Tuesday, June 10, 2025
The Chapel St. Chronicle
Welcome to the Chapel Street Chronicle, your weekly St. John’s digest.
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Sermon Series
"Let's Dance!"
The Rev. Robert E. Stevens, Jr.
The celebration of Pentecost reminds us that following God is not a spectator sport. We are invited to participate, to join the dance. It is the birthday of the Church.
MUSIC
“Glory to God,” Undine Smith Moore; featuring the St. John's Parish Choir, under the direction of Jennifer McPherson Mulhern, Director of Music.
Featured Offertory Anthem at the Pentecost 10:00am Rite II Service of Holy Eucharist on Sunday, June 8, 2025.
GO AND DO!
BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL OF NH PRESENTS
A Reckoning: Reclaiming the Past, Remembering Black Voices, Reshaping the Future
June 10-15, & 19
The celebration continues throughout this week, and on June 19, and includes a movie screening and discussion, history tours, a gospel choir concert, a panel discussion, and celebrations, including a freedom dinner and an African drumming ceremony.
In challenging times, it can be difficult to have productive conversations about the past and its significance for the future. This is especially true when historical facts about America’s past, such as those about our early presidents, do not reconcile with the sanitized versions we are taught.
American history often portrays the “Founding Fathers” as paragons of virtue while omitting the realities of slavery, exploitation, racial inequality, and profiteering woven into the nation's foundation. When historical figures held in high regard are revealed to have enslaved and fathered Black children, it forces a deeper reckoning with how racism shaped American institutions. It makes slavery and its legacy personal rather than abstract.
This Juneteenth, we weave together three powerful narratives—stories that disrupt the illusion of separate racial histories and identities in America. Through the voices of descendants, cutting-edge technology, and Ona Marie Judge Staines's courageous journey, we underscore that Black and white histories have always been intertwined, making it harder to uphold a rigid "us vs. them" mindset.
Knowing these truths forces us to confront the gap between America’s ideals and history. This Juneteenth, we reclaim, we remember, and we resist erasure.
Learn all about this year's Juneteenth Celebration including the history of this holiday and this year's schedule of events by clicking here!
FROM THE DESK OF ANNE WILLIAMSON
I offer to you a poem read last Friday evening at the Wear Orange event. This poem was written by Amanda Gorman in response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX in May of 2022.
Everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed and strange,
Minds made muddied and mute.
We carry tragedy, terrifying and true.
And yet none of it is new;
We knew it as home,
As horror,
As heritage.
Even our children
Cannot be children,
Cannot be.
Everything hurts.
It’s a hard time to be alive,
And even harder to stay that way.
We’re burdened to live out these days,
While at the same time, blessed to outlive them.
This alarm is how we know
We must be altered —
That we must differ or die,
That we must triumph or try.
Thus while hate cannot be terminated,
It can be transformed
Into a love that lets us live.
May we not just grieve, but give:
May we not just ache, but act;
May our signed right to bear arms
Never blind our sight from shared harm;
May we choose our children over chaos.
May another innocent never be lost.
Maybe everything hurts,
Our hearts shadowed & strange.
But only when everything hurts
May everything change.
Ms. Amanda Gorman is a poet and the author of “The Hill We Climb,” “Call Us What We Carry” and “Change Sings.”
What are you reading? Listening to? Thinking about? Do you have any great recommendations that you're eager to share? Let Aaron know!