Month: August 2021

This week, instead of my usual Weekly Update email, I’m using the blog to convey news of the latest progress in upgrading and updating the material on this web site. By the end of today, 8/20, I expect to complete the revisions to both episodes of Christmas: the Nativity of Our Lord. The series is the last of the Seasonal Videos to be upgraded in 2021. The upgrades include some replacement images and complete cross-reference to Other AIC Resources.

The remaining series that are in the process of getting upgrades are both series in The Lives of the Saints. The First Series is focused on the 1928 B.C.P. Saints, that is those eighteen names which remained on the canonical list in the first Anglican prayer book, the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Archbishop Cranmer was under pressure concerning the whole concept of sainthood. He and his advisers decided to prune the list of saints, which had grown to enormous size over the generations, leaving only those persons actually named in Scripture. Over the generations since many names have been added to the list of canonical saints but the prayer book list had not changed. The generally-accepted (by Anglicans) list of “other saints” was printed in Lesser Feasts and Fasts. I use the 1963 edition. All the necessary changes have been made, leaving only the making of new videos. The Second Series honors 35 saints, including the three Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, who are celebrated on 28 Holy Days during the year. These come from both the Western and Eastern Church traditions. This series includes several Anglican saints, William Laud (Jan. 10), Lancelot Andrewes (Sep. 25/26), the three English Martyrs: Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer (Oct. 16) and Margaret of Scotland (Nov. 16). If all goes well with the editing the 47 episodes in the two series could be completed and online by the middle of September.

The completion of the three video series will leave only the Podcast Homilies for the Sundays in the 1928 B.C.P. to be revised.

One final note: an error was discovered in Lessons & Carols for Christmas Eve in which the music for Good Christian Men Rejoice has two more lines than the text in the slides. A new recording has been produced and will be introduced into the video later this month,

As always, thank you for your interest and support. May God bless you in all that you do in His name. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

As part of the AIC’s celebration of the start of our 2nd decade on the Web, we have produced two more volumes in the illustrated New Testament series. The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated and The Acts of the Apostles: Annotated & Illustrated. These two new books should be available in September or October, depending upon the final proofreading cycle. The Matthew volume has 262 pages, with 117 illustrations, including two rarely-seen illuminations of the visit of the three kings to the Holy Family produced at Reichenau, Germany in the early 11th C. and 14 images of Matthew from the 8th to the 15th C. The Acts volume, which will be first illustrated version of The Acts of the Apostles, will have 224 pages, including with 77 illustrations from the 9th to the 21st C. These include mosaics, icon, engravings, watercolors, painting. stained glass windows, a 16th C. silver and gilt plaque of the Healing of the Lame Man at the Beautiful Gate, and several maps showing the route of Paul’s Missionary Journey and his voyage to Rome. Both books will be available in paperback and in a facsimile edition on Kindle.

Early this morning I completed work on the 2021 Edition of Lessons & Carols for Christmas Eve. This year I have replaced all ten carols with music arranged and produced in England by Richard M. S. Irwin. These new edition is offered as way around the COVID restrictions on religious services. Through the link to our Vimeo site on the Digital Library page on this site, anyone, anywhere, can experience great music and the uplifting readings from the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John. Richard has chosen a mix of arrangement on organ, piano, theorbo, ensemble, chamber orchestra and brass. The images have been upgraded, too. The video is uploading to our Vimeo site as I write.

On a personal note, Corkie and I are celebrating our 49th anniversary with several events, including a hardshell crab dinner in our dining tent last night and a crab cake meal tonight. With beer last night and well-chilled Henri de Villamont Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc de blancs tonight.

Next week, I will start work on the next phase of the 2nd Decade celebration with the first upgrade in the Lives of the Saints, First Series. Later in the year, the second series will also be upgraded.

Thank you all for your interest and support. May God bless you in all that you do in His name! Amen!

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!