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Posted by sonata3 (# 13653) on :
 
My wife and I were visiting New York this past weekend, and visited a fairly small Lutheran (ELCA) church. We were pleasantly surprised to find a High Mass celebrating the feast of Michael and All Angels. Since this is the first time in several years that this feast has fallen on a Sunday, I found myself wondering how many other Episcopal/Anglican or Lutheran churches celebrated this feast. And if so, with more ceremonial than usual? What music was used?
We sang Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, Let All Mortal Flesh, and Christ the fair glory of the holy angels, and the choir sang a beautiful motet, Richard Dering's Factum est silentium.
I gather that Catholics are foregoing this feast this year, either on a Sunday or weekday.
 
Posted by Oblatus (# 6278) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by sonata3:
My wife and I were visiting New York this past weekend, and visited a fairly small Lutheran (ELCA) church. We were pleasantly surprised to find a High Mass celebrating the feast of Michael and All Angels. Since this is the first time in several years that this feast has fallen on a Sunday, I found myself wondering how many other Episcopal/Anglican or Lutheran churches celebrated this feast. And if so, with more ceremonial than usual? What music was used?
I couldn't be there, alas, but Ascension, Chicago, has St. Michael the Archangel as its patron (the church building was "dedicated under his patronage"), so there was a solemn procession and solemn high Mass. The choir was back from its summer hiatus and sang a Lassus Mass, Richard Dering's motet Factum est silentium, and Leo Sowerby's setting of the canticle Benedictus es, Domine. Gold vestments were worn.

Episcopal parishes not having St. Michael as a patron can (and technically probably should) transfer St. Michael to today, displacing St. Jerome.
 
Posted by Jade Constable (# 17175) on :
 
It's the patronal festival of one of the churches in my church's group, so we have a joint service there (so four churches altogether) with a meal afterwards. Due to fresher's flu I wasn't there, but I'd be surprised if Ye Watchers & Ye Holy Ones wasn't sung. I remember last year's service vividly because the big Doctor Who finale had been on the night before, and angels weren't exactly a positive subject for me because of that!

Edited to add that it would have been gold vestments and a solemn High Mass.

[ 30. September 2013, 21:12: Message edited by: Jade Constable ]
 
Posted by Fr Weber (# 13472) on :
 
Since we use the BCP 1928 (US), the Tables of Precedence declared that yesterday St Michael would displace Trinity XVIII.

We had "Ye holy angels bright," "Let all mortal flesh keep silence," and "Ye watchers and ye holy ones" (with the second verse retained to trick the Protestants into venerating Our Lady). Choir sang a Bortniansky Cherubic Hymn at Communion (in Slavonic), which was nice. White vestments, etc.
 
Posted by Gwalchmai (# 17802) on :
 
I mentioned on the Idiosyncratic Hymn Tunes thread yesterday that we sang "It came upon a midnight clear" for St Michael and All Angels - not as wacky as it might seem because it says rather more about Angels than about Christmas. We also sang a lovely hymn (to the tune Woodlands)that had been specially written for the patronal festival of Coventry cathedral (which is dedicated to St Michael & All Angels)- as far as I know it is not in any of the hymnbooks.
 
Posted by Olaf (# 11804) on :
 
According to the ELCA's book of worship (which is merely a suggestion), Lesser Festivals trump green Sundays. No ELCA churches would pay any attention to that, except those preprinted bulletins that many churches order do tend to follow the rules.

We actually have a choice when ordering the bulletins:
1. Time after Pentecost with all festivals
2. Time after Pentecost with only Reformation and All Saints
3. Time after Pentecost with no festivals

(If I recall correctly, those are the choices.) In my experience, quite a large number of churches use option one, simply for the possibility of a stray festival pulling us out of our green-ness for a week here and there.

The use of Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels indicates to me that the pastor has had contact with Episcopalians. It's a good hymn, but not in our hymnals.

