Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 1.23.26
Very dear members and friends of our parish family,
Our snow shovels and snow blower are all ready for this weekend, and we hope that everyone stays safe. It is predicted to be a huge storm.
We will celebrate both morning masses as scheduled this Sunday…. one of the many blessings of having the rectory next door. But please make choices according to your sense of safety. This is also a time when we give special thanks for our live-stream ministry!
The gospel passage and sermon text for this upcoming third Sunday after the Epiphany is the familiar story of Jesus calling his first disciples (Matthew 4:12-23), and it has something beautiful to say about you and me! We each have a call in God, and knowledge of that call has little to do with the details of the plan, and everything to do with the condition of our hearts.
The music for this Sunday includes the hymn, Thy Strong Word Did Cleave the Darkness. It is sung to the profound, rolling tune Ebenezer, which was traditionally called “Ton-Y-botel” because of a legend that it was found in a bottle along the Welsh coast. This was printed in a Welsh newspaper in 1902. However, the tune actually came from the second movement of an anthem by Welsh composer Thomas John Williams. Vaughan Williams called this one of the greatest hymns of all time. The Boys and Girls choir will sing music that we will perform with another 60 singers at the Cathedral of St. John Divine Diocesan Youth Choir Festival next Saturday, January 31. There is an Evensong that is open to the public at 4 PM. Please join us.
And we will be certain to have all the snow cleared for next Friday! We invite you to join us Friday, January 30 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. Get your tickets in advance here. 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).
Please plan on joining your rector and parish family at this year’s annu 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 live-streamed on the Cathedral Website, and on the Cathedral YouTube Channel beginning at 10:30 am.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the Luminous mysteries.
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