Rector’s Chronicle

The past months have been marked by a great deal of activity in our church family; we have bid farewell to staff and parishioners who have moved away and have welcomed the arrival of new staff and new members. Our strategic planning exercise is over half-way through and has engaged a huge number of people; the data-collection period being over, we now turn to examining our life, our finances, and our future growth.

Canon Turner reflects on the many departures, arrivals, and new opportunities at Saint Thomas as we approach the new choral season.

As Christmas draws near, Canon Turner shares information and news about the parish including news about our Chantry priests, candles for prayer, and a parish social event with a difference.

Saint Thomas Church will continue to be a haven of quiet spirituality throughout the summer. Daily masses and Sunday adult education courses continue and visiting choirs or the Gentlemen of the Choir provide beautiful music for the Sunday 11am service.

As Lent approaches, Canon Turner shares information about special events, visitors, celebrations and some of the notable things that have happened since Christmas.

As of the writing of this Chronicle, the scaffolding covering the front of the church has been completely removed. We are delighted with the efforts of all involved in the stained glass windows project, the cleaning of the church, and the stone repairs.

There is a great deal happening at Saint Thomas as the new choral season 2016-17 begins. The Rector’s Chronicle is full of news – everything from education for children and adults to social events to enjoy this Fall.

Canon Turner’s summer chronicle is full of interesting news. He shares information on the stained glass window project, the dismantling of the Arents Organ, and news on the future of our education program.

In his Lent Chronicle Father Turner shares lots of news and information about coming events. He also shares the progress made on Father Andrew’s memorial and the Taylor & Boody organ.

The Rector writes about upcoming Advent and Christmas liturgies, and about other goings-on in the parish as we begin a new church year.

As Canon Turner completes his first year as Rector, he reflects on the parish as a family and on the death of John Scott, and shares plans for a memorial for Father Andrew and for various events in the fall.

In his first chronicle as Rector of Saint Thomas Church, Fr Turner reflects on his first six months and looks forward to the future of the parish.

In his final Chronicle as Rector of Saint Thomas Church, Fr Mead offers his gratitude to the parish and discusses his upcoming retirement. This Chronicle also includes the text of Fr Mead’s remarks from the May 30, 2014 centennial event.

As the Rector’s retirement nears, he writes about Lent, the Centennial, the new organ, sermons, and downsizing. He also includes a mini book report.

Fr Mead serves up a Christmas & Centennial blend, topped off with a dollop of Trollope and other good things.

As he begins his final choral season as Rector of Saint Thomas Church, Fr Mead looks forward to the centennial year of our beloved church building, and also shares some thoughts regarding his summer reading list.

In this Lenten Chronicle, the Rector writes about Holy Week, Fr Fletcher, Jon Meacham, Fr Austin, two new assistant organists, the Eton Choirbook, Kierkegaard, Dr Stires and Dr Noble. He does all of this before he answers, at long last, a $77,000 parish history question.

What does Superstorm Sandy have to do with Christmas? The Rector, in his December Chronicle, gives us his answer.

Never have 11,545 Chantry folks, seven books, and Saint Cyprian shared space in a single publication. Never, that is, until now.

Our orbit around the sun hasn’t yet taken us out of spring, but at Saint Thomas summer has arrived. Commencement has commenced, Leaving Sunday has left, and the choristers are long gone. (They’ve not only left the building, they’ve left the country!) All of this yields happy peace at Fifth and fifty-third.

The Rector, like the calendar, is in summer mode. So, too, is his Chronicle. Having lost its winter weight, the Chronicle is two pages instead of four. Short on words, it is long on gratitude: for uncommon clergy and for common prayer.

What do Lent, Bishop Gillies, Easter, heaven, Japanese netsuke, a high-wire artist, nuclear warheads, Henry VIII, Gerre Hancock, a dozen funerals and the organ fund all have in common? They are all on the Rector’s tireless mind. Read his mind here.

This Advent, the Rector writes about Messiah concerts Past (a good review was won); Bishops Present and Future (that our Diocese may be one); the EMC 2012 (a canvass that was, is and is to come); and how his own numbers add up (and why he still is having fun).

This relatively short issue chronicles our response to Hurricane Irene, our plans for September 11, and our ongoing transformation regarding how we communicate. It also includes the annual (this year abbreviated) Summer Book Report.

In this season of summering, the Rector gives thanks–for the Church and her clergy, staff, Vestry and volunteers; for John Scott’s Easter Mass; for the Choir School and the Class of 2011; and, in great depth, for Holy Scripture, and especially at this time of its 400th anniversary, the King James Version.

The Rector begins with the Holy Week to come and ends with the Ash Wednesday past. In between, he writes about an organ to be publicly played, a play to be publicly read, and more.

