Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the congregation of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin will be held this Sunday following the Solemn Mass in Saint Joseph’s Hall.  For a number of years it has been customary to have a parish brunch on the Sunday of the annual meeting.  Because of the early date for Easter, our Carnival Sunday brunch – another tradition – falls on Sunday, February 10.  After consulting with the parish leadership I decided we should simply have a meeting and save our fellowship for two Sundays hence.

Evensong and Preaching

Yours truly is going to preach at Evensong for the first time in his life this Sunday.  At seminary it would have been possible for me to preach once at Evensong when I was a senior.  It was voluntary and I chose not to do so.  I have never served in a parish where Evensong & Sermon was a regular service.  In my former parish in Indiana, when we had Evensong & Benediction at different festivals through the year, I would almost always have preached already to the same congregation at Mass in the morning.

The Evening Sky

There was a beautiful sunset in New York City on Wednesday, January 9.  I didn’t see much of it.  I was in midtown.  But when I looked down the streets south and west I could see wonderful small clouds colored pink and orange.  Even if a million people and I were stuck in the caverns of the city, I knew that if I could get to the Battery or even to the Hudson River, the sky would open up for me.  I wasn’t able to stop my mind from thinking of the song from the musical Annie about the sun coming out tomorrow.  It wasn’t a Beethoven or Vaughan Williams moment, but it did bring a smile to my heart.

The Great Tradition

When I went to work after seminary, I encountered for the first time something called “The Feast of Lights.”  It is an Epiphany pageant, popular among southern Episcopalians.  (Does anyone know when or where it was invented?)  It’s usually a good way for Episcopalians who still care about the integrity of the Christmas Season,

Now in Flesh Appearing

Christmas at Saint Mary’s opens the doors of our lives so that we can see God’s eternal presence in our midst, in his Son, in ourselves, in the Word proclaimed and, most of all, in the assembly of his faithful people.  One of the things that is so very true of this parish is that it is our religious conviction above all else which draws us together.  Each of us surely has sweet memories of Christmases past with family and friends. 

Helena Maria Martinuk Handy, 1919 – 2001

Helena Handy died on Monday night, December 10, at Cabrini Hospice.  Her husband of fifty-seven years, George Handy, was with her as he had been throughout her illness.  She was born on May 30, 1919.  They would have been married fifty-eight years on December 19.  May she rest in peace.

From The Curate: Thank You

Several people have asked me since my ordination last Friday, "So, how are you feeling?  Do you feel different?"  My answer has repeatedly been, "Yes, I feel more grateful, both to the Lord, and to more people than I have ever felt before."  I want each and every member and friend of Saint Mary's to know that I am, almost more than words can express, deeply appreciative for all the prayers, money, time, and energy which went

Advent

There are occasional mornings and evenings when the Daily Office is read and there is no one in the church except the officiant.  This happens most often on Saturday evenings, when we only have the Office and not a Mass.  Of course, one doesn’t ever feel alone at Saint Mary’s.  The sounds of the city are always with us, and it is almost never quiet in Times Square on a Saturday night.  The experience of praying alone I take as a grace and as an opportunity.  Saint Mary’s is simply a beautiful and blessed place to be.

Ordination of a Priest

There are so many good theological and so many simply practical reasons for celebrating ordinations in cathedrals that I can foresee a time in the not too distant future when virtually all ordinations will be celebrated in cathedrals.  It is extraordinary that a conjunction of location and events enables us to be the host parish for the ordination of our curate to the priesthood and to have the Presiding Bishop and Primate of our Church

From Father Weiler: Retreat

Retreat.  The word conjures up unpleasant thoughts and the gruesome events that precipitated them. Consider Napoleon’s ill-fated retreat from Russia after months of tireless battle. Eventually, the cold was so deep and the food supplies so low that the French and their emperor simply had to turn back, no matter how difficult the journey home.  It was the beginning of the end of Napoleon’s reign.  Consider also the Federal retreat after the Battle of Chancellorsville or the Confederate retreat after Gettysburg.  Military history overflows with countless other retreats.  “Retreat” rhymes with “defeat” and usually signifies it, except in Christianity.

