I call it "Peter's Picnic," but that makes it sound unimportant, and what happened to Peter was extremely important. Peter envisions a large tablecloth full of non-kosher animals, lowered down from the heavens, and thinks God is urging him to eat unclean food. Is this (a) a test, to see if he'll remain true to his religion's teachings, or is this (b) a command to change his religious thinking, to be more inclusive?
A lot hinges on the interpretation, for Peter, and for our world today. In your own life, when do you dig in your heels and say: "This far I will go and no further"? When is this moral courage and when is it close-mindedness? What can history teach - your own experiences, and world history?
At King's Chapel, we explore important questions together. I treasure that.
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Mozart Marathon Recap
This past
Sunday, we ended our 2015-2016
Sunday Concert Series on a high note with the Mozart Mini Marathon. We pre-sold a record number of tickets and were excited to be able to collaborate with our Freedom Trail Visitor program to be able to sell tickets by credit card (slowly moving into the 21st century), which all in all added up to a wonderful audience of 134 people. The organ loft was packed with 17 singers and 11 instrumentalists, quite a feat to pack timpani and trumpets into every little available nook up there.
Afterwards, we repaired to the Parish House where music committee chair Mary Sears and her trusty helpers provided a delicious dinner, followed by birthday cake and a rousing tribute to former chair Elizabeth Thomson, along with two other birthday boys in attendance, Gordon Holmes and Bill Sears.
While the season is technically completed, we hope you will also join us for choral evensong on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, at 5 pm. preceded by an prelude organ recital by Heinrich at 4:30.
And there will be More Mozart in the fall - our 59th season opener has been dubbed "Mozart and the Organ" and will feature Heinrich playing Mozart with a small orchestra gathered and conducted by Bradford Conner from our sister UU church, First Parish in Bedford. So be sure to save that date too while you're at it -
September 25, 5 pm.
Heinrich Christensen
Music Director
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Happy Birthday, Rev. James Freeman! April 22, 1759
Freeman was the minister of King's Chapel for 43 years and one of the first clergyman in America to call himself a Unitarian. Freeman, a seminarian, was hired to read the liturgy at King's Chapel. There were repeated attempted to secure episcopal ordination for James Freeman, but the changes he introduced to our Anglican liturgy made King's Chapel unacceptable to the newly formed American Protestant Episcopal Church church. That didn't stop us.
In 1787, the members of King's Chapel ordained and installed Freeman as "Rector, Minister, public Teacher, Priest, Pastor, and teaching Elder."
This would have been Freeman's 257th Birthday.
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Farewell to Eric!
This Sunday, we bid farewell to choir member and regular Wednesday night cantor Eric Ferring, as he leaves Boston to seek his operatic fortune, first with Opera St. Louis and various summer operas, then on to perform as a Young Artist with Pittsburgh Opera. Eric has been a wonderful part of our community, not only with his beautiful voice, but also as a great colleague and friend.
If you cannot be there this Sunday to wish him Godspeed, do not despair, but rather mark your calendar for August 28 when Eric will make a brief return to sing for Morning Prayer in between packing all his worldly belongings into a U-haul! |
Freedom Trail Visitors Program: Extended Hours
As the Visitors Program begins to rev up for the summer months, we will be extending our hours! For the rest of April, the Visitors Program will open to the public from
10am to 4pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Our
Sunday hours remain
1:30pm to 4:00pm. Beginning in May, when we welcome aboard our new seasonal staff, King's Chapel will be open daily until
5:00pm.
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Theology on Tap |
7 PM Tonight
Believer. Non-believer. Confident. Curious. Join us for a lively discussion of big questions at a local pub. Past topics have included: Sin, Who is Jesus?, The Trinity (or lack thereof!), Resurrection, What happens after death? On April 20th, we will discuss Miracles: Fact or Fiction. Anyone 21 and over is welcome to join. We will meet at The Kinsale, located across from City Hall Plaza. For more information or to RSVP, contact shawn@kings- chapel.org.
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Those interested in learning more about membership at King's Chapel are invited to a New Members Class on
April 21st at 6:30 PM at the Parish House. This class provides a brief history of the church, explores our diversity of beliefs, and explains how we govern ourselves. Dinner will be provided. This class is open to those considering membership and to those who are curious about King's Chapel.
... and Brunch | April 24
A light brunch will follow Morning Prayer on April 24th at the Parish House for those interested in joining King's Chapel. We will be joined by committee chairs and vestry members. To RSVP for the brunch, contact Cathy Price at cmmp48@comcast.net or Gretchen Horton at
gretchen@
kings-chapel.
