This is one, perhaps the first, in a contemplated series of posts on the history of St. Mary's, Manhattanville. Researching and writing that history is my current project.
We are about to have a new rector at St. Mary's. (For the moment, I won't release her name on the internet since the Letter of Agreement has not quite been finalized .) I'm taking this opportunity to make a list of all of the rectors we have had since our founding in 1823. By and large this is just a list of names and dates. More information about these people will be included in my history, and some of it will be posted here..
First, the rectors during or just before my time at St. Mary's. I first came to St. Mary's in November of 1958. The list begins with Dr. Ackley, who had retired when I cam here, and ends with Earl Kooperkamp, who left a little over two years ago. The dates given here are from my memory..
When my partner Rex Slauson came to St. Mary's, the rector was Charles Breck Ackley. Dr. Ackley had served as rector throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and here it was the middle of the 1950s.
Dr. Ackley was succeeded by Richard Gary, who was priest in charge in the late fifties and early sixties.
Dick was succeeded by Neale Secor, who started as seminarian, became assistant and then priest in charge in the late 1960s and finally was styled rector, although he was never formally called as rector.
Neale left in the early 1980s and after a brief interim was succeeded by Floyd "Butch" Naters Gamarra, who had to leave because we didn't have the money to pay him.
After another brief interim, in the mid eighties Robert Castle became rector.
Bob left at tne end of the 1990s and was succeeded by Earl Kooperkamp.
Earl left in May 2012 and we have been without a rector since.
After an interval of over a year, we began a formal search in the summer of 2013 and the search has just concluded with the selection of a rector.
We expect that our new rector will begin on October 5, but the Letter of Agreement has not yet been finalized and signed by the Rector, the Senior Warden, and the Bishop. So it's almost a done deal but the i's aren't yet dotted and the t's are not yet crossed.
Second is the list of rectors from the the organization of St. Mary's in December 1823 up to Dr. Ackley in 1920. The dates here are from my notes and I have not double checked them yet.
This brief account necessarily can only hint at the fascinating complexity of the first thirty five years of St. Mary's' history and the various ministries associated with its early rectors, William Richmond and Thomas McClure Peters.
When St. Mary's was organized at the end of 1823, William Richmond was elected as rector. William Richmond was already rector of St. Michael's and St. James'. Over the course of the next thirty years, William Richmond served three stints as rector.
After less than two years William Richmond resigned in 1825. John Sellon was elected to succeed him, and his name appears on the mortgage for the church building, but he never actually served as rector.
Next the vestry elected Thomas Thornton Groshon, who was lay reader from even before the church was organized in 1823 and who was a member of the first class to enter General Seminary. Unfortunately, Thomas Groshon died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1828, before he was ordained, so he never served as rector.
In 1828, William Richmond resumed the rectorship for the next ten years, while still the rector of St. Michael's and St' James'. He considered his parish to be all of Manhattan north of Greenwich Village.
In 1837 William Richmond turned over his duties at St. Michael's, St. James, and St. Mary's to his brother James Cook Richmond, who remained until 1842.
In 1842 William Richmond resumed the rectorship and held it until 1852. Also in 1842, he appointed Thomas McClure Peters, a seminarian at General Seminary, to be lay reader.
William Richmond went on a misison trip to the West Cost at the end of the 1840s and Thomas McClure Peters was effectively in charge. Peters realized that St. Mary's could not survive without resident clergy and he was responsible for the erection of the rectory in 1851, at which time he also became rector. Thomas McClure Peters was also Rector of All Angels Church in Seneca Village. In the meantime he had married the daughter of William Richmond and they all lived in William Richmond's house. in the 90s. St. Mary's Rectory was occupied by George L Neide, an assistant who did most of the services at St. Mary's.
In 1855 George Neide resigned as assistant. The rectory was enlarged to its present size and Thomas McClure Peters moved in wirth his family. He remained only until 1858 when his father in law William Richmond died and Peters was elected rector of St. Michael's.
Charles F Rodenstein became rector in 1859 and stayed only until 1861. He entered medical school and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1867.
George F Seymour, who had been the first warden of St. Stephen;s College, later Bard College, was rector from March 1861 to 1862. He later became the first Bishop of Springfield.
Charles Coffin Adams came in 1863 abd stayed until he died in 1888.
Lawrence Schwab was rector from at least 1891 to 1898. I need to check some records that are not avaialble online to determine when he started. That is the time the Sunday School Building, now the parish hall, was built.
Hiram Richard Hulse was rector from 1899 to 1911 or 1912. Again the records are not online. During his tenure, the old church was torn down and the present church was built.
John Loftus Scully became rector in 1912 and he died in 1914.
