Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour:Hosting today are Barbara Boles with Mary & Paul Roberts.If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
11:15 Coffee Hour: Hosting this morning are Maggie Eggert & Nick Westberg with Olivia James. We are always in need of more volunteers; to view the schedule and select a date to co-host, visit www.theadventboston.org/1115-coffee-hour-signup/. If you have any questions, please contact Frederick Ou (frederick.ou@gmail.com), Roxy Hanson (roxenewu@yahoo.com) or Betsy James (ejames4@nc.rr.com).
For those who have requested them, pledge envelopes are available for pick-up in the back of the church.
Today marks the opening of our 36-hour Twelfth Night Silent Auction, to benefit the Advent 175 Conservation Fund. Books and artworks are on display in Moseley Hall; bidding takes place during coffee hours. Here’s how: each item has a bid sheet with an opening bid listed. Simply write your name, contact information, and the amount you are bidding on the sheet. There are lots of treasures from which to choose — as well as a Free Table, and a Low-Fixed-Price table for $5 and $10 items. Additional bidding takes place after the Epiphany service on Monday; the auction will close Monday evening, during the reception following the service. Questions? See Deacon Daphne or Robb Scholten.
THIS WEEK!
The Feast of the Epiphany — Procession & Solemn Mass.Monday, January 6, 6:30 pm. A light reception will follow in Moseley Hall and includes the conclusion of our Twelfth Night Silent Auction (see above for details).
Theology on Tap meets this Tuesday, January 7, 2020, at 7pm at Silvertone Bar & Grill, 69 Bromfield Street, Boston, Sr. Maria Theotokos Adams will discuss “Sanctified Time: Myth or Reality?”
Sr. Maria Theotókos
The Scottish mystic George MacDonald (1824 – 1905) famously noted: “Every day is Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter.” Yet, Christians have liturgical calendars and universally acknowledge Sunday as the sacred dies Domini. Early Christian laity and various ascetic movements invested heavily in structured times for prayer according to the natural rhythms of the earth.
Today the advent of uninterrupted electricity and expansive cyberspace has expanded the time for work, leisure, and human activity beyond the limits of the rising and setting of the sun. So does it matter when we pray? Is the flow of time really marked by the sacred? How might we participate in the sanctification of time – personal and ecclesial? What new insights could we gain from ancient and medieval Christian understandings of sacred time?
Sr. Maria Theotókos Adams, SSVM, a native of Washington, grew up near Charlottesville, Virginia, before attending Columbia University in New York. While pursuing her BA in Ancient Studies, she spent a semester at Hebrew University in Jerusalem also attending courses at the École Biblique. Sr. Theotókos entered religious life in 2001, and professed her perpetual vows in 2008. She is a member of the Catholic missionary community the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará (SSVM) – female branch of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word (IVE).
Sr. Theotókos completed her Master’s in Church History at The Catholic University of America in 2016 with a focus on Bede’s reception of The City of God and his role in transmitting the legacy of Augustine. Venturing back to the earliest systematic Christian historiography, she is now pursuing her doctorate in Church History on Eusebius of Caesarea and liturgical time.
Her father, Rev. Thomas E. Adams, can be found at Church of the Advent as presider of the Tuesday midday liturgies and chaplain to the Tuesday-night suppers for the homeless.
NEXT SUNDAY!
Thank you, Father Welch. Next Sunday, January 12, will be Fr. Truman Welch’s last Sunday with us as our Interim Rector. We will celebrate and thank Father Welch at both coffee hours that day, and wish him well as he resumes his retirement in Maine. As the Wardens have said, in his year with us Father Welch has not only earned the respect and affection of the whole congregation, but also secured his place as a lifelong member of the Advent family. Please join us next Sunday to thank Fr. Welch for his ministry among us.
Compline at the Advent: Join us next Sunday, January 12, for the ancient liturgy of Compline, preceded by Lucernarium, an evening service of lamp-lighting. We pray Compline, the service of prayer before bedtime in the custom of early Christian monasticism, on the second Sunday of every month at 8:00 pm in the nave.
COMING UP!
Parish Office Nominations: At the Annual Meeting on January 26, there will be elections for four Vestry seats, Clerk, Treasurer, and two Diocesan Convention Delegates. This year’s nominating committee includes the Wardens (Tom Brown and Paul Roberts), Maria Denslow, and Dustin Henderson. Please submit any proposed names to one of them before Epiphany.
Please submit all annual reports to the parish office by Friday, January 10. Electronic submissions are preferred and using MS Word is greatly appreciated.
What Is Saint Michael’s Conference?: On Sunday, January 19, we will have the opportunity to find out. At 10:15 Father James will lead a presentation about the Conference with the help of parishioners who have attended the Conference, served as counselors, or are senior staff members. Every young person who is between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one ought to attend this presentation, but more importantly, the parents ought to attend too. This week-long conference for teaching, learning, worship, and recreation has been offered each year since 1960 and has been a force in the spiritual lives of thousands of high school and college-aged students. Come and find out why.
STEWARDSHIP
Thanks to those from whom we have recently received pledges. As of Friday we have received 176 pledges, pledging a total of $480,627. 60 have increased their pledges by an average of over 15.5%, and there are 24 from those who did not pledge in 2019. We have yet to hear from 57 parishioners who pledged a total of approximately $109,895 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website, www.theadventboston.org, and clicking the “Pledge Online” button, or pick up a pledge packet in the church.
ODDS & ENDS
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
FROM THE ADVENT ARCHIVES
Mystery leads to history leads to mystery: Part I
Mystery: Why does the Advent have a petite, slender 18th century journal, accompanied by a letter dated May 12, 1925, tucked into its pages, addressed to a Mr. Foote, from Albert Thorndike? He writes:
I have a little blank book signed, twice, by Mary Wilder with date May 2, 1799 & also signed by Hannah F. Gould. It is partially filled by notes, & copies of bits of literature. First entries by Mary, probably. Later ones, from the handwriting, by Hannah. A fair guess is that the young ladies – Hannah was about nine years the younger – related and quite likely already knowing each other, became very close friends in Newburyport. That after Mary’s death, Mr. White gave the book to Hannah to treasure. Its interest is only one of family memento [sic], & it seems closer to your family than to mine. So I am taking it to my office (Room 658, 10, P. O. Square) that you may, if you wish, call at convenience – no hurry – to see it. If you care to carry it away, do so.
History: To tackle the mystery, some history was needed. First, who were the two young ladies? Mary Wilder was elusive (at least initially) but Hannah Flagg Gould (1786-1865) was quickly identified as a nineteenth-century poet of some renown; she never married and lived in Newburyport. Additional genealogical research revealed Hannah’s lineage: Her father was Captain Benjamin Gould (1751-1841), a veteran of the Revolutionary War battles at Lexington, Bunker Hill, and West Point, among others. At Lexington, it is reported, “he received a bullet wound, the scar of which was conspicuous on his cheek throughout his long life, and formed the subject of a poem by his daughter…” Hannah’s mother was Griselda Apthorp Flagg (1753-1827), whose sister, Mary (Polly) Flagg (1750-1811), married Josiah Wilder (1744-1788). So the Flagg connection links Mary and Hannah as cousins. Yet even after establishing this, a mystery remains: what are the relationships between Hannah, Mary, Mr. Foote, Mr. Thorndike, and Mr. White? Will they explain how the journal came to be at the Church of the Advent, and why?
More to come in Part II.
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT January 6-12, 2020
Monday, January 6 The Epiphany 6:30 pm: Procession & Solemn Mass; Reception follows
Tuesday, January 7
6:00 pm: Community Supper
7:00 pm: Theology on Tap @ Silvertone Bar & Grill, 69 Bromfield Street
Wednesday, January 8 10:00 am: Bible Study
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
7:00 pm: Bellringing
Thursday, January 9 Julia Chester Emery
Friday, January 10 William Laud of Canterbury 11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, January 11
Sunday, January 12 The First Sunday after the Epiphany 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Sung Mass
11:15 am: Solemn Mass
8:00 pm: Compline
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour:Hosting today are Barbara Boles with Will Joyner & Linda Jones. If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
11:15 Coffee Hour: Hosting this morning are Philip Le Quesne, Bud Scheffy, and Deb Hanley & Frank McGuire. We are always in need of more volunteers; to view the schedule and select a date to co-host, visit www.theadventboston.org/1115-coffee-hour-signup/. If you have any questions, please contact Frederick Ou (frederick.ou@gmail.com), Roxy Hanson (roxenewu@yahoo.com) or Betsy James (ejames4@nc.rr.com).
For those who have requested them, pledge envelopes are available for pick-up in the back of the church.
THIS WEEK!
Tuesday, December 31 — New Year’s Eve at 5:00 pm: The Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols by Candlelight. Sung by the Choir of the Church of the Advent, including works of Bednall, Chilcott, Darke, Filsell, Handel, Leighton, McDowall, Ord, Palestrina and Victoria. (childcare available)
COMING UP!
The Feast of the Epiphany, Solemn Mass. Monday, January 6, 6:30 pm.
Parish Office Nominations: At the Annual Meeting on January 26, there will be elections for four Vestry seats, Clerk, Treasurer, and two Diocesan Convention Delegates. This year’s nominating committee includes the Wardens (Tom Brown and Paul Roberts), Maria Denslow, and Dustin Henderson. Please submit any proposed names to one of them before Epiphany.
Please submit all annual reports to the parish office by Friday, January 10. Electronic submissions are preferred and using MS Word is greatly appreciated.
What Is Saint Michael’s Conference?: On Sunday, January 19, we will have the opportunity to find out. At 10:15 Father James will lead a presentation about the Conference with the help of parishioners who have attended the Conference, served as counselors, or are senior staff members. Every young person who is between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one ought to attend this presentation, but more importantly, the parents ought to attend too. This week-long conference for teaching, learning, worship, and recreation has been offered each year since 1960 and has been a force in the spiritual lives of thousands of high school and college-aged students. Come and find out why.
STEWARDSHIP
As of Friday we have received 170 pledges, pledging a total of $468,927. 60 have increased their pledges by an average of over 15.5%, and there are 22 from those who did not pledge in 2019. We have yet to hear from 61 parishioners who pledged a total of approximately $125,000 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website, www.theadventboston.org, and clicking the “Pledge Online” button, or pick up a pledge packet in the church.
