Author Archives: littleharbor

Free and open to the public: Tuesdays 11:30am-12:30pm / Thursdays 12:00pm-12:45pm. May 16-September 28, 2023. ALL ARE WELCOME

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Seated meditation accompanied by tranquil piano.

Tuesdays 11:30am-12:15pm & Thursdays 7:30am-8:15am

No reservations necessary. Drop in, stay as long as you like. Please look for the “Welcome” flag outside.

Follow on Facebook & Instagram: @LittleHarborChapel

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8/29 11:00AM Please join Rev. Thompson for the season’s final Summer Sunday. Flowers by Hillside Flower Shop.

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Sunday 8/15 11:00AM please join Rev. Dr. Lombard for this week’s Summer Sunday service. Flowers donated by York Flower Shop.

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August 1, 2021. Mary Edes from First Christian Church in Freedom, NH and director of the Silver Lake Singers will lead this Sunday’s service. Flowers generously donated by Jardiniere.

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Rev. Dr. Robert Lamson 7/25 11AM. This service is dedicated to all for whom the Little Harbor Chapel holds special meaning. All Are Welcome.

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Sunday July 4 11:00AM – Family members of all ages are invited to worship, sing, and celebrate in the beauty of creation with Rev. Rob Stevens, Ashley Wade, Olin Johannessen, and Jennifer McPherson from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth NH. We will follow a simple, spoken liturgy and bask in the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. The service will continue outside where the St. John’s Trio will share music that everyone will be able to sing with their families while they explore the beauty of the Chapel trails. (35 min service)

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Spring 2021 is upon us and we are thrilled that summer services will resume beginning with the first service on Sunday July 4 at 11:00AM. Please stay tuned for the full schedule. We are currently taking reservations for event rentals through 2022.

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Sunday July 26, 2020

Tunes and texts: Women in the Chapel Hymnal

The chapel hymnal is unique in that is not published as a denominational hymn book.  It contains tunes from a variety of faiths: Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and Catholic.  It has a table of contents which lists the numerous hymn indexes, a sample order of service, chants and prayers.  Studying the index of authors, I discovered there are many women who wrote hymn poetry but less than a half a dozen who composed the tunes.  This week I’m featuring one of these tunes written by a woman.

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (Hymn #80) is one of twelve hymns in The Love of God section.  In 1875, Lizzie Tourjee was only a high school senior from Newton, Massachusetts when she wrote this tune for her high school graduation. Her father, Eben Tourjee, the founder of New England Conservatory and first dean of the college of music at Boston University, named the hymn tune Wellesley after the college, Lizzie’s destination after high school, and included it in the Methodist hymnal of 1878.  Lizzie married a Boston industrialist, raised two sons and spent her life as a music teacher and organist until she died in 1913. Lizzie chose the text for her tune from a 13-stanza poem by Frederick Faber.  Born in Yorkshire England into a Calvinist family, Faber became an Anglican minister then later converted to Roman Catholicism.  He understood the power of hymn singing and encouraged the practice in the Catholic services he officiated.  Faber’s poem, written in 1854, has been set to more familiar tunes including In Babilone and Beecher, both usually rather grand and triumphant.  Wellesley has a gentle and inward looking quality especially in this piano rendition by Hannah Ray.  This arrangement would make a wonderful prelude to a Sunday morning service at the chapel.  I look forward to hearing our talented pianists (two of the five pictured above) play each Sunday next summer.  Thinking of them!

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