Holy Comforter E-Messenger for Sunday,
April 14, 2024
New This Week
Creation Care
Upcoming Events
Articles of Interest
Worship
Ministry Offerings
Social Media
Join Us for a Time of Conversation with Bishop Stevenson
I hope you can attend our service on Sunday to meet Bishop Stevenson, who will speak with us after the service during Connections, and answer our questions. This is your chance! We want him to know who we are as a community and what we care about in our communities and the Church. Dale Davis is being confirmed and his husband Arnaldo Cardona is being received. Come to support them. Our Vestry will be hosting Connection Time. Hope to see you Sunday! Peace be with you and Easter joy, Hilary+
Gold Chicken Helpers Needed
Rehearsals for the 2024 Gold Chicken show are underway! (See page 3 of this_newsletter)
This year, we are in need of "Buddies" to partner with our intellectually disabled cast members, throughout the rehearsal period (the second Sunday of every month), and during the show in November.
Our next rehearsal is this Sunday, the 14th, at 2pm in the church. Please join us! You'll be glad you did - it's one of the most positive, uplifting experiences you can have.
Questions? Contact Ellen Hall.
Thank you.
Bill Wells - Kairos - April 16
Good People,
The 58th Kairos prison ministry weekend is upon us. The retreat is built around a series of talks to and with men incarcerated at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn. It commends the Christian faith as a PRACTICE, not simply as a belief system. Laced with prayer, it has been nothing short of life changing for many men with long sentences.
This Kairos weekend runs from Wednesday, April 17 through Sunday, April 21. You can help.
Click here for all the details!
Creation Care Ministry Celebrates Earth Month
Hoco-Eco is establishing a garden of native and pollinator plants along the Monument Avenue side of the church, our face to the world, that will serve as a welcome mat to the community and provide food and shelter to birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. Arnaldo Cardona's designs for "God's Creation Garden" are posted on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall. An insert in this Sunday's bulletin (available here) will provide an opportunity for parishioners to donate, or go to https://hocorva.churchcenter.com/giving to give with a card.
Garden Work Days April 20 and May 5
HoCo will celebrate Earth Day with a spring yard cleanup on Saturday, April 20th, starting at 11am to avoid conflict with the Monument Ave 10k, and continuing to 3pm. Please bring work gloves, spades, and rakes. On May 5, we will have a special Earth Day Eucharist, followed by a Garden Planting Day after church from 12-2pm, when grownups and children are invited to help plant flowers.
Airswimming to be Directed at RTP by Melissa Rayford - Starting April 12
Richmond Triangle Players will be presenting the play, Airswimming, directed by Melissa Rayford. Melissa is the daughter of Julie Edwards. The show runs from April 12-May 4. Link for purchasing tickets: https://rtriangle.org/
Set in 1920's England, Airswimming is based on the true story of two women who have been incarcerated in a hospital for the "criminally insane" for having borne illegitimate children. Forgotten by their families and not released until the 1970's, Dora and Persephone adopt alter-egos, Dorph and Porph, to enact their fantasies and survive the silence of incarceration. By turns very funny and moving, Airswimming reminds us of the forgotten women of these generations in both Britain and Ireland.
Julie Edwards (Proud Mama)
Sacramental Citizenship Retreat - April 12-14
Dear friends,
I write to share information about an upcoming event at Roslyn Retreat Center. From April 12-14 I will host Sacramental Citizenship, a retreat designed for those seeking to engage faithfully in the 2024 election year. Using the baptismal covenant as our framework, retreatants will consider Christian citizenship from theological, ethical, and experiential perspectives. As we engage thoughtfully with hot-button issues, participants will be challenged to begin building their own faith-informed moral framework for engaging in politics at local and national levels.
If this is something members of your community might be interested in, please feel free to share both the above description and this link to more information: https://www.ststephensrva.org/reflect-learn/sacramental-citizenship/
The registration link is here, and also at the webpage link above: https://form.jotform.com/240446782776064
Thank you for your consideration and for sharing with your communities as appropriate! f I can answer any questions, please do not hesitate to be in touch.
All best,
Cate
The Rev. Cate Anthony | she/her
Associate Rector | St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
6000 Grove Avenue, Richmond VA 23226
Our Seminarian Lucius Chapin's Last Sunday With Us - April 21
We will send Lucius off with a prayer on Sunday, April 21. Please join us to celebrate Lucius and the time we have shared together. He has been with us since September 2023.
Maria Scott Has Been Appointed To The Vestry
We are delighted to announce that Maria Scott has been appointed to fill a vacant spot on the vestry. As per the canons, she will serve this year until our next parish meeting, which will be held in January or February of 2025. At that time, she may stand for election to finish the remaining two years of the vacancy if she chooses to do so. Maria will be our vestry liaison to Adult Formation.