Please note also that 2019 contributions to the Advent must be received by December 31 in order to be eligible for 2019 tax consideration.
ODDS & ENDS
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT December 30, 2019-January 5, 2020
Monday, December 30
Tuesday, December 31
5:00 pm: Christmas Lessons & Carols
6:00 pm: Community Supper
Wednesday, January 1 The Holy Name (Parish Office Closed) 11:00 am: Mass
Thursday, January 2
Friday, January 3 11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, January 4
Sunday, January 5 The Second Sunday after Christmas 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Sung Mass
11:15 am: Solemn Mass
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
Dear Members and Friends of the Church of the Advent:
We are writing today with a special note of thanks to our Deacon, the Rev’d Daphne Noyes. After almost a decade and a half of service to the Advent, Daphne will retire from her pastoral and liturgical duties on Sunday, January 26, 2020. We will plan appropriate festivities to celebrate Daphne and wish her well in retirement.
While we are sad that the time for her departure has come, it is really a well-deserved and hard-earned retirement. Daphne’s official canonical retirement date was almost a year ago. But with no small amount of urging from us, and in the spirit of love for and service to the Advent community that Daphne exemplifies, she sought a year’s extension. Our bishops consented. And that has had an immeasurable effect on our transition. As the longest-tenured member of our clerical staff, Daphne has been a source of calm and hope as we have studied, searched, and waited—all while continuing to carry out the mission of worshiping God and preaching the Gospel of the Risen Christ to this community and to the world. This time has also reminded us of the grace and quiet confidence with which Daphne has carried out her office as our Deacon, including the challenges inherent in being the first and only woman on the Advent’s clerical staff.
Daphne’s love for the Advent has also been on full display in the highly successful Advent 175 festivities. It was her work, her energy, and her devotion that brought things together. The whole Advent family is thankful for the great gift that all of the presentations, histories, and events connected to Advent 175 have been to our community. Daphne will continue to work on the archival and organization end of Advent 175 for several more months to ensure that project—her labor of love for this place—comes to a successful conclusion.
Daphne: thank you for presence among us, and for your faithful service to the Advent. You have our deepest gratitude, and will always remain a beloved member of our Advent family.
Faithfully your brothers in Christ,
Thomas Brown, Senior Warden
Paul J. Roberts, Junior Warden
Printed copies of Deacon Noyes’s letter to the parish are available in the parish house.
The flowers in the Parish House are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Ellen Brockman.
The Advent wreath is given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Norman MacGregor Post, priest, and Jane Irene Post.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour:Hosting today are Nola Sheffer and Betsy Ridge Madsen. If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
11:15 Coffee Hour: Hosting this morning are Michael Oliveri & Eric Aho, and Daniel & Marcos German-Domingues. We are always in need of more volunteers; to view the schedule and select a date to co-host, visit www.theadventboston.org/1115-coffee-hour-signup/. If you have any questions, please contact Frederick Ou (frederick.ou@gmail.com), Roxy Hanson (roxenewu@yahoo.com) or Betsy James (ejames4@nc.rr.com).
For those attending the 11:15 Coffee Hour, if you have a few minutes to spare, the Flower Guild could use some help carrying all the Christmas material out of storage and up into the church. Making one or two trips before you leave would be a big help.
For those who have requested them, pledge envelopes are available for pick-up in the back of the church.
THIS WEEK!
The parish Flower Guild needs your help! Decorating the church for Christmas is a lot of work, and the Flower Guild can’t do it alone. We need volunteers on the following days; floral design skills are not required ‑ if you can carry a bucket, climb a stepladder, or fill a trash bag, we can use you! And if you can spare an hour or two, but not come for the entire block, that’s perfectly OK.
Today, around 1:00 pm. After the 11:15 coffee hour we need help carrying all the Christmas material out of storage and up into the church. Making one or two trips before you leave is a big help.
Monday, December 23, 10:00 am to noon and/or 1:00 to 3:30 pm
Tuesday, Christmas Eve, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Every year stuffed animals and infants’ clothing are presented at the crèche during the 4:30 pm Mass on Christmas Eve. Donations go to the Fragment Society, who, since their inception in 1812, have been distributing clothes to Boston’s poor and needy.
Parish Office Nominations: At the Annual Meeting, there will be elections for four Vestry seats, Clerk, Treasurer, and two Diocesan Convention Delegates. This year’s nominating committee includes the Wardens (Tom Brown and Paul Roberts), Maria Denslow, and Dustin Henderson. Please submit any proposed names to one of them before Epiphany.
As we near the end of 2019, please remember that annual reports are due in the office at the beginning of January.
What Is Saint Michael’s Conference?: On Sunday, January 19, we will have the opportunity to find out. At 10:15 Father James will lead a presentation about the Conference with the help of parishioners who have attended the Conference, served as counselors, or are senior staff members. Every young person who is between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one ought to attend this presentation, but more importantly, the parents ought to attend too. This week-long conference for teaching, learning, worship, and recreation has been offered each year since 1960 and has been a force in the spiritual lives of thousands of high school and college-aged students. Come and find out why.
STEWARDSHIP
Thanks to all those from whom we have recently received pledges. As of this past Thursday we have received 163 pledges, pledging a total of $460,227. 60 have increased their pledges by an average of over 15.5%, and there are 22 from those who did not pledge in 2019. We have still to hear from 68 parishioners who pledged a total of $137,366 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website, www.theadventboston.org, and clicking the “Pledge Online” button, or pick up a pledge packet in the church.
ODDS & ENDS
Book Store News. In celebration of Advent 175, all Advent Choir CDs are on sale for $10.00 each throughout the month of December. Advent Calendars, Christmas cards and music, 2020 “Churchman’s Ordo Kalendars” and Christian Pocket Diaries are now available at our Parish Book Store, which is open after each Mass on Sundays in Moseley Hall.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
ADVENT 175
The centennial of the Oxford Movement was celebrated in the Diocese of Massachusetts from October 15 to 22, 1933. The opening service was held at the Church of the Advent, with the Right Rev. Henry B. Washburn, Dean of the Episcopal Theological School, preaching. The following week, the Rev. Julian D. Hamlin, rector of the Church of the Advent, preached at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Rev. C. Winfred Davis, Mus. D., Hon. Canon of Fond du Lac, gave the sermon at the Advent. Hamlin wrote, “It is deeply significant that the Diocese of Massachusetts, which for many years has been known as the center of liberalism in the Church, should be officially commemorating the Centenary of the Oxford Movement. The party divisions of twenty-five years ago do not fit into the picture of the Church to-day. It is time that we all began to absorb the lasting contributions which various groups have made to the life of the Church.”
At the close of the centennial observations, he wrote, “What shall we do in the next hundred years? To me the Anglican Communion has one reason for its existence apart from Rome. That reason is the ideal of a liberal Catholicism, speaking to every age with the voice of authority in the name of Christ, and with a social conscience enabling it to interpret historical Christianity to the great social movements which in these latter days are sweeping though the world. The fulfillment of this vocation implies a free Church in a free State.”
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT December 23-29, 2019
Monday, December 23 10:00 am: Church Decorating
7:00 pm: Advent Choir Rehearsal
Tuesday, December 24 Vigil of the Nativity 10:00 am: Church Decorating
4:30 pm: Sung Mass and Procession to the Crèche
6:00 pm: Community Supper
10:00 pm: Musical Prelude
11:00 pm: Procession and Solemn Mass
Wednesday, December 25 Christmas Day (Parish Office Closed) 11:00 am: Mass
Thursday, December 26 St Stephen (Parish Office Closed)
Friday, December 27 St John the Evangelist 11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, December 28 The Holy Innocents 11:00 am: Richard Baptism
2:00 pm: German-Domingues Baptism
Sunday, December 29 The First Sunday after Christmas 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Sung Mass
11:15 am: Solemn Mass
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
Dear Members and Friends of the Church of the Advent,
Fr. Anderson
With great joy and pleasure, we announce that the Vestry, acting on the recommendation of the Search Committee, has called the Rev’d Douglas Anderson to be the next Rector of the Church of the Advent. Our Bishop has blessed this call, and Father Anderson has accepted. He will join us on Candlemas, February 2, 2020, along with his wife, Traci. The Andersons have three daughters: Celeste, who attends Loyola University, and twins Maddie and Emma, who are completing high school in Canada.
Father Anderson is a native of Ontario. He did his undergraduate degree at Trinity College, University of Toronto, and sang in the Chapel Choir there and in the Gallery Choir of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto. He then studied at Nashotah House, graduating and receiving priestly ordination in 1994. Father Anderson has spent his entire ministry in Anglo-Catholic Parishes, including an internship at St. Clement’s Philadelphia, a curacy at St. Matthias’ Dallas, and his first rectorate at Christ Church, Woodbury, New Jersey beginning in 1997. In 2004, Father Anderson moved to Texarkana, Texas, to take up his current post as Rector of St. James’ Church. In addition to leading a growing congregation in a rich liturgical and educational life at St. James’, Father Anderson has also been deeply involved in the parish’s day school (where Traci serves as Assistant Head of School) and its large homeless shelter and outreach ministry.
We are thankful to the Search Committee, led by Lynda Blair, for their enormous commitment of time and energy to the search process. At the Annual Meeting we will invite members of the Search Committee to speak to the congregation about their work.
The arrival of Father Anderson as Rector means that our interim period is coming to a close. It is hard to imagine that the Advent would have passed through this time of transition so successfully without the graceful and calm leadership of Father Truman Welch. In his year with us, Father Welch has not only earned the respect and affection of the whole congregation, but also secured his place as a lifelong member of the Advent family. His last Sunday with us will be Sunday, January 12, 2020. We will celebrate and thank Father Welch at both coffee hours that day, and wish him well as he resumes his retirement in Maine.
Please pray for our Rector-Elect and his family as they prepare to move to Boston, and for the people and parish of St. James’ Texarkana, as they begin their own time of transition.
May God continue to bless the Church of the Advent.
Faithfully your brothers in Christ,
Thomas Brown, Senior Warden
Paul J. Roberts, Junior Warden
The flowers on the High Altar are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Geoffrey B. Sayer.
The flowers in the crossing are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Nancy Santeusanio Nickolds.
