Dear Friends,
I love the month of November – the month of remembrance – of All Saints, All Souls, Remembrance Sunday; and culminating in Thanksgiving Day and Advent Sunday, with its solemn themes of judgement, heaven, and hell. Even the moving back of the clocks seems to prepare us for the particular character of this month; the nights are getting longer, and it gets dark in the late afternoon. There is something very special at this time of year when coming to Church for evensong with the nights drawing in. As a boy, growing up in Yorkshire, I remember this month vividly, especially the huge piles of leaves that had fallen from the trees in the streets, the building of massive bonfires ready for Guy Fawkes Night on November 5, and the smell of the thick, pungent smog-like smoke rising from my own father’s garden. Those themes come together most vividly every time I hear Laurence Binyon’s First World War poem ‘The burning of the leaves:’
Now is the time for the burning of the leaves.
They go to the fire; the nostril pricks with smoke
Wandering slowly into a weeping mist.
Remembering is not only what makes us human, it also forms bonds that create community; and communities use ritual and liturgy in order to connect with the remembrances of the past in a vivid and beautiful way. That is what we do in this month of remembrance.
You can find all the details of our special November services here. Please make a note that this Sunday will be All Saints’ Sunday when we think of the whole communion of Saints and our fellowship with them beyond the grave. I love the phrase that Dean Eric Milner White used in the bidding prayer for use at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols: “let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore, and in a greater light, that multitude which no man can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom in the Lord Jesus we are for ever one.”
Our hope in the Word made flesh means that we follow All Saints Day with its gold vestments and images of the worship of heaven with All Souls’ Day and Remembrance Sunday and the reality that death is also a parting that brings sorrow. This is the paradox of the Christian Faith – that death is not the end but a new beginning because Jesus triumphed over death and the grave.
On November 9, we keep Remembrance Sunday. This year, thanks to a generous donation, the Duruflé Requiem at 11am will be accompanied by an orchestra. Please mark your calendars and bring your friends to what will be a very moving celebration. If you wish to have a name inscribed in the Book of Remembrance to be placed on the altar, please send the names to remembrance@saintthomaschurch.org. At the 4pm service, there will be the usual act of remembrance for our war dead, and our preacher will be The Reverend Canon Maurice A. Dyer II, Canon to the Bishop, Armed Forces and Federal Ministries. We will be joined by representatives of the Patriotic and Historical Societies of New York.
Last week, a number of parishioners attended the annual investiture of the Venerable Order of St. John in Washington DC. There was a glorious celebration in the National Cathedral, and we also heard promising updates about the work of the eye hospital group in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The hospital in Gaza City is badly damaged but, incredibly, all our ophthalmic equipment has been made safe, and teams of doctors and nurses continue to care for the sick and the displaced. There is now a huge backlog of surgical procedures because of the war, and support for the Eye Hospital Group is more important than ever.
This weekend, I am attending the annual gathering of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of York, and then preaching at Exeter Cathedral. I had forgotten that I was meant to preach in March 2020, but the lockdown prevented it! I hope that this November will enrich your faith and give your encouragement.
Affectionately,
Your Priest and Pastor,
Carl
