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FAITHWAY – Eastertide 2015
The Church of the Holy Faith
welcomes all people into an everdeepening relationship with Jesus
Christ our Lord.
We believe in God the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, the Sacraments, and the
Authority of Scripture.
We honor our Anglican heritage and
praise God with Solemn liturgy,
traditional Prayer Book worship, and
music to exalt the spirit.
We strive to live as a community
with compassion for one another and
the world around us.
We worship together in peace to
praise and thank God, to transcend
division, and to celebrate the mystery
A MESSAGE FROM THE RECTOR
Dear Parish Family,
“Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed. Alleluia.” So
we will greet one another at liturgy over the Great Fifty
Days of Easter. The phrase is a cry celebrating our Lord’s
victory over the powers of sin and death. Throughout the
Sundays in Easter we will be hearing stories about the resurrection. St. Paul
writes to people in the Church in Corinth who are not convinced that Jesus
rose from the dead: “How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of
the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been
raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your
faith is in vain. . . . But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead”
(1C15:12ff).
Many in our culture reject the resurrection of Jesus as a “cleverly devised
myth” (2 Peter 1:16). Truly, there is nothing new in such a conviction. It is hard
“Alleluia, Christ is risen.
He is risen, indeed, Alleluia.”
of faith.
for me to imagine holding on to that point of view, given the great works of
art, music, and poetry that have been inspired by our Lord and offered to the
glory of God; but people hold on to that point of view and place other gods as
central in their lives. One need only observe the number of self-help books that have been written over the years, or the
emphasis in our society on self-image and self-esteem, to see how placing the self in the center of things has pervaded our
lives.
This past Lent, Holy Week, and Easter has been enriched by the hard work and excellent service of so many people: the
hospitality group; the many people who cooked, brought, and shared the fabulous soups on Wednesday evenings; the
altar guild; the exquisite flowers, music, and Easter Vigil reception; the choir, acolytes, greeters, ushers, lectors, my fellow
clergy, and those who came so faithfully to worship. I give thanks to God for the wondrous ways God is working in our
lives.
Blessed Eastertide,
Kenneth J.G. Semon, Rector
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FOCUS: THE MISSION AND
OUTREACH COMMITTEE
“Our mission is to share the gospel of
Jesus Christ by facilitating mission
and outreach efforts of the parish to
the community of Santa Fe and
beyond.”
That is the defining statement for the
Missions and Outreach committee, an
objective which provides the Church
of the Holy Faith an opportunity to
corporately support local and
international non-profit
organizations.
Toward that goal, six charitable
groups have been chosen for 2015
grants by the committee and
approved by the Finance Committee
and the Vestry:
The Interfaith Community Shelter
Feeding Santa Fe, Inc.
CareNet Pregnancy Center of SF, Inc.
Creativity for Peace
Himalayan Evangelical Church Nepal
Vision in Action, Juarez, Mexico
IN THIS ISSUE
Bereavement Ministry: Reaching Out After Loss
By Dean Peggy Patterson
Photograph by Alexandra Ward
Ryan and Mallory Jordan: “All In”
By Janet Sanders
Photograph by Tim Roberts
“If You Make Music, People Will Come.”
Profile of Mark Childers
By James Overton
Photograph by James Overton
Treasures on Display: The Chapel of the Good Shepherd’s
Julian of Norwich Window
By Janina Green
Photograph by Alexandra Ward
Palm Sunday Procession to the Plaza
Photographs by James Overton and Tim Roberts
Pilgrimage to Chimayó and the Way of the Cross
By Cathy Gronquist
Photographs by Janet McCroskey
Easter Images
Photographs by Janet McCroskey, James Overton,
Tim Roberts and Alexandra Ward
Vestry Highlights
Clergy, Staff and Vestry Listing
Committee members: Jacki Walker, chair,
Donna Amos, Dora Horn, Tom Simon, Jeanne
Southworth, Bob Stinson, and new members
Mitzi Barker, Pat Farr, and John Rauch. To Judy
Lehman, Jack Lott, and Eleanor Ortiz; many
thanks are extended for their diligent work.
during their committee service.