The Advent wreath is given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Norman MacGregor Post, priest, and Jane Irene Post.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour:Hosting today are Cassie & Jack Gurnon and Judy Bell & Fran Piscitelli.If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
11:15 Coffee Hour: Hosting this morning are Alfred Duhamel, Michael Gnozzio, and Frederick Ou. We are always in need of more volunteers; to view the schedule and select a date to co-host, visit www.theadventboston.org/1115-coffee-hour-signup/. If you have any questions, please contact Frederick Ou (frederick.ou@gmail.com), Roxy Hanson (roxenewu@yahoo.com) or Betsy James (ejames4@nc.rr.com).
Advent Tour: This Sunday our Verger, Raymond Porter, will give a 10–15 minute tour of the church building following the 11:15 Mass. Meet him in the Baptistry immediately following the Postlude and learn about our fascinating, complicated, historic building.
THIS WEEK!
Dunkin Donuts Gift Cards for Community Dinners. As we have done the past few years, guests at the Tuesday Evening Community Dinner this week will be given Gift Cards to Dunkin’ Donuts as their Christmas gift from the Advent. This will allow them to go to a warm place and get hot coffee and something to eat during the cold months of winter. If you wish to make a donation—and we hope you do—send it in marked “Dunkin.”
Theology on Tap this week! Tuesday, December 17 at 7 pm; Silvertone Bar and Grill, 69 Bromfield Street (Chez Freddie Room). Fr. Arnold Klukas will speak on The Advent of Renewed Catholicity in Anglicanism: The Oxford Movement in its Theology and Liturgy.
20s & 30s Group Caroling. Please come for caroling this Wednesday, December 18, sponsored by the Advent 20s & 30s and followed by a party afterwards at the home of Maria Denslow. Please arrive at 6:45 pm on Wednesday (right after Evening Prayer and Healing Mass) at the office door of the church (Brimmer Street side), and from there, armed with music books, we will proceed to go about caroling in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. After we have sung them all and a little more and got a healthy portion of winter chill, we will process to 33 Hancock Street #4, to warm up and have a drink and a snack graciously hosted by Maria Denslow at her place. We hope to see you and sing with you Wednesday!
A Mass of the Resurrection for the repose of the soul of Ellen Brockman will be celebrated this Friday, December 20, at 12:30 pm.
Orders for Christmas Memorial and Thanksgiving Flowers are due in the parish office this Friday, December 20. An order form can be found on the back page of Sunday’s service leaflets.
COMING UP!
Every year stuffed animals and infants’ clothing are presented at the crèche during the 4:30 pm Mass on Christmas Eve. Donations go to the Fragment Society, who, since their inception in 1812, have been distributing clothes to Boston’s poor and needy.
Parish Office Nominations: At the Annual Meeting, there will be elections for four Vestry seats, Clerk, Treasurer, and two Diocesan Convention Delegates. This year’s nominating committee includes the Wardens (Tom Brown and Paul Roberts), Maria Denslow, and Dustin Henderson. Please submit any proposed names to one of them before Epiphany.
The parish Flower Guild needs your help! Decorating the church for Christmas is a lot of work, and the Flower Guild can’t do it alone. We need volunteers on the following days; floral design skills are not required ‑ if you can carry a bucket, climb a stepladder, or fill a trash bag, we can use you! And if you can spare an hour or two, but not come for the entire block, that’s perfectly OK.
Sunday December 22, around 1:00 pm. After the 11:15 coffee hour we need help carrying all the Christmas material out of storage and up into the church. Making one or two trips before you leave is a big help.
Monday December 23, 10:00 am to noon and/or 1:00 to 3:30 pm
What Is Saint Michael’s Conference?: On Sunday, January 19, we will have the opportunity to find out. At 10:15 Father James will lead a presentation about the Conference with the help of parishioners who have attended the Conference, served as counselors, or are senior staff members. Every young person who is between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one ought to attend this presentation, but more importantly, the parents ought to attend too. This week-long conference for teaching, learning, worship, and recreation has been offered each year since 1960 and has been a force in the spiritual lives of thousands of high school and college-aged students. Come and find out why.
STEWARDSHIP
Thanks to those who submitted pledges this week. As of this past Thursday we have received 131 pledges, pledging a total of $401,522. 53 have increased their pledges by an average of over 14%, and there are 3 new pledges. We have still to hear from 82 parishioners who pledged a total of $171,720 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website www.theadventboston.org and clicking the “Pledge Online” button, or pick up a pledge packet in the church.
PLEASE NOTE: pledges received in the December 8 collection have not yet been processed and will be reflected in next Sunday’s Stewardship Report. Also next Sunday, 2020 pledge envelopes, for those who have requested them, will be available for pickup.
ODDS & ENDS
Book Store News. In celebration of Advent 175, all Advent Choir CDs are on sale for $10.00 each throughout the month of December. Advent Calendars, Christmas cards and music, 2020 “Churchman’s Ordo Kalendars” and Christian Pocket Diaries are now available at our Parish Book Store, which is open after each Mass on Sundays in Moseley Hall.
A Reminder about Email Scams: As the holiday season comes around once again, so too, alas, do gift-card scams. While this has been happening on and off over the past year, the holidays are peak scam season because it’s a time when many people are in the giving mood. Right on cue, several parishioners have recently received a vaguely-worded email, purporting to be from Fr. Welch, asking them to contact him about a “favor” that turns out to be one of these gift-card scams. Please be aware that these are spoofed email addresses. None of the Advent clergy would personally email any parishioner to ask them to participate in such a campaign, legitimate or not. The only gift-card campaign the church engages in is our annual request for Dunkin Donuts cards for our Tuesday Night Supper guests (see “This Week!” section).
Advent Compline at SSJE: On Thursdays during Advent (December 5, 12, and 19), the monks of the Society of St John the Evangelist will offer a contemplative Compline service that is open to all. The service begins at 8:00 pm and is preceded and followed by 30 minutes of quiet meditation by candlelight. The monastery is located at 980 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, a short walk from the Harvard Square T stop.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT December 16-22, 2019
Monday, December 16 9:45 am: Advent School concert rehearsal
Tuesday, December 17 6:00 pm: Community Supper
7:00 pm: Theology on Tap @ Silvertone Bar & Grill, 69 Bromfield Street
Wednesday, December 18 10:00 am: Bible Study
1:00 pm: Advent School concert rehearsal
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
6:45 pm: 20s & 30s Caroling
7:00 pm: Bellringers
Dear Members and Friends of the Church of the Advent:
We write with great joy and pleasure to announce that the Vestry, acting on the recommendation of the Search Committee, has called the Rev’d Douglas Anderson to be the next Rector of the Church of the Advent. Our Bishop has blessed this call, and Father Anderson has accepted. He will join us on Candlemas, February 2, 2020, along with his wife, Traci. The Andersons have three daughters: Celeste, who attends Loyola University, and twins Maddie and Emma, who are completing high school in Canada.
The Rev’d Douglas Anderson
Father Anderson is a native of Ontario. He did his undergraduate degree at Trinity College, University of Toronto, and sang in the Chapel Choir there and the in the Gallery Choir of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto. He then studied at Nashotah House, graduating and receiving priestly ordination in 1994. Father Anderson has spent his entire ministry in Anglo-Catholic Parishes, including an internship at St. Clement’s, Philadelphia, a curacy at St. Matthias’, Dallas, and his first rectorate at Christ Church, Woodbury, New Jersey, beginning in 1997. In 2004, Father Anderson moved to Texarkana, Texas, to take up his current post as Rector of St. James’ Church. In addition to leading a growing congregation in a rich liturgical and educational life at St. James’, Father Anderson has also been deeply involved in the parish’s day school (where Traci serves as Assistant Head of School) and its large homeless shelter and outreach ministry.
We are thankful to the Search Committee, led by Lynda Blair, for their enormous commitment of time and energy to the search process. At the Annual Meeting we will invite members of the Search Committee to speak to the congregation about their work.
The arrival of Father Anderson as Rector means that our interim period is coming to a close. It is hard to imagine the Advent would have passed through this time of transition so successfully without the graceful and calm leadership of Father Truman Welch. In his year with us, Father Welch has not only earned the respect and affection of the whole congregation, but also secured his place as a lifelong member of the Advent family. His last Sunday with us will be Sunday, January 12, 2020. We will celebrate and thank Father Welch at both coffee hours that day, and wish him well as he resumes his retirement in Maine.
Please pray for our Rector-Elect and his family as they prepare to move to Boston, and for the people and parish of St. James’, Texarkana, as they begin their own time of transition.
May God continue to bless the Church of the Advent.
Faithfully your brothers in Christ,
Thomas Brown, Senior Warden
Paul J. Roberts, Junior Warden
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
The Advent wreath is given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Norman MacGregor Post, priest, and Jane Irene Post.
TODAY!
Ingathering of Pledges: at both the 9:00 am and 11:15 am Masses Stewardship pledge cards for 2020 will be presented and blessed. This will take place just before the Great Thanksgiving (Consecratory Prayer) of the Liturgy.
Today’s guest preacher, the Rev’d Prof. Sarah Coakley, has retired from the Norris-Hulse Professorship at Cambridge University, in which role she served from 2007 to 2018. From 2018 to 2020 she is an Honorary Professor at the Logos Institute, St Andrews University, and from 2019 she is Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Australian Catholic University (Melbourne and Rome). She is also Assisting Priest and Theologian-in-Residence at the parish of Ascension and St Agnes, Washington, DC.
9:00 Coffee Hour:Hosting today are John Boyd, Darcy Mondaldi & Tony Pulsone. If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
11:15 Coffee Hour: Hosting this morning are Nicholas Dials & Dustin Henderson, and Jeff & Roxy Hanson. We are always in need of more volunteers; to view the schedule and select a date to co-host, visit www.theadventboston.org/1115-coffee-hour-signup/. If you have any questions, please contact Frederick Ou (frederick.ou@gmail.com), Roxy Hanson (roxenewu@yahoo.com) or Betsy James (ejames4@nc.rr.com).
