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...

Please Join us for Festive "Milk Punch" Sunday After Church - December 20th, 12:30PM  
 
In a grand Yuletide tradition of King's Chapel on the Sunday before Christmas, all are invited to gather after church at the Parish House, 64 Beacon Street, for festive food, good cheer, and the famous Milk Punch, something akin to a deliciously powerful eggnog. For families young and old, we promise a grand time where you can join old friends and meet new ones!
From the Minister | Fourth Sunday in Advent

American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner painted the "Annunciation," the announcement by Angel Gabriel to Mary that she would bear a son, Jesus.  Have you seen it? 
Years ago, I saw a print of this during a spiritual retreat, and it's stayed with me ever since.  The Presence coming to Mary is painted as a shimmering light, with no wings or human features.  We don't know if this Presence would "speak" in human tones with words, but somehow it is communicating with Mary and she's considering.  Mary is very human, with no halo  - her head is tilted, she's quizzical, intelligent. Mary's bare foot pokes out from under her robe; the rug in the room is wrinkled; the walls have some peeling paint. Mary is as real as we are.

I see any of us, considering an invitation.

Is there a new invitation being offered to you? Is there a shimmering light catching your attention, albeit not in a form or shape you recognize? Imagine what would happen, if like Mary, you said Yes.
Upcoming Events
Hungry for a More Meaningful Christmas?

Join the Rev. Joy Fallon in reading a small book by best-selling author Franciscan monk Richard Rohr, Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent.  Read and reflect on your own or join Joy for an informal conversation tonight at 7PM, following the 6PM worship service.  We'll meet over soup in the Vestry room, behind the pulpit.
Procession of the Backpacks - Your Help Needed on Sunday

This Sunday, at both the 9 and 11 AM services, we will bless the 100 backpacks you have helped King's Chapel to create and will share with those who have no homes.

The backpacks that we bless during the December 20 Morning Prayer service at 11 AM will be taken to Common Cathedral, an outdoor church with which we partner, located next to the Park Street T stop.  Each Sunday at 1 PM, rain or shine, snow or sun, there is a worship service at the Brewster Fountain for those who gather.  The Rev. Laura Shatzer, a classmate of Joy's in seminary, serves the congregation.  

Will you help us process the backpacks to Common Cathedral? If you are able, we'd appreciate you joining us after the service, helping us carry 80 backpacks to Common Cathedral for distribution there.  It's on the way to our Milk Punch Party, to be held at the Parish House (64 Beacon St).  

The backpacks blessed at the 9 AM Morning Light service, in the Little Chapel at the Parish House (64 Beacon Street) will be taken to Rosie's Place, a shelter for women and their children located in Boston.

Many thanks to our Community Action Committee, its chair Judy Luca, and all of you, for this ministry.
Old Fashioned Clean Up and Greening Before Christmas
 
An impassioned band of friends and eager parishioners are being gathered by Bill Wilson and Todd Lee to meet at the church on Saturday, December 19, 8AM 'til 10AM,  to clean, straighten up, and make presentable our wonderful King's Chapel for the Christmas season.  We will also be completing our Greening of the church from 10AM to Noon.

Help us spruce up our house of worship to help make us look our best as we welcome young and old, long time members and first time visitors and all who wish to join us to celebrate our faith and traditions. 

Doughnuts, coffee and cider - and old-time community spirit - before we get on to a busy last Saturday before Christmas. Join us!

Please let Gretchen Horton ([email protected]) know if you will be there - and bring a friend to meet us at work. 


Retreat at Glastonbury Abbey, January 15-17 2016

Hymns: Experience and Reflection, led by Rev. Shawn Fiedler and Heinrich Christensen.

Martin Rinkart was a minister in the city of Eilenburg during the Thirty Years War. Apart from battles, lives were lost in great number during this time due to illnesses and disease spreading quickly throughout impoverished cities. In the Epidemic of 1637, Rinkart officiated at over four thousand funerals, sometimes fifty per day. Rinkart lost his wife during the Epidemic. In the midst of these horrors, it is difficult to imagine maintaining faith and praising God, and yet, that's exactly what Rinkart did. He wrote the popular hymn, "Now Thank We All Our God." Somehow, Rinkart found the strength to write a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God even in the midst of great horror and heartache. Could you compose a hymn of hope and praise in the midst of such pain? Could you sing one? 

