The View from Bolton Street
The View from Bolton Street
Reflection — Moving Forward
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 8
The Christian Story is one of constant movement. Jesus is constantly on the move. So is Paul; and Peter. The Church continues to grow and spread, from the 12 disciples, to the first few thousand believers, to a church that quickly spread all over the known (and the unknown) world within a few hundred years. When Jesus says ‘follow’ he meant literally!
One of the challenges for the Christian Church in the last 100 years is ‘what now?’ Though we may pretend otherwise, you would be hard pressed to find somewhere in the world today that the Gospel has not been preached. Not always effectively, completely, or accurately, but the story of Jesus is known in all corners of the world.
But that doesn’t mean the work is done. By no means! Rather it is a time to reconsider how we do things and whether ‘the way we’ve always done things’ is still, in fact, a good way to do things. Are we still willing to take up our crosses and follow Jesus?
It is instructive to recognize that Jesus says take up ‘their’ cross, not take up My cross. We need to be aware that our particular context and circumstances may require of us a different kind of sacrifice, a different kind of denial than those who have come before us, or those who worship across town from us. What is your ‘cross’? What seemingly insurmountable obstacle has God put in front of you? What relationship, opportunity, worry, fear, illness do you need help with? Jesus instructs us to pick it up and carry it to him. Offer it up to God and see what God does with it.
If we don’t move - If we don’t move ourselves, the church, our communities ever closer to God, we are going to get stuck - calcified in place. And our crosses only get bigger and heavier. Friends, I invite you this week to contemplate your own cross (or crosses) this week and to ask how you might lift them up and carry them to Jesus. For even as we do we will ‘the love of Christ proclaim, for all the world adore his sacred name.’
Family Dinner Night
Family Night Dinners-
Family night dinners are designed to entertain both the kids and the parents. We will have dinner all together then break off into groups. Hannah has planned a fun-filled night with a theme of the “Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”. The kids will be playing games and have a bible study related to the movie. Grey will be working with the adults and reflecting on what the year will look like for the children. It will be a discussion to see what is going on in this calendar year. Please come out and join the conversation! Every second Wednesday, Upper Farnham Hall @6:00pm-7:30pm
Children's Chapel
Children’s Chapel-
Children’s Chapel is set this year to be a more interactive, kid-friendly, and self-paced version of the Liturgy of the Word. We are using a program called Whirl and it uses the same readings and gospel that we hear on Sundays and turns them into lessons that children can understand. This will be an energetic, fun, and knowledge filled time!
Children’s Chapel will be held during the service every Sunday in Lower Farnham Hall. If you have any questions feel free to email Hannah Hutchens- youth@memorialepiscopal.org
To learn more about Whirl - click here.
Book Club - October 10
October Book Club will be at the home of John and Jane Payne, 4100 N. Charles St., Apt. 301, on October 10 at 6:00 pm. Dinner will be served and we will be talking about:
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence Durrell's series of four novels set in Alexandria, Egypt during the 1940s. The lush and sensuous series consists of Justine (1957) Balthazar (1958) Mountolive (1958) Clea (1960). Justine, Balthazar and Mountolive use varied viewpoints to relate a series of events in Alexandria before World War II. In Clea, the story continues into the years during the war. One L.G. Darley is the primary observer of the events, which include events in the lives of those he loves and those he knows. In Justine, Darley attempts to recover from and put into perspective his recently ended affair with a woman. Balthazar reinterprets the romantic perspective he placed on the affair and its aftermath in Justine, in more philosophical and intellectual terms. Mountolive tells a story minus interpretation, and Clea reveals Darley's healing, and coming to love another woman.
Amazon review
We will also be discussing dates for our next meetings and books to read, so please come prepared to share your thoughts!
The View from Bolton Street
Homecoming Sunday
They were astounded beyond measure saying “He has done everything well”
Mark 7:37
I am really excited for Sunday.
Really excited.
You might ask, of course, why? It’s just ‘Homecoming’ Sunday. It’s not even a real feast day in the Church. It’s not Easter, or Christmas, or Epiphany, or All Saints Day. If any thing ‘Homecoming Sunday’ is an anathema to the Christian tradition - a giving in to the realities of our current world that says we can take Summers ‘off’ and that the year begins not on Advent 1 but on the Sunday after Labor Day.
Okay, you make a good point.
But I take a special joy in Homecoming Sunday because... I like Homecoming. Now in High School I was never the Homecoming King, I didn’t get to come to school in my football uniform, or star in a class production. But I did have a particular role in my High School’s homecoming activities and that was as ‘Coordinator’. Yes, I was the one who made sure everything worked out.
Someone had to make sure the float got finished and the class skit was prepared and everyone knew about the spirit days and someone was in charge of the hallway decorating and the class cheer and all the other little things that go into making Homecoming Week a great week... and that person was me. There was, and is, something very satisfying about putting together a program and seeing the pieces come together. To hear those words of Jesus’ followers (paraphrased) ‘They have done everything well.’
And as we come to the end of the summer it is truly exciting to see everyone’s hard work come together. The Church is back in order, the acolytes are ready, the Children’s programming is coming together, the Choir is rehearsing for the first time today, the altar guild is getting the linens and the silver ready... it really is exciting. And not just the preparation for the day but for the year. As you read last week we have new staff coming on board, new people on the altar and behind the scenes that will assist our community in worship, ministry, and fellowship together. We have a whole calendar of events ready to share with you.
It really has been inspiring and a bit terrifying to watch it all come together. And I can’t wait to share it with you.
