THE DOVE
January 2017
Visitors from Distant Lands
Sunday January 8, 2017
They're on their way, slowly moving ever closer from the East, guided by that astonishing star in the sky.  Exotic, colorful, enigmatic, those astrologers, or wise men, or sages, or magi, or magicians, or kings, or whatever they are, will be arriving on Sunday, January 8th, at about 9:00 a.m., right here at Holy Comforter.  So please come and welcome our special visitors and guests that morning!  (For those keeping score, the Feast of the Epiphany actually falls on January 6, but we are observing it on the 8th-and moving the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord to the 15th-because our special visitors-who look suspiciously like members of our Youth Choir-couldn't  make it to Holy Comforter until the 8th....)
Holy Baptism
Sunday January 15, 2017
The next celebration of the sacrament of Holy Baptism will take place on Sunday, January 15, 2017.  That is also the date on which we will be observing the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, which makes it, of course, a perfect day to celebrate Baptism and to welcome people into the household of God.  If you are interested in baptism at the 9:00 Eucharist on the 15th for yourself or a child, please contact the Rector at your earliest convenience (847/251-6120, ext. 115).
Annual Parish Meeting
Sunday January 29, 2017
Established by the Canons and Constitutions of the Episcopal Church, the Annual Parish Meeting is always an important day in the life of any congregation.  We use this time together as an opportunity to reflect on the year past, and to ponder the year just beginning.  It is, in part, a business meeting, during which we address certain temporal issues and topics, such as the election of new members of the Vestry and the adoption of the annual parish budget.  But even more importantly, it is also a time when we ponder matters spiritual, for it affords us the chance to discuss the ways in which we are fulfilling, or hope to fulfill, God's call to us in our ministry, fellowship, worship, and outreach.   The Wardens will report on their perceptions of the health and life of the Church, and other parish leaders will provide a variety of perspectives about our various ministries and programs.  In short, at the Annual Parish Meeting, we reflect on the directions in which God is nudging us, and, in general, hear and retell together part of the story of Church of the Holy Comforter.
 
Worth noting in advance is the fact that, due to some unique circumstances, we will be electing five new members to the governing body, as well as a new Junior Warden.  Information on the nominees will be distributed as soon as the full slate is set.
 
The Annual Meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the Great Room following a slightly abbreviated 9:00 Eucharist.  I encourage you to make every effort to participate in order that our deliberations and reflections might include as much of the wider congregation as possible.
Adult Forum for January
by Chris Hardman

Our Adult Forum this past fall was an exercise in "Digging Deep and Rising High."  We presented an overview of both the Old and New Testaments and dug deep into the prophet Isaiah. In January, we will "dig deep" into our Christian heritage, specifically into the roots of our Anglican/Episcopal tradition.   We are a part of a unique church, one that has been formed through the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation, Celtic Spirituality, and the Eastern Orthodox tradition.  
Stephen Ministry
Now That the Holidays Are Over,  I Can Get My Life in Control.... Maybe
 
 
The Christmas season is supposed to be a time filled with joy and activity but sometimes it can be too much.  Sometimes other factors are throwing our lives off balance.  Humans like to be in control, having the power to choose exactly what is going to happen and when.  Unfortunately, life isn't like that---we only think we're in control.  So when something happens and we realize we are not in control, we feel lost, overwhelmed and angry. 
 
Stephen Ministers are trained to help when things spin out of control. They provide support and encouragement while helping a person put their faith and trust in God.  If you have questions about Stephen Ministry, please contact a member of the clergy or please call Carrie Smart, Stephen Ministry Referral Coordinator 847-501-3954 or Stephen Leader Team Coordinator, Jean Britt 847-256-2372.
The Rector's Column 
Endure. Love. Give.

by The Rev. Dr. Jason L. Parkin, Rector

I am Joseph, carpenter, of David's kingly line.
I wanted an heir, discovered my wife's son wasn't mine.
Mine was the likeness I hoped for when the first-born man-child came,
But nothing of him was me, I couldn't even choose his name.
I am Joseph who wanted to teach my own boy how to live.
My lesson for my foster son:  Endure. Love. Give.
                        "Joseph" by U.A. Fanthorpe
 
U.A. Fanthorpe was an Oxford-educated English teacher who, after 16 years as an academic, decided to do something completely different with her life, and became a receptionist and clerk at a neurological hospital in Bristol, England.  In the early 1970s, she began to write an annual brief poem to accompany her Christmas cards to family and friends, a custom she followed the rest of her life, some 40 years.  Her poems are, in turn, poignant, funny, insightful, provocative, and occasionally a little unnerving.
 
