who murdered her, they would be suspected of disloyalty to the English Crown.

Church wardens armed with catch poles scoured the parish for recalcitrants, individuals who obstinately refused to attend church and spent Sundays drinking, gambling, and womanizing. People who did not attend church were hailed before a church court, fined, and even put in the stocks or the pillory where they were subject to public ridicule.

During the English Civil War, a series of conflicts fought between 1642 and 1651, primarily between supporters of King Charles I and supporters of Parliament, The Book of Common Prayer was abolished in 1645 and replaced by a Directory of Public Worship. With the Prayer Book the Church Calendar and the observance of Christmas, Easter, and other festivals and holy days were also abolished. A strict Sabbatarianism was imposed upon the country. This doctrine identified Sunday with the Old Testament Sabbath, a day of rest and worship, and maintained that Sundays should be observed in accordance with the Fourth Commandment, which forbids work on the Sabbath because it is a holy day. Sabbath-breaking was viewed as a serious sin and Sabbath-breakers were fined, put in the stocks, or whipped. Dancing on the green, playing musical instruments, singing ballads, practicing archery and other popular forms of recreation were prohibited on Sundays and at other times.

The Sabbath laws in the New England colonies were particularly stringent. People were forbidden not just from working on the Sabbath, but also for going for a walk, socializing with their neighbors, and showing affection toward a spouse or child. The New Haven code of laws ordered “"Profanation of the Lord's Day shall be punished by fine, imprisonment, or corporeal punishment; and if proudly, and with a high hand against the authority of God--with death."

The Restoration period under Charles II would see the reintroduction of The Book of Common Prayer and the Church Calendar as well as many of the recreational activities banned during the English Civil War period. The relaxed atmosphere of the Restoration period earned Charles II the title of “the Merry Monarch.”

Th eighteenth century saw a decline in church attendance among the lower classes of English society—the working class and the poor. A number of factors contributed to this decline—the longstanding class divisions in English society, illiteracy, and the introduction of pews and pew rents in English churches. The people of good social position, the nobility, the gentry, and the middle class, occupied the pews while the working class and the poor stood in the aisles or sat on a stool that they had brought with them. John Wesley, a minister of the Church of England, a leading figure in the eighteenth century Evangelical Revival, and the founder of the Methodist movement, used open-air preaching to reach this segment of English society with the Gospel. Although he urged his followers to attend their parish church, he came to recognize that their parish church was not always welcoming them, much less meeting their spiritual needs, and organized Methodists societies for that purpose. These societies he further organized into small groups named classes and bands. After Wesley’s death many Methodist societies became licensed chapels. Rather than being organizations auxiliary to the parish church, they became churches in their own right.

Wesley regarded attending services of public worship as means of grace along with hearing the reading of Scripture and the preaching of sermons, praying, receiving communion, reading, studying and meditating upon Scripture, and fasting and abstinence and commended these practices to the early Methodists. He viewed these practices as ways ordained by God through which God works in us, invigorating, strengthening, and confirming our faith and enabling us to become more like our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

In light of what Paul wrote to the Colossians why does the Episcopal Church, her sister Anglican Churches, the several Methodist and Lutheran Churches, and other Protestant Churches retain the Church Calendar and observe festivals and holy days as well as Sundays? Archbishop Thomas Cramer, the architect of the English Reformation provides the best answer to this question in his essay, “Concerning Ceremonies, why some be abolished, and some retained.” Archbishop Cranmer writes, “…other there be, which although they have been devised by man, yet it is thought good to reserve them still, as well for a decent order in the Church, (for the which they were first devised) as because they pertain to edification, whereunto all things done in the Church (as the Apostle teacheth) ought to be referred.” The archbishop is alluding to 1 Corinthians 14:26 in which Paul instructs the church at Corinth that whatever is done should be done to help the church, to build up the church.

He further write, “…Christ's Gospel is not a Ceremonial Law, (as much of Moses' Law was,) but it is a Religion to serve God, not in bondage of the figure or shadow, but in the freedom of the Spirit; being content only with those Ceremonies which do Serve to a decent Order and godly Discipline, and such as be apt to stir up the dull mind of man to the remembrance of his duty to God, by some notable and special signification, whereby he might be edified.”

He goes onto articulate the principle of retaining the old “where the old may be well used.”

He concludes the essay with these words, “And in these our doings we condemn no other Nations, nor prescribe any thing but to our own people only: For we think it convenient that every Country should use such Ceremonies as they shall think best to the setting forth of God's honour and glory, and to the reducing of the people to a most perfect and godly living, without error or superstition; and that they should put away other things, which from time to time they perceive to be most abused, as in men's ordinances it often chanceth diversely in divers countries.”

These churches value the Church Calendar and the observance of its festivals and holy days as a way of commemorating and at times celebrating the events of salvation history and as a teaching tool for instructing their congregations about these events and their significance. They tie no particular merit to the observance of such festivals and holidays nor do they regard their neglect, while far from desirable, as cutting off an individual or church from God’s sanctifying grace or causing an individual or church eternal separation from God. Rather they are more likely to view it as an avoidable and unnecessary impoverishment of the worship life of the individual and the church.

We put right with God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by our own actions. While our sanctification, our transformation into the likeness of Christ, is God’s doing, it does require our cooperation with God. We benefit from attending a church if and when we are able to attend a church and if and when we have a church to attend. The journey of faith is not a solitary one. 

There will be times when we are not able to attend a church or have a church to attend. During such times it is important to seek the fellowship of other Christians. It is also important for Christians to look for Christians in their community who are homebound or otherwise unable to attend a church or who have no church of their own and reach out to them. This includes college students and others who are not permanently living in the community. Loving one another as Christ loves us goes beyond loving those who we see every Sunday. It means loving those outside our church’s walls and encouraging and supporting them too.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley Smith’s “Tell Out, My Soul.”

1 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of his word;
In God my Savior shall my heart rejoice

2 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
His mercy sure, from age to age to same;
His holy Name--the Lord, the Mighty One

3 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight
The hungry fed, the humble lifted high

4 Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
To children's children and for evermore!

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth;
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and
goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins
and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole
world,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat
of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in
the communion of [________ and] all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery
established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all
who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body
may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s “All Are Welcome.”

1 Let us build a house
where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ
shall end divisions.

All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

2 Let us build a house
where prophets speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek
to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus.

All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

3 Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground
where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ
the feast that frees us.

All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

4 Let us build a house
where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger.

All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

5 Let us build a house
where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured,
taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim
from floor to rafter.

All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

[Let us pray for all people.]

God of providence, God of love,
we pray for all people: make your way known to them, your saving power
among all nations.

[Especially we pray for…]

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

We pray for your Church throughout the world: guide and
govern by your Holy Spirit, that all who call themselves Christians
may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit,
in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.

[Especially we pray for…]

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

We commend to your fatherly goodness all who are afflicted or distressed
in mind, body, or circumstances. Relieve them according to their needs.
Give them patience in their sufferings, and deliverance in their afflictions.

[Especially we pray for…]

Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Alleluia. Alleluia.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely
more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from
generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus
for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21