Today, June 26, our church celebrated its Feast of Title, the day on which we commemorated the name of our church, “Holy Sacrament.” It is like celebrating a Patron Feast or Patronal Festival of a church that bears the name of a saint, such as, St. Peter or St. Mary. Since our church is not named after a saint, the commemoration day is called “Feast of Title.” Since the real name “Holy Sacrament” is not recorded on the liturgical calendar, the feast that best exemplifies that name is “the Feast of Corpus Christi” or “the Feast of the Body of Christ.” The Feast of Corpus Christi, which honors  the Eucharist, is a movable feast in that it does not occur on the same date every year. It is always celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday (June 23 this year) or in some places on the Sunday following (June 26 this year). The reason for the celebration being on a Thursday is because of its association with the Institution of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday.

Rose Williams & Karen Eddy

We had two inspiring celebrations at the 8:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Eucharistic Services. At each service, Rose Williams and Karen Eddy who led the Jamaica and Dominican Republic mission trips respectively, presented to the congregation on behalf of the missionaries, a synopsis of what happened on the mission trips. They spoke of the components of each mission, namely the medical, Vacation Bible School and painting, the latter was done only in the Dominican Republic. A couple of the missionaries spoke of their own experiences during the mission trips. A slide presentation culminated the foreign mission segment. It was a time for the missionaries to come together again and to thank the congregation for all that they have done in making the mission trips success.ful I was also a time for me to introduce Bibi and Carol who were my traveling buddies on the flight to the Dominican Republic. Bibi, Carol and I had a wonderful time together throughout the mission. I also wore a white and blue chasuble that was given to me by Fr. Vicente Peňa during my trip to the DR.

There was a second highlight of the day – that of the blessing on twelve banners that depicted the life of Jesus Christ. I had commissioned the Episcopal Church Women (E.C.W.) to make these banners so that they could be hung on the walls of the nave of our church. They invited Kathy Bunbury, a member of our church, to make them. She did a beautiful job. The twelve banners depict the Coming of Christ, the Incarnation/Nativity, he Visit of the Wise Men, the Baptism, the Temptation, the Triumphal Entry, the Institution of the Lord’s Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost, and the Trinity. I blessed the banners during the 10:15 a.m. Eucharist. The banners have given added color to the interior of the church.
Following both services,  the members of the congregation enjoyed a sumptuous potluck.