The King and His Kingdom

With this Sunday marking the first worship service in Clovercroft Hall, I think it would be fair to say that this will be a Palm Sunday like no other in the history of Parish Presbyterian Church! In addition to our traditional Palm Sunday elements (hymns like Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates, All Glory, Laud, And Honor, We Will Glorify, and Crown Him With Many Crowns, “benedictory hosannas” from Revelation 7, and the waving of palm branches as in Jesus’ triumphal entry), you may notice other elements that celebrate God’s provision for our new building. At the beginning of the service, the pastors will process in with a responsive reading from Isaiah 60, followed by the singing of All People That On Earth Do Dwell (Psalm 100), highlighting our commitment to the proclamation of the Scriptures. This is echoed in the opening hymn, How Firm A Foundation, which declares that our faith is built on the “excellent Word” our God has given to us, and thanks Him for His grace and provision amid deep waters and fiery trials. The musical responses in the center of the service are the “Clovercroft” service pieces—called by their Greek and Latin titles Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. While most of these pieces are familiar to our congregation, having been written in 2019 and recorded in 2021 when this new building on the hill was still an unrealized plan, they have never been used all together in a service. Now, we will sing them as a complete set, in the long hoped-for place which shares their name. —Henry C. Haffner