As this issue of The Dove arrives, we will be about halfway through the Christmas Season running from December 25 to January 6.  It is, for many of us, a peaceful, joyous time of the year:  the rush approaching Christmas itself is over;  perhaps we have a little free time to enjoy out of town guests or catching up on some local sites and sights;  maybe we are pondering, as the New Year commences, what resolutions we will follow-or try to follow-to bring about a transformation in our lives and routines. 
 
And as we move through Christmastide and enter a new secular year, what have we gleaned from the celebration of the Nativity, from the renewed birth of the Holy One of God?  Joseph's lessons for his foster son seem appropriate:  to endure, love, give.  To Endure the challenges before us, whether cultural and communal or individual and private, fully confident that we do not do so alone:  indeed, the very message of the Incarnation is that God has stepped into the rhythms of our lives and our world in our very form, that we might know that God is with us, come what may.  To Love as we have been loved:  to offer our lives freely and unstintingly, not grasping on to what we have or are, but, with open hands, offering ourselves to those around us, especially those in need or sorrow or fear.  And to Give:  to give our hearts, our time, our unique talents, our compassion, as the ongoing evidence of the wonder of the Incarnation. 
 
At the end of another of her Christmas poems, Fanthorpe wrote,
 
And this was the moment when a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by angel song and starlight straight into the kingdom of heaven.
 
We, too, have walked "haphazard by angel song and starlight straight into the kingdom of heaven."  Our vocation, as citizens of heaven?  Endure.  Love.  Give.
Wednesday Adult Class
by Chris Hardman

This winter we will begin a new series focused on a deeper understanding of God that we call "Trinity." I have been talking about the church's recovery of the Doctrine of the Trinity for several years now. Recently, Richard Rohr, popular religious writer, has come out with a new book, The Divine Dance. This book is Fr. Rohr's attempt at trying to understand this doctrine, along with his attempt to show us what this means for our lives. 

We begin this adventure on Wednesday, January 11th, at 9:45 a.m.  Read more here...
Be an Innkeeper
by Pastor Heath Howe, Family Ministries

David, Sophie, Eli and I have the pleasure of hosting the Christmas celebrations for my side of the family once again this year. In many ways it makes no sense that we are the hosts.  David and I are both busy with our ministries at Christmastime. Not to mention that my family all travel from very warm places to the cold chill of Chicago.  Our neighbors have joked, "Don't you all have this backward?  Shouldn't the folks who live in the cold go to the warm place instead?" Maybe, but this is our tradition, and I love it.
Worth the Risk
by Mary Johnson, Youth Ministries and Director of All Things Bright and Beautiful

For the 27 th year, the Alliance for Early Childhood will host the Networking Dinner for professionals in the field of Early Childhood Education.  This year's speaker, Gever Tulley, will share his ideas and lessons from his experience as founder of The Tinkering School. Mr. Tulley has taught workshops, given presentations and TED talks, and has authored the books Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Child Do) and Dangerism!
Supernova 2017
by Charlotte Long, Youth Ministries 
 
I've been reading a lot about supernovas lately. Well - I guess I've been reading about the life and death cycle of stars. A supernova is a type of star death. The core of the star has shrunk and heated up and become incredibly dense; and then it explodes, scattering its little star guts everywhere. The funny thing is, star guts are everything. I mean literally, star guts create galaxies. The supernova gives us a new way to think about death.  
 Read more here...
...in the vineyard
On December 11, longtime parishioner Barbara (Babs) Ellwood, died in Florida. Our hearts and prayers go out to John, and to all three of their children, John Jr., Emily (Wyner) and Paige (Keller) and their families. 

A beautiful celebration of Babs' life was held on Friday, December 16, at 2:00 p.m. at Holy Comforter, and was followed by a reception in the Great Hall. Please remember Babs and her family in your prayers and keep them in your hearts.  May God enfold her in light perpetual and love unceasing.