March 3, 2013

                                      Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s  

Sunday, March 10 at 1:30, the Orfeo Duo (Vita and Ishmael Wallace) will present a concert entitled “HOME Lost, Imagined, Found,” including St. Mary’s Choir’s presentation of Ishmael’s setting of words by Charles Kelly.

A monthly Bible Study will begin during Lent beginning Feb. 26, starting with dinner at 7.00 pm at the home of Fr. Tom Pellaton at 2186 Fifth Ave. Apt. 7D (off of 135th St.) The actual study will begin at 7.45 pm. Once again Fr. Tom will make the main course and salad and those of you who attend can bring soft drinks and dessert. Also bring your own Bible if you can. We will begin a thorough study of the Gospel of Mark and continue the class monthly till we accomplish the full reading of the Gospel.  The second session will take place March 19th

Lent at Mary’s, this year as in the recent past years St. Mary’s is encouraged to attend all or some of the Wednesday evening prayer services being offered by various churches here in Harlem. See the schedule below. Usually a light supper is s  the service.

Manhattan North Inter Parish Council 2013 Service Schedule Wednesdays in Lent at 7:pm

 DATE                                                      LOCATION                                               ADDRESS

March 6, 2012                         Church of the Intercession       550 West 155^th Street

    March 13, 2013                                   St. Philip’s Church                   204 West 134^th Street

March 20, 2013                                   St. Luke’s Church                    435 West 141^st Street

We are once again asking for those of you who may be called to be a Sunday Saint and help out as an usher or a Lay Eucharistic Minister/Acolyte. Please see Fr. Tom if you are interested.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in pledge card today.

March 10, after the 10am service is the Annual General Meeting. We will elect new Vestry Members, delegates to Convention and to the IPC. The Budget for 2013 will be presented. What we also want to do is have a good time. We encourage you to bring food to share for a pot luck lunch. All are invited to attend.

Thanks to all of you who shared with us in poetry and song last Sunday. It was a very moving experience.

Commentary on the Readings by Arthur Cash

First Reading: Exodus 3: 1-15

Moses, the youthful outlaw from Egypt, found shelter and employment at Midians, and married one of the daughters of the mysterious priest of Midian, Jethro. The Midianites worshiped a single, universal God who, I believe, was Yahweh. God’s commissioning of Moses takes place in the area of a Midianite altar. I am among those who hold that Moses learned the worship of Yahweh from Jethro.

   Our translation along with many others may not get right the name God announces is his. In the original Hebrew text, it is spelled without vowels, YHWH.  No one knows for sure what the missing vowels were. Most translations, supply vowels and render the name as Yahweh, which has the advantage of being pronounceable. But the choice of vowels is guess work; consequently, the meaning of the name, if there was one, remains in doubt. Folk tradition holds that the name means “I am.” But some scholars think it means something like “He causes to be.”

Second Reading: First Corinthians 10:1-13

   Paul is addressing Greeks who have recently been baptized, warning them against self-indulgent sins. He tells them how his own people had survived the exodus from slavery in Egypt, had crossed the deserts, but had sinned among themselves and displeased God. They were struck down, dying before the forty-year journey came to an end. True, Exodus tells us that among those who began the exodus in Egypt only Joshua and Moses were still alive when they reached the Jordon and stood looking at the Promised Land. Moses was still leading a Jewish population, but these were men and woman who had been born along the way. I think it is disingenuous for Paul to say that their parents had been struck down because of their sinfulness. They sinned, all right, building a golden calf to worship at Sinai, but God had forgiven that, The implication in Exodus is that they died of old age and natural causes. Be that as it may, Paul warns his listeners not to fall into self-indulgent behavior that displease God. They will be tested by God, who may send evils and temptations; so watch out.

   The tradition that the water-giving rock trekked along after the Israelites on their long journey is not to be found in scripture. Paul accepts this folk myth and interprets the rock as Christ. Paul was the first Christian theologian. In his theology, Christ. Existed prior to Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem.

February 17, 2012

                            Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s

Harlem Chamber Player, Please set aside Sunday Feb. 24, at 3pm for the 5th annual Black History Month Concert by the Harlem Chamber Player. A diverse and exciting program is planned. For more information check the website http://www.HarlemChamber Players.org.

 February is Black History Month. As is the tradition here at St. Mary’s the last Sunday of the month, February 24, is a time when we share some poetic composition that tells us about the Back experience. If you would like to read that day please sign up on the sheet on the table in the back of the church.