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BEREAVEMENT MINISTRY: REACHING OUT AFTER LOSS
BY DEAN PEGGY PATTERSON
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDRA WARD
If you have ever been in a class with Camille Barnett (pictured, right), you know that she is
brilliant, incisive, articulate and bold. Now she brings all of those gifts to her new ministry
with the bereaved at Holy Faith.
It was just about a year ago that Camille Cates Barnett, Ph.D. called my office to invite me to
be a member of the Retreat Leadership Team at a weekend Retreat at Holy Faith for those
who had suffered the loss of a spouse or partner. Holding the Memory and Beginning Anew
was the title of that first Retreat led by Janet Schreiber, Ph.D., Camille Barnett and me last
May. Janet is the Director of the Grief and Loss Certificate Program at Southwestern College.
Camille was a recent graduate, and I was a former Hospice Chaplain. So we made a
compatible team. Now, one year later, the Grief and Loss Retreat is a recurring program at The Church of the Holy Faith,
drawing participants from as far away as Los Alamos, Albuquerque, Española and beyond.
The Holy Faith Bereavement Ministry started in September 2011 at the request of the Rector. He had heard repeated
requests for a grief support group from men and women who had lost spouses of fifty-plus years. During my first fall as a
priest here, I invited parishioners who wanted to share their bereavement journey with others to meet every two weeks
for a time. The group shared stories, tears, despair, and hope during the next two years as hearts were healed, and lives
were transformed, and memories of lost loved ones were cherished and integrated into our ongoing lives and new
relationships. Ten friends had helped each other through a difficult time and were finally ready to move on. Other groups
formed the following year, and we held a three-part End of Life Planning Series called Final Affairs, discussing Hospice and
Palliative Care, Legal matters, and the Priest’s role in supporting us at the end of our lives and beyond.
It was then that Camille and Janet approached me about co-leading their new Retreat: Holding the Memory and Beginning
Anew. As we talked about their plans, I asked Camille how she became involved in this work, and she shared her own
story…..″In January 2008 I had just been appointed Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia by the new Mayor—
an elected official interested in reforming city government. That fit right in with my life work in other cities and as a
consultant to public leaders both nationally and internationally. My husband of 35 years, Dr. Jim Barnett, and our
daughter and granddaughter were driving from our home in Washington, D.C. for the swearing in ceremony. About 1:00
a.m. I got the phone call no one wants. There had been an accident. Jenny and Linda were in the front seat and were fine.
Jim was asleep in the back seat with his seat belt on and our 2 Yorkies on his lap and was killed instantly. My life changed
forever in that instant.
″Three weeks later I was on the job and still in shock. I remember the moment I was staring out of the window of my
rented apartment and thought, “I cannot do this. I have never met a challenge I thought was too much, but this one is.” I
called my cousin who lived in the area and she put me in touch with a volunteer grief counselor from a local Episcopal
church. This business executive had experienced deep grief and knew what I was going through. He came to see me every
week for three years. I made it through the worst years of my life thanks to the help God sent me. So, I have a big debt to
repay.
″My life now is completely different. It is a surprise to me that I am doing this grief work. It is much more like what my
husband did professionally as a Jungian Analyst than my previous work as a high-profile public executive. I found myself
confronted with a thought, or perhaps better said, a message. I thought of the prayer we say at the end of the service: and
do all such good works as Thou has prepared for us to walk in.’ So, I said “yes”. That led to my volunteer work with
Hospice, which led to my going back to college to get a certificate in grief counseling, which led to the retreats at Holy
Faith, which led to a week-long retreat at Ghost Ranch, and which continues to lead me in ways I have not planned.”
This winter, I called Camille to invite her to share with me in leading a new group, a book study of Dr. Elizabeth Harper
Neeld’s book, Seven Choices: Finding Daylight after Loss shatters your World. Fourteen courageous people, most from
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Holy Faith, met for seven weeks exploring their own journey through grief and loss. The response was overwhelmingly
positive, and Camille’s leadership was invaluable.
