All Saints Gazette: Keeping the Cops Out
This week at All Saints:
Easter Sunday Eucharist and festive meal, 17:30, Vrijburg
Monday to Friday, 9:00 and 18:00: Morning and Evening Prayer, on Zoom (for links, see calendar).
You can’t always do your part to create a welcoming society, protect the vulnerable, and help your government be the best version of itself merely by worshiping God the way you would have liked to do anyway. This made Palm Sunday especially powerful, showing something of what the church is at its essence. 14 people participated in our service (about half of them for the first time) in the Protestant church in Kampen. As you may have read last week, a family at risk of deportation is sheltering in the church, and Dutch law does not allow the police to enter when there is a service in progress. So there has been one continuous service in progress since November, consisting of two-hour slots led by many different groups from all over the country. We used our slot to celebrate the Palm Sunday liturgy with Eucharist and an Agape meal.
In true All Saints fashion, we had to get a bit creative for a few pieces. Many palms looked suspiciously like dandelions, for example (thanks to Hahye for that stroke of genius). Thanks also to Bart for the use of his car, and to everyone else who came! We will look into doing this again, perhaps regularly, for as long as it is needed.
Behold
There is something extremely powerful about the collect of the day for Good Friday, which is used in the liturgy we are not able to celebrate this year, but also in morning and evening prayer:
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
It doesn’t ask for anything, except that God “behold.” Every other day, we ask God to bless, protect, heal, sanctify, keep, or any number of other verbs. All are based on God’s promises in the holy scriptures. But today, just “behold.” I suspect further commentary would ruin it, so I merely bring it to your attention.
Please find some time today to enter into the remembrance of the Jesus’ Passion, however you interpret it. You can use the daily prayer, look through the Good Friday liturgy and say a prayer or two, or even visit another church. And then come on Sunday and join us as death is swallowed up in victory. If you can, bring some food to share afterward (friendliness to common dietary restrictions is appreciated when possible).
Keep a good thing going!
The bishop’s committee is having extra meetings to get statues and things done so we can get ANBI. In the meantime, please invest what you can in the community you want, and try putting in just a little more than you first feel comfortable with (without causing yourself hardship, of course). There is enough if we share! Please hold our upcoming pledge drive in your prayers, in addition to supporting us as you are presently able.
Use the QR code or this link, or make a transfer through your banking app (the latter saves us a few cents). Please consider making your offering recurring, and pray about what you are called to pledge when we have our winter pledge drive.
Bank details
All Saints Amsterdam
IBAN NL32 TRIO 0320 8657 62
BIC TRIONL2U
The final prayer of Good Friday
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
-Book of Common Prayer, p. 282
That’s all for Today! Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Instagram: @allsaintsamsterdam.church
