"There are two preachers at every funeral", writes Thomas Long, professor of preaching at Candler School of Theology. Dr. Long tells us that Death loves to preach and never misses a funeral. Death's sermon rattles our confidence and grabs hold of our hearts. Death's sermon is piercing and almost convincing. Almost."
But here's the thing: there are two preachers at every funeral.
The other preacher? You. Me. All of us. In response to Death, the Christian community gathers in music, prayer, and ritual to proclaim that Christian story that though mortals do die...our breathing ceases, our hearts stop beating...we who were dead, are made alive again and rise in Glory.
This Sunday, we will observe the ancient Christian festivals of All Saints & All Souls-days dedicated to prayer and remembrance of the dead. We will remember, grieve and rest from those things which are lost and those things which, for a time, are out of sight.
In response to this great mystery, we will sing, we will recite our prayers, and we will kindle light. Together, we will preach the Christian hope that death does not have the final word. We will preach a hope not explained by science or logic, but rests in mystery.
--Shawn
Almighty God, who hast manifested thy love and power in the lives and deaths of thy holy ones, grant that like them we may glorify thee, loving thee whom they have loved, finding thee whom they have found, and dwelling at last in thee with them, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
-Book of Common Prayer, According to the Use in King's Chapel.
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Spotlight On: Kate Braestrup
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Don't miss the 2014 Minns Lectures at King's Chapel and First Church Boston, November 7-9.
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Sunday, Nov. 9th: NYT Best Selling Author Kate Braestrup Preaches at King's Chapel.
Braestrup will also give three lectures: Friday at King's Chapel, and Saturday at First Church Boston.
From her first book:
"The game wardens have been walking in the rain all day, walking through the woods in the freezing rain trying to find your sister," chaplain Kate Braestrup told Betsy's grieving brother. "They would have walked all day tomorrow, walked in the cold rain the rest of the week, searching for Betsy, so they could bring her home to you. And if there is one thing I am sure of-one thing I am very, very sure of, Dan-it is that God is not less kind, less committed, or less merciful than a Maine game warden."
For more about Betsy's story, written by Braestrup in her NYT Best Seller, "Here If You Need Me," click HERE.
Braestrup is delivering the 2014 Minns Lectures in Boston next weekend, Nov. 7-9. HERE, for more information.
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King's Chapel Halloween--TONIGHT!
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Come visit Shawn at the Parish House this evening between 4:30 and 7:30, where he and other regal beings will be handing out King-Sized treats!
Also Click HERE to vote for Shawn on our Facebook page.
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On Friday, October 31st from 4:30-7:30PM, King's Chapel will be welcoming ghosts and pirates, super heroes and princesses to the Parish House Garden (accessible via Branch Street). Joining in the reveling and festivity of one of Beacon Hill's most treasured children's traditions, King's Chapel will be hosting activities for children ranging from creative crafts to King size 'trick or treats'! We are in need of volunteers to welcome our neighbors and provide extravagant hospitality. If you are interested, please email shawn@kings-chapel.org. |
Thursday October 30th, Friday October 31st, and Saturday November 1st: This year our guides will be offering a spooky twist on their usual crypt tours. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday next week visitors are invited to book special after-hours tours from 4pm-7pm to see the sanctuary cloaked in shadow and descend into the crypt to hear about the history of burial practices in early Boston. Click HERE to inquire and reserve your place. |
Calling all Gardeners: Saturday, November 1st 9am-11am-- RAINDATE SCHEDULED!
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A rather gloomy forecast for Saturday--windy with morning showers evolving to a steady, soaking rain in the afternoon--has prompted a raindate for planting daffodils. IN THE EVENT OF BAD WEATHER, WE WILL PLANT INSTEAD ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 8th from 2:00pm-4:00pm
King's Chapel has received 250 daffodil bulbs from the City of Boston to plant in the King's Chapel burying ground. Bring your spades and gloves to the Burying Ground and join Julina, Eva, and other volunteers in beautifying our public space on Saturday, November 1st from 9am to 11am. Coffee and breakfast treats will be provided. Contact Julina Rundberg at the Parish House for more information.
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Young Adults Brunch, Sunday November 2nd
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Young Adults (20-30s) of King's Chapel are invited to brunch at the home of Caroline Robertson and Orian Welling (located on Beacon Hill) on Sunday, November 2nd, following Morning Prayer. Food & good conversation will be provided. Please R.S.V.P. to Rev. Shawn Fiedler for directions to Caroline and Orian's home. |
Heinrich's other Appearances
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King's Chapel Music Director Heinrich Christensen will be featured in a concert with The Seraphim Singers on Sunday, Nov. 16th at 3pm at Mission Church (1545 Tremont St., Boston). "The Short Twentieth Century" is a moving musical reflection on the world unmade and remade by war and violence from 1914-1990. Composers will include Charles Ives, Hubert Parry, Arvo Pärt, Herbert Howells, Tom Vignieri, and Kurt Weill. Tickets are $15-20; please visit www.seraphimsingers.org for more information. |
Save these dates from the Adult Religious Education Committee!
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January 16-18, 2015
Winter Retreat, Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham MA
Rev. Joy Fallon will lead the program.
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On Sunday, October 28, King's Chapel welcomed 7 new members. Check out their information here, so you can welcome them by name: |
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Joseph C. Kubiak, III
Joseph was born in Athens, GA, raised in Virginia, and made his way up north to Boston for graduate school. He grew up and was baptized in the Episcopal church and, during his own search for a church after moving up here, was immediately drawn to the openness and warmness of the congregation at King's Chapel. He enjoys being in the outdoors, cooking barbecue, country music, and historical tours of Boston. He is about to graduate from school in May 2015 and plans to work in or around the Boston area as a dentist.
