Dearest Holy Comforter Family,

Over the past three weeks, I’ve had to schedule two ‘called’ vestry meetings because opportunities presented themselves that would require the vestry to give the green light for moving forward, with little time to say yes to the opportunities. The vestry has been thoughtful, engaged, and responsive in ways that show we are nimble and resilient.

With some real sadness mixed in with excitement, we are also about to begin pulling the set of baby cribs from the wall in the crib room between the main church building and Henderson Hall. As I helped sort out what we could and should keep, and what things we needed to let go of, I was keenly aware that even now, I am still such a ‘newbie.” I don’t know the stories behind so many bits and pieces of the vibrant life at Holy Comforter that defined us in years past. Even without knowing all those stories, I am proud of who we have been and the children whose lives we enhanced through our ministries.

We are going to renovate the four rooms in that hallway in preparation for the launch of the Many Colors Arts Collective. Pete Powers, Zola's son has been extraordinarily gracious and generous, offering to do the renovation at cost. We will install new floors in all four rooms and reconfigure the closet and tiny bathroom between the crib room and the pre-K room in order to have a second, fully ADA-compliant bathroom. We are also going to install sinks in the two rooms on either side of the renovated bathroom. This will make some of the artwork we anticipate making available to our artists-in-residence much easier to manage. People who are neurosensory divergent are greatly affected by colors and light in their environment. We will be making some changes to ensure that our space is welcoming to people with a wide variety of needs.

If you were at church on Sunday or watched the service live stream, you saw the scaffolding behind the main altar. Our chapel altar is now in front of the great step. I will celebrate the Eucharist from there until the work to stabilize and clean the stained glass triptych above the reredos is complete. Often as we begin the liturgy of the table, I find myself wishing the altar party, choir and I were not so far removed from the rest of the congregation. On Sunday, as I said the words of thanksgiving and consecration over the elements, I experienced great joy because I was closer and more connected to my church community. It felt so much more like the celestial banquet we are promised. For all of us, there will be joy when the project is complete and things are back in their normal places. For now, the satisfaction and hope come from watching us do the work of repairing and healing the gorgeous windows entrusted to our care by those who came before us.

On Tuesdays, the food pantry keeps getting more and more busy. There are new volunteers from Immanuel Presbyterian. Significant changes at the local food bank have made it important for us to supplement what we are able to bring to the food pantry on a weekly basis from the food bank. We have shoppers who bring in the extra food we need (and by the way—if you love to shop, we need you-see me after church). Our operations model, which allows our neighbors to choose the food that will best meet the needs of their families, has come to the attention of the management team of the food bank. Instead of choosing and bagging what we think our neighbors need, we offer them dignity and respect through choice and agency. Other local food pantries are benchmarking with us because they are being encouraged to move to this model as well.

In this season of celebration, I think I understand resurrection because of what is happening at our church. The pandemic focused on and magnified the ways in which our parish was losing ground financially and in terms of membership. The pandemic also exacerbated those trends. All that is true. There was more suffering in our midst and around us that is hard to contemplate now.

But/and, the most important truth of all for these days we live in is simply this: the pandemic did not, could not, have the last word. That is how resurrection forges us, allows us to be disciples of the one who teaches us what love is all about. We’ve had to go deep into our faith, into hope, into the promise that Jesus made to his friends at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” What is being restored, what is being transformed, what is being made new isn't only what's changing in our facilities and programs. It is our very hearts that are healed, transformed, made new, as we do our work of faith. Through us, Christ is risen again, in some small way, in a small corner of God's creation. Alleluia, alleluia, thanks be to God! Rosa+

Please stay following the service this Sunday and join in on a brief

town hall meeting. During the meeting, we will discuss updates on various issues, as well as address any questions that members may have. This is a great opportunity to get involved and stay up-to-date with what's going on in our church community. We hope to see you there!

Following the town hall meeting, the Vestry will have

a meeting in the library.

Laying David Hughes to Rest

Although David Hughes died several years ago now, his ashes were never laid to rest. This has weighed heavily on me. On Sunday, May 7th, at the end of our service, I will invite the congregation to process out with the altar party to the Memorial Garden where we will have a brief committal service for David.

I hope you will come and join us as we bid a final farewell to a beloved member of our parish.

✠

WEDNESDAY

 • Morning Prayer | 10:30 AM

Randy Woodland is the officiant

 • Compline | 8:00 PM

the Backpack program is heading into the summer break. While the children are on break from May through September we will still be taking food donations for the fall 2023 school year.

We have a basket outside the front office window for donations.