Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!
Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Dear Friends,
It has been a powerful Holy Week! The Vestry, Clergy, and Staff have been delighted that so many people have responded to the encouragement to enter into Holy Week. We saw our in-person numbers more than double those of last year, with over 6,500 people worshipping with us on Palm Sunday – more than 900 people came in-person – and there has been a real sense of walking with Jesus. From the moving Quiet Day led by Bishop Andrew St. John to the thoughtful sermons of Dean McGowan on the Arma Christi, we have been truly blessed. The music has been exquisite but the sense of devotion and prayer has been noticeable.
The clergy gathered in the Cathedral on Holy Tuesday for the Mass of Collegiality at which Bishop Heyd consecrated the Holy Chrism for use at baptism and confirmations.
It was also a chance for the clergy to say thank you to Bishop Mary who retires in May. Mary has been a supportive friend to our parish and we wish her well. Her Diocesan Farewell will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on the Feast of the Visitation, Saturday, May 31, at 10:30am.
Those who are members of the Order of Saint John and those who are volunteers with our Neighbor-to-Neighbor program will want to sign up to help package meals for hungry children in Africa, organized by Rise against Hunger. The event will take place in Andrew Hall on Saturday, May 17 from 10:30am and we hope to package 10,000 meals which will allow a whole class of school children to have a hot meal every day for a whole year. We need at least 50 volunteers and the event will take around two hours. Please click on the image below to register:
Rise Against Hunger works in countries worldwide to fight hunger, targeting communities facing high rates of food insecurity. We provide volunteer-packaged meals and other assistance, often through school feeding programs, to support nutrition, education and health for children and families facing hunger right now. We also partner with local leaders to implement sustainable agriculture and income-generating projects that support long-term solutions to food security and empower communities to become self-reliant and thrive.
Special Guests during Eastertide
Please make sure you have the Bishop’s visitation in your calendar. We welcome Bishop Allen Shin, Suffragan Bishop of New York, on Sunday, May 11. Note that there will be one combined mass at 10am with the Choir of Men and Boys and the Noble Singers. We welcome new members through baptism, confirmation, and reception who have been attending this year’s Pilgrims’ Class.
Following our very successful and delicious Parish brunch last year, we have tickets available again for Brunch in Andrew Hall. Adult tickets are $25 and children under 16 are free. Places are limited, and the event sold out last year, so please follow this link to book your ticket.
On Sunday, April 27, we have a very special visitor; our preacher at the 11am mass will be the Most Rev. Thabo C. Makgoba KStJ, Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, who is also going to speak at the Annual Church Club of New York Dinner on May 1.
Then, on Sunday, May 18, we welcome a good friend of our Parish, the Very Rev. David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, to be our preacher at 11am.
A very Happy easter to you all!
Your Priest and Pastor,
Carl
‘Easter’ by George Herbert (1593-1633)
Rise heart; thy Lord is risen. Sing his praise
Without delays,
Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise
With him mayst rise:
That, as his death calcined thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and much more just.Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part
With all thy art.
The cross taught all wood to resound his name,
Who bore the same.
His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key
Is best to celebrate this most high day.Consort both heart and lute, and twist a song
Pleasant and long:
Or since all music is but three parts vied
And multiplied;
O let thy blessed Spirit bear a part,
And make up our defects with his sweet art.I got me flowers to straw thy way:
I got me boughs off many a tree:
But thou wast up by break of day,
And brought’st thy sweets along with thee.The Sun arising in the East,
Though he give light, and th’East perfume;
If they should offer to contest
With thy arising, they presume.Can there be any day but this,
Though many suns to shine endeavour?
We count three hundred, but we miss:
There is but one, and that one ever.
