• Contemplative service for All Saints

• Christmas Thanksgivings & Memorials

• Food Pantry Notes

• A Message from Hilary+

• Ellen Johnston Joins Hoco

• A Visit with the Congolese Refugee Family

• The HoCo kids doing a nature hike at Shrine Mont

• Parishioner safe in Haiti

• Men at the Movies off

• November HoCo Evening Book Club

• Stewardship behind the scenes

• Transgender advocacy speaker

• Angels of the Office

• The Back Page (birthdays, schedules, miscellany)

Blessing of the Animals

A full color (and much more attractive) version of the Messenger is available on our web site -

http://hoco.org/newsletter.htm

News of The Church of the Holy Comforterin the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

Richmond, November 2016

Photography and collage by George Collier

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 2

Contemplative service for All SaintsBy the Rev Dr Hilary Smith, Rector

November 6th at 5pm will be a quiet service of meditation, reflection, readings, and music. The experience finds its true meaning in the active participation of all assembled by focusing and deepening our faith through the power of prayer. Therefore, everyone is encouraged to participate as the Spirit moves them, whether that be in song, prayer, or quiet meditation. When we try to express communion with God in words, we rapidly reach the end of our capacities, which is why silence is so essential in discovering the heart

of prayer. Remaining in silence in God’s presence, open to the Spirit, is already prayer. Much of our modern personal need is for entertainment. We have “busy” souls. This liturgy is primarily for the worship of God, but it is also meant to quiet the soul. This quietness does not happen at once, but gradually during the worship. There is repetition in the words of the music, there are many periods of silence, and the readings are read slowly – all so that we may have a deep quiet grow in our hearts. Then we may be still and be at peace in the Presence of God.

Christmas Thanksgivings & Memorials

For those who wish to give poinsettias for the chancel and Advent-Christmas wreaths for the church doors, there is a form for that. The forms are on the table in the narthex at the back of the church. For the digitally inclined the form is on the website at hoco.org/forms.htm. The deadline December 11th. Contact Leslie Smith with any questions.

Food Pantry NotesBy Phoebe Winter

At the pantry volunteers’ meeting, we came up with a few notes that we want to share with the congregation:

• The Food Pantry will be expanding to fill the entire room it currently shares. If you would like to help plan the design, especially as it relates to the flow of people through the pantry, please let me know.• Be on the lookout for a call for help to clear, clean, and paint the pantry.• Spices are always welcome at the Food Pantry. While canned goods are safe to eat long past their expiration dates, they lose flavor as they age, and good spices can add flavor back in. Visitors can use mixed spices such as Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and Mrs. Dash, as well as basics such as garlic salt and onion powder.• Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming, and we try to have suitable and special food for our visitors, such as poultry gravy, stuffing mix, fruit, and a variety of vegetables. We have plenty of cranberry sauce.• Bags: If you bring in paper bags, please bring standard sized bags with handles. Visitors also use canvas or heavy-duty plastic bags, and we’re trying to increase our stock of reusable bags. If you have bags piling up, please bring them in.• If you have ideas for the Food Pantry, please let me or another volunteer know. • We receive food and advice from the Central Virginia Food Bank. For information about how the Central Virginia Food Bank works to distribute food along with facts about hunger in Virginia and tips for helping out, go to https://feedmore.org/food-bank.

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 3

A Message from Hilary+Dear Friends and Companions in

Ministry,

I’m writing to you following our parish retreat at Shrine Mont, which was wonderful!! Thanks to all who worked so hard to make it happen, and thanks to all who took a chance and attended for the first time. Having children and youth there was also great. I’m looking forward to next

year already, and hope that even more of you are able to attend. Deepening our relationships with each other through our parish retreat, and in other ways, deepens our relationship with God. We come to know God through each other, as every

person, created in God’s image, reflects aspects of God to us. As well, laughing and praying together is so life giving. We are a Spirit-filled group!