Longtime member David Lapin has recently authored an autobiography entitled The Education of Brainiac: A New Yorker’s Quest for the Good Life in the Hub of the Universe. Vignettes about the Advent abound! Here is a review from former parishioner Nathan Cleveland: “One of my favorite reads of 2019. Seriously. [A] witty, at times piercingly self-aware and entirely delightful reminiscence. Filled as it is with friendship and loss and all the stuff that make [living] worth it, The Education of Brainiac is but a portion of the gift David is. You’ll be edified by journeying with him.” Copies of Brainiac will be available for $20 in Moseley Hall at the coffee hours after the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses today and David will be on hand to autograph them. Consider adding one to your Christmas stocking!
Advent Coat Drive concludes today
We have extended the coat drive to today, but if you did not have a chance to donate a coat, consider a financial contribution. Checks should be made payable to the Church of the Advent, but please put “One Warm Coat” in the memo line and either drop in the collection plate or mail to One Warm Coat Drive, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston 02108. If you have questions or would like to help out, please contact Chris Doty (christopher.doty@pm.me) or Harmony Witte (harmony.witte@gmail.com). All collected coats will be donated to Boston Health Care for the Homeless.
Compline at the Advent: Join us at 8:00 pm this evening for the ancient liturgy of Compline, preceded by Lucernarium, an evening service of lamp-lighting. We pray Compline, the service of prayer before bedtime in the custom of early Christian monasticism, on the second Sunday of every month.
NEWS!
Welcome, Penelope May! We give praise and thanksgiving for the birth of Penelope May Link. Penelope — daughter of Montgomery and Kelly Link — arrived November 29. Heavenly Father, Thou hast sent Thine own Son into the world. We thank you for the life of Penelope May entrusted to Montgomery and Kelly. Help us to remember that we are all Thy children, and so to love and nurture her, that she may attain to that full stature intended for her in Thine eternal Kingdom; for the sake of Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, December 14 at 9 am — Christmas Pageant Rehearsal. We will gather in Moseley Hall to sort out costumes and we will rehearse in the Sanctuary. The Pageant will take place during the 9:00 Mass on December 15. If you are interested in having your child participate, please email Meg Nelson for more information.
A Mass of the Resurrection for Nancy Santeusanio Nickolds will be offered on Saturday, December 14, at 3:00 pm in the church, with interment in the Columbarium to follow.
COMING UP
The parish Flower Guild needs your help! Decorating the church for Christmas is a lot of work, and the Flower Guild can’t do it alone. We need volunteers on the following days; floral design skills are not required ‑ if you can carry a bucket, climb a stepladder, or fill a trash bag, we can use you! And if you can spare an hour or two, but not come for the entire block, that’s perfectly OK.
Sunday December 22, around 1:00 pm. After the 11:15 coffee hour we need help carrying all the Christmas material out of storage and up into the church. Making one or two trips before you leave is a big help.
Monday December 23, 10:00 am to noon and/or 1:00 to 3:30 pm
This is a short update on Stewardship as we approach some key dates for our Campaign 2020. We know there are many events either just concluded or ongoing which demand everyone’s time and attention during the beginning of this Advent Season and the important time for our pledging commitments.
First, we hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving enjoyed with family, friends and all loved ones. We also want to extend our thanks for all who participated in last Sunday’s 175th Anniversary Celebration, joining our Bishop Alan M. Gates whose time and energy, plus spiritual presence, was appreciated throughout the day. And with all of that, our first major snowstorm welcomed in the winter season and beginning of the busy holidays with a reminder of New England weather. Needless to say, a busy time!
Our Campaign 2020 is off to a good start. Thank you to all parishioners who have already sent in their monetary and “Time & Talent” pledges. Your early responses represent 111 fellow parishioners, which is slightly more than 50% of the total number of pledges we received in 2019. Of this year’s pledges so far received, we have 47 increases, which is an excellent increase of 15.4% over last year; plus, a continuing same-level commitment from 52 pledges, which gives us a strong base to maintain the high contribution level established in 2019. We have seen a decrease in pledge commitments from 12 parishioners, which so far is being offset by the increases mentioned earlier.
Overall not a bad start to the Campaign 2020, but we still need to hear from 100 parishioners who pledged over $220,000 in 2019. This represents a significant contribution level that we have yet to hear from, so please give some thoughtful consideration in the next days to both your monetary and “Time & Talent” pledge commitments, especially during this blessed Advent Season and all that is represented by our worship and spiritual life here at the Advent. Every pledge is important and we know our fellow parishioners have always given what they are able/willing to contribute to sustain this sacred place.
This Sunday we will celebrate the In-Gathering of Pledges. Please be reminded to send in your pledge cards and “Time & Talent” selections either by mail or by going online to our pledge section, which is easy to use, or simply place your pledge card in Sunday’s offering plate. Thanks again for your thoughtful consideration as we prepare for the important Budget 2020 meeting in mid-December with the Wardens and Vestry. Our campaign will continue through this Advent Season, and the earlier we receive your pledge commitments the better able we are to assist the Wardens and Vestry with the important preparation and planning for 2020.
Thank you in advance.
We are yours in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Francesco Piscitelli & Thatcher Gearhart
Stewardship Campaign 2020, Co-Chairmen
As of this past Thursday we have received 118 pledges, pledging a total of $383,097. 50 have increased their pledges by an average of over 14%, and there are 3 new pledges. We have still to hear from 95 parishioners who pledged a total of $195,646.94 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website www.theadventboston.org and clicking the “Pledge Online” button.
OUTREACH
Community Outreach Opportunity. As we have done the past few years, guests at the Tuesday Evening Community Dinner on December 17, will be given Gift Cards to Dunkin’ Donuts as their Christmas gift from the Advent. This will allow them to go to a warm place and get hot coffee and something to eat during the cold months of winter. If you wish to make a donation—and we hope you do—send it in marked “Donuts.”
ODDS & ENDS
Book Store News. Advent Calendars, Christmas cards and music, 2020 “Churchman’s Ordo Kalendars” and Christian Pocket Diaries are now available at our Parish Book Store, which is open after each Mass on Sundays in Moseley Hall.
Christmas Flower Memorials & Thanksgivings: The greens and flowers that adorn the Church at Christmas are funded entirely by donations from members and friends of the Parish. All memorials and thanksgivings will be listed in the service leaflets during the twelve days of Christmas. A form for donations is found on the back page of Sunday’s service leaflet. Completed forms and payment must be received in the Parish Office no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, December 20. Make checks payable to the Church of the Advent and write “Christmas Flowers” on the check.
Advent Compline at SSJE: On Thursdays during Advent (December 5, 12, and 19), the monks of the Society of St John the Evangelist will offer a contemplative Compline service that is open to all. The service begins at 8:00 pm and is preceded and followed by 30 minutes of quiet meditation by candlelight. The monastery is located at 980 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, a short walk from the Harvard Square T stop.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
FROM THE ADVENT ARCHIVES
What goes into the Advent archives? Some documents, books, and artifacts may languish for decades or longer before being uncovered, or discovered, and added to the historical files of the parish. Then there are documents on which the ink is barely dry before they are duly catalogued to be treasured by future parishioners, historians, or researchers. For example, the certificate of congratulations from our bishop, the Right Rev. Alan M. Gates, on the occasion of the parish’s 175th anniversary, which was proclaimed on December 1, 2019, and is reproduced here (click image to enlarge):
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT December 9-15, 2019
Monday, December 9 6:00 pm: Beacon Hill Village Holiday Party
7:00 pm: Boston Cecilia Rehearsal
Tuesday, December 10 6:00 pm: Community Supper
Wednesday, December 11 10:00 am: Bible Study
1:00 pm: Advent School Rehearsal
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
7:00 pm: Bellringers
Thursday, December 12 7:00 pm: Advent Choir Rehearsal
Friday, December 13 Lucia 8:15 am: Advent School Share Event
11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, December 14 John of the Cross
9:00 am: Pageant Rehearsal
10:00 am: Flower Guild
11:00 am: Advent Choir Rehearsal
3:00 pm: Funeral for Nancy Santeusanio Nickolds
Sunday, December 15 The Third Sunday of Advent 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Christmas Pageant & Sung Mass
11:15 am: Solemn Mass
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
The Advent wreath is given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Norman MacGregor Post, priest, and Jane Irene Post.
TODAY!
Serving as chaplain to Bishop Gates at the 9 o’clock service today is Valerie Cowart, a candidate for ordination to the diaconate in the Diocese of Massachusetts.
175th ANNIVERSARY
9:00 am: Coffee Hour: Hosting today are Bette Boughton and Jonnet Holladay.
10:15 am: Advent wreath-making in the Hunnewell Room (Library). Wreath-making kicks off with Father Welch offering comments on the tradition before the Bishop begins the first wreath. The Bishop will also bless the Advent 175 Time Capsule being assembled by the Church School. Special thanks to Tony Pulsone for handmaking the Christ candles.
1:00–3:00 pm (following 11:15 Mass): Gala Anniversary Reception in Moseley Hall.
The Advent Bellringers will ring a celebratory quarter peal in the afternoon.
4:30 pm:Organ Recital by David Baskeyfield.
5:00 pm: Lessons & Carols for Advent. Childcare is offered.
6:00–8:00 pm: Please join us for a gala reception in Moseley Hall.
THIS WEEK
Thursday December 5 & Friday, December 6: CONFERENCE – Anglo-Catholic Roots III: Oxford Comes to Boston: 175 years of Anglo-Catholicism in America. Find details or register here.
NEXT SUNDAY!
The Rev’d Sarah Coakley, Assisting Priest and Theologian-in-Residence at the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes in Washington, will preach at 9:00 am and 11:15 am on December 8.
Stewardship 2020: Our annual Ingathering of pledges will take place next Sunday,December 8. All parishioners are asked to submit their pledge cards and “Time & Talent” selections by then. Pledges can be received by mail, email, or in the offering plate. (See below for this week’s pledging report.)
Common Cathedral. We are looking for two or three more volunteers on December 8 for Common Cathedral, the outdoor worship service and meal for our homeless neighbors on Boston Common. We meet during coffee hour around 10:30 am to pack the lunches, then head over to the Common together around 11:45 to prepare for the service and meal. Everything wraps up around 2:30. If you are able to help with all or a portion of this event, please email Carolyn Lewis at carolynshadid@gmail.com.
