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Christ Church The Episcopal Church in Harvard Square Zero Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138-3631 phone (617)876-0200 fax (617) 876-0201 www.cccambridge.org

Staff The Rev. Joseph O. Robinson Rector The Rev. Jonathan T. Eden Assistant Rector Stuart Forster Director of Music &

Catherine Belcher Parish Administrator

Alexizendria Link Parish Communications

Dona O’Donnell Financial Administrator

Jerry Kucera, Hernan Moya, January 2011 Leaflet David Morton Sextons Volume LXXVIII, No. 1 The Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge Episcopal Chaplain at Harvard

Letter from the Rector

Officers & Vestry “I am resolved to make no resolutions for the New Karen Mathiasen Senior Warden Year, but to take this vacant canvas before us as a Sally Kelly Junior Warden season of hope and possibility in which my life can make a difference to those around me, insofar as I Christopher Wolf Treasurer am willing to put my gifts into the hands of God and Tanya Cosway Asst. Treasurer at the disposal of the community.” JOR+

Mino Sullivan Clerk It may seem self-serving to begin my Charlie Allen monthly newsletter to you by quoting myself, but Jonathan Austin Andus Baker bear with me for a moment. After many years of Lois Bennett making resolutions only to have them crash and burn Elizabeth Childs before I turn even the first page of the new calendar, Mary Beth Clack Peggy Johnson I spent the next many years not making resolutions Karl Loos and determining just to “go with the flow” to be at Susan Root peace with what a new year brings. Now I am Members entering a new part of my life where the prudent thing seems to be to count the costs, Wendy Squires Mimi Truslow to hope for the best, and to throw my gifts into the “common-wealth” of my community. Now, for me, that community (in ever growing concentric circles) is Diocesan Delegates basically my family, then the people of Christ Church, then the Diocese of Louise Ambler Massachusetts, then a network of friends across the country … you get my point. Church Archivist Your definition of community will no doubt be different but somehow parallel to my experience, I am guessing. So, no matter how we define community, God’s call to discipleship is a call to share ourselves, our best selves, as much as we possibly can. In our own time, I am aware of a certain “reserve” that constrains our freely offering ourselves. For one of us it may be because of a fear of rejection, for another it may be because of a need to control. For one the stumbling block may be a perceived busy-ness, while for another it may be the residual effects of regret, lack of focus, or the sense that maybe I just don’t care about others as much as others do. The question is, whether we’ll just hold our breath once again and take the annual medicine of a couple of resolutions, or whether we determine to look at this coming year differently, differently from the way we ever have before. To determine that we will not be held back from caring, from taking part, from being in the mix, but that we will rather invest our time and energy in making a difference in the lives of others. Imagine what might happen if everyone at Christ Church adopted that perspective in the new year, one in which we will celebrate 250 years of sharing this place we call home. Or imagine if everyone on your street took such a pledge to heart. Imagine if all the Episcopalians in Massachusetts signed on, or if all your network of friends bought into this idea. Now, imagine what might happen if all these people did all this at the same time. What might that look like? What would look different in the world around us? You know, it doesn’t really take that many people working for good to cause some ripples in an office culture, a church family, or an extended network. What it takes is just the knowledge that we can make a difference, and the willingness to invest ourselves to make it happen. It’s perfectly fair to conspire with an ally to make a positive difference in a family or community, and then it’s fun to compare notes as to the changes you both see along the way. We are all given a choice, again, this year, of whether we will make the same easy, tired, and lifeless resolutions that may get us to the gym for a couple of weeks, or keep us off fat for a short season, or even be positive and helpful but self-contained. Or, we can decide to throw in our lots, to invest ourselves in the life of community, to become people who are driven, not by our need to get ahead, but by our need to bring others along with us. With what you have been given, you can make a difference. Now could be the time. This could be the place. God could be the source.

