News of The Church of the Holy Comforter in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia Richmond, June 2019 • Pentecost Donation to Side by Side • A Message from Hilary + • Joe has a new stole Pentecost is coming, • Mimi Berry - June 9 Rest in Peace • Pentecost – June 9 We are a family and Pentecost is our • Memorial Day collective birthday, so let’s have a • Men at the Movies - family-style lunch after the service American Graffiti to celebrate. Various deli trays and a • June Book - Warmth of Other Suns festive cake will be provided. We ask • Mary and Judy get that you bring a side dish of your married choice to share. It’s a time to show • The Back Page off your prized summer recipes. There may even be a lawn game or two to enjoy. Questions? Ask Brian Davis. Wear your red and see you there. ~ Hilary HoCo chancel, 2016 - liturgical art by Carol Gibbs. Photo by George Collier On May 18, the Diocese of Vermont elected the Rev. Dr. Shannon MacVean-Brown to be their next bishop. Hilary was one of three nominees. On the day of the election, Hilary was supported by out-of- town friends, and then at HoCo by many parishioners. From Hilary: “Thank you all for your support and prayers through this process. I am so thankful for you and the ministry that we share. I look forward to many more years as your rector.” Pentecost Donation to Side by Side Currently we provide a light supper once a month By Bruce MacAlister to the meeting of the Side by Side transgender The cash or donations not otherwise group. designated go to Side by Side on the Sunday we call Pentecost. Being a teen and trying to figure out who you are is tough. (Being the parent of a teen is not easy either.) For teens who feel they may not fit the expected heterosexual model, it’s even tougher. Side by Side provides a safe haven for these young people. To further support these youth, the Side by Side staff and volunteers meet regularly with a broad range of RVA businesses and civic organizations to garner support. Holy Comforter goes back to the beginnings when it was called ROSMY. A parishioner convinced the clergy and Vestry to provide the initial office space for this new group. It was not easy for many at HoCo but they - we - stepped up. News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 2 A Message from Hilary + Joe has a new stole Dear Friends and Companions in Ministry, On the occasion of our beloved Deacon Joe serving on his first Cursillo Team As we head into summer, I pray that you (weekend #166), the HoCo Cursillo community will have times of refreshment and celebration. presented him with a stole (designed by Cindy Congratulations to the many people in our lives who have graduated from various schools and Hanayak and Carol Gibbs and constructed by programs. Cindy Hanayak) as “Palanca”. Joe received the stole after the entire HoCo Cursillo community We will celebrate Pentecost laid hands on it in prayer, asking God’s blessing on June 9, during our 10:00 that it touch the hearts of all who Joe would be a.m. service and with our called to serve. parish lunch following our service. I hope you will be Curious about what “Palanca” is? Ask Carol - able to attend. Pentecost she’d love to tell you! is an important day for all Christians, but it is also our special day as the Church of the Holy Comforter. We are named for the Holy Spirit, therefore, Pentecost is our Feast Day. How is the Spirit moving in your life and in the life of our church? Together, we can discern some of the movements of the Spirit. Though as Jesus told Nicodemus, the Spirit is mysterious. Later in the summer, we will offer Harry Potter Vacation Bible School. Some may wonder how Harry Potter and the Bible go together. When I offered this program in Winchester, VA, years ago, we received a phone call saying we were in league with the Devil. We received a lot of attention for this program, wanted and unwanted. What some may not understand is that Harry’s journey is the hero’s journey of self-discovery. When you look for them, there are many connections with the great stories of the Bible. Harry Potter gives us a great way to share what we believe about God and each other: that God has created each of us in God’s image, we are a delight to God and gifts to the world. God calls each person to live as their authentic selves, and, in our authenticity, we have much to give to others. Harry Potter is not just for children; join us August 11 - 15 in the evenings to share in the hero’s journey. Consider inviting families with children who you know and do not yet come to our church. Wishing you Joy and Peace, Hilary+ News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 3 Mimi Berry - “If Mimi had been at the wedding party at Rest in Peace Cana, Jesus would’ve sat down at her table to hang out with her. In truth, Jesus hung out with Mimi all the time, and we all felt it.” Luke Berry May 21 on Facebook For decades Mimi was a beloved member of “My heart aches to let loved ones know that HoCo, active in many areas of parish life. She our Mother, Mimi Burne Berry left this world will be remembered for her spiritual generosity, peacefully at 8:15 this morning. I wanted to warmth, and steady sense of humility. express the Berry family’s deepest gratitude to everyone sending love, and taking the time to stop Pentecost – June 9 by and see her these last few weeks. Mimi’s Light By Laura Hunt and Love Will Shine On.” Pentecost, celebrated on the seventh From a few of her many friends Sunday after Easter, commemorates the descent “Mimi had a 100 watt smile!” of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus while they were gathered “I will miss her together in Jerusalem. For Christians, this event, sweet, smiling face described in Acts of the Apostles, marks the birth sitting across from of the early Church. me in choir.” I always wondered why the apostles were gathered together on that particular day. What were they celebrating? It turns out that Moses told the Hebrews that 49 days after Passover and the Exodus, they would be given the Torah (The Law). Indeed, Shavuot, the Festival of “Weeks” in Hebrew is the ultimate point of Passover. God delivered the Israelites from Egypt so they would be free to receive God’s gift of the revelation of Torah seven weeks later on Mt. Sinai. Described in Leviticus 23, The Feast of Weeks “Dorey and Mariah, is the second of the three “solemn harvest feasts” when they were young: when all Jewish males were required to travel ‘We want to drive a to Jerusalem to offer First Fruits in the Temple Honda when we grow up, because Mimi drives a as a way of expressing thanksgiving for God’s Honda, and we want to be just like Mimi’.” provision: a sheaf of barley on the first day of Pesach (Passover), a sheaf of wheat on Shavuot, “People often say I give good hugs - Mimi and the first fruits of the olive and grape harvests gave the best hugs ever.” on the Feast of Tabernacles. “What I think of when I think of Mimi is her After the destruction of the temple in AD70, laugh - deep, raucous, full-bodied. That lady offerings could no longer be brought to the knew how to enjoy herself, and you knew, when Temple so the focus of the festival shifted from you heard her laugh, that she was fully present, agriculture to the giving of the law on Sinai. It fully enjoying that moment with every cell in her became customary to gather at synagogue and body. It was the best laugh, the most generous, read from the book of Exodus. inclusive, slightly wicked laugh, I’ve ever heard.” Like other Jewish feasts, the Feast of Weeks “Mischievous, loving, hilarious, courageous, is important in foreshadowing the coming Mimi is a model for us all.” Messiah and His ministry. Jesus was crucified as the “Passover Lamb” and rose from the grave News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 4 at Pesach. Approximately fifty days (Pentecost Memorial Day means “fiftieth”) after His resurrection, Jesus sent By Bruce MacAlister, Editor the Holy Spirit as promised (John 14) to indwell It is the unofficial start of summer. the disciples and empower them for ministry. It’s warm and pleasant, a nice time to be outside. On the Day of Pentecost, 120 followers of School is out or almost. Vacations are planned. Jesus (the “first fruits” of the church) were But it’s much more than that. gathered when a “mighty rushing wind” (a Memorial Day is about common symbol for the Spirit), and “tongues as those who died serving of fire” appeared. The gathered disciples were their nation in the military. “filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in The practice of decorating other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” soldiers’ grave, usually with Many scholars interpret the reference to “tongues” flowers, goes back hundreds of to signify ecstatic speech. After hearing Peter years.