Tuesday, February 18, 2025
The Chapel St. Chronicle
Welcome to the Chapel Street Chronicle, your weekly St. John’s digest.
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Sermon Series
"Blessings and Woes: The Illusion of the Climb"
The Rev. Aaron Jenkyn
We live in a world that tells us to keep climbing — pursuing success, wealth, and admiration as if they will finally make us whole. But what if the real path to life isn’t about striving upward, but about letting go? What if true transformation comes not through grasping for more, but by daring to trust in something beyond what we can see? In this week's sermon, Aaron shares the story of "Hope for the Flowers," by Trina Paulus, and invites us to step off the "caterpillar pillar" to find the Kingdom of God.
Go and Do!
BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL OF NH PRESENTS: 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks
The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire presents the 2025 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk Series. This year's series explores how African philosophies of war, resilience, and collective action have shaped African American history and survival. As an Episcopal community committed to truth-telling, reconciliation, and justice, we share this opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations about our nation’s history ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This coming Sunday marks the fourth and final in this winter's series. There are more planned in September.
Sunday, February 23 at 2:00pm: Eyes on the Prize: Protests, Movements, and the Road Ahead
This panel will explore African American protest movements, past and present, focusing on nonviolence and self-determination. Panelists will discuss the current state of these movements, highlighting African American spiritual resilience, the strength of unity, and the enduring importance of community.
Participation is both in-person and online, and more information and registration links for both can be found here,
RECAP: Rainbow Fish The Musical!
We had two lively and beautiful performances of The Rainbow Fish this past weekend, and by shifting our schedule up a day, we thankfully missed the snow! Catch the Friday show here, and the Saturday show here.
Let's give it up for these amazing kids, and their fantastic Directors, Ashley Wade and Jennifer Mulhern, with assistance from Maggie O'Neill! To make a donation to our Youth Music program, click here, and select "Music," and write "Youth Music" in the memo line.
BEYOND THE MUSIC
If you watched the Super Bowl last Sunday evening, you may have caught New Orleans native Ledisi, and her performance of "Lift Every Voice And Sing," a hymn which also bears the title of the "Black National Anthem." But what else do you know about this beautiful, powerful, and important piece of music?
Click the image above and come on a journey with us to learn more. Or click here to read more from the NAACP. Go beyond the music.
Some unique and notable performances to enjoy:
Cory Henry: famed keyboardist, performing his rendition on the Harpejji, a unique instrument drawing inspiration from the guitar, harp, and keyboard.
Boston Children's Chorus: this incredible organization, right down the road from us, performing the piece during their annual Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr. Tribute Concert.
Howard University Gospel Choir: some of you may have had the pleasure as several of us did to hear this group perform the piece at the Black Heritage Trail of NH's Juneteenth Celebration Concert a few years back. It was so moving! And good news! They will be back as part of this year's celebrations as well!
NEWS From AROUND TOWN AND OUR REGION
The Rev. Arthur Browne, first Anglican minister of Queen’s Chapel, which is now St. John’s.
Did you happen to catch the article from Seacoast Online this past Friday entitled "Reverend, a slave, and the Black Heritage Trail of NH?" For those of you St. John's history buffs, the name Arthur Browne will ring instantaneously as the first Anglican minister of what was then Queen's Chapel, which of course became St. John's some years later.
This fascinating article by Tom Hardiman is certainly worth the read, and has several of us in the office today reflecting on this part of our church's history, and the painful and complicated, yet beautiful way in which St. John's is inextricably linked to the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, thanks to "[...] an act of grace and courage by a modern lawyer, Jack McGee."
Click the image of Rev. Browne above to read the article.
NOTE: At time of publishing this, the article is not behind a paywall and should be accessible by anyone, regardless of subscription.
LGBTQ SURVEY
Do you live in NH and identify as LGBTQ? Click the image above to take this survey, brought to you by ACLU NH and NH OUTRIGHT.
FROM THE DESK OF OLIN JOHANNESSEN
REGARDING THE PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE'S CHILDREN
Last week you heard about, NH House Bill 283, proposed by Representative Dan McGuire of Merrimack County - District 14, was brought before committee for public comment and discussion.
Today I am bringing to your attention NH House Bill 115-FN, which aims to eliminate the income requirement for eligibility for the education freedom acounts, or school vouchers. This would mean that a family of any financial means would be granted the ability to receive money for their child to attend a private or religious school. Currently this program stipulates that an elegibile student is "a resident of this state who is eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school [and whose annual household income at the time the student applies for the program is less than or equal to 350 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as updated annually in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under 42 U.S.C. section 9902(2)."
If a family wishes for their child to attend a private or religious school, I do not believe it should be at the expense of our public school students. It is the obligation, and should be the pride of any society to provide its children with an exceptional education.
I hope you will take the time to read more here.
Resources to learn more about NH Educational funding and policy:
NHPR's "Adequate: How a State Decides the Value of Public Education"
What are you reading? Listening to? Thinking about? Do you have any great recommendations that you're eager to share? Let Aaron know!