The Summer Choir will resume their duties at the High Mass on August 16. As such, the congregation will get a workout singing Hymns and Mass settings this month. We publish John Wesley's Directions for Singing for your edification, first published in S acred Melody, 1761.

* Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.

* Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.

* Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing

* Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half-dead, or half-asleep, but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.

* Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to untie your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.

* Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before it nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

* Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself or any creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

 

Can You Read? On June 7, the Rev'd Liz Steinhauser visited the Advent and preached about the Summer B-SAFE Program our parish has been involved with for several years. This summer, we're looking for DEAR Volunteers - volunteers to "Drop Everything And Read" with the kids at a B-SAFE site. We need people to commit to coming to the site for 30 minutes of DEAR time after lunches one week this summer. If you can read, you can serve our city in the name of God and of the Advent! Contact Fr Wood to sign up!

Volunteer at the Tuesday Community Supper: summer is a good time to try this, as we tend to have more guests and fewer volunteers. Contact Barbara Boles by phone if interested, 617-501-7572, or email her.

Back to School - Mission Opportunity: This August, our parish is collecting school supplies to be given as care packages to students at the Epiphany School in Dorchester. Supplies needed include:

Pencils (Regular and Pencils with fun designs are often used for rewards)
Pencil sharpeners
Erasers
Markers
Colorful Sharpie Markers (fine tip)
Glue sticks
Highlighters
Dry-erase markers (not black)
Dry-erase marker erasers
Printing paper
Notebooks, Binders and Folders
College-ruled looseleaf paper
Pens (blue or black)
Bookbags

The supplies will be blessed at the annual Blessing of the Backpacks at the 9:00 Mass on September 13, then delivered to Epiphany School students to start the academic year off right! Please join this project to serve kids in our city in the name of God and of the Advent. More details? See Deacon Daphne or contact Fr Wood.

 

A second Church of the Advent Pilgrimage will take place next spring. This time we will be going to Turkey - known as the Second Holy Land - to cities and churches visited by St Paul and also described in the Acts of the Apostles. It will be a very different trip from the first pilgrimage, but will be equally astonishing, inspiring, and unforgettable.

We will leave on Sunday, April 10, 2016, flying on Turkish Airlines from Boston to Istanbul and on to Kayseri in Cappadocia and return on Saturday, April 23, 2016, flying from Istanbul to Boston.

Brochures for the Pilgrimage, giving a detailed itinerary, can be found at the rear of the church. The cost will be approximately $3,300, but is not quite set because of fluctuations in airline and fuel expenses. However, since almost everything is included, this, like the first pilgrimage, will certainly be a bargain. If you wish to be part of the pilgrimage, please speak to Fr Warren.

 

Coming this Summer - Theology on Tap Presents: Ockham's Kegger - "Argument for Atheism? Kierkegaard & Divine Hiddenness" - Tuesdays August 18 & 25 at 7 PM - Rattlesnake Bar on Boylston Street.

Fr Jeff Hanson will be visiting the Advent for the month of August, and he's agreed to do two special events. Ockham's Kegger, a series Fr Jeff helped create before moving to Australia, is a recurring event where Theology on Tap takes a more philosophical turn for an evening. Join us on Tuesday August 18 and 25 to hear Fr Jeff on the topic: Kierkegaard and "Divine Hiddenness."

Theology on Tap is a ministry for young adults in their 20s and 30s in the Boston area, but all are welcome! Join us at 7 for drinks or dinner upstairs at the Rattlesnake (334 Boylston Street), and the presentation begins at 7:30 PM. For more info, contact Fr Wood, visit bostontheologyontap.com, and follow @AdventBoston.

Drink great beer. 

Meet excellent people. 

Think deep thoughts.