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King's Chapel Concert Series presents Americana II: Taking Shape
Our January choir concert continues last season's survey of American choral music. This time, we set out to explore whether there is a uniquely American sound or even spirit to be found in music inspired by Old American Hymns.
The starting point are the Southern Harmony and Sacred Harp collections of the 19th century. You will hear both original tunes from these collections, as well as examples of how they have been reinvented by contemporary American composers both in stern minimalism and lush layering of choral harmonies. Along the way, we take detours to look at, among other things, the strong Minnesota choral music tradition, familiar from for instance St. Olaf College and their Christmas broadcasts. You will hear beloved Spirituals, folk songs such asShenandoah, Billy Joel's And So It Goes, as well as David del Tredici's gorgeous Acrostic Song from Final Alice, based on Lewis Carroll's poetry from Alice in Wonderland. We'll discover how the music and words of the Old American Hymns echo throughout all this music, and try to find out if it does in fact unify us all into one big American melting pot!
The concert will take place on Sunday, January 25, at 5 PM. Tickets now available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/796442 at a $5 discount ($15/10), or will be available at the door for $20/15. Parishioners and friends are cordially invited to a reception at the Parish House after the performance.
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Learning Our Past as We Look to Our Future - Hold the Dates
How did King's Chapel come to be so open in its Theology, and so rooted in the Prayer Book?
We'll be exploring these questions this spring - come and join us.
Sunday, January 25 - Sermon about the Early History of King's Chapel
My sermon will be based on two excellent, short books, written by members of King's Chapel:
Journey Towards Independence, written by Carl Scovel, Minister Emeritus, and Charles Forman; and
King's Chapel The First Century: 1686-1787, by Andre Mayer.
Both are available for those interested, by contacting the Parish House. The Journey Toward Independence, originally given as a Minns Lecture, will be available as a pdf on the Minns Committee Website soon.
Wednesday, January 28, 7:15 pm - Book Group Discussion on these two books,
sponsored by ARE , at the Parish House, 64 Beacon St.
Watch for other upcoming events in this series.
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February 1 - 11 AM - Partner Church Sunday and Kolszvrar Communion, followed by Task Force Reports and Discussion
Our service will include the annual tradition of communion offered in the beautiful way it is served in our Unitarian Partner Church in Kolzvrar, Romania, with us all standing in a circle, and receiving communion, looking directly into the eyes of one another, to see Christ.
After the service, we will hear from the two King's Chapel Task Forces, who gathered last year to study and learn from the worship services offered by other area churches, and to assess demographics in the city of Boston, and ways to reach out to those not yet members of the King's Chapel community. The findings of these task forces has led to the proposals offered in the fall for two new services (Wednesday at 6 PM at the church, beginning in Lent, and Sunday morning at 9 AM at the Little Chapel). For more information, see the document distributed and discussed in a congregational meeting in November, found on our website, "We're On the Journey Together," http://www.kings-chapel.org/budget-narrative-for-2015.html
February 8 - 11 AM -Guest Preacher, Tina Chery, President and Founder, Mother's Day March for Peace, and Louis Brown Peace Institute, Boston
In 1993, Boston teenager Louis Brown was killed, caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout while on his way to a Teens Against Gang Violence meeting. Louis, a Boston school student at West Roxbury High, had said that he wanted to be the first African American U.S. President, and to work for peace, to change the image Americans had of young black men. Through his mother, Tina Chery, and the Louis Brown Peace Foundation, which Louis' grieving parents established in his name, Louis' cause of peace goes forward in Boston, and now nationally. Ms. Chery and her organization support other families and victims of violence, and promote violence prevention through peace curriculum used in the public schools, at all levels. Last year alone, 1000 children studied it. In May 2014, King's Chapel members Denton Crews, Kathe German, and Emanuel and Carol Genovese, marched in the Mother's Day March Against Violence, and reported to us all the profound effect of talking and marching with thousands of adults and children from all over Boston and its suburbs, on a Sunday morning, through Roxbury and Dorchester. For more information, http://ldbpeaceinstitute.org/
February 15 - Churchwide Pancake Breakfast Hosted by Our Children's Ministries - at the Parish House before Morning Prayer, 9:30 - 10:30 AM.
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Heinrich Christensen to perform with the Seraphim Singers
King's Chapel Music Director and organist Heinrich Christensen will perform in concerts with The Seraphim Singers on Sunday, Feb. 8th at 3pm at First Church Cambridge (11 Garden St., Cambridge) and Friday, Feb. 13th at 8pm at St. Cecilia's Parish (18 Belvidere St., Boston). "'For heaven is a different thing': Choral Settings of Sacred Poetry" features a world premiere by Boston composer Richard J. Clark, a U.S. premiere by Norwegian composer Jon Lautvik, and exquisite settings of poetry by John Donne, George Herbert, Jones Very and more by Gerald Finzi, Hildegard von Bingen, Carson Cooman, James Woodman, and others. Tickets are $15-20; visit www.seraphimsingers.org for more information.
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My Dear King's Chapel Friends,
There are two lines from a Serbian poem by Ivan V. Lalíc that have been running through my head non-stop the last couple of weeks. They keep popping into my conscience uninvited; it's almost become a mantra:
Places we love we can never leave,
Places we love together, together, together...
There are few places that have had such an impression on my relatively young life as King's Chapel. I was hired here as Assistant Head Guide of the Visitor's Program when I was 23 and just out of Harvard Divinity School. I remember the moment that I thought this was the coolest place I had ever been; it was up on the platform right below the bell tower looking at the undressed granite and the dark wood beams and realizing that there were still places in Boston that were secret and ancient. The physical beauty of the interior is immediately obvious, but it's the dark, quiet corners of this building that have always felt magical to me. What a joy it has been to live in that magic for the last seven years.