Mobile, Liturgical Art
During Lent, we invited everyone to create art on cardboard circles, reflecting the themes of Hope, Joy and New Life. The result is this beautiful mobile, which will be on display through the Easter season. It's full of color, life, and community, just like Holy Comforter!
April Is The Last Monthly Messenger
George Collier is retiring as the graphics layout artist for the monthly Messenger. April will be the last monthly Messenger unless or until we find a new layout artist. The short weekly eMessenger done by Chris Hall continues.
George has been composing (newspaper speak) or laying out the monthly newsletter since 2015. He loaded it with images and gave it a professional appearance.
If you have experience laying out newsletters, magazines, or professional publications, we would love to have you take over the laying out of the monthly Messenger. Contact me at editor@hoco.org or our Rector, Hilary Smith.
Bruce MacAlister, Editor
Connection Time This Week
Connection Time will be hosted by the Vestry. Thank you so much for volunteering!
Do you enjoy gathering with your fellow parishioners after church? Maybe sharing a quick bite and a cup of coffee? Please consider going to https://bit.ly/hoco_connections and signing up to host on a future Sunday. No experience is necessary - if you need help hosting for the first time, just note that in your signup. Thanks!
Welcome to the Church of the Holy Comforter (HoCo)! Here is Some General Information
Join us at church on Sundays at 10:00 am for a service of the Holy Eucharist. We often use prayers from Enriching our Worship, which offers expansive images of God. We live stream our Sunday morning service on FaceBook and post it to be seen at your convenience on FaceBook and YouTube.
Parish office hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm but do vary. Contact Vera Limn, our office assistant, to confirm the hours if you plan to visit the office. Email Vera by using office@hoco.org or call 804-355-3251.
If you have a pastoral emergency, at any time of day, call our Rector, Hilary, or Deacon Joe (their numbers can be found in the parish directory). Hilary's email is hbshococlergy@gmail.com and Joe's email is Deacon@hoco.org. If you would like to schedule an appointment to talk with Hilary, Joe, or another member of our parish clergy, please email or call to schedule a time.
If you would like to make a financial offering, you may use online giving or US Mail. Thank you for supporting God's ministry to our local community and beyond through HoCo.
This Week's Worship Bulletin
Metro Richmond at Prayer (Richmond Hill Cycle of Prayer)
We pray for the Churches and religious institutions of Metropolitan Richmond: For all religious communities, abbeys, orders, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, religious societies, and para-church organizations.
Evangelism Resources
Please enjoy these evangelism resources from the Episcopal Church, and these cards that may be useful for prayer and thinking about how to share your faith.
Sunday Morning Adult Class
The Sunday Morning Class continues its current curriculum The History of Christianity II: From the Reformation to the Modern Megachurch. The presenter is Dr. Molly Worthen, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a freelance journalist. The primary focus of this 36-lecture DVD-based course is to place Christianity in its historical context as it transforms from a relatively homogenous entity at the end of the Middle Ages into the diverse global religion of today. Presentations explore the basic ideas (and paradoxes) of Christian theology; see how these ideas are embedded in real life; introduce some of history's most fascinating characters; and see how secular modernity and globalization have transformed Christianity. We will conclude this curriculum on Sunday, June 23rd.
Lectionary Study
Join us on Zoom, at 4 pm, on Thursdays. The Zoom link is found on our website, hoco.org. We consider the biblical readings for the coming Sunday. Our rector, Hilary, leads this time of reflection and discussion. This is a great way to prepare for Sunday! We will be on break for Holy Week and Easter Week, March 28 and April 4.
April Book Group
Following our March book group's deep dive into Russell Shorto's history of the Dutch settlement in New York, we will switch gears with our April selection to The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb. We will meet on April 16th (3rd Tuesday) at 7:00pm via Zoom. Contact is Peggy Hombs.
Here's brief description: Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise-undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world-when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather's heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.
Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian's life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream-he's determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can't afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music.
When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition-the Olympics of classical music-the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself-and the world-that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.
Monday Evening Classes on Hiatus
The Monday Evening Class will resume via Zoom on Monday, April 8th with its current curriculum The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity with Dr. Kenneth W. Harl, Professor of Classical and Byzantine History at Tulane University. The course scope: "The conversion of the classical world to Christianity is one of the fundamental changes in Western civilization that has been matched only by the discovery of the New Word and the industrial revolution... This course will explain the reasons for the clash between the pagans ('worshippers of the ancestral gods') and the early Christians that ended in the Christianizing of the Roman world between the 4th and 6th centuries A. D." We will conclude this 24-part series on Monday June 10th.
Tuesday Morning Book Group
Tuesdays at 11:00 am. We are discussing Brian C. Taylor's book, Becoming Human: The Core Teachings of Jesus.
We will NOT meet during Holy Week (March 26) and Easter Week (April 2). When we meet again on April 9, we will begin discussing the book, Ladder to the Light, by Bp. Steven Charleston.
The Current Messenger
