Dearest Holy Comforter Family,

I enjoyed being with you in a somewhat different way over the past month while Rosa was away getting some much-needed rest and renewal. Rosa had organized and laid the groundwork for this time, and you all are the best team anyone could want to serve with – the altar guild, the flower folks, Randy F., and the choir, the LEMs, the ushers, and the readers. Michael, Missy, Randy W., and Terri kept everything going with the bulletins, newsletters, and online services. It was truly a thing of beauty to see the worship come together as the result of the dedication and service of so many. And the Food Pantry folks kept things rolling, as usual, blessing and feeding our neighbors every Tuesday, and backpack bags for the kids at Fitzpatrick Elementary got packed. (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out!)

The times of fellowship we enjoyed in September with coffee hour, Make One/Take One, Coloring for Kairos, and the Holy Comfort bag-stuffing session were wonderful, and I look forward to this fall and more opportunities for fun, fellowship, food (of course!) and learning more about each other, our communities, and our faith. It is my hope to get the Holy Comfort bags out this month and plan a learning session in the near future with someone who assists the homeless, to grow our awareness and our advocacy for our most vulnerable brothers and sisters.

I am so grateful to be with you as your deacon and look forward to what’s ahead.

In hope,

Lee

Thursday, September 29, is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.

“We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.” …Henri Nouwen

by Randy Foster

I wanted to share some musical thoughts about the Offertory Anthems that the choir presented during September. They represent various musical style periods, different countries of origin, and a wide range of text writers and inspirations.

On September 4th, the anthem had a tune by the German Johann Crüger who composed many well-known tunes and edited the most prominent Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century. His tune Jesu, meine Freude was used by J S Bach as the basis of one of his motets for choir. The text was written by Mary Louise Bringle, chair of the humanities division and professor of religion and philosophy at Brevard College in North Carolina. She says of her work: “I am concerned to give voice to the passions that dwell deep at the heart of faith and questioning.”

The powerful text is inspired by a passage from “The Flowing Light of the Godhead” by Mechtild of Magdeburg: “Do you want to know my meaning? Lie down in the fire.” Mechtild was a Medieval German mystic (c1207-c1282.)

The anthem for the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America is a beautiful setting of an anonymous 1880s text with music composed by David Ashley White. White is a seventh-generation Texan, having studied and worked in Texas for all of his career. Currently the C W Moores Jr. Endowed Professor of Music at Moores School of Music (University of Houston ) and Composer-in-Residence at Houston’s Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, he was previously Director of the MSM. White’s hymns are in various denominational books, including The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal), The United Methodist Hymnal, Great Britain’s Worship Songs Ancient and Modern, and Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal. Selah Publishing Co. has published four volumes of his hymns, which encompass all his work in this genre to date.

Richard Farrant (c. 1525 – 30 November 1580) was an English composer, musical dramatist, theater founder, and Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. The first acknowledgment of him is in a list of the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal in 1552.  During his life, he was able to establish himself as a successful composer, develop the English drama considerably writing many plays, found the first Blackfriars Theatre, and be the first to write verse-anthems. Few of Farrant's compositions survive. The best known are a service and the anthems “Call to remembrance” and “Hide not thou thy face.” The anthem for September 18th “Lord, for thy tender mercies sake”, often attributed to him, does not appear in any source under his name before the late 18th century and is now thought to be by the elder John Hilton.

The prayer was first published in 1570, in a section, entitled "Lidley's Prayers", of Christian Praiers and Holy Meditacions, collected by Henry Bull. Nobody knows who Lidley was, and it might be a misprint for Ludlowe's Prayers, which was mentioned in 1566. The prayer is beautifully set and ends asking the merciful God that after talking the talk we may walk the walk with a perfect heart before him “now and evermore.”