Dr. Camille Barnett has proved herself a trusted and compassionate guide through the journey of loss and grief. She has
opened her heart and her own pain to show others that there is a life beyond deep loss even as we Hold the Memory
AND Begin Anew.
In Camille’s own words:
“My experience of grief is a powerful door to deepened spirituality. All assumptions are challenged. New ways of being
and doing are needed. It is dangerous work. Some people die from grief. It is hard, and it is hard for a long, long time.
But—the effort is worth it. I see differently; I understand differently. And I know God differently. There is no more
important work or more enduring joy.”
RYAN AND MALLORY JORDAN: “ALL IN”
STORY BY JANET SANDERS
PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM ROBERTS
In poker, “all in” means wagering one’s entire stake on a single hand. For
Ryan Jordan, “all in” was his response to becoming a Christian –
committing his entire life to Christ.
As a college student, Ryan came to Christ with influence and support
from Mallory, the young woman who would become his wife. That
transforming experience made him define his new Christian life as “all or
nothing.” The years since have traced a path of growing discernment,
with landmarks from Illinois to Japan to New Mexico. That path has been
guided by the Holy Spirit and by friends and family from Baptist,
Presbyterian and Methodist churches.
Ryan now is meeting monthly with Dean Peggy and a Discernment
Committee made up of five Holy Faith parishioners to explore his call to
ordination as an Episcopal priest. The carefully guided curriculum invites
members of the Committee to share with Ryan their own spiritual
journey, including how they live out their Baptismal Covenant, how their
Daily Rule of Life supports their Christian Faith, and what their
experience of Priesthood is.
The purpose of the Discernment Process is to assure that each Candidate for Holy Orders is grounded in, supported by,
and raised up in a local parish. Subsequent steps in his education and formation over the next two years will include
meetings with Bishop Vono and the Diocesan Commission on Ministry, followed by entrance into seminary. Here in
Santa Fe, Ryan is completing his Master’s degree in the Liberal Arts at St. John’s College, where Mallory works in the
Treasurer’s office.
When they were first drawn to Holy Faith in the summer of 2014 through the Tuesday night Taizé service, they knew they
had found their church home. Holy Faith combined for them a tightknit and welcoming church body with a felt sense of
God’s sacred presence. They are delighted at how easy it has been to be “enfolded into the circle” of the Holy Faith
community. Ryan hopes to begin a class on Centering Prayer at Holy Faith in the summer, so let him know if you’re
interested. You can find Ryan and Mallory in the choir on Sundays, at Taizé on Tuesdays and at other Holy Faith classes
and meetings. Get to know this vibrant young couple and support them on their discernment journey with your prayers
and encouragement.
Janet Sanders is a part-time resident of Santa Fe who is slowing down her communication and sales consulting practice, selling her Missouri home and
looking forward to living in Santa Fe full time, soon. At Holy Faith, she serves as a lector, cherishes Tuesday's book group and Taizé and is a full-time
member of the Communications Task force and of the Diocese's Congregational Life and Development Committee.
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“IF YOU MAKE THE MUSIC, PEOPLE WILL COME.”
PROFILE OF MARK CHILDERS
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPGH BY JAMES OVERTON
Mark Childers (pictured at the organ, right) says his 1983 Sunday
debut as a church organist in Tulsa, OK “was truly a baptism by
fire.” The job was thrust on the 23-year-old organist after his
teacher and first mentor suffered a debilitating stroke the day
before. Years later, he now realizes he was quietly being prepared
for his life’s calling. “I was about seven and would go up and sit on
the organ bench for the postlude. Her name was Frances Wellmon
Anderson, and I was intrigued by the organ and the power of its music,” Mark says of those days. His future unfolded
literally one hymn at a time. “She gave me the hymnal, opened it to page one and said to ‘start here and learn every one
in the book.’ ” To this day, Mark explores the music of the church looking for the best pieces to support the liturgy and
exalt the spirit.
