Holy Comforter E-Messenger for Sunday,
May 18, 2025
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James River Singers - May 16
On Friday, May 16th, James River Singers will be performing Johannes Brahms's Zigeunerlieder along with other works by Gerald Finzi, George Shearing, Moses Hogan, and others. This is a joyful and fun concert and we hope you will make plans to join us. You can purchase tickets at the door or using Eventbrite.
Tickets are: $20 Regular, $15 Senior (55+), $10 Students
Friday, May 16th, Church of the Holy Comforter: click here.
Saturday, May 17th, All Saints Episcopal Church: click here .
Gender Affirming Service - June 7
Training on HoCo Immigration Policy - May 25 and June22
Training sessions on the Holy Comforter Immigration Policy will be presented by Bishop Susan Goff and Frank Castellon on May 25 and June 22 after the Sunday service in the Parish Hall. Earlier this year, an Immigration Committee formulated an Immigration Policy for HOCO which was subsequently approved by the Vestry. These presentations are based on that policy and will focus on what the congregation should do if Immigration authorities (ICE, etc) come onto the HOCO properties. Hopefully this will never happen but if it does the Bishop and Frank will discuss what our obligations are both lawfully and spiritually to protect both our guests and ourselves.
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.
HoCo Book Group - May 20
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
Email Prayer Request Coverage
During our interim period Email Prayer Requests will continue to be sent. The church office, which is managed by Katie, will send requests Monday-Thursday during work hours. Volunteers will pick up coverage from Thursday afternoon through Sunday night.
If you have a prayer request during the week, call the church office at 804-355-3251 or send an email to office@hoco.org.
If you have a prayer request between Thursday and Sunday, please contact these volunteers (whose contact information is in the parish directory).
May 1-4 Kipley Herr
May 8-11 Jenni Brockman
May 15-18 Julie Edwards
May 22-25 Jenni Brockman
May 29-June 1 Julie Edwards
If you would like to be added to the list of those who receive the email prayer requests, please contact Chris Hall, whose contact information is also in the parish directory .
Pastoral Emergencies During our In-Between Times
If you have a pastoral emergency, at any time of day, call Bishop Susan Goff (her number can be found in the parish directory). Susan's email is segwaze@gmail.com.
HoCo Rocks!
We all know that HoCo Rocks, but this Summer we're showing it! As a Summer art project, the kids will be painting rocks each week. Sometimes the theme will follow the gospel reading. Sometimes it will be things like Earth/creation, love, peace, hope etc. We will collect rocks all Summer long, and at the end of the season carry them outside to bless them and decorate the yard. Please join us in this fun endeavor!! You can paint rocks any Sunday with the kids. You can paint rocks in the chapel any time, as we will leave it set up. You can paint rocks at home and bring them in to share. Let's show the world how much we ROCK!
Important Parking Information
Church Parking on Staples Mill Rd is "diagonal back-in" parking. A City of Richmond parking representative was present last Sunday to enforce this regulation. Parishioners have noted that these spaces are very narrow. We are making an effort to have them widened. Also note that the two non-diagonal "spaces" are not for parking but for access to the sidewalk; please do not park in those areas. Parallel parking spots on Monument Ave. and Monumental St. are also available.
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: Alcuin of York
Click on the image of Alcuin teaching young scholars-or the photo I took of the reliquary bust of Charlemagne's skull in Aachen-to hear about the great teacher of the Carolingian Renaissance.
This Week's Birthdays
Happy Birthday to all who have birthdays this week!
 | Dustin Dyer, 17th Rev Tom Holliday, 17th Byron Hensley, 20th Betty Vineyard, 20th Martha Kelly, 23rd |
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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 need, and would like to schedule an appointment to speak with a member of our parish clergy, please contact our parish administrator, Katie, at office@hoco.org.
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.
Wednesday Worship At Church
The Wednesday Service is continuing. On May 20 we will celebrate the Venerable Bede. Please join us for Centering Prayer at 11:45 am and for Eucharist at 12:15 pm. Bishop Susan Goff will preside,
Metro Richmond at Prayer (Richmond Hill Cycle of Prayer)
We pray for health care in Metropolitan Richmond: For emergency response personnel and all emergency room staff. For hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice programs. For persons diagnosed with chronic illness.
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.
The Current Messenger
Click on the image above to see this season's issue.