Winter 2021-2022
COVID 19
Barbara J. Wells
How do I feel, you ask me? How do I feel? My world’s become surreal. I’m adrift, worried, confused, alone. Oh, there’s plenty of conversation, plenty of laughter back and forth, to and fro across my phone. And seemingly never-ending texts dance upon the screens of all my devices. But Lord… I want a hug….
Review of Courage to Thrive: Finding Joy and Hope in the Midst of Mental Health Struggles
The Rev. Dr. Charles D. Mayer
By Robert D. Flanagan. Foreword by Christine Moutier and Doreen Marshall. Redemption Press, 2020. ix-xi + 165 pages. Robert Flanagan, a priest in the Diocese of New York, spiritual director, and seminary professor, has produced a splendid spiritual journal drawn from his own courageous journey through the dark night of mental health struggles. Dr. Flanagan…
Joy to the World
The Rev. James Lee Burns
For unto us a child is born Babies change everything. It’s non-negotiable. Out with old routines In with flexible themes. A diaper needs changing? Your schedule needs rearranging. No matter your plans, there’s other demands, it’s out of your hands, so adjust. And the learning curve arcs both ways, both baby and…
Covid Commandment Lessons
The Rev. Dr. Rosalie Richards
It was the Church of Our Savior in Manhattan’s Chinatown that taught me the second Great Commandment. What is ironic is that I honestly thought I didn’t need to learn more: I know the Great Commandments—in 40 years of ordination I have preached on them, considered them, and done my best to apply them. They…
Ten Seasons Strong – The Hyde Park Community Garden
Deb Belding
We have recently completed our tenth growing season at the Hyde Park Community Garden, which started decades ago as the dream and vision of long-time parishioner Allelu Kurten, who looked at the abandoned baseball field on the grounds of St. James’ Church, and thought about a garden instead. Fast forward to 2012, when Allelu was…
You Have to Actively Love People
Kathryn Parker
Imagine what it would be like to have attended, supported, and loved a church for years, only to be unable to attend near the end of your life, and even to be forgotten. Around 2005, a parishioner of Grace Church, Middletown, began recording our services and either mailing or hand delivering CDs to our elderly…
On Being – And Ceasing to Be – Your Bishop
The Rt. Rev. Andrew ML Dietsche
At the annual convention of the Diocese of New York last month I called for the election of a Bishop Coadjutor, by which I also announced my intention to retire. That announcement sets in motion periods of transition both for the Diocese of New York and for Margaret and me and our family. These transitions are now…
It’s Time We Made People with Disabilities Feel Truly Welcome in Our Churches
The Rev. Deacon Eugene Bourquin
There are various ministries and missions around the Diocese of New York which serve people with disabilities. The diocese has two congregations of people with hearing loss, including the longest operating church for the deaf in the world. Elsewhere, there are ministries to people with intellectual disabilities, and individuals who are blind and deaf have…
Words to Live By
The Rev. Deacon Ann Douglas
Be Prepared. Stand Guard. Remember the Alamo. Live Free or Die. Keep Calm and Carry On. I’ve never been a joiner—never been a member of good community associations such as the Girl Scouts. I couldn’t wrap my curly head around joining and being “keen” on things like camping in skimpy tents and making a fire…
Against All Odds: Hope In Dark Times
Stanley Weinberg, LCSW, BCD
If you stroll or bike south in Hudson River Park, you can find, at the entrance to Rockefeller Park and opposite Stuyvesant High School, a plaque, on the railing overlooking the river, commemorating the spot where it is believed that Frederick Douglass landed in New York in 1845, having just escaped from slavery. Though he…