Longtime parishioner David Lapin has recently authored an autobiography entitled The Education of Brainiac: A New Yorker’s Quest for the Good Lifein the Hub of the Universe. Vignettes about the Advent abound! A kind of pilgrim’s progress for the twenty-first century, The Education of Brainiac is ultimately about discovering a pluralistic world where institutions of all kinds afford us common ground to express and respect difference in all its prisms. Copies of Brainiac will be available for $20 in Moseley Hall at the coffee hours after the 9 and 11:15 Masses on Sunday, December 8, and David will be on hand to autograph them. Consider adding one to your Christmas stocking!
Compline at the Advent: Join us next Sunday at 8:00 pm, for the ancient liturgy of Compline, preceded by Lucernarium, an evening service of lamp-lighting. We pray Compline, the service of prayer before bedtime in the custom of early Christian monasticism, on the second Sunday of every month.
COMING UP
A Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Nancy Santeusanio Nickolds will be offered on Saturday, December 14, at 3:00 pm in the church, with interment in the Columbarium to follow.
STEWARDSHIP
Thanks to those who submitted pledges this week. As of this past Thursday we have received 104 pledges, pledging a total of $334,407. 40 have increased their pledges by over 15% average, and there are 8 new pledges. We have still to hear from 116 parishioners who pledged a total of $252,200 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website, https://www.theadventboston.org/pledging.
OUTREACH
Advent Coat Drive extended to December 8. If you have been meaning to donate a coat for the coat drive, you still have an opportunity. Bring clean, functional coats (no broken zippers, ripped pockets, etc.) that will help keep people warm during the winter (think ski jackets, not dress-up jackets) to the church. Coats for children, women, and men all accepted. This year, all collected coats will be donated to Boston Health Care for the Homeless. If you don’t have an appropriate coat to donate, consider a financial contribution. Checks should be made payable to the Church of the Advent, but please put “One Warm Coat” in the memo line and either drop in the collection plate or mail to One Warm Coat Drive, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston 02108. If you have questions or would like to help out, please contact Chris Doty (christopher.doty@pm.me) or Harmony Witte (harmony.witte@gmail.com).
ODDS & ENDS
Book Store News. In Celebration of the Parish Anniversary, all Advent Choir CDs will be on sale for $10.00 each throughout the month of December. Also, Advent Calendars, Christmas cards and music, 2020 “Churchman’s Ordo Kalendars” and Christian Pocket Diaries are now available. The Parish Book Store is open after each Mass on Sundays in Moseley Hall.
Christmas Flower Memorials & Thanksgivings: The greens and flowers that adorn the Church at Christmas are funded entirely by donations from members and friends of the Parish. All memorials and thanksgivings will be listed in the service leaflets during the twelve days of Christmas. A form for donations is found on the back page of Sunday’s service leaflet. Completed forms and payment must be received in the Parish Office no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, December 20. Make checks payable to the Church of the Advent and write “Christmas Flowers” on the check.
Advent Compline at SSJE: On Thursdays during Advent (December 5, 12, and 19), the monks of the Society of St John the Evangelist will offer a contemplative Compline service that is open to all. The service begins at 8:00 pm and is preceded and followed by 30 minutes of quiet meditation by candlelight. The monastery is located at 980 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, a short walk from the Harvard Square T stop.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
FROM THE ADVENT ARCHIVES
175 Years in One Liturgy
In honor of the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Church of the Advent, we offer an historic tour of some of the Advent’s treasures used in this service.
Crystal Crucifix. This processional cross is crafted of silver, crystal, and cut glass. It was given by the Sunday School sometime between 1885 and 1902.
Verger’s Staff (Virge). See full description below.
White Vestments. These are worn during the opening procession which celebrates the Parish’s Feast of Title and Dedication. Made for the parish’s 1944 centennial, their design traces the doctrine of the Incarnation from the Creation to the early years of the Church:
The tunicle worn by the subdeacon displays the symbols of prophets Isaiah and Malachi, who foretold the birth of the Messiah; and of Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden; and the Star of David.
The dalmatic and stole worn by the deacon contain symbols associated with the birth of Christ: St. Mary, St. Joseph, Gabriel, and the Star of Bethlehem.
The priest’s vestments fulfill the symbolism: the stole bears symbols of the Blessed Virgin (MR, Maria Regina), the front panels of the cope honor four theologians who defended and developed the doctrine of the incarnation at the first four ecumenical councils: St. Athanasius; St Gregory Nazianzus; St Cyril; St Leo the Great. The back shows Jesus reigning in glory.
Blue Vestments. Both blue and the more familiar purple are traditional colors for the season of Advent. Blue is also associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary; the embroidered roses on these vestments and on the frontal refer to Mary as the “Mystic Rose” who was to bear the Babe of Bethlehem. The frontal bears two large red shields mounted on crosses of gold. On one shield is IHS, a Latinized abbreviation of the Greek Iesous, for Jesus. On the other, the Latinized abbreviation, XRS, for the Greek Xristos, which means Christ. The vestments were designed in 2017 by Davis d’Ambly, who supervised their execution.
Silver Thurible. The thurible, with its companion boat and spoon, were given in 1913 by the Guild of St. Vincent in memory of Cecil Moreton Barlow, a “reverent, devoted, and faithful member of the Guild and Acolyte.” He was born in 1890, lived in Somerville, where he graduated from the English High School in 1910, and was employed as an electric meter reader. On August 7, 1912, he was killed by “an accidental shock of electricity.” The pieces were designed by Robert Turner Walker (1867–1931), an MIT-trained architect, faithful parishioner, and Vestry member, who instituted the Guild of St. Vincent in the parish. The silversmith is George Joseph Hunt (1866–1947), an Englishman who immigrated to the United States at age 20, became a member of the Society of Arts and Crafts in 1903, and established the “metalry” department at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. These are typically used at the Gospel procession and offertory.
Jeweled Silver Tankard. This large tankard is used on major feasts and was a gift from the congregation at large in memory of Fr. Henry A. Metcalf (1845–1911), who served as rector of five parishes in Massachusetts before becoming Curate at the Advent. The tankard was designed by Charles Carden Coveney (1894–1945), a church architect and member of the Advent’s governing Corporation, who was a principal at Brigham, Coveney & Bisbee. The tankard, of sterling silver with a hammered gold wash, was made by Gorham. The inscription reads Caro enim Mea vere est Cibus, et Sanguinis Meus vere est pontus (For my Flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed; John 6:55).
Jeweled Chalice and Ciborium. In 1905 the congregation made this gift in memory of the Rev. George Frederick Daniels (1858–1897), who had served as a curate at this Parish; he died of pneumonia at St. Margaret’s Hospital on West Cedar Street. The vessels were designed by Brother Bernard, O.S.B., of Painsthorpe Abbey, Yorkshire, England, which was established in 1902 by Aelred Carlyle, a friend of Charles Chapman Grafton, rector of the Advent from 1872 to 1888. The chalice is inscribed: Calicem salutaris accopiam, et nomen Domini invocabo (I will receive the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord; Ps. 116:12).
Silver Chalices. From a set of English Communion ware bearing the hallmark of John James Keith, given by an unknown donor at Easter 1849. Keith produced large amounts of Gothic Revival church plate based on designs by William Butterfield, the leading architect/designer of the ecclesiological movement. Both chalices are inscribed, at the base, Calicem salutaris accipitam (I will receive the cup of salvation; Ps 116:2). One carries the legend Vere est potus sanguis meus (My blood is drink indeed; John 6:55); the other, Omnes eundem potum spiritualem biberunt (All did drink the same spiritual drink; I Cor 10:4).
The Anniversary Virge
Our new Anniversary Virge was designed by Tom Sopko and master silversmith and artist Vincent Wil Hawley, who also fabricated and engraved it. Hailing from Newburyport, MA, Vincent received a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2006 and attended the Advent regularly while living in Boston. He went on to study and apprentice in Florence, Italy, and currently resides in Staten Island, NY. His other ecclesiastical commissions include sacred vessels for churches, sculptural elements for the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and numerous wearable liturgical pieces.A virge (< Latin virga, a branch or rod) was originally a bundle of branches used as a switch or riding crop; it later became a symbol of civil office. In modern times it is best known as the ceremonial staff of the lay officers in Anglican churches known as vergers (originally virgers), who once used it as a weapon to make way for outdoor processions, but now use it as a pointer to guide processions and escort people around the sanctuary.
The virge is hand-crafted, with a sterling silver finial and fittings on a shaft of American walnut. The obverse shows the shield from the parish seal. The trumpet refers to the trumpets that announce the Second Advent, when “the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The three coronets allude to the seal of the Diocese of Massachusetts, which in turn took them from the arms of the city of Boston in Lincolnshire, England. In the upper left quadrant is the red cross of St George, symbol of England, surmounted by a circle of wavy blue and white lines, an heraldic device which represents a well or spring. This may allude to our roots in the Church of England, but cross + well is also a rebus for [William] Croswell, our first Rector. The text around the rim reads “Church of the Advent, Boston, 1844–2019.”The virge is given in honor of Kenn Stephens, former member of the Vestry and numerous parish committees, chairman of the 1998 Search Committee that called Fr. Warren, as well as the Liturgical Arts, Gifts & Memorials, and Advent 2000 committees, and founder, director, and mentor of the parish Flower Guild from 1992 until 2007.
The reverse features a plain golden cross and the parish motto “Lo, I come.” Both refer back to the earliest days of the parish in 1845, when the simple gilded wood cross that is now enshrined in the reredos of All Saints’ Chapel hung above the altar, with the motto above it. Author, lawyer, and abolitionist Richard Henry Dana Jr., one of the most prominent founding members, later wrote to his son, “[Dr. Croswell] held the first service on Advent Sunday. That led to its being called the Church of the Advent. I proposed the name, and suggested the cross over the altar, and the words ‘Lo I Come’ for the motto.”
The 1944 parish history states that “In the earlier years the duties of verger – or sexton – were undertaken by no less a personage than one of the wardens; but it is not to be wondered that after a time he found the burden of attending to the opening and closing of the church for services twice daily to be too great. About 1852 Hugh Taylor was appointed Verger, and held the position for nearly 40 years.” Ray Porter’s predecessor Marc Michelini (1927-2014) became verger at the age of 22 and served faithfully for 56 years. Since 1852 the Advent has had 14 rectors, but only 6 vergers!
