January 5, 2023 Holy Comforter | Newsletter | |
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Dearest Holy Comforter Family, For the past few years, I have looked ahead to each new year with real trepidation. I remind myself that for half of my tenure, we were surviving through a pandemic and most of our energy was spent managing the sense of being in ‘suspended animation.’ We start this year in a different place. I look forward to telling you more about the new possibilities that continue to take shape for our church when we gather on Sunday, January 29th for our annual meeting. We are planning a chili potluck—please plan to bring a pot of chili to share with your HC family. The word that comes to mind about our most recent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is “gentle.” The cold was so bitterly harsh outside the walls of our beloved church and it was such grace to walk into space made even more holy by the love and care with which so many details had been taken care of. We usually assume our Christmas preparations are a form of prayer, of thanksgiving for all the blessings we’ve received. They are also cherished traditions that help our church family understand who we are, whose we are, and what roots us in our faith. It occurs to me, looking back on the gentleness and warmth of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, that we prepare our church hoping it will convey welcome and care should the Holy Family come looking for a space to rest their weary bodies. The work of hospitality does not end with beautiful, welcoming liturgy. Starting on the 10th, Communities of Transformation will resume its program of hope and new beginnings in our parish hall. On January 21st, we will host our first Respite Event for children who are on the autism spectrum. Melanie Kelley and Kathy Albree have been hard at work so the participants who come will have the blessing of a fun-filled afternoon of art projects, movement to music, and spaces for quiet reading. The new vestry has agreed to serve as the volunteer team for this first event and I suspect they will have lots of stories to tell. Nelya McKenzie was back in this week, gearing up to restart the backpack program at Fitzpatrick. The food pantry team continues to do amazing work with our neighbors who are food vulnerable. If you’ve never been a part of this ministry, I encourage you to come on Tuesday to sit and visit with our neighbors while they wait their turn to do their ‘shopping’ in the pantry. The grandmothers who have grandbabies they are raising and struggle to make ends meet are the presence of Mary in our midst. The delicious little ones who come along give us a glimpse of the Christ Child. Men, obviously ill at ease, but still in real need as they try to take care of their families, remind us that Joseph too was in need of hospitality. I enter the new year filled with great hope and joy, grateful to be able to continue the journey with you. The star is already out and shines brightly. We gather our gifts and follow where it leads us… With prayers for blessings of joy and hope, Rosa+ |
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Respite Program for Children on the Autism Spectrum Saturday | January 21st | 1-5 pm | McMaster Hall As we prepare for the first respite event, we need your help. This Sunday and next (1/8 and 1/15), Kathy is painting the background for a "mural" of "Underwater Wonders". Bring a shirt to protect your clothes and stay for a bit after church, we would appreciate your help with the painting. Collecting old t-shirts & socks Additionally, if you have old t-shirts and/or socks, please bring those and place them in the basket in the narthex. Thank you! |
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SUNDAYS Holy Eucharist |10AM |
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• Morning Prayer | 10:30AM Randy Woodland is the officiant • Compline | 8PM (New Time!) |
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Morning Prayer & conversation Wed., Jan. 25 & Feb. 15 10:30 AM (Morning prayer) & 11 AM (conversation & snacks) meet in the Chapel |
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We have not had any kind of Bible Study at Holy Comforter since the Pandemic. I have been considering how best to move back into that practice for a while now. A new member of our parish, Philip Goodwyn, made a recommendation that I think has the possibility of working well for us. Forward Movement, the same folks who publish Day by Day, has a series of Bible Studies called the Good Book. This Epiphany Season, they have published a study on the books of Ruth and Esther. I will print several copies of the study to have available on Sunday morning in the Narthex. You are welcome to pick up a copy. You can also email me if you would like to receive a copy via email. The materials will allow you to study the two books on your own and at your pace, but that is not all we'll do. On Wednesday, January 25th, and again on Wednesday, February 15th, I invite you to consider joining Randy Woodland and me for Morning Prayer in the Chapel of the Resurrection at 10:30 AM. Then, at 11, we will have conversation, coffee, fruit, and cookies in the parish library. We will take an hour to discuss our studies--this will be an opportunity to hear each other's responses to the two books, ask questions, and engage as a community in this Bible Study. If enough people ask, I can also have a Zoom link for those who would like to participate in the conversation remotely. Depending on how this model works for Epiphany, I will look to the people who participate to help me choose what we will do next for our Bible Study. I hope you'll join me. Rosa+ |
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Annual Meeting & Chili Potluck Sunday, January 29 Following our annual meeting, we are having a chili potluck—please plan to bring a pot of chili if you can to share with your HC family or bring a side. |
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COT on Tuesdays | 5:30-7:30 PM | McMaster Hall (beginning) Jan. 10 - June 30th COT Leadership Meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, 4 PM in the library (They will not meet on the Tuesday of Holy Week) |
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the Food Pantry donations: all non-perishable food items,
toiletries: shaving cream/razors, deodorant, toilet paper, diapers, etc... Donations can be left in the bins outside McMaster Hall. |
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Please leave donations (pudding cups, small cans of beef stew, chili, soup, or pasta, cheese/peanut butter crackers, snack bars, etc...) for the Backpack program in the basket outside the front office window. |
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Thank you for your support! |
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JANUARY Birthdays & Anniversaries Watch over thy children O Lord, as their days increase; bless and guide them wherever they may be. Strengthen them when they stand; comfort them when discouraged or sorrowful; raise them up if they fall; and in their heart may thy peace which passeth understanding abide all the days of their life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Birthdays Dabney McKenzie, Hillary Barrowman, Diane Harbin, Blake Pruitt, Taylor Lollar, William Davis, Terri Via, Poppy Tapia, Ann Montgomery, Anna Claire Brewer, Morgan Miles, Maggie Paul, Mac Porter, Hunter McKenzie, Michael Moore, Kathy Albree, Mary Lois Monroe, Yavet Carlton, Virginia Barber, Jeffrey Lollar, Bev Brown T. J. Simpson Anniversaries Douglass & Mac Porter |
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january — 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Food Pantry 10 AM 4, 11, 18, 25 Morning Prayer 10:30 AM - Compline 8 PM 10 COT 5:30 PM 21 Respite Program 1-5 PM |
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22 Coffee Hour 11 AM 25 Morning prayer 10:30 AM & Conversation/snacks 11 AM 27 & 28 Vestry Retreat Fri 6 PM - 8 PM & Sat 9 AM-2 PM 29 Annual Meeting & Chili Potluck 11 AM |
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Vestry Kathy Albree Randy Bryan Haynes Kelley Paul Hard Rand Neeley Amy Seanor Hannah Williams |
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Please pray for Parishioners — Libby Bryan, Ann Carlton, Rob Dailey, Fred Earle, Sidney Hennessey, Jason Hicks, Lamar Higgins, Mac & Douglass Porter, Lea Russell, Ami Simpson, Charlie & Claudene Thomas, Judith Granger Ward Friends — Tracey Bailey, Eileen Black, 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, Dorothy King, Jon Kusa, John Nelson, Sharon M. Nelson, Nanette Olson, Liliana Orozco, Dusty Pouncey, Samuel Purcell & family, Arthur Segal, Joe Soliday, Riley Soliday, Taylor Scroggins, Michal Slovic, Isaiah Taylor, Paula White, Joe Wilkins, Patsy Wilkins, Ben Winbury Students — Emma Franklin, Will Franklin, Addie Hoffman, Taylor McLemore, Michael Moore, Rachel Moore, Charles Speaks, Thomas Speaks, Connie Tapia, Braxton Trest, Aiken Via |
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