This week, day by day, the Boston Common has been transformed into a village thick with white tents, in preparation for the Boston Marathon on Monday, the day after Easter. Boston Common is now the departure point for all the buses that take runners out to Hopkinton and the start of the 26-mile race.
I've realized that the Marathon and Holy Week have much in common.
Both are long journeys in which we must choose to participate; neither is for the faint of heart
Lowly feet - so often ignored - get the spotlight: they are washed by hand on Maundy Thursday, nailed to a cross on Good Friday, and at the Marathon, known to be essential, encased in the best shoes and socks their owner can afford.
Those watching both Holy Week and the Marathon from the sidelines glimpse some of the hardships of the journey, but onlookers tend to focus on the exhilaration of the finish line - the victory won! People who actually endure the whole long journey of Holy Week or a marathon would never minimize the pain endured; it's what makes crossing the finish line such a miracle.
Perhaps most important, no one takes either of these journeys alone - the Marathon or Holy Week. We need each other to finish.
On Marathon Monday, supporters will gather at the white tents on Boston Common, to send off their runners to begin their race. Tonight, at King's Chapel, we will gather with white towels and white basins, and remember how Jesus supported his dear friends, knowing they too would soon be starting a new journey. On Friday, we won't ignore his pain, though we'll want to. We'll hear a hammer ring of gruesome nails and the long litany of betrayal. On Saturday, we'll wait exhausted for light, the smallest flame of the Christ candle that somehow hasn't ever been extinguished. From that small flame, candles can be lit all over the sanctuary, spreading out to each of us again. Sunday we'll cross the finish line together and shout Hallelujah.
We're on the journey, every single one of us.
Come, journey with us.
Joy
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Holy Week Services
Thursday April 13
6 PM Maundy Thursday
at King's Chapel
Friday April 14
12:15 PM Good Friday Noon Prayer
at King's Chapel
8 PM Office of Tenebrae
at King's Chapel
Saturday April 15
8 PM The Great Easter Vigil Service
at King's Chapel
Sunday April 16
11 AM Easter Service
at King's Chapel
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Easter Crafts | Saturday, April 15
Stop by the Parish House on Saturday, April 15th between 10AM and 12PM to create Egg Mosaics, God's Eyes, Painted Rocks, Dyed Eggs, and Hot Cross Buns! There will be snacks and each child will receive a bag of candy-filled eggs to take home. Furthermore, we are donating A LOT of Hot Cross Buns to Common Cathedral to give to those without homes on Easter Sunday. We will even be visited by a tiny bunny named Nutmeg. Invite your friends for all are invited to King's Chapel!
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From the Freedom Trail Program
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Join us during April School Vacation Week,
April 17 through April 23, as we explore King's Chapel's roles in Revolutionary Boston!
In honor of Patriot's Day, commemorating the start of the America Revolution, our NEW program will explore the real-life characters who shaped King's Chapel's history in the years surrounding the America Revolution. Discover the stories of Loyalist shop-owning sisters, a minister who fled Boston as a refugee and took the church silver with him, a famous Patriot funeral and impassioned speech delivered in the church, and more, all paving the way for King's Chapel to become the first Unitarian Church in America!
This special program will be offered at
10:30 AM,
11:30 AM,
1:30 PM,
2:30 PM, and
3:30 PM.
Our signature Bells and Bones tours will be offered at
11 AM,
1 PM,
2 PM, and
3 PM.
Family Activity Booklets with also be available to help visitors explore the chapel on their own!
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The Parish House offices will be closed on Monday April 17, in observance of Patriot's Day.
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Funeral Options | Wednesday, April 19 | 2 - 4 PM
It's a gift to those who care about you to identify your preferences. The Rev. Joy Fallon, our Senior Minister, offers suggestions for planning a funeral or memorial service, as part of a program offered to the public by Beacon Hill Village. In the first hour, volunteers from the Funeral Consumers Alliance will outline available options, including embalming, cremation, and "green" burial. Registration with Beacon Hill Village required: call 617 723-9713.
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Visit Lewis D. Brown Peace Institute Wednesday, April 26 | 5-7 PM
For several years, King's Chapel has walked in the Mother's Day Walk for Peace sponsored by the Lewis D. Brown Peace Institute in Dorchester, which works with victims of gun trauma in Boston. Carol Genovese, a retired psychiatric nurse, is impressed with the important, unheralded work done all year at the Institute with those suffering from violence. Carol will lead a group for a visit to the Institute on Wednesday, April 26, 5-7 pm. For more information or to sign up, contact Carol at
[email protected]
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Adult Religious Education | Mosque Visit
May 4 | 3:45 PM
In our continuing effort to show solidarity and support for our Muslim friends and neighbors, the ARE is working with the Islamic Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) to arrange a visit to their mosque in Roxbury on Thursday afternoon, May 4. The King's Chapel group will plan to leave the Parish House at 3:45 pm on Thursday, May 4 and arrive at the ISBCC at 4:30 pm for a two hour tour - which will include the opportunity to witness the Muslim form of worship.
