Art, music, and the beauty of holiness

SPIRIT

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS/EPIPHANY | WINTER 2020

Issue Number 37

ST. STEPHEN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

6000 Grove Avenue l Richmond, Virginia 23226

ststephensRVA.org

Presorted First Class Mail U.S. Postage PAID Richmond, VA Permit No. 320

Parish Staff To reach a staff member, call 804.288.2867 or send an email using the initial and name provided in parentheses, with @ststephensRVA.org.

Janet S. Allen (jallen), Associate for Membership & Development Th e Rev. Cate Anthony (canthony), Associate Priest Stan Barnett (sbarnett), Director of Kitchen Ministries Liz Bartenstein (lbartenstein), Hospitality Sarah R. Bartenstein (sbartenstein), Director of Communication Larry Bidwell, Sexton Ron Brown (rbrown), Director of Outreach Chris Edwards (cedwards), Director, St. Stephen’s Choir Dillon Gwaltney (dgwaltney), Communications Associate/Video Producer Melissa Hipes (mhipes), Finance Chris Holman, Sexton Anna F. Jones, (ajones), Farmers Market Manager Th e Rev. Gary D. Jones (gjones), Rector Th e Rev. David Knight (dknight), Assistant for Pastoral Care Betsy Lee (blee), Parish Administrator Becky Lehman (blehman), Hospitality & Communication Assistant Christi McFadden (cmcfadden), Finance Th e Rev. Claudia W. Merritt (cmerritt), Associate Priest Allison Seay (aseay), Associate for Religion & the Arts Th e Rev. William S. Stanley (wstanley), Vicar Brent te Velde (btevelde), Director of Music Betsy Tyson (btyson), Chaplain to Palmer Hall Tabitha Venditti, Café Manager Greg Vick (gvick), Organist Tyronn Wilkins, Sexton

Th e Café @ St. Stephen’s 804.288.3318 Phin Generelly, head barista Claire Hackley, barista Annie Ward Love, barista Brianna Maurice, barista Bou Zintseme, barista The beauty of holiness Arts series reminds us of God’s presence

Much of 2020 has been fraught with a palpable level of uncertainty and anxiety. In such times, when it is easy to lose sight of the good and the holy, it feels more important than ever to seek out reminders of the beauty of creation and God’s never-failing love and care for us. To facilitate that remembering, as part of St. By Chris Edwards Stephen’s ‘Seven Whole Days’ rhythm of parish life, we have devoted one day each week to exploring the divine through artistic expression in a new video series called “Art, Music, and the Beauty of Holiness.”

These offerings debut on Fridays, and the form varies from week to week. Each is intended to be an invitation, an opportunity to pause for a few minutes to connect with some much-needed beauty in the world: an exquisite piece of music, a stunning work of visual art, a powerful icon, or a poem that expresses truth in a particularly transcendent way.

The first month of the series is representative of the variety of offerings we are preparing. We have heard St. Stephen’s Virtual Choir sing John Tavener’s setting of The Lord’s Prayer, listened to a trio of musicians perform J.S. Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, heard a century-old poem by Siegfried Sassoon that still rings true today, and begun learning how to engage with icons.

We hope that spending some time with these beautiful artistic expressions each week will provide nourishment for your soul and remind you—explicitly or implicitly—of God’s real presence among us. As one parishioner noted upon seeing the video of three masked musicians standing at the foot of the chancel steps playing Bach, it “seemed to proclaim that in the midst of these trying times, nothing can ultimately diminish the beauty and power of what is beautiful, what is holy, what is decent, what is good, what is life giving and what gives hope.” ✤