KAREN BENSON, 1939 - 2001

Karen Benson died on Sunday, November 4, at Saint Vincent’s Medical Center from complications following surgery.  A Requiem Mass will be offered on Tuesday, November 27, at 6:00 PM.  She will be cremated and her body will be buried in the graveyard of the Community of Saint John the Baptist, Mendham, New Jersey.  She had been a member of Saint Mary’s since 1996.

Formation

Matthew Weiler is going to spend a few days on retreat at Saint Gregory’s Abbey, Three Rivers, Michigan, to have a period of prayer and reflection as he prepares for ordination to the priesthood.  I told Matthew that when he came to Saint Mary’s I would try to be a good senior colleague for him and to provide him with opportunities to develop as a member of the clergy.  I also told him that he was my first curate to be right out of seminary.

November 2001

We will begin the month of November with the great privilege of the Visitation of the Bishop of New York.  We will end the month of November with the great privilege of the Ordination of a Priest by the Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Church.  In Matthew’s Gospel the Kingdom of heaven is described by Jesus as something small that is always growing into something great.  I hope it is not presumptuous of me to like to think of our parish community as something small that is indeed growing.

Beatrice Lillian Norling, 1906-2001

Miss Beatrice Norling died on Friday, October 12, 2001.  She had just celebrated her ninety-fifth birthday on September 14, Holy Cross Day.  On Tuesday, October 16, services were conducted near her home in Carlstadt, New Jersey, and she was buried later that day in Dorchester, Massachusetts by the graves of her parents.  May she rest in peace.

Lots of Things

Several months ago I began to tell folks that change was coming to Saint Mary’s in great waves, that a tsunami was on its way.  The outward and visible sign of this would be personnel transition.  The inward and spiritual reality would be the ongoing life of a growing Christian community.  I knew of some of the changes; but I also knew that change would come which was totally unexpected.

Congratulations, Mr. Dean!

On Monday, October 1, Princeton University announced that the Reverend Thomas E. Breidenthal has been appointed dean of religious life at Princeton.  He assumes his new position on January 1, 2002.  I could not be more happy and delighted for him and his family.  It was hard to lose Father Shin to Oxford and it is going to be hard to lose Father Breidenthal to Princeton, but in both cases these appointments continue an old tradition of the clergy of Saint Mary’s going on to be of greater service to the wider church.

Community Helpers

When I was in second grade, in 1961, second graders studied “community helpers.”  These were the people in our city whose work was to make our lives safe and better.  They were doctors, dentists and nurses.  They were policemen, firemen and school crossing guards.  They were postmen and even members of the clergy.  They wore uniforms.  In 1961 they were mostly men.  They were trustworthy. 

Faith, not Fear

The shadow of fear hangs over me and I see it in the eyes of others too.  A terrible death has been inflicted on over five thousand innocent people, most of them died a few miles south of where our parish sits.  It could have been a bomb in Times Square; it could have been anywhere.

The disciples had a great deal of fear, especially before they had faith.  Some were afraid when Jesus told them to leave their old lives behind.  Some were afraid when Jesus said to render to Caesar the things that were Caesar’s.  Judas was terribly afraid.  The others were afraid in the Garden.  They could only look at Calvary from afar.  They were even afraid when they saw the tomb empty, and even when Jesus himself came to them alive.

In the Midst of Life

As soon as the parish clergy and staff collected themselves on Tuesday morning, we covered the altar in purple.  We have been celebrating Masses for the Departed, at Noon and at 6:00 PM ever since.  We are praying for those who have died and for those who mourn.  There will be time to focus our prayers for our nation. 

Assumpta est Maria

It’s Thursday morning, August 16.  The church phones are ringing.  One call is about a cell phone left in church last night; another is about a misplaced package.  The rest are calls with people bubbling.  The Procession & Solemn Mass on the Feast of the Assumption 2001 was an evening that had more than a few moments which will be remembered.