A monthly Bible Study will begin during Lent beginning Feb. 26, starting with dinner at 7.00pm at the home of Fr. Tom Pellaton at 2186 Fifth Ave. Apt. 7D (off of 135th St.) The actual study will begin at 7.45pm. Once again Fr. Tom will make the main course and salad and those of you who attend can bring soft drinks and dessert. Also bring your own Bible if you can. We will begin a thorough study of the Gospel of Mark and continue the class monthly till we accomplish the full reading of the Gospel. The second session will take place March 19th.

Vestry members please remember that the next Vestry meeting is Feb. 24, starting at noon after the 10am Eucharist

Lent at Mary’s, this year as in the recent past years St. Mary’s is encouraged to attend all or some of the Wednesday evening prayer services being offered by various churches here in Harlem. See the schedule below. Usually a light supper is served after the service.

Manhattan North Inter Parish Council 2013 Service Schedule Wednesdays in Lent at 7: pm

DATE                                         LOCATION                             ADDRESS

February 20, 2013                   St. Martin’s Church                  230 Lenox Avenue

February 27, 2013                   St. Andrew’s Church               2067 Fifth Avenue

March 6, 2012                          Church of the Intercession     550 West 155^th Street

March 13, 2013                        St. Philip’s Church                   204 West 134^th Street

March 20, 2013                       St. Luke’s Church                    435 West 141^st Street

We are once again asking for those of you who may be called to be a Sunday Saint and help out as an usher or a Lay Eucharistic Minister/Acolyte. Please see Fr. Tom if you are interested.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in pledge card today.

February 10, 2013

Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s

Lent at Mary’s, this year as in the recent past years St. Mary’s is encouraged to attend all or some of the Wednesday evening prayer services being offered by various churches here in Harlem. See the schedule below. Usually a light supper is served after the service  Manhattan North Inter Parish Council 2013 Service Schedule Wednesdays in Lent at 7:pm  

DATE                                                LOCATION                                ADDRESS

February 20, 2013                   St. Martin’s Church                  230 Lenox Avenue

February 27, 2013                   St. Andrew’s Church               2067 Fifth Avenue

March 6, 2012                         Church of the Intercession       550 West 155^th Street

March 13, 2013                                   St. Philip’s Church                   204 West 134^th Street

March 20, 2013                                   St. Luke’s Church                    435 West 141^st Street

St. Mary’s Wednesday services February 13. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday The Liturgy and Imposition of Ashes will take place at 7.30am, 12 noon and 6.30pm (with hymns). We are encouraged to keep a Holy Lent. Please join us in worship on Ash Wednesday.

Available on Ash Wednesday will be Lenten meditation booklets produced by Episcopal Relief and Development. They are free for your use during Lent. Please take a copy.

A monthly Bible Study will begin during Lent beginning Feb. 26, starting with dinner at 7.00pm at the home of Fr. Tom Pellaton at 2186 Fifth Ave. Apt. 7D (off of 135th St.) The actual study will begin at 7.45pm. Once again Fr. Tom will make the main course and salad and those of you who attend can bring soft drinks and dessert. Also bring your own Bible if you can. We will begin a thorough study of the Gospel of Mark and continue the class monthly till we accomplish the full reading of the Gospel. The second session will take place March 19th.

February is Black History Month. As is the tradition here at St. Mary’s the last Sunday of the month, February 24, is a time when we share some poetic composition that tells us about the Back experience. If you would like to read that day please sign up on the sheet on the table in the back of the church.

We are once again asking for those of you who may be called to be a Sunday Saint and help out as an usher or a Lay Eucharistic Minister/Acolyte. Please see Fr. Tom if you are interested.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in pledge card today.

February 3, 2013

Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s

St Mary’s Mardi Gras Masked Ball Saturday February 9th 7:0 0 pm to 12 midnight, Live music, special entertainment, New Orleans-Style dinner,  plus Raffles & Prizes & Beads (oh My)  advances tickets are $20.00 dollars at the door more. So save the date…

Wednesday February 13. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday the Liturgy and Imposition of Ashes will take place at 7.30am, 12 noon and 6.30pm (with hymns). We are encouraged to keep a Holy Lent. Please join us in worship on Ash Wednesday.

February is Black History Month. As is the tradition here at St. Mary’s the last Sunday of the month, February 24, is a time when we share some poetic composition that tells us about the Back experience. If you would like to read that day please sign up on the sheet on the table in the back of the church.

