Capitol Hill | 301 A St SE, Washington, DC (corner of 3rd & A St SE) | stmarks.net


July 1, 2016
In This Issue
From the Associate Rector
From the Junior Warden
From the Music Director
From the Vestry
Service Notes & Music
Sunday Service Schedule
About the Gospel
Quick Links
The Gospel According to St. Mark's


"Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed- 
Let it be that great strong land of love 
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme 
That any man be crushed by one above."

                                - Langston Hughes, from "Let America be America Again"


 

Please join us this Sunday, July 3 at 10:00 am & 5:00 pm for 
Lessons in Democracy: A Fourth of July Lessons & Carols
A service of readings from our American history with hymns, prayers, and sermon (there will be no Eucharist at either service).
From the Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Associate Rector


Friends,


This Sunday's service includes excerpts from writings that reflect the best of our American history along with scripture, prayer, and hymns. Weaving together our political history with our religious ritual can be problematic for some. Our political ancestors were wary of religon's power to destablize a government dedicated to equality regardless of religious background. Our religious forebears were wary of a nation's power to rationalize ethical and moral choices in favor of national gain. When civil religion replaces deep religious engagement, a gauzy kind of spirituality can make naked power grabs seem so much more noble.


However, I don't think we can separate religious and political selves so easily. And we at St. Mark's have a special blessing (or burden, depending on how you look at it); we live in the shadow of our nation's government, a stone's throw from the United States Capitol. Even if our church's proximity to the seat of national power gives us only a symbolic role of balancing church and state, it is powerful sybolism. 


As we hear the readings from our nation's history and pray the prayers of our faith I hope that the best from each of these traditions builds us up to be the people we are called to be. A people of love and justice.


Michele and I are both away this weekend. I am officiating a wedding in New York and Michele is in the process of moving from Minnesota. I will be back in town on July 4 and Michele will be back July 8. Because of our absence, there will be no Eucharist. It's not that priests have a magical power to bless bread and wine; we actually need everyone - priests and people to make a Eucharist official. But we are set aside for that task. If you have a pastoral emergency, please send me an email at justi.schunior@stmarks.net (it goes straight to my phone). The Rev. Dr. Tricia Lyons, associate priest at Christ Church Capitol Hill, will be available if there are any pastoral emergencies while we are both away.


Here's a prayer for the good use of leisure:


O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of refreshment and peace; and grant that we may so use our leisure to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation. Amen.


-The Book of Common Prayer


Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!


Peace,
Justi
From Doris Burton, Junior Warden
 


Around the House....
 
Our nave and the earliest parish hall were completed in 1894 with the expansion to parish house in 1926. That makes the nave 122 years old and the parish house just about 90. It's no secret that old buildings leak, even the parts that have been refurbished...and ours has. Last fall, we installed new gutters on the west side of the nave to improve that situation but continue to deal with water, even in the 'new' parts and especially with the gully-washers that seem to be more common.


Baxter Hall has had an especially bad leak we now believe resulted from a clogged gutter (there are those gutters again). The ceiling and wall near the exterior door has been affected and we hope that having the gutters cleaned will shut down the waterfall but damage is yet to be repaired.
In addition, the downspout along the sidewalk isn't draining properly and water has been leaking into the Cox Music Studio. Teachers and students have been suffering from dampness and mold and this will be addressed soon.

Should you see water where it doesn't belong, please report it to the Junior Warden so we can address the problem before it does more damage. I was too slow to address the leak in Baxter, much to my regret.
 
News you may need to use... Thanks to Martha Huizenga and Charlie Rupp, we will soon get new phone and internet service through Comcast. They have negotiated terms that will bring faster internet downloads at about half the cost we have been paying.


Installation is currently scheduled for Thursday, July 7. While the interruption to phone service should be barely noticeable, you may have problems contacting the staff via email for several days, July 7-8. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call. If it's general business, please be patient thru this transition.  Should you find a dead-spot in the building, please report it to Charlie Rupp who will check it out.
 
