November is the eleventh and penultimate month in both Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is very interesting to note that this month begins with a season of “remembrances” in celebrating and honoring those saints and individuals who have passed from our lives – including All Saints Day (Sunday), All Souls Day, the Day of the Dead and Veterans Day (formerly Decoration Day). The month is then concluded with another “remembrance” and that is that we certainly remember and give thanks for our bountiful harvest with honoring Thanksgiving Day. It should be well known that almost all forms of religion and peoples of the world throughout history have had some sort of a festival at this time of year to celebrate the bountiful harvest from their lands. And of course along with this we certainly can watch the colorful change of seasons and always reminding us of the Leo Sowerby “Comes Autumn Time”.
From Samuel Longfellow
Summer is gone; but summer days return;
The winds and frosts have stripped the woodlands bare,
Save for some clinging foliage here and there;
Then as if, pitiful, her heart did yearn,
Nature, the loving mother, lifts her urn
And pours the stream of life to her spent child:
The desert air grows strangely soft and mild,
And in his veins the long-fled ardors burn.So, when we pass the mid-years of our lives,
And, sad or glad, we feel our work nigh done,
There come to us with sudden, swift returns,
The glow, the thrill, which show that youth survives,
That—though through softening mists—still shines the sun;
And in our souls the Indian summer burns.
Mark your calendars now for the next North Shore Chapter AGO event – Saturday November 19 – the Chapter is co-sponsoring an Organ Tour of four churches and organs in the Glencoe area – St. Elisabeth Episcopal Church, Glencoe Union Church, North Shore United Methodist Church and Sacred Heart (Divine Mercy Parish). See details and times later in this issue of “Overtones”.
Always please check the North Shore Chapter AGO website constantly for updates regarding the Regional Convention in the North Shore area – June 25 – 28, 2023!
Best wishes to all in celebrating this “Season of Remembrances”!
Bob Woodworth Jr.
Dean