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT December 2-8, 2019
Monday, December 2 Channing Moore Williams 7:00 pm: Girl Scouts Cookie Jamboree
Tuesday, December 3 Francis Xavier 9:00 am: Beacon Hill Garden Club 6:00 pm: Community Supper
Wednesday, December 4 John of Damascus 10:00 am: Bible Study
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
7:00 pm: Bellringers
7:00 pm: Advent Choir Rehearsal
7:00 pm: Brimmer Street Garage Annual Meeting
Friday, December 6 Nicholas of Myra 10:00 am: Anglo-Catholic Conference Sessions
11:30 am: Rosary
12:15 pm: Low Mass
2:00 pm: Anglo-Catholic Conference Sessions
6:00 pm: Solemn Mass – Banquet
Saturday, December 7 Ambrose of Milan
8:30 am: Morning Prayer
9:00 am: Low Mass
Sunday, December 8 The Second Sunday of Advent 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Sung Mass
10:15 am: Church School
11:15 am: Solemn Mass
8:00 pm: Compline
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
The flowers at the High Altar are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Frances Lee McCormick and Barbara McCormick.
The flowers in the crossing are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Staff Sgt. Matthew Albert Pucino, U.S. Army Special Forces.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour: Hosting today are Carolyn Shadid & Jason Lewis, along with David Russo & Matthew McNeff. If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
Entr’acte: Today in the Hunnewell Room (Library), Tom Sopko and Deacon Daphne B. Noyes present “To the Blessed Advent: Treasures from the Vault.” Rare treasures, rarely seen (up close at any rate), each with a tale to tell.
THIS WEEK
For Thanksgiving Day, there will be a celebration of the Mass with hymns at 10:00 am and a Thanksgiving Potluck in Moseley Hall at 3:00 pm. Turkeys will be provided for the meal; to sign up to bring an item (or items) to share, go to www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49aca722a4f85-thanksgiving. For questions, please see Meg Nelson or Betsy James. The Parish office will be closed on both Thursday and Friday, and there will be no Morning or Evening Prayer. Also, no midday Mass on Thursday.
NEXT SUNDAY!
ADVENT 175
Schedule of Events
Sunday, Dec 1 — 175th Anniversary of the Church of the Advent
Please note: Ingathering of pledges will take place Sunday, December 8; healing will be offered that day as well.
9:00 am:Sung Mass with Procession, Bishop Alan M. Gates will celebrate and preach.
10:15 am:Make an Advent wreath in the Hunnewell Room (Library). Wreath-making kicks off with Father Welch offering comments on the tradition and the Bishop begins the first wreath. The Bishop will also bless the Advent 175 Time Capsule being assembled by the Church School. Special thanks to Tony Pulsone for handmaking the Christ candles. Coffee Hour in Moseley Hall with special treats! Bette Boughton and Jonnet Holladay will pour.
11:15 am:Solemn High Masswith Reception of the Bishop and Procession. Bishop Gates will celebrate and preach.
1:00 – 3:00 pm:Gala Anniversary Reception in Moseley Hall.
The Advent Bellringers will ring a celebratory quarter peal in the afternoon.
4:30 pm:Organ Recital by David Baskeyfield.
5:00 pm:Lessons & Carols for Advent, followed by a gala reception in Moseley Hall. Childcare is offered during this service.
Thursday December 5, and Friday December 6: Third Annual Anglo-Catholic Conference “175 Years of Anglo-Catholic Roots”
Sunday, December 8: The Rev’d Sarah Coakley, Assisting Priest and Theologian-in-Residence at the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes in Washington, will preach at 9:00 am and 11:15 am.
Throughout all this activity, the Advent 175 team will continue to offer commemorative items during coffee hours. Just received: matted prints of “Veni, Veni Emmanuel!” watercolor by Robert Turner Walker (original is on display), and notecards with pencil sketch of the Advent by Morris Henry Hobbs.
COMING UP
Common Cathedral.We are looking for two or three more volunteers on December 8 for Common Cathedral, the outdoor worship service and meal for our homeless neighbors on Boston Common. We meet during coffee hour around 10:30 am to pack the lunches, then head over to the Common together around 11:45 to prepare for the service and meal. Everything wraps up around 2:30. If you are able to help with all or a portion of this event, please email Carolyn Lewis at carolynshadid@gmail.com.
A Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Nancy Santeusanio Nickolds will be offered on Saturday, December 14, at 3:00 pm in the church, with interment in the Columbarium to follow.
STEWARDSHIP
Dear Fellow Advent Parishioners:
Our Stewardship Campaign 2020, with this year’s theme “Sustaining a vibrant community of worship” at The Advent, plus extending our outreach to be inclusive of all parishioners through your “Time & Talent” support of selected worship activities, is rapidly approaching a key date of December 1 as we celebrate both the First Sunday of Advent and our milestone 175th Anniversary Celebration. This special occasion marks the beginning of the Advent Season and serves as an opportunity for all Advent parishioners to join in on the planned services and activities for this wonderful Anniversary Event, to include the daylong presence and mass celebration and preaching by our Bishop Alan M. Gates. See Sunday’s bulletin or go online for the “Advent 175 Schedule of Events.”
Our 2020 campaign is off to an excellent start thanks to everyone who has already pledged. We are hopeful to receive the remaining pledge submittals in order to maintain the momentum through this Advent Season. Please remember that for our Campaign 2020 both forms of our pledge contributions are important as a community of worship at this sacred place, our beloved Church of the Advent. Your monetary pledge contributions support the necessary financial well-being as guided by the Wardens and Vestry; your “Time & Talent” pledge contributions fulfill the necessities of a meaningful relationship to worship, which you choose to celebrate in the service of the Lord.
We have scheduled the “Ingathering of pledges” to take place on Sunday, December 8. Please be reminded to get your pledge cards and “Time & Talent” selections in by this date, either by mail, online, or simply by dropping in Sunday’s offering plate. Our campaign will continue through the Advent Season, and the earlier we receive your pledge commitments the better able we are to assist the Wardens and Vestry with their important planning for 2020.
Thank you in advance.
We are yours in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Francesco Piscitelli & Thatcher Gearhart
Stewardship Campaign 2020, Co-Chairmen
Stewardship 2020 Report
As of this past Thursday we have received 78 pledges, pledging a total of $265,952. 32 have increased their pledges by nearly 13%, and there are 2 new pledges. We have still to hear from 136 parishioners who pledged a total of $306,608 last year. You can pledge online by going to the parish website, https://www.theadventboston.org/pledging.
OUTREACH
Advent Coat Drive concludes this Wednesday, November 27. If you have been meaning to donate a coat for the coat drive, time is running out. But you still have an opportunity. Bring clean, functional coats (no broken zippers, ripped pockets, etc.) that will help keep people warm during the winter (think ski jackets, not dress-up jackets) to the church by this Wednesday. Coats for children, women, and men all accepted. This year, all collected coats will be donated to Boston Health Care for the Homeless. If you don’t have an appropriate coat to donate, consider a financial contribution. Checks should be made payable to the Church of the Advent, but please put “One Warm Coat” in the memo line and either drop in the collection plate or mail to One Warm Coat Drive, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston 02108. If you have questions or would like to help out, please contact Chris Doty (christopher.doty@pm.me) or Harmony Witte (harmony.witte@gmail.com).
ODDS & ENDS
Book Store News. Advent Calendars, Christmas cards and music, 2020 “Churchman’s Ordo Kalendars” and Christian Pocket Diaries are now available at our Parish Book Store, which is open after each Mass on Sundays in Moseley Hall.
Christmas Flower Memorials & Thanksgivings: The greens and flowers that adorn the Church at Christmas are funded entirely by donations from members and friends of the Parish. All memorials and thanksgivings will be listed in the service leaflets during the twelve days of Christmas. A form for donations is found on the back page of Sunday’s service leaflet. Completed forms and payment must be received in the Parish Office no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, December 20. Make checks payable to the Church of the Advent and write “Christmas Flowers” on the check.
Anglo-Catholic Roots III: “Oxford Comes to Boston: 175 Years of Anglo-Catholicism in America” will take place December 5-6, 2019 at the Advent. Find more information and register here.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
FROM THE ADVENT ARCHIVES
Little-known facts, amusing anecdotes, and miscellaneous wisdom, in honor of the 175th anniversary of this parish.
The 1944 Centennial Celebration of the Church of the Advent commenced on The Feast of Christ the King and ran through Easter. A very partial, extremely impressive list of events includes Solemn Evensong and Benediction; Solemn Evensong and Te Deum; Youth Rally; sermons from The Right Reverend Wallace E. Conckling, Bishop of Chicago; the Right Reverend Henry Knox Sherrill, Bishop of Massachusetts; and the Right Reverend Raymond A. Heron, Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts; a Parish Banquet at the Copley Plaza; Historical Exhibit and Display of Sacred Vessels and Vestments; Acolyte Festival Commemorating the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Order of St. Vincent; Confirmation; Anglican Choir Festival; Solemn Requiem Mass for those Killed in War; Service Commemorating the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Formal Restoration of the Religious Life in the Anglican Communion; Gregorian Choir Festival; a four-day Parochial Mission — all this in addition to the regular round of daily services. Below is a Foreword from the Centennial Celebration program (click to enlarge).
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT November 25-December 1, 2019
Monday, November 25 James Otis Sargent Huntington
Tuesday, November 26 6:00 pm: Community Supper
Wednesday, November 27 10:00 am: Bible Study
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
7:00 pm: Bellringers
Thursday, November 28 Office closed; no Morning or Evening Prayer; no 12:15 Mass 10:00 am: Sung Mass with Hymns
3:00 pm: Thanksgiving Potluck
Friday, November 29 Office closed; no Morning or Evening Prayer 11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, November 30 Saint Andrew the Apostle
10:00 am: Flower Guild
12:00 pm: Advent Choir Rehearsal
Sunday, December 1 The First Sunday of Advent 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Procession & Sung Mass
10:15 am: Wreath-Making
11:15 am: Solemn Mass with Reception of the Bishop and Procession
1:00 pm: Advent 175 Gala Reception
4:30 pm: Organ Recital by David Baskeyfield
5:00 pm: Lessons & Carols for Advent; Reception follows
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
The flowers at the High Altar are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of James V. McNeff and Peter J. McNeff.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour:Angie Corbet and Maggie Dunbar host today. Next week’s hosts are Carolyn Shadid & Jason Lewis, and David Russo & Matthew McNeff. If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
11:15 Coffee Hour: Hosting this morning are Catherine Birdwell & Nicholas Edwards, along with Betsy James. We are always in need of more volunteers; to view the schedule of available dates and select a date to co-host, please go to http://theadventboston.org/1115-coffee-hour-signup/. If you have any questions, please contact Frederick Ou (frederick.ou@gmail.com), Roxy Hanson (roxenewu@yahoo.com) or Betsy James (ejames4@nc.rr.com).