In the beauty and peace of the Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Massachusetts, we will explore the theology, history and spirituality of Christian hymnody. We will discuss and reflect on classic hymns, and of course, sing! Start the new year making a joyful noise! To register, click here.
Christmas at Kings


Family Service
Christmas Eve 5PM
 
The story of Jesus' birth comes alive through word and carols. Any child who wants to participate as a shepherd or angel in our nativity pageant will have the opportunity to do so.
 
 
Lessons & Carols
Christmas Eve 10:30PM
 
A traditional service with full choir and candlelight modeled after the service offered at Truro Cathedral in 1880.
The first Christmas Eve service offered
at King's Chapel was held in 1929.
Organ prelude begins at 10 p.m.
 
 
Holy Communion
Christmas Day 10AM
 
Join us for our Christmas Day service with Holy Communion in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
New Years at Kings

Holy Communion
5:30PM at the Little Chapel
64 Beacon Street

We greet the coming new year with this service of Word & Sacrament from the King's Chapel Book of Common Prayer. 
 
Potluck Dinner
6:15PM to 9PM
King's Chapel Parish House
64 Beacon Street

A potluck dinner in the 2nd floor parlors of 64 Beacon Street. Advance reservations and potluck assignments should be made by December 29th through the Parish Administrator: [email protected].

First Night Concert
9PM at King's Chapel

Heinrich Christensen plays
the C.B. Fisk Organ.
J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in d minor Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. Free and open to the public.
Upcoming Worship Schedule

There will be no Evening Worship (Wednesdays 6PM) on December 23 or December 30.

Additionally, there will be no Morning Light (Sundays 9AM) on December 27th. Please join us for Morning Prayer on December 27th at 11AM

All regularly scheduled services will resume on January 3rd

News from the Parish

Update on Renovations at 64 Beacon
 
We are thrilled to say that the renovation to the portico at 64 Beacon is almost complete!  Yes, it has taken much longer than anticipated but the deterioration was greater than originally thought, which meant more extensive work.  The front has been scraped, replacement molding installed,  epoxied and primed and we are now awaiting the final paint. The good news, though, is that the front door is accessible on weekends!  Anyone coming to Morning Light and Church School can now enter through the front!  What joy!
Holiday Office Closures

The administrative offices will be closed from Christmas Day to New Year's Day . The Parish House will be open on New Year's Eve for Holy Communion in the Little Chapel and the potluck dinner in the parlor.  The offices will reopen on Monday, January 4th, 2016. If you need to reach us, please call or email the Parish Administrator at administrator@kings-chapel.org
Upcoming Between Sundays Schedule

Due to these holiday closures, Between Sundays will not be sent on December 30th. It will resume as normal on January 6, in the new year.
Annual Appeal Update

This is a final request, to all of you, as we close out our Annual Appeal 2015.  Many of you have come forward and added to your initial donation, while for others remembered that it is the end of the year and it was necessary to receive the donation soon! Thank you!  There is still time to get that last minute gift - including your donation to our fund drive! 
 
We thank you for ALL of your gifts and know that, together with your help, the vibrant services, programs and activities can continue!
Holiday Baked Goods Project - Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless

One in seven children in Massachusetts is living in poverty, many without a bed.  The Christmas season is nearly upon us and the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is seeking our help to make its annual holiday baked goods project a success.  Again this year Dancing Deer Bakery is partnering with the Coalition.  The funds raised through this sale support the Coalition's initiative "A Bed for Every Child."  The Coalition partners with public schools to assist students whose families are at risk of becoming homeless.

A good night's sleep has a major effect on a child's ability to come to school prepared to learn; falling behind in school due to a lack of sleep can have negative long-term consequences on a student's education and future.  A proven pathway out of homelessness is to ensure children of low-income families receive an education that will allow them to graduate from high school.  To do this, children must have the tools they need to succeed.  One of these tools is a bed.