“I am resolved to make no resolutions for the New Year, but to take this vacant canvas before us as a season of hope and possibility in which my life can make a difference to those around me, insofar as I am willing to put my gifts into the hands of God and at the disposal of the community.” JOR+

Letter from the Assistant Rector

Though it is still the season while I write, I find myself looking towards the coming season of . Don’t get me wrong, I love the Christmas season, I love all of our worship, and I love a good party! But when I think about what it is that helps us to mature as people of faith, what it is that sustains us over the journey ahead, it is more about the day to day living, the on-going revelation to us of who and what is through a season where, liturgically at least, we move pretty steadily without any big feasts or festivals. Oh, and by the way, our journey through Epiphany this year is a long one, as is just about as late as it can be, on April 24.

When you have a chance, look ahead in our readings (I usually go to http://www.io.com/~kellywp/, which is a website that lists our weekly readings months in advance) and you will see that, mainly, we will be hearing sections of Jesus’ on the Mount, though those readings have the bookends of the coming of the Magi and Jesus’ Baptism in the beginning and the Transfiguration at the end, right before .

I mention this because we will be spending a lot of time considering how Jesus thought we ought to be living our lives for the long haul. Now, I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions—I usually give them up for Lent—but I wonder if this season of Epiphany might be a good time to work on a spiritual practice that will help sustain you and your family over the days, weeks, and years to come. Maybe it could be reading some of the stories of our faith together?

One of the things I get to do each week is read Children’s , looking for good versions of the lectionary stories for Gospel Story Time, which is where our youngest kids go during the Gospel and Sermon. There is quite a spectrum of quality and agendas behind Children’s Bibles, but I’ve come to rely heavily on two, and would commend them to you. First, The For Children, by Murray Watts and Helen Cann, published by Good Books. This version comes to us from the Mennonites and is recommended for kids in 2nd–6th grade, though certainly could be read aloud to younger kids. It also has some nice illustrations. The other is The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago and published by Zonderkids. This one is recommended for ages 4–7 and has some really neat illustrations.

Lastly, don’t forget to join us for our family-friendly Dinner to begin this whole journey of Epiphany. We will gather for 6:00 in the auditorium to eat and to hear a little bit about the Magi, and we will finish with a simple and the burning of Christmas greens.

January 6: Family-friendly Twelfth Night Dinner and Eucharist

Peace, Jon+

Warden’s Corner

We embraced the Season with some of our most cherished traditions: the making of wreaths on , the spectacular Christmas Fair, the Be an Angel program to provide Christmas gifts for needy children in the City of Cambridge, the of Lessons and Carols, and the Greening of the Church on the last Sunday in Advent. Our clergy, staff, and many, many parishioners worked lovingly to make all these special events happen once again. The list of people who brought them to us is very long, but we note especially our Assistant Rector, The Reverend Jon Eden, who organized the wreath-making along with his team of Austin Campbell, Beth Childs, and Susie White; Mary Beth Clack and Ann Loos, who chaired the Christmas Fair; Jon Eden, von Turkovich, Laura Johnson, and members of the Emmaus Group for organizing Be an Angel; Stuart Forster and the for the glorious music of Lessons & Carols; Susan Root and crew—Sue Fisher, Janet Ghatas, Sophie Howlett, Bill Kelly, Mark MacMillan, and Steve Root—for the reception afterwards; and Lois Bennett for the Greening of the Church. Special thanks to our Rector, The Reverend Joe Robinson, who had a hand in all of this.

This year, our “When Christmas Hurts” service evolved into the “” service held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown under the auspices of the Alewife Deanery. A few of us attended from Christ Church and can report that the service was anything but glum. Thanks to an uplifting liturgy, followed by a wonderful reception, we found ourselves well nourished in both body and spirit. At the time of writing, in the waning days of Advent, we look forward to a glorious Christmas Season.

The New Year promises to be filled with many wonderful observances, celebrations, and other events. The special theme of 2011 is of course the 250th anniversary celebration of the dedication of Christ Church. Under the guidance of Jeff Brown and Jill Herold, the Anniversary Committee co-chairs, 2011 promises to be an extraordinary year. We will look back at the great gifts we have been given, and look forward as we consider the legacy that we will leave for others.

Along with the extraordinary events come some of our traditional activities. January promises to be busy with the Twelfth Night supper and service on Wednesday, January 5, and our Martin Luther King Day observances on January 16 and 23.

