“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

By The Rev. Dr. Larry Colvin

The Thursday before Easter commonly known as Maundy Thursday (sometimes Holy Thursday), is a bitter-sweet day in the life of the church. It is both a reminder of Jesus’ offering bread and wine during his last meal with his disciples. It is also the evening he prayed alone in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested because one of his disciples had betrayed him to the authorities. Before morning, another disciple, Peter, would three times deny knowing him.

There are several conjectures as to the derivation of the term maundy but the most commonly accepted is it comes from the Latin mandatum novum meaning “new commandment.”

The Gospel of John tells us that when Jesus was with his disciples he washed their feet and following this he said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)

To wash the feet of a guest in your home was a sign of hospitality but it was also a humbling task. Humbling enough, slaves were not required to do it.

Here, Jesus takes the lowest role possible in stooping to wash feet. His commandment is to love one another so much to do to others as he has done for them. Because of this, many churches include the washing of feet as a part of their celebration of Maundy Thursday.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, record that Jesus gathered with his disciples to celebrate the Passover meal. Here he instituted the Lord’s Supper when he took bread and said, “This is my body,” and he took wine and said, “This is my blood.”

Here a covenant in the forgiveness of sins is shared in the pouring out of his blood. Luke records Jesus saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19b) Because of this, congregations will gather for the sharing in communion and the remembrance of Jesus on this night.

There are two other traditions churches may choose to celebrate on this day. First is a Seder or Passover meal. It is common to conclude this meal with the sharing of communion noting the Lord’s Supper comes out of this tradition.

Some churches, following communion, may hold a service of tenebrae or shadows. As scripture is read, candles are extinguished until there is total darkness. Others may share in this observance on Good Friday the following night.

The Rev. Larry Colvin is the pastor of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Dexter.

Holy Week Services Planned In Bernie

The 48th annual Holy Week Services will be held at the Bernie United Methodist Church from April 18 – April 22.

These 25-minute services, which begin at 7:30 a.m. each day, are presented by children and youth from various community churches.

Special music will be offered each morning, and refreshments will be served following the services. Rev. Susan Marner-Sides, pastor, and the congregation invite everyone to attend.

Local Church Plans Maundy Thursday Service

A Maundy Thursday Service will be held at the Bernie United Methodist Church on Thursday, April 21, at 7 p.m.

Also called Holy Thursday, this is the night Christians commemorate the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion. In remembrance of that meal, Holy Communion will be served to all who wish to receive, regardless of church membership.

Rev. Susan Marner-Sides, pastor, and the Bernie UMC congregation invite everyone to attend this special service.

The ShowMe Times gladly accepts submissions for FAITH, the SMT's section for church and religion news. Churches are invited to submit news of their church, church groups and upcoming events to: amiller@showmetimes.com or call the ShowMe Times at 573.624.7469.

By Joey Butler,
Special To The ShowMe Times

Since 1955, April 15 has signified Tax Day in the United States — a pretty tragic date in our minds. But prior to that, April 15 always marked an even larger tragedy: the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

This year marks the 99th anniversary of the famous shipwreck that claimed almost 1,500 lives, and as the centennial draws nearer, interest in the event is ramping up.

A recently released book by music journalist Steve Turner detailing the lives of the bandmembers cites the Methodist heritage of bandleader and violinist Wallace Hartley and cellist John Wesley Woodward, and speculates how their faith influenced their decision to play till the last.

“[Hartley’s] moral character and his personal assurance that death was not the end must have stirred his bandsmen,” In “The Band That Played On,” Turner wrote: “[Hartley’s] moral character and his personal assurance that death was not the end must have stirred his bandsmen. Together as a band under Hartley’s leadership, they transcended their personal limitations.”

Wallace Hartley was raised in Colne, England. His father, Albion Hartley, was choirmaster and Sunday school superintendent at Bethel Independent Methodist Chapel. Perhaps a foreshadowing of things to come, it was choirmaster Hartley who introduced the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee” to the congregation.

Colne had deep ties to Methodism, although its introduction to the movement wasn’t the best first impression. Several timesJohn Wesley visited the mill town, which had a tough reputation, and was always met with opposition and, in some cases, violence. During one visit, he was met by an angry mob, and one of his helpers was thrown to his death off a bridge.

However, Methodism was eventually embraced in Colne, and almost 10 Methodist chapels sprang up there.

Born in 1878, young Wallace studied at Colne’s Methodist day school, sang in Bethel’s choir and learned violin from a congregation member.

Less is known about the band member with the most “Methodist” name — John Wesley Woodward — but the cellist was raised in the Methodist tradition, and his father was an officer at Hill Top Methodist Chapel in West Bromwich, England.

