|
|
The Sisters of St. Margaret wish you a
Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! 
|
|
"Christmas means:
In the Word made flesh
God has sent God's last Word,
God's most profound Word,
God's most beautiful Word
into the world.
And that Word means:
'I love you,
O World. O humanity!'
(So) Light the candles!
They have more right to be here
than darkness."
The Great Church Year -The Best of Karl Rahner's Homilies, Sermons, and Meditations, by Karl Rahner, Copyright 1993. All rights reserved. The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Here's the odd thing about Advent: it asks us to engage in a season of preparation for a birth which took place more than two millennia in the past. But the reason it matters so much is that we are continually engaging in births of our own - some joyous, as when a grandchild arrives; some which challenge us to find the gift hidden within them, as when we leave familiar surroundings for an assisted living facility - and Advent provides a quiet time in which to take in the momentous changes in our lives, to prepare our hearts to soften and open and welcome whatever is to be.
For several years now, I made my way to Fort Hill on the first Sunday in Advent to listen to the traditional lessons and carols, generally surrounded by familiar faces of sisters and associates and neighbors. But in this December of transition for the Society of St. Margaret, my pilgrimage was to Duxbury on the second Sunday. The service retained the old lessons and carols, but the audience in the little chapel was composed of local townspeople with only a smattering of familiar faces. I missed the dim splendor of the stained glass windows in the dying light of the Roxbury days, but I was struck by what a fruitful image of Advent this year's service provided: an unfamiliar venue, pregnant with possibilities, full of people who will become our friends and supporters as the years draw on. Those who had come down with me whispered their appreciation of the service, but I was lost in thought about the parallels between this Advent, and "the hopes and fears" of the Annunciation so long ago.
by Adrienne Southgate, SSM Associate and Co-Chair of the Spirit and Light Campaign
|
|
Happenings:
An Art Exhibit
Sr. Marjorie Raphael's paintings will be exhibited by invitation of the Helen Bumpus Gallery in Duxbury. All are welcome to attend. The exhibit will run from Monday, January 2nd through Tuesday, February 28th. There will be a "Meeting the Artist" reception on Saturday, January 21st from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm.
The gallery has posted Sr. Marjorie Raphael's "Artist Statement" and an "About the Artist" section on the page devoted to her exhibit.
The gallery was founded in 1968 with a gift from Helen McBurnie Bumpus, who was born in 1891 and died at the age of 92 in 1983. Her gift to the town established an art gallery in the rotunda of the original 1909 building that housed the Duxbury Free Library. The Helen Bumpus Gallery is now located in the center of the new Duxbury Free Library, located on Alden Street. For hours and directions to the Bumpus Gallery, click here. An Epiphany Service The Sisters of St. Margaret invite you to an Epiphany Service of Scripture and Song celebrating the Three Mysteries of Epiphany - The Star, The Baptism and Water into Wine on Sunday, January 8that 4:00 pm in the chapel on Harden Hill Road in Duxbury. A reception will follow at the Bertram Conference Center, 21 Harden Hill Road. A Commemoration of the earthquake in Haiti The Sisters of St. Margaret invite you to a commemoration of the second anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti on Thursday, January 12th in the chapel on Harden Hill Road in Duxbury. The chapel will be open at 5:00 pm for silent prayer and reflection. Sr. Marjorie Raphael, an earthquake survivor, will speak about her experience at 7:30 pm. The evening will conclude with Compline. For directions to the campus of the Sisters of St. Margaret in Duxbury, click here. Free parking is available in the Bertram Conference Center lot just opposite the town green on Harden Hill Road.Admission is free, but a freewill offering would be gratefully accepted.All are welcome.
|
|
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Due to the realities of our transition there will not be public services at the Boston Convent on Christmas Eve, December 24th, or on December 31st, or the Feast of the Holy Name, Sunday, January 1st 2012.
|
|
A Mission Trip
Sr. Promise has been selected to go on a mission trip to Burundi with a group from Trinity Church Wall Street from January 14-24. We will let you know the details when the plans are available.
|
 Spirit and Light You can prepare us for a future of God's work in new places. You can strengthen us in this work by praying for us, by supporting our ministries, and by giving of the substance of your life. The Society of Saint Margaret receives no financial support from the Diocese of Massachusetts or the national Episcopal Church. We are supported solely through private donations. The Spirit & Light campaign will provide the financial assistance necessary to build a new self-sustaining residence - reducing expenses and allowing us to live a simpler life as good stewards of God's resources. There are many ways to donate to the Sisters. All donations are tax-deductible. You may make a one-time donation or you may choose to make the Sisters the recipients of a pledge. In that case, donations are given on a scheduled basis, either monthly, quarterly, or annually. For a secure page to donate on-line to the Sisters of St. Margaret, visit our website at Sprit and Light campaign. You may donate from your checking account, savings account, Visa, or Mastercard. There are choices available on the online donation page. If you have any problems at all with your online donation, don't hesitate to call us. We'll be happy to help! |
|
|
|
|
The Sisters of St. Margaret
P.O.Box C
Duxbury, MA 02331
781-934-9477
|
|
|
|
|
|
