Holy Comforter E-Messenger for Sunday,
April 27, 2025
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Reception for Hilary - April 27
Our Rector, Hilary+, will be concluding her ministry with us on Sunday, April 27. Hilary came to us in 2013; join us on Sunday, April 27 to celebrate our shared ministry and send Hilary forth with our prayers and thanks.
If you would like to write Hilary a note or card of thanks, please do. Often, when a clergyperson leaves a parish, a "purse" is given, which is money as a token of thanks. If you would like to contribute, we recommend giving cash, which could go with your card or note and be put in a box in the Cary Montague Room. If you would like to give an anonymous gift, there will be unmarked envelopes next to the box for your use. Questions? Contact Briggitt Keith or Steve Van Voorhees.
Lost and Found Bag
The bag pictured here was left behind at the evening service on Saturday, April 19th. If you recognize it, please contact the church office at office@hoco.org. Thanks!
Wednesday Worship Will Continue
The Wednesday Service will continue after Hilary’s Departure. On April 30 we will celebrate the feast day of CATHERINE of SIENA. Please join us at 11:45 for Centering Prayer and at 12:15 for Eucharist.
Love One Another Diocesan Day Retreat - May 9
Click on the image above to read all about it.
Will Dickinson - May 4
On Sunday, May 4, The Rev. William "Will" Dickinson, Transition Minister for our diocese, will preside, preach, and offer a Forum after the 10:00 am service. Will has been working with our vestry since March to ensure a smooth transition as we seek new clergy leadership for the interim period and beyond.
Earth Day Service - May 11
On Sunday, May 11, The Rev. Heather K. Baggett will preside for our Earth Day Service at 10:00 a.m. While not on Earth Day, this is the first Sunday closest to it that works for our Earth Day celebration. Make Every Day Earth Day!
Group Spiritual Director - May 18
Spiritual Direction is a spiritual discipline in which we pause in silence and reflect on where we have experienced God in the past weeks. It is an ancient practice dating back to the desert mothers and fathers.
As our parish moves into a time of change and reflection, SD provides an opportunity for us to quiet our souls and focus on our personal experience of God.
Beginning Sunday 5/18 and continuing once a month on the third Sunday of the month (11:30-12:30 parlor), we begin
Group Spiritual Direction for any who wish who come. The group is formatted and uses periods of silence/ meditation as well as personal sharing of our experiences. Confidentiality is maintained. All are welcomed.
The group will be lead by Joella Rhoades, a Spiritual Director at Richmond Hill for 14 years and a trained group facilitator.
Church Calendar
There's a new way to get to the church calendar: click on the link to the left, below "Ministry Offerings."
Note that once the calendar has loaded, you can change the view to "Week" or "Month" by clicking on the "Schedule" button at the top right.
Saint Of The Week: George
St. George portrayed in an icon and on a war memorial in an English church. Click on either one to hear more about the patron saint of England.
All the Saints
Parishioner Laura Hunt has been recording talks about a different Saint each week for some time now - see below for this week's Saint, Thomas Traherne.
Now, you can listen to past talks about saints with a click of a link. Chris Hall has kindly, brilliantly set up a dedicated page on the HoCo website. Check it out here: https://www.hoco.org/saints.htm
Thank you Laura!
This Week's Birthdays
Happy Birthday to all those who have birthdays this week!
Rev. Frank Castellon, April 28
Melissa Irby May 1st
Connection Time - An Important Part Of Growing Our Community
Spending time together after church helps us know each other better, and meet newcomers, and help them to feel welcomed and included. We plan to have Connection Time every Sunday with or without food. To make it less complicated and easier to help, we have updated the Sign-up Genius
(https://bit.ly/hoco_connections) with these options and are asking that one person take one task on a Sunday:
- Drinks: making coffee, putting out a pitcher of water
- Putting snacks out that will be provided by Parish Life and will be in the kitchen
- Clean-up after Connections
Please consider signing up for one or more options.
If you have any questions, please contact Susan Boze, the vestry person for Parish Life. Thanks for taking part in this important ministry!
Welcome to the Church of the Holy Comforter (HoCo)! Here is Some General Information
Join us at church on Sundays at 10:00 am for a service of the Holy Eucharist. We often use prayers from Enriching our Worship, which offers expansive images of God. We live stream our Sunday morning service on FaceBook and post it to be seen at your convenience on FaceBook.
Parish office hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
If you have a pastoral emergency, at any time of day, call our Rector, Hilary (her number can be found in the parish directory ). Hilary's email is hbshococlergy@gmail.com. If you would like to schedule an appointment to talk with Hilary, or another member of our parish clergy, please email or call to schedule a time.
If you would like to make a financial offering, you may use online giving or US Mail. Thank you for supporting God's ministry to our local community and beyond through HoCo.
This Week's Worship Bulletin
Click on the image above to read this week's bulletin.
Metro Richmond at Prayer (Richmond Hill Cycle of Prayer)
We pray for the Spirit of the Resurrection in Metropolitan Richmond: For a spirit of justice, righteousness, equality, and mutual benefit.
Monday Night Adult Formation
On February 24 we begin a new program entitled Embracing the Prophets in Contemporary Culture, presented by Walter Bruggeman, a six-part study considering how we may "confront today's 'Pharaohs'". The Hebrew prophets can be our inspiration to speak truth to power in the present age. We meet via Zoom every Monday from 7:00-8:00 pm. You can find the Zoom link on the HoCo website. Any questions, please contact Maria Scott, ntrvrt1958@gmail.com.
Informal Artists of HoCo announces UFOs – Un Finished Objects
We'll meet in the Conference room from 10:30 - noon (ish) on Tuesdays to work on our own personal projects. Knitting, sketching, drawing, writing... good conversation and busy hands! All are welcome - bring a friend. Contact Kipley Herr if you have any questions.
HoCo Book Group - Next Meeting in May
The HoCo Book group will NOT meet in April, as our regular date, Tuesday, April 15th) falls in Holy Week. Our next regularly scheduled Book Group will be on Tuesday, May 20th, at 7:00pm via Zoom link provided separately closer to the date.
For our May 20th gathering, we will be reading A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan. A historical thriller, which was published in 2023 at 404 pages and won a number of awards, the book "tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920's, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them."
Here a brief summary:
"The Roaring Twenties-the Jazz Age-was also the height of the uniquely American hate group the Ku Klux Klan. They hate Blacks, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps t deny them the American promise. And behind their takeover of the Heartland and the Qwest was a charismatic charlatan named D. C. Stephenson.
Within two years of Stephenson's arrival in Indiana, he'd become the Grand Dragon of the state and led the group out of the shadows to be celebrated at local churches, family picnics, and town gatherings. Judges, prosecutors, governors, and senators proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of Stephenson's influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman-Madge Oberholtzer---whose deathbed testimony revealed his secret cruelties and finally brought the Klan to their knees."
Contact: Peggy Hombs
The Current Messenger
Click on the image above to see this season's issue.