Redeeming Features. Inside this issue: January Volume 30 Issue 1. Greetings from Rev. Andrew Goldhor. Dear friends,

Transcription

1 January 2014 Church of Our Redeemer 6 Meriam Street Lexington, MA Redeeming Features Volume 30 Issue 1 Staff 2013 Vestry Vestry Members Rector: Rev. Kate Ekrem Sr. Warden: George Murnaghan Jim Bradley Tony Johnson Asst. Rector: Rev. Andrew Goldhor Jr. Warden: Ian Fox Lance Conrad Eliza Koso Music Director: Dr. Bernadette Colley Treasurer: Frank Kern Julie Francis Renee LeBlanc Administrator/RF Editor: Lisa Bozkurtian Clerk: Mary Etta King Nancy Grayson James Surprenant Sexton: Roy McHoul Inside this issue: Greetings 1 Worship 2 Parish Life 2 Christian Formation 3 Mission 4 Music 7 January Calendar 8 FRIEND US ON FACEBOOK! pages/church-of-our- Redeemer/ Dear friends, Greetings from Rev. Andrew Goldhor By the time this January Edition reaches you, the Christmas Season will have ended, 2014 will have begun, and our kids will be back in school. As we move into a new year I am mindful of the new possibilities and challenges ahead. I am eagerly waiting for the first weekend of 2014, when I will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, January 4 th, and celebrating the Eucharist at Redeemer for the first time on Sunday, January 5 th. It promises to be an awe inspiring event for me personally, and one that I hope to share with many of you! Fittingly, the next Sunday, January 12 th, we will be visited by our Bishop Suffragan the Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris. Bishop Gayle will meet with the vestry, celebrate the Eucharist, preach and take any questions we might have for her at the Adult Forum after worship. We also have our Annual Meeting, when we come together to elect new vestry members, and review the plans for this coming year, as well as take time to think about what has occurred over the past year. The year at Redeemer is starting with much promise. I am thankful to be a part of it, and I pray that this year brings many blessings, and strength to meet the challenges, for each and every one of us. Yours, with gratitude and hope, Andrew

2 Parish Life Worship Page 2 REDEEMING FEATURES January 2014 Bishop Gayle Harris to visit on January 12 January 12 will be the annual Bishop s Visitation to Redeemer. This year the Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris will be visiting with us. You may not know that Bishop Gayle is our neighbor she lives in Lexington! As our bishop suffragan (assisting bishop), Bishop Gayle serves alongside the diocesan bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE. She is the past vice chair of the Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees and has served on the Board of Directors of CREDO (a national resource program fostering Episcopal Church clergy leadership and wellness) and the Steering Committee of Bishops Working for a Just World. She currently serves on the House of Bishops Pastoral Development Committee. In the Diocese of Massachusetts she is vice president of Episcopal City Mission and of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. Bishop Gayle is passionate about mission in the Holy Land and her adorable spaniel Piccola, among many other things. She is well known as a fantastic preacher. Bishop Gayle will be preaching and celebrating at the 9:30am service, and will spend time with us after at coffee hour and adult forum. She will undoubtedly have things to share with us about what s going on in the life of the diocese, and we can share with her what s going on at Redeemer. Bishop Gayle encourages you to ask her anything at all that is on your heart and mind about the church today at the Adult Forum Q&A session. Please note that because of Bishop Gayle s visit, there will be no 8:00am worship service on January 12. We hope everyone will join together to welcome Bishop Gayle at the 9:30am worship service. Save the Date for Annual Meeting! Our Annual Meeting will take place on Sunday, January 27, 2013, following the 9:30am service. The Annual Meeting is an important event in the life of the parish. All baptized members age 16 and over are eligible to vote and participate as we elect new vestry members and other officers, review the past year, and talk about our plans and hopes for Delicious food will be served! Please mark the date and make plans to be Happy New Year Redeeming Knitters The new semester will begin on Thursday, January 9th at 7:30 pm in the Handley Library. We will of course be making mittens and hats, scarves and prayer shawls. If Lexington schools have a snow closure on the 9th, we will meet on Thursday, Jan. 16th. Be sure to mark your calendar for the upcoming knitting dates: Thursday, Feb. 13 and March 13. If you have any questions, please call Susan Burkhardt at or Eveleyn Hausslein,

