At King's Chapel, we're on a journey, too. You called me as your new minister a year and a half ago, and we've just asked Shawn Fiedler to lead beside me, as our Assistant Minister. You've asked us to propose a path towards growth, and we're excited by that prospect: our City needs a vibrant and thriving King's Chapel, reaching out beyond our walls. But what will all that mean?

This fall we'll talk about what our Task Forces learned, about who lives and works nearby the church these days, how many of us are still active on a regular basis, and what other growing churches are doing. We'll think about what we need - will there be manna from heaven coming our way, and will we even recognize that odd-looking bread as the food we need? Will we find water when we're parched? What are we all wrestling with, as Jacob wrestled with God? What new way forward might open up, when it feels like an army is bearing down on us from behind, and the only thing ahead is the Red Sea? What does our Promised Land look like?

Our music will follow the themes, too - perhaps Handel's Oratorio about Israel and Egypt, a haunting blues tune about Jacob's wrestling, the lovely shaped note clarity of early American singing to the tune that came to be known as Holy Manna.

And you? Where are you in your own journey? In darkness or in light, in a valley or on a mountain-top, sure of your way forward, or wishing GPS worked for life as well as roads? Might the Spiritual Journeys Class be for you this fall (Monday evenings, 6-8 pm, for 8 sessions)?

At King's Chapel, we're on the journey together. Come and join us, as we explore what lies ahead. I'm excited!

--Rev. Joy Fallon

On Sunday, September 21st, we will host our annual Homecoming Sunday

9:45 - Early Worship begins again in our Little Chapel at the Parish House, 64 Beacon Street, followed by Church School for all children.

11 AM - Our full choir returns for our Morning Prayer worship. Our new Assistant Minister, Shawn Fiedler, will lead the service with Senior Minister Joy Fallon. The music and sermon will be on Manna from Heaven!

12:30 - Lunch at the Parish House, hosted by the Hospitality Committee. RSVP to Anne Sexton, Chair - anne.sexton@alumni.norwich.edu

Copies of our updated Parish Directory will be available - come and pick up your copy!

8 sessions: Monday evenings, 6-8 pm

October 6,20,27; November 3, 10, 17, 24; December 1

(Note there will be no class on the Monday of Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 13)

Easy writing prompts will help explore different ways you may have experienced the Spirit in your life, during different seasons, and through these small vignettes, will open the door into your personal spiritual journey. Members will share their experiences with others in the group, in a confidential setting, and each write their Spiritual Autobiography, as they now understand it.

Even if you have taken the Spiritual Autobiography course in the past, consider taking it again, to discover at another level, now at a later time in your life, how God has been present or absent, how God may be seeking to catch your attention and enrich you further.

Please inform the Parish House (617 227-2155) or email Joy, joy@kings-chapel.org, if you are interested; class size will be limited. (You will need to make every effort to attend all sessions and do the writing exercises, in order to make the experience valuable for all participants).

The King's Chapel Habitat for Humanity Crew taking a lunch break at Guira y Tambora, a Dominican restaurant, near the worksite.

On Saturday, September 13, a team of King's Chapel volunteers again worked at the Habitat for Humanity-Boston build site in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston. First timers, Asst. Minister Shawn Fiedler, Bob Fallon, Joseph Kubiak, and Parish Administrator, Julina Rundberg, joined veteran KC builders Julie Hyde, Todd Lee and Karen Dalton, Amy Meyer and David Wheeler, under the leadership of KC-HFH champion, Peter Sexton. Most of our work was in siding on the exterior of the building and preparing the exterior for additional work. We enjoyed working outdoors on a beautiful day, as well as a lunch break at a very good Dominican restaurant nearby.

Habitat for Humanity-Greater Boston, Inc. is a Massachusetts nonprofit, part of the international HFH organization, which builds high-quality, simple homes for low-income families in need of housing. HFH sees home ownership as a vital step in helping families and communities break the cycle of poverty. KC member Lark Jurev Palermo is Executive Director of HFH-Boston.

King's Chapel supports HFH Boston with volunteers for building, and financial support from our Community Action Committee. Construction on HFH sites is done by volunteers under the supervision of HFH staff and professional contractors.

The next KC-HFH Boston build is tentatively scheduled for spring 2015. KC builds are open to all members of the KC community: members, friends, family (including kids ages 16 and above), and staff. For more information, please contact Peter Sexton, petersexton@alum.mit.edu or 781.383.9028.