A complete bed includes a twin mattress, box spring, frame and linens for each student referred to the Coalition by its public school partners throughout Massachusetts.  Your purchase of baked goods or making a monetary donation to "A Bed for Every Child" will help children living in poverty.  For every $250 raised, a child receives a complete bed.  So far, well over 2,000 children have received their own bed, but hundreds more are still on a waiting list.

This year your baked goods will be delivered directly to your home address or to the address of someone to whom you are making a gift of baked goods.  Please place your order by December 17, 2015, at 10:00 AM, to ensure delivery by December 25.  Orders will ship December 18, 2015.  Just go to mahomeless.org; click on "Our Programs"; click on "A Bed for Every Child Initiative"; and click on "Holiday Baked Goods Project - Shop now".  If you wish to donate instead, click on "Donate".  If you have a problem navigating the site, contact me (Cliff Allen) and I will lend my assistance.  I may be reached at 12 Jewett Road, Beverly, MA 01915; [email protected]; or 508-517-7904.

Cliff Allen, Senior Warden

Shepherds why this jubilee?
Throwback. Rev. Fiedler
In This Issue
Wednesday, December 16, 6PM, Communion Service

The Rev. Joy Fallon,
preacher
  • Emily Bieber, Soloist
  • Mindy Hinkel, Hospitality
Sunday, December 20, 11AM, Communion Service

The Rev. Joy Fallon,
preacher
  • Mary Sears, Soloist
  • Anne Sexton, Head Usher
  • Sylvia Soderberg, Usher-in-Charge
  • Karen Dalton, Betsy Peterson, and Todd Lee, Ushers
  • Carolyn Conley, Verger
The Readings:
  • Psalm 80: 1-7
  • Old Testament: Micah 5: 2-5a
  • New Testament: Luke 1:26-38
     
After the service, all are invited to partake in a grand Yuletide tradition of King's Chapel,
Milk Punch at the Parish House!
 Volunteer to Host Coffee Hour!
From the Bench
By Heinrich Christensen
This Sunday's prelude is the first movement of French organist Marcel Dupr�'s so-calledPassion Symphony, a work that started out as an entirely improvised 4 movement (Advent-Nativity-Crucifixion-Resurrection) symphony, apparently deemed so successful that Dupr� subsequently published a score for it. The Advent movement, The World Awaiting the Savior, depicts a tumultuous hustle and bustle interrupted by the coming of the Gregorian chant Jesu, redemptor omnium (Jesus, Savior of all), eventually mingling the two musical ideas into a triumphant hymn.

For the Introit, the choir will sing John Stainer's O King and Desire of All Nations, a Victorian take on the O Antiphons designated for the final week of Advent.

The motet will be Joseph Jennings' gorgeous arrangement of Gustav Holst's tune to Christina Rossetti's famous poem In the Bleak Midwinter This arrangement was written for the all-male choral group Chanticleer, and is characterized by sudden dramatic key changes between each verse of this beloved carol.

For the offertory, we offer our final selection by our featured Advent composer, Charles Wood. The anthem O Thou, the Central Orb sets a poem by Henry Ramsden Bramley.
Bramley, along with composer John Stainer, is credited with fueling a Victorian revival of Christmas carols with their 1871 publication of Christmas Carols, New and Old, which popularized carols such as The First Nowell, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen and The Holly and the Ivy. 

In this poem, Bramley quite deftly manages to blend Advent and Solstice imagery.

O Thou, the central orb of righteous love,
Pure beam of the most High, eternal Light
Of this our wintry world, Thy radiance bright
Awakes new joy in faith, hope soars above. 

Come, quickly come, and let thy glory shine,
Gilding our darksome heaven with rays Divine. 

Thy saints with holy lustre round Thee move,
As stars about thy throne, set in the height
Of God's ordaining counsel, as Thy sight
Gives measured grace to each, Thy power to prove. 

Let Thy bright beams disperse the gloom of sin,
Our nature all shall feel eternal day
In fellowship with thee, transforming day
To souls erewhile unclean, now pure within. Amen.

The postlude is perennial Bach favorite, Sleepers, Wake!
Tuesday Recital, The Half Hour Messiah!
Tuesday, December 22, 12:15 PM
This Tuesday, for the final Tuesday recital before Christmas, join us for one of King's Chapel's newest holiday traditions, the Half-Hour Messiah!