Would you like free tickets to a Carnegie Hall concert? This Monday Feb, 4th. Father Tom has tickets to the Housing Authority Orchestra Concert, given us by Liz Player. See him if you are interested.

We are once again asking for those of you who may be called to be a Sunday Saint and help out as an usher or a Lay Eucharistic Minister/Acolyte. Please see Fr. Tom if you are interested.

Hard Economic Times, especially since hurricane Sandy, have become very challenging for many here at St Mary’s. If you have the means to contribute to the clergy Discretionary account, which helps these in needs, please consider making a contribution. Thank You. Father Tom.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in a pledge card today.

Bulletin announcements: If you need an announcement listed in the bulletin for the next Sunday, email Ms. Gwen by 5: pm at allowances1@gmail.com on Wednesdays.

Father Tom’s days off are Monday and Tuesday, he is available those days by phone in cases of emergencies at 1-646-692-8355… Thank you for your co-operation!

Commentary on the Readings by Arthur Cash

First Reading: Exodus 34:29-35

     The transfiguration of Moses’ face is the antitype of the transfiguration of the person of Jesus in Matthew 17. Matthew tells us that in that miraculous event, Jesus’ Jesus’ face shone. To me, it is puzzling idea, for it seems to attribute some sort of physicality to God the Father, his glory being a mist-like substance transferable

 Second Reading: I Corinthians 13: 1 – 13

Today we hear Paul’s exceedingly beautiful Hymn to Love.                                                         It needs no comment.

January 20, 2013

                           Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s Church

Saturday, January 26 at 10:30 am - Memorial Service for the Rev. Robert Castle. All are invited to attend. You are also invited to bring pictures and notes for a remembrance book for Mrs. Kate Castle.

Economic times, especially since hurricane Sandy, have become very challenging for many here at St Mary’s. If you have the means to contribute to the clergy Discretionary account, which helps these in needs, please consider making a contribution. Thank You. Father Tom.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in a pledge card today.

Bulletin announcements: If you need an announcement listed in the bulletin for the next Sunday, email Ms. Gwen by 5: pm at allowances1@gmail.com on Wednesdays.

Father Tom’s days off are Monday and Tuesday, he is available those days by phone in cases of emergencies at 1-646-692-8355… Thank you for your co-operation!

Commentary on the Readings by Arthur Cash

First Reading: Isaiah 62: 1-5

Third Isaiah here sings the praises of the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile, asking that their greatness be recognized, not only by the world, but also by the Jews themselves. When you get home and rebuild your nation, Isaiah tells them, you will emerge “a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord.” You yourselves will become a new people, and to symbolize that, God is going to change your names. Here I think the translators and editors of the New Revised Standard Version (from which are lessons are taken) made a bad choice. In the King James Bible, the name Forsaken is replaced by the name Hephzibah. But in our translation (NRSV) the new name is “My Delight is in Her.” This is awkward.  English speaking peoples never or very rarely use independent clauses as names. It is true that the Hebrew word Hephzibah means “She is delightful.” But the editors of the NRSV could easily supply that information in a footnote. In a similar manner, the editors should have followed the precedent set in the King James and allowed the name Desolate to be replaced by Beulah, which means “married.” When I was a boy, the name Beulah was not uncommon, and once in a great while one heard of someone named Hephzibah.

Second Reading: I Corinthians 12: 1-11

Today we begin a series of lessons from the remarkable Chapters 12 to 15 of Paul’s First letter to the Christian colony at Corinth. In the first letter of the series, we find Paul trying to set right the squabbles among the people about who does what in the worship services. Paul points out, first, that individuals have talents differing from the talents of others. In this community, each person should use his talent for the benefits of all. Paul reminds this congregation, made up primarily of Greek converts, that in their former lives they had been led by evil spirits into the worship of dumb idols. As Christians, they are led by the Holy Spirit to worship the living God. They are unified by baptism and by the giver of their particular talents, who is the Holy Spirit. So Jews, Greeks, Slaves, freemen are one body.

January 13, 2013

Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s Church

“Dr. Martin Luther King’s Jr. Birthday”                                                                                 Will be celebrated on January 20, 21013

Saturday, January 26 at 10:30 am - Memorial Service for the Rev. Robert Castle. All are invited to attend. You are also invited to bring pictures and notes for a remembrance book for Mrs. Kate Castle.

