THIS WEEKEND
Calvary Garden Days -
Saturday and Sunday
Acolyte Training -
Sunday after worship
In this Issue:
From the Organist & Choirmaster:
Improvements to Calvary's Skinner Pipe Organ

Worship Schedule & Links:
9:15 a.m. Virtual Family Service
11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist In person & virtually
Please plan to wear a mask indoors.

PENTECOST PARISH PHOTO
Save the Date!
Sunday, May 23
ONE Service at 11:00
Photo at Noon
Adults and Teens:
Calvary NEEDS Acolytes

Outdoor Garden Workday
THIS WEEKEND May 15 & 16

Virtual Coffee Hour
On hiatus

Civil Discourse
Monthly Series continues
Wednesday, May 26 - 7:30 p.m.

Benevolence Fund

Prayer List
From the Organist & Choirmaster
Howard Helvey

Dear Calvary Parishioners,

Calvary Church has been blessed for decades to have one of the finest pipe organs in the region.  Especially for a parish church, the organ’s scope and tonal palette is unusually large.  But, despite its size, it has been carefully voiced for the room so that it can sing and sound in a balanced, appropriate way.  The visible copper pipes in the chancel represent a tiny fraction of the 3,260 total pipes, most of which are hiding in the chamber behind the casework.

As a composer, I write frequently for organ, and am incredibly grateful to have regular access to such an expressive, colorful instrument.  It truly informs and inspires my writing.

The organ was built in 1927 by the legendary Skinner company of Boston, and it was a little less than half the size of the current instrument.  Much of the Skinner pipework was retained over the decades, and additional ranks (or sets of pipes) were added in order to make the instrument incredibly versatile.  The Quimby Organ Company of Warrensburg, Missouri executed the major rebuilding of the organ in 1995, and has supervised ongoing principal work since then.  

The organ’s primary role has always been to lead vibrant congregational singing, but it also effectively interprets a wide variety of solo organ literature, and is an excellent collaborative partner with the Choir.   Over the years, many of the finest organists in the world have performed on Calvary’s organ, and they have lauded the instrument and the experience.  (To my surprise a few years ago, I found tucked away in a Calvary music cabinet a hand-written letter from the eminent French composer/organist Marcel Dupré to Calvary’s organist/choirmaster at the time.  Dupré had visited and performed on Calvary’s organ in 1970, the year before his death.)

Calvary’s rare, historic, and sizeable organ (like any pipe organ) naturally requires ongoing and highly-specialized maintenance.  The parish has been a faithful steward of the instrument over the last near-century, but one particularly passionate individual has been tireless in their support:
Sanford Martin.  We are incredibly grateful to Sandy’s generosity not only in the past many decades, but during the current maintenance and pipework additions being implemented.

These several improvements and modifications are being done under the expert workmanship of David Beck (from near Toledo, Ohio).  After the work is complete, most of it will be unnoticed by parishioners, as the majority of the project involves modification of the internal functions of the console (where the keyboards and pedalboard are located in the chancel) and how it communicates with the pipework.  In short, over the years, there were two distinct electronic systems (made by different manufacturers) installed in the organ.  Although they have largely worked harmoniously together, over time the configuration would have made future maintenance increasingly difficult.  Thus, it was determined that, in the long-range view, it was wise to unify the organ’s switching and combination action (the way specific, custom registrations—or combinations of pipes/ranks—can be stored and recalled instantly) with a new system built by the long-established company, Peterson Electro-Musical Products, Inc.  

One of the significant new features will be the capability of “recording” a performance by an organist, and having the organ “play back” that performance—kind of like a player piano, but with much more complexity.  This feature will allow, for the first time, the possibility of an organist to step out into the nave to listen to and evaluate balance, color, dynamics, etc. of any given work the individual played on the organ.

There will be a new (repurposed) rank of soft pipes, an 8’ Nason Gedeckt, added to the Choir Division.  And, in the Swell Division, new reed pipes will be added to expand the 8’ Trompette one octave below and one octave above the current compass.  These additions won’t be visible from the nave or chancel, but they will be heard.  

We hope that this current maintenance will help Calvary’s organ continue to inspire souls, spark creativity, and lift faithful voices…both now and in future generations.

