Saturday Church
5:00 p.m. (Chapel)
Join us for a service of Holy Eucharist. The service includes readings, prayers, sermon, and communion.
Sunday Church
9:30 a.m. (Sanctuary)
10:00 a.m. (Sanctuary)
Join us for a service of Holy Eucharist. The service includes hymns, readings, prayers, sermon, and communion. This service is also livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook. Recorded services and service bulletins are available HERE.
11:15 a.m. (Chapel)
Youth-Led Service
Sunday, March 16 at 1-:00 a.m.
Come and support our youth at the 10:00 a.m. service on March 16 when they serve as worship service leaders, select and perform music, and deliver the Sermon. Younger members of our congregation will serve as greeters and ushers. Our Study of the Holy Eucharist class will be recognized during the service and afterwards with a reception in the Narthex.
Centering Prayer
Mondays at 1:30 p.m. on Zoom
Please join us for Centering Prayer, a means of Christian meditation that uses a single word for us to rest our attention while we come before the presence of God. This will include a brief check-in, an opening prayer, brief instruction, 20 minutes of silence and then a brief closing prayer.
Lent at Holy Comforter
Lenten Compline and Conversation
Tuesday Evenings; Mar. 11, 18, 25; Apr. 1 and 8; 8 p.m.; Zoom
We look forward to seeing you and closing our day with you in worship.
Lenten Book Study
“Forgiveness is nothing less than the way we heal the world.” (Desmond Tutu)
Lent is a time of reflection and penitence in preparation for Easter. This year our theme at Holy Comforter is Forgiveness: pardoning or ceasing to feel resentment toward someone who has harmed or offended us. Most of us find this very hard to do! And yet, Jesus calls us to forgive not once, but seventy times seven. In The Book of Forgiving, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu offer a fourfold path for healing through forgiveness.
On four Sundays in Lent, clergy will lead a discussion on this book during the Sunday Forum hour from 11:15 to noon in the Community Hall.
March 16: Introduction and Chapters 1–3
March 23: Chapters 4–5
March 30: Chapters 6–7
April 6: Chapters 8–10
Family Lenten Resources and Opportunities
During Lent, we relive our Christian journey and are reminded of God’s boundless love for us. We are encouraged to pray, reflect, and work towards ways to live into our baptismal covenant to seek and serve God in all people and love our neighbors as ourselves. At Holy Comforter we offer a variety of ways for families to live into this season. Please pick up one of our Lenten prayer calendars at the Family Ministries table in the Narthex beginning Sunday, March 2, and learn of other opportunities to learn and serve. Wishing all a holy Lent.
Holy Week and Easter at Holy Comforter reenacts a powerful story of change—a story that continues to change the world, and to change people’s lives.
We hope you can join us for any or all Holy Week and Easter offerings—Palm Saturday through Easter Sunday (April 12 through 20).
All indoor worship services will be livestreamed on YouTube. Recorded services can be found on this website HERE.
Got Kids?
Sunday School happens Sundays, 11:10 a.m. to Noon.
Pre-K–6th Grade Learn more.
7th–12th Grade Learn more.
Learn more about our Children’s Ministries HERE. Learn more about our Youth Ministries HERE.
Flower Donations for the Sanctuary and Chapel
We welcome the gift of flowers at the Sanctuary altar for weekly services. The cost is $50, tax deductible, as a gift to the church. After services, the flowers are delivered to home-bound parishioners. Download and fill out the form HERE. Submit to the Church Office two weeks prior to your requested date, along with your check. You may also drop your envelope in the offering plate. Questions? Please contact Lolly Mixter.
1st Saturday Social
First Saturday of the Month, following the 5:00 p.m. Service
The 1st Saturday Social is a casual way to get to know fellow parishioners after the 5 p.m. service. It is held on the first Saturday of each month and features both wine and non-alcoholic beverages as well as several different cheeses and crackers to nibble on. It’s a wonderful way to find out more about the church and also the lives of fellow parishioners, and is also a way for people to make a connection with the church outside of the traditional Sunday services and activities. All are welcome.