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Bernardo Aumond and Meaghan Hamilton
Bernardo and Meaghan were married at King's Chapel May 4, 2014. They were drawn to KC by its openness and inclusiveness, and its historical place in our community. Since May, they have moved from the North End to Needham, and they are expecting a child in March. Bernardo is originally from Brazil, and is a financial analyst in Boston. Meaghan is a pediatric nurse practitioner in a community health center in East Boston.
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Micah Niemy
Micah moved to the Boston area in 2001 from California to attend college. He was baptized at Kings Chapel on Holy Saturday this year. He lives in Somerville with his beautiful wife Carrie. Micah works for a human services agency in Boston serving in contracts and financial management. In his spare time Micah teaches English and citizenship to new Americans in Dorchester and serves as a Big Brother. He is also a sometimes marathoner.
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Orian & Caroline Welling
Caroline and Orian Welling moved to Boston from Cambridge, England a little over a year ago. They met in Cambridge while pursuing doctoral work, although they both originally hail from the great Midwest. They are drawn to King's Chapel because of its welcoming community and intellectually-engaging ministry. They love to listen to Joy's sermons and discuss them over brunch. Caroline and Orian were married last summer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Caroline is a neuroscientist at Harvard, and Orian a consultant for the Boston Consultant Group. They both love long-distance bicycling: Orian has ridden across three continents on his bicycle, and their first date was a romantic ride across Greece.
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SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2
9:45 a.m. Early Service
10:30 a.m. Church School 11:00 a.m. Morning Prayer
The Rev. Shawn Fiedler, preacher
- Anne Sexton, Head Usher
- Richard Weeks, Usher-in-Charge
- David Wheeler and Cliff Allen, Ushers
- Julie Hyde, Lector
- Bill Kuttner, Volunteer Guide
The lessons are:
Pslam 23
*Revelation 7:9-17
and Matthew 5:1-12
At the communion rail following the service, Bill Kuttner will greet those interested in learning more about King's Chapel.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 5
12:15 p.m. Midweek Service
Judy Sizer, guest preacher
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--By Heinrich Christensen
For All Saints, we have saved three beautiful movements from last week's concert: The two Requiem Aeternam movements, and I Heard a Voice from Heaven from Herbert Howells' gorgeous Requiem. You will also hear the Sanctus and Agnus Dei from Daniel Pinkham's Small Requiem. Some parishioners may remember that this was one of the two pieces selected for a special King's Chapel Edition on the occasion of Dan's retirement in 2000. The other featured composer is Calvin Hampton. During the lighting of candles, we will all get to sing his A Repeated Alleluia, and Heinrich will play organ pre- and postludes by Hampton as well.
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On Sunday November 9th, all donations not designated for the King's Chapel Annual Appeal will be given to the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless advocates for those experiencing or at risk for homelessness in public policy, offers public education about homelessness and its solution, and provides material assistance to programs that serve the homeless population. |
Call me a 90s kid, but one of my favorite movies is and always will be Disney's The Lion King. It captivated my 5-year-old heart and when I watch it now as a young adult, I find that it still bears fruitful lessons to me. One scene I particularly resonate with is Mufasa's showing his son Simba the "great kings of the past" who look down upon them from the starry skies. The metaphor is perhaps a bit cheesy to draw on for thinking about that Christian festival day we call All Saint's, but I think it serves as a reminder for the "cloud of witnesses"-- those mentors, guides. trailblazers, and ramblers of the faith who have gone before us, leaving their visions,lessons, dreams- however incomplete they might be- for us to learn and grow from.
The Church School will gather in worship, bulb-planting (weather permitting, please dress accordingly) on the King's Chapel burial ground, and story and activity honoring All Saints this upcoming Sunday. Join us as we bind our journeys to the ones which have gone before!
Grace and Peace, Eva Englert Church School Director |
Meet our New Church School Musician!
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Kade Phillips is a freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looking to study mathematics with compsci and music composition. Born and raised in LaGrange, Kentucky (about 20 minutes from Louisville), he started piano lessons at age 8.
Originally, his interest lay in organ building, and it wasn't until after his family moved to eastern Oregon when he was 13 that he began playing organ. Outside of class, Kade is trying his hand at a new sport (nonexistent in the eastern Oregon desert) as a walk-on rower for MIT. |
Please join us on Tuesday, November 4, 12:15 p.m. as the Voci Angelica Trio sings Common Ground: Songs of Hope, Love, Loss, and Prayer.
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Accessibility and Hearing Assists
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Our beautiful Georgian sanctuary designed by Peter Harrison and completed in 1754, has been lovingly maintained by the congregation since its completion. Some of the box pews have been made wheel-chair accessible. Ushers are available to assist those who are wheelchair-bound to those pews.
Many of us have trouble hearing in our sanctuary, which does not have amplification. Small hearing devices are available; an usher also will be happy to provide one, and explain how they work.
The Book of Common Prayer According to the Use in King's Chapel is the cornerstone of worship at our 11 am Morning Prayer Services. Printed orders of service including hymns, Psalms, and responsive sections of the Prayer Book liturgy are available to facilitate participation in worship for everyone. |
Congratulations to Todd Lee and Karen Dalton!
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Todd and Karen became the proud grandparents of Gabriel Dalton-Vigeant on the evening of October 27th. Gabriel is the first child of Mish and Coureton--all are healthy and pleased.
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Chancel Flowers: Donors Needed!
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There are several upcoming dates available for Chancel Flower donations in November. If you would like to offer a dedication in honor or memory of a loved one, please contact the Parish House.
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BU Today feature Theresa Cooney O'Hara and King's Chapel's Crypt! Check it out.
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