Since moving to Santa Fe in 1995, Mark has served as organist for First Church of Christ, Scientist; Santa Maria de la Paz
Catholic Community, and as Pontifical organist for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. In September of 2006
Mark accepted the position as organist, in April of 2009, organist and choirmaster and in May 2011, he accepted the full time position of Director of Music and Parish Administrator for Holy Faith.
What truly appeals to him is that the pipe organ can emulate any instrument in the musical repertoire. “Each stop
represents some kind of instrument. You can do a flute solo or go to trumpets and reeds.” And, then, there’s the sheer
musical power of the instrument. “Now, remember, we use the word ‘fuller’ instead of ‘louder,’ ” he cautions. Mark
approaches performance with considerable verve and no small amount of improvisation. “If you don’t take control of the
instrument, it will take control of you,” he responds.
As with many parishioners, music first brought Mark to Holy Faith. “I feed off my church. I was raised that way. Going to
church on Sunday was as important as going to school during the week. But I was drawn to the liturgy of the Episcopal
Church, and especially the Anglo-Catholic tradition.” Mark has studied under and been mentored by iconic organ legends
like Tom Matthews of Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Dr. Thomas Richner of Boston, and as choir director has worked
with Dr. Dennis Shrock, former Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. But it was Mrs. Anderson in
Tulsa who put him on the path as a church musician. As Tulsa’s first opera coach, Mrs. Anderson had him study voice “to
help him understand the human voice in a way that would make him a better accompanist.”
When he was asked to serve as choirmaster at Holy Faith, Mark turned once again to one of his mentors, asking, “How do I
learn this – the grammar of conducting – and rehearse a choir?” “All you do is sit on the organ bench and nod your head,”
he was told, “the choir will do the rest.” Easier said than done, but he did find the answer in the ensemble voices. “With
professional musicians, 50 percent of their call is to provide leadership for the choir as a whole; 50 percent is to
assist volunteer singers to fulfill their call to the music ministry,” he said. “I do a lot of research on selecting the literature.
I look at the range of the musical material and who sings. I want to stay in their musical range.” He also remains
scrupulous about continuing to attend master classes with some of the best conductors in the country.
The choir as an ensemble must support the spiritual message of the music. “I want them to feel a sense of
accomplishment. I would never choose anything that would compromise that. I also try to see that everyone has a ‘voice’
in the choir.” A collateral goal of making the choir work is being responsive to the wide range of parishioners – many of
whom were raised in other religious denominations. “This church is very broad in terms of where its members come
from. This is a very sensory experience. Heaven and earth meet at this church. What we do musically brings everyone to
the holy table. What we do on Sunday is more about how we respond to our world. But if you make the music, the
people will come.”
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TREASURES ON DISPLAY: THE CHAPEL OF THE GOOD
SHEPHERD’S JULIAN OF NORWICH WINDOW
STORY BY JANINA GREENE
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEXANDRA WARD
This stained glass window depicts the figure of Julian of Norwich, a 14 -century
wealthy English woman in medieval dress. She is holding a book, symbol of the
book she wrote, A Book of Showings: Revelations of Divine Love, where she
describes and extrapolates on her profound mystical experience. The impression
made by her revelations seemed to have impelled her to become an anchoress, in
effect a hermit, devoting herself to prayer and contemplation. She is usually
pictured with a cat, as in the stained glass window in Norwich Cathedral,
although it is not certain that she actually had a cat in her anchorage. The candle
beside Julian symbolizes illumination or wisdom as shown by her inspired
writings. In her right hand she holds a hazelnut through which God made her
understand that even such an inconsequential object as a hazelnut
was created, is loved and is preserved by God.
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Truly, we know very little about this woman. What we do know of Julian comes
to us from her own book. We don’t know her true name; we don’t know her
birthplace; we don’t know the exact date of her birth or death. We extrapolate that she probably lived to be about seventy.
