Dear friends:
We've all spent time in the past week pondering the people and institutions we are thankful for. Many of you, like us, had Memorial Church on your list of 2017 Thanksgivings: our multiple action-oriented social justice ministries; the impressive rebirth or our Rectory; our constant care for others and for EACH other; our strong and clever and, (we can admit this!) much-cooler-than-the-two-of us young Rector and his family!
Yes, so much to be thankful for.
But friends, we can take none of it for granted!
Our current work, and the work of Memorial's future, is made possible only with your commitment of time, treasure and talent.
And we're writing today to ask you to consider your commitment of treasure to Memorial's present and future.
Many of you have made an amazing pledge already to 2018. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!
For those who've not yet pledged, please consider supporting Memorial in 2018 by making an online pledge here.
Should you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact either one us.
Thank you very much in advance for your prayerful consideration of our request.
Sincerely,
Monty and Beth
Walter Montgomery Howard, Junior Warden
monty.howard@gmail.com
Beth Drummond Casey, Senior Warden
bethdrummondcasey@gmail.com
The View From Bolton Street: Hell
There seems to be a lot of talk of Hell these days, which, for Episcopalians, makes sense. We have just entered Advent, and for three weeks we are reminded about Armageddon, the end of the world, sin, judgment and yes ... Hell. So it might be a good time to address the question “Do we believe in Hell?”
In less complicated times perhaps it is hard to believe in hell. When life is good and our family and friends are happy, are bank accounts are balanced, our personal lives are stable, ‘Hell’ seems like a far-off and strange thing. A scary thing. a needless thing, perhaps.
But in more troublesome times, Hell seems entirely too plausible. When it feels like the carpet could be pulled out from under you at any minute, when it feels like your friends might disappear, when all of your safety, all your stability, everything seems impermanent, Hell may seem like your day-to-day reality, or worse a permanent status you might wish on those responsible for the hell you are currently living.
There is a popular theology in the church that says “God’s judgement requires that Hell exists, but God’s mercy require that it be empty”; or rather that the inescapable conclusion of Scripture and the incarnate God is that some punishment must be levied on us individually and corporately for the evil we have done, but that God is also so good to us that it is unimaginable that any of us would have to suffer for it. While I am grateful for this theology, I do find it lacking and here is why.
Let me say a few things about Hell and then perhaps frame this for our common life over the next several weeks.
First of all, we must dispense with the notion of Hell as a place for “non-believers.” It is too simplistic to think that saying some magic words will save you from eternal damnation. Further, in a world where almost every day self-proclaimed Christians drop bombs from drones flying half a world away killing innocent Muslim children, it is impossible (for this Christian) to believe in a God that would send the pilot to Heaven and condemn the Children to Hell.
Second, we also must reconcile ourselves to the fact that God’s grace does indeed abound and it is quite possible that many terrible people (you can make your own list) have sought and will receive forgiveness from the most high. If we believe in grace for ourselves, we must believe in it for all.
Third, Hell has always had a physical reality here on earth. From the Valley of Gehenna outside Jerusalem (the trash dump where fires literally burned forever) to the modern-day hells we see in trash dumps outside of Mexico City, or the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan, or U.S. detention facilities; to the personal hells of LGBT people continuing to be re-abused; or women who have suffered sexual abuse in the workplace, the home or at Church .. Hell IS real, and no amount of creative theology can take that away.
You see, whether we believe in Hell or not, does not change the reality that many people around the world live in Hell every day. When John comes in Mark speaking of repentance and forgiveness of sins, he is speaking to a people who are both living in a kind of hell and acutely aware of their own responsibility for the hell they have created. They want a way out. They desperately want a new way to be. And John is offering them a path towards that new way.
That new way is found in the birth of a savior, the Boy King Jesus. The risen Christ.
As we approach Christmas, we should be profoundly aware of the promise of Jesus to do away with Hell, and with our own responsibility as Christians to lessen the personal hell our friends and neighbors live with on a daily basis. That is why I am proud of Memorial’s efforts to call for justice on a local and state level; why I am proud our children have organized a giving tree to collect toys and supplies for children in need; and why I am grateful for the leadership of Bruno our intern in putting together a Christmas party for the needy residents of Linden Park Apartments — because these are powerful examples of how we are spending this Advent season making Jesus seem a little closer, and Hell a little further away, for each other, and for all those suffering this season.
Angel Baskets & Greening the church
IT'S NOT TOO LATE! If you have Angel basket items, please bring them to church on Sunday 12/24.