Francis A Brown came at the end of 1914 and remained until 1918.
Frederick W Goodman came in October 1918 and stayed only until sometime between May 1919 and May 1920.
Charles Breck Ackley was here by May 1920.
Five, now almost six rectors since I have been at St. Mary's.
Twelve rectors and one lay reader, who was in effect the pastor, before I came.
We are about to engage the eighteenth rector, nineteenth if you count Tom Groshon or John Sellon, twentieth if you count them both.
Stay tuned.
About my sources: As I indicated, for the rectors after Dr. Ackley, I have relied on my memory for the purposes of this post.
For the earlier period, my principal sources are online scans of Journals of Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of New York; the Annals of St. Michael's Church by John Punnett Peters; and the Landmarks Preservation Commission's 1998 report on St. Mary's (researched and written by Eric K. Washington). There is also a list of Rectors, without dates, on the St. Mary's Harlem website, that appears to have been compiled by Dt. Ackley for the 100th anniversary of St. Mary's in 1923.
My finished history will have appropriate citations to sources. I have not yet been able to consult the actual minute books of St. Mary's because access to the archives closet has been blocked for several months and it hasn't seemed worth it to try to gain access.
Monday, September 08, 2014
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
New Rector?
Tonight I will be part of a discussion with the Rector Designate of St. Mary's Manhattanville as we discuss compensation. Under Diocesan guidelines, I cannot yet say who the person is. That has to wait until the Letter of Agreement is signed by the Bishop.
Liz was on the search committee and thinks the person is a good choice and will be good for St. Mary's. From what I know of her, I too think she is a good choice. I hope and pray she will end up signing a letter of agreement.
Our problem is financial. We have been operating at a deficit for the past few years and at this time of year we have a severe cash flow problem, exacerbated this year by the loss of rental income from our major income producing spaces.
We need a rector badly, to provide administrative leadership along with other other leadership.
I can say the Rector Designate is a woman, becasue it was no secret that all of the finalists were women. Since two of the Philadelphia Eleven were from St. Mary's, it's appropriate that we finally get a woman as rector. (We have had several women assisting or as interims or regular supply.)
Liz was on the search committee and thinks the person is a good choice and will be good for St. Mary's. From what I know of her, I too think she is a good choice. I hope and pray she will end up signing a letter of agreement.
Our problem is financial. We have been operating at a deficit for the past few years and at this time of year we have a severe cash flow problem, exacerbated this year by the loss of rental income from our major income producing spaces.
We need a rector badly, to provide administrative leadership along with other other leadership.
I can say the Rector Designate is a woman, becasue it was no secret that all of the finalists were women. Since two of the Philadelphia Eleven were from St. Mary's, it's appropriate that we finally get a woman as rector. (We have had several women assisting or as interims or regular supply.)
Thursday, September 12, 2013
St. Mary's Manhattanville Did Not Burn
Inspired by the work of the Search Committee, of which I am not a member, I have begun to put together a history of my parish church, St. Mary's Manhattanville, which I first attended in 1958 when I was a graduate student at Columbia.
St. Mary's was organinzed in December 1823 and a wooden church was built and dedicated in 1826. In 1900 it was decided that the church was not big enough, and it was decided to plan for the erection of a new church. Financial considerations delayed the project, but the old church was torn down in 1908 and a new church constructed. The new church was dedicated in 1909.
In Harlem Lost and Found, Michael Henry Adams says that the wooden frame church burned. This is an error, and it has been repeated since, on many websites. In fact, as noted on St. Mary's Blog, the sermon at the last service in the old church was given by the son of a former rector (and the grandson of the first rector.)
Among the websites which repeat the error are:
Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Jacob Schieffelin, a site with valuable biographical information on one of the founders and a first warden of St. Mary's;
Lost Manhattanville ?, Michael Henry Adams own site - well worth visiting; and
St. Mary's Church - Manhattanville, a site of the American Guild of Organists. and another page worth visiting.
St. Mary's was organinzed in December 1823 and a wooden church was built and dedicated in 1826. In 1900 it was decided that the church was not big enough, and it was decided to plan for the erection of a new church. Financial considerations delayed the project, but the old church was torn down in 1908 and a new church constructed. The new church was dedicated in 1909.
In Harlem Lost and Found, Michael Henry Adams says that the wooden frame church burned. This is an error, and it has been repeated since, on many websites. In fact, as noted on St. Mary's Blog, the sermon at the last service in the old church was given by the son of a former rector (and the grandson of the first rector.)
