Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

in the Sanctuary

Sunday, October 18th at 10:00 am


The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz, preaching & presiding




Motet: Guerrero Rorate caeili

Cantata: Bach Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht!, BWV 52




The Emmanuel Church website has subway and parking garage suggestions. Directions can be found here.





Pulpit Pitch by Paul Niwa

As a journalist, one of my profession’s most treasured values is the courage to speak truth to power. I think that’s what has drawn me to Emmanuel and the Anglican Communion.

My friends know that my “happy place” is the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral. In the afternoon, you will find me reading in the corner closest to where St Thomas Becket was slain by the knights of King Henry II. St Thomas Becket, the “low born priest,” spoke truth to power by defying his king.

Last year, I was inspired by the words of Bishop Budde at the national prayer service at the start of a new presidency. She appealed for compassion and empathy in front of the incoming leadership, speaking truth to power. Our beautiful sanctuary houses all of the symbols of establishment. But, it is also the home of many restless hearts, yearning to speak truth to power.

At Emmanuel, our congregation greets us, our rector encourages us, and the music uplifts us. I appreciate how you have welcomed my family. I am grateful for your committed stewardship over many years, which has preserved this center. You have made Emmanuel an inclusive community worth sharing and expanding.

This autumn, as the leaves change color and fall, we look forward to renewal in a new year. This is the time when we set goals and aspire to create a Kin-dom of Courage. Please look in the mail for the appeal letter and pledge card from our beloved rector Pam Werntz. By pledging a meaningful gift, we help make Emmanuel’s vision tangible.

I believe in a brighter 2027, and I hope that you’ll join my family in pledging for Emmanuel.

For more information on supporting Emmanuel Church by making a 2027 Pledge, please contact the Parish Office.

Emmanuel Church's clergy, members of the altar guild, and administrative staff went into full action mode to celebrate the life of a dear friend of Emmanuel Church.

Lorraine Fanton passed earlier this month, concluding the "life" phase of a long and distinguished connection to the parish's doings. Though Lorraine might not be familiar to many who attend Sunday service, she was a regular at Emmanuel for events, concerts and programs. One of the places where she gave her time - often together with Pam - was the South Bay House of Correction, where she volunteered, working with the residents making cards on Monday evenings. She believed that people deserved to be treated as people, and she was very focused on who they were as individuals and what was happening in their lives. Her volunteer work also included Citizen Schools, the Handel and Haydn Society, Project STEP, and WBUR.

As you can see in the picture of the service in the sanctuary, she was loved and appreciated by many, many people. The post-service reception in the Parish Hall, complete with a receiving line to greet and share a few words with Tim, her husband, lasted for nearly four hours! Those who knew her will continue to love her memory ... and we have faith that she will continue to love us back.

Pre-concert talk at 3pm, Parish Hall

Join us for a pre-concert talk on the intersection between music, art, and environmentalism with Ryan Turner, composers Su Lian Tan and Iman Habibi, and author and environmentalist John Elder.

More information and tickets here: https://www.emmanuelmusic.org/performance-info/tan-habibi-and-beethoven

October 15, 2026

In the October 1-7, 2026, edition of this newsletter, The Rev. Isaac Everett, Executive Director of CRECHE, wrote to the Emmanuel Church community about CRECHE’s (Charles River Episcopal Co-Housing Network) gratitude for being approved as the first designee for our vestry-voted reparations

payment (see Isaac's note in the section below this one). We are here with some background about the process that preceded this reparations news.

Last year, the vestry approved a $10,000 reparations line item in the 2026 budgeting process. The Racial Justice Working Group (RJWG) was then charged to summarize the considerations for allocating these funds. Further, the RJWG was asked to recommend whether CRECHE, who is seeking funding to pay

down the construction loan taken for Jubilee House (the fifth house in the CRECHE network and shown in the pic above), would be the recipient of our reparations funds. At its September 15, 2026, meeting, the vestry voted unanimously

to approve that disbursement for 2026.