3rd St. Parking Not a parking lot but a park-like area where the Men & Boys Choir used to pose for their annual photograph. It was a lovely English garden but the 1990 construction then the two storage trailers in 2012-14 destroyed it. It is destined to be a 'rain garden' but, for now, it's just producing huge weeds. If you have some time and would be willing to come by and whack some weeds, please let me know. It's pretty unsightly now and that bit of work would help. Raiford Gaffney has made a start but there's a way to go.


From Jeff Kempskie, Director of Music

 
Dear St. Marks, 
 
I've decided to expand the Summer Choir opportunities to both services on the days it's to be offered instead of having it at just one service.  Here, then is the revised Summer Choir schedule:
 
July 10             Summer Choir at 9:00 & 11:15 a.m. services with Jason West, substitute
July 24             Summer Choir at single 10:00 a.m. (9:20 rehearsal) with Donna Whited, substitute
August 7          Summer Choir at 9:00 & 11:15 a.m. services
August 14        Summer Choir at 9:00 & 11:15 a.m. services
 
Warm up and rehearsal for the above dates is 8:20 a.m. for the 9:00 service and 10:30 a.m. (in the Elders' room) for the 11:15 service.



We continue to host more delightful early music concerts!  We're so very lucky that the beauty and acoustics of the nave create such a sought-after venue for musicians to perform in.  Here is a list of the upcoming concerts, all of which comprise the Capitol Hill Chamber Music Festival:
   Versailles: Louis XIV's Musicians

   Friday, July 1, 2016 at 7:30 PM

   Tina Chancey ~ viola da gamba & pardessus de viole, Billy Simms

   ~ theorbo & baroque guitar, Jeffrey Cohan ~ baroque flute
 

  Trios: Classical to Romantic

   Friday, July 8, 2016 at 7:30 PM

   Risa Browder ~ violin & viola, John Moran ~ cello, Jeffrey Cohan

   ~ 8-keyed flute (London, 1820)


   A Little Consort of BACH FOR REILLY

   Sunday, July 10 at 7:30 PM with a reception to follow

   Risa Browder ~ baroque violin, John Moran ~ baroque cello, |

   Billy Simms ~ theorbo, Jeffrey Cohan ~ baroque flute


Tickets for the above are available at the door or through www.brownpapertickets.com.  The suggested donation (a free-will offering) is $20 or $25.  Everyone 18 and under get in free. Visit www.chcmf.org for more details about the programs.



Peace,

JEFF 
From the Communications Working Group
We hope you have heard the news about our new website launched this week! The new site is still at www.stmarks.net.  The primary focus of the site is to put our best face forward to the outside world and be a welcoming online presence for newcomers and church shoppers.  Of course, it will also be the home for the usual important information for current members.  We welcome your feedback. For any questions, suggestions, or comments, submit one of our feedback forms.  

 
Prelude
Ashokan Farewell, Jay Ungar (b.1946)
 
Opening Hymn
719 O beautiful for spacious skies, Tune: Materna
 

LEVAS 1 Lift Every Voice and Sing, v. 1, Words by James Weldon Johnson, Music by J. Rosamond Johnson
 
Hymn 717 My country 'tis of thee, Tune:  America
  
LEVAS 62 In Christ There Is No East or West, Tune: McKee
 
We Would Be One, Tune: Finlandia
 
They'll Know We Are Christians, Words & Music by Peter Scholtes
 
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, Sebastian Temple
 
Closing Hymn
607 O God of every nation, Tune: Llangloffan
 
Postlude
Postlude on "America the Beautiful" John S. Dixon (b. 1957)
Schedule of Services 
July 3, 2016
Lessons in Democracy: A Fourth of July Lessons & Carols
 
10:00 am Lessons in Democracy: A Fourth of July Lessons & Carols

Mr. David Deutsch, Officiant & Preacher

 

No Nursery or Children's Chapel

 

5:00 pm Lessons in Democracy: Readings and Music

Mr. David Deutsch, Officiant & Preacher

About the Gospel
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St. Marks Episcopal Church-Capitol Hill | 301 A Street SE | Washington | DC | 20003