Please contact John Natoli, chair of Adult Religious Education, at [email protected] if you would like to attend or have any questions. John will assist in arranging transportation to the ISBCC for those who need it. |
Racial Justice: Addressing Whiteness | Wednesdays in May
King's Chapel is hosting a free and open racial justice program for all members of King's Chapel and anyone in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. This program is an opportunity to meet people where they are, by providing a judgment-free but challenging educational space. All are welcome.
Communal Reading | Wednesday, May 3 | 7 PM
Open and Honest Communal Reading of an essay by James Baldwin & discussion. Located at
64 Beacon Street
, Boston (King's Chapel Parish House).
Book Talk | Wednesday, May 10 | 7:30 PM
New England Bound: Slavery and Colonization in Early America
(2016).
A book talk
with Wendy Warren at The Isaac Royall House, 15 George Street, Medford.
$5 admission. Royall was a slave trader and member of King's Chapel prior to the Revolution.
Book Group | Wednesdays, May 17 - June 7
7 PM
Waking Up White
by Debby Irving. A book group meeting at
64 Beacon Street
, Boston (King's Chapel Parish House).
Light refreshments provided at Parish House events at 7 PM. RSVP to Gretchen Horton, Parish Administrator at
[email protected] or by calling 617-227-2155 x 108
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Join King's Chapel in the annual Mother's Day Walk for Peace, in support of the Lewis Brown Peace Institute.
The Mother's Day Walk for Peace is a powerful way to honor our loved ones who have been murdered, and express love and support for our neighbors. Anyone can walk for a small registration fee of $10. To register, go to their website at
www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org
Be sure to register with the King's Chapel Team! Our goal is to raise $1,000 for this event!
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"We Rejoice with Those Who Rejoice, and Weep with Those Who Weep"
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We continue to hold in our prayers both Wendy and Elizabeth Thomson. Peter's daughter Wendy remains in hospice care at her home in Boston, after a valiant fight with cancer that recurred. Elizabeth continues to be treated for Alzheimer's at Goddard House. May the peace of God, and resurrection of our Lord, be known to all their family.
We also stand with Leo and Dorothy Johnson as Leo has returned to Newton Wellesley Hospital, for congestive heart failure and continued pain from broken bones. He hopes that he will be in a rehab facility again soon.
We rejoice with Ray Hardin that he will have upcoming surgery to replace both of his knees. He is grateful for the medical intervention that will bring him back to greater mobility. Ray is serving as one of our readers at the Easter Vigil.
We also rejoice with Bill Kuttner, who recently had a Letter to the Editor published in the Wall Street Journal. Bill our former Archivist, and a devoted historian, pointed out a remarkable feature of a monument to Andrew Jackson located in New Orleans. Read Bill's interesting letter HERE or download it HERE. |
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Morning Prayer | 11 AM
The Rev. Joy Fallon will Preach
-
Miguel Gomez-Ibanez, Lay Reader
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Joei Perry and Lucy Burke, Lectors
- Emily Bieber & Denise Konicek, Soloists
- Anne Sexton & Paul Luca, Head Ushers
- Paul Luca, Usher in Charge
- Cliff Allen, Denton Crews, Kathe GErman, Lee Glenn, Judy Green , Charles Perry, Sam Perry, Sylvia Soderberg and Gregg Sorensen, Ushers
- Lia Atanat, Verger
The Readings:
- Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
- Old Testament:
- New Testament:
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From the Bench:
By Heinrich Christensen
As is our custom for Holy Week, we have a veritable cornucopia of music that mirrors the enormous variety and drama of our many services.
On Maundy Thursday, Claire Shepro will be the soloist and sing arias from the St. Matthew Passion and B Minor Mass of J.S. Bach, as well as Daniel Pinkham's Ubi caritas during the ceremony of footwashing, and his Missa Mandatum Novum, written especially for this service, for communion.
On Good Friday, for the noon service, you will hear selections from François Couperin's Tenebrae Lessons. The texts are from the Lamentations of Jeremiah. They will be sung by sopranos Cassandra Extavour and Jessica Petrus, accompanied by Carol Lewis on gamba and Chris Henriksen on theorbo.
Friday evening, choir members Daniel Lyng and Brian Church will sing the Pinkham setting of t
he Tenebrae Responses.
For our Vigil
on Saturday, the full choir will be present and sing our traditional service music, adapted from Greek Orthodox liturgies by Anna Gallos.
And finally
on Sunday
morning, you will hear festive French organ toccatas by Lemmens and Vierne. The choir will sing Randall Thompson's
Alleluia, as well as double chorus offertory by Palestrina, and a contemporary Introit by Williams College faculty member Zachary Wadsworth.
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Tuesday, April 18
12:15 PM
Weston Wind Quintet
Krista Buckland Reisner, violin
Works by Bizet & Dvořák
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Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday April 25: Vestry 6 PM
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Anyone can help!
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Enter your email and select a spot to fill. New volunteers may choose to co-host with a buddy. Questions? Email
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Interested in Membership?
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Contributing to Between Sundays
Our enewsletter is sent each Thursday afternoon. Want something in Between Sundays? Feel free to email Brad at
[email protected] with a written piece and/or pictures before Wednesday at noon!
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Accessibility 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.
A sound system has been installed in the sanctuary of The Chapel to amplify the sound during worship services. Hearing assistance devices are available for your use. Please see an Usher for assistance.
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