She was probably a Norwich native. It is likely that she came from a well-to-do or noble family since virtually all female
monastics at the time were of noble birth and substantial wealth. All we know for certain is that she spent a significant
portion of her life, between 30 and 40 years, as an anchoress at St Julian’s church in Norwich, that she received a series of
sixteen visions or “showings” as she called them, of the Crucified Christ, and that she was the first woman to write a book
in English where she recounts her visions and her own twenty-year process of coming to understand their meaning.
Her writing is now considered to have universal and permanent value. Her teaching is timeless, meeting some of the
urgent needs of those seeking God in our age and answering many of the crucial problems of spiritual development and
contemplative consciousness. She presents us with a typical example of a theology based on mystical experience. Scholars
have stated that her book is undoubtedly the most profound and complex of all medieval spiritual writings. The
uniqueness of Julian’s writing includes her incredible optimism in the face of the cultural chaos and confusion of her day,
and her ability to transcend that confusion. Her famous phrase, “All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well”, is
the result of a deep faith that God is indeed in control of all, even in the midst of apparent evil (the Black Death of 1348, the
Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 and great disharmony within the Church at the time). The other unique elements in her writing
include her view of the Holy Trinity and sin. She saw the Holy Trinity crucified on the cross and she frequently used
“blindness” as the analogy for human weakness or sin.
Julian’s book was apparently not broadly circulated during her lifetime. The short version of the original manuscript was
purchased by the British Museum, now known as “The British Library“. It was first printed in 1677. It was carried to the
Continent by some of the 17th-century Roman Catholics who fled England. Its first modern edition appeared in 1911. In
1979 a retired Anglican priest became chaplain of the Julian Shrine Chapel at St Julian’s church and he publicized her life
and writing, culminating in establishment of the Episcopal Order of Julian of Norwich, a contemplative monastic
community of monks and nuns in the United States.
The solitary vocation of an anchoress was not unusual in medieval times. Norwich alone had well over fifty such men and
women during her time. To become an anchoress or an anchorite, the candidates had to satisfy the bishop that they had a
genuine sense of God’s calling and an adequate means to support themselves before they could be enclosed. After the
celebration of a special Mass, a new anchoress was solemnly conducted to her anchor hold, a small room often built into
the wall of a church, where she would spend the rest of her life. From there she could see the altar and receive Holy
Communion through the opening in the church’s wall. It is speculated that Julian might have been a nun, since at that
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PALM SUNDAY PROCESSION TO THE PLAZA
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES OVERTON AND TIM ROBERTS
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PILGRIMAGE TO CHIMAYO AND THE WAY OF THE CROSS
STORY BY CATHY GRONQUIST
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JANET MCCROSKEY
Holy Faith’s Annual Pilgrimage to Chimayó is dusty, windy, hot, exhilarating, exhausting, fun and spiritually uplifting.
This year the group of walkers and riders had not one but two Priests joining the group as both Dean Peggy and Fr. Jim
were with us. Starting at Nambé church with a blessing, our walk was eight miles rather than the usual eleven.
Wonderful support was provided by Janet McCroskey and Eleanor Ortiz. We prayed the Stations of the Cross with a
program book put together by Mark Childers and large pictures of the Holy Faith Stations courtesy of Marty Buchsbaum.
Holy Communion, said in the cool shade at the end of the walk, was a wonderful end to a “refreshing” pilgrimage. Mark
your calendar now for next year’s walk, March 23, 2016. Walkers and riders – all welcome!
