From Father Shin: Asian Youth conference
Every summer for five days they gather together to worship, meet new and old friends, and develop leadership skills for youth and young adult ministry.  Sponsored every year by the Office of the Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, the Asian Youth & Young Adult Leadership Training Conference brings together 70 to 100 young people in the teens and 20’s.  They come from all corners of the country – from Los Angeles to Seattle in the West Coast, from Boston all the way to Savannah and Tampa in the East Coast, and from Chicago to San Antonio in the Midwest, and from Hawaii.  A few of them come even from Canada.  They are ethnically diverse – Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Pacific Islanders.  They also come up with a theme every year appropriate to their youthful spirituality.  This year’s theme is “MSG – Ministry, Spirituality & God: The Healthy Choice.”  From August 6 – 10 this year they will gather at the University of Northern California in the midst of the wine country two hours north of San Francisco.

What brings them together?  Their passion for Jesus and care for their home churches. Their identity as Episcopalians and as Asian Americans gives them a safe and focused context to share their faith experiences and encourage each other to grow in Jesus Christ.  This conference has provided not only fellowship and community for these young people, but also a profound sense of leadership and responsibility for their home churches and the Episcopal Church.  This conference has inspired, nurtured and raised up many young people for ministries lay and ordained including yours truly. 

I have been chaplain to this conference for the past several years and have been profoundly challenged and inspired by these young people.  Every year at this conference some young people ask me about the priesthood or what they can do for the church as laity.  As I am not getting any younger, I hope to hand over the baton of leadership soon to another newly ordained.  In the meantime I hope to also enjoy a chilled bottle of California Chardonnay to help me get through these five days.  This is a model of the Church at work and an example of the Holy Spirit at work.

It has been said by some that today’s young generations lack spirituality and religion.   Tom Beaudoin, a former altar boy, presently a bass player in a rock band and a Ph.D. student in Religion at Boston College, asserts in his provocative book, Virtual Faith: “GenX can make great strides not only toward fostering its own spirituality but also toward reinvigorating religious institutions and challenging the faith of older generations.” 

Ministry to today’s young people like any other by-gone era begins with being open to their spiritual expression, affirming their spiritual worth and gifts and making room for their presence in all aspects of the parish life.  I hope that adult members of this parish would take care to nurture the youth and young adults we do have and help invite more young people.  Allen Shin

PRAYER LIST . . . Your prayers are asked for Barbara, Hayley, Helen, Walter, Eileen, Maxine, Edward, Mary Ann, Margaret, Scot, Shirley, Mark, Dorothy, Warren, Karen, Victoria, Frank, Florinda, Myrian, Charmaine, and Rodney, priest, and for the repose of the souls of Gladys and Jack.

GRANT THEM PEACE . . . August 8: 1963 Charles Augustus Edgar; August 12: Toyoko Anne Tsutsumi Morton.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Phillip Burgess' mother, Gladys Burgess, died on Saturday, July 31.  She had suffered a massive stroke.  She was eighty-four years old.  She was buried in Madison, Tennessee, on Monday, August 2.  Pray for Gladys, for Phil and for all who mourn . . . Jack Shea, a cousin of the Rector, died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Saturday, July 31.  Please pray for Jack and for all who mourn.

LITURGICAL NOTES . . . The Sunday Proper: Jonah 2:1-9, Psalm 29, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:22-33 . . . The Rector is celebrant and preacher for all Masses on Sunday, August 8 . . . On Saturday, August 7, the Rector will hear confessions.  On Saturday, August 14, Father Shin will hear confessions. 

FROM THE RECTOR: CLERGY THIS SUNDAY . . . As we go to press, I do not know whether there will be a member of the clergy available to serve as "deacon" at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, August 8.  None of the members of the parish clergy is available this Sunday to assist.  If we have a guest please welcome him or her warmly.  If we do not, please enjoy the rare occasion when the celebrant will sing the gospel, a lay person will chant the prayers, the MC will assist with the cope and the thurifer will do all the censing of the ministers at the offertory.  I thank you in advance for your understanding should such understanding be necessary.  S.G.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . As we go to press, the Rector will be out of town Wednesday morning, August 4, through Thursday afternoon, August 5, to attend a funeral in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Father Shin does not leave the parish until Friday morning, August 6 . . . Again, as we go to press Barbara Stettner is scheduled for outpatient plastic surgery.  Newer members of the parish community may not know Barbara as a pedestrian was struck by an automobile several years ago and was not expected to live.  We are so thankful for her remarkable recovery.  Please keep her in your prayers . . . Weather permitting, there will be an outdoor procession on Assumption, Sunday, August 15, at the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass.  It will be at the start of the Mass.  Outdoor processions are public witnesses to our faith and to the presence of this community in Christ in our neighborhood.  The full choir will be present and a brass quartet . . . Attendance last Sunday: 122.

LIFE IN THE CITY . . . A laptop computer was stolen from one of the parish offices during the business day last Thursday.  This seems to be the only thing that was taken.  That particular office was unlocked at the time.  Someone else had buzzed a "delivery" person into the building.  The staff is very aware, once again, for the constant need for attention to security issues.  It's just not possible to leave doors unlocked when no one is present.  That's life in the city.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD . . . Enlarged copies of the Sunday bulletins and this weekly parish newsletter are available on the ushers' table on Sundays.  The parish office will also be happy to send enlarged versions of The Angelus to those who request them.  Please help us spread the word about this availability to persons you think may enjoy an enlarged version.

MANY THANKS . . . Board of Trustees Members Barbara Klett and Jim Dennis were there early to help with the New Member Reception.  Barbara did most of the shopping, and Jim helped too.  Both of them set-up and managed the reception for our newcomers with style.  The clergy and the other members of the Board were able to "work the crowd" and to welcome people to the parish.  The parish clergy are planning to welcome more formally, yet in an understated Anglican way, our recent newcomers at the principal Mass on October 3, the Feast of Dedication.  They will be our special guests at the parish brunch that follows.  S.G.

Worship at Saint Mary’s

The Holy Eucharist

On Sundays Mass is said at 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM.  A Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM.  Monday through Friday Mass is said at 12:15 PM and 6:15 PM.  On Saturdays Mass is said at 12:15 PM.

The Daily Office

On ordinary Sundays Morning Prayer is said at 8:40 AM and Evening Prayer at 4:45 PM.  Monday through Friday Morning Prayer is offered at 8:30 AM, the Noonday Office at 12:00 PM and Evening Prayer at 6:00 PM.  On Saturdays the Noonday Office is offered at 12:00 PM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM.

The Reconciliation of Penitents

Confessions are heard on Saturdays between 11:30 and 12:00 and between 4:00 and 5:00.  Appointments can also be made with members of the parish clergy for the Reconciliation of Penitents at other times.

Friday Abstinence

The ordinary Fridays of the year are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial in commemoration of the crucifixion of the Lord.

The Calendar of the Twelfth Week after Pentecost

Monday                               Weekday

Tuesday                               Saint Laurence, deacon & martyr

Wednesday                        Saint Clare, abbess

Thursday                            Weekday

Friday                                  Jeremy Taylor, bishop

Saturday                             Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Seminarian & Witness for Civil Rights

The Parish Clergy

The Reverend Stephen Gerth, rector, The Reverend Allen Shin, curate,

The Reverend Arthur Wolsoncroft, The Reverend Canon Maurice Garrison, assisting priests,

The Reverend Canon Edgar F. Wells, rector emeritus.