That fateful night

The Titanic sailed from Southampton, England, but its band was hired in Liverpool, making them, behind The Beatles, maybe the second-most famous band to emerge from that port city.

Hartley was among three of eight Titanic musicians who were engaged to marry in the summer of 1912. Sadly, like many of his band mates, Hartley’s intent was to make this his last sea voyage and return home to concert work instead.

Owing to the contract they’d signed with their Liverpool management, the musicians were considered second-class passengers, rather than part of the crew. Therefore, they were not under the order of the captain.

When the ship struck the iceberg around 11:40 p.m. on April 14, the band would have already finished playing for the night. Yet, something led them to gather up their instruments and head to the first-class lounge. One survivor later claimed that, as she passed the men, one of them told her they were “just going to give them a tune to cheer things up a bit.”

“No one knows for sure why the band played,” Turner said. “We do know that Wallace Hartley once told a friend about the power of music to prevent panic. My feeling is that he was a person of great moral authority as well as a born leader, and therefore his wish at that time was passed on to all the men.”

Hartley’s was one of only three musicians’ bodies to be recovered and identified, and the only one returned to his home. He was given a hero’s welcome as his funeral procession drew a crowd of 40,000 — almost twice Colne’s population at the time — and several memorials were crafted in his and the band’s honor.

Urban legend?

The two most popular beliefs surrounding the Titanic band are that they played until the ship went down, and their last song was “Nearer, My God, to Thee.”

Because no definitive eyewitness accounts exist to prove either, even those who have studied Titanic history disagree. And survivors had, in some cases, completely contradictory details about whether the band was playing, where they were playing and what song they were playing.

Once the band was playing on the deck (they began their last performance in the first-class lounge), it’s not known how the two pianists would’ve participated, as there weren’t pianos on deck. And once the boat began to list, it would’ve been difficult for the cellists to continue to play seated.

But Phillip Gowan, a Titanic historian, thinks the band did, indeed, play on.

“From all the accounts I’ve either read, or people who were there that I’ve interviewed, I do think the band played till the end,” Gowan said. “Most of the survivors that were in an area where they could’ve heard did claim that they heard the band playing.” Turner said, “I think they played for as long as they could. There were some reports of them playing while the water began to engulf them and others of them eventually packing their instruments into cases.”

As for the last song the group performed, no one can agree, all survivors are now deceased and no living person will ever know for certain. Since their goal was to keep spirits up and keep passengers calm, a hymn typically reserved for funerals may not have been the best choice. But once their outcome was certain, who knows?

“It’s more likely that they played a French waltz called ‘Songe d’Automne.’ The most reliable accounts I’ve heard mention that song,” Gowan said.

“Wallace Hartley once told a friend that if he was on a ship going down, the best thing he could do would be to play a hymn like 'Nearer, My God, to Thee,’” Turner said.

“One of the most convincing accounts I read, by one of the sailors, was that at the end, there was a lone violinist playing ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee.’ I suspect that was Wallace Hartley.”

Photos Above: #1: The musicians of the Titanic. (A UMNS web-only photo collage by Kathleen Barry)
#2: A crowd of 40,000 lined the streets of Colne, England, to witness the May 18, 1912, funeral procession of Titanic band leader Wallace Hartley.
*Butler is editor of young adult content, United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.

"Flowers appear on the earth;the season of singing has come,the cooing of doves is heard in our land."
Song of Solomon 2:12 (NIV)

New Parent Class Launches at FBC

First Baptist Church in Dexter is starting a new Sunday School class for parents of teenagers.

The Parents of Teenagers class is for any parent of a teenager The class will be studying the same curriculum that the teens are studying on Sunday and Wednesday nights

On the first Sunday of every month the class will devote a little more time to communicating about upcoming events. Parents of teens are invited to “drop in” if they wish.

The class will launch on Sunday, May 1 and will meet in the Conference room across from the offices. Hope to see you there!

The First Baptist Church of Dexter is located at 11 West Castor Street in Dexter.

First United Methodist Prepares For Palm Sunday

The First United Methodist Church in Dexter will begin Holy Week on Sunday, April 10 with Palm Sunday and a Children’s Processional with Palms. All children and invited to participate in this exciting tradition reenacting Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

The church will continue the Palm Sunday celebration following the 10:30 worship celebration with a potluck dinner. The church will provide meat, rolls and bread, and families are asked to bring vegetables, casseroles, salads and /or desserts.

The First United Methodist Church is located at 501 South Walnut Street in Dexter.

The ShowMe Times gladly accepts submissions for the Church News each week. Churches are invited to submit news of their church, church groups and upcoming events to:
amiller@showmetimes.com or call the ShowMe Times at 573.624.7469