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St. Peter's Church, Beverly Pentecost banner, 2012
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Day of Pentecost: Whitsunday
Join us on Facebook at 10 a.m. to watch a recording of the Pentecost service,
You can watch on our website as well.
Missed last Sunday's sermon, want to read it, or re-watch the service?
You can by clicking here.
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COLLECT FOR PENTECOST SUNDAY
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
.
Please
click here
for this
week's readings.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Please click the link below to jump to the desired section.
Organ Notes
- Bach and Bonhoeffer; a Shared Final Chorale
Health Links
-
g
un safety, domestic
violence
, and food support
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SUMMER CHOOSE-A-HYMN
 Do you have a favorite hymn you would love to hear played during the service? Now is your chance, and you can also support a summer accompanist with a donation in any amount you choose. We need a total of $100 per week.
Please click
here to sign up, and to enter your requested hymn. Please mail a check to Christ Church (made payable to Christ Church and note "summer music" in the memo line). We will recognize donors in the weekly bulletin.
Please sign up by Monday, June 8.
Please email
Ali or
Pam with questions!
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CHRIST CHURCH SUMMER HOURS
On Sunday, June 7, summer hours at Christ Church begin. Sunday service will be at 9:00 a.m. on Facebook and Zoom, and available as a recording on our website. The office will be closed Fridays. This schedule continues until Tuesday, September 8.
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VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR THIS SUNDAY
This Sunday we invite you to a virtual Zoom coffee hour following the 10 a.m. service.
In your mind's eye, imagine us together in Upper Parish Hall eating, drinking, and enjoying one another's company while standing on the newly refinished floor.
You can join online on your computer or mobile device, or dial-in on your cell phone or landline.
Here's
a helpful PDF on how to access and use Zoom.
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ORGAN UPDATE
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an original 1941 pipe
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The disassembly and removal of the pipe organ and console has BEGUN! The 79-year-old organ was originally built for radio station WNAC in 1941 and came to Christ Church when the new sanctuary was opened in 1958. Click here to view pictures and videos of the disassembly process. Many thanks to Charles Raines, our Associate Music Director & Organist for capturing them!
The next phase will include preparations of the Chancel for our new VIRTUAL PIPE ORGAN crafted by Meta Organ Works.
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ORGAN NOTES: Bach and Bonhoeffer; a Shared Final Chorale
By Linnea Wren
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Gallery of 20th century Martyrs at Westminster Abbey, London. From left: Mother Elizabeth of Russian, Martin Luther King Jr., Oscar Romero, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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In July 1750 Johann Sebastian Bach was 65 years old and in bad shape. He suffered from diabetes; he was devastated by cramps in his hands; he had undergone painful cataract operations in both eyes; his surgeon had completed the operations by rubbing bird excrement and pulverized tree root into small wounds in each eye. Then he suffered a stroke followed by a "raging fever."
Realizing that his death was imminent, Bach's family would have gathered to pray with him and read aloud. They would have been chosen texts not only from the Bible but also from the Ars Moriendi, or The Art of Dying. Originally written in response to the plagues that swept through Europe beginning in the 14th century and that kept recurring even in Bach's lifetime and later, The Art of Dying was an expanding collection of writings describing the believer's path towards the good Christian death.
But Bach also had a uniquely personal journey towards death. His final organ chorale is his musical epitaph. It is based on the 100-year old hymn, Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit, or Before Your Throne I Now Appear. The verses anticipate death, acknowledge human sinfulness, express hope for divine salvation, and conclude with the believer's resurrection in God's presence. But Bach eschews verbal language in his "deathbed" chorale and relies on music alone for its impact. He employs elaborate ornamentation and lengthy contrapuntal interludes thematically based on the chorale melody itself. Even in his last days, Bach deployed his most virtuosic skills as a composer to shape musical reflections on the human condition.
The German evangelical pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is known for his staunch and vocal resistance to the Nazi genocide of Jews and program of euthanasia. In 1945 he was imprisoned at Flossenbürg Prison. A martyr-of-the faith, Bonhoeffer described his view that individual lives are only fragments, yet each is meaningful to the whole. He referred to Bach and his deathbed chorale as an illustration of his belief. This is what he wrote:
"An analogy that comes to mind is the fugue. If our life also is only a slightest reflection of such a fragment, in which at least for a short while the various themes, growing ever stronger, harmonize, and in which the great counterpoint is held on to from beginning to end so that finally, after the breaking-off point, the chorale 'Vor deined Thron tret ich hiermit' can still be intoned, then we do not wish to complain about our fragmentary life, but even to be glad for it."
We will hear that same organ chorale at Christ Church and be in the ever-growing company of listeners who have been gladdened by it and for the reflection of "the great counterpoint" of faith.
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SUPPORTING OUR NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY
Christ Church has deep ties to these organizations that continue to offer services and support to those in need during the pandemic.
Donations
in any amount are truly appreciated. It is one way to keep loving our neighbor as Jesus teaches.
MANNA has expanded their
mission to be a place of solace, peace, and nourishment for those who have nowhere else to go just now, and the new costs are significant, as partner parishes have not been able to cook and bring down meals in the usual way, though our Parish and St. Michael's, Milton, have figure out an alternative way to make and deliver meals safely. Donate online
here
. Scroll down on the options drop-down menu to Monday Lunch.
The Needham Community Council is keeping the Food Pantry open and will continue to provide food supplies to Needham residents. Click here to learn how you can donate.
Circle of Hope is offering contactless emergency deliveries to partner shelters. C
lick here to
link
directly Emergency Response Wish List.
B-Safe continues to offer virtual and financial support to the young people it serves and their communities. Donate to the SSYP Pandemic Relief fund here.
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Click
here for the May vestry minutes, also included in the
QuickLinks section below.
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Please email the
office with your prayers for inclusion in Sunday worship.
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Health Links: Gun Safety, Domestic Violence and Food Support
GUN SAFETY
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
FOOD SUPPORT
Sign up to shop at the Food Pantry
here
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THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday, June 1
10:00 a.m. Virtual Staff Meeting
Tuesday, June 2
8:00 a.m. Men's Prayer (via Zoom, email
Nick for the invitation)
9:30 a.m. PRM (via Zoom, members will receive an invite in their email)
Thursday, June 4
7:00 p.m. CCN Choir meeting (please email
Pam for the invitation)
Sunday, June 7
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