I am writing this on Wednesday morning. Later today I will celebrate Vespers as I do each week.
Vespers is a mid-week service we’ve done here at First Church for some time. The word Vespers comes from the Monastic tradition. Monasteries worship several times a day between the chores. Vespers is worship at the end of the work day and before the evening meal.The community gathers. They sit and pray, read some scripture, and commune together as the day comes to a close.
Here we gather in the sanctuary at 5:15 each Wednesday and the organist (usually Bob and lately Charles) plays some music as we meditate on the day. We sing, read and share communion. It is really a very simple service and very beautiful… I love doing it.
I love watching the hillside out the window at the end of the chancel as the light fades and the day dies. The cycle of sun rising and day being born, and then this time of Vespers when the day passes, is the spiritual cycle of death and rebirth and we are reminded of it each day.
In the winter, the darkness gathers before we finish the organ meditation music and the lights of the sanctuary are reflected in the glass in a long line. Darkness and light are powerful images in worship, scripture, and life. As spring comes, the light lingers and I can watch hawks circling above the canyon, and reflect on how the earth moves and changes. Light comes and goes and here we are once more.Gathering to watch the day close, focusing on Gods life in and around us.
Usually I am here very early on Wednesdays, so the last thing I do that day is Vespers. Really, I do not “do” Vespers, I experience Vespers. The music sets the mood and I let whatever else has happened that day go as the light fades. I focus on the creation and God’s miracle of life. I share with those gathered the assurance of God’s presence and then we find our places at the table and we drink the wine and share the bread. Our souls are refreshed and in that 45 to 50 minutes I am not aware of what I did not get done that day or what I have to do when I leave.
It is just being present to presence. My soul is replenished.
We have room at the table.Your place is always available and especially during the Lenten season I invite you to come. Make the pilgrimage to Vespers. Let the day close for you in God’s presence.God will find your place with us at the table and make you new.--Reverend Greg LaDue
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