The Rector writes about upcoming Christmas services (nigh), the first few months of 2011 (upcoming), the Vestry election (past), two books by Fr Austin (new), the election for a new bishop (distant), the EMC (on-going) and the campaign for a new Great Organ (urgent).

The Rector writes about Clergy, Canvass and Count—our clergy, past and present; the canvass for our future; a count for the ages.

In this early summer Chronicle as the Rector prepares to leave for Maine, he discusses very interesting developments concerning the remains of our first Rector, the Rev’d Cornelius Roosevelt Duffie, and his family. He also offers us a preview of his summer reading list. Finally, there are some good words from the Rector Emeritus.

In this Chronicle, the Rector discusses spring growth: Fr Erdman as a rector in Kentucky, new priests on the scene at Saint Thomas, a new Verger on the loose in June, and an old Verger in the nave this summer. This issue also includes an update on Fr Andrew (growing ever stronger) and a milestone for the friendship (growing ever longer) between the Rector and his Secretary.

The Rector writes about Holy Week, a new priest for Saint Thomas, the Mardi Gras party, an upcoming visit by John Polkinghorne, and more.

The Rector writes about clergy changes, two rectory receptions, the new website, the Rector’s Doctrine Class, the buzz over the recent announcement by the Vatican regarding Anglicans, and more.

In this Chroncile, the Rector writes about the return of the choir in September and of the Hancocks in October, the departure of Fr Stafford in November, the start of the 2010 EMC and the birth of the Hospitality Committee, and the growth of Theology at Saint Thomas. This Chroncile also has several reviews: of the summer mission trip by the youth group and of the summer reading by the Meads.

The Rector writes about the summer to come, the Holy Week and Easter gone by, and a good many events from April and May, including the choir trip, Bishop Sisk’s visit for Confirmation and Reception, the Choirmasters Conference, an honor for Wiliam Miller, and the Soup Kitchen Volunteer Supper. The Rector also writes about the Choir School Graduating Class of 2009.

This time, the Rector writes of Lent and Holy Week, the economic crisis and finances, and our ongoing efforts: the Choir School, music, and the ministry of clergy and staff.

The Rector writes about Christmas, about finances and the EMC, about changes on the Vestry, and about our many friends from other traditions.

The Rector talks about all things new: new members to the staff; the start of the 2009 EMC; and music, edicuation and fellowship for the fall. This issue also includes the Rector’s summer book report.

In this Chronicle, the Rector writes about Holy Week and Easter, the very reason we are here, and then takes us around Saint Thomas, the ins and outs of what we do while we’re here.

Among other good things, the Rector writes about the Stained Glass Window Restoration Project, a trip to Canterbury, honors for Vestrymen Miller, Wright and Meacham, and the making of a Doctor at a house with long ties to Saint Thomas.

This time, the Rector welcomes everyone back to a sprit of giving as he looks forward to the EMC, to restored stained glass and to a new organ, too. And looking back, in this year’s summer book report, the Rector gives Harry the decade.

The Rector writes of John Scott, the Choir, the Choir School, the Shearings, and the webcasts of choral services.

In this Chroncile, the Rector writes of his tenth anniversary at Saint Thomas, of transition on the Vestry, of the successful 2007 EMC, of a new maintenance fund for the Choir School, and of much more.

The Rector writes about the 2006-07 Concert Series and music schedule, Christian Education, fellowship and service, parish publications, and the EMC. This issue also includes the Rector’s annual Summer Book Report.

The Rector writes about New Orleans, parish goings-on during Eastertide, Choir School Graduation weekend, and some books worth reading.

The Rector writes about the upcoming Holy Week, a milestone of $1 million for the EMC, Fr Richard Martin, adult Christian education, Fr Andrew, upcoming preachers, goings-on at the Choir School, and other good things.

Fr Mead writes about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the arrival of Fr Erdman, the 2005 Vestry Elections and 2006 EMC, adult education, the Society of Mary, the concert series, and the mid-winter parish supper.

The Rector writes about music, theology and fellowship for the fall season; the intention to call a Youth Minister; the 2006 EMC, and summer books.

The Rector writes about the new beginning of our choral mission under John Scott and Charles Wallace, the Choir School Spring Benefit, the departure of Fr Bodie, the concert series, and other good things.

The Rector writes about the upcoming Holy Week and Easter, the Christmas past, the snowstorm on January 23, Choir School milestones, Fr Stafford’s ministry, theology with Fr Austin, the EMC for 2005, a special concert, and more.

The Rector writes about the changes in the Music Office, the Choir School, the Business Office, and in the offices of the Clergy.

In this extra-long Chronicle, the Rector writes about the year of exciting changes now upon us.