When I was a teenager, I used to go the Binghamton Public Library, check out records of operas and musicals, take them home, and listen to them until I had practically memorized them. One show I heard was Rodgers and Hammerstein's Me and Juliet, in which a chorus of critics sings "The theater is dying, the theater is dying, the theater is practically dead." This show was on Broadway in 1953. I was reminded of it by the reactions of certain critics of the Episcopal Church to the just concluded 77th General Convention.
The theater is not dying, nor is the Episcopal Church. By the way, Me and Juliet had a song called "Keep it Gay," which did not have anything to do with LGBT matters, although you can find Perry Como's version on YouTube with a montage of LGBT images (mostly gay.) Another song was "No Other Love, " which used the same tune as "The Southern Cross" from Rodger's Victory at Sea music.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Occupy
Yesterday, Monday, June 18, 2012, Earl Kooperkamp, who just left as rector of St. Mary's, was convicted of trespass for occupying Trinity Church's Duarte Square on December 17.
Earl has just become Priest in Partnership at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont. He was sentenced to four days community service.
Several others were also convicted, including retired Bishop George Packard.
I'm sure I'll have more to say about this topic.
Earl has just become Priest in Partnership at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont. He was sentenced to four days community service.
Several others were also convicted, including retired Bishop George Packard.
I'm sure I'll have more to say about this topic.
Silence
On Sunday, June 17th, 2012, Liz and I, and five other people from St. Mary's joined thousands of others in a silent march to protest Stop and Frisk, Several other members of St. Mary's marched with other groups -- I don't know how many from St. Mary;s there were in total.
Earlier Sunday, at the end of church, Ben Jealous came in and sat at the back. Ben ran a youth program at St. Mary's when he was a student at Columbia and has remained a friend of the parish. During the announcements, he spoke about the march. If you don't know, Ben is the President and CEO of the NAACP. During the announcements, Ben told us a little about the plans for the silent march.
At the silent march, our little group from At. Mary's was joined by a neighbor from Morningside Gardens who happened to see us. Marching near us were Ethan and Rima Vesely-Flad and their son. Ethan works for the Fellowship of Reconciliation and has asked us all to "like" the the Felowship on Facebook, as a birthday present for him. Ethan and Rima are not members of St. Mary's, but they have attended from time to time, especially when they lived nearby a few years ago.
I also saw briefly Ted Auerbach my old friend and former colleague at Seward Park High School. We promised each other to try to get in touch.
Earlier Sunday, at the end of church, Ben Jealous came in and sat at the back. Ben ran a youth program at St. Mary's when he was a student at Columbia and has remained a friend of the parish. During the announcements, he spoke about the march. If you don't know, Ben is the President and CEO of the NAACP. During the announcements, Ben told us a little about the plans for the silent march.
At the silent march, our little group from At. Mary's was joined by a neighbor from Morningside Gardens who happened to see us. Marching near us were Ethan and Rima Vesely-Flad and their son. Ethan works for the Fellowship of Reconciliation and has asked us all to "like" the the Felowship on Facebook, as a birthday present for him. Ethan and Rima are not members of St. Mary's, but they have attended from time to time, especially when they lived nearby a few years ago.
I also saw briefly Ted Auerbach my old friend and former colleague at Seward Park High School. We promised each other to try to get in touch.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Hiatus
It's been a long time since I posted. Months and months.
A lot has happened. One is that my brother Philip was found dead in his apartment on October 14th, two days after my last post.
Philip was the second to die among 17 cousins and siblings on my mother's side. My brother Curtis was the first. I am now the sole survivor of my nuclear family.
On my father's side, Philip was the third to die of 13. The first was my cousin Meg and the second was her brother Max.
On October 28, two weeks after my brother Philip died, Glenn Bater died. Glenn was my friend and colleague on the board of directors. I miss him.
Here at Morningside Gardens we're coming up on another election for the board. This one promises to be nearly as contentious as last year's was. I don't expect to say anything more about Gardens matters, but you never know.
At St. Mary's, we have found a treasurer to replace me, so I am back to the more comfortable role of assistant treasurer. Our rector of about twelve years, Earl Kooperkamp, has belatedly made good on his promise to leave after a decade at St. Mary's, so are gearing up for a search.
This past Thursday, April 12, we were shocked to learn that our long time sexton, Robert Jones, died of a severe asthma attack. There's a picture of Robert on St. Mary's Facebook page.
None of this, however, explains why I haven't posted since October.
I have been plugging away at my genealogy database -- entering sources I should have entered years ago. It's slow work, but I'm progressing. but that's not why I haven't posted, either.
I've started a few times to write something, but each time I've dropped it. I'm hoping that now that spring is here and I've got the news out of the way,I might find inspiration to write something substantive.
Meanwhile here's a picture of Liz and me (and others) posted on our 35th wedding anniversary. It must have been taken the day before There seems to have been a baptism at St Mary's that day.
A lot has happened. One is that my brother Philip was found dead in his apartment on October 14th, two days after my last post.
Philip was the second to die among 17 cousins and siblings on my mother's side. My brother Curtis was the first. I am now the sole survivor of my nuclear family.
On my father's side, Philip was the third to die of 13. The first was my cousin Meg and the second was her brother Max.
On October 28, two weeks after my brother Philip died, Glenn Bater died. Glenn was my friend and colleague on the board of directors. I miss him.
Here at Morningside Gardens we're coming up on another election for the board. This one promises to be nearly as contentious as last year's was. I don't expect to say anything more about Gardens matters, but you never know.
At St. Mary's, we have found a treasurer to replace me, so I am back to the more comfortable role of assistant treasurer. Our rector of about twelve years, Earl Kooperkamp, has belatedly made good on his promise to leave after a decade at St. Mary's, so are gearing up for a search.
This past Thursday, April 12, we were shocked to learn that our long time sexton, Robert Jones, died of a severe asthma attack. There's a picture of Robert on St. Mary's Facebook page.
None of this, however, explains why I haven't posted since October.
I have been plugging away at my genealogy database -- entering sources I should have entered years ago. It's slow work, but I'm progressing. but that's not why I haven't posted, either.
I've started a few times to write something, but each time I've dropped it. I'm hoping that now that spring is here and I've got the news out of the way,I might find inspiration to write something substantive.
Meanwhile here's a picture of Liz and me (and others) posted on our 35th wedding anniversary. It must have been taken the day before There seems to have been a baptism at St Mary's that day.
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