Between Sundays

Keeping the Parish Community Connected

Thursday, September 22, 2022

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Worship With Us | Sunday, September 25

Scripture Readings: Psalm 91: 1-6, 11-12, 14-16

First Lesson: Jeremiah 32: 1-3a, 6-15 Second Lesson: Luke 16: 19-31

Morning Light Worship 9:00 AM

In person at 64 Beacon Street and on Zoom at 9:00 AM.

Doors open at 8:45 

Morning Prayer Worship 11:00 AM

In-person at 58 Tremont St. and live-streamed. Doors open at 10:30 AM.

From the Minister

When I completed my first summer in training for the ministry, the minister for whom I worked gave me a small plaque with these words: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Did she know I’ve always stumbled over this verse from Hebrews: isn’t it an oxymoron to be “sure” of what we hope for? My lawyer brain urged caution. Strategically, I looked up other translations: faith is “being assured” of what we hope for, or “convinced.” One brilliant friend called faith “the expectation” of things hoped for, and throughout her sermon on the verse she kept bouncing on that word “expectation.” When I later quizzed her, she’d gently but firmly told me: Some people (like you Joy) think they can get what they need and what the world needs, by working hard, as if achieving their hopes is within their own power. But for her community, a black woman born in the 50s, with walls of injustice high, she learned early that much of what was needed for her or our hurting world would take more than human perseverance. So she did work very hard, persevered and lived in the firm expectation of God’s promises being true. Hope and expectation kept her going, day by day. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.” It's abundantly clear how much is beyond our human power these days, but we’re committed to putting our “faith into action,” our theme at King’s Chapel. May we do so with hope and expectation. ~Joy

From the Bench

The prelude this Sunday celebrates the bicentennial of Belgian composer César Franck with one of his final organ pieces, the monumental third Chorale in A minor. The choir will sing John Moreton’s setting of Psalm 91, as well as Jester Hairston’s arrangement of Poor Man Lazarus, and the luscious For He Shall Give His Angels from Mendelssohn’s Elijah.  The postlude reflects on the events of this past week in Charles Callahan's version of Thaxted, the hymn tune by Gustav Holst. 

From the Staff and Church School

Join Us to Celebrate Skip Lewan

Sunday September 25 | 10 AM at the Parish House and via Zoom

After seven years as our Morning Light musician, our beloved Skip Lewan is leaving us as he embarks on new transitions personally and professionally. Though we will miss him, we wish him well as he and Allie prepare for their wedding and he begins a new career. Join us at 10 AM after Morning Light, on Sunday, September 25, for coffee, cake, and refreshments as we congratulate Skip on his milestones and thank him for his music and ministry to our community. If you cannot join us in person, stay on our Morning Light Zoom link to enjoy the festivities!

From Denominational Affairs 

Join us for a trip to Transylvania | June 2023

Breaking news - we’re invited to visit our partner church in Transylvania next June! In a long-distance call initiated by our minister, Joy Fallon, the minister of the Downtown Unitarian Church of Kolozsvár, Reverend Norbert Rácz, enthusiastically extended the invitation. It’s dependent on improved conditions in the Covid pandemic and the Ukrainian War, of course. Nevertheless, we expect to choose dates and begin developing an itinerary as soon as possible in collaboration with our Hungarian friends. Their minister has already sent us an extensive list of prospective activities and sites to visit. Joy, Kathe, and I are eager to participate, hoping that other parishioners will join us. If you would like to receive updates on this opportunity, please send your email address to dentoncrews@gmail.com -- Denton Crews

Looking Back

The Homecoming luncheon, held on Sunday, September 18, was a great success. Approximately 55 enthusiastic guests were in attendance. (A number equal to pre-pandemic levels!) Their joy and camaraderie demonstrated what a rich community we have created at King’s Chapel. 

I want to thank the many church members and friends who made this event possible. Carol Kemp created beautiful decorations and table settings. Alecia Manning artfully assembled arrangements of flowers grown in the Parish House garden. Becky Wittenberg, Anne Sexton, Emanuel Genovese, Amanda Cegielski, Sylvia Soderberg, Bob Gulick, and Kathe German generously provided food and helped prepare the many dishes served to our hungry guests. Betsy Peterson, Paula O’Keefe, Sara Arnold, and Barbara Fay stayed on afterwards to wash a vast number of dishes and clean the kitchen.

I also would like to express my gratitude to the King’s Chapel staff -  Gretchen Horton, Laura Zeugner, and Kevin Accomando  -  who provided a great deal of support behind the scenes. - Gregg Sorensen

From the Stewardship Committee

Stewardship is the outward sign of our love for and commitment to King’s Chapel and each other. Your generous support of the church during the Covid-19 pandemic allowed our beloved community to innovate, grow, and thrive despite external challenges. Now, it is time to come together to build upon that success as we define King’s Chapel’s next chapter.  Our responsibility as members and friends is to raise $250,000, which is 24% of the church's total anticipated income for 2022. We have only a few more months to reach out goal.  How can you help?

Special Match Opportunity for First-Time Donors

If you have never supported the Stewardship campaign before, now is the perfect time! The Stewardship Committee is pleased to offer a dollar-for-dollar match of the first $1,500 received from first-time supporters to the 2022 campaign. We'll let you know if your gift qualifies for the match!

From the Memorial Committee

MASS Design in the News

MASS Design, with whom we’re partnering on our Memorial Project, has been featured recently in the New York Times (“Can Architecture Build Values, Too?” (9/8)) and the Boston Globe (“Piece by piece, Boston’s monument to Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King is coming together” (9/17)).

Final Week of Special Exhibit: "Did I see the Wicked Players?"

Thank you to everyone who has joined us to see our "Did I See the Wicked Players?": Illegal Theater and King's Chapel in 18th-century Boston exhibit. You still have nine more days to catch it before it comes down on September 30th. Monday, September 26th is the final after-hours tour and talk with Lin. Purchase your ticket here. Use promo code FREEDOMTRAIL for 50% off your ticket. 

October with the History Program

Starting on October 1st, the History Program will adjust our hours once more. We will be open 10am-4pm on Wednesdays through Saturdays (open on Monday, October 10th) with Bell and Bones tours, Express Crypt tours, and General Admission. We are also excited to bring back our popular Tales from the Crypt tour throughout October! Join us on Friday and Saturday nights from October 14- October 29 for a candlelit trip into the crypt to learn historic burial customs and the people laid to rest beneath the chapel. Purchase your ticket here. 

Tuesday Recital

Tuesday, September 27 | 12:15 PM

Next week’s Tuesday Recital features recorder player Emily O’Brien in some exciting new works written by by her father(!) and another local composer, Melika Fitzhugh. 

Virtual Bible Study | Wednesdays | 6:15 PM via Zoom

Join us for our weekly lectionary based bible study, beginning at 6:15 PM. Contact Tim Nelson Hoy to register.

Weekly Thursday Coffee

Thursdays at 10:00 AM on Zoom

Bring your cup of coffee or tea and join other King's Chapel folks for an informal conversation by Zoom every Thursday morning. Drop in for any part of the hour. Register here to join.

Our 65th Concert Season begins

Sunday October 2, 5 PM

We are opening the 65th season of our Sunday Concert series with a bang: the long awaited (since March 2020) Handel oratorio Alexander’s Feast, featuring the King’s Chapel Choir, Soloists, and Orchestra. The whole extravaganza is presented in memory of Jay Schochet and will take place on Sunday October 2, at 5 pm, and runs approximately 2 hours with one intermission. As always, you save $5 on each ticket by purchasing ahead of time at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5545029