“The Storm is Passing Over
Courage My Soul”
~ Charles Albert Tindley

My Dear Readers~

Early this month I attended a concert of the Mystic Chorale under the direction of Nick Page.  This was his last concert conducting the Mystic Chorale, a chorus he founded in 1990, the same year I started Irving House.  He is retiring, and so am I.    His work has lifted our spirits and brought transformative joy to thousands of us who have sung in the Mystic Chorale or attended his concerts.

Renee Loth of the Boston Globe recently captured some of the sense of this amazing man, Nick Page and his wonderful legacy. Here is what Nick had to say about singing:

“Singing is a deeply spiritual experience because you are connecting to the universe, and that’s not just a metaphor.  Einstein said that atoms are made up of resonance; when one atom vibrates, the atoms of the universe vibrate. It’s a physical feeling but also a consciousness.”

The above quote is from the first song on the program.  It speaks to the release of tension,  perhaps the surviving of crisis, or torment, most of us have been feeling in recent weeks. and months and maybe years.  In the repetition of that sentence, “The storm is passing over,” sung by a chorus of fifty strong, I began to feel the passing of a wild and terrible collection of events.

Storms will return.  The skies will cloud  up again.  But just now, in this moment, we can take a breath, smile at each other, feel the calm and gather our courage for whatever else is to come.

If you have a chance to sing, alone, in a chorus, in some cozy living room or out in the night air, raise your voice!  It’s good for your health.

We all wish the simple delights for you all, wherever you are~

Rachael

At Irving House, we have again been able to share the benefits of a good year with our employees.  We also decided it was time to hold our holiday party again as it has been three years since we last gathered to share food and good cheer.  We invited all the employees who were with us in 2020, some of whom have moved on to retirement or other work. This included employees of Harding House, and it was lovely to see them again!  Here are some of us who shared the joy.

November 2022

“The miracle is this:
the more you give, the more you have.”

– Leonard Nimoy

Hello Dear Readers,
   I hope this missive finds you well.  I had not planned to send another issue, as you are, we hope, spending time counting and sharing your blessings with loved ones and your community.
      But Zoia has been busy taking pictures that seemed worthy of sharing. We enjoyed a full house for the Harvard-Yale football game, and are looking forward to the arrivals of our Thanksgiving guests and Community Servings’ pies!
We wish for you all good health and lovely holidays in your circle of loved ones.

~Rachael

The city of Cambridge planted a new tree in front of our house!

Yale beat Harvard and took the Ivy League Crown at the celebrated match last weekend.
Here are some Bulldog fans who stayed with us for the fun.

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Cambridge,  MA 02138

a full day beckons
as long as the sun is bright
lightness holds the dark

22.06.22

Dear Reader,

Good morning on this longest day of the year~!

Yes, summer days are here, inviting, encouraging, full of growth and, I hope, some lazy hours, some good company, some fine adventures for you, for all of us.

While much has been made of Juneteenth, presenting it as a celebration of emancipation, I think of it more as a moment to reflect on why this date, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation is so important:  Because it took US troops arriving in Galveston, Texas to deliver the word that had been the law of the land for two years. And the proclamation hardly provided any pathway to any kind of equality for the newly unenslaved people then, and has not still.  I am reminded, we should ALL be reminded, that the ugliness of white supremacy persists.  There is still so much work to be done to make the USofA a more perfect union….

This year, Harvard & MIT combined three years of commencement ceremonies and reunions into one four day stretch.  Our Fair City was fairly bursting at the seams.  Irving House was as full as it could possibly be.  All hands on deck!  And even now, in the relative quiet, with moving vans emptying graduate student housing, travelers are still arriving for all sorts of reasons, with all kinds of plans.   So, while we are not officially out of the pandemic, maybe we are getting back to some new kind of normal.

It is gratifying to see that a steady stream of subscribers are signing up through our web site. Welcome new readers, wherever you are!  We are happy to receive your questions and suggestions…

We still wear masks in common areas and keep a respectful distance from those not in our family circle.  We still encourage vaccinations and booster shots of same to keep up with the variations that will now always be circulating widely.  This is our new normal.  And we count ourselves fortunate to have all the medical knowledge and services to get us through this.  We hope the same is true for you all.

And we hope to see you around Irving House some time!

Yours sincerely,

Rachael