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EASTER IMAGES
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JANET MCCROSKEY, JIM OVERTON, TIM
ROBERTS AND ALEXANDRA WARD
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VESTRY HIGHLIGHTS
BY ALEXANDRA WARD
If the Mother’s Day sermon seems unusually brief and the retiring procession is played at breakneck speed, it is because on that
Sunday hundreds of visitors will begin to arrive at Holy Faith on the heels of the 11:00 service for the Historic Santa Fe
Foundation’s annual tour. This event, which has been a spring staple for more than forty years, offers a glimpse into
Santa Fe’s historic past, but this will be the first time a church has been on the schedule. The Foundation was delighted to
discover how closely John Gaw Meem is connected with Holy Faith. Meem, a pioneer in the preservation movement and
a parishioner at our church, not only remodeled the sanctuary and chancel and designed Palen Hall, but his ashes are
interred along with those of his wife in a niche in the east side of the chancel. Our docents will be front and center on that t
day, and it should be a splendid event.
A year from this coming October, our delegates to the 2016 Diocesan Convention will not have to fire up their Google
maps to venture to some far-flung part of the region, because the annual gathering of the diocese will take place in Santa
Fe with Holy Faith as the official host. La Fonda will be the convention headquarters and the Friday night Eucharist will be
celebrated at our church. If this is not an historic first, it is the first time the convention has been held in Santa Fe in our
collective memory.
The 2015 General Convention of the Episcopal Church will take place between June 25 th and July 3rd in Salt Lake City, and
eleven people (clergy and laity) are attending from our diocese. Guy Gronquist will be there as the First Alternate Lay
Deputy. The House of Bishops and the House of Deputies make up the governing body of the church, and they meet
together every three years. During this convention a new presiding bishop will be elected.
Last and by no means least, members need not fear the onset of a sultry summer, because air conditioning the nave is
under way, and the work should be completed well in advance of the start of the season. New lighting in Palen Hall is
next on the list of capital improvements.
As always, full Vestry meeting minutes are available and can be obtained simply by asking Donna.
Julian of Norwich, continued from page 6
time the church belonged to the Benedictine nuns. Her anchor hold was at the St. Julian church in Norwich which was
destroyed during World War II. The current shrine is a reconstruction of the original. Counseling other Christians was
common in the life of a hermit and Julian’s counsel was sought by many.
We celebrate Julian’s feast day on May 8 th since it is believed that her visions occurred in early May.
Sources:
Stars in a Dark World, Stories of the Saints and Holy Days of the Liturgy by Fr. Hohn-Julian, OJN.
Praying with Julian of Norwich by Gloria Durka
Julian of Norwich Showings translated by Edmund Colledge & James Walsh
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CLERGY
The Reverend Canon Kenneth J.G. Semon, PhD – Rector
(505) 982-4447 ext. 101, (505) 603-3935 or semonkenneth@gmail.com
The Very Reverend Peggy Patterson, D. Min. – Associate Rector
(505) 982-4447 ext. 119, or revpeggy@gmail.com
Fr. Jim Gordon – Associate Rector
(505) 982-4447 ext. 110, or fr.jimgordon@gmail.com
STAFF
Mark Edw. Childers – Parish Administrator and Director of Music and Liturgy
(505) 982-4447 ext. 102, or medw.childers@gmail.com
Donna Lukacs – Parish Secretary
(505) 982-4447 ext. 100, or donna@holyfaithchurchsf.org
David Paul – Facilities Manager
(505) 982-4447 ext. 105, or david@holyfaithchurchsf.org
VESTRY
Ray Wallace – Sr. Warden
Jack Lott
Bob Stinson – Jr. Warden
Clarke Fountain
Bob Buddendorf - Treasurer
Sue Kropschot
Sandra Brink – Vestry Clerk
Alexandra Ward – Recording Secretary
Eleanor Peters
Walter Sterling
NEWSLETTER EDITORS
Cathy Gronquist
Alexandra Ward
COMMUNICATIONS TASK FORCE
Mark Childers
Cathy Gronquist
Jim Overton
Tim Roberts
Janet Sanders
Alexandra Ward
Canon Kenneth Semon
Fr. Jim Gordon
PARISH OFFICE HOURS
Monday through Friday
9:00 am – 4:30 pm
311 E. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Phone (505) 982-4447
For more information, please visit our new website at www.holyfaithchurchsf.org.
Faithway – April 2015
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