As impossibly difficult as this feels, it is time for me to leave my position here. The reasons for this decision are joyful: I am graduating from the Graduate Division of Religious Studies at Boston University in May, and I now need to focus on the next stage of my academic career. More pressing than this is the fact that my husband Mike and I are expecting our first child in July; I have heard a rumor that babies require some attention!
I have experienced so much with, in, and alongside King's Chapel. It was both a major character in the story of my young adult life, and also a touchstone, always there, quiet and constant, no matter how chaotic the rest of the world could be. I have been the Head of the Guide Program for the last five years, and, at times, a verger and administrator. I lived in the garden apartment in the Parish House for three years and got married in the Chapel. I have spent every forth of July for the last seven years in colonial costume and every October watching the late afternoon light come in the windows and wondering how it's possible for anything to be so beautiful. I've met every kind of person from every corner of the world, and have been so proud to share this space and its stories with them. I've met all of you; the devoted, talented staff and the kind, loyal parishioners. You have shared so much with me. Please know how much I will carry you all with me; we will always be united in our love of this place and the time we have spent here. I look forward to coming back often to visit King's Chapel, and seeing it with new eyes. I can't wait to show my child its magic. Thank you all for being a part of my time here. Goodbye for now, but not for long!
All my best wishes,
Theresa Cooney O'Hara |
 | | On Saturday afternoon, while at our church retreat in Hingham, members Elsie Hermann and Patricia Ahern walked together on the nearby beach. |
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 | | A Prayer from one of our church school children. |
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SUNDAY JANUARY 25th
Rev. Joy Fallon, preacher
- Anne Sexton, Head Usher
- Charles Perry, Usher in Charge
- Marie Wells, Paul Luca, & Judy Luca, Ushers
- Hannah McMeans, Sean Lair, Eric Ferring, Soloists
- Denton Crews and Kathe German, Lectors
- Marie Wells, Volunteer Guide
- Gregg Sorensen, Hospitality
- Carolyn Conley, Verger
The Readings:
- Psalm 62:5-12
- Epistle: 1 Cor. 7:29-31
- New Testament: Mark 1:14-20
The flowers on the communion table are given in loving memory of Felicia Reed Clark by Todd Lee.
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28th
HOLY COMMUNION
Rev. Shawn Fiedler, celebrant
Amy Meyer, guest preacher
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On Sunday February 8th, all donations not designated for the King's Chapel Annual Appeal will be given to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
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By Heinrich Christensen
This Sunday morning, you will hear a slew of Old American hymns to prepare you for many more at the afternoon concert at 5 PM.
The prelude will consist of 3 settings by famous jazz pianist George Shearing from his Sacred Sounds collection. The choir will likewise sing
3 settings of shape note hymns, written by contemporary Minnesota Carol Barnett:
Come, we who love the Lord
And let our joys be known.
Join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne.
Finally, for the Postlude, you will hear Carol Barnett's March to Glory, written for the AGO convention in Boston this past summer.
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Tuesday January 27th
at 12:15 pm
Boston University
Marsh Chapel Choir & Collegium with
Scott Allen Jarrett, director perform works by Bach & Schutz |
In the Gospels of the New Testament books, Jesus has a way of explaining who he is and what the Kingdom of God is all about using ordinary people and things in his stories, called parables. For example, he compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, something so tiny but which bears fruit even with the smallest amount of faith. Jesus' parable illustrate that this kingdom was based not on flashy possessions, glamour, or personal recognition, but on basic practices of love and faith, found in the midst of everyday life.
The church school children learned the story of the Good Samaritan this past Sunday, and will continue to hear a different parable every church school Sunday until April. I look forward to finding deep meanings in these simple stories with them.
God's Peace,
Eva
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Upcoming Church School Events/Things to Note:
Feb. 15:
Church-Wide Pancake Breakfast Celebration
9:00-10:30am
Come be a part of celebrating Shrove Tuesday (a couple days early!) or Mardi Gras, the celebration which precedes the season of Lent in our church calendar. We'll have Early Worship at 9:00 at the Parish House, followed by pancakes from 9:30-10:30. The event is sponsored by the church school, but is for the whole congregation to be a part of.
We are suggesting a donation of $5, to benefit homeless communities in Boston. Volunteers are needed to bring griddles and/or waffle irons, as well as to help cook the pancakes! The Church School staff will provide pancake batter, eggs, and syrup. Please contact Eva if you are interested in being a part of organizing this fun event!
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(more) News from the Parish
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Dear Friends:
I am writing to you to ask if you will join the hospitality committee as we embark on a project that will bring King's Chapel members and friends together, by neighborhood, so we can get to know each other better.
The idea is to have small intimate dinners, for eight people or more, that will encourage dinner table conversations. We hope dinners can be scheduled starting in February and March. If this idea appeals to you, either as a guest or host please reply to this email. You may also contact me directly with any questions you may have.
I do hope you will consider joining with us in this project. I can be reached at 781-383-9028. Warmly, |
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Wanted: Language Translators for King's Chapel Signs
180,000 people come to visit us at King's Chapel every year, many from foreign countries. While we do have self-guided tours available in several languages, currently all of our exterior signage is in English. Anyone arriving during hours we are closed or worshipping, if not proficient in English, often does not understand that they are either warmly invited to join us in worship, or encouraged to return at the time tours will begin again.
If you can speak and write Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, Italian or French, and can help us devise more welcoming, useful signs for our many visitors, please contact Parish Administrator Julina Rundberg,julina@kings-chapel.org
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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. |
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