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Gerre Hancock 1934 - 2012 - updated February 3, 2012

	Get complete Solemn Requiem details, including access to the leaflet. Read more about the immense contributions of Gerre Hancock to Saint Thomas Church and Choir School.
	On February 4, listen to a live webcast beginning with the organ prelude at 9:45am and continuing on with the Solemn Requiem at 11am. (click here and scroll down to bottom of page.) The webcast is avaiable on-demand thereafter. Listen to the Rector's audio message about Gerre Hancock.
	Gerre's remains were interred beneath the floor of the chancel at a private service on Friday, November 3. Near the empty conductor's stand, his remains are marked by the inscription: Gerre Hancock, Organist and Master of Choristers, 1971-2004
	The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys will be featured exclusively on the February 5 edition of WQXR’s weekly radio show, The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle. Maestro Tritle is dedicating this retrospective program to works conducted by the late Gerre Hancock. Listen to hour-long broadcasts of  The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle every Sunday at 7am and 11pm EST on WQXR 105.9 FM. The program also streams on the web at thethese times each week -- and archived broadcasts can be accessed anytime online here.
Above: The portrait of Dr  Hancock was painted in 2003 by Paul Newton and hangs at Saint Thomas Choir School.	Saturday, January 21, 2012 Dearly Beloved in Christ, Dr. Gerre Edward Hancock, our distinguished and beloved Organist and Master of Choristers from 1971 to 2004, died peacefully this afternoon of cardiac arrest in the hospital in Austin, Texas. His wife Judith was with him; in fact Gerre died in her arms. Both their daughters, Deborah and Lisa, are with Judith in Austin. Gerre’s body will be cremated, and a memorial Solemn Requiem for him will be celebrated at Saint Thomas [on February 4 at 11am].  Dr. Hancock’s ashes will be interred beneath the floor of the chancel where our Choir Directors stand to lead the choir. Gerre and Judith had visited Saint Thomas this past Christmas at the Midnight Mass. The last time I saw him was as he was singing, his eyes closed and looking up, “O come all ye faithful.” John Scott and I each received beautiful messages from Gerre shortly thereafter. May the soul of God’s devoted servant Gerre rest in peace, may light perpetual shine upon him, and may he rise with Christ in glory. We all hold Judith, Deborah and Lisa in our prayers at this time of their great loss. Faithfully yours, Andrew C. Mead, Rector

Is Something Missing from the Narthex?- posted January 30, 2012

In today's Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Maloney writes about a new exhibit at MOBIA called "Walls Speak: The Narrative Art of Hildreth Meière," an exhibit which features a chest, known as the Shrine of Remembrance, on loan from Saint Thomas Church. Many of you may recall seeing this chest in the narthex across from the Great Stairwell as you walk toward doors of the Chantry Chapel. We have kept it in that spot for many years.

The chest is an American Gothic Revival-style oak cabinet of upright shape, with a carved and pierced top railing which includes a foliate and fruiting vine over a carved oak frieze of a fruiting vine. It includes the words "A Book of Remembrance" in Celtic lettering over two pairs of recessed paneled cabinet doors, each with an iron pull on a shaped escutcheon, the upper doors opening to reveal a gilt and polychrome-enamelled Art Deco angel holding a flaming torch.

The cabinet itself, like so many other fixtures and furniture at Saint Thomas, was designed by Bertram G. Goodhue; the interior was painted by Hildreth Meière (American, 1892 - 1961) in the early 1930s. It is Ms. Meière's work which is the subject of the MOBIA exhibition, and we are delighted that a part of Saint Thomas is a part of the exhibit.

At left, the cabinet designed by Goodhue. At right, the interior of the left door painted by Meière.

Go to Mobia's website for more about the exhibit, including days and times.

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The Rector's Christian Doctrine Class- updated January 30, 2012

The Rector's Christian Doctrine Class began anew on Tuesday, January 10. But it's not tool late to join us. If you would like to be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church, this class is for you. A photo of Confirmation from 2011 is at left.

This class is not only for future Episcopalians, but for anyone who is interested in learning more about Christ and about the doctine and traditions of the church, as we've received them. Classes last for one hour on Tuesday evenings, beginning at 6:30pm. It meets most (but not all) Tuesday evenings through the end of April. Details regarding individual class sessions are posted here.

Listen to the Rector talk about the class here.

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Chorister for a Day- updated January 30, 2012

On Sunday, February 19, 2012, boys in grades two, three and four are invited--with their parents--to join us for an afternoon at Saint Thomas Choir School. Tours of the school are given by choristers. The children and their parents will visit with teachers in the classrooms to learn about the curriculum and student life. And parents can speak with current choirster parents about this distinctive educational opportunity.

Visiting boys will attend a vocal worshop with music staff, walk from the choir school to the church alongside the choristers, vest, sit in the stalls with the full Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, and will join in singing hymns at Choral Evensong.

