The music of French composer and organist Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) will be celebrated at the Church of the Redeemer, Sarasota, on Sunday, March 18 at 5:15 p.m., in a special concert featuring orchestra and choir under the direction of conductor Todd Craven, formerly principal trumpet of the Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Brass Quintet. This concert marks Craven’s conducting debut in Sarasota.

Duruflé’s most famous work, Requiem op. 9, in d minor, will be performed with Redeemer soloists and Redeemer Choirmaster Ann Stephenson-Moe on organ. The performance will include four motets: Notre Père, Ubi Caritas, Tota Pulchra and Tu Es Petrus.

Todd Craven made his conducting debut in January 2012 at the International Conducting Workshop in Macon, Georgia. He has workshopped with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra led by Markand Thakar and currently studies conducting with Dr. William Wiedrich, Director of Orchestras and Conducting Studies at the University of South Florida. Craven held the position of Principal Trumpet in the Sarasota Orchestra and the Florida Brass Quintet for 12 years.

A prizewinner in the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Competition, a finalist in the Young Concert Artist Competitions, as well as First Prize winner of the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition, Craven has performed with many orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the Cincinnati Symphony. In addition, he has participated in summer festivals such as the National Repertory Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra and the A.I.M.S. Festival Orchestra in Graz, Austria. Craven received the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan and the Master of Music degree from Indiana University.

The titular organist of St. Etienne-du-Mont in Paris from 1929 through the end of his life, Duruflé was regarded as a perfectionist, and his works, while few, are considered among the best in organ repertoire. He won the Prix Blumenthal in 1936 and was Professor of Harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1943 through 1970.

Complimentary parking will be available between 3:30 and 8 p.m., at the M&I Bank Parking Garage on McAnsh Square. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased online at www.redeemersarasota.org or in the parish office. Call 941.955.4263 for more information.

Sermon preached by The Rev. Richard Marsden
The first Sunday in Lent

The Pelican, Volume 16, Number 08 - March 2012 (620 KB)

I tend to get my news for the day on line. When it comes up, there is normally a headline that sums up the context of the story. If I want the details, I have to click on the headline to get the in depth account; to get the details.

In the gospel lesson we hear Mark’s compact account of Jesus’ initiation into ministry: His baptism, his encounter in the wilderness and his message. He is giving us the headlines because there is a lot here that Mark assumes between the lines.

So we are clicking on the headlines to get the details this morning.

Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, he comes up out of the Jordan River, and a supernatural sign is witnessed; the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him as a dove, and the voice of the father proclaims: Thou art my beloved son, with thee I am well pleased.” Continue reading ‘Sermon – Sunday 26 February, 2012/The Rev. Richard Marsden’ »

Have you heard the phrase mea culpa? Someone makes a mistake and says, “Mea Culpa.” They are two Latin words which mean “My fault.” And if you really want to show deep sorrow for a mistake, someone might say, “Mea maxima culpa,” meaning “My most grievous fault.”
Do you know where that phrase comes from? It is from the Latin mass, specifically from the preparatory rite, called the Confiteor, at the beginning of the mass. The prayer is a prayer of confession and was written in the 8th century. So if you make a mistake and own up to it by saying, “Mea Culpa,” you’re using a phrase borrowed from your own religious tradition, and that phrase is some 1400 years old!
It comes to mind today for me because we use the prayer from which that phrase comes before many of our masses. While you folks are sitting out here in the nave before mass saying your prayers, those of us who will be exercising leadership in the liturgy or administering communion are saying prayers in the sacristy. Those prayers consist of saying psalms 42 and 43, plus a Gloria Patri, a confession, and a few versicles and responses. It’s all in English, of course, but my favorite prayer is the one that has the phrase “My fault” in it, which originally, as I said, was mea culpa. Continue reading ‘Ash Wednesday Sermon – 22 February, 2012/The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson’ »

Last Sunday after The Epiphany

The Church of the Redeemer, an Episcopal church and parish in Sarasota, FL, will offer half-hour Mid-Day Lenten Organ Recitals each Wednesday throughout Lent, featuring guest organists and musicians from throughout the Sarasota and Manatee areas.

The recitals begin Wednesday, February 29 and continue weekly through April 4. Recitals begin shortly after noon at 12:10, end at 12:40 p.m., and are free and open to the public.

Lenten Organ Recitals Schedule:

29 February — Michael Stuart
7 March — Greg Chestnut
14 March — Linda Petersen
21 March — Cynthia Roberts-Greene
28 March — Matthew Woods
4 April — Nancy Siebecker

Well, here we go again! Ash Wednesday is this week and we begin the season of Lent, that great season of penance. We start with “You are dust and to dust you shall return” and things go downhill from there. Then we have to give up chocolate or wine or desserts or something else, we really, really like! We struggle through that for six whole weeks until finally, finally we get to Easter! Whew, we can say the Alleluias again, we can eat what we want again, we can be happy again at least until we come around again to the next Ash Wednesday.
Have you ever wondered to yourself, why am I doing this? What is the point? Yeah, I know this is what I am supposed to do as an Episcopalian and it probably makes me somehow a better person. But really, why do we put ourselves through this torture for six weeks? And what good does it really do? I mean honestly, did you become a lot better person after you went through your Lenten penance last year. So why do we bother? Continue reading ‘Sermon – Sunday 26 February, 2012/The Rev. Lance Wallace’ »

Sixth Sunday after The Epiphany

On Shrove Tuesday, February 21, Chris Wood, Youth Minister for the Church of the Redeemer, a traditional Episcopal Sarasota parish, will burn the palm branches and crosses collected from last year’s Palm Sunday worship in order to create the ashes to be used during this year’s Ash Wednesday worship.

Also on this day, clergy at the Church of the Redeemer will hear confessions from 5:30 to 630 p.m. Shrove Tuesday is a traditional time for confession; the name Shrove comes from the old English word “shriven” which means to be pardoned from one’s sins.

Persons in need of assistance from a priest in preparing for a first confession should call the Parish Office at 955.4263.

Ash Wednesday, February 22, is the first day of Lent, and Redeemer will celebrate The Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes at 7 and 10 a.m., 12:10 p.m., and 6 p.m.

Ashes are signs of mortality and penitence; the priests mark the foreheads of the congregation with the ashes in the form of a cross, the sign of redemption and in remembrance of baptism.

Ash Wednesday is a strict fast day; pregnant women and those with special dietary needs due to age or health are exempt from fasting.

Redeemer is located at 222 S. Palm Ave., in downtown Sarasota. For more information, call 941.955.4263./end