Congratulations, Mr. Dean!

On Monday, October 1, Princeton University announced that the Reverend Thomas E. Breidenthal has been appointed dean of religious life at Princeton.  He assumes his new position on January 1, 2002.  I could not be more happy and delighted for him and his family.  It was hard to lose Father Shin to Oxford and it is going to be hard to lose Father Breidenthal to Princeton, but in both cases these appointments continue an old tradition of the clergy of Saint Mary’s going on to be of greater service to the wider church.

Father Breidenthal and I have not yet had a chance to talk about when he will leave us.  He will have so many things to work through.  He is the John Henry Hobart Professor of Christian Ethics and Moral Theology at the General Theological Seminary.  He is known to be one of those special people within that community to whom many look for leadership and pastoral care in addition to his work as teacher and scholar.  Having moved myself in the not-too-recent past, I know how hard it will be for the Breidenthals to move.  Yet, there is an energy in a call to a new work that is wonderful.

In recent decades the parish has always had three resident priests, the rector, the curate and a part-time assistant.  It was a great opportunity to have Father Breidenthal available to us.  It has been wonderful to have a colleague for Saint Mary’s who brings so much to us as pastor, priest and teacher.  He will be hard to replace, but I will be working with the parish leadership to begin to evaluate what shape the ministry of assistant may take in the new year.

In the meantime, our congratulations go to Father Breidenthal.  I know that very soon the Princeton community will appreciate how very blessed they have been by calling him to this work.  I will keep you posted as plans evolve for saying goodbye to the Breidenthals.  Stephen Gerth

PRAYER LIST . . . Your prayers are asked for Karen who is hospitalized and for Patrick, Alex, Marion, Beatrice, Godfrey, Harold, Olga, Carl, Eleanor, John, Peter, Joseph, Michael, Kenneth, Ursula, Jessica, Russell, Susan, Esme, Tessie, Richard, Jennifer, John, William, Norma, Raymond, Jolene, Dorene, Barbara, priest, Charles, priest, and Arthur, priest.  Your prayers are also asked for the repose of the souls of Frank and William Jacob.

GRANT THEM PEACE . . . October 7: 1962 Stephen Waterman Mason; 1965 Josephine Barreaux; October 9: 1971 Roger Rolt-Wheeler; 1987 Barbara L. Coates; October 10: 1994 Octavia Josephine Wall.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Christina Hansen’s father, Frank Gasparro, died on Saturday, September 29.  He was ninety-two years old.  Mr. Gasparro’s name is unknown to most Americans, yet his work is in all of our pockets.  He was a designer and engraver for the U.S. Mint.  His most famous work is the 1949 Lincoln Memorial side of the penny.  Please pray for Frank, for Christina and for all who mourn . . . William Jacob Burnett, son of the Reverend Marc and Jennifer Burnett died on Monday, October 1.  Jacob was born with heart disease and was undergoing surgery.  Father was seminarian here from 1997 to 1999 while a student at the General Theological Seminary.  Presently he is rector of Saint Andrew’s Church, Birmingham, one of the Anglo-catholic parishes of his diocese.  Please pray for Marc and Jennifer and for all who mourn.

LITURGICAL NOTES . . . The Sunday Proper: Genesis 28:10-17, Psalm 84:1-6, 1 Peter 2:1-5, 9-10, Matthew 21:12-16 . . . Confessions will be heard on Saturday, October 6 by Father Garrison and on Saturday, October 13 by Father Gerth . . . NOTES ON MUSIC . . . The prelude before the Solemn Mass on Sunday will be Choral from Quatre pièces, Op. 37 by Joseph Jongen (1873-1953) and postlude will be Tu es petra (Thou are the rock) from Esquisses Byzantines by Henri Mulet (1878-1967).  Sunday marks the return of the full choir.  The mass setting is Missa ‘Iste confessor’ by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) and the motet at communion is Locus iste by Anton Bruckner (1824-1896).