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Lecture Series on Unitarianism - History and Where We Go | April 27, and May
4 & 11
The
Rev. Stephen Kendrick, of First Church Boston, will give this Spring's three Minns lectures on the Wednesday evenings of April 27, May 4 and May 11, at his church. The topic is Unitarian Universalist life - past, present, and future. For more information, and to sign up, go to the Minns Lectures website:
http://www.minnslectures.org/
. Dinners will be provided at 6 PM, and the lectures will begin at about 7:15 PM, at First Church.
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Join us for the Mother's Day Walk for Peace | Sunday, May 8
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Want to end violence and help families who have lost loved ones to violence work through their pain? Pledge your commitment to Peace! The goal this year is to raise $600,000 for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.
Donors may donate online or may donate at the Second Sunday offering in May. The Community Action Committee (CAC) will match donations with a total match up to $1,000.
The walk begins at 8:30 a.m. at Field's Corner in Dorchester, with opening remarks at 8:00 a.m. The King's Chapel team will join the walkers at 9:15 a.m. , at the midpoint at Madison Park High School on Malcolm X Blvd (access via the Orange Line at Roxbury Crossing) and end with the Peace Rally at Boston City Hall at 11 AM, in time to make the Morning Prayer service! Anyone can join and enter or exit at a midway point.
King's Chapel has a team that you can join, by registering here.
Last year we had 17 walkers and we hope to increase participation this year. Contact Carol Genovese with any questions,
carol.m.genovese@gmail.com.
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Simon Bon Voyage Party | May 15
Simon Pilecki will be leaving us on Friday, May 20. We will be celebrating his good work and sending him on his way after our Morning Prayer Service on Sunday May 15. Please join us at the Parish House for a light luncheon, and help us send Simon on his way to new adventures! Please RSVP to Gretchen at administrator@kings-chapel.org
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The King's Chapel Choir will lead us in Choral Evensong on Pentecost Sunday, May 15th at 5 PM. This liturgy has its roots in the Book of Common Prayer and was put together by Music Director Heinrich Christensen and the Rev. Shawn Fiedler.
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Blessing of the Animals | May 22
Join us in the beauty and warmth of the Parish House Garden on
Sunday, May 22nd at 9 AM
for our annual Blessing of the Animals. Can't bring your pet? We will gladly bless photographs!
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King's Chapel's 330th Birthday | June 12
June 12 will be a special day at King's Chapel: we celebrate our 330th Birthday and welcome new members at our Morning Prayer Service! Please mark this date on your calendar so that you can be sure to join us.
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King's Chapel Habitat for Humanity-Boston Build | June 25
We have nearly a full team for the June 25 (the first Sunday of Summer) King's Chapel Habitat for Humanity-Boston build. We can accept 1 or 2 more. The build runs from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM with a one hour lunch break. In the past the KC teams have enjoyed lunch in one of the local ethnic restaurants.
The build will be at one of the HFH-Boston sites now under construction in Roslindale, Mattapan, or Dorchester. The exact location will be selected hy HFH-Boston based upon the specific build site requirements. Work will be available for all skill levels (including none). For more information on HFH-Boston and the site where they build, go to www.habitatboston.org/ and www.habitatboston.org/projects
King's Chapel has supported HFH-Boston both financially and with multiple volunteer efforts. If you haven't done this before, please consider joining now. The minimum age to participate is 16.
To enroll or for more information contact Emanuel Genovese at 617-738-6367 or emanuelg1@verizon.net, or Peter Sexton at 781-383-9028 or petersexton@alum.mit.edu. |
News from the Parish House
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Our thrill-seeking administrative assistant Simon will be taking a much needed pre-Peace Corps vacation to the United Kingdom, from April 13th to the 25th. Please contact
Parish
Administrator
Gretchen Horton,
for any assistance during his absence.
gretchen@kings-chapel.org.
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We are excited that the intercom work is being done at the Parish House, and soon will be able to use the fob system again to gain entry to 64 Beacon. Thank you all for your patience through this process! During the construction we have had to change to a new intercom, with new fobs. This means that all old fobs will not work with the new system and will need to be reprogrammed.
We are gathering all fobs to reprogram. If you have one, please bring it to the Parish House during the week or leave at the church on Sunday. Once reprogrammed, we will assign fobs again so that all who need them will have access to the Parish House.
