Children’s service at Union Chapel
The annual Children’s Service, titled “The Window of Hope,” will take place at historic Union Chapel on Sunday, June 26 at 10:30 a.m. Bill Gordh, educator, master storyteller and banjoist, designed the service and will lead it.
During the service, families will join together for stories, songs, poetry, scripture and prayer to experience and consider the power of hope in our lives. Children will be actively involved in the program as readers and singers. A central belief guiding this service is that families singing and listening to stories together mutually enrich each other’s understanding of the ideas and feelings shared.
Music will be performed by Bill Gordh, including an original song written and composed specifically for this service, “Here’s Hoping.”
The service was inspired by the “Marine Mosaic” windows at Union Chapel, outstanding examples of the unusual craftsmanship of Walter Cole Brigham, Shelter Island artist. On the windows, rich effects were achieved by the adroit use of natural shells, stones and chunks of broken glass. In one of the windows, a cross in the peak of the window contains the letters S P E S; the Latin word for hope. The Greek letters Alpha and Omega on either side signify hope from beginning to end.
There is a substantial “fan club” on Shelter Island for Mr. Gordh, with many having experienced his powerful storytelling and musicianship with their families during weekly chapel services at The Episcopal School in New York City. This led to the invitation to bring his substantial gifts to Shelter Island families at the annual Union Chapel Children’s Service.
Bill Gordh is the Director of Expressive Arts at the Episcopal School in New York. He also directs the Chapel program at the school and leads weekly gatherings with children and their parents. Bill is the author of “Building a Children’s Chapel: One Story at a Time” (Church Publishing), a copy of which was given by the National Association of Episcopal Schools to each member school. Bill has led classes at both General and Union Seminaries, and has appeared as keynote or featured speaker at numerous conferences. More than 50 stories told by Bill and his banjo can be found on Audible.com. He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, at the Tribeca Film Festival Family Day, the Clearwater Festival, the Ford Amphitheater (Vail, Colorado), the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum (Houston, Texas) and for three years was a featured storyteller at the White House Easter Egg Roll.
All are invited to a reception in the Grove following the service.