Sunday Education & Fellowship:
Sunday School for Pre-K through 12th Grade takes place from 11:10 a.m. to Noon.
Sunday Bible Study: Feasting on the Word
Sunday Forums following the 10:00 a.m. service
Sunday Forums address a wide variety of subjects—all intended to deepen our relationships with one another and with God.
Every Sunday at 11:15 a.m. in the Community Hall
Coffee and Fellowship Hour following the 10:00 a.m. service
Join us in the church Narthex for coffee and conversation. All are welcome for an informal fellowship hour—a chance to see one another and chat.
Summer Sunday Forum
Worship is at the heart of our community. Our experience of God creates a sacred life which changes the way we live, treating ourselves and others with dignity. Fed at Christ’s table, we take that deep nourishment out into the world, recognizing Christ’s presence everywhere. All of our ministries are a response to the love of God we experience around the table. It is a profound claim on our hearts, minds and bodies.
Tuesday Education & Fellowship:
Men’s Bible Study 6:45–7:45 a.m. on Zoom
Join us on Zoom early for coffee followed by our Bible study. Please contact the Rev. Jon Strand or Ray Wadlow to RSVP. We are using the Bible study guide from St. Stephen’s Richmond—found below—to start out. We will generally meet weekly, taking breaks for holidays and the summer.
Women’s Bible Study 6:45–7:45 a.m. on Zoom
Bible women, especially those who speak, are surprisingly bold! Join us as we explore their voices, many of whom have been silenced or forgotten. Please contact the Rev. Ann Gillespie for the Zoom link.
Learn More
Worship Ministry
Helping our community prepare for and celebrate all the services of our liturgical life.
Acolytes & Vergers:
All youth in grades 7 through 12 are encouraged to serve in the Acolyte Ministry. Acolytes not only grow spiritually by playing an active, meaningful role in the liturgies, but also develop tremendous leadership skills as they grow from being a young torch bearer to captain of their own team. School volunteer hours can also be earned. Vergers are committed lay people who assist the clergy in the conduct of public worship. Their varied tasks include recruiting, training and directing the acolytes, physical preparation of the worship space, coordination of lay ministers, ordering and marshaling of processions, as well as general safekeeping of the church building. Vergers are selected by the rector.
Digital Ministry:
Run the audio and video for services in the Sanctuary and help live stream and record services—which involves monitoring the sound and video systems to ensure proper volumes, camera coverage, recording and troubleshooting and possible video editing for recorded services. An important part of the ministry is facilitating holiday services which expand the audio and video capabilities throughout the church building to accommodate the increased number of parishioners attending those services.
Eucharistic Ministers:
As Eucharistic Minister, you will serve the chalice of consecrated wine at the altar during Holy Eucharist at Sunday and special services. Lead Eucharistic Ministers assist the Priest in the preparation and serving of the Holy Eucharist, lead the procession, and perform other duties during Saturday services.
Greeters:
Greet people as they arrive at the services and assist any newcomers to find what they might need after the service—an excellent way to help with a person’s journey of faith. All that is needed is a welcoming attitude and every other talent and essential knowledge will develop on its own.
Lectors & Intercessors:
Read the lessons and/or psalm for the day and offer the prayers of the people as assigned for each service.
Manna Makers:
Music Ministry:
The Adult Choir and Choristers serve on Sunday mornings and at other special services or events. The Chorister program uses the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) training curriculum called Voice for Life.
St. Mary’s Altar Guild:
Members prepare the worship spaces for the gatherings of God’s people: Holy Eucharist, Evensong, Baptism, Weddings, Funerals, Taize, and special liturgies. We take care of the sacred vessels, linens, and vestments working in teams that rotate weekly. At Christmas and Easter we decorate the church in celebration of our lives together in Christ. The Altar Guild is open to all parishioners ages 14 and up. We will train you!
Ushers:
Provide assistance in seating, handing out bulletins, and other logistics for services.