One of our major events of the New Year is the Annual Meeting of the Parish, to be held on Sunday, January 30, as part of a single morning service that day at 9:00 a.m. Please note that Children’s Sunday School will begin after this combined service. Nursery care will also be available as usual. The Annual Meeting is a special time for us to be together, and we hope that you will make every effort to attend. At the Annual Meeting, we will hear from the Rector, the Wardens, and the Treasurers. We will also be electing five officers (two Wardens, two Treasurers, and a Clerk) who form our Executive Committee, plus several Vestry members and two Delegates to Diocesan Convention. The Nominations Committee is comprised of Jonathan Austin, Jeff Brown, Peggy Johnson, the Rector, and your Wardens. In mid-January, the bios of nominees will be published for your consideration. As permitted by our Bylaws, nominations may also be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting.

Our Nominations Committee needs to hear from you. Nominations forms are available at and in the Parish Office. Both self-nominations and nominations of others are welcome. At both coffee hours on January 2 we will be offering an informal opportunity to talk with current Vestry members about what service on Vestry entails. But you certainly do not need to wait until then; Vestry members are listed elsewhere in this Leaflet, and you should feel free to contact any of us with questions or comments. Nomination forms should be returned to the Parish Office by Monday, January 3, although earlier would be better. You may also give them to a lay member of the Nominations Committee or to an usher at Sunday service.

On the Sundays of January 16 and 23, there will be an opportunity at both the 8:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. coffee hours to meet informally with the candidates. Do take the opportunity to meet those who have agreed to run for office. We thank them in advance for stepping forward.

Our Bylaws permit absentee ballots if the Vestry so chooses, and the Vestry has voted to allow them this year. It is emphasized that absentee ballots are to be used only because health issues or travel prevent a parishioner from attending the Annual Meeting. Absentee ballots will be available in the Parish Office once the ballot is finalized, and must be returned to the office no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday, January 28. No absentee ballots will be accepted at the Annual Meeting. That said, we hope to see you all at the meeting itself.

Finally, we remind you that, in order to vote at Annual Meeting, parishioners need to make a financial pledge to Christ Church. If you have not yet turned in your pledge card for 2011, please do so in time for our Annual Meeting. Sooner would be better.

Looking ahead, we remind you of the Christ Church Auction and Dinner in March. Please note that the date has been moved a week to Saturday, March 12. Mark your calendars, and also be thinking about what you would like to donate to the live and silent auctions, and do take note of the write-up on the Auction elsewhere in this Leaflet.

We thank all those—clergy, staff, and parishioners—who have helped to create such a successful 2010 at Christ Church, and wish you a joyous 2011. Happy 250th! Karen and Sally

Altar Guild

What a glorious beginning to the Church Year! Preparations for Advent and the festivities of Christmas kept the Guild very busy.

On December 11 we had our semi-annual workday with fellowship, cleaning of the Sanctuary, and the polishing of silver and brass vessels. It was also the day when Lois Bennett and her crew began the Greening of the Church for the next day’s Festival of Lessons and Carols. Many hands make light work. Thanks to Summer and Ted Akimoto, Anne Armstrong, Barbara and Nell Baker, Lois and Bill Bennett, Webb Brown, Faith Chase, Elizabeth Childs and Anamarie Grieco, Howard Crowell, Idony Lisle, Sandy Sherwood, Susie White, and Zena Link.

Dona O’Donnell and Joyce Penniston organized the Memorial Flower Fund and it was well subscribed. Donations for flowers may be made at any time in memory of a loved one or to honor somebody. Call Lee Born or either of the chairs.

The January roster is posted. Be aware that the fifth Sunday, January 30, is the date of the Annual Parish Meeting and there will be a single service at 9:00 a.m.

As always, we extend an invitation to men, women, and older children who are interested in joining us in this holy work. The number of people necessary to serve our busy and growing congregation is large. To learn more and join us, please contact Webb Brown ([email protected] or 617- 923-0057) or Summer Akimoto ([email protected] or 781-391-9891). Webb Brown and Summer Akimoto

www.cccambridge.org

Visit the Christ Church Cambridge website for details regarding upcoming events and information.

