MemChurch Update
June 4, 2022
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Summer Renovation Project
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From the Heart of Harvard Yard
Dear friends,
This summer we are embarking on a renovation project that will expand the ability to reach our community on the Harvard campus and around the world in new and exciting ways. The sanctuary will be closed and services on hiatus this summer, but the result will be a new audio-visual system in the Memorial Church that will:
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Prioritize accessibility by adding video streaming and captioning.
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Enrich the auditory and visual experience of live services, concerts and events.
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Expand outreach to our diverse global community.
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Create a versatile audio-visual system to meet our ever-changing needs.
Work will begin this summer and be completed by early 2023, but your support now would be greatly appreciated. Remember it is the generosity of our donors that makes all our programing possible. Please scroll down for more information about the project and the benefits to our programs and ministries.
The Memorial Church of Harvard University
Please note that our weekly newsletter will be on hiatus this summer. Be sure to go to the MemChurch website for the latest updates on the project, news and announcements. We look forward to seeing you in the fall when our worship services, daily programs and events, and weekly newsletter will resume.
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REACHING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE IN THE WORLD
The Rev. Matthew I. Potts
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The Rev. Potts, Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, Faculty of Divinity, Harvard University, says the project will not only improve the sound inside the sanctuary, but also expand the reach of the church outside the gates of Harvard Yard.
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O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.” Psalm 96
Dear Friend,
David is said to have written Psalm 96 when he brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. This psalm was sung before the Ark daily until the Temple was constructed many years later and the Ark moved into it. In a time of great change and upheaval, Israel committed daily to singing anew, to raising its voice each day to God in order to meet the demands of a changing world.
It goes without saying that our world has changed. What has not changed is our Christian commission to minister to the world, to love others as we have been loved. One of the most important ways we can do this at the Memorial Church is through improving and expanding the quality, accessibility, and availability of the services, performances, and sacraments we celebrate in our sanctuary. Our new audio-visual system will reach and serve so many who long for our church’s ministry. We have many beloved congregants who are hard of hearing; our new audio-visual system will allow them fully to enjoy our sung and spoken words. As a prominent university church, we have many faraway congregants who join us remotely each week by radio or livestream; with our new audio-visual system we will provide clearer, crisper audio and close captioned video, too, so even the far-flung among us can intimately experience the vibrancy of our sanctuary. We are also a community of faith committed to serving a generation of young people eager for answers; with our new audio-visual system we will engage the many students and seekers more likely to discover the Memorial Church through a streaming video than a Sunday visit.
As the book of Lamentations tells us, the steadfast love of the Lord is new every morning. It has met us again, in our own day, even as we encounter a world full of new challenges, new realities, new dangers, and new opportunities. God meets us here, in our uncertain new world, and asks us to spread the word of this great love far and wide, however best we can, with all the effort and enthusiasm a love like this deserves. It is our great privilege at the Memorial Church to embark upon this ministry with you. By God’s grace, we will learn once more to meet the needs of the new world before us. With your support of our audio-visual project, we will indeed sing unto the Lord a new song, and sing it unto all the whole earth.
With thanks and in faith,
The Rev. Matthew I. Potts
Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church of Harvard University
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals
Faculty of Divinity |
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COMPLETEING THE VISION
Edward Elwyn Jones
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Edward Jones, Gund University Organist and Choirmaster, the Memorial Church, says the project will mark the completion of a renovation project that began a decade ago with the installation of the Fisk Opus 139 Pipe Organ.
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A great addition to the Memorial Church
This Easter marks the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the Charles B. Fisk and Peter J. Gomes Memorial Organ, an occasion which also heralded the relocation of the Harvard University Choir for Sunday morning worship from Appleton Chapel to the rear gallery.
The current microphone setup in the gallery—to capture the choral offerings for broadcast—was a temporary solution, which has served us for nearly a decade! That single microphone was adequate, but it was never in the optimal position for balance between organ and choir, nor indeed, for good choral sonority within itself.
I am delighted that we are installing a custom system which utilizes hanging retractable microphones situated in the best possible positions for Sunday morning broadcast, whilst not impairing the visual aesthetics of the sanctuary. Similar microphones will capture the true sound of Appleton Chapel and the sanctuary, where our many concerts take place. The project will also create video capability for all services and concerts, increasing accessibility on our digital platforms, and providing a product that is truly representative of the in-person experience.
Best wishes,
Edward Elwyn Jones
Gund University Organist and Choirmater
Memorial Church of Harvard University
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