From the Rector – Will You Serve With Us Next Summer?
Summer just ended, but we’re already planning for next years’ service trips! As many of you heard in the reflections offered the Sunday we returned, and saw with our slideshow presentation, we had a very meaningful trip to St. Timothy’s Outreach Center in July.
July 21-27, 2019 we will once again be joining St. Andrew’s to serve in Appalachia. This trip is for ADULTS and YOUTH 15 years or older (or younger children if accompanied by a parent). The cost of the trip is $450, which covers food, transportation, insurance, and materials used on projects. We ask every participant to pay $200 and we will work to fund raise the balance.
Part of what makes this trip special is the way the adults mentor the youth, teaching them skills and modeling what active faith looks like. Are you interested in joining us? Do you have questions? Talk to Kristin+!
We have set a deadline of December 15th to sign up so that we can set our fundraising goal and begin in the new year.
Additionally, for interested YOUTH, the Diocese is organizing a Puerto Rico Mission Trip, July 24-30. You can get all the details HERE – the deadline for registration is November 23rd.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
Formation
Sunday School News
Sunday School has gotten off to a great start with the first class on September 16th. At that time, Rev. Kristin+ blessed all the children and the Sunday School teachers were commissioned:
Yvette Allen – Preschool Bible Stories
Betsy Davis and Jessica Bahorich – Kindergarten-2nd Grades
Natalie DelRegno – 3rd-5th Grades
Joan Fader and Peter Sabonis – Middle-High School
Nancy Nanavaty – 4th Sunday Group Activities
Mara Snyder – Children’s Music
On September 23rd we held our first “4th Sunday Fun” group activity with all the classes meeting together. The outreach project we worked on was pen pal letters to our A is for Africa school friends. Individual photos of our group will accompany their letters – with thanks to Vic Pellicier, our photographer. We look forward to hearing back from our far-away friends in Africa. The “4th Sunday Fun” group activities will continue each month in the lower level with our older students assisting the younger ones…..what a wonderful way for us to get to know each other better. Have you heard the excitement in the lower level during class time?
We welcome additional volunteers to assist in the classrooms or to read Bible stories to our little ones. Wouldn’t you love to be involved in this meaningful ministry? For more info, you may contact Joan Fader faderj1@juno.com
Adult Formation – Opportunities For Spiritual Growth This Year
Growing in faith is one of the hallmarks of spiritual maturity. This is why we offer formation opportunities for members of all ages – from Bible stories for preschoolers to fellowship for teenagers to topical series for adults.
For adults this year, there will be four programs offering different ways to go deeper in faith.
The first, beginning this fall, will be a new Book Group. Interested folks will have the opportunity to gather with others to read and reflect on three different books throughout the coming year.
The first book will be Everything Happens For A Reason – And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler. The author is a professor at Duke Divinity School who specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God’s disapproval. When she is faced with a diagnosis of stave IV colon cancer, she faces both her death and her faith. Read more and check out a link to order the book here.
Pick it up this month and sign up to join the group – we will set a date in November to gather over coffee or a meal for prayer, discussion, and reflection. Invite friends!
Upcoming
Advent Workshop: The Way of Love – Practices for a Jesus Centered Life
This Advent, explore Christian practices that help ground our faith and send us out into the world alive in faithful action. A workshop designed to learn about the seven practices and reflect on how to fold them into our daily lives will be held at two different times – first on Sunday, December 2 from 11:45-1:45 (lunch included) and second on Tuesday, December 4 from 7:00-9:00 pm. Plan to attend whichever date and time work best with your schedule – and start off Advent with preparing your heart and life for Jesus!
Epiphany Bible Study
Join Kristin+ for a weekly Bible study during the season of Epiphany. Along with Episcopalians everywhere, we will participate in The Good Book Club by reading St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. A daily reading schedule will be distributed for everyone to read individually, and then we will meet weekly for reflection and conversation.
This Bible Study will meet the following Mondays from 10:30-11:30 am at the Starbucks on Ridgeville Blvd: 1/14, 1/21, 1/28, 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4.
Why Romans? After diving deep into the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts during the Good Book Club in 2018, we will delve into the Letter to the Romans, written by the Apostle Paul in 56-57 CE. Romans shares Paul’s attempt to explain how this new expression of faith is rooted in Judaism but is available to all of humanity. As Paul writes to the new community of Christians in Rome, he explores the concepts of salvation, the power of God, and grace. Many biblical scholars consider Romans to be Paul’s most important theological treatise. While Romans is not always easy reading, this sixth book of the Bible articulates what it means to be a disciple of Christ and how that translates into daily life—lessons to inform and inspire followers of Christ from the beginning to the 21st century.
Lenten Series: Holy Living & Holy Dying
One of the best gifts you can give your family is planning ahead for the end of life. In this four-part Sunday series you will have the opportunity to consider medical directives, financial directives, burial choices, and your memorial service. Please join us for any or all sessions in this series.
Sundays from 11:45-1:00 – 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31
Choir/Music
Hi everyone!
I wanted to take a brief intermission from our Christian Music History series to speak a bit about a personal project I’ve been exploring since last month’s Kick-Off Sunday. This summer, Deb Schaeffer and Mara Synder helped me organize our choir room downstairs, getting rid of tattered and faded pieces of music and finding a place for everything. In doing so, we discovered a book of organ music by a composer I was unfamiliar with: Dom Paul Benoit.