Among the websites which repeat the error are:
Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Jacob Schieffelin, a site with valuable biographical information on one of the founders and a first warden of St. Mary's;
Lost Manhattanville ?, Michael Henry Adams own site - well worth visiting; and
St. Mary's Church - Manhattanville, a site of the American Guild of Organists. and another page worth visiting.
Friday, August 30, 2013
1974 and 1975
Just over six and a half years ago, I posted Elegy and Epithalamion -- a piece that looked back to early 1973 when my partner Rex Slauson died after suffering a massive heart attack in a gay bathhouse. The post included this picture of Rex taken at the 1973 Twelfth Night party at St. Mary's.
Beside Rex is Jane Dudley -- they were the King and Queen of the evening. Also featured is a copy of Women Priests: Yes or No? by Suzanne Hiatt and St. Mary's own Emily Hewitt. A little over a month later, Rex was dead. A little over two years later, I married Jane's mother Liz Dudley and now Jane is my daughter and the mother of my grandchildren. In between, Emily Hewitt and Suzanne Hiatt were ordained priests in Philadelphia. Along with Emily, another of the Philadelphia Eleven at St. Mary's was Carter Heyward.
The push for women's ordination was only peripherally connected to St. Mary's. We were hospitable and many of us were supportive, but the drive came from the women themselves. It appeared to some of the Afro American and Afro Caribbean women in the congregation that this was a white women's movement. In early 1973 the involvement of Philadelphia's Church of the Advocate, the sermon by Charles Willie, and the participation of Barbara Harris as crucifer were all in the future.
In 1973 I was Clerk of the Vestry at St. Mary's. Carter and Emily were ordained deacons at the regular spring ordinations. Come December, St. Mary's implored Bishop Paul Moore to ordain them to the priesthood, along with the male deacons from the spring, but of course he did not. On April 21, Low Sunday, in 1974, my 38th birthday, at St. Mary's Annual Meeting, Liz Dudley nominated me as Warden and I was elected. [In those days, our Annual Meeting was officially on the Tuesday in Easter week, but it was always adjourned to the following Sunday.]
In May, Doug Clark, another deacon who was serving at St. Mary's, was scheduled to be ordained priest in New York and at St. Mary's on behalf of his Florida bishop. Again we implored Bishop Moore and the Standing Committee to consent to the concurrent priesting of our two women deacons. Our request was denied. In the event, Carter Heyward preached at Doug's ordination. As Clerk and then Warden, I was the author of several letters to the Bishop and Standing Committee at that time. As it happens, I kept carbons of my letters and also my copies of the replies. I recently gave those papers to the Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship at The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary (both Emily and Carter were at Union while they were at St, Mary's.) Included in that gift were the picture above of Rex and Jane and the very copy of Women Priests: Yes or No? that Rex is holding in the picture.
This spring, archival copies of my papers, as well as other material, was included in an exhibit at General Theological Seminary's Keller Libray called “…because they are women and not men”, a quotation from Neale A. Secor, our then rector.
And now I come to the point of this post. In June, Liz and I, Neale, his partner Ricardo, his son and daughter in law Tom and Carla, and a few others met at General to see the exhibit. We had a picnic lunch in a conference room and over lunch Neale, Liz, and I were reminiscing about St. Mary's in the mid 1970's. It was Neale who remarked that the women were in charge of the ordination project -- certainly not St. Mary's and especially not we men at St. Mary's. (It was only a few years since women were allowed on vestries in New York.)
Neale happened to mention that St. Mary's was involved in accepting donations to the establishment of Integrity -- we provided tax deductibility. I was intrigued. In 1974, I was Warden, and gay. and I knew nothing about it. Neale said Louie Crew twisted his arm and I could find out more from him. As it happens, I am Facebook friends with Louie Crew, although I do not know him personally. The other day I saw a post that Louie and his husband Ernest, who were married in a religious ceremony about a year before Liz and I were married, had just had a civil marriage in New York State. I took the opportunity to congratulate Louie and Ernest and then I asked him about his recollection of the "money washing." He doen't have a clear recollection either and suggested it was to do with the New York chapter of Integrity.
Well! It was time for mongoosing ("The motto of the mongoose family, so Mr. Kippling tells us, is 'Go and find out.'" - Murder of Roger Ackroyd) From A Brief History of Integrity, I learned that Integrity began as a newsletter in November 1974.
November, 1974. I met Rex in a bar at 415 Amsterdam Avenue in the wee hours of November 5, 1958. Sixteen years later, in 1974, I think it was November 6, Liz invited me to a concert at St. Thomas Church where her nephew Chuck was a chorister. At the end of that week, I invited myself to move in with Liz. We have been together ever since.
