Keeping King's Chapel's members, friends, and subscribed visitors connected each week between Sunday worship services with updates from the Parish House.
Spotlight On...

From the Minister
If you had to choose, are you more prone to pride or insecurity - habitually comparing yourself favorably to others, or most often forgetting that you're supposed to love yourself, as well as your neighbor? Maybe you ping-pong between the two.

On Sunday we'll complete the sermon series, "The Big Questions We All Have." The topic:  Is it really possible to be a "servant" in this competitive world?  Jesus had announced he'd soon be out of the picture, and the disciples fell to discussing among themselves the succession plan: who among them was "the greatest."  But when Jesus asked them what they'd been talking about, they were embarrassed, and didn't want to tell him.  

Jesus says he wants courageous leaders who act like a servant.  How do we do that? Is it even possible today? Our world doesn't wait for those who are sheepish.  And being a doormat is not the recipe for leadership. Have there been things that the world - or a town or a neighbor  - cried out for and didn't get done, because someone didn't believe enough in themselves? Do we ever use "humility" as an excuse, when we're afraid?  On the other hand, you may know the corrosive effects of this tendency: to judge people unfairly, too quickly assuming that they have less to offer than you do.  Which wonderful people have you never gotten to learn from because you were blinded to their special gifts, just what you most needed? What hurtful words have you said that have left scars?

Thanks be to God that we can tackle these questions together - they're not easy. But we have a place where we can help each other become the people we want to be.  Join us, rejoicing on Sunday, giving thanks for second chances, one another, and life.

Joy
Upcoming Events
Theology on Tap | Tonight!

Believer. Non-Believer. Confident. Curious. Join us for a lively theological discussion in a relaxed setting. In honor of All Saints & All Souls, Tonight (November 18th) at 7pm we'll discuss "Life After Death" over hearty appetizers. Anyone over 21 is welcome to join and purchase their own beverage. We will meet at The Kinsale {2 Center Plz, Boston, MA 02108}. Conversations led by Rev. Shawn Fiedler. RSVP is required to ensure enough seating, contact
Talking Together About the Big Issues: "Grief" - Tomorrow Night

Many of us have lost loved ones in the past several years.  Any who are grieving are invited to Joy's home at the Parsonage tomorrow, Thursday, November 19, at 6:30 PM.  We'll share an informal dinner, and learn from one another other. It can be helpful to gather with others during difficult times, to know you're not alone. The Parish House and Parsonage are located at 63-64 Beacon Street.  Because of ongoing restoration of the front porticos, please enter through the back of the Parish House garden, off Branch Street.  The door is marked.  Branch Street runs parallel to Beacon Street, between Spruce and Charles Streets. Once inside the Parish House, signs will direct you next door into the parsonage. We'll meet on the 2nd floor.
Ladies Tea

The Ministers and Staff of King's Chapel cordially invite the Ladies of the Society to an Afternoon Tea, to be held on Tuesday November 24, 2015 at 2:00 PM.  All Ladies are welcome to join us at The Parish House!
Thanksgiving Day

Join us for worship at 10 AM on Thanksgiving Day - time set aside between the turkey and Black Friday, time apart between the bustle of cooking and the football games, a space for giving thanks to God, singing the old songs, reminding our children how the holiday started.
 
If you're in town, please join us for this longstanding tradition at King's Chapel - worship on Thanksgiving Day with one another.  

Bach, Bach, Bach! November 29th, 5:00 PM
To round off Thanksgiving weekend, Heinrich will play organ pieces by three members of the Bach family. In addition to three major and three minor works by Johann Sebastian, you will hear music by his second cousin Johann Bernhard, roughly Johann Sebastian's contemporary, but representing more of the "standard" music being written at the time before Johann Sebastian showed up on the scene and began lots of new musical invention. Also represented is Johann Sebastian's son Carl Philipp Emanuel who actually in his lifetime was a much more celebrated composer than his father ever was. Sunday, November 29, 5 PM. Tickets available online at a $5 discount. 

