The first service that Tom Rosiello will lead, upon his return, will be on Sunday, August 23. It will be a very special Sunday. New York author, KEVIN SCOTT HALL, author of a remarkable memoir, A Quarter Inch from My Heart, will be the guest preacher.

As the nation approaches the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (August 29th), Kevin will share an incredibly moving story of when he opened his home and heart to a stranger who had arrived in New York City after the disaster. When Hall invited Maurice to stay with him “until he got back on his feet,” he imagined it would be a couple of weeks. What followed was a two-and-a-half year saga of unfolding drama, as mysteries and problems concerning Maurice were uncovered. Hall also explores his own motives in the drama, and, in flashback, recalls the time in 1994 when he survived a violent stabbing in New York City, when the blade came “a quarter inch” from his heart. The two stories, of the physical and emotional quarter inch distances, are artfully weaved together. Ultimately, the book is a spiritual journey, and a testament to the power of love, friendship, trust, and courage that crosses all boundaries and seeks to heal even the deepest wounds to our bodies and our psyches.

Upon the book’s release last summer, it debuted at #8 on Amazon’s “Books About Friendship” chart. Hall has done several readings in New York City, and also in Philadelphia, Boston, Asheville, NC, and Binghamton, NY. He has discussed the book on about a dozen radio programs, including Sirius XM. Kevin is an advanced public speaker in Toastmasters International, and served on the Consistory of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City for five years. For more information about the author, please visit www.kevinscotthall.com.

You won't want to miss this service! We will be back in the church and there will also be some great music to support the worship theme.

Paul M. Galvin

Mindfulness is the intention to pay attention to each and every moment of our life with the qualities of nonjudgmental and compassion. The presentation will introduce the concepts of mindfulness, and participants will have the opportunity to identify their current resources and see how mindfulness practice can enhance what they already do well. The presentation is meant to be experiential and will introduce and guide participants in formal mindfulness practices. All participants will be encouraged to explore how to put mindfulness practices in place throughout the day in order to build resilience and skill in dealing with life events.

Paul M. Galvin, PhD is the former Assistant Director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and current Senior MBSR Teacher at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society (CFM) at UMass Medical School as well as Associate Professor of Psychology and former Chair of the Psychology and Philosophy Department at Framingham State University. He has taught Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and other mindfulness-based programs at the CFM and in the community including non-profit organizations, businesses, and schools. Galvin was the Primary Investigator for the listing of MBSR on the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

From the hymns we sing in church, to playing an instrument while growing up, to being a concert attendee, many of us have been touched by music’s moving power in our lives. Have you ever connected with a beautiful melody or an entrancing instrument? Are you ever moved by the combination of a favorite poem and a choral anthem or solo song? Do you ever feel inspired by singing a hymn that connects to a message from a service or a sermon?

At this service, we will explore the many ways in which music moves us. Members of the Adult and Youth Choirs will help steer our journey, members of our congregation will share the ways in which music has impacted them, and we’ll sing many of your favorite hymns.

“If music be the food of love, play on!”* Come hear the Parish Jazz Band play music that celebrates love (the spirit of our Church). There are all kinds of love: romantic love, brotherly love, maternal and paternal love, spiritual love. And a simply enormous part of the musical repertoire is on themes relating to this rich, complex feeling. Often the music is joyous, sometimes sad, occasionally goofy or filled with longing. But it always speaks to the heart.

Come enjoy a morning of great jazz rejoicing in the number-one human emotion, including pieces by Victor Young, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Cole Porter!

*Shakespeare, Twelfth Night