Tuesday, May 26, 2026
The Chapel St. Chronicle
Welcome to the Chapel Street Chronicle, your weekly St. John’s digest.
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Sermon Series
Sunday Sermon
The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld
This past Sunday, the Day of Pentecost, we were honored to welcome The Rt. Rev. A. Robert Hirschfeld as the eighth and final preacher in our guest preacher series VOICES OF FAITH: Seeing God’s Future, Living God’s Hope. This visitation was especially meaningful, as it will be Bishop Rob’s final official visitation with St. John’s before his retirement. As we conclude the Voices of Faith series, we have invited him to speak into this moment in the Church and the world, and into this season of discernment in the life of our parish.
MUSIC
“The Old Church,” Stephen Paulus; featuring the St. John's Parish Choir, under the direction of Olin Johannessen, Associate Director of Music. Featured Communion Anthem at the 10:00AM Rite II Service of Holy Eucharist on Sunday, May 24, 2026.
An annual tradition on the Day of Pentecost, our final Sunday of Parish Choir each program year, we sing this beautiful piece.
SUMMER WORSHIP SCHEDULE STARTS MAY 31
At St. John’s, we worship together year-round. Like many churches, however, much of our formation, music, and parish programming follows a September through May program year. During the summer months, our pace shifts a bit as we settle into the rhythms of the Seacoast summer season.
Beginning Sunday, May 31, our summer worship schedule will begin:
· 8:00 AM. Holy Eucharist, Rite I (spoken service, livestreamed)
· 9:30 AM Holy Eucharist, Rite II with music (in-person only)
Our 9:30 AM Rite II service will remain in the sanctuary at St. John’s through Sunday, June 28.
Beginning Sunday, July 5, and continuing through Labor Day weekend, September 6, weather permitting, our 9:30 AM service will move outdoors to the beautiful Goodwin Mansion Gardens at Strawbery Banke Museum. The Goodwin Mansion faces Hancock St. between Washington and Marcy Streets.
Outdoor summer worship at Strawbery Banke has become a beloved tradition at St. John’s. Gathering outdoors in prayer, music, and community is a joyful part of summer life in our parish, and we are always glad to welcome visitors, newcomers, and friends.
Things to Know About Worshipping at Strawbery Banke
Summer worship is relaxed, family friendly, and accessible for all ages.
Enter through the main gates, where St. John’s staff and volunteers will be present each week to welcome and assist you.
Bring a chair or blanket to sit on. If you have extra chairs, consider bringing one for a guest or visitor.
The Strawbery Banke parking lot is reserved for those with accessibility needs and handicap placards. Street parking, walking from the church, or carpooling is encouraged.
In the event of inclement weather, we will notify the congregation by 8:00 a.m. via email, and the service will be moved to the St. John’s sanctuary
We worship in the midst of a living history museum that remains open to the public during our service. Our presence there is both a witness to our faith and an invitation to the wider community.
Whether you are a longtime parishioner, spending the summer on the Seacoast, or visiting St. John’s for the first time, we hope you will join us this summer.
Thank you!
With the end of our normal program year, we wish to thank all our volunteers who help us make Sundays a success - between the choir, tech team, Sunday school teachers, coffee hour, the ushering team and the altar guild (and many more hands) we wouldn't be us without you. Thank you!
CONCERTS ON THE HILL
Through poetry, spoken word, song, and movement, VOICES 21C presents WALLS COME TUMBLIN' DOWN, a powerful program centered on sanctuary.
Working across artistic forms, the ensemble shares stories forged in conditions of threat and care, safety and exile, drawing on lived experiences shaped by surveillance, displacement, and confinement. Grounded in the urgency of the present moment, WALLS COME TUMBLIN' DOWN engages themes of immigration enforcement, freedom in many forms, and the realities faced by incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.
At its heart, this concert is an invitation to bear witness to the lived experiences of others, especially those who are marginalized, displaced, or unseen, and to share space with one another as we grapple with what it means to live faithfully and humanely in these times.
Some material is candid, emotionally intense, and engages directly with political realities. We share this in advance so audiences have a clear sense of the nature of the program and no one feels caught off guard.
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