Greening of the Church and Parish House

We will be greening The Chapel on Saturday December 5th, 10 AM - 12 PM. If you can volunteer to help, please RSVP Louise Perkins at [email protected]

Greening of the Parish House will be held on Friday December 11th  at 11:00AM.  Volunteers are welcome to help.  Contact Gretchen Horton at [email protected] for information.
Advent Crafts | December 6, 10AM

Come be a part of a time-honored tradition at King's Chapel! Advent Crafts will be held at the Parish House following Morning Light on Sunday, December 6th. Children of any age are welcome to make holiday crafts and enjoy in the merriment! For more information contact [email protected] 
Advent Book - Selling Fast, Discussion on December 2, 9 and 16 at 7 PM

Join the Rev. Joy Fallon in reading a small book, 1-2 pages a day, during Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas; this year it begins on Sunday, November 29th. Copies of Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent, by best-selling author Franciscan monk Richard Rohr, will be available for $8 after worship services at the hospitality table, or can be ordered on the internet.  Read and reflect on your own, or join Joy for an informal conversation on Wednesday evenings, December 2, 9 and 16 at 7 PM, following the 6 PM worship service.  We'll meet over soup in the Vestry room, behind the pulpit.
Retreat at Glastonbury Abbey, January 15-17 2016

Hymns: Experience and Reflection, led by Rev. Shawn Fiedler and Heinrich Christensen. Details and registration forms coming soon.
News from the Parish

Holiday Closures
The Parish House will be closed on 
November 26 & 27 for the Thanksgiving Holiday. 
Backpacks for the Homeless
This Christmas season, please consider contributing to the Community Action Committee's Backpack Project. The CAC will be donating backpacks filled with toiletries, scarfs, mittens, hats, socks, gift certificates, and food items to those in need during this cold winter season. Click here for the complete list of items to donate.
 
Donations can be brought to the Church or Parish House between now and December 15th. They will be distributed to those in need before Christmas. Some of the backpacks will be as assembled during our Advent Crafts session on Dec 6th at 10:00AM, at the Parish House. Children and families are invited to participate.
 
Please remember these words from Matthew 25. "For  I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me."
 
Please contact Judy Luca for more information, at [email protected].
Handel and Haydn Bicentennial
This year is the 200th anniversary of the first Handel and Haydn concert in Boston, held at King's Chapel.  In anticipation of this milestone, for the last year our church has been working alongside the Handel and Haydn Society to commemorate the event.  Last year, the Handel and Haydn Society offered several free concerts in our church.  On two upcoming Tuesdays there will be more sung celebration during the regular King's Chapel Tuesday 12:15 concert series. On Tuesday November 17th at 12:15, the Handel and Haydn Chorus will sing from the Bach Family Motets. On December 22nd at 12:15, soloists from the King's Chapel Choir will offer a Half-Hour Messiah. King's Chapel also will be the site on Saturday, November 21st, of a Handel and Haydn fundraiser; if you are interested in supporting our partner, contact them soon, as tickets are in short supply. Many best wishes to them in this exciting year.
Talking Together About the Big Issues: Advance Medical Directives
Last Wednesday, nearly 40 of us came together in the Parish House parlor to hear an excellent presentation by Joyce Gallagher, from the Good Shepherd Hospice. Those participating had heard about the program through King's Chapel, through a Beacon Hill Times article written by Medb Mahony Sichko, and through Beacon Hill Village, with whom we partnered. Gallagher spoke about the importance of us all choosing a health care proxy and then discussing our wishes with that person. Gallagher provided handouts with questions we could consider, and ways to discuss these matters with friends or family.  Many people initially feel uneasy talking about death, but making your preferences clear in advance is a great blessing to all involved.  Facing end of life questions in advance can be one of the best gifts you leave your beloved ones.  There are a few information packets still available. Let Joy, Shawn or Betsy Peterson know if you want one.
New Member Gathering, Recap
On November 12 five prospective new members attended a gathering hosted by the Membership Committee. The ministers led conversations on the history of King's Chapel, our governance structure and opportunities to serve. On November 15, six prospective new members attended a brunch hosted by the Membership Committee. Other attendees included committee chairs and other leaders of the church. Welcome all! We look forward to our next New Members Joining on January 10th, 2016
In This Issue
Wednesday, November 18, 6PM