“Creating God, your fingers trace the bold designs of farthest space” is the first line of the first hymn Jeffrey Rawthorne (b.1934 in Wales) ever wrote. Written in 1974 and based on Psalm 148, the text won the 1979 Hymn Society of America’s “New Psalms for Today” Competition. The Hymnal 1982 includes a pair of musical settings. The version the choir is singing on September 25th is set to the tune Dunedin, composed by Vernon Griffiths (1894-1985) in an arrangement by John Ferguson. Griffiths was born in England but is a New Zealand composer, and educator, known for his dedication to music in schools and the community. He believed in the ‘regenerative power music possessed.’

Rawthorne’s text explores active images of a God at work. Because each stanza starts with a participle, the singer is drawn not into a God of history whose work is complete, but a God whose work is ongoing in myriad ways. Successive stanzas begin with “Creating God.” "Sustaining God," "Redeeming God," and “Indwelling God.” The song ends with a prayer for “one family with a billion names:”

Let every life be touched by grace until we praise you face to face, Randy

Be sure to mark your calendar: Sunday, October 9, 11:15 AM — we'll grill hotdogs/hamburgers and enjoy a live musical trio with Isaac Bell!

Tuesday, October 4th

Holy Comforter: 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM

Rosa will also be blessing animals at Hannah Daye Ridling Bark Park,

on Vaughn Rd. between the hours of:

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM & 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Everyone had a great time seeing each other and catching up;

the food was amazing!

Holy Comfort for the Homeless - Care bags

This past Sunday a bag-packing session took place and bags are now ready for delivery to someone in need. If you know of someone and would like to give out a care bag(s), let us know.

the Garden workday was a great success, lots of work was accomplished!

for the Backpack program, backpacks, or bags, are packed with breakfast, lunch, and snacks, along with canned fruit and canned vegetables, and delivered to Fitzpatrick Elementary. Each Friday, the backpacks are given to students to take home for the weekend.

the Food Pantry is currently open on Tuesdays from 10-12. Our neighbors really appreciate the personal service and opportunity to choose the items that they want from our pantry. Here's a fun fact: some of the most popular items are Vienna sausages, Spam, instant coffee, and fresh okra from our garden.

Thank you for your support!

Rise Against Hunger

2 - 5 PM | Saturday | Oct 8

On Saturday, October 8, join All Saints Birmingham from 2-5 PM to participate in meal packing with, Rise Against Hunger, hosted by the Youth Department. People of all ages are invited to participate. For more information contact Kristin Blackerby at kblackerby@dioala.org or sign up here.

DATES to REMEMBER

 Please pray for

  Parishioners — Ann Carlton, Rob Dailey, Fred Earle, Sidney Hennessey,

Jason Hicks, Lamar Higgins, Julia Neeley, Jan Pope, Mac & Douglass Porter, 

Lea Russell, Ami Simpson, Claudene Thomas, Judith Granger Ward 

Friends — Ava Hornsby, Tracey Bailey, Eileen Black, Denny Brown, John Conway,  

Jim Corsaro, Gay & Harry Curlin, Todd Daniels, Jayce Davidson, Casey Dodd,

Mike Duncan, Rosamary Duncan, T. J. Esco, Julie Gantt, Linda Garrett, Judy Glanzer, 

Rosine Hall, Alison Hill, Roland Hutchinson, Tom Hyde, JoAnn Ivey, 

Brenda Jones & family, Dorothy King, Jon Kusa, Mary Virginia Martin,

John Nelson, Sharon M. Nelson, Nanette Olson, Liliana Orozco, Dusty Pouncey, 

Samuel Purcell & family, Dave Seanor, Arthur Segal, Joe Soliday, Riley Soliday,

Taylor Scroggins, Caroline Simpson, Michal Slovic, Isaiah Taylor, Paula White,

Joe Wilkins, Patsy Wilkins, Ben Winbury, Michael Winter 

Students — Emma Franklin, Will Franklin, Addie Hoffman,

Taylor McLemore, Michael Moore, Rachel Moore, Charles Speaks, Thomas Speaks, 

Connie Tapia, Braxton Trest, Aiken Via