Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 1.16.26
Very dear members and friends of our parish family,
Blessings to you this Martin Luther King weekend. The Church officially celebrates Dr. King’s life and ministry on April 4th, his death date (heavenly birthday) as it does all of its saints and worthies. But we also remember him, along with our nation, at this time around the date of his birth, January 15, 1929. The collect commemorating Dr. King has palpable meaning for this very moment in time:
Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may strive to secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This upcoming Second Sunday after the Epiphany, we have the beautiful story of the calling of our Lord’s first disciples (John 1:29-42). Fr. Patrick Cheng will celebrate and preach the morning masses. Our Spanish mass will be celebrated at 5:00pm this Sunday with Mother Leticia Alanis as our celebrant and preacher.
I will be visiting my twin sister and family in North Carolina and Georgia this weekend, and I wish to extend my sincerest appreciation to our associate priest, Fr. Patrick, whose presence and ministry allows me to take such times away from the parish. Thank you, Fr. Patrick!
We celebrate Martin Luther King weekend with lots of wonderful music this Sunday. The choir will sing one of their favorite spiritual arrangements by Lena McLin - Don’t You Let Nobody Turn You Round. And we all will sing the Civil Rights anthem Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing. Claudia Dumschat, our beloved choirmaster, is excited to perform a new piece, Toccata on Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing by the renowned Christian music composer Mark A. Miller, who currently is on the faculty of the Yale Sacred Music Institute.
We're so excited to partner with the Flatiron NoMad Partnership for Flatiron NoMad Glows Pink, a free public art experience featuring Mr. Pink throughout the neighborhood. Mr. Pink is a playful, larger-than-life artwork by French artist Phillippe Katerine, designed to bring color, joy, and creativity to public spaces. Now through February 28, explore illuminated Mr. Pink Art installations, plus weekly tours, a self-guided art trail & special neighborhood perks. For more details, click here.
We invite you to join us on 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).
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the Joyful 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 contact the parish office at 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