- The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts 1784-1984: A Mission to Remember, Proclaim, and Fulfill by Mark J. Duffy, Director of the Archives of the Episcopal Church, was published by our diocese with references to our missions. Bard R. Hamlen wrote its chapter on Emmanuel (pp. 162-6).
- June. Carolyn Roosevelt joined the Parish Choir, directed by Andy Castiglione, and has been its faithful soprano ever since.
Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson
1983
December 11. The Rev. Al Kershaw officiated in Lindsey Chapel at our first same-sex wedding. Richard Bentley and Grahame Smith were joined in holy matrimony. Byrd Swift was subdeacon and Andrew Castiglione played organ.
1979
Working with Rector Al Kershaw, Oliver Colburn became senior warden, and Prudence King, junior warden. Barbara DeVries, who was to eventually become senior warden and treasurer, began her first vestry term.
1978
- 21 April. Gov. Michael Dukakis proclaimed it to be Johann Sebastian Bach Day in the Commonwealth as “the orchestra and chorus of Emmanuel Church in the City of Boston…after seven years [had] completed for the first time in the USA the cycle of [his]194 sacred cantatas”.
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Constance visited us in Oct. 2017
Constance Hammond was elected our first woman (junior) warden. After ordination in our diocese, she served as rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish, Portland OR (1990-98) and then as rector and priest in other churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon Since 1998, she has been a practitioner and instructor in the Healing Touch Program. See also: 1986.
1977
January 8. Pauli Murray was ordained a priest at the Washington National Cathedral by the Rt. Rev. William F. Creighton, bishop of the (Episcopal) Diocese of Washington. She was the first African American woman, and one of the first women, to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church.
February 13. At the invitation of the rector of The Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill NC, the Rev. James Peter Lee, The Rev. Dr. Murray celebrated her first Eucharist. She read from her grandmother Cornelia Smith‘s Bible, from a lectern that had been given in memory of the woman who had owned Cornelia, Mary Ruffin Smith. This was the first time a woman celebrated the Eucharist at an Episcopal church in North Carolina. In her autobiography (1987), p. 435) Pauli described her thoughts about the service, which our Parish Historian Mary Chitty attended:
Whatever future ministry I might have as a priest, it was given to me that day to be a symbol of healing. All the strands of my life had come together. Descendant of slave and of slave owner, I had already been called poet, lawyer, teacher, and friend. Now I was empowered to minister the sacrament of One in whom there is no north or south, no black or white, no male or female – only the spirit of love and reconciliation drawing us all toward the goal of human wholeness.
See also:
- The Episcopal Archives’ Leadership Gallery features video coverage of Murray offering the Eucharist in her grandmother’s church, which was later published in 1985 by the television series “On the Road”.
- Pauli Murray
- Timeline entries: 1951, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1985, 1987, 2012 & 2015.
1976
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27 Jan. Craig Smith & Edward Simone conducted a free concert in celebration of Mozart’s 220th birthday. With standing-room only in our sanctuary, soprano Jane Bryden brought the house down with Popoli di Tasaglia (K.318), which Globe correspondent Richard Buell deemed “flabbergasting [and] insouciant”. They celebrated Mozart’s birthday with a concert for years to come. Lenny Matczynski, who later became its executive director, joined the orchestra of Emmanuel Music.
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Pauli Murray received a Master of Divinity degree from General Theological Seminary. She was then ordained a deacon in The Episcopal Church by The Rt. Rev. Morris F. Arnold, Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts.
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The Episcopal Church, at its General Convention in Minneapolis, voted to ordain women as priests, beginning January 1, 1977.
A Bold and Generous Return
Proper 23C, October 13, 2013; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
2 Timothy 2:8-15 The word of God is not chained.
Luke 17:11-19 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”
2 Timothy 2:8-15 The word of God is not chained.
Luke 17:11-19 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”
O God of sacred story, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
This sermon is going to include a list-making exercise. So you might want to have a pen or pencil ready – or your notes page on your smart phone will do also. If we were a parish that had a sign with this week’s sermon title listed out front, I’d call this sermon, “In Defense of the Other Nine.” Ten lepers yelled out to Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. He didn’t say “okay, I do have mercy.” He didn’t say “great is your faith.” He didn’t say, “not my job,” but he also didn’t touch them – there’s nothing to suggest that he even got near them. They kept their distance, the story says. They shouted out asking for mercy. He said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests,” he says. “Go on.” Continue reading
Founding of This Blog
While our rector Pamela Werntz traveled on her 2013 sabbatical, we also had opportunities to explore Spirituality and the Arts at Emmanuel (thanks to the generosity of the Lilly Foundation). A collaboration with Lesley University’s Expressive Arts Therapy program seemed like a perfect means of enriching the church’s mission for using the arts as vehicle for healing and spiritual growth. On April 7, 2013, faculty from Lesley joined us for the service and offered a stimulating presentation about their program and ideas for working with Emmanuel.
In order to build upon this exciting beginning, a group of Lesley University faculty met with representatives from Emmanuel to discuss our future collaborations. Between these two meetings, the bombings at The Boston Marathon resulted in feelings of pain, loss, fear, and anger. The group decided its first event should involve the healing power of creativity in addressing these wounds, so we called it “When Words Are Not Enough.” When Our first intern arrived that Fall, we chose the name to Musings from the Margins for a blog to record their thoughts about their experiences at Emmanuel.
The Rev. Susan Ackley, our Sabbatical Priest/Artist-in-Residence, and participants in “Words Are Not Enough” carry prayer flags down Newbury Street to the Boston Marathon bombing memorial site in Copley Square.
Tuning
Proper 22C, October 6, 2013; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Lamentations 1:1-6 Her priests groan, her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter….nobody goes to church any more.
2 Timothy 1:1-11 I am reminded of …a faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice…rekindle the gift of God that is within you.
Luke 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
O God of all, grant us the strength, the wisdom, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may and cost what it will.
I have some show and tell for you today. While my helpers are passing out mustard seeds, I want to say something about the cantata placement today. This cantata was written to bracket the sermon. So we are offering it today as Bach intended. Thanks to everyone who made the complicated logistics work. I love that phrase “as Bach intended.” It’s not completely as Bach intended though – because Bach also intended that the pitch be higher, the lights be dimmer, the preacher to be a man and for the sermon to last for at least 45 minutes (which sounds like some good nap time)! I don’t think you’re going to have time for a nap this morning. Continue reading
Experience the thrill!
Proper 20C, September 22, 2013; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 The summer is ended and we are not saved.
1 Timothy 2:1-7 First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.
Luke 16:1-13 I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
1 Timothy 2:1-7 First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone.
Luke 16:1-13 I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
O God of love, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.
Welcome to this grand sanctuary, this haven of beauty. Welcome to this magnificent community, whose mission is to welcome you, no matter how long you’ve been here, and wherever you are on your spiritual journey, even and especially if you are not in such a good place on your spiritual journey! Welcome to a gathering of people that will love you just the way you are and will love you too much to let you stay that way! Welcome to church in the Back Bay, which often turns out to be very hard to get to, in bad weather and in good weather! Welcome to a worship service in which the readings are usually challenging and sometimes confounding, the prayers of the people are often disturbing, and the music is reliably sublime! Welcome to a church long on questions and short on answers, and yet, a church where one beggar can always show another beggar where to get some bread. Continue reading