Dear Friends,
The pictures of the Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, are heart-wrenching. Why someone would want to murder little children defies logic. We have a Choir School, and it brings home to us our commitment not only to building a beloved community here at Saint Thomas, but also the responsibility we all share to safeguard our children. I keep thinking about the words of Jesus to his disciples when they asked him for his model of greatness; Jesus links his answer with strong words on the temptation to sin:
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!
(Matthew 18:1-7)
That someone should target innocent children is not simply a sign of mental health issues, or even the need for gun-control; it is a sign that evil is real and present in our midst and that, as Christians, we are called to renounce and reject it. In his pastoral letter, Bishop Dietsche said this:
It is unquestionably obvious that the killers in Buffalo and Uvalde were figures of great evil. They were people driven by the very worst impulses imaginable. At baptism, we ask those who would choose the Christian faith if they will “renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God,” and we ask them if they will “turn to Jesus Christ … and put their whole trust in his grace and love.” In those baptismal promises we vow that we will not allow the evil in this world to mark us and define us and determine the ways that we live with one another, but that we will order our lives by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God. It comes to us again to consider how we will live out our baptismal life and covenant in a culture so broken, in which such racism and hatred and violence are constants in our sight, and in which access to guns is an absolute. There is something fundamentally broken in America. There have already been 213 mass shootings in our country this year, 27 of them in schools. That is the world and culture in which we have been called into the Christian life.
On the night before he was betrayed, falsely tried, tortured, and executed, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment – to love. He told them “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35) He also spoke of the world’s hatred but encouraged them to take courage – “I have conquered the world!” He then prayed an intimate prayer for his disciples to his heavenly Father in which he described his disciples, and we who followed after them, as being ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world’ (see John 17). In fact, in this prayer of Jesus, he says that he is not asking for God to remove his followers from the world. As Bishop Dietsche reminds us, what this means is that we are called to engage with the world; to proclaim Christ Crucified, and to stand against evil in order to build the beloved community that has love as its hallmark. It is significant that, after this beautiful prayer which biblical scholars call ‘the High Priestly Prayer,’ Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane. The struggle that we experience now is exactly what Jesus experienced in his life on earth.
We may feel helpless and unable to change anything, but we must keep centering ourselves on the command of Jesus to love – which is not a wishy-washy-worldly kind of love, but a love that makes a difference; that goes the extra mile; that motivates us into action; and that can bring healing and change. An example of that love that should encourage us when things get tough, we experienced last weekend when Bishop Dietsche visited us.
Last Sunday was a joyful day when Bishop Dietsche came to confirm members of our parish and receive people into the fellowship of the Episcopal Church. The music was glorious, and the sun was shining. After the service, we had a special coffee hour in the Narthex with sandwiches, pastries, and celebration cake. The Vestry gathered with the Bishop for lunch, and then we had an extraordinarily productive meeting with him, sharing ideas and asking questions. One thing we learned is that, elsewhere in the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of New York is characterized by its big Manhattan Churches; the Bishop reminded us that the Diocese has the largest number of small rural parishes in the country! Then, at 4pm, we had a very special evensong for all involved in the funeral industry, with over 700 people on-line. Again, the music was extraordinary – Howell’s setting of the canticles Collegium Regale (One of my favorites) and Jonathan Dove’s stirring anthem Seek him that made the Seven Stars. We have received some moving emails and messages from funeral homes around the State of New York who participated on-line, telling us that they felt cared for and valued; one person sent a message saying that the service had brought ‘closure’ for him following the death of his father during the pandemic.
All of this brought home to me the power of Choral Evensong, a jewel in the crown of the Anglican choral tradition. People of all faiths, and none, often drop in to Saint Thomas on a weekday and find themselves immersed in beauty and prayer for 45 minutes. The fact remains that, unlike other services, Choral Evensong has very little for the congregation to do except to center themselves on God and be still, allowing the choir to minister to them in prayer and praise. Bruce Smith, our Chief Advancement Officer, remarked to me how much he enjoys seeing newcomers to Saint Thomas stumbling into evensong mid-week quite by chance, and being transported to another place. Yes, this is a gift to midtown Manhattan and not just to our webcast community. I was having lunch with Fr. Michael Bird, the Vicar of Trinity Wall Street the other Day (Fr. Bird had been a seminarian at Saint Thomas at the end of Fr. Andrew’s tenure as Rector, and at the beginning of Fr. Mead’s) and he commented on Cram and Goodhue’s genius – “From the outside, it looks like a fortress, but it opens up into heaven!” Although the boys will not sing evensong again until September 11, there will be three special evensongs during the summer, all at the usual time of 4pm:
Sunday, June 19
Corpus Christi
Evensong, Procession, and Benediction
sung by the Choir of Christ Church, Raleigh, NC
followed by a reception in Andrew Hall
Sunday, July 17
Sung by the Choir of Christ Church Cathedral,
Indianapolis, IN
Sunday, July 31
Sung by the Saint Thomas Girl Chorister Course and the Gentlemen of the Choir
Finally, a prayer from our Prayer Book that you can use this week as we pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit to inspire us, and to give us courage.
Affectionately,
Carl
Your Priest and Pastor
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