The Rev. Joy Fallon,
preacher
  • Joei Marshall Perry, Soloist 
  • Carol Genovese, Hospitality
Sunday, November 22, 11AM

The Rev. Joy Fallon,
preacher
  • Dean Denniston, Lector
  • Brian Church & Ben Henry Moreland, Soloists 
  • Anne Sexton, Head Usher
  • Betsy Peterson, Karen Dalton, & Julie Hyde, Ushers
  • Mary Sears, Hospitality
  • Carolyn Conley, Verger
The Readings:
  • Psalm 46
  • Old Testament: Jeremiah 11:19-20
  • New Testament: Mark 9:30-37
 Volunteer to Host Coffee Hour!
From the Bench
By Heinrich Christensen
This Sunday, the choir will sing Psalms of Thanksgiving. Frank Schubert's setting of Psalm 92, Lieblich ist's dem Ew'gen danken (It is good to thank Jehovah), alternates a solo quartet and baritone with the full chorus. Coincidentally, so does Ralph Vaughan Williams' majestic scoring of Psalm 90, Lord, thou hast been our Refuge. This anthem also incorporates our musical theme from last Sunday, the hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past.

The organ voluntaries preview our upcoming Bach, Bach, Bach concert with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Sonata in g minor. C. P. E. Bach was an influential composer working at a time of transition between his father's baroque style and the classical and romantic styles that followed it. His personal approach, an expressive and often turbulent one known as empfindsamer Stil or "sensitive style", applied the principles of rhetoric and drama to musical structures.

He was known as the "Berlin Bach" or the "Hamburg Bach". Interestingly, in the 18th century, his reputation far exceeded that of his father, Johann Sebastian. 

Tuesday Recitals
Tuesday, November 24, 12:15 PM

Tr�s Maresienne
Stylus Phantasticus
by Buxtehude, Muffat, Walther
Interested in Membership?
Click here to learn how to become a member of King's Chapel!
Second Sundays
On Sunday, December 13th, all collection not designated for the Annual Appeal will go to Horizons for Homeless Children.
More News from
The Parish
Simon's Departure

We are pleased to learn that our Administrative Assistant Simon has been accepted into the Peace Corps! Simon will be serving in Zambia as an English Teaching volunteer. He will be departing on June 6th, 2016, and will be leaving King's Chapel at the end of May.
Shawn Birthday

We give thanks for Shawn's presence at King's Chapel, and were joyful to be able to help him celebrate his birthday last week.  Happy Birthday, Shawn!
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
The King's Chapel library now has three copies of this best-selling book Being Mortal by local Harvard Medical School doctor, Atul Gwande.  It explores how American medicine addresses the end of life, and how we as individuals may choose to face our diseases and frailties, for ourselves and the family and friends we love.  It's a good read, which I recommend.  If there is interest, I'm happy to host a discussion.  Check it out at our Parish House Library, and let me know your thoughts.
Roots and Wings - Theme for the Year
Sermon Series: The Big Questions We All Have

This fall your preachers are offering a Sermon Series:  The Big Questions We All Have. The full list can be found on the church website.
Accessibility and Hearing Assists

Our beautiful Georgian sanctuary designed by Peter Harrison and completed in 1754, has been lovingly maintained by the congregation since its completion. One of the box pews has been made wheel-chair accessible.  Ushers are available to assist those who are wheelchair-bound to that pew. 
Contributing to Between Sundays

Want something in Between Sundays? Feel free to email Simon ([email protected]) with a written piece and/or pictures before Wednesday at Noon!