2010 Annual Meeting Reports

Christ Church’s Annual Meeting will be held on January 30, 2011 following the 9:00 a.m. Eucharist. We ask that all Committee Heads submit their Annual Reports to the Parish Office no later than January 12, 2011. You may submit reports by snail mail, by dropping them off at the office, or by sending them via email to [email protected].

Mission and Outreach at Christ Church

CHRISTMAS FAIR 2010

Congratulations to all of you who participated in the 73rd Christ Church Christmas Fair. Whether you were an intrepid committee member, enlisted volunteer, accomplished musician, or paying customer, you experienced a day of fun, celebration, and profit! The weekend began on Friday night as our pianist, David Angney, provided background music while volunteers set up the craft vendors’ tables and organized the café, attic treasures, kids’ crafts, and book nook. The older children carted an amazing number of used books from the collection location to the book nook two levels up. Children also helped to string lights and decorate the lobby tree. Their efforts inspired us all! On Saturday the committee arrived early to welcome the craft vendors, warm up the chili for the café, and set up the raffle table and the trees and wreath tables outdoors. We were delighted with the contributions from the Sunday School children who sold narcissus plants they had grown from bulbs and hand made ornaments to benefit “Be an Angel.” Children also staffed the popular “cider and dogs” table, selling hot dogs, hot cider, and popcorn.

Kudos also to our sextons, who stored book and attic treasure donations, hung banners, and found the elusive screwdriver or extension cord. It took many people to plan, make maps, order new signs, shop, cook, bake, set up and dismantle. The fellowship was heartwarming and the profits impressive, with over $7,500 made to distribute to local charitable organizations. Thank you to all who contributed to the 2010 fair. We’re already anticipating next year’s Fair, which will be even bigger and better as we celebrate Christ Church’s 250th anniversary

Ann Loos

Christ Church Silent/Live Auction and Dinner Saturday evening, March 12th

Save the Date!

Save the date for one of Christ Church’s beloved traditions: the Auction and Dinner. This is a lively evening of fun and fellowship as we auction off “must have” items and services that we, the parishioners, will provide. Particularly valued are visually appealing works of art, hand knit items, vacation homes, and dinners hosted by members of our community in their homes. Be thinking about what you would like to donate to the auction. Yes, you scoured the attic to donate to our recent Attic Treasures for the Christmas Fair, and Christ Church is very grateful for those donations. And now how about those lovely items that you really don’t use any more but you might have felt were too valuable for Attic Treasures or the Thrift Shop, as wonderful as Attic Treasures and the Thrift Shop are? Instead of selling them on eBay, why not consider donating them to the auction?

Much more about the auction in next month’s Leaflet. Meanwhile, if you have questions about things to donate, please contact Sara and Michael Schumann at [email protected] or call 781-603-8258.

Music At Christ Church

Recordings and Music at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

The happiest of the four Sundays in Advent is known as , named after the of the Day on the Third Sunday of Advent. The original translation of that Collect began with “Rejoice,” and is now updated with “Stir up your power.” This is the morning when we hear Mary’s song of praise, uttered upon hearing the news from the Angel that she would give birth to the Son of God. We light the pink candle on the . Christ Church has an annual tradition of celebrating Gaudete Sunday with a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Musically speaking, this evening festival is the most challenging, and possibly the most rewarding, service of the year, with its ten choral carols surrounding the nine lessons, and some of our most festive carol arrangements sung with the congregation.

This is usually a standing-room-only event at Christ Church, and this year was no exception. I would like to offer my heartiest congratulations and thanks to the combined choirs, who worked so hard to make this service the fantastic event we have grown to love so dearly. Their work was enhanced by excellent soloists, readers, ushers, reception hosts, and church decorators. We enjoyed the beautiful photographs by Amey Callahan within hours of the festival. The Adult always comes in on Saturday morning for an additional pre-Christmas rehearsal, allowing them to sing all the more beautifully; we were honored again with a delicious hot breakfast offering from Heather Wiley, an outrageously generous contribution that cheers us all into a brilliant start to our intense work time together.