Entr’acte: Today in the Hunnewell Room (Library); please note change in location: “Ah Yes, I Remember it Well” with Will Joyner, Melissa Fox, and Hal Langell reflecting on their experiences over the decades. Next Sunday, Tom Sopko and Deacon Noyes reveal some rarely seen Advent treasures; see the Advent 175 Schedule of Events below for more info.
Advent Tour: Today our Verger, Raymond Porter, will give a 10–15 minute tour of the church building following the 11:15 Mass. Meet him in the Baptistry immediately following the Postlude and learn about our fascinating, complicated, historic building.
Evensong& Benediction, today at 5:00 pm, sung by The Advent Choir. This will be a particularly deluxe program, featuring motets by Parry, the B Minor Evening Service of Howells, and Benediction motets by Frenchmen Villette and Widor. The service lasts no more than one hour, and is followed by a light supper and libation in Moseley Hall to which all are invited. During the supper, Mark Dwyer will speak about Music and the Anglo-Catholic Revival: “O Worship the Lord in the Holiness of Beauty.” Concurrent theological, artistic, architectural and musical movements came together during the mid-nineteenth century to produce an ongoing search for the ideal sacred music: that which is beautifully fitting, and fittingly beautiful. Not everyone had the same idea of what that might be. Come to Evensong and find out!
Stephan Griffin, our friend and neighbor from All Saints Brookline, will play a Prelude Organ Recital at 4:30 pm, featuring works of Buxtehude, Duruflé and Farrington. Mr Griffin holds a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance from The University of Texas at Austin, where his principal teachers were Drs Gerre and Judith Hancock. Mr Griffin also holds a degree in voice from Boston University and did additional vocal study at the Royal College of Music in London. When not working at All Saints, he can regularly be seen (and his fine baritone heard) deputizing in our choir stalls.
THIS WEEK
Theology on Tap returns this Tuesday, November 19, at 7:00 pm at Silvertone Bar & Grill, 69 Bromfield Street in downtown Boston. Our own Fr. Jay James will discuss the Sacrament of Confession.
The nineteenth-century catholic renewal within Anglicanism saw a deepening of teaching and practice in the sacramental life of the Church. The use of auricular confession was one such practice and the catholic renewal movement has continued to teach and reclaim the great gift offered the Christian in confession, penance, and absolution. The assurance of the grace of forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament of Confession will be explained by following its historical practice. The evening’s presentation will include a description of how to make a sacramental confession, the benefits of Confession being part of one’s spiritual life, and how sacramental confession has been used at The Church of the Advent.
Fr. James served as Rector of Saint Timothy’s Church and School in Raleigh, N.C. for nearly 25 years before coming to the Advent in January 2018. Before serving St. Timothy’s, he was curate at All Saints’, Ashmont. Throughout his ministry he has been involved in the regular worship, outreach, and activities that mark life in a parish with definite catholic and evangelical history and practices, and concentrated among other things on Christian education. Father James is also the Director of St. Michael’s Conference for young people.
ADVENT 175
Schedule of Events
Sunday, Nov 17, 10:15 am: Entr’acte:: “Ah Yes, I Remember it Well” with Will Joyner, Melissa Fox, and Hal Langell reflecting on their experiences over the decades. Hunnewell Room (Library); please note change in location.
Sunday, Nov 24, 10:15 am: Entr’acte: “To the Blessed Advent: Treasures from the Vault” with Tom Sopko and Deacon Daphne B. Noyes. Rare treasures, rarely seen (up close at any rate), each with a tale to tell. Hunnewell Room.
Sunday, Dec 1 — 175th Anniversary of the Church of the Advent
Please note: Ingathering of pledges will take place Sunday, December 8; healing will be offered that day as well.
9:00 am:Sung Mass with Procession, Bishop Alan M. Gates will celebrate and preach.
10:15 am:Make an Advent wreath in the Hunnewell Room (Library). Father Welch will comment on the tradition, and the Bishop will join church school families and others to create wreaths. He will also bless the Advent 175 Time Capsule being assembled by the Church School. Coffee Hour in Moseley Hall with special treats! Bette Boughton and Jonnet Holladay will pour.
11:15 am:Solemn High Masswith Reception of the Bishop and Procession. Bishop Gates will celebrate and preach.
1:00 – 3:00 pm:Gala Anniversary Reception in Moseley Hall.
The Advent Bellringers will ring a celebratory quarter peal in the afternoon.
4:30 pm:Organ Recital by David Baskeyfield.
5:00 pm:Lessons & Carols for Advent, followed by a gala reception in Moseley Hall. Childcare is offered during this service.
Thursday December 5, and Friday December 6: Third Annual Anglo-Catholic Conference “175 Years of Anglo-Catholic Roots”
Sunday, December 8: The Rev’d Sarah Coakley, Assisting Priest and Theologian-in-Residence at the Church of the Ascension and Saint Agnes in Washington, will preach at 9:00 am and 11:15 am.
Throughout all this activity, the Advent 175 team will continue to offer commemorative items during coffee hours. Just received: matted prints of “Veni, Veni Emmanuel!” watercolor by Robert Turner Walker (original is on display), and notecards with pencil sketch of the Advent by Morris Henry Hobbs.
COMING UP
Thanksgiving Potluck: Please join us for a Thanksgiving potluck on Thanksgiving Day in Moseley Hall beginning at 3:00 pm. Turkeys will be provided. Please see Meg Nelson or Betsy James to sign up to bring an item (or items) to share.
STEWARDSHIP
Returns for the 2020 Canvass are arriving! Thanks to everyone who have pledged so promptly! Thus far, 57 pledges have been received, totalling just shy of $176,600.
If you have not yet pledged, please do so soon. The Committee encourages all parishioners to get their pledges submitted on or before December 8.
Advent Coat Drive Continues through Friday, November 29.
As in previous years, the Advent is holding a coat drive to help keep those in need warm this winter. This year, all collected coats will be donated to Boston Health Care for the Homeless. You can help by:
Donating Coats: Bring clean, functional coats (no broken zippers, ripped pockets, etc.) that will help keep people warm during the winter (think ski jackets, not dress-up jackets) to 30 Brimmer Street, Sundays 8 am-1 pm; Monday-Friday 9 am-3 pm. The collection bin is located in the library. Coats for children, women, and men all accepted.
Donating Dollars: Make checks payable to the Church of the Advent, but put “One Warm Coat” in the memo line and either drop in the collection plate or mail to One Warm Coat Drive, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston MA 02108.
Discount Vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are availablefor $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? Email: nsheffer@newview.org.
Erratum: In reporting last Sunday on Father Loring’s recognition at the Diocesan Convention, we incorrectly stated that Father Loring served for 27 years at St. John’s Church in Charlestown. Although he did serve there briefly, the church he served for 27 years was St Luke’s Church in Chelsea.
Anglo-Catholic Roots III: “Oxford Comes to Boston: 175 Years of Anglo-Catholicism in America” will take place December 5-6, 2019 at the Advent. Find more information and register here.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
FROM THE ADVENT ARCHIVES
Little-known facts, amusing anecdotes, and miscellaneous wisdom, in honor of the 175th anniversary of this parish.
No sooner was the restoration of the 1844 Parish Register completed, thanks to personal gifts from members of the Vestry, than a new generous donation to the Conservation Fund was received. In keeping with the donor’s wishes, these funds will be used to conserve the Parish’s Record of Baptisms, which stretches from 1844 to 1923.
Why is it important to preserve these record books? Here is one story to illustrate – a letter received in February 2006, slightly condensed, with initials used in lieu of full names to protect privacy.
…As Executor for my Father’s estate, I have been progressively sorting through items in our parent’s home. My mother, C., passed away in 1983 and my father in 2004. Today, I discovered part of a letter written by my Grandmother, N., photocopied on the attached sheet. I have been able to transcribe most of what Grandma had written. She passed away in 1953.
I have very little knowledge of my Grandmother’s parents or her family. What is most remarkable is her reference to the Church of the Advent which adds another positive link to my search for family information. What I have been able to learn is that she had at least one brother, J., who may have been a few years younger. He died in an Army Hospital in Denver, Colorado, about 1904 as a result of serving in the Spanish American War in the Philippines.
I believe that my grandmother was born in 1874, I do not know where but her letter implies it may have been Fitchburg; she writes “my two brothers was at the same time…”; by this she may have meant that she and her brothers were baptized at the same time. She went on to write …all dead. She possibly implied that at the time of writing her letter that her brothers were dead.
Would it be possible for me to request a photocopy of my Grandmother’s October 24, 1886 Baptism record, and associated information if other members of her family were also baptized at that time? Enclosed is a donation for searching your historical records. I very much appreciate your kindness.
The record of baptism of grandmother and brothers was found and the information sent to the writer. Reading her letter — a copy and transcription are below; click on the image to see it full size — the importance of preserving and appreciating these old books becomes clear.
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT November 18-November 24, 2019
Monday, November 18 Hilda of Whitby
Tuesday, November 19 Elizabeth of Hungary 6:00 pm: Community Supper
7:00 pm: Theology on Tap at Silvertone’s Bar & Grill
Wednesday, November 20 Edmund of East Anglia 10:00 am: Bible Study
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
7:00 pm: Bellringers
Thursday, November 21 Presentation of the Blessed Virgin 5:15 pm: Property Committee
6:15 pm: Vestry
7:00 pm: Advent Choir Rehearsal
Friday, November 22
Cecilia of Rome 11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, November 23 Clement of Rome
10:00 am: Advent Choir Rehearsal
10:00 am: Flower Guild
Sunday, November 24 The First of Christ the King 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Procession & Sung Mass
10:15 am: Church School / Entr’acte
11:15 am: Procession & Solemn Mass & Te Deum
Welcometo the Church of the Advent! If you are new to the area, visiting, or seeking a church home, we are glad you’re here and hope to have a chance to greet you in person. Please join us downstairs following the service for a coffee hour.