Emmanuel Church has had a relationship with CRECHE for over ten years. As the partner church for Emmanuel House (Allston), we continue to deepen our commitment to spiritually-grounded intentional community. With supporting Jubilee House financing, we are also affirming the importance of affordable

housing, community engagement, and neighborhood relationship-building. Our vestry definition of reparations emphasizes that meaningful financial, material and spiritual amends for harms done should be “guided by those who are harmed.” We may then “take action to repair racial injustices and help shape

flourishing communities in which everyone’s dignity is honored.”

Jubilee House and its partner church, New Roots (Dorchester) share a deep vision for justice and service. In presenting its report, the RJWG proposed that this first step on the journey brings us closer to creating a culture of repair in our parish along with meaningful reparations in our outward-facing work.

--Mary Beth Clack for the RJWG: Joel Anderle, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Ben Ericson, Pat Krol, Liz Levin

Debt retired, equity built!

Emmanuel Church has committed 1% of its parish budget to help retire the mortgage on Jubilee House, our first-ever partnership with an African Methodist Episcopal congregation, and home to an intentional community made up entirely of people from Africa and the African Diaspora.

Debt retirement doesn’t come with a ribbon-cutting, but it’s one of the most powerful, quietest ways to build real wealth. Every dollar paid down permanently lowers the cost of living for everyone who will call Jubilee House home in the years to come.

This gift carries extra weight because of how Jubilee House is structured: Creche holds an equity-sharing agreement with New Roots AME Church, so debt paid down today converts into real equity for a Black-led church. That’s reparations, structurally.

Grateful to Rev. Pam Werntz and the whole Emmanuel Church community for putting repair into the budget, not just a statement.

Isaac Everett

Executive Director, Creche

https://www.creche.community

he/him

Our next Emmanuel Center Movie Night will be on Thursday, October 15th at 7:00pm. It features the film Will and Harper (2024). This is an intimate and vulnerable documentary about a longtime friendship that also becomes an allegory for America's reckoning with transgender understanding. Joy Howard from Emmanuel Church will be our facilitator. The film is available on Netflix.

SUMMARY: When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship and transition.

All are welcome to join the conversation about this important and current topic.

If you are interested in attending, please let us know at info@centralreformtemple.org so we can ensure that you receive the Zoom link.

Join the Racial Justice Book Group, led by members of the Diocese of Massachusetts Racial Justice Commission, for its fall reading of Jemar Tisby’s award winning book The Color of Compromise. Tisby examines the truth about the American church’s complicity in racism. He demonstrates how the church — from the colonial era through modern times — cooperated with, created, and stayed silent about racism. After looking at this long, shameful history, Tisby offers people of faith a path toward true racial reconciliation.

What will it take for us to follow it? The Rev. James Hairston, Priest-in-Charge of the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin in Boston, and President of the John Burgess Massachusetts Chapter of United Black Episcopalians, will lead the exploration of this important book over three separate sessions on Zoom.

Monday, from 6:30 - 8:00 pm: October 19 on Zoom. All are welcome. Please Register Here For more information, email racialjusticebookgroup@gmail.com.



Featuring music by Gitta Steiner, Hildegard, Rhona Clarke, Rhian Samuel, and Cappella Clausura’s own Amelia LeClair

GET TICKETS NOW!

After placing collection bins on countertops in food prep areas and a five-gallon container in the first-floor kitchen in April of 2025, here are the updated totals to date for the past year plus (yes, we're closing in on 5 tons!!!):

9,640 lbs. diverted!

This is the total weight collected so far.

63 seedlings planted!

Composting has a huge impact on the environment. From a greenhouse gas equivalency standpoint, our composting efforts are equivalent to 4.9 urban trees seedlings grown for 10 years.

9,562 miles offset!

The composting efforts are equivalent to not driving 739 miles.

433 gallons of gas!

The number of gallons of gasoline offset by diverting food scraps from the landfill.

Many thanks to the people and organizations whose buy-in made all this possible. You're stars. Yay Emmanuel!!