Gratefully,
Howard

PENTECOST PARISH PHOTO

Wear Red!
And get your festive RED face mask here at church!

Sunday, May 23
ONE SERVICE 11:00 a.m. Photo at 12:00 p.m.

Pentecost 2021:
Cicada swarms limit outdoor worship & eating possibilities;
COVID limits indoor celebrations
But the Holy Spirit
is still at work!

Make plans to be part of a commemorative parish photo. Following 11:00 worship, we will gather outside in the traffic circle in front of the church for a parish photo and fellowship amid friends and cicadas.

Distanced seating with streaming worship will be provided in Hannaford Hall for COVID-safe seating to accommodate increased worship attendance.
Worship Schedule
9:15 a.m.
Family Morning Prayer ONLINE

Available LIVE & ON DEMAND
11:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist
In the Church

Also available Virtually at 11:00 a.m. and ON DEMAND
Via the website

Please plan to wear a mask indoors.
Worship Engagement at Calvary

The Ohio Public Health Advisory is in level RED this week. At that level, we are permitted to have up to 45 people with distanced seating in the nave, with additional persons in the choir chancel.
At this time, we are worshiping virtually with the exception of 11:00 Eucharist offered with COVID-safe protocols. See safety tips here
Calvary NEEDS Acolytes!
Serving on the altar is an honor and is a vital role in a worship service. Acolytes serve God as they assist the worship leaders, and the congregation during worship.

Training is available on Sunday, May 16 following 11:00 worship.
Pizza will be served outside!

We invite people of all ages to join our acolyte ministry. Please contact Miriam McKenney Or Rev. Allison 
THIS WEEKEND
Outdoor Garden Workdays
May 15 and 16th
There will be a map of garden areas and beds to select posted in Hannaford Hall starting May 8th. Have your family choose a plot and instructions. Mulch will be available in the driveway. We will have some plants available behind the Clifton House fence. Come have fun and make the grounds beautiful. COVID cautions as always.

The Church has purchased mulch from the Boy Scouts for the Garden Days. They are the broken bags laid out to either side of the bags still on pallets. Feel free to use these bags for your garden work. If more is needed, we will lay it out so that you will not have to take any from the pallets.
The Benevolence Fund
The Rector and Vestry of Calvary Parish have established The Benevolence Fund.

Please notify the rector of any need for housing, medications, or utilities expenses you are struggling to meet Rev. Allison. The Benevolence Team will blindly review requests and one-time payments will be made.

To donate, please send checks to:
Calvary Episcopal Church 3766 Clifton Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220 (in memo: Benevolence Fund)

or CLICK HERE to donate.
SUNDAY Virtual Coffee Hour

ON HIATUS

As we continue our
phased re-open, virtual coffee hour will take a hiatus.

Stay tuned for other opportunities to connect online, including next week's upcoming session on Civil Discourse.
Civil Discourse Lessons Continue on Zoom
Wednesday, May 26
7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Today's political climate is suspicious of compromise. As of March 2018, a Pew research survey indicated that over half of Americans preferred politicians to stick to their principles instead of making compromises, while substantially fewer voters like politicians to compromise with those who disagree with them. Voters do think that compromise is a good thing, but mostly, they want people who disagree with them to do the compromising.

Come and learn the complexities of policy-making and how to approach it using a faith-centered Civil Discourse methodology.
This week we pray:

For those on our Parish Prayer List 
Gloria Marshall, Reed Coen, Judy, Anne, Jay, Paula Winans, Charlene Bowman, Benji Sayre & the Sayre Family, Anya, Sarah, Rachel, Edward, Annie, & Brandon, Sandy Martin
For Homebound Parishioners
Richard Sininger, Joan Sievers, Paul McCauley, Hazel Ison, Hedda von Goeben, Carolyn & David Behnke

Send your prayer requests to Rev. Allison
Prayer requests are spoken aloud in worship for two weeks / kept on prayer list for two months. Keep us updated for long-term requests.

If you have a pastoral need, please contact the
Rector, The Rev. Allison English at 513-401-5781
or Rector Associate, The Rev. Olivia Hamilton at 513-236-0526.
Calvary Episcopal Church | 513-861-4437 | calvaryclifton@fuse.net