Child care is offered during the 9 am and 11:15 am services; an usher can guide you to the nursery.
Welcome cards are located in each pew; please fill one out so we can keep in touch.
The flowers at the High Altar are given to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Melvin Lipscomb.
TODAY!
9:00 Coffee Hour:Barbara Boles and Lily Roberts host today. Next week’s hosts are Angie Corbet and Maggie Dunbar. If you would like to sign up to host coffee hour, please contact Barbara Boles by phone, 617-501-7572, or email, bbolesster@gmail.com, if you’re interested or have questions.
Entr’acte this week: David Russo talks about John H. Sturgis, the architect of the Advent. We’re surrounded by his handiwork week after week. Learn about the man and his achievements.
Next week: Hal Langell and Melissa Fox have been coming to the Advent since….well, for a very long time, probably on the other side of a century if you combine their tenure. What’s changed? What’s the same? What historical tidbits and tales will be revealed? Will Joyner facilitates what is sure to be a fascinating conversation in this special Entr’acte session in Moseley Hall (note location) on November 17.
Compline at the Advent at 8:00 pm. Join us for the ancient liturgy of Compline, preceded by Lucernarium, an evening service of lamp-lighting. We pray Compline, the service of prayer before bedtime in the custom of early Christian monasticism, on the second Sunday of every month at 8:00 pm in the nave.
THIS WEEK
The Parish Office will be closed Monday, November 11, in observance of Veterans Day.
COMING UP!
Advent Tour: Next Sunday, November 17, our Verger, Raymond Porter, will give a 10–15 minute tour of the church building following the 11:15 Mass. Meet him in the Baptistry immediately following the Postlude and learn about our fascinating, complicated, historic building.
Next Sunday, November 17 at 5:00 pm, Evensong will be sung by The Advent Choir. It will be a particularly deluxe program, featuring motets by Parry, the B Minor Evening Service of Howells, and Benediction motets by Frenchmen Villette and Widor. The service lasts no more than one hour, and is followed by a light supper and libation in Moseley Hall to which all are invited.
Mark Dwyer will speak to us during supper about Music and the Anglo-Catholic Revival: “O Worship the Lord in the Holiness of Beauty.” Concurrent theological, artistic, architectural and musical movements came together during the mid-nineteenth century to produce an ongoing search for the ideal sacred music: that which is beautifully fitting, and fittingly beautiful. Not everyone had the same idea of what that might be. Come to Evensong and find out!
Stefan Griffin, our friend and neighbor from All Saints Brookline, will play a Prelude Organ Recital at 4:30 pm, featuring works of Buxtehude, Duruflé and Farrington. Mr Griffin holds a Master’s Degree in Organ Performance from The University of Texas at Austin, where his principal teachers were Drs Gerre and Judith Hancock. Mr Griffin also holds a degree in voice from Boston University and did additional vocal study at the Royal College of Music in London. When not working at All Saints, he can regularly be seen (and his fine baritone heard) deputizing in our choir stalls.
Advent 175: You’ve heard about it … you’ve read about it … and now it’s just around the corner, 20 days from Sunday! Here’s a quick look at celebratory events planned for the 175th anniversary of the Church of the Advent, Sunday, December 1:
8 am:Mass in Lady Chapel (healing will be offered the following week)
9 am:Sung Mass with Procession; Bishop Alan M. Gates will celebrate and preach
10:15 am:Advent Wreath-Making and Blessing of Church School Time Capsule in Hunnewell Room (Library); Festive Coffee Hour in Moseley Hall
11:15 am:Solemn High Mass, with Reception of the Bishop and Solemn Procession. The Bishop will celebrate and preach.
1–3 pm:Gala Reception in Moseley Hall
1 pm:Bellringers ring Celebratory Quarter Peal
4:30 pm:Organ Recital by David Baskeyfield
5 pm:Lessons and Carols for Advent
6:30–8 pm: Gala Reception in Moseley Hall
STEWARDSHIP
Please be sure to submit your pledge by December 1, either in the collection plate or by going to www.theadventboston.org/pledging. If you did not receive pledging materials by mail, a packet is available in the church.
OUTREACH
Advent Coat Drive Continues through Friday, November 29
As in previous years, the Advent is holding a coat drive to help keep those in need warm this winter. This year, all collected coats will be donated to Boston Health Care for the Homeless. You can help by:
Donating Coats: Bring clean, functional coats (no broken zippers, ripped pockets, etc.) that will help keep people warm during the winter (think ski jackets, not dress-up jackets) to 30 Brimmer Street, Sundays 8 am-1 pm; Monday-Friday 9 am-3 pm. The collection bin is located in the library. Coats for children, women, and men all accepted.
Donating Dollars: Make checks payable to the Church of the Advent, but put “One Warm Coat” in the memo line and either drop in the collection plate or mail to One Warm Coat Drive, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston MA 02108.
Housing Needed. A friend and former student of Fr. Hanson’s is coming to do a visiting fellowship at Harvard in the spring and needs a place to stay. He is flexible on timing but will be in the area for no more than three months, roughly between February and May, and he does have a modest budget for housing costs. If anyone knows of a potential sublet, roommate, house-sitting, or any other temporary housing arrangement for part or all of the time he will be in Boston please get in touch with Fr. Hanson at frhanson@theadventboston.org.
Father Loring flanked by Bishops Gates and Harris.
Diocesan Convention. Our diocese held its annual convention last Saturday, November 2, in Boston, with Deacon Daphne Noyes, Betsy Madsen, and Julianne Ture representing the Advent. A highlight of the day was a salute to our own Fr. Richard Loring. Fr. Loring, who recently turned 90, was honored for his many decades of service to the diocese, including 18 — 18!! — interim assignments over the years since his 1995 “retirement” (Bishop Gates used extravagant air quotes) from St Luke’s Church in Chelsea, where he served as rector for 27 years. The salute included a spontaneous rendition of “Happy Birthday” and a well-deserved standing ovation, along with the gift of a map showing all 18 parishes where Fr. Loring has served, across the length and breadth of the diocese. We join in celebrating a good and faithful servant of Our Lord!
Anglo-Catholic Roots III: “Oxford Comes to Boston: 175 Years of Anglo-Catholicism in America” will take place December 5-6, 2019 at the Advent. Find more information and register here.
Discount parking vouchers for the Boston Common Garage are available for $9.00 each from Deacon Daphne or Nola Sheffer. You can find them between the 9:00 and 11:15 Masses at the Coffee Hour or Entr’acte. The vouchers can be used after 4:00 pm weekdays, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Questions? email: nsheffer@newview.org.
FROM THE ADVENT ARCHIVES
Little-known facts, amusing anecdotes, and miscellaneous wisdom, in honor of the 175th anniversary of this parish.
The exquisite watercolors and drawings of Robert Turner Walker (1867-1931) are the centerpiece of the display in the lobby. Founder of the Order of St. Vincent, Advent parishioner and member of the Corporation, Walker left evidence of his fine artistic talents throughout the Church of the Advent.
The grandson of a New Hampshire farmer, and the son of Augustus Chapman Walker, a Harvard-educated physician who served as an Army surgeon, and Maria Churchill Grant, Walker was the eldest of three sons. Born in rural Greenfield, Mass., two years after Dr. Walker mustered out of the military, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1884 and MIT in 1890. He initially lived on Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square (in the building now occupied by H-Mart), then later on Frost Street, then Acacia Street.
In time, his parents joined him in Cambridge. His mother died at his home in August 1917, at the age of 78. His father, 84, died the following April. Both are buried in New Hampshire.
From perusing our own Archives and those of the Diocese (where some of the Advent’s materials are stored), it appears that Walker created an annual Christmas card. Two of these (from 1914 and 1916) have been reproduced as postcards – they are the actual size of his original artwork, which is petite and finely detailed, as shown in the display. In 1918, his theme was “Peace in Our Time,” showing a Christus Rex; in 1920, “Ave verum corpus” (pictured here); and in 1925, a nativity scene, “Ecce Agnus Dei.”
Robert Turner Walker died on Christmas Eve, 1931. His funeral was held at the Advent, with Father Hamlin presiding; he is buried, like his parents, in New Hampshire. Members of the Guild of St. Vincent gave the Madonna over the altar in the Lady Chapel in his honor.
New merchandise has arrived at the peddler’s cart, with proceeds benefiting the Conservation Fund: angelic porcelain ornaments, based on the “Eva” and “Ave” windows in the Lady Chapel; commemorative chocolate — dark or milk — and artwork by Robert Turner Walker and Morris Henry Hobbs. Support the Fund and take home treasures to keep or to share.
THIS WEEK AT THE ADVENT November 11-November 17, 2019
Monday, November 11 Martin of Tours
Parish Office closed for Veterans Day
Tuesday, November 12 Charles Simeon 6:00 pm: Community Supper
Wednesday, November 13 10:00 am: Bible Study
6:00 pm: Healing Mass
7:00 pm: Bellringers
Thursday, November 14 Consecration of Samuel Seabury 7:00 pm: Advent Choir Rehearsal
Friday, November 15 11:30 am: Rosary
Saturday, November 16 Margaret of Scotland
10:00 am: Advent Choir Rehearsal
10:00 am: Flower Guild
10:00 am: Simple Things packaging event
Sunday, November 17 Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost 7:30 am: Morning Prayer
8:00 am: Low Mass
9:00 am: Sung Mass
10:15 am: Church School / Entr’acte
11:15 am: Solemn Mass
4:30 pm: Organ Recital
5:00 pm: Evensong & Benediction w/supper & talk
Mystery leads to history leads to mystery: Part IIt is partially filled by notes, & copies of bits of literature. First entries by Mary, probably. Later ones, from the handwriting, by Hannah. A fair guess is that the young ladies – Hannah was about nine years the younger – related and quite likely already knowing each other, became very close friends in Newburyport. That after Mary’s death, Mr. White gave the book to Hannah to treasure. Its interest is only one of family memento [sic], & it seems closer to your family than to mine. So I am taking it to my office (Room 658, 10, P. O. Square) that you may, if you wish, call at convenience – no hurry – to see it. If you care to carry it away, do so.