For information or to register yourself and your child, contact Ruth Cobb.

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Choir Trip to Germany- updated January 30, 2012

The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys will be touring Germany and Denmark June 11-21, 2012. A highlight of the tour will be a concert at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig (pictured at right), at the International Bachfest, in honor of the 800th anniversary of the St. Thomas Choir School there. A “St. Thomas visits St. Thomas” tour has been designed for friends and family of the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys to accompany the tour. For a brochure describing this tour please contact Travel Emporium at 914.245.8825 or send an email.

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Good Books & Good Talk- posted January 30, 2012

The next item up for discussion in the Good Books & Good Talk Series is Learning to Die in Miami by Carlos Eire. The group gathers on Thursday, February 23 at 6:30pm, following the mass that follows Choral Evensong. If you will have read the book by then, we'd love to have you join us to talk about it.

See the complete list of upcoming books here.

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Lord, Teach Us to Pray- updated January 30, 2012

Yesterday at 4pm Sunday Choral Evensong , Fr Austin began a series of sermons on the topic of Prayer, which will include a line-by-line reflection on The Lord's Prayer. We invite you to attend Choral Evensong each Sunday throughout this special series, but if you are unable to worship with us in person, you may listen to Choral Evensong via the webcast live as it happens or on-demand in the weeks following. In addition, the written text and an audio file of the individual sermons will be posted to the sermon archive and will also be accessible from the list of the full series on this page.  Fr Austin's sermon from January 29 is already there.

See also last year's sermon series on The Apostles' Creed.

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New CD Now Available- updated January 5, 2012

The mystery of Last Things has given rise to some of the most searching and personal music in the Western canon. On our new CD we bring together two remarkably intimate funeral works, the Requiems of Herbert Howells and Maurice Duruflé, both of which experienced a complex genesis. A bridge between them is provided by Ralph Vaughan Williams's Valiant-for-Truth; Vaughan Williams, though often seen as the quintessence of Englishness, studied in France and his musical language was deeply marked by the experience. Valiant-for-Truth lies halfway between the two Requiems in time, and like these two works it addresses eschatological issues. Read more and purchase your copy of the CD here.

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Adult Education Classes for Winter 2012- posted January 5, 2012

After a break during the twelve days of Christmas, Adult Education classes return to Saint Thomas on Sunday, January 8 at 10am with a special class on Nicholas Ferrar and the Community of Little Gidding, led by parishioner Dr Robert Duvall. Then, on Tuesday, January 10, the Rector's Christian Doctrine Class begins (more on that in the posting at the top of this page).

Two new classes start later in January: (1) a Sunday class on the Sermons of John Henry Newman, beginning January 15, and (2) a Wednesday class on Ascension Theology, beginning January 25.

Current and Upcoming Classes
Fr Austin's Weekly Update

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Latest Music List Now Available- posted December 23, 2011

The new music list, which includes music selections for January through Easter 2012, can be found here. Additional music selections, including hymns sung at services, are posted to the calendar a few days prior to each individual choral service, as details are finalized.

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Latest Rector's Chronicle Now Available- posted December 13, 2011

This Advent, the Rector writes about Messiah concerts Past (a good review was won); Bishops Present and Future (that our Diocese may be one); the EMC 2012 (a canvass that was, is and is to come); and how his own numbers add up (and why he still is having fun).

At right: Bishop-elect Dietsche.  Read the full Chronicle.

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New York Times reviews Messiah at Saint Thomas- updated December 9, 2011

Read the glowing review of the Tuesday, December 6 performance of Messiah by Allan Kozinn of The New York Times. A second perfomance was on December 8. Thank you to everyone who attended the performances.

If you are still in the mood for Christmas music, consider visiting the CD Shop or listening to webcasts of Advent and Christmas services.

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Thank You for Making Tiles- updated November 19, 2011

Everyone who has ever been to Saint Thomas understands that art is a form of worship, so this year as part of the Every Member Canvass, we did a parish-wide art project.

Parishioners and friends of Saint Thomas created "tiles," 8.5 inches square, from paper or other mountable material, prompted by a simple question: When you are worshiping at St. Thomas, what is it all about for you?

These wonderfully creative tiles were  on display on Sunday, November 6, at a special EMC Coffee Hour at 12:30pm in Andrew Hall.  We've posted some pictures in the Giving Section.

See pics here. 

You can still pledge to the 2012 EMC. Thankyou to everyone who already has.

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Webcast of Fall Theology Lecture- updated September 22, 2011

Thank you to everyone who attended our Fall Theology Lecture, on Wednesday, September 21 at 6:30pm. It was an honor and pleasure to welcome Fordham theology professor Joseph Lienhard, S.J. His lecture was:

      A Church without a Bible?
      The Emergence of the New Testament.

If you have wondered how the New Testament arose in those early Christian centuries, or how the church got along without a New Testament, consider listening to the webcast of his lecture.

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