Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 1.30.26
Very dear members and friends of our parish family,
Blessings to you on this very frigid day! We lift in prayer all who work and live outside in what can be very dangerous weather conditions, and we, as a parish family, continue to do all we can to support our neighbors and our city at this critical time.
What an exciting weekend we have ahead of us. There is so much “wonderfulness” that I hope you’ll mark your calendars for these events, as well as activities leading up to Ash Wednesday and Lent, thus the very long length of this update. Just for this weekend:
Friday - a special concert from our very own Matei Varga
Saturday - our choirs join in a celebration at the Cathedral
Sunday - the Feast of the Presentation
Let me begin with the celebration of the feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple this Sunday! The sermon will highlight the beauty and significance of this feast, but allow me to offer a brief preview. Few feasts of the Church can boast of so many titles…. “The Feast of the Presentation,” “Candlemas,” “The meeting of Simeon,” “The Purification of Mary,” and of course, “Groundhog Day,” which has a direct religious connection to this feast!
The Feast of the Presentation is primarily a feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ as he was dedicated in the temple 40 days after his birth, but secondarily, it is also a feast of Mary as she offered sacrifice for her purification following the birth of her first born son.
This feast day is considered a feast of light as we sense a tangible difference when the days become longer. In the ancient world, before electricity and technology, this lengthening of light meant improved economy and quality of life! Thus the blessing of candles on this day symbolizes the gift of light ultimately known in the love of God in the incarnation of Jesus.
Please make every effort to attend mass this Sunday for this most meaningful and beautiful of feasts!
There is a chance of yet another snow storm, but both Sunday masses will be celebrated with gusto, incense, and snow shovels at the ready!
This Sunday’s music is all connected to the theme of Candlemas and its scripture readings. Our wonderful baritone soloist Dominick Matsko will sing Schlummert ein, (Fall asleep, you weary eyes) from Bach’s Cantata 82 which uses the words of Simeon in the Nunc dimittis - Lord, now lettest now thy servant depart in peace. The Cantata was written for the Feast of the Purification and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
The Men will also sing a Plainchant version of the Nunc dimittis while the congregation blesses the candles. This commemorates the text in the Nunc dimittis - “To be a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”
The Gentlemen of the Choir will sing the Herbert Sumsion Mass for Men’s Voices, which we last sang on Christmas Day. We will also sing a wonderful anthem on the text “Today the Blessed Virgin Mary presented the boy Jesus in the Temple.” It is by the Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance era, Jacques Arcadelt. Arcadelt was a famous madrigalist, active all over Europe and a friend and collaborator of Michelangelo.
We invite you to join us on tonight (Friday) at 7 pm for a special concert featuring Matei Varga on piano. From Impressionistic fairy tales to stories of unrequited love - come enjoy works by Debussy, Ravel, Enescu, Bach, and Brahms. Warm up your winter blues with music played on Houghton Hall's new piano Esmeralda! Tickets are $20 for General Admission, $15 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased in advance here or at the door. Please note this concert will be held in the Fred and Adele Astaire Ballroom in Houghton Hall Arts Community (enter at 22 East 30th Street).
The Boys and Girls choir will sing with another 60 singers at the Cathedral of St. John Divine Diocesan Youth Choir Festival tomorrow, Saturday, January 31. There is an Evensong that is open to the public at 4 PM. Please join us.
Please plan on joining your rector and parish family at this year’s annual Blessed Absalom Jones Celebration at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Saturday February 14th at 10:30am. Absalom Jones was a freed slave, abolitionist, first African-American priest in the Episcopal Church, and founder of the first black Episcopal congregation in 1794. This meaningful service will honor the legacy of the Reverend Absalom Jones, whose groundbreaking ministry paved the way for a more diverse and inclusive priesthood. If you are unable to join us in person, This Service will be streamed live on the Cathedral Website, and on the Cathedral YouTube Channel beginning at 10:30 am.
Prior to Ash Wednesday, our annual talent show returns this year, on Monday (instead of Tuesday), February 16, with a combination Talent Show and pizza party. The pizza reception will begin at 6:00 pm with the talent show to follow at 7:15pm. The pizza will represent the possible “fat and excesses” that we will give up for the 40 day season of Lent starting on Ash Wednesday. Parishioners are also invited to bring salads (fruit salads too), desserts, and soft drinks to complement the pizza. Please contact Lee (leealderson04@gmail.com) to coordinate what you plan to bring. This is always a fun evening for our parish family on the eve of a very serious and somber Lenten season.
Poets, rappers, dancers, singers, actors, readers, comics, artists of all sorts are encouraged to spread the joy at our talent show! Please contact our music director Claudia Dumschat (cdumschat@littlechurch.org) for more information.
Ash Wednesday masses with imposition of ashes will be offered on Wednesday, February 18 at 8:30am, 12:10pm, and 6:30pm. If you are unable to attend these masses but still would like to receive ashes, please call the parish office during the hours of 9 am to 4 pm to ensure availability.
We will honor the devotions of the Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on the Fridays of Lent beginning Friday, February 27th (note this devotion will not be held on the First Friday of Lent, February 20th).
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the joyful mysteries which include the story of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple.
We continue to live-stream each Sunday’s mass at 11:00am, and a link is sent out each Sunday morning at 8:00am. We live-stream on Facebook and YouTube. Please email the parish office (parishoffice@littlechurch.org) if you would like to pray the morning and evening offices with us by Zoom.
Thank you for your continued faith, support, and love for the parish.
Fides Opera
With loving wishes,
Fr. van Dooren