AROUND THE PARISH . . . On Monday October 8, the parish office will be closed in observance of Columbus Day.  The church will be open only for the 12:15 PM Mass . . . As we go to press, Karen Benson remains in the intensive care unit at Saint Vincent’s Hospital.  Please remember her in your prayers . . . Many members of the parish were able to attend the installation of Bishop Sisk on Michaelmas.  It was a splendid occasion.  Bishop Sisk’s sermon is available on the Diocese of New York web page, www.dioceseny.org . . . The Rector and a number of parishioners were able to be present for the institution of the Reverend Canon Barry E. B. Swain as rector of the Church of the Resurrection on Tuesday evening, October 2.  Bishop Sisk presided and a former curate of this parish, the Reverend Andrew Sloane, now rector of Saint Paul’s Parish, K Street, Washington, D.C., was preacher . . . Parishioner Martin Cowart has been working with the Episcopal food ministry by Ground Zero at Saint Paul’s Chapel.  He put in an urgent call for two soup pots last Saturday.  Confession: The Rector gave away one pot from the parish kitchen and one from his own.  It’s the least we could do . . . Many thanks to Robert Eikel for his continuing assistance this week with the parish computer network . . . Father Breidenthal’s series, “Shakespeare as Theologian,” repeated from last year, will meet in Saint Benedict’s Study on Wednesday evenings, October 3 through October 24.  The discussion will especially consider Christian influences on Measure for Measure and The Tempest . . . Attendance last Sunday 179.

WELCOME OUR ASSISTANT ORGANIST . . . Beginning this Sunday, Mr. Robert McDermitt will join us as organist for the 10:00 AM Sung Mass.  Robert holds the M.Mus. in Organ Performance and B.Mus. in Music Education degrees from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, NJ, where he studied organ with Eugene Roan.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. McDermitt served as associate director of music at the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola in New York and also spent one year as fellow in church music at Christ and Saint Stephen’s Church, New York.  While at Westminster Choir College, Robert was assistant university organist at Princeton University under principal organist, Joan Lippincott.  Welcome, Robert!

JOURNEY IN FAITH . . . .Do you need a community you can call your spiritual home? Have you been neglecting the spiritual side of your life? Do you have questions about life? About faith and religion? About Jesus and the Christian faith? Are you considering (or reconsidering) joining the Church? “Journey in Faith” at Saint Mary the Virgin, may be just the thing for which you have been searching.  You may not always have felt safe and comfortable raising questions like those above. You may not have found a place where you were encouraged to seek and explore faith and spirituality. “Journey in Faith” provides that safe place where you can raise real questions and seek real answers with one of the parish clergy and others who are already on a journey in Christian faith.  “Journey in Faith” is specially designed for seekers who are committed to inquiring, exploring, and delving deeper into a life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, in the context of a real and dynamic Christian community. Those who are new to the Episcopal Church and those considering transferring their membership to Saint Mary’s are also encouraged to attend.  “Journey in Faith” is a rite of passage in four stages leading deeper into Christian faith and spirituality. Classes are held on Sunday afternoons from 1:00-2:30 PM following the post-Solemn Mass coffee hour. Consider signing up today. After all, life is a “Journey in Faith.”

ABOUT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION . . . Saint Mary’s began to observe the first Sunday in October as its Feast of Dedication in 1930 with the arrival of the Reverend Granville Mercer Williams, S.S.J.E., as rector.  Before that time the Dedication was observed on December 8, which our parish has always observed as its patronal feast and which is the actual anniversary of the first service in this building, held December 8, 1895.  The church was consecrated by Bishop Potter of New York on December 12, 1895.  I suspect that our parish has continued to observe the Dedication on this Sunday because it is a convenient date on which to begin the choir season.  And it is one of the feasts on which Solemn Mass is preceded by a procession of the ministers of the assembly.

The Calendar of the Week

Sunday              The Dedication of the Church

Monday                     Weekday

Columbus Day (Federal holiday Schedule: one Mass only, at 12:15 PM)

Tuesday                     Robert Grosseteste, bishop

Wednesday               Weekday

Thursday                  Weekday

Friday                        Weekday                                                                    Abstinence

Saturday                   Of Our Lady

The Parish Clergy

The Reverend Stephen Gerth, rector,

The Reverend Matthew G. Weiler, curate, The Reverend Thomas Breidenthal, assistant,

The Reverend Arthur Wolsoncroft, The Reverend Canon Maurice Garrison, The Reverend Amilcar Figueroa,

The Reverend Rosemari Sullivan, The Reverend James Ross Smith, assisting priests,

The Reverend Canon Edgar F. Wells, rector emeritus.