With such wonderful music always come many requests for recordings and videos of services at Christ Church. This would indeed be a wonderful addition to our outreach! There are complexities attached to this popular demand, however, that may not always occur to the most enthusiastic fans. When we purchase music to sing in church, the publishers have kindly separated the cost of licensing the use of the music they own from the cost of reproducing it. Reproduction of music includes photocopying, broadcasting, and recording. There are some generous concessions that allow us to print music we already own (for convenience, not for extra copies) and to keep an archival recording. Licenses to reproduce music justly compensate publishers, authors, and composers for the work they have done in creating it. As part of the effort to keep our music and our musicians fresh, we make use of many arrangements and compositions by contemporary musicians, and we certainly want to pay them for the work they have contributed. Our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols contains nineteen pieces of music; all of the sung music was composed or arranged quite recently, and so making recorded copies would require considerable compensation for its creators, and corresponding paperwork. As an example, the fundraiser CD recently released by the Choir, Vesper Light, was a five-month project after we already had the raw recordings in hand (compiled with professional equipment): chasing up publishers and licensers, working with editors and manufacturers, and all the other background work, added up! We were delighted to cover the expenses, and to start raising scholarship money, after selling the first 200 CDs; half of that music was old enough not to attract copyright issues. The music and videos we have posted online from other events are carefully chosen and licensed appropriately.

We are fortunate at Christ Church to have so many people contributing to a vibrant ministry. We look forward to continuing with as much outreach and inspiring music as we can. Join us with this music in a live context, in church, as it was originally intended to be heard. And, of course, with patience, enjoy the recordings we can make over time! Vesper Light will continue to be available in the Music Office and at special events, and we hope to supplement it with another installment some time in the future.

Hot off the press: our first review!

“This CD is a compilation of live performances from choir tours to the great cathedrals of New York and Washington, as well as St. Thomas, Fifth Avenue, and is being used to generate funds for a forthcoming tour to England . . . This CD has the refreshing quality of live performance, not an edited recording session. And since the venues vary from track to track, the microphone placement changes as well; but the integrity of the musicianship of Stuart’s excellent forty-voice Evensong choir remains consistent. Founded only ten years ago, this choir has quickly worked to put itself “on the map.” Although not a strict Vespers per se ( movements are included, and there is neither a nor a Nunc dimittis), there are some rarely recorded works such as Philip Moore’s All wisdom cometh from the Lord and Robert Lehman’s and Suffrages which are a delight to hear. Again and again, Stuart and the choir demonstrate wonderful musicianship coupled with a passion for what they are doing.” — Jonathan Dimmock, The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians (December 2010)

We’ll give Sunday sales a break for a while, but CD sales are still available directly from the Music Office, if you’d like to drop by. If you want to direct someone far away to buy one (or more!), send them to www.cdbaby.com/cd/evensongchoir to order physical and downloadable versions. The CD is also available on iTunes now, and is being marketed by the Organ Historical Society. What great publicity for Christ Church!

Farewell, Trevor

Trevor Pollack has been an incredible Music Program Assistant at Christ Church since November 2009. This position includes responsibility for all liturgical printed materials for the congregation, the choirs, and the clergy, as well as a great deal of administration and communication with the 97 volunteers in the music program. Trevor has been offered, and has accepted, full-time work (with benefits) with the Handel and Haydn Society. We offered a public farewell to him at the 10:15 a.m. service on December 19, and numerous private farewells have started. We shall miss his presence and his excellent work in the office. A search is now underway to fill this demanding role.

Special music in January

Our music program at Christ Church is known for its variety and constant flow of new music to keep us fresh and enriched. On January 9, the choirs will sing an abridged version of the final movement from Randall Thompson’s Nativity according to Saint Luke. Thompson composed the full 1 hour and 40 minutes of music for orchestra, soloists, and choir for Christ Church’s 200th anniversary. To our knowledge, no part of this piece has been sung at Christ Church since 1961. I have begun working with the original handwritten scores, bequeathed to Christ Church by Thompson, to make professional-quality type-settings of new arrangements for choir and organ. We heard the first of these on the Second Sunday of Advent (“Ev’ry valley”). The movement scheduled for January 9 is “And the child grew,” chosen here for the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. The communion on the same day will be a world première of Stuart’s “Set me as a seal.”