3 Christian Formation J January 2014 REDEEMING FEATURES Page 3 Liturgy Team Redeemer is looking for new members to serve on the monthly liturgy teams that support our Sunday worship services. This is an opportunity to learn about the celebration of the Eucharist, as well as build fellowship within the Redeemer community. Our goal is to achieve 100 percent parishioner participation of all ages. If you would like to serve or have questions, please contact Charlie Coons at or coonsfamily224@yahoo.com Adult Formation News Our Adult Christian Formation programs inform us about issues and concerns in our lives, our community and the world, AND help us consider how we respond to those issues and concerns as faith-filled Christians. Adult Christian Formation meets Sundays from 10:50-11:50am, in the Great Hall. We invite ages to join us. Bring your coffee and a friend! January 5, 2014: Fellowship A special coffee hour in celebration of Rev. Andrew s ordination to the priesthood January 12: Bishop s visit Bishop Gayle Harris will be with us on her visitation. She will discuss diocesan issues, her vision for the future, and address any questions that our congregation may have. Please join us, and bring your questions! January 19: Catechesis for Adults Our own Evelyn Hauslein will lead a program that brings the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd experience to the wider parish. Have you been impressed with how attentive the children are at the altar? Do you look with amazement at the questions your teenagers ask you about God? We feel some of this is because they have experienced the wonder and questions of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. January 26: Annual Meeting In the coming months Adult Formation will feature forums led by members of our parish around issues of faithfully parenting young children and a Lenten Series around Aging and Dying, as well as updates from the Realizing Our Vision Team and a forum with Bernadette reporting back on her travels to South Africa and her work with the South African ministries in Massachusetts. If you have input about Adult Christian Formation topics or themes, please contact a member of the Committee (Ian Fox, Susan Burkhardt, Jed Geyerhahn, Mary Etta King). Adult Christian Formation Contact Person: The Rev. Andrew Goldhor (Andrew@ourredeemer.net)

4 Mission Page 4 REDEEMING FEATURES January 2014 Mission Committee As a new year begins, we want to share thanks for the good work that s been done and remind you of the upcoming opportunities to serve our neighbors. Thank you to the many who helped to make the Grow Clinic Holiday Party a success! Many thanks to all who contribute in large and small ways to Redeemer s December support of the Grow Clinic and, most specifically, to those who helped to make their Holiday Party possible. From the knitting that happens all year round, to the cookie baking, to the Youth Group for their shopping, to volunteering at the party, to the band, and to the generous contributions at the Crèche Service, the list could go on and on of all who worked to support the children and families served by the Grow Clinic. We re already looking forward to next year! Some additional thanks from our partners From the Lexington Food Pantry: On behalf of the Board of the Lexington Food Pantry, I would like to thank you for your continued financial support of the Pantry with the allocation of the proceeds of the Pancake Breakfast to us. From the Grow Clinic for the donation toward the holiday party: Thank you for helping bring so much joy to our young patients during the holiday season. It means so much to have the Church of Our Redeemer committed to some of the most vulnerable children and families in Boston. From Children s Health Watch (the research affiliate of the Grow Clinic): Your generosity will help the Children s Health Watch team continue their tireless efforts in addressing how to improve the lives of and protect the health of children. I am grateful for your support and friendship in our effort to give our most vulnerable patients a chance for a better life. From Bristol Lodge: On behalf of Middlesex Human Service Agency, Inc., (MHSA), and the Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen, I want to thank you We are very fortunate to have such concerned citizens who care, who are deeply rooted in our community and who are truly invested in helping others. From El Hogar: On behalf of El Hogar, thank you for this gift.summer is the most active time for volunteers to visit El Hogar, where they can live in community with the children and staff. The children enthusiastically welcome these visitors as they would visits from extended family members. During these visits, the lives of both the children and volunteers are touched and changed through the relationships formed. More opportunities to share your time, talents, and treasures The Esperanza Academy Science Fair is coming! Please join us at the Esperanza Academy Science Fair on the morning of March 14. At the Science Fair 8th graders will present their science projects. We need four judges, folks to attend the science fair and visit each project, and bakers to provide goodies for a celebration after the event. It makes a huge difference to the students to have people attend the event and demonstrate interest in their projects.

5 Mission January 2014 Mission Committee (cont d) REDEEMING FEATURES Page 5 If you have questions or would like to be a judge, attend the event or bake let Kathleen Mirani know ( or kmirani01@yahoo.com). Esperanza is a tuition free middle school (5th through 8th grade) for girls in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Esperanza offers its students an education that integrates a rigorous academic curriculum with programs in the arts, athletics, community service, cultural enrichment and spirituality. Have you considered participating in a mission trip to Honduras this summer? On Sunday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m. we invite everyone interested in learning more about our trip to the El Hogar agricultural school in Honduras to join us at the church to learn more about this exciting opportunity. The trip is scheduled for August 1-8, At this meeting we will share information about the trip and give prospective group members and their families a better sense of what life is like at the farm school, and why we treasure our time there. Please join us to learn more! For more information, contact Calie Koso <calie@kosofamily.com> or Erica Brotschi <eranbro@gmail.com> December 2013 Grow Clinic Holiday Party