If you need a message of Good News this week, if you need a fresh start, a reconnection with the divine I hope you will join us this Sunday at 10:30 am. And if you know someone else like that I hope you will invite them as well.
Sunday, September 9th. 10:30 am. Bolton and Lafayette. Welcome Home.
Family Dinner Night - September 12
Next Wednesday night, at 6 pm, in UFH, we will have the first of our monthly Family Dinners in Upper Farnham Hall. This event is designed to give families with children a chance to come together and share some fellowship while also getting information and giving feedback on youth and children's programming. While it is aimed at families with smaller children, anyone with an interest in children's and youth programming is welcome to come.
Please RSVP to the office by Tuesday, September 11, at 12 noon so we can plan food appropriately.
Connect - September 5
Connect is a reflection, prayer, and meditation group that grew out of an Inquirers class many years ago. This dedicated group of folks is always happy to see new seekers, and welcomes any to join them on the first Wednesday of each month. Food and fellowship are part of the package.
If you have any questions, please contact Paul Seaton
Look Back: Water Heroes Camp
What a week! Memorial is pleased to have hosted 21 kids, some members of the congregation, and some not, for a fun filled week of learning about WATER! Many of us take water for granted - we turn on the tap or the spigot and out it comes. We go sailing on it, or swimming in it, and sometimes we fish. But most of us are not well versed in how the water cycle really works in the modern world.
If you are nodding your head and saying, "yep, I am one of those people", we have good news. There are now 21 children in the neighborhood who can help you understand it better.
Over the course of the week the kids built "swamp water filters" and models of plumbing systems; they stenciled storm drains and learned from elders and experts - many of whom are members here at Memorial. They swam, and played, and had a lot of fun while learning lessons that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.
Water is a finite resource, and it is up to us all to ensure it's continued availability.
Take a peek at our campers and what they got up to last week, click on a picture to move to the next slide:
The start of the week:
Homecoming Sunday
Sunday, September 9, is Homecoming Sunday at Memorial. As we start this new program year, we will be celebrating lots of new faces, and lots of new and exciting plans. You can read more about those plans in The View from Bolton Street this week.
We will have the choir back, and children with doves (faux), and we will, weather permitting, celebrate coffee hour with a huge pot-luck luncheon on the Lafayette Ave. sidewalk. Please bring something to share and join us for this festive return to church.
The View from Bolton Street
The View From — Park Avenue?!?
This week Memorial’s staff took a day to vision and plan for the future. This was particularly important because we have four new staff members coming on board, so not only did we need to plan for the future, we also had to get to know each other well enough to get along in the present.
So we de-camped to ‘The Center’ — a Presbyterian mission outpost in downtown Baltimore for the day to dream, vision and plan the next eight months. We also shared a bit of our own histories and Memorial’s history so that we can — together — craft a better vision for the future.
We began the day reading the story of Peter and Cornelius and reflecting on how hard it can be to change “culture” (for Peter it took a vision from God) but that we must be careful to separate our cultural norms from our religious norms, lest we end up worshipping our culture instead of the Lord Most High. Sadly, we are seeing clear examples of culture worship from conservative evangelical leaders every day in the news, and it is incumbent on us not to make the same mistakes.
Looking forward into the new program year, we will be introducing a few new things, including a weekly Bible study during the day (12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays), a regular Wednesday evening program the first three Wednesdays of the month, and an expanded Epiphany Movie Series focused on telling the story of the fight for civil rights and the continued issues of white supremacy here in the U.S. and across Baltimore.
We are also working on a new, more permanent home for Children’s Chapel (in the lower parish hall) and more robust formation programs for children of all ages and adults.
Please plan to join us on Homecoming Sunday, September 9, and September 16 for a special Liturgy and Living Conversation to roll out this years programmatic calendar and to see how you can be involved in coming closer to Christ this year, and in telling Memorial’s story in order to bring others closer as well.
You will also have a chance to meet our new Memorial staff. Beginning this fall we will have a new deacon, a new intern from Virginia Seminary (a student seeking ordination in the Diocese of Maryland), a new music minister, and a new director of children’s programs and community engagement.
Deacon: The Rev. Natalie Conway is coming to us this fall to serve as deacon. Natalie is a dedicated servant of the diocese and the Church, having served on diocesan staff and now as the head of the standing committee, in addition to her diaconal ministries. At Memorial she will take a leadership role in worship, formation and in some new efforts around confronting the opioid epidemic. Natalie will preach once a month beginning the first Sunday in September.
Intern: Jill Williams is a longtime member of Guardian Angel and is in her second year at Virginia Seminary. She will be focused on “learning the ropes” of ministry, but at Memorial she will, in addition to worship efforts, play a significant role in our formation programs. She is already working on an art/theology collaboration project for Lent around the Stations of the Cross. She will preach regularly and help lead worship.
Director, Children’s Programs and Community Engagement: Hannah Hutchens has just finished her time as an ESC intern and is excited about staying in Baltimore and helping to grow a program here at Memorial. She spent the last year working at Project Place, but she is a longtime youth volunteer and was staff at Camp Trinity, an Episcopal summer camp in North Carolina. She is passionate about Baltimore and about helping our kids get to know Jesus.
Music Minister: We are in the final stages of negotiation with out new music minister. I am VERY excited about the candidate and can’t wait to share the good news with all of you. It is my expectation we will be able to make a formal announcement early next week and that the candidate will be with the choir by mid-September. Stay tuned!
It is important also to note that while it is not THE answer, as we learned on our vestry retreat
— representation matters. And going from worship leaders who are all white men to a much more diverse representation of the full body of Christ on the altar and in our staffing is really an important step forward.