Dear Friends,
Last weekend, I had the privilege of officiating and preaching at the marriage of one of our long-standing parishioners, and member of our Investment Committee, who spends most of the year in California. Congratulations to Stephen Schaible and Daron Builta who were married at All Saints by-the-sea, Santa Barbara. Stephen and Daron have been together for 31 years and it was a joyful occasion.
Stephen became a member of Saint Thomas 31 years ago when Fr. John Andrew was Rector. While I was there, I met a number of Saint Thomas folk! It is fascinating how many people live in other states but see Saint Thomas as their spiritual home, joining us faithfully on the livestream, and pledging to the mission of our beloved church. I recognized a number of parishioners who visit us when they are in New York – we truly are an international congregation.
Mo. Turner assisted with the marriage, and she also preached on the Sunday morning and her sermon was well-received. It was lovely being back in a ‘neighborhood’ church – a small building made of stone and wood, that reminded me of the small Victorian mission church I served in East London. You may remember the terrible ‘mud-slides’ following the devastation caused by wild fires some years ago, and we heard how people naturally gathered at the church because it was a safe place in more ways than one.
While we were there, we were also able to visit the Mission of Santa Barbara, still staffed by Franciscans. It was fascinating seeing an original Spanish Mission (albeit re-built after an earthquake) whose walls are adorned with paintings by the Chumash people, who are indigenous to the area.
On my return, we had two very full days of recordings for BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4. Thank you to those who came to the recording and provided the congregation. If you were there, you would have been astonished by the sound of the choir. Dr. Filsell chose incredibly challenging music for the evensong, and the setting of the canticles by Sebastian Forbes was breathtaking. It was commissioned for Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford (hence the title Aedes Christi) and premiered in 1981 by the Cathedral Choir directed by Simon Preston. I am told that it has never been broadcast since! I found an archive recording on You Tube which was fascinating to listen to. By contrast, the music recorded for Sunday morning was by Byrd, Tomkins, and Weelkes, interspersed with readings, prayers, and a powerful homily by Father Schultz.
You can listen to the Morning Service on Sunday on the BBC website. And you can listen to the broadcast of Choral Evensong on the Eve of Thanksgiving Day on BBC Radio 3.
This Sunday, we keep the Feast of Christ the King, and then we celebrate Thanksgiving Day on Thursday with a wonderful mass at 11am.
The following Sunday will be Advent Sunday, and Fr. Mead, our Rector Emeritus, will be the preacher at 11am. I encourage all of you to join him and us in-person or on-line later in the day at 4pm for the Advent Procession. Last year, we re-envisioned that service, and our dear friend, the Rev. Fleming Rutledge attended it for the first time, and said this about it on her Twitter (now X) feed:
Do something wonderful for yourself. Livestream the evening service for Advent I at St. Thomas 5th Av. It’s the very essence of the season. It’s long–1 1/2 hour –but it rises to a tremendous climax. Be sure to print the leaflet to get the full impact. Can’t speak for others, but the biblical imagery and the poetic imagination here will stay with me always. I’ve listened four times to “Christus Maris” (Christ of the Sea) with its breathtaking text by Michael Ffinch.
Thank you, dear Fleming – because of your post, an extra 4500 people watched the Advent Procession last year!
See you on Sunday!
Affectionately,
Your Priest and Pastor,
Carl
