This week

This week: Meskel (Ge'ez) in the Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, is an annual religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Helena (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Meskel occurs on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (September 27, Gregorian calendar, or September 28 in leap years). The festival is known as Feast of the exaltation of the holy cross in other Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant churches. (Thursday September 29^th) is the feast day of St. Michael and all the Angels. It is the most ancient of all the angel festivals. The Anglican church celebrates all angels, both named and unnamed on one day. On the Feast of Michael and all Angels, popularly called Michaelmas, we give thanks for the many ways in which God's loving care watches over us, both directly and indirectly, and we are reminded that the richness and variety of God's creation far exceeds our knowledge of it. Rosh Hashanah (1st day) is also one of many holidays that falls near the autumn equinox.