A New Season

Dearest Holy Comforter Family,

There is a wearying sense of ‘déjà vu’ all over again as we navigate our way through this latest surge of Covid-19. We have made adjustments to our service that keep us as safe as possible without imposing a lot of burdensome restrictions. I am convinced that gathering for worship is still what I believe is most essential to our life as a faith community so for now, especially in this cold spell, coffee hour is still suspended. Just as soon as the trends of infectivity start trending back down (and I’m watching those numbers like a hawk watches chickens), we will move quickly to return to congregational singing, etc.

Isolation continues to be the worst aspect of this pandemic for our community.  Sunday attendance is way down again, and I am very much aware of how many in our congregation are lonely and cut off from the rhythms of life we counted on to be a community. Yesterday, Terri and I sat with a church directory and went from one entry to the next asking ourselves: “what might be some pastoral needs or emerging concerns for this family or this person.” As we moved down the list, we realized we could define some ‘categories of need’: regular (though not necessarily frequent) phone calls, meals, visits, home communion, participation in the ‘gift bag program.’ We went ahead and made plans for this part of our pastoral care program all the way through June and will be looking for volunteers to help take the small tokens of our love to members of the church who are hardly ever, or not at all able, to make it to church services. We don’t want anyone to feel forgotten!

Our freezer still has plenty of frozen soups from that wonderful regional soup project that took place a couple of months ago. Terri and I also discussed having a gathering about once a quarter, probably after church, to prepare meals that freeze well, to have on hand. There are about 14 members of the congregation I will make sure I visit once a quarter and after the pandemic eases up again, we will look at resuming our Eucharistic Visitor program.

As we went through the directory, I was aware of two competing feelings: awe and gratitude for all the amazing people who make up our church, and a deep ache for the loss of time to be together with you, with us when we are gathered in worship and fellowship. We take it one day at a time—and one prayer at a time, as we ask that finally, this scourge will be vanquished and we will be free to gather without fear or constraint once again. Until then, may each of us be held gently in the loving hands of God.

With prayers for Epiphany blessings of light and joy, Rosa+

Weekday Online Worship

We have temporarily suspended our Zoom Rosary Prayer gatherings and our live-streamed Compline services. We will update the congregation about revisions we believe need to be made to the program to make them more sustainable over a longer period of time.

Please don’t forget that on Sunday, January 30th, we will have our annual parish meeting. This will be an opportunity to review the 2022 budget, discuss our approach to managing our resources, get an update about the Oikos project and the results of the vestry retreat. It will also give you a chance to ask questions or give your leadership team feedback. The meeting will take place in the church immediately following the service. See you there!

Mark Your Calendars

Garden Workdays

Please plan to join your Holy Comforter family for a garden workday on February 19th and again, on March 5th. We took some wonderful steps last fall to get our garden looking good and since then, Roy has planted a large number of bulbs that will bloom before too long. The simplest hospitality we can offer our neighborhood is the hospitality of outdoor spaces that invite folks to find a moment of respite, sanctuary, and peace in a small oasis called Holy Comforter.  Together, we make this space both beautiful and holy!

January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany, sometimes called “Three Kings Day,” and starts what we consider to be the Season of or after Epiphany, continuing until Ash Wednesday. The word Epiphany means an appearance or manifestation, especially of a divine being. It is derived from a Greek word that meant “to manifest.”  

The organ voluntary this Sunday is “Shalom (Peace)” by Dan Locklair. Locklair is an American composer of symphonic works, a ballet, an opera, and numerous chamber, solo instrumental, vocal, organ, and choral compositions. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1949, Dr. Locklair is Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Shalom is a familiar term, meaning “peace” in English translation often referring to absence of conflict. In Hebrew, it carries much stronger meanings. The root word of Shalom is “shalam.” The ancient Hebrew meaning of shalam was “to make something whole”. Not just regarding practical restoration of things that were lost or stolen, but with an overall sense of fullness and completeness in mind, body, and estate. That is our mission as Jesus blesses the ‘peacemakers” in Matthew—to be so full and complete that it spills over into others and they are made whole in turn.

“Shalom (Peace)” is the middle movement of the three-part Æolian Sonata which was commissioned by Duke University for a recital on June 2, 2002, that celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Chapel’s Aeolian pipe organ. Æolus, the Greek god of the winds, is the namesake of the legendary American organ builder, the Aeolian Organ Company that merged with the E. M. Skinner Organ Co after completing this chapel organ in 1932. Aeolian was also an ancient Greek mode which later became one of the original church modes (A-A on the white notes of the keyboard, now the natural minor scale). The Aeolian mode and the notes A and E are prominent melodic building blocks for the entirety of the sonata.

The second movement is marked as “Serene and unhurried” and is based on a Mixolydian mode scale: A flat to A flat.  The movement is quiet and moves simply, highlighting a dialogue section between flute and reed solo colors as it gently reflects the Hebrew title. The primary melodic material—the interval of the perfect fifth between A flat and E flat and the dissonance between A and A flat—is a transposition of ideas central to the work as a whole. This movement builds to a thrilling loud climax that then recedes into the beginning serenity and wholeness.

Below is a wonderful YouTube version of the Shalom (Peace)

The Aeolian Sonata: II. Shalom (Peace)

and above is a version of the entire Sonata

THE ÆOLIAN SONATA for organ by Dan Locklair. SHALOM.

Food Pantry & Partners

Metropolitan United Methodist Church & Immanuel Presbyterian  

January Meals

Vegetables - Family size or standard size

yams, corn, butter beans, green beans, turnip greens, peas, sweet potato,  etc...

Rice - bagged

Pasta - any kind

Please leave donations in the bin with the yellow lid outside McMaster Hall.

Thank you!

Altar Flowers

2022 Sign-up sheet

Please include your name and the name of the person you wish to honor.

The new sign-up sheet is hanging on the Bulletin board outside Terri's office.

Please send Diane your contribution.

SAVE these DATES!

january______________________

28ᵗʰ, 29ᵗʰ  Vestry retreat, Holy Comforter

30ᵗʰ Annual Parish Meeting directly following Sundays service

february_____________________

19ᵗʰ  Saturday garden work day

march_______________________

5ᵗʰ   Saturday garden work day