[ 30. September 2013, 23:56: Message edited by: Olaf ]
 
Posted by Olaf (# 11804) on :
 
I'm a bit sad that I didn't make it to an Episcopal church yesterday, as I do so love the hymn Ye holy angels bright, DARWALL'S 148th.
 
Posted by Quam Dilecta (# 12541) on :
 
Although most people consider my parish to be quite conservative in liturgical matters, in reality this impression is based more on the ceremonial than on the rite itself. We follow the 1975 calendar and lectionary, but we do glance at the Table of Precedence in the 1928 Prayer Book from time to time. Thus Michaelmas, a major feast, displaced an ordinary Sunday after Pentecost.
 
Posted by Emendator Liturgia (# 17245) on :
 
In our neck of the Anglican woods we had a Sung Eucharist for the Feast of Michael and All Angels. The hymns were:

Entrance: 'Holy, Holy, Holy'
Gradual: 'You watchers and you holy ones'
Offertory: 'You holy angels bright'
Recessional: 'Praise the Lord, you heavens adore him'

The Preludes, Sermon meditation, and postludes were all drawn from Bach's cantatas written for the Michaelmas celebrations (BWV 130, 50 and 19), while the Communion music was 'Christ the fair glory of the holy angels'.

White and gold vestments, gold altar frontal.

The celebration was a double-festival as it was also the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the diaconate - so a special solemn blessing and, being Anglican, a special time to follow with plenty of good coffee and cakes and other sweeties.

[ 01. October 2013, 01:01: Message edited by: Emendator Liturgia ]
 
Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
We did our usual Choral Eucharist, with the propers for Michaelmas.

Congratulations on your anniversary, Emli.
 
Posted by sonata3 (# 13653) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Olaf:

The use of Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels indicates to me that the pastor has had contact with Episcopalians. It's a good hymn, but not in our hymnals.
The pastor at this parish was at a Lutheran parish in London for some years, and so probably has a bit of Anglicanism in his DNA.
 
Posted by Liturgylover (# 15711) on :
 
All the Anglican churches near me celebrated this great feast. The church I visited in London had a beautful mass setting Palestrina's Missa Nasce la Gioja mia and hymns included Christ the fair glory, Ye holy angels bright, Angel voices ever singing, It came upon the midnight clear. Gold vestnents and the Dering anthem.

One of the highlights for me, as well as the wonderful music was seeing almost 40 happy looking children being led to Sunday school and returning at Communion looking even happier.
 
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :
 
We had an ordinary Sunday service, but with readings, sermon etc for Michaelmas.
 
Posted by Amos (# 44) on :
 
We had St Michael & All Angels at all 3 churches, and sang both 'Christ the Fair Glory of the Holy Angels,' and 'As Jacob With Travel was Wearied One Day.'
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
St Michael & All Angels

White & Gold vestments

Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels
Around the throne of God a band
Stars of the morning, so gloriously bright
Communion: Faire is the heaven by Harris
Ye holy angels bright
Litanies by Alain

All most enjoyable - and decent coffee afterwards with cake [Smile]
 
Posted by Arch Anglo Catholic (# 15181) on :
 
We certainly celebrated the joyous feast!

I was ordained to the Priesthood on the day before, being the Feast of St Wenceslas of Bohemia, and I presided at the Eucharist for the first time, in white and gold vestments and with the following hymns:

Angel voices ever singing
Christ is made the sure foundation
Good King Wenceslas
And now, O Father, mindful of the love
Let all mortal flesh keep silence
O praise ye the Lord!

Full propers, rites and ceremonial, sung Gospel and Eucharistic Prayer and few noticeable mistakes!
 
Posted by Boadicea Trott (# 9621) on :
 
Warmest congratulations, Arch AngloCatholic!
I pray that God grant you many blessed years in His service [Angel]
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Bright the vision
I the Lord of sea and sky
Ye holy angels bright

No special setting or anthem as the choir don't start up again until this coming Sunday, after Fresher's Week.
 
Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :
 
Harvest Festival at ours, but Father mentioned StM&AA in his homily, and, of course, angels are included in that good old UK Harvest favourite Come, ye thankful people, come.

Ian J.
 
Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :
 
The Extraordinary Form in the Roman Catholic Church celebrated the feast on Sunday, as it is a first-class feast in the 1962 kalendar, with a commemoration of the Sunday. We had a Solemn High Mass.
 
Posted by Lietuvos Sv. Kazimieras (# 11274) on :
 
We observed both St Michael and All Angels, and our harvest festival. Unfortunately (to my mind), whilst Michael and the Angels were commemorated in the collects and sermon, there were a bunch of dreadful harvesty songs - er, "hymns" - like "Come Ye Faithful People, Come" (one of my all time most despised hymns, ugh!), so the angels got short shrift in the hymnody for the day. Even odder, the English Missal prescribes no proper preface for the Sanctus for St Michael on a Sunday, so we just had the generic, short preface.
 
Posted by Mama Thomas (# 10170) on :
 
I followed the Episcopal calendar in both my churches, but mentioned it should be St. Michael and his pals, and used a few angel prayers and hymns. It really is time we stop fighting the excesses of another era and start once again celebrating the saints when they fall on a Sunday. Once every seven years won't spoil anything sermon plan worth its salt.
 
Posted by Jante (# 9163) on :
 
In our team of 10 churches it was celebrated at all but the one having their Harvest festival. White/gold vestments and suitable hymns at all.
 
Posted by BulldogSacristan (# 11239) on :
 
But doesn't the prayer book let you pretty much out and out celebrate feasts if they fall on a "green" Sunday.
 
Posted by Oblatus (# 6278) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by BulldogSacristan:
But doesn't the prayer book let you pretty much out and out celebrate feasts if they fall on a "green" Sunday.
On a green Sunday, the 1979 BCP (USA) allows it:

"When desired...the Collect, Preface, and one or more of the Lessons appointed for the Feast may be substituted for those of the Sunday."

The Sundays when you can't do it are those from Last Pentecost through the Epiphany and Last Epiphany through Trinity Sunday.

But the basic rule is that Sundays trump holy days except for Principal Feasts and Holy Name, Presentation, and Transfiguration, the feast of Dedication, patronal and titular feasts.
 
Posted by Ashworth (# 12645) on :
 
We celebrated St Michael and All Angels at our Sung Parish Mass. It would be a shame to miss the opportunity when it actually falls on a Sunday!

Hymns: Ye holy angles bright
Come let us join our cheerful songs
Bright the vision
You are the King of glory
Hark, hark my soul, angelic voices singing.

We seemed to have moved over to the Roman Rite these past 2 years since the new one came into being. A number of the congregation, including myself, don't really approve and have been quietly pushing for a return to Common Worship. We have been listened to and we have now returned to having Common Worship collects, propers etc on a Sunday and Common Worship Eucharistic Prayer B. I only wish we could now go back to an Anglican rite for the rest of the mass including Gloria and Creed etc. We are still straight Roman Rite for midweek masses.

I really thought how good some of the Common Worship material was for St. Michael and All Angels. In my opinion so much more poetic than some of the new Roman material which does not always flow very well and is often very poor English. I never thought I would be saying such good things about Common Worship!

[ 03. October 2013, 17:57: Message edited by: Ashworth ]
 
Posted by LQ (# 11596) on :
 
I wasn't surprised that Michaelmass trumped the green Sunday among Anglican churches (whether following BCP or BAS). What did surprise me was the Toronto Oratory keeping it at the Solemn Mass on Sunday. I hadn't realized that it ranked that high in the Roman kalendar (to put it in perspective, RCs at least in Canada completely ignored the Nativity of Our Lady this year). It seems to be one of those things Anglicans make a bigger deal of (which I assume has something to do with the mediæval English cultus).