*Statistics based on CO2E (Carbon Equivalency). This number allows for translation of abstract measurements into concrete terms, such as the emissions from cars, households, or power plants. To learn more visit the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.



Happy Summer!

We have some important wireless network updates to share with you all.

There are new WiFi access points and passwords available to building users. Please find them outlined below:

EML-Visitor                  

For parishioners, Temple members, visitors, and guests. The passcode is EmmanuelCares and will be posted throughout the building.

EML-Group                  

For ongoing group use: tenants, AA, etc. The passcode will only be given to those groups and periodically changed with notice to the affected groups. If you are part of a group that rents space in the building, please contact the parish office for the password.

EMM

For Emmanuel Music Staff use. Please contact the parish office for this password. Guests of Emmanuel Music should use the Visitor password noted above.

EML-Staff

Clergy and Vestry should contact the Parish Office for the password.

Please contact us with any questions or concerns!

Yours in faith,

The Parish Office of Emmanuel Church

The leadership of Central Reform Temple (CRT) and Emmanuel Church (the Board and the Vestry) have been engaged in conversations together over the last several weeks about the horrific events of October 7th and the subsequent war in the Middle East. This has given us the opportunity to express our love, care, and support for one another as covenant partners, and our anguish for the wider human family, as well as consider how we might engage together at this time.

Our covenant relationship provides a deep foundation for us to talk about our thoughts, feelings, and concerns about the people of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, rising anti-Semitism here in the US and around the world, rising Islamophobia, and the impact on our communities. These thoughtful conversations have enabled us to examine our values, spiritual disciplines, and what we might consider our religious responsibilities as communities of faith.

To that end, it is our desire to widen the conversation to our whole community about possible programs, educational courses, volunteer and advocacy opportunities, and the varied ways that CRT and Emmanuel can work and pray separately and together. We believe that our criteria for advocacy must be to support those seeking a resolution to this conflict between peoples, highlighting peacemakers and assisting those bringing humanitarian aid and sustenance to all who have been affected in the region. This will be how we prioritize our choices about our learning and action.

Our first program was ‘Music Speaks’ highlighting the work of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a combined Israeli and Palestinian choir and their work to build bridges between High School Youth of conflicted communities which was attended by close to 100 people last week.

We hope that as we begin to post information in our weekly e-newsletters and on the bulletin board in the lobby, you will find a project, program, course, organization to support, or place to volunteer that is meaningful to you.



Want to learn or brush up an ancient language? Join one of Emmanuel's Reading Groups. We currently offer



• Greek Reading Group - Thursdays at 9AM
• Hebrew Reading Group - Wednesdays at 9AM
• Latin Reading Group - Fridays at 9AM

Beginners are always welcome. Email Parish Office for the Zoom link.

Do you know someone who is in the hospital, or confined at home? The Care Commission provides pastoral ministry by writing notes, making visits, and more. Pastoral care needs are being coordinated by Deacon Bob Greiner. If you have a need, please contact him.

For all people struggling with or in recovery from any form of addiction, Join us on Zoom on Fridays at 3:30 pm. This service draws from the wisdom of the 12 Step program and the liturgies of the Episcopal Church. Contact Susan Ackley for more information and/or a Zoom invitation.

Founded in 1860, Emmanuel Church is located on land once used by the matriarchal Massachusett Tribe for fishing in the estuary of the Quinobequin (now the Charles River). Acknowledging this is an expression of our appreciation and a small, first step on the Way of Love, toward respect and accountability to Indigenous or First Peoples, who continue to suffer as a consequence of genocide and forced removal perpetrated by white ancestors of European descent.

Our next steps have to do with actions to end violence directed toward them, which occurs when their histories are erased, cultures are trivialized, labor is exploited, and resources are seized. As the current occupiers of this territory, we must amplify First Peoples’ voices, honor their dignity, and repent of our complicity in their oppression.

Read more about our Land Use Acknowledgment.