Reflect & Renew

Dearest Holy Comforter Family,

I am writing this message just a couple of days before the beginning of 2026. I am more than a little dazzled as I look back on 2025: we have welcomed new members, launched a new concert series, delighted in new babies and children, completed all kinds of facility improvements, and received the first truly strong audit in years. What’s more, the usage of our facilities has increased dramatically. The list goes on. It underscores something I hope you have heard me say regularly: priests come, and priests go, but it is the people who are the church.

The signs that this community is not just alive but engaged are many:

·      I wouldn’t have even allowed myself to imagine that a group of members of our church would go caroling at one of the assisted/independent living facilities in Montgomery. Thank you, Bev Brown, Kris, the choir, and others who made this happen.

·      There is nothing new about the way the Altar Guild women do their work week in and week out. They just show up and do what needs to be done. This past year was particularly difficult after Ann Montgomery moved to Nashville. It wasn't just her deep knowledge of what an Altar Guild should do and be. It was her willingness to provide leadership and keep the ship afloat. With little guidance and a Rector who tends to err on the side of casual informality, they have helped to make sure we don't lose the beauty and reverence. There are too many members of this important ministry to list here, but I hope each of you knows that you have been living what it means to be the church for a long, long time in ways that have been a blessing to me personally and to the parish.

·      A safety and security task force led by Steven Speaks reviewed several of our practices and existing facilities and took a number of steps to make us safer. We have a safety chain across the entrance from Fisk Road. It means a tiny bit of inconvenience for those used to entering our parking lot from Fisk. However, that change also means an enormous relief that we are far less likely to be run over by someone zooming through our parking lot because they think it’s a throughway. On Christmas Eve, I walked out to my car after night had fallen. As I do when there’s a service, I parked at the entrance of the drive-through. I am used to walking carefully because the area is so dark. I was almost blinded by the amount of good light I now had. Folks like Jonathan, Paul, Mark, Haynes, Steven, and John deserve our thanks for all that work.

·      Mark Semler graciously donated a water cooler for the food pantry. Right now, the days are anything but hot. But come July of next year, our neighbors who depend on the food pantry will have a water cooler that dispenses cool, refreshing water for them. He and Haynes are to thank for that relatively small but very important bit of hospitality we can now extend.

·      Nelya McKenzie regularly visits our homebound parishioners. Zola, Mary Lois, Amy, Terri, and Jan all made sure that our communal meals during the Annual Meeting, at Pentecost, and after the vestry elections were delicious and a time of joyful gathering. Kathy Albree prepared lovely hors d’oeuvres for our concerts last year. Thank you.

I could go on, but I hope this gives you some small sense that you are the church. During the Annual Meeting, we will talk about some more accomplishments and milestones we have reached this year, thanks to you. For now, what I hope you hear is my immense gratitude for serving a parish that knows itself, knows how to love, knows how to warmly welcome people from all walks of life, and gives witness to God’s love. Y’all are the bomb!  May this next year bring with it all this abundance and more.

With prayers for abundant blessings of health, joy, and peace, Rosa+

Annual Meeting and Lunch

Don't forget: this Sunday we gather for our Annual Meeting and lunch. This is an important part of our life in community, and I hope you will join us!

Just a friendly reminder: our policy at Holy Comforter is to remain

Styrofoam-free. Please refrain from bringing Styrofoam products to the church. Thank you for your mindfulness!

Electing a New Bishop

Our Diocese will elect a new Bishop on January 24th. Click on this link if you want to know more about the process and the two candidates: 

https://www.albishopsearch.org. Make sure to scroll all the way down to see videos of the candidates. I also ask you to join me in saying the following prayer for this election:

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a Bishop for The Diocese of Alabama, that we may receive a faithful pastor who will preach the Gospel, care for your people, equip us for ministry, and lead us forth in fulfillment of the Great Commission; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.