The congregation contributes small special items for parishioners who are homebound, or in frail health, or who have daunting challenges. These baskets are SMALL. We ask for small personal care items, all unscented or very mildly scented, such as small wrapped soaps or small hand or body lotions, tea bags in their own envelopes, hot chocolate, hard mints wrapped, small prayer booklets or meditations. Each basket will include an angel figure or ornament. We hope to have some special items for the younger members as well as older parishioners! We will assemble the baskets after church on Sunday and arrange for delivery as soon as possible. There will be 8 or 9 baskets.
At the same time, we will be "Greening the church" with the trees and greens procured last weekend at Feldhof Farm. Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves to help protect against sap from the trees and keep your hands clean to enjoy some of Paul Seaton's award-winning* chili! The Greening should take no more than an hour after church, and many hands make light work, so please consider sticking around for a bit to help.
If you would like to learn more about this activity or other small ministry possibilities,(including prayer groups) please speak to Fr. Grey or call or email Pam Fleming. 410-366-6827. >guypamsh@gmail.com>
Justice Committee
Upcoming Justice Committee Meeting — Wednesday Dec 13th — 6:30 Eucharist and 7:00 pm meeting as we discussed further steps towards becoming a Racial Reconciling Congregation.
Please join as you are able for our regular monthly Justice Committee meeting. We will hear updates from the different ongoing initiatives (including Violence Reduction, Education, and Racial Reconciliation) and do some planning on some joint events with St. Michael and All Angels and St Katherine’s in the coming year. If you would like to take part in these conversations, do plan to join us at 6:30 pm next Wednesday.
Christmas Giving Tree
Thanks to Barbara Naylor and Michelle Polley, and all the kids at Memorial for their help in decorating our Christmas Giving Tree this year! With some input from our children, we have elected to support the children from ‘The Ark’ a daycare program devoted to Homeless Children here in Baltimore City. If you took an ornament last week, please bring back your gifts by Dec 17th so we can deliver them on Monday the 18th. If you did NOT you still have time! this weekend or anytime during the week next week.
There are many ways to get into the Christmas Spirit, but sharing with those most in need, particularly small children, perhaps is one of the best.
Feldhof Farm, where Memorial gets its greens - December 16
The farm where Memorial Church traditionally goes for our Christmas greens is located at 2311 Neudecker Road in Westminster. The farm is Stacy Wells' childhood home, owned by her father Bill Fanning, and it’s been family-owned and operated since 1984. Memorial has been going out to the farm since 2003 the year Stacy and Bill Wells got married! The church trees and greens are donated in memory of Bill's mom, Dougie Wells.
Located in the rolling hills of Carroll County, mid-way between Westminster and Hampstead, Maryland, the farm has a variety of spruces, firs and pines from table top size to 20 feet tall. And you get good exercise just looking at what’s available. In fact, when Leigh Wiehs went out to the farm in 2003, she got such great exercise that she gave birth to Grant right there in the field! Stacy was the midwife! Well, maybe a slight exaggeration --but still a great story.
There is a real joy in cutting one’s own tree, and at Feldhof you can also get a ‘live’ tree, that is to say: root ball and all! There are hand-made wreaths, greens and holly to make your own arrangements & swags. Wreaths are sized from 16 inches to 72 inches in diameter. They can be made with mixed greens, pines or firs. They can be special ordered with holly or nandina berries and various types of pine cones!
And hand made bows are also available to finish off your holiday wreaths or swags.
Other services include a ‘borrowing shed’ for hand saws to cut your tree, and there are tractors to bring your tree to the parking area, as well as tree bailing equipment.
They only accept Cash or Checks for payment of goods or services and are open November 25 through December 17 on Saturdays and Sundays: 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
On weekdays they are open by appointment only. You can call 410-876-7680 to schedule a weekday visit to the farm, but we hope you will join us there on the 16th!
Please contact Monty Howard 410-243-2902 if you need to caravan from church (it’s easy to find) or we will see you there at about 10AM on Saturday the 16th.
The View From Bolton Street: Advent
Welcome to Advent
Welcome to a new year! This Sunday marks the first Sunday in Advent, the first week of a new liturgical year in the Church, and an opportunity to begin some new traditions, and to try out some old ones as well.
So what happens when we start a new liturgical year? A few things: some big, some small. First of all the colors we use in the church will change, to blue for the season of Advent — a color more reflective of the more reverential and at times penitential tone of the season.