The month of November will offer a number of ways for us to come together as a community. We have many activities that occur every month, some more than once, such as our Food Pantry ministry. Check our calendar to see what interests you. I think you will be getting this newsletter on or right before Sunday November 6th. On All Saints’ Sunday, the 6th, we will have a great celebration during our 10am service, which will include baptisms, our pledge card in-gathering, and remembering all the saints of our lives. In the afternoon on the 6th, at 5:00pm Ellen Johnston will lead us in a lovely Contemplative Service for All Saints’. Join us for a day of connections to nurture our hearts.

On Wednesday November 9th, for our 12:15pm service, we will offer a special service of healing focused on the healing we desire for each other and our nation. The election will be over, but the healing will in many ways just be beginning. This time in our political life has been stressful and upsetting for many of us for a variety of

reasons. I’m planning a service that will invite us to be in God’s healing presence with others as we seek support for ourselves and to be people of reconciliation.

Later in the month, we will come together with friends from St. Mark’s for a Thanksgiving service, on Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday November 23rd, 7:00pm at St. Mark’s. On Sunday November 27th, we will celebrate the First Sunday of Advent; in the morning, following our service, we will have an Advent Fair; come and get the season started by making an Advent wreath. Advent is a short but powerful season of the Church year. In contrast the to hustle and bustle that often characterize the weeks before Christmas, we take time to prepare in a quiet, yet focused way. Join us for these weeks of Advent, which begin on November 27th.

I hope that you are doing well; wishing you everything good and God’s Peace,Hilary+

Ellen Johnston Joins Hoco

During our October meeting, the vestry voted to offer the position of Director of Music to Ellen Johnston.

As you know, Ellen has been with us since March as our Interim Director of Music. Ellen has been a great addition to our ministry; she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked as a Church musician for many years.

Photography - David Smith-Soto

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 4

A Visit with the Congolese Refugee Family

By Laura Hunt

When I arrive, Elie and the twins, Manzi and Twari, are home with Mama. Elie, who is 4, attends St Thomas Day School in the mornings. Now, he is in the backyard blowing bubbles while he waits for his brothers to return from school.

Half an hour later, the father, Rume (pronounced Roo-may), returns with the 4 elder boys – Vince, Fabrice, Kuzungu, and Intsinzi – from the school bus stop. Soon, the 6-year-old has enticed the 4-year-old into a wrestling match, both of them laughing as they roll on the floor. Then they include one of the babies. It is such a joy to watch them play. On my first visit,

they were all so obedient and well behaved, sitting quietly or helping with chores.

This is the family of nine from Kiziba Camp in Rwanda: the father, a Kinyarwanda-speaking carpenter, his wife and 7

sons, ages 15, 12, 10, 6, 4 and 10-month-old twins. The family is ethnic Tutsi and Christian (7th Day Adventist). The parents fled the Congo in 1996, and all the children were born as refugees in Rwanda. St. Thomas is sponsoring them with help from other Episcopal churches in Richmond, including Holy Comforter.

The children have learned many new ways to play since their arrival. They began with simple games taught them by St. Thomas’s parishioners: matchbox cars and Frisbee. Other pleasures followed as various items were donated: listening to music on the radio, watching the 5 channels their TV receives, riding bikes, watching “The Karate Kid” over and over on the DVD player.

At first, the parents were delighted to learn the basics: light switches, door knobs, hot and

cold running water, showers – all the things that were brand new to them. How to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, how to use the stove to cook eggs, how to make coffee, how to use butter and plastic wrap. Learning to put milk in the refrigerator, not in a cabinet, and to keep the refrigerator door closed.

Two months later, they are making shopping trips to WalMart, Food Lion, St Thomas’ Food Pantry, and Dollar General. The government provides a specified amount of money which the family may use for necessary supplies, but after six months, they are expected to be self-supporting.

Before the children began school, parishioners took turns helping them learn English. Cameron purchased a picture dictionary from which they learned nouns and simple sentences: “I like dogs, I want potatoes, I am hungry, I am sleepy, I am happy. ”

St Thomas parishioners provided letter flashcards and an ESL notebook with worksheets for a semester’s worth of different categories for beginners: animals, foods, feelings.

Now, the four elder children attend JEB Stewart Elementary School. They have gone on bike rides around their neighborhood and excursions to Brown’s Island and Belle Isle. They attended the Blessing of the Animals at St Thomas.

