Church of the Holy Family (Episcopal)

04/23/2026

If you have not yet had a chance to do so, check out Chelsea's fabulous article in this week's music newsletter.

"This Restoration tenor melody is minor, strident, and powerful, emphasized by the heavy, marching pulse of shape note singing. It is not the gentle invitation of Nettleton, the tune we usually sing at Holy Family. It has no lilt or dancing rhythms. There is none of the thoughtful introspection I associate with this hymn. Restoration is a summoning, an invocation that calls a king into his own. The harmonies are open and ancient, and they demand an epic scope for the imagination."

We're all done with snow, RIGHT?

04/22/2026

Join us this Sunday from 9:15-10:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall for an Adult Formation conversation on Work and Prayer.

Ora et Labora, work and prayer, a phrase we receive from Benedictine Monastics that expresses the work of one's life and its daily activities as offered over to the work of prayer. Angela will share about her recent visit to Saint John's Abbey, it's organ-building workshop, and the Saint John's Illuminated Manuscript exhibit, and invite your own reflections about the holiness of your ordinary life and work.

04/21/2026

Hear our Rector consider The Road to Emmaus with the people of Holy Family this past Sunday:

"Why hide the good news in plain sight? Why walk the long road to Emmaus incognito? We do not get answers to such questions, but we do see Jesus, a Messiah who walks with his disciples, who reveals truth in unexpected places, whose face is revealed in that of the foreigner and the stranger."

https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Easter/AEaster3_RCL.html

04/05/2026

Christ is risen!

An Easter message from our Bishops.

Bishop Sam Rodman and Bishop Jennifer Brooke-Davidson from the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina share Easter greetings.

04/01/2026

Holy Family's Triduum liturgies

Maundy Thursday (April 2, 7:00 p.m.) Holy Eucharist with Footwashing and All-Night Vigil before the Blessed Sacrament
Good Friday (April 3, 12:00 p.m.)
Holy Saturday (April 4, 12:00 p.m.) Liturgy of the Word at the Garden Altar
Easter Vigil (April 4, 8:00 p.m.)
Easter Day (April 5, 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.)

03/19/2026

Join us tomorrow evening in the Parish Hall from 5:30-7:30 for a Fish Fry (Fish and Chips!) and service of Interactive Stations of the Cross.

A classic meal on Fridays in Lent for Christians abstaining from meat during the penitential season is the sharing of fish–hence the common practice of hosting a Friday Fish Fry! Join us as we walk an interactive set of the Stations of the Cross, appropriate for all ages, and share a meal of ...

03/17/2026

Join us this upcoming Sunday in the Holy Family parish hall during the formation hour (9:15-10:15) for the last in our Lenten series on the Prophet Jonah. In chapter 4 of the prophetic book, we contemplate the challenges of this frequently forgotten final chapter, and offer up our remaining questions.

03/13/2026

Lenten Adult Forum, Sunday March 15, 9:15-10:15 in the Parish Hall

Week 4: The Sign of Jonah: Jonah in Image and Icon with The Rev. Angela Compton-Nelson

The history of Jonah in Christian art begins from the church’s earliest days. As one of only a few images used repeatedly in Roman Catacombs, surpassing even the use of images from the Exodus narrative. The connections between Jonah and Baptism, and Jonah and the Resurrection of Jesus, are forged early in the church’s visual tradition and developed over several centuries even to the present day. Along with a consideration for the theological task of the church across some of its visual library, Angela will reflect on the task of art and the interpretation of Biblical stories, and share about her experience working on an icon of the prophet Jonah last year.

03/13/2026

Thanks to folks who came out for our Illumination event yesterday evening. We enjoyed hearing the Godly Play story of Jonah told by our Minister for Formation, explored the Prophets book of The Saint John's Bible which we had on lend for the evening from Duke Divinity School, and practiced our hand at working on illuminations in our parish hall turned Scriptorium (a writing room!).

03/09/2026

Wednesday, March 11 from 5:30 to 7:30pm, in the Parish Hall

Illuminations of Jonah and a visit from the Prophets book of the Saint John’s Bible

Illuminations are highly decorated, artistic manuscripts, combining image and text, present beginning in the Medieval ages. They are more than just illustrations of a text; they are themselves works of interpretation. Come and experience this for yourself, with a chance to explore a modern illuminated manuscript--Prophets from the Saint John’s Bible collection–on loan for the evening from Duke Divinity School. We will turn our Parish Hall into a Scriptorium (a Medieval writing room in a monastery) and parishioners of all ages are invited to join us for an evening of hands-on engagement with the work of Illumination.

Charcuterie-style fare will be available. Please RSVP at the form below.

Illuminations are highly decorated, artistic manuscripts, combining image and text, present from the earliest centuries of church history. They are more than just illustrations of a text; they are themselves works of interpretation. Come and experience this for yourself by seeing a modern illuminate...

03/09/2026

If you're following along at home with our Jonah study this Lent, you can find a brief article from our Associate Rector last week about Jonah as a kind of Anti-prophet.

Walk the Stations of the Cross on Fridays at Noon. This simple and meditative devotional practice of the Church recounts a series of events at the end of Jesus's life, beginning with his condemnation and ending in his burial, and includes brief scripture passages and prayers. Copies of the Stations....