In this busy time, one does not always find time to enjoy an entire 3-hour Handel oratorio. The Half-Hour Messiah, as the name suggests, gets the job done in just 30 minutes. With selections from the Advent portion of Messiah, and of course ending with a rousing Hallelujah chorus where the audience is invited to sing along, choir members Joei & Dan Perry, Mindy Hinkel, and Eric Ferring, are sure to raise your holiday spirit to the roof. Suggested donation $3.
Second Sunday
On Sunday, January 10th, all collection not designated for the Annual Appeal will go to Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Church School
Did you know...

The Coming of Age participants, ages 12-17, will be observing a prayer within a Mosque, practicing meditation under the guidance of a Buddhist leader, and learning about the Hindu system of Karma?

Did you know...

Children ages 7-11 participating in our Superheroes of Our Faith group are going to learn about the courage of the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible, the determination of Civil Rights leaders, and the compassion of heroes who use peace over force around the world?

Did you know...

In our Godly Play group, young children ages 3-6 are learning about religious language and the mystery of faith by seeing stories told before their eyes from master storytellers?

If you haven't heard what's going on with the Kings Chapel Church School, you might be missing out. Come see what's yet to come in 2016.
Interested in Membership?
Click here to learn how to become a member of King's Chapel!
More News from
The Parish

Highlights from last Friday's Christmas Greening!
Save the Date

Budget Hearing set for Sunday, January 24th 2016, at the Parish House.
We Rejoice with Those Who Rejoice, and Weep with Those Who Weep

Congratulations to Dr. Caroline Robertson Welling, who joined King's Chapel in 2014, and serves on our Vestry.  This week Caroline will have another article published in her research field of neuroscience and autism.  More information can be found at her website.

On Christmas Eve, at our 5 PM service, Bernardo Aumond and Meaghan Hamilton will be our "Joseph" and "Mary," with their son Gabriel, our live baby "Jesus." Bernardo and Meaghan were married here in 2014, joined the church later that year, and welcomed their son Gabriel in 2015.  He was baptized here in July.

Gabriel Hamilton Aumond follows a long line of babies who have been cast as Jesus in our Christmas pageants.  Both Will Speight, and George Boitano, Jr.,  -- who this year will be Kings - began their careers as "Jesus."  
We rejoice with Jim Powers, who has a new grandson, Joaquin Power! Jim writes:

We rejoice with Jim Powers, who has a new grandson, Joaquin Power! Jim writes:
 
At 12:35 am this morning (Wednesday, December 16, 2015) in Miami, Florida, "Joaquin" Power arrived to bless our lives.  The firstborn of Lucia and my son, Benjamin, "Joaquin" is the Spanish language version of Joachim or Joshua with its origin in Hebrew and literally means "lifted by Yahweh".
 
For our family, the name has very special meaning as it is also the name of the late Catholic priest who christened the father of this little newborn in Santiago, Chile in 1982. Fr. Joaquin Esteban Gumucio, SS.CC. (1914-2001), a Chilean priest, poet, lyricist and activist in the campaign for human rights for captured Chileans during the overthrow of the Allende administration, was a brother of "little Joaquin's" great-grandfather, Vicente Gumucio.  At present, Father (Padre) Esteban is in the process of beatification by the Roman Catholic Church under the supervision of Pope Francis I, and the country of Chile celebrates his life, his work, and his memory.   
 
God bless little Joaquin!  God bless all of us that are now entrusted with his care.

With abundant thanksgiving,

Jim

We continue to weep with those who face refugee crises around the world. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee is working hard to alleviate this suffering. Click here for more information on how to help.
King's Chapel Outreach

As many of you know Community Action Committee is gathering information about organizations in our community for our church to get more involved in. We would like to get your input. Please email me at [email protected] to let me know what issues you would like to see our church get more involved in. Let me know what your interests are, what your passions are or if you are involved in volunteering for any organizations now. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your support. Together we can make a difference in our beautiful city!
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 at [email protected] with a written piece and/or pictures before Wednesday at 12 PM!