Dear Friends,
The Holiday season is upon us; there seem to be more cars and pedestrians in midtown Manhattan; the weather is suddenly markedly colder; Christmas displays are filling the shop windows, and the trees are adorned with lights. In just a few days it will be Thanksgiving Day and, for the first time since 2019, the full choir of men and boys will sing at 11 a.m. If you are in town for Thanksgiving, then please make every effort to attend the Eucharist at 11 a.m. and give thanks in-person. Bring your friends and family, and join us for this most unifying of feasts. It is very easy to cross 6th Avenue during the Thanksgiving Day Parade. I usually cross on 52nd Street, and there is normally a second crossing on 56th Street. The parade has many gaps in it and the choir and clergy have never had any problem getting to Church from the West side.
The following Sunday is Advent Sunday and we will welcome our new Associate for Adult Education and Formation, The Rev. Dr. Luigi Gioia. Fr. Gioia will preach his first sermon at 11 a.m. and there will be a special coffee hour afterwards to welcome him and his husband, Claudio. We have been waiting a long time for a successor to Fr. Cheng, but we know that Fr. Gioia will be a wonderful member of our church family. At 4 p.m. we shall have a beautiful service of Advent music and readings with the Choir. That service will be repeated on Tuesday, November 29 at 5:30 p.m.
On Advent Sunday, we will also restore the common cup at the Holy Eucharist. For the time being, we will continue the practice of receiving communion standing in the Nave and the Chantry; Covid is still virulent, and we want to avoid people standing in the midst of the Choir as the choir are singing. Also, it will be easier for those who do not wish to partake of the common cup to simply return to their places as they do now. Please note that the Bishop has forbidden the practice of intinction (dipping the host in the chalice). It has been 18 months since we last shared the chalice and, for some of you, this will be a welcome next stage. Please remember that Anglicans teach that we receive the full benefits of Holy Communion when we receive in one kind; those who wish to continue that practice still receive their full communion with Jesus Christ.
During the pandemic, the clergy decided to change the type of wine we use. Prior to the pandemic, many parishioners commented on the stained purificators used to wipe the rim of the chalice. That is because we used a port wine, and we had to be careful not to spill it on the fair linen cloths on the altar. During the lockdown, I washed and ironed the altar linens so I know first-hand how hard members of the Altar Guild work to remove stains, but the linen becomes damaged over time. We are now using an amber-colored wine from the same wine maker. For those who know their wine varieties, it is a sweet Tokaji style wine as is produced in Hungary. Our wine maker has vineyards in California. This wine is kinder to the linen, and does not show up as a stain on the purificator when wiping the chalice.
A word about the color of altar wine. Anglicans teach that the wine must be ‘fermented of the grape’ but can be any color, even white; it is not intended to be symbolically the color of blood any more than the bread is meant to resemble flesh! What matters is that it is wine made from grapes and what St. Paul said to the Corinthian Church: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
Next week, we will begin our Angel Tree Project for this year. This outreach project of Saint Thomas supports disadvantaged children this Christmas by providing gifts for children of Saint Ann’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, and to children staying with their mothers in a temporary shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. From Thanksgiving Day, at the back of the Church you will find a Christmas Tree covered with tags. The tags give details of gifts for children. You can take a tag, purchase the gift(s) and bring them to the Parish House. Alternatively, you can make a donation of $50 on-line and we will do the shopping for you. The Young Adult Group will wrap the gifts in mid-December.
Talking of the Young Adults’ Group, it was wonderful to see so many at the Rectory for their first gathering of the program year, and to see a growing number choosing Saint Thomas as their home parish. If you are in the 18-30s age-range, and are not yet on the Young Adult email group, please let us know.
From Christmas Day until New Year’s Day, candles will burn at the Crèche for departed loved-ones, members of our families who are far away, or for a particular intention. You can order a Christmas Candle online or complete one of the envelopes on the table near the Shrine of our Lady of Fifth Avenue. Suggested donation is $25 and we will place the name or names of loved-ones, or intentions on the candles.
Finally, 5th Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic on three Sundays in December – 4th, 11th, and 18th – between the hours of 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. The idea is to encourage a festive atmosphere in the street and allow people to see the shop holiday displays. There will be stalls and music in the street. We hope that this will be an opportunity to encourage folk to come to Saint Thomas and explore the church, and visit us for evensong on the 4th or the 11th, and the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on 18th. I am hopeful that on some of those days, we will be able to give visitors extra-special tours of our beautiful church.
