A Joyous Advent 

          Advent is a time for preparation. As the word suggests, we are getting ready for the advent or coming or arrival of the Lord. We can talk about Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus or we can talk about that moment when Christ returns. Advent as a season covers a veritable cacophony of conflicting hopes and ideas in one four-Sunday period. What holds them together is this idea of getting our home in order. To be clear, preparation for Advent is not decorating our house, buying presents, or cooking the roast beast. It is about celebrating what is truly important in our lives and re-ordering things to make sure that the ideals and hopes and priorities we value get the resources and respect that they are due.

            This Sunday we are going to do things the right way. We will be celebrating the extraordinary ministry of the Rev. John Porter. Yes, he has been at the church and school for some 40 years. He has been ordained for 56 years as a priest. Those are both impressive milestones. What we will truly be celebrating is the gregarious, loving, faithful, stalwart raconteur that is John Porter.  I know lots of folks who pass milestones of service with dutiful drudgery. John’s impish and infectious delight in preaching and teaching after 56 years is the miracle that we celebrate in our midst. To make sure that we mark such an occasion appropriately, we made sure that Paul Mealor, composer to Queen Elizabeth II, was on hand to compose a work for the church. Only a royal fete would be appropriate to ensure that our ideals and hopes and priorities get the resources and respect that they are due. Just don’t tell John that we are celebrating him like a king - he would be insufferable.

            Advent is a time for preparation and celebration. We will delight in learning more from Paul Mealor about the creative process of turning a cacophony of different ideas like composing and poetry and worship and faith into the melodious and sublime. Dr. Mealor will be featured during the Forum from 9:00-10:00 AM in Inglett Hall. Come and meet the composer to the Queen. Then, we will celebrate the Rev. John Porter. We will have time after the service to visit and eat cookies and rejoice at the gifts God has shared with us through John. And, if you listen closely to the words, the prayers, the music, and the celebration, you will see that what we value is God’s presence among us. You will see and likely feel that Jesus’ advent is a constant, weekly process experienced through friends, through family, through ministry, through music, through prayers, and, yes, through the people gathered together at Holy Innocents’ in God’s name.

The Rev. Dr. Bill Murray
Rector

P.S. It was nice to celebrate my birthday with the folks at Mt. Vernon Towers. Thanks for all the happy greetings!

Also, some of you may have gotten another spam email supposedly from me asking for assistance. My email address is only bmurray@holyinnocents.org. 
 

Fond Farewell

We bid a heartfelt farewell to Dr. Hannah Byun who is leaving us sooner than expected. Her mother in South Korea has been diagnosed with dementia and Hannah will be leaving her degree program at Georgia State and Holy Innocents early to care for her. Thank you for all you have done for the music ministry in our parish Dr. Hannah. You will be sorely missed. Traveling mercies. Please join us on Sunday after the 10:15 am service as we give thanks for her ministry among us.
           Sean Vogt, Director of Music

Other Notes

• DONATE... If you would like to donate toward our Christmas Flowers in the church in honor or in memory of someone, please make a check to the church with the information provided or give online here.
• WAIT... Stay tuned for a NEW WEBSITE to debut before Christmas. We are VERY excited and grateful for your patience.
• LIKE... It really does make a difference when you follow our Facebook and Intstagram accounts. This is the easiest possible evangelism method to share what's going on here at HI and spread the love of God.
• FIND... We have a HI-lights Archive here where you can refer back to earlier versions of this weekly newsletter. If you did not get the November/December Good News in the mail, please email us. The mailing can still be found here.
• Register... Ruth is leading an Advent Retreat here at the church on December 14 & 15. We had the dates incorrect in earlier publications. Scroll down for more. Registration for the Annual Parish Retreat at Amicalola Falls is also open now. Please save the dates of February 10-12 and sign up here now.

Stewardship Update

We are so thankful for the pledges and donations that we have recently received. You have generously pledged over $1,783,600 to pay off our capital debt. 

The interest rate on the loan has increased to 5.88% from 2.35% in April, so principal payments make a big difference. As for our 2023 operating budget, we have over $1,030,000!