Julie Hyde nailed siding from high atop a scaffold.

Peter Sexton, our experienced leader, cut siding with powerful saw.

Judy Luca with new grandbaby Cortland Rose.

In This Issue

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21

9:45 a.m. Early Worship at the Little Chapel followed by Church School

11:00 a.m. Morning Prayer
The Rev. Joy Fallon, preacher

• Anne Sexton, Head Usher
• Sylvia Soderberg, Usher-in-Charge
• Todd Lee, Betsy Peterson, and Karen Dalton, Ushers
• Cliff Allen, Lector
• Todd Lee, Volunteer Guide

The lesson is Matthew 20:1-16

After the service, all are invited to the Parish House for the all-parish Homecoming Luncheon.

WEDNESDAY SEPT. 24
12:15 p.m. Midweek Service

On Sunday October 12, any donations in the offering plate not designated for the Annual Appeal will be donated by the Community Action Committee to Horizons for Homeless Children. 

The Church School at King's Chapel is so exc ited for a new school year! Beginning this Sunday, September 21, children and families will gather at 9:45 for worship and church school.

This fall, we are diving into the world and curriculum of Godly Play, a children's bible story  and faith curriculum created by Jerome Berryman, an Episcopal priest who combines principles  and practices of Montessori learning with stories from the Old and New Testaments and other faith stories. Godly Play is creative, and places a great deal of emphasis on teacher and students learning together. During each story, the group sits together in a circle and the teacher tells a story using a variety of materials. This is followed by a period of playful discussion, and an opportunity for children to do further play and work with the story of that day (they also have the option to look at others).New Church School Director Eva Englert will be leading our younger  children (ages 4 to 12) in these godly play lessons, and older children will be taught by another teacher. We look forward to journeying together in story and community this fall!

FALL CAMPAIGN STARTS NOW!

1. 2014 Annual Appeal Poster
This poster will be displayed in the Vestibule and other places where we will be thinking about funding the operations of our church. We will update it from time to time over the fall. It tracks both what the Annual Appeal has already accomplished, and what remains to be done.

2. Upper left Dial - Percent of Active Members who have already Pledged: 77%
Better than three-quarters of our active members (there are, say, 80-plus habitual givers) have already pledged. This commitment is an extraordinary achievement for this point in the yearly cycle*

3. Bar Graph - Pledges vs. Contributions
(aka - the thermometer) Calibrated into $25,000 segments, the bar graph shows the current state (9/10/14) of Pledges - $132,000, and Contributions (cash in hand) - $100,000. It gives a graphic representation of our progress in attaining the Budget Goal. Particularly remarkable is that 9 of the pledges received so far came not from Members, but from non-member friends.

4. The Budgeted Goal
Our current operations have been budgeted based on a $172,000 Annual Appeal contribution voted as the target at the Annual Meeting last spring. It is imperative that we reach it, not least as a vote of confidence for our leadership and ministry. Based on our progress to date, there is a good probability that this year we will actually make, or even surpass, the goal. The ultimate goal, of course, is to be self-sufficient in raising our operating funds, so that the Trusts can continue to build for the benefit of those who come after us, rather than pay our day-to-day costs.

5. Dateline, elapsed time
With the end of the calendar year as the end date for the Appeal, we need to maintain the current pace - especially in completing, or beginning, our pledges. That leaves 15 weeks. We will be marking off what's left. The deadline will be upon us before we know it.

6. Annual Appeal Committee
It is important to record the core members of our church who have lent their names and commitment to raising the funds required to do what is critical to us as a congregation.

We welcome your questions and suggestions about how to improve the data presentation. And, of course, we look forward to your fulfilling your pledges, and to completing this campaign for our church's well-being in triumph. Thank you for your support.

TODD and KAREN
Co-chairs, 2014 Annual Appeal Committee

* It should be noted that King's Chapel does have a larger membership: about 200. Earlier this year, we presented the fact that approximately about half of this larger membership community has not contributed to the Appeal in the past 10 years. This raises the question - should on-going full Members of our church support it in some way? This is the subject of a separate discussion. For now, we feel that to use the overall number (200) would distort the impact of this report telling what our actively engaged giving community is currently bringing to the challenge