We also shift our focus from the Gospel of Matthew to the Gospel of Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels and perhaps the Gospel that has generated the most academic interest in the last ten years — so get ready for some interesting takes on Jesus over the next year.
We also, for a few weeks, will shift our liturgy a bit. For the next few weeks we will use the prayers and liturgy for Rite I in the Book of Common Prayer. These prayers, many of which are taken from the Book of Common Prayer in use in the 1800s, may sound a bit odd at first, but I encourage you to take some time to hear the prayers for the first time. Listen for what sounds different, what surprises you, and what, perhaps, makes you view the service a bit differently. As the stage for ‘A Christmas Carol’ is set for 19th-century England, we can lean a little deeper into that by using some of the prayers and rhythms from that period as well.
BUT as is often repeated in the Gospel of Mark, “Be Not Afraid.” This is not a forever change, but an opportunity to hear the same prayers, the same teachings, the same theology, in a new way.
You will particularly note a return to the “traditional” Lord’s Prayer. One thing I hear MOST often from new members and visitors to Memorial is “I don’t understand the Lord’s Prayer. Why did you change it?” Perhaps it is an issue of hospitality to return for a few weeks to the traditional Lord’s Prayer as a way to offer some sense of comfort to those who are with us for the first time. In fact, it will be interesting to see what happens in the new Prayer Book with this prayer. Will they keep the “new” version? Will they adopt the more accurate “Presbyterian version” of “debts and debtors”? Or will they only have one Lord’s Prayer as an act of unity with the rest of Christendom?
Advent is a season of “waiting,” and I am sure that some of you will be “waiting” for these changes to revert and some have been “waiting” for them for some time. Whichever side you are on, know I am grateful for the “waiting.” I look forward to worshipping with you over the next few weeks as we prepare to welcome the birth of our Savior, and to make some room in our hearts and our homes for the risen Christ.
Advent Liturgy and Living: A Christmas Carol Past, Present and Future
Join us this Advent after Church for a three part series looking at the history, current context and the future of how we might view Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. We will be joined by Erin Johnson of Loyola University and Dr. Andrew Miller of Johns Hopkins for this fascinating three part series.
Dec 3rd — Christmas Carol’s Past — How did Dickens and ‘A Christmas Carol’ give birth to many of our modern Christmas Traditions?
Dec 10th - Christmas Carol’s Present — ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Stranger Things’ — how does this story continue to get reflected and re-told in today’s world?
Dec 17th - Christmas Carol’s future — ‘A Christmas Carol’ in Baltimore — If you were to set a Christmas Carol in Baltimore in 2018 what role would the Mayor have? Under Armour? Memorial Church?
Rounding out the year
Dec. 3 - What's next? "A Christmas Carol" is coming
The Memorial Players will present Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on December 1, 2, 8, and 9 at 7:30 p.m., with matinee performances December 3 and 10 at 3:30 pm. Pre-show receptions, which bring the patron "sponsor" seating, will be held on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sunday, December 3. To get more information or to book a ticket go to www.memorialplayers.org.
Legend has it that Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past, such as carols, as well as new customs such as Christmas trees. He was inspired to write the story following a visit to the Field Lance Ragged School, one of London’s establishments for half-starved, illiterate street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a self-interested man redeeming himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are key themes of the story.
Interestingly, back in the 1800s, there was discussion among academics whether A Christmas Carol was a fully secular story or a Christian allegory. As Rina Steinhauer, one of the directors , points out, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three spirits, not three angels. Rina says, “It’s more of an Advent story than a Christmas story. It’s more about preparing for something new as we watch Mr. Scrooge go through his own reckoning.” She also points out that the story is “not unique to Christians, but to the impulse of all humans.”
Rina emphasized the theme of transformation throughout, especially calling out the timing of when the play takes place (Christmas Eve/Christmas Day) to the timing of the winter solstice. The play, she says, brings on “themes of renewal. When light triumphs over darkness, or the dawning of a new day.”
I’m especially keen to watch Richard Peck’s performance as Ebenezer Scrooge. I do not know him personally but hear he is a very kind and gentle man. In this production of A Christmas Carol, he will be portrayed as “more violent and uglier” than we’ve seen in other productions. This portrayal will underscore the degree of Scrooge’s personal transformation, and will show us all that it is never too late to change.
If you are unfamiliar with the Memorial Players, its productions are performed by people that may have had an acting bug or are looking for a welcoming and safe place to do theatre. This production will include approximately 30 actors, and the Victorian costumes are said to be a “major deal.”
—Richard Finger