The family has an informal community support system. A woman and her children come by; they are also from Rwanda. The woman speaks English and explains things to the family. Mama disappears for a moment to change into the new shoes a St. Thomas parishioner took her to buy. A 19-year-old translator, who is still finishing high school, also gives freely of his time to help newcomers. His sister is 21 and has a high school

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 5

The family loves to receive visits, particularly from people with children who can join the Congolese children in play! You can contact Leslie Saul at St. Thomas by email or phone leslieruthsaul@gmail.com or 804-339-7270 to arrange a convenient time. Leslie has also set up facebook group for the Congolese Refugee Family at www.facebook.com/groups/1742299169370351/. You can request membership and follow the family’s adventures and volunteer any time you can fulfill a need.

Thanks to Lennie, Justin, Charles, Nan, Norman, Richard and Kathleen and many others for your donations. Thanks to Cameron for transporting all the gifts to the family’s home.

The information in this article is based on my visit to the family and also the visits of several parishioners at St. Thomas.

diploma and is enrolling in nursing courses. They have been here two years and are driving and supporting their parents. They are a hopeful example for the children who just arrived.

There have been many steps in their journey so far. Church World Services found a house for the family. They will pay the rent until the father is employed. A CWS case worker and a translator took the parents to apply for social security numbers, which they needed for their applications for Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps), and also for the immunizations required to register the children for school. Next, the parents registered for ESL classes offered at Highland Springs in Henrico County. They were tested in English and then assigned to classes, the mother to level 1. There are 6 levels and since father Rume speaks and reads some English, he is in a higher level class.

The HoCo kids doing a nature hike at Shrine Mont The theme of the weekend was “What’s in a Name”, and Ellen Hall had the kids finding

favorite objects in the woods, and then naming them. The children involved are Kyan and Brenley Doran, Savannah Vaughan, and Reid Hall. ~ Ellen Hall photos, Chris Hall caption

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 6

Parishioner safe in HaitiBy Bruce MacAlister

“Hello Friends and Family,

“I am so sorry that I have been out of contact this past week. Because of the hurricane, we have had no electricity. The attachment will explain.

“I am at a friend’s getting my computer charged.”

So began an e-mail note from parishioner Dawn Colapietro, a medical missionary in Haiti. She is not well known at Holy Comforter because, well she’s been in Haiti!

She sent a two page e-mail note on October 9th. Here are some excerpts.

“[W]e are in day 7 without electricity and 5 days post Hurricane Mathew. The food in the refrig is long gone, water in the house has to be brought in by buckets, ceiling fans have stopped turning, it is over 100 degrees in my bedroom, and the

computers and phones have all lost their charge. But we are well and our spirits are good. We all believe that no matter our small inconveniences, our worst day is still far better than most Haitians best day. And given the current consequences of the hurricane, our small problems pale in comparison to the millions of people in Haiti who have been gravely impacted by the force of Mathew.

“Our community’s home, which is 16 miles outside of Port-au-Prince, suffered little damage and only lost a number of fruit trees in the back yard. We were able to get food to the village in which we have our ministry by Wednesday afternoon though we had to walk part of the way through mud up to our calves. Jeremy, from the orphanage up in the mountains, called to say that though the town and house were flooded, the

children were safe. And, by Thursday, friends started dropping by the house to check in to see how we were doing and report that they too fared well during the hurricane.

“The reports from the other parts of the country are far less positive. Actually, the news is dire.

Port Solut, where we spent two days at the end of September, no longer is on the map; nearby towns we also visit with our friend Carmen, from Catholic Relief Services, are mostly underwater.• Jeremie, the city where Sr. Theresa first taught English

when she came to Haiti, is 80% destroyed.• Jacmel – Sr. Janet, who lives and works in Jacmel, was to return to Haiti from the States today but her flight was canceled. No matter, she could not have traveled to Jacmel anyway because the connecting bridge to the south of Haiti was washed away. • Fond Wa – last Sunday, the day the storm was supposed to hit, we were invited to spend the day with a community of Haitian sisters from Fond Wa who were celebrating the 5th anniversary of their convent and school being rebuilt following the earthquake. They lost everything again in the hurricane.

