I will be away from the 24th - July 6th on a spiritual retreat in Iona Scotland lead by The Rev. Tricia Brennan who has a long connection with King's Chapel. I will be back in the pulpit on July 7th.  My office hours from July 7- Labor Day will be Thursday afternoon - Monday afternoon.   If you want to make an appointment with me you can do so easily by going  to  https://revaliweaver.youcanbook.me  or call my cell at 617-459-5979.

The music this Sunday is a preview of Monday's special service for the Association of Anglican Musicians which is holding its annual conference in Boston this week. For this occasion, we have planned an entire service with music by Boston composers connected to King's Chapel.

Below are the program notes written for the AAM program book.

James Woodman writes:

"An Extravagance of Toccatas was commissioned by Janis Milroy in celebration of the 60th birthday of her wife, concert  organist and recording artist Christa Rakich. The first performance was given by Christa Rakich on May 4, 2014, at Heilig- Kreuz-Kirche, Berlin.

"While the word toccata is most frequently associated with works calling for a virtuostic display of technique, the form's  long history encompasses a variety of characteristic traits. Each of the three movements in this collection looks to a  distinct tradition for its inspiration. The first, pro Organo pleno, is in the manner of the organ toccata of 

17th-century  Protestant north Germany. In this type of toccata, it is the performer's esprit which is on display in free, quasi-improvised  gestures which alternate with passages of imitative counterpoint. The second movement, pro Organo aetherio, looks to

the Elevation toccatas of Girolamo Frescobaldi, mystical works distinguished by the use of numerous suspensions and  dissonances. It is only with the final movement, pro Organo flagrante, that the idea of the toccata as a knuckle-busting  barn-burner comes into play.

"If there exists a collective noun for a group of toccatas, I am unaware of it; "extravagance" is of my own coinage. All three  toccatas are unified by use of a single motif in various transformations.

"Finally, Christa Rakich's birthday falls on November 11, the Feast of St. Martin. The Liber Usualis informs us that the  appointed hymn for the day is Iste Confessor, and that hymn is heard as the second theme in the final movement.

"I count myself most fortunate in my history of organ teachers - George Whitney, James Litton, and William Porter among  them - but certainly never more so than from 1980 to 1983 when, as a completely at-sea graduate student at New England

Conservatory, Christa Rakich came to my artistic, intellectual, and emotional rescue in teaching me to hear, touch, breathe,  and focus in ways I never knew existed. This work was written expressly for her with as much gratitude and affection as it is

possible to put into a score."

How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place (2011) is one of Carson Cooman's numerous scriptural motets and was written for Stephen  Layton and Trinity College, Cambridge. It is published by Zimbel Press/Subito Music Corp. Carson Cooman has had a  long, friendly association with King's Chapel, beginning in the final years of the tenure of Daniel Pinkham (who was of great  encouragement to Cooman when writing some of his earliest works) and continuing with many performances and new  pieces under his successor  Heinrich  Christensen.

Daniel Pinkham's Thou Hast Turned My Laments Into Dancing was published by Edition Peters in 1975 as no. 9 in Pinkham's  series of Psalm-Motets.

Thomas Gregg, professor of voice at the Boston Conservatory/Berklee and long-time member of the King's Chapel Choir,  has set the Great Litany to music especially for today's service.

William Selby's anthem Behold, He is My Salvation, set to texts from Isaiah 12, Amos 9, and Revelation 19, was written  for the rededication of the Old South Church (now known as the Old South Meetinghouse, located on Washington Street  one block from King's Chapel) on March 2, 1783. It was published by E.C. Schirmer in 1974 as part of the King's Chapel

Series, selected and edited by Pinkham and a testament to Pinkham's important work as a pioneer in the emerging field of  Early Music.

The Forman Benediction, set to a text by beloved Affiliate Minister of King's Chapel, Charles Forman, was commissioned for  the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston in 2001, honoring outgoing Association president

John Buehrens.

King's Chapel offices and the Parish House will be closed on Thursday and Friday, July 4 and 5, to observe the Independence Day holiday. 

King's Chapel will be open during regular hours, 10 AM- 5 PM Monday - Saturday, Sunday 1:30 - 5 PM.

Between Sundays will NOT be published next week.  You'll hear from us on the 11th!

Mark your calendars!  Join us in July and August as we celebrate together the joys of summer.  Come and see friends old and new, and join the summer fun!

The July gathering will be hosted by the Hospitality and Membership committees; the  August by the ARE and CAC committees. 

Main dish and beverages are provided.  Guests are asked to bring side dish, salad or dessert. RSVP to laura @kings-chapel.org if you can attend, and let us know what you will bring. 

Saturday, July 13

 1-5 PM |Makanda Project, UUUM (10 Putnam Street, Roxbury)

Wednesday, July 17

6 PM | All Parish BBQ at the Parish House, hosted by Hospitality and Membership Committees

Saturday, August 10

Sunday, September 29

12:30 - 2 PM | Boston Athenaeum

Special tour for Kings Chapel of the Kings Chapel Library Exhibition 

Labyrinth Walk 

On Saturday, June 22, Cynthia and Dick Perkins hosted a gathering of 17 King's Chapel members for a labyrinth walk at their home in Stow, MA,  The morning began with Cynthia and Dick explaining the history and the process of labyrinth walks and sharing some of their own experiences, which led to the construction of a labyrinth by their house.  The labyrinth sits on a gorgeous property with mature trees and gardens and a pond at the edge of the yard.  After the walk, participants reconvened to talk about their experiences.  A delicious pot luck lunch followed.  It was a wonderful, memorable day for all.  As the pictures show, the day couldn't have been better. Thank you Dick and Cynthia!

Here are a few of the comments from the participants:

There we were between earth and sky, on earth as it is in heaven, surrounded by rustling trees and shadows, in silence.

The labyrinth begins where it ends with many turns in between--much like life. Turning, turning, wondering where the exit is.  The suddenly it's there.  Too soon.

We were a collection of unique individuals yet all on the same path together. 

There is a delightful paradox inherent in a "community of faith": that our experience of the spiritual is such a personal thing, yet so often made richer by being shared.

It was possible to step off the path and make one's own way, at one's own pace.

The sounds of wind and birds became very close.

Ants weeds owl/dove hawk a path that leads us to lose us to open us this world these clouds wind in the trees a teeming pond tadpoles rhythm dragonflies a bee around your head shoes off dirt beneath.

The Community Action Committee invites you to engage with the UU Urban Ministry this summer:

• The annual Makanda jazz concerts on the Roxbury green are 1 to 5 pm July 13, August 10, September 14 (all Saturdays). They are seeking volunteers to offer children's games and other activities. If you are interested in helping, please contact Monique Marshall-Veale at MVeale@uuum.org  And also, please just come and enjoy the music under the trees!
• Take a youth-led tour from the UUUM young Boston historians! Please look up the tour dates here. Summer tours will take place in August on Saturdays. (Join CAC Chair Amanda Pickett for the 8/10 tour!.) If you have questions about the tour program, please contact tours@uuum.org. 

Join the King's Chapel History Program in celebrating the 4th of July during Boston Harborfest 2019! Discover the history that sparked American Independence by visiting one of the oldest historic sites in Boston! 

Tour our crypt, visit our 1816 Paul Revere bell, and explore the architecture. In addition to tours and special talks about our Revolutionary-era history, we will also have scavenger hunts and a bell-making craft.