At the same time that fobs are being reprogrammed, we are updating our list of key holders to all properties. If you hold a key to any of the properties, please email Gretchen at administrator@kings-chapel.org to be added to the list and let her know which keys you have. |
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Wednesday, April 20, 6PM
The Rev. Joy Fallon, Preaching
- Dan Perry, Soloist
- Mindy Hinkel, Hospitality
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Sunday, April 24, 11AM
The Rev. Joy Fallon, Preacher
- Amy Meyer, TBD
- Anne Sexton and Paul Luca,Head Ushers
- Charles Perry, Usher in Charge
- Marie Wells and Judy Luca, Ushers
- Carolyn Conley-Das, Verger
The Readings:
- Psalm 67
- Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 14:2-18
- New Testament: Acts of the Apostles 11:1-18
flowers on the communion table are given for their granddaughters, Sabine & Olivia, and children everywhere, by Anne and Peter Sexton.
After the service, all are invited to Coffee Hour, hosted by Betty Lykins and Barbara Fay and friends of the hospitality committee.
At the communion rail following the service,
Jim Power will greet those interested in learning more about King's Chapel.
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From the Bench
By Heinrich Christensen
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This Sunday we begin with some high French Baroque: Clérambault's delightful Suite du deuxième Ton. It will be followed by Charles Wood's Oculi omnium, inspired by our lessons for the morning.
Since it is Eric Ferring's last morning with us, he gets to sing his absolute favorite piece from the past 2 years: Ken Berg's arrangement of the energetic spiritual, "My God is a Rock". And we thought we'd additionally send Eric off with a nice Irish blessing set to music by Dominick DiOrio and dedicated to Dr. Michael McGaghie, director of choral activities at Macalester College and good friend of Dan and Joei Perry.
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Tuesday, April 26, 12:15 PM
Emily Marvosh, contralto
Domnick Matsko, baritone
Arneis String Quartet
Kallembach: Letters of John & Abigail Adams
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Interested in Membership?
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More News from
The Parish
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Stewardship Update
Our Stewardship Campaign continues with toward our goal of $195,000 in financial pledges. We are halfway there, and hope that all who have joined us in the past will do so again this year!
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Haven't yet got around to it?
to make your donation. Thank You!
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New Members Class-
Thursday, April 21 at 6:30 PM
Parish Council Meeting-
Thursday, May 3 at 6:30 PM
Vestry Meeting-
Tuesday, May 10 at 6 PM
Membership Committee Meeting-
Friday, May 13, 2016
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Paul Luca and Anne Sexton - Our Head Ushers! Paul Luca, a member of our Vestry, and warm presence at the church, is joining Anne Sexton as Co-Head Usher this year. Anne has served us for over 16 years in this capacity, and will be training Paul this year, after which she will step down from the role. Anne's service has been exemplary, and we are deeply grateful to her.
As Head Usher, Paul and Anne are responsible for warmly greeting and welcoming the many people who stream through our doors each week - our long-time members, newcomers exploring a possible church home, or the thousands of visitors from around the world who want to join us for worship, or glimpse our historic sanctuary. It takes special people to oversee this effort - those who can blend warmth and caring, diplomacy and judgment, and a strong sense of organization and accountability. In both Paul and Anne we have such leaders. As well, the Head Usher ensures that we have a full cadre of ushers available each week to greet people and show them to their pews; provide help to those needing it during the service; receive offerings; and keep count each week of those present and the offerings we receive. The Head Usher also assists with myriad aspects of worship, regularly supporting the clergy and other church leaders.
Paul Luca has been a member of the church since 2011; he and his wife Judy were married here. Judy currently serves as Chair of our Community Action Committee.
Paul regularly can be found helping out with myriad building projects, attending Theology on Tap, serving communion, ushering at services, offering ideas at Vestry meetings, stuffing backpacks to give away at Christmas, solemnly carrying the Christ Candle down our center aisle during the Easter Vigil, or delivering sandwiches to Common Cathedral's homeless women and men. We're grateful for his willingness, among this busy church life, to become Co-Head Usher this year with Anne.
Welcome Paul! |
We weep with those who weep...
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Contributing to Between Sundays
Want something in Between Sundays? Feel free to email Simon at
simon@kings-chapel.org with a written piece and/or pictures before Wednesday at Noon!
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Accessibility Assists
Our beautiful Georgian sanctuary designed by Peter Harrison and completed in 1754, has been lovingly maintained by the congregation since its completion. One of the box pews has been made wheel-chair accessible. Ushers are available to assist those who are wheelchair-bound to that pew.
A sound system has been installed in the sanctuary of The Chapel to amplify the sound during worship services. Hearing assistance devices are available for your use. Please see an Usher for assistance.
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