December 14, 2023 Holy Comforter | Newsletter | |
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Just, Wow! Dearest Holy Comforter Family, In 9 days, we will celebrate the last Sunday in Advent and Christmas Eve. That only happens once every 7 years! We will have Morning Prayer at our usual time that day and our Christmas Eve service will be at 5:00 PM. Bringing both moments together in a single day means we get to experience deeply how liturgy carries us from holiness to holiness and glory into glory. In the meantime, holy guacamole has this place been busy! In the past, I shared with you that my dream was to have laughter, activity, and joy filling our halls and rooms not just for a bit on Sunday morning, but during the week as well. That is no longer a dream but a reality. This edition of the newsletter includes all kinds of pictures of two events from this week: the Christmas Pageant on Sunday and the ECW Luncheon yesterday. The top of this message includes a picture of a small angel. This morning, the mom of one of our Artists in Residence stopped by with one for each of the people who directly support the Many Colors Arts Collective. As she handed it to me, she said, “This is a small way of telling all of you that you have become my family’s angels.” I was touched and aware that this is what we are about, not just at Many Colors, but with each other at Holy Comforter and with the community we serve in so many ways. With most of the plans and preparations for Christmas already completed, I am starting to lean into 2024. Please save Sunday, January 28th for our Annual Meeting—there will be more information to share with you before then, but that will be a particularly important meeting for as many of us as possible to be a part of. The gratitude I feel for what we have learned, how we have endured and persevered, and all the blessings showered on us, is only matched by the hope and joy I feel as I look ahead to a new calendar year. On Sundays, in Liturgical Year B our readings come from the Gospel of Mark and we won’t return to Matthew until 2026. But the last two verses of that Gospel seem particularly important to remember and return to often as we prepare to continue the journey in 2024: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is both our call and the most profoundly gracious love we have been promised. As we wrap up a year of wrenching loss, stress, and uncertainty, those last words of our Lord are everything. “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” With prayers that in the new year, we will walk with quiet confidence in a loving God of tender mercy and justice, Rosa+ |
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We hoped that next Sunday, we'd be able to return to caroling and drinking hot chocolate as part of our Christmas festivities and preparations. However, the spike in Covid cases and the stress on our hospital systems here in Montgomery deserve to be taken seriously. We will not have the carol sing-along after church and will take stock again next year, to assess if we can resume a practice that was so much fun. Our new normal brings losses with it for sure. But I give thanks for the things we know we can do now to minimize the impact of this dreadful virus. Thank you for your understanding! Rosa+ |
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Tending to our hearts & spirit |
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SUNDAY, 10:00 AM HOLY EUCHARIST |
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Michael Paul • Randy Woodland Weekday Worship MONDAY Compline | 7:00 PM Facebook livestream WEDNESDAY Morning Prayer | 10:30 AM Facebook livestream |
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Events, programs & updates |
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ECW Luncheon Thank you to all the wonderful individuals who contributed to making this lunch so incredibly beautiful and scrumptious! |
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the Food Pantry The Christmas decorations were a huge hit. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible! Cream of chicken or mushroom, soups, and canned veggies. Also, personal care items like travel-size soaps, shampoo, toothpaste, razors for shaving, and more. Magazines, 2024 calendars, and notepads. Paper and plastic grocery bags. Please leave donations in the bins outside the double doors of McMaster Hall |
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the Backpack program The students in the Backpack program will be thrilled to receive such vibrant and fun socks. There were so many donated that each student may receive two pairs. We are incredibly grateful for your generous donations! canned peas, fruit, soups, tuna, Vienna sausage, peanuts, granola bars, and juice boxes Donations can be left in the basket outside of the office window. Thank you so much for your support! |
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We are incredibly grateful for the support and affection you have showered upon us. We strive to create the perfect environment for the most amazing individuals like you. Thank you and have a Merry Christmas! Randy, Terri, Missy |
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December Dec. 5, 12, 19 - Food Pantry 10 AM (closed on the 26th) Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27 - Morning Prayer 10:30 AM Facebook live Dec. 4, 11, 18 - Compline 7:00 PM Facebook live Dec. 24 - Morning Prayer 10 AM, Christmas Eve service 5 PM Dec. 25 - Christmas Day service in the chapel 10 AM Dec. 31 - Morning Prayer 10 AM |
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VESTRY Senior Warden: Rand Neeley Junior Warden: Randy Bryan Treasurer: Mary Lois Monroe Clerk: Jan Pope Kathy Albree, Haynes Kelley, Paul Hard, Amy Seanor, Hannah Williams HYBRID MINISTRY Michael Paul, Randy Woodland |
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Please pray for Parishioners — Ann Carlton, Barbara Dailey, Rob Dailey, Fred Earle, Dennis Endicott, Mary Gibson, Sidney Hennessey, Jason Hicks, Lamar Higgins, Scott Lollar, Eddie Norred, John Parker, Douglass Porter, Lea Russell, Mark Semler, Charlie Thomas, Claudene Thomas, Judith Granger Ward Friends — Ben Brewbaker, John Conway, Jim Corsaro, Gay & Harry Curlin, Alex Dancyg, Todd Daniels, Jayce Davidson, Casey Dodd, T. J. Esco, Everett Flora, Ashley Freeman, Julie Gantt, Linda Garrett, Wayne Goble, Bud Greer, Mac and Rosine Hall, Alison Hill, Tommy Horne, Tom Hyde, JoAnn Ivey, Kyle Johnson, Sharon Kelley, Dorothy King, Jon Kusa, Chris Murray, Gene Murray, Jessica Murray, Josh Pate, Tom Pinkston, John Nelson, Sharon M. Nelson, Nanette Olson, Liliana Orozco, Laura Pinnoy, Dusty Pouncey, Samuel Purcell & family, Arthur Segal, Larry and Pat Sharpton & family, T.J. Simpson, Joe Soliday, Riley Soliday, Taylor Scroggins, Michal Slovic, Joe Wilkins, Ben Winbury, Doris Ziegler Students — Matthew Franklin, Will Franklin, Addie Hoffman, Anna Hoffman, Sam Lee, Michael Moore, Rachel Moore, Charles Speaks, Thomas Speaks, Aiken Via |
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