Last week we began at the beginning, inaugurating our 151st Program year. This week we are gathered at the very center of our life together -- to the cross of Jesus Christ. This Sunday we celebrate Holy Cross Day and rejoice that, through Christ's cross, diverse people and communities and all creation are being gathered into the loving embrace of God and publicly nourished by Christ.
On this day, we are hoping to receive all 2012-2013 Stewardship Fund commitments to the 150th Anniversary Challenge. Drop yours in the mail or an offering basin, and place your anniversary cross on the display in the Narthex.
At the 10:00 Forum in the Living Room, I'll continue surveying the ways in which Saint Peter's has addressed communal and societal needs over the past 150 years, picking up where we left off, with the year 1919. The series is called "Songs of our Forebears."
At the 11:00 mass, we will introduce our new vicar, Dustin Wright and induct him into our ministry together. Like all his predecessors', Dustin's primary internship assignment is with Dennis Frado at the Lutheran Office for World Community at the United Nations. Saint Peter's provides the parish ministry counterpoint to that advocacy-centered task.
JAZZ 4 ALL, a new family-centered program with a special emphasis on children and families begins the first of four events this Sunday at 4:00 p.m. See below for more information.
MEALS 4 ALL will always accompany JAZZ 4 ALL, providing brunch after the 11:00 a.m. mass, lunch after our 1:30 p.m. misa and supper after 5:00 p.m. Jazz Vespers. We are thankful to our own Christopher Vergara who organized the members of our Spanish-speaking community and those of Sion Lutheran Church who together will provide all of our meals all day, hence, MEALS 4 ALL. Servers are needed.
Finally, we welcome the members of Sion Lutheran Church to our 1:30 misa this Sunday as they, together with our misa community, our Metropolitan New York Synod and all of us at Saint Peter's seek to discern the future of Latino ministry in Manhattan.
All in all, this is going to be a great and very full day, a fitting prelude to another great and full day, our inaugural celebration of our 150th anniversary on September 23 which Bishop Rimbo will lead.
WE COULD USE SOME HELP to prepare for our September 23 liturgies. Our albs (the white robes our liturgical ministers wear) need to be laundered here at the church (we have a washer and dryer) and our silver needs to be polished this week. Any volunteers? Please contact Pastor Derr ([email protected]) or Pastor Stahler ([email protected].) or call us at 212-935-2200.
Deeply Rooted through the cross of Christ, Always Growing as we seek to embrace one another. The liturgies, meals and programs of Sunday, September 23 will illustrate perfectly our anniversary's motto and our sesquicentennial goal.
The best is yet to come! See you Sunday!