Schedule for Choral Evensong

Please note that our regular monthly series of Choral Evensong takes a break in January. Evensong will resume at 4:00 p.m. on the first Sunday of February.

Stuart Forster Musical Director and Organist

European Weekend Raffle

On January 9, 2011 the Evensong Choir will begin selling raffle tickets for a European Weekend Getaway. This fantastic vacation package includes three nights’ hotel accommodation and a roundtrip airfare to Paris over Veterans’ Day Weekend, November 9–13, 2011. Raffle tickets will be $20 per ticket or $100 for 6 tickets. All proceeds from the raffle will subsidize travel expenses for Evensong Choir members who have asked for financial help in the Choir’s first international tour to England in May and June 2011. Tickets will be available for purchase through the Parish Office (617-876-0200), from Evensong Choir members, and at the reception following the 4:00 p.m. Evensong service on the first Sunday in February. Thanks to all who helped out in the Evensong Choir’s first fundraising effort through sales of the Vesper Light CD, which, incidentally, is still for sale!

Rachael A. Chagat

Gentlemen’s Luncheon on January 20

Any man from the parish who is free at noontime for our Thursday luncheon is most welcome. Whenever you see an announcement, please call the office to let them know that you plan to come. The next luncheon is Thursday, January 20 at 12:00 p.m. We would welcome volunteers who would like to cook a main dish, bring a salad, bread or dessert, or help serve. Please call the Parish Office at 617-876-0200.

The 50th Anniversary Celebration of Reverend Bob Tobin’s

On The Rise

Christmas has come and gone, and for many people the highlight of the winter is past. Actually, winter is just beginning, and the needs of the women who depend on ON THE RISE continue unabated. Seasonal clothing is always in demand, especially larger sizes. Do you have an extra coat, scarf, hat, pair of mittens, sweater, sweatshirt, SOCKS, or other warm items? Do you have unopened personal-size shampoo and soap left from your last journey?

There is a constant need for single-ride Charlie Cards to help women get to an appointment or to a shelter for the night. These can be mailed directly to OTR or given to Summer Akimoto to deliver on behalf of our congregation.

You can always donate goods in one of several ways: leave them at the back of the church in or near the donation boxes marked ON THE RISE; leave them in the Parish Office, clearly labeled for ON THE RISE (bags and labels are provided in the basket behind the receptionist’s desk); or, if you have transport problems, contact Summer Akimoto: [email protected] or 781-391-9891.

Thank you, most sincerely, on behalf of the needy women at ON THE RISE.

Summer Akimoto

CCHHHOOORRRAAALLL EEVVVEEENNNSSSOOONNNGGG

First Sunday of the month

at 4:00 p.m.

Arrive by 3:50 p.m. to hear the prelude played on the glorious Schoenstein Organ.

The First Choral EVENSONG of 2011 is Sunday, February 6 at 4:00 p.m. The monthly series of sung Evening Prayer lasts approximately 55 minutes. Evensong will be followed by a reception in which the community gathers for conversation and refreshment. Everyone is invited to join us on the first Sunday of each month.

Photos from the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols

Photos from the 5:00 p.m. service.

Our Family Eucharist of the Nativity, Rite II, with the Youth Choir and Pageant

JANUARY 2011

• Wed. 5 12th Night Party: 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

• Thurs. 20 Gentlemen’s Luncheon: noon in the Library

• Sun. 30 9:00 a.m. Eucharist followed by Annual Meeting in the Parish Hall

February Leaflet Deadline Please submit articles, rotas, committee reports and upcoming events to the office no later than January 20, 2011. Make submissions to [email protected] or the Parish Administrator at [email protected]

The Leaflet is published monthly by Christ Church Zero Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Distributed FREE to all Parish Members.

Periodicals Class postage paid at Cambridge, MA (USPS 024-022)

Postmaster: Send address changes to Christ Church Cambridge, Zero Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3631 USA