Weekly Update from Fr. van Dooren 12.15.25
Dear members and friends of our Little Church family,
This upcoming second Sunday of Advent will be beautiful as only the season of Advent can give! The middle two Sundays of Advent are always dedicated to the person of John the Baptist, along with Isaiah from the Old Testament. The season itself, and the ministry of John the Baptist, will serve as my sermon texts for Sunday. Please make every effort to attend, allowing the spirit of this amazing preparatory season to bathe our hearts!
This week we hear words of comfort and hope in our hymns and music. The choir will offer And the Glory of the Lord will be Revealed from Handel’s Messiah. We will sing the great Advent hymn, Comfort, comfort ye my people whose text originated in 1671 with the German theologian Johannes Olearius, who based the text on Isaiah 40. The hymn was originally written for St. John the Baptist’s Day, whose story we hear this week, with the tune, Freu dich sehr, composed by Louis Bourgeios in 1551. Catherine Winkworth translated the German text into English in 1863. We will also sing one of Claudia's favorite hymns, O Day of Peace that Dimly Shines, which Alec Wyton, one of the compilers of the Hymnal 1982 and American and English church music leader, set to the popular tune Jerusalem (Chariots of Fire theme).
Then immediately following our 11:00am mass, we will have our Annual Meeting which is always scheduled for second Sunday of Advent. This is our yearly “family meeting” as a parish when we hear the State of the Union of our congregation and elect fellow parishioners to serve on vestry, the governing board of the parish. Our nominating committee has proposed the following slate of nominees who have lovingly agreed to serve on the vestry:
For Warden (two year term): Paul Cardozo
For the Vestry: Steve Leavitt and
new proposed members: Melissa Gibbs, David Micklos, and David Natoli.
We will offer a special mass on the feast of the Conception of Mary this Monday at 12:10pm in the Family Chapel. Fr. Platt will be the celebrant.
We are partnering with the Episcopal Actors Guild for a holiday food drive! Please help us fill empty plates this season! Donations are being collected for the Actors Pantry at EAG and will be distributed to NYC actors, dancers, and singers in need. Most-needed items include canned meat, soups, pasta, rice, granola bars, nuts, beans, peanut butter, jelly, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, & soap. We also welcome holiday items like stuffing, cocoa, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Click here for more information on how to donate funds or food.
We hope you’ll join us for our annual Christmas Candlelight Concert on Friday, December 19 at 7:30 pm. This year’s performance will include George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, Part 1 and special holiday music, featuring by The Transfiguration Choir of Men and Boys & Girls with Period Instrument Chamber Orchestra; soloists, Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Christine Browne-Munz, Santiago Vargas Machado, tenor, Peter Stewart, baritone, Dominick Matsko, baritone; Christopher Creaghan, organ soloist; Claudia Dumschat, conductor. Tickets are $30 for General Admission Tickets, $20 for students and seniors. Get your tickets in advance here.
At our Christmas Candlelight Concert, our choir parents will be holding a bake sale and raffle. Please make sure to stop by their table, as all proceeds will support our choirs. In addition, there are some delicious treats for pre-order. Click here to view the pre-order site. Please note all pre-orders must be picked up at the concert.
Claudia Dumschat invites you to the Dalton Chorale’s Winter concert on Friday, December 9 at 7:30 pm at The Church of the Holy Trinity. The concert will feature the chorale with early instrument ensemble and soloists in an evening of great music. Click here to view the poster.
Each Christmas season, our church is filled with beautiful flowers and with special music for the season. Many members of our parish generously help cover the costs. If you are able and wish to contribute, please use the envelopes in the back or write "Music" or "Flowers" on your check. You can use our e-giving sites here or you can also text 914-685-9200 with any amount and the keywords of “flowers” or "music" to give to each fund. (i.e $20 flowers or $20 music). If the gift is in memoriam, please write the name(s) legibly on the envelope, in the special instructions boxes online, send the name(s) via email to parishoffice@littlechurch.org, by Sunday, December 21 in order to be included in the Christmas bulletins. Please note that the bulletins will be going to our entire email list, so please edit your names as you would prefer to see them displayed.
The Holy Rosary will be prayed in the Family chapel at 9:30am this Sunday. We will pray the luminous mysteries which includes the mystery of our Lord’s baptism by John the Baptist.
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 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