[ 04. October 2013, 00:22: Message edited by: LQ ]
 
Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :
 
A lot of old educational establishments name their first term of the school year Michaelmas, which would tend to support the idea that it's a bigger deal in England than further afield.

Was the Toronto Oratory's Mass OF? If so, it the feast must have some local significance as it doesn't normally trump a Sunday.
 
Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :
 
My pastor said he originally was going to focus on the Michael and all Angels, but the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man kept tugging at him. By mid week he decided to go with Lazarus and the Rich man.
 
Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :
 
St Michael and All Angels is a Red Letter Day in the 1662 BCP on the same rank as the Annuciation, Christmas and St Barnabas.

(I know it's silly having Barnabas and Bartholomew on the same rank as Ascension Day and the Epiphany, but that's what the BCP does.)

The C of E allows all the 1662 Red Letter Days to take precedence over the Sunday in the green seasons "at the mininster's discretion".
 
Posted by LQ (# 11596) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Hart:
Was the Toronto Oratory's Mass OF? If so, it the feast must have some local significance as it doesn't normally trump a Sunday.
No (hence "Solemn") but I didn't know it did so in either form.
 
Posted by Gwalchmai (# 17802) on :
 
Perhaps the reason St Michael and All Angels is celebrated more in England than elsewhere is because Michaelmas is one of the four quarter days on which commercial and agricultural rents are payable. (The other quarter days are Christmas Day, Lady Day aka the Feast of the Annunciation, and midsummmer day, 24 June).

In the days before the Dioceses sequestrated all the glebe income, the incumbent could expect a cheque from the local farmer at Michaelmas.

As a lawyer, I have never understood why the property industry is still wedded to the cycle of religious festivals for collecting rents. From the business and cashflow point of view monthly rent payments make much more sense.
 
Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LQ:
quote:
Originally posted by Hart:
Was the Toronto Oratory's Mass OF? If so, it the feast must have some local significance as it doesn't normally trump a Sunday.
No (hence "Solemn") but I didn't know it did so in either form.
In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite(1962 calendar), St. Michael is a first-class feast. This corresponds to a solemnity in the Ordinary Form. Michaelmas is the only first-class feast in the EF that was downgraded to a feast in the OF. All others kept the title.

In the OF, solemnities that fall on Sundays outside of Advent, Lent or Easter trump the Sunday, whereas feasts do not, and are passed over entirely. In the EF this holds true for Sundays of Advent, except for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which falls on a Sunday this year. It also holds true for the Sundays of Lent and the Easter Octave, but not the entire Easter season.
 
Posted by Oblatus (# 6278) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gwalchmai:
Perhaps the reason St Michael and All Angels is celebrated more in England than elsewhere is because Michaelmas is one of the four quarter days on which commercial and agricultural rents are payable. (The other quarter days are Christmas Day, Lady Day aka the Feast of the Annunciation, and midsummmer day, 24 June).
Is it also a commonly used designation for a school term (Michaelmas Term, Hilary Term, Trinity Term, in one place I think I remember)?
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
The University of Oxford (and formerly Dublin) divides the year into Michaelmas October-December Hilary January-April, and Trinity April-July, terms.

The Legal year is divided into 4 terms: Michaelmas, Hilary, Easter (April-May) and then Trinity (June-July).
 
Posted by american piskie (# 593) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
The University of Oxford (and formerly Dublin) divides the year into Michaelmas October-December Hilary January-April, and Trinity April-July, terms.

The Legal year is divided into 4 terms: Michaelmas, Hilary, Easter (April-May) and then Trinity (June-July).
In 1867 the U of O still preserved 4 terms like the lawyers, although they didn't coincide. Easter term that year ran from 24 April to 7 June, and then Trinity term began at once on the 8th June and ran until 6th July. I don't know when these two terms were formally amalgamated.

The next Michaelmas Term began on 9th October, Old Michaelmas Day being the 10th.

You can get to the Calendar from here: some excellent adverts for sermons and hymnbooks in the frontmatter.

Link for 1867 Calendar
 


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