Dom Paul Benoit (1893-1979), was a French composer who wrote almost exclusively for the organ, unlike many composers of the era, who wrote for a wide assortment of ensembles. After fighting in World War I, M. Benoit felt called to become a Benedictine monk. In 1919, he joined a Benedictine abbey in Luxembourg, and in 1926 was ordained into priesthood, where he was given the title “Dom.”
For every Sunday until Advent, I’ve selected pieces from his “Fifty Elevations for Organ on Modal Themes.” The works vary quite a bit in scope: sometimes they’re quite simple and sweet, while other times they’re a bit more harmonically tumultuous. They are all reminiscent of the works of other French impressionists (particularly Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel), and the works certainly serve as a precursor to another well-known composer and organist, Olivier Messiaen.
Personally, I find the music quite captivating. For me, it beautifully melds the melodies of Gregorian chant with a more modern harmonic language. Benoit also is rather descriptive of which stops on the organ to use. Since each stop produces a different sound (similar to instruments in an orchestra), it’s fascinating to see the compositional decisions he made for each piece; many composers leave a lot of these decisions to the performing organist, so it’s always exciting to get inside a composer’s head!
Linked below is a video of Jason M. Gunnell performing Dom. Paul Benoit’s “The Good Shepherd.” You can hear many of the characteristics listed above: interesting impressionistic harmony, beautiful chant-like melodies, and brilliant orchestration across the organ’s many registers.
Also, I received the following email from a colleague:
Hello Richard,
I’m a member of the Masterworks Chorale of Carroll County, and I wanted to draw your attention to a free upcoming concert featuring the renowned choral ensemble The Thirteen.
This concert is co-sponsored by the Masterworks Chorale and McDaniel College as part of a larger series of concerts commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the WWI Armistice. It will take place at the (Big) Baker Chapel on the campus of McDaniel College in Westminster, MD on Thursday, October 18th at 7:30 pm. I’d invite you to take a look at our TicketLeap page, which has more information about this free concert, the masterclass that precedes it, and other events related to Masterworks.
If you’re unfamiliar with The Thirteen, they’re an acclaimed DC-based ensemble that draws its singers from such high-profile choral groups as Chanticleer, Seraphic Fire, and Trinity Wall Street. They’ll present their program “i write your name”, featuring Duruflé’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Figure Humaine.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope you and some of your colleagues will be able to join us in Westminster for this very special event!
Kind regards,
Jon Hjembo
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office Hours Week of October 7
Monday – Thursday 10-4
Kristin+ Away October 4-8
During this time if you have pastoral needs that cannot wait please contact Senior Warden, Cheri McClanahan.
Care Packages for College Kids
The college care packages will be blessed on October 14 and will be mailed to the students the following week. If you haven’t given your child’s address to Laura or brought in donations, please do by this Sunday, October 7! Our students are looking forward to this and really appreciate us keeping them in our thoughts and prayers!
Annual Basket Raffle and Silent Auction
MANY VOLUNTEERS ARE STILL NEEDED for October 12th and 13th!
ALERT: We are STILL in need of many volunteers for our largest fundraiser, the Annual Basket Raffle & Silent Auction.
Assistance is needed with loading 65 baskets into a trailer then transporting baskets on Friday, October 12th at 5:30 between St. James’ Church and the Carnival Grounds, as well as, to set up tents and tables; the loading process will NOT begin before 5:30. In addition, we need help to move the 65 baskets from the trailer to the tables on Saturday morning, the 13th, then assist with ticket sales during our Raffle & Auction as well as “tearing down”, reloading the trailer and transporting everything back to the church then unloading! Please consider donating an hour or two toward our success. It takes a Parish!
We are only ONE WEEK away from the big event—PLEASE SIGN UP NOW!
An online Volunteer Sign Up form is available OR call or text Marilyn at 301-788-0136:
New Signs
You may notice new signs at water sources around the building and outside reading “Hand Washing Only.” As a
requirement for all Public and Nonpublic Schools from the Maryland Department of the Environment, St. James’ Nursery School was required to have water from faucets, fountains, and sinks tested for lead. The Nursery School staff decided which water sources to test on the lower level, and the Nursery School Board agreed to test water from the upper level water fountain and kitchen sink. The tests have come back fine, and we have every reason to believe the water from them is safe, but are now required to label all untested water sources.
Folk Group Wherligig
The New York City-based Folk group Wherligig will perform a concert of traditional music from the Celtic lands and from Scandinavia on Sunday, October 21, at 3:00 PM in The Church of the Transfiguration, 6909 Maryland Avenue in Braddock Heights.
Since 1985, Wherligig has delighted and educated audiences with the earthy sounds of acoustic Celtic and Nordic traditional music. This family music ensemble combines repertoire from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and Sweden in performances ranging from the concert stage to classrooms, restaurants to churches, festivals, weddings, and private gatherings. They have also recorded three CD albums to enthusiastic reviews.
The concert is free and open to the public, although a free will offering will be welcomed. For more information and directions, please contact the Transfiguration church office at 301-371-7505 or visit the website.
Murder Mystery Dinner
Don’t miss our own Kali Nanavaty as “Celine Gomez” in Players On Air production of “Murder & Mayhem at the Idol Awards”. November 3, 2018 at the Mt. Airy Fire Reception Hall. Click here for tickets.
Prayer Rotation
Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2018 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you to pray on a daily basis for the needs and blessings of:
Robert and Karen Larrimore
Brooke and Tonya Lee (Brooke, William)
Rebecca Sneden Lignelli
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.