Economic times, especially since hurricane Sandy, have become very challenging for many here at St Mary’s. If you have the means to contribute to the clergy Discretionary account, which helps these in needs, please consider making a contribution. Thank You. Father Tom.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in a pledge card today.

Bulletin announcements: If you need an announcement listed in the bulletin for the next Sunday, email Ms. Gwen by 5: pm at allowances1@gmail.com on Wednesdays.

Father Tom’s days off are Monday and Tuesday, he is available those days by phone in cases of emergencies at 1-646-692-8355… Thank you for your co-operation!

Commentary on the Readings by Arthur Cash

First Reading: Isaiah 43: 1-7

     To understand this prophetic verse by Second Isaiah, one must look at the previous chapter. God had allowed Babylon to conquer and enslave Israel as punishment for their failures to obey his laws. Now he is calling them home, promising safe passage through waters and fire. He has redeemed them.                                                                                       In this metaphor, God is spoken of as a man redeeming his kinsman from slavery by paying a price. The imager includes the price paid, which is the vast areas of Egypt, Ethiopia. And Saba (Arabia). Speaking historically, at the time that Isaiah was writing, Persia had overcome Babylon and was freeing the Jews. Far to the southwest, Persia was also attacking Arabia and North Africa, continuing to build the great Persian Empire. In the metaphor, God is giving up these nations to Persia as the price he is paying for the freedom of Israel.                                                                                                              The lines are metaphorical, but one may ask, what was the reality that Isaiah turned into a metaphor? I think he believed that the fall of Arabia and Africa to the Persians was God’s doing, that God was abandoning those peoples for their sins, giving them over to a conqueror, as he had once abandoned the Jews for their sins and given them over to the conquering Babylonians. That, I think, was Isaiah’s reality.

Second Reading: Acts 8: 14-17  

    In my comment last Sunday on Ephesians, I spoke of the parallel careers of Paul and Paul and Peter in the establishment of the Church as an international institution. Today we see the beginning of their mission, the conversion of the Samaritans.  Samaritans was a splinter Judaism developed by rural Jews left behind when the Babylonians and Chaldeans drove thousands of their kinsmen northward into slavery. Because the Babylonians needed skilled and educated workers, they took the priests and rabbis, the stone masons and tailors, leaving behind the laborers and farmers. Abandoned and leaderless, these illiterate working people formed their own version of Judaism, including their own priests and mountain temples. Then their relatives returned from Babylon and set about rebuilding Jerusalem and establishing their new nation, Judea. Not only did they rebuild the Temple and re-establish the cult religion, but they also brought new learning, a new set of Scriptures and new traditions of study and worship in synagogues. These sophisticated and soon powerful Jews were contemptuous of the Samaritan. Among these outcasts Peter and Paul made their first mass conversions to Christianity. They did not win over all of them. There are still Samaritans living in Israel.

January 6, 2013

Good morning and welcome to St. Mary’s Church           

Today, Sunday, January 6 at 9 am and 12 noon - Parish Informational Meeting. Come and find out what is happening at St. Mary’s. Bring your questions and concerns.

Sunday, January 6 at 1:30 pm - Meeting with Leslie Pendleton, Episcopal Church Foundation capital campaign consultant. All who are interested in assisting with the capital campaign are welcome to attend.

Saturday, January 26 at 10:30 am - Memorial Service for the Rev. Robert Castle. All are invited to attend. You are also invited to bring pictures and notes for a remembrance book for Mrs. Kate Castle.

Economic times, especially since hurricane Sandy, have become very challenging for many here at St Mary’s. If you have the means to contribute to the clergy Discretionary account, which helps these in needs, please consider making a contribution. Thank You. Father Tom.

Stewardship and your pledge - As a community, we share in many ways. We give God and each other prayer, time, togetherness, talents and tithing. Turning in a pledge card is a demonstration of your commitment, and helps with planning for 2013. We thank you if you have already pledged. If you have not pledged, please prayerfully consider your pledge to St. Mary’s for 2013, and turn in a pledge card today.

Bulletin announcements: If you need an announcement listed in the bulletin for the next Sunday, email Ms. Gwen by 5: pm at allowances1@gmail.com on Wednesdays.

Father Tom’s days off are Monday and Tuesday, he is available those days by phone in cases of emergencies at 1-646-692-8355… Thank you for your co-operation!