6 Mission Page 6 REDEEMING FEATURES January 2014 December 2013 Grow Clinic Holiday Party

7 January 2014 Music News REDEEMING FEATURES Page 7 Many, many thanks to all those who helped to make special music offerings in December run so smoothly - from the liturgy team members and acolytes who assisted with the Candlelight Lessons and Carols service, to those who helped and baked for the reception, to the parents who delivered the Atrium singers early to service on Dec. 22nd, to the adjunct singers who joined us for December 8th or Christmas Eve -- we in the music program sincerely appreciate you!! Also, Bernadette would like to thank the mysterious Secret Santa who left a gift of the lovely Christmas table runner in her mailbox...which she opened Christmas morning. From January 9th to February 1st, I will be traveling on a Continuing Education and Mission trip to South Africa, where I will be rehearsing and singing on tour with Village Harmony-a group of singers from the US, England, and Canada, in collaboration with the Polokwane Singers from Polokwane, South Africa. A second purpose of my trip will be to explore mission, and music-mission, partnership possibilities for parishes in the MA diocese, in various locations throughout South Africa. As a result of my work this past spring and fall with the MA diocese on behalf of South African children for the Music-and-Mission event in October, I was able to arrange for the touring group to sing a concert on January 29th at The Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr in Capetown, former seat of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. That concert will be a sister "launch event" to the Dedham October 25th evening, this one on the "other side of the pond," to highlight new mission collaborations between Massachusetts and South Africa. The touring group will also sing a benefit concert on January 27th at the Rondebosch United Church in Capetown to benefit the Masazane soup kitchen, which serves meals to 150 children daily, and is supported by the Arlington-based organization Tremendous Hearts. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep and heartfelt thanks to all at Redeemer who have supported my efforts and work with music and mission in South Africa thus far.] While I am away in South Africa [see December RF] in January, the music program will be in good hands. Substituting on January 12th for Bishop Gayle's visit will be organist Geoffrey Wieting. My interim predecessor Joyce Painter Rice returns to direct the choir rehearsals and lead services on January 19th and 26th, and will lead the choir in pieces by Thomas Tallis and Charles Gounod. Joyce is an organist, recitalist, choral conductor and sometime concert organizer, who has served in music capacities in a wide range of religious institutions. She is devoted to music for the organ and shares that concern through volunteering in the American Guild of Organists and at the Methuen Memorial Music Hall, home of the Great Organ. I know you will enjoy her return to Redeemer, as she is looking forward to being back again, too. I will be back on the organ bench Sunday February 2nd, and will rehearse the choir for an extra session that afternoon in preparation for the next Sunday, February 3:00, when will sing in concert with other area religious choirs in the Lexington Choral Festival at St. Brigid's Church. Coming Up Monday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. Combined "Life's Journeys" concert with the Brookhaven Chorus.

8 ` Calendar January Monday 6 Tuesday 7 Thursday 9 Sunday 12 5:30pm - Men s Group dinner meeting 7:30pm - Church Community meeting 7:30pm - Property Committee meeting 9:00am & 7:00pm - EfM class 7:30pm - Stewardship Committee meeting 7:30pm - Redeeming Knitters 7:30pm - Creation Care Team meeting 9:30am - Holy Eucharist, Rite II, Bishop s visit 10:50am - Christian Formation for children and youth 10:50am - Adult Christian Formation: Discussion with Bishop Gayle Harris Tuesday Wednesday Thursday 14 9:00am & 7:00pm - EfM class 15 6:30pm - Vestry dinner and meeting 16 7:00pm - Alewife Deanery meeting at Christ Church, Waltham Sunday 19 8:00am - Holy Eucharist, Rite I 9:30am - Holy Eucharist, Rite II 10:50am - Christian Formation for children and youth 10:50am - Adult Christian Formation: Evelyn Hausslein on Catechesis of the Good Shepherd 12:00 noon - Worship Committee meeting Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday 20 Office closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. s birthday 21 9:00am & 7:00pm - EfM class 23 4:00pm - Warden meeting 25 8:00am - Christian Formation leaders training Sunday 26 Monday 27 9:30am - Holy Eucharist, Rite II 10:30am - Breakfast and Annual meeting Children s program in lieu of Children and Youth Formation 1:30pm - Cook for Bristol Lodge 7:30pm - Mission meeting Tuesday 28 9:00am & 7:00pm - EfM class Please send all announcements by to office@our-redeemer.net or for those without , call or send to the church office, with RF clearly marked. The monthly deadline for the February Redeeming Features submissions is January 15.