“That is the reality of Haiti. Their only hope for relief is from the outside like NGOs and all the various religious organizations. I know I can’t do much to change the circumstances that overwhelm this county but I try every day to meet the needs of the person God puts in front of me. And, for today, that is good enough.”

Men at the Movies offBy Steve Van Voorhees

Men at the Movies has decided to take November (11/22) and December (12/27) off—due to holidays. Men at the Movies will resume on 4th Tuesdays, beginning Tuesday, January 24th. Contact me with any questions.

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 7

November HoCo Evening Book Club

By Megan Graber

The HoCo Evening Book Club meets Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30 pm in Parlor at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church Parish House to discuss A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2013).

NPR: “Step aside Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — a grumpy old man may soon be taking your place as America’s favorite fictional Swede. Ove — that’s pronounced Ooo-vah — is the lovable curmudgeon at the center of A Man Called Ove. The film, which opens in the U.S. on Friday, is based on a Swedish best-selling novel.” You can read the entire review at www.npr.org/2016/09/30/495976398/a-swedish-curmudgeon-wins-hearts-on-the-page-and-now-on-screen.

Stewardship behind the scenes

Not so visible is the preparation that goes into it. The footsteps down the center aisle

of the church that visualize the ‘Walk in Love’ theme is the inspiration and work of Carol Gibbs. George Collier for creating the letterhead with the theme and the HoCo ‘watermark’. George, Helen Reese and Bruce MacAlister worked to bring the mail merge system into the 21st century.Reported by Peggy Hombs

Transgender advocacy speaker

On Sunday November 13th, through Equality for Virginia’s Transgender Advocacy Speakers’ Bureau, transgender advocates will facilitate a conversation about their own life stories, while providing a forum for participants to engage in a question-and-answer dialogue. “One story at a time, we are helping to build understanding and support for Virginia’s transgender community.” Join us following the 10am service at about 11:30am for this Sunday Forum. Reported by Hilary Smith

Angels of the OfficeThese smiling faces are some of the

volunteers keeping the office up and running Monday thru Thursday. Missing from the photo are Phoebe Winter, Angie Palmer and Nancy Deane. We appreciate their gifts of time in keeping the office running smoothly.

Thanks everyone.

Photo by George Collier

Photo by Hilary Smith

News of the Church of the Holy Comforter - Richmond, Virginia - 8

Church of the Holy Comforter, Richmonda parish in the Diocese of Virginia under the Episcopal Church in the USA

which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion

Monument Avenue at Staples Mill Roadweb - www.hoco.org; e-mail - office@hoco.org;

phone 804-355-3251; fax 804-355-0049

Holy Comforter is a Christian community,engaging diversity, empowering through worship, and embracing the spiritual journey,

in our church and in our community and in the world,that all may be made whole and fully alive.

• Sundays, 8:45am, Adult Formation, Hayward Parlor • Sundays, Choral Eucharist, 10am• Sundays, about 10:15am, Children’s Chapel, starts in the Church, moves to Parish House Children’s Chapel

Food Pantry Hours:• First and third Saturdays, 11:00am to noon • First and third Tuesdays, 5:30 to 6:30pm

Veterans Shelter Dinner

• Fourth Thursdays, 5pm for prep, 6pm carpool

to the shelter

Editing of the Messenger is done by Bruce MacAlister, the layout by George Collier.

The next Messenger will be available Sunday, December 4th, 2016.The deadline for that edition is Friday, Nomember 25th, 2016 (but earlier submission is encouraged).

Please send your submissions to editor@hoco.orgA full color (and much more attractive)

version of the Messenger is available on our web site - www.hoco.org

Our current calendar is available on the web site - http://www.hoco.org/calendar.htm

Coming Events at the Church of the Holy ComforterSee the inserted calendar page for detailed calendar and rota

Hoco Birthdays for the month of November:Ian Hurdle, 1; Edna Johnston, 1; Jay Stearns, 2; Katherine Raymond, 4;

John Richardson, 4; William Smith, 8; Robin Kranitzky-Hurdle, 10; George Collier, 22; Judith Harris, 23; Kimberly McCarthy, 26; Dorothy Chiddo, 28; Stuart Geipel, 28;

Siyano Prach, 29