What Did You Get Last Sunday?

Bob Crowley · Apr 15, 2026

So suddenly we are plunged into a season where it's dark early in the evening, and evening worship has noticeably shifted mood as a result. Just in time for Eastertide!

Sounds like t's time for Thor and the Norse gods to make a comeback in the southern hemisphere.... (just kidding).

Here in SE Queensland, we don't have daylight saving, so the days have just continued getting shorter at the same old boring 1.5 minutes per day.

Shane R · Apr 15, 2026

Paidiske said:
Slightly more in the vein of what we got last Sunday, what's a much more noticeable shift here is that daylight savings ended on Easter day. So suddenly we are plunged into a season where it's dark early in the evening, and evening worship has noticeably shifted mood as a result. Just in time for Eastertide!

That's fascinating because US daylight savings time shifted on 8 March.

Paidiske · Apr 15, 2026

Daylight savings operates (in the south-eastern part of Australia) from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April.

Shane R · Apr 27, 2026

Yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday on the RCL. The prescribed first reading was Acts 2:42-47. I chose to spend most of my time with that. A theme of this is how Christians lived in light of the resurrection.

Paidiske · Apr 27, 2026

The dean has decreed that throughout Eastertide our preaching will be a series on the readings from 1 Peter. That's proven to be an interesting exercise, but yesterday I was only preaching at evensong, so I got to do something different anyway (so I preached on the psalm and the place of singing in worship).

RileyG · Apr 27, 2026

Shane R said:
Yesterday was Good Shepherd Sunday on the RCL. The prescribed first reading was Acts 2:42-47. I chose to spend most of my time with that. A theme of this is how Christians lived in light of the resurrection.

Ah, yes. That is when many priests share about their vocation story, in my RC tradition.

PloverWing · Apr 27, 2026

RileyG said:
Ah, yes. That is when many priests share about their vocation story, in my RC tradition.

What a nice tradition! I don't think I've ever heard one of my priests or pastors share how they chose to be a priest/pastor, or even how they came to Christian faith. I would like to hear some stories like that.

RileyG · Apr 27, 2026

PloverWing said:
What a nice tradition! I don't think I've ever heard one of my priests or pastors share how they chose to be a priest/pastor, or even how they came to Christian faith. I would like to hear some stories like that.

Yeah, the priest when I was in college, who was also a Benedictine monk, often told his story during Good Shepherd Sunday.

Paidiske · Apr 27, 2026

PloverWing said:
What a nice tradition! I don't think I've ever heard one of my priests or pastors share how they chose to be a priest/pastor, or even how they came to Christian faith. I would like to hear some stories like that.

I've had people ask me one on one, but I've also heard people say that they don't like to hear this from the pulpit; that it's making the sermon or service about the priest, making them the centre of the story, to share vocation stories. So I've tended to avoid doing that.

RileyG · Apr 27, 2026

Paidiske said:
I've had people ask me one on one, but I've also heard people say that they don't like to hear this from the pulpit; that it's making the sermon or service about the priest, making them the centre of the story, to share vocation stories. So I've tended to avoid doing that.

I think Good Shepherd Sunday is also used to foster vocations to the priesthood (and religious life) through prayer and sharing, or at least in my tradition and experience.

What you said makes 100% sense though!

Peace

Bob Crowley · Apr 28, 2026

We had a sister from the St. Paul de Chartres order speak at the end of mass. There's a retirement village with nursing complex not far from our place, and it just happens the sisters are all Vietnamese (whoops - apology - for years I've assumed they were Chinese but recently found out they are Vietnamese!) with one Australian novice (I think). They also provide the music at mass once a month.

The homily itself was about sheep and shepherds, mostly the sheep (us).

As an aside the image of sheep and shepherd in a middle eastern context is rather foreign to us, and Australia used to "ride on the sheeps back" in yesteryear when wool was our main export. But sheep runs here have thousands of sheep, not a handful.

I heard a joke years ago on this topic.

A hobby farmer had ten sheep and he needed to get them shorn. So he rang Hot Gun Shearing Company for a quote.

"No problem" said the voice at the other end. "Two thousand and it's fifteen dollars a head; five thousand at twelve dollars a head; ten thousand and it drops to ten dollars a head!"

"I've got ten" said the hobby farmer.

"Ten thousand?" said the voice, "No worries - what's your address?"

"No, no, no ... ten sheep!"

"Ten?" asked the shearer?

"Yes".

There was silence for a moment. Then the shearer asked in a deadpan voice "Can I have their names please?" :sorry:

Shane R · May 17, 2026

It was another Sunday when many parishes probably transferred a major festival, Ascension, to the Sunday. I went with 7th (Last) Sunday of Easter but I was with the Presbyterians this morning.

Paidiske · May 17, 2026

We didn't transfer it, but we have a regular Thursday service, so it was marked there. We've been doing an Eastertide sermon series through 1 Peter, anyway.

Deegie · May 18, 2026

We didn't transfer either, but since the readings for Easter 7 tell the ascension story anyway, it's rather moot. But to nitpick, isn't Pentecost really the last Sunday of the Easter season? It's a struggle for me because my Altar Guild took down the remaining Easter decorations (like the altar frontal and white scarf on the cross) after yesterday's services since they will clash with the red. So that distinction will likely be lost on everyone. The Paschal Candle will be out, but it would be for the baptisms anyway. Perhaps I'm spending too much time thinking about something rather unimportant.

Paidiske · May 18, 2026

The Easter season culminates with Pentecost, but I can find at least one Catholic source that says Eastertide ends as Pentecost begins, making Pentecost its own thing.

I would take down the Easter decorations for Pentecost, even if I saw it as part of Eastertide, though, just because I think keeping symbols simple generally has more impact.

Deegie · May 18, 2026

Paidiske said:
I would take down the Easter decorations for Pentecost, even if I saw it as part of Eastertide, though, just because I think keeping symbols simple generally has more impact.

I 100% agree with that sentiment! The only downside is minimizing the linkage between crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and Paraclete. Like these things all had to happen in this order for the plan of salvation to be accomplished.

Shane R · May 18, 2026

I've always thought of and treated Pentecost as its own season. The RCL begins counting the Sundays of Ordinary Time from Pentecost. The liturgical color shifts to red. The focus is the Spirit for a week.

I see Deegie's point more in the one year lectionary, where the summer and autumn Sundays are counted from Trinity rather than Pentecost. Even there, Pentecost gets red in modern times.

I'm not scheduled anywhere for Pentecost this year, which is a shame because it's one of my favorite Sundays to preach.

Paidiske · May 18, 2026

Deegie said:
I 100% agree with that sentiment! The only downside is minimizing the linkage between crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and Paraclete. Like these things all had to happen in this order for the plan of salvation to be accomplished.

Maybe there are other ways to bring that out? It's first thing in the morning, here, and the caffeine hasn't kicked in yet, but apart from the simple fact of the temporal experience of it, I mean.

RileyG · May 18, 2026

Shane R said:
It was another Sunday when many parishes probably transferred a major festival, Ascension, to the Sunday. I went with 7th (Last) Sunday of Easter but I was with the Presbyterians this morning.

In my diocese (and state) we are the very few that has it on Thursday instead of Sunday. RC in Nebraska here.

RileyG · May 18, 2026

Deegie said:
I 100% agree with that sentiment! The only downside is minimizing the linkage between crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and Paraclete. Like these things all had to happen in this order for the plan of salvation to be accomplished.

(posting in fellowship)

Makes complete sense to me!

What Did You Get Last Sunday?

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