I was transitioning from a nearly 15 year gay relationship to marriage with Liz. We were married on February 8, 1975. At the time, Liz's daughter Jane was living with her grandparents in Vermont. At the end of the school year, Jane came back to New York to live with us. Also we moved from Liz's two bedroom apartment to our new three bedroom apartment.
Remember stress points? In the period from February 1973 to July 1975 I had (a) lost a male partner (to death), (b) married a woman, (c) moved twice, (d) acquired a thirteen year old daughter. Mongoosing hasn't helped me find how many points that is. But it's a lot. No wonder I didn't notice that Integrity was being founded under my nose. Especially since I was convinced that it didn't matter that I had been gay. (By the way, it took me almost twenty years to admit to myself and to Liz that I am and always have been gay.)
The chronology is not completely clear from sources on the internet, but apparently the first convention of Integrity was held in Chicago in the late summer of 1975, before September 7 when four women were ordained in Washington. The Brief History says that immediately after the convention "Co-President Jim Wickliff and Editor Louie Crew called the first meetings of chapters in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York City, on their way to meet in September with the Presidng Bishop." So Louie Crew was involved in founding the New York chapter.
Memory is an odd thing. I was 77 in April of this year. According to Ancestry.com, Louie Crew will be 77 on December 9 and Neale Secor was 79 on July 3. We are all in the same cohort. And we all have different memories of that time almost forty years ago.
It was clear to Rex, on Twelfth Night 1973; it was clear to me; it is clear to Bishop Robinson; but it is not clear to every gay man now nor was it in 1973, that the oppression of gay men and the oppression of women, straight or gay, are inextricably intertwined.
More later
The push for women's ordination was only peripherally connected to St. Mary's. We were hospitable and many of us were supportive, but the drive came from the women themselves. It appeared to some of the Afro American and Afro Caribbean women in the congregation that this was a white women's movement. In early 1973 the involvement of Philadelphia's Church of the Advocate, the sermon by Charles Willie, and the participation of Barbara Harris as crucifer were all in the future.
In 1973 I was Clerk of the Vestry at St. Mary's. Carter and Emily were ordained deacons at the regular spring ordinations. Come December, St. Mary's implored Bishop Paul Moore to ordain them to the priesthood, along with the male deacons from the spring, but of course he did not. On April 21, Low Sunday, in 1974, my 38th birthday, at St. Mary's Annual Meeting, Liz Dudley nominated me as Warden and I was elected. [In those days, our Annual Meeting was officially on the Tuesday in Easter week, but it was always adjourned to the following Sunday.]
In May, Doug Clark, another deacon who was serving at St. Mary's, was scheduled to be ordained priest in New York and at St. Mary's on behalf of his Florida bishop. Again we implored Bishop Moore and the Standing Committee to consent to the concurrent priesting of our two women deacons. Our request was denied. In the event, Carter Heyward preached at Doug's ordination. As Clerk and then Warden, I was the author of several letters to the Bishop and Standing Committee at that time. As it happens, I kept carbons of my letters and also my copies of the replies. I recently gave those papers to the Archives of Women in Theological Scholarship at The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary (both Emily and Carter were at Union while they were at St, Mary's.) Included in that gift were the picture above of Rex and Jane and the very copy of Women Priests: Yes or No? that Rex is holding in the picture.
This spring, archival copies of my papers, as well as other material, was included in an exhibit at General Theological Seminary's Keller Libray called “…because they are women and not men”, a quotation from Neale A. Secor, our then rector.
And now I come to the point of this post. In June, Liz and I, Neale, his partner Ricardo, his son and daughter in law Tom and Carla, and a few others met at General to see the exhibit. We had a picnic lunch in a conference room and over lunch Neale, Liz, and I were reminiscing about St. Mary's in the mid 1970's. It was Neale who remarked that the women were in charge of the ordination project -- certainly not St. Mary's and especially not we men at St. Mary's. (It was only a few years since women were allowed on vestries in New York.)
Neale happened to mention that St. Mary's was involved in accepting donations to the establishment of Integrity -- we provided tax deductibility. I was intrigued. In 1974, I was Warden, and gay. and I knew nothing about it. Neale said Louie Crew twisted his arm and I could find out more from him. As it happens, I am Facebook friends with Louie Crew, although I do not know him personally. The other day I saw a post that Louie and his husband Ernest, who were married in a religious ceremony about a year before Liz and I were married, had just had a civil marriage in New York State. I took the opportunity to congratulate Louie and Ernest and then I asked him about his recollection of the "money washing." He doen't have a clear recollection either and suggested it was to do with the New York chapter of Integrity.
Well! It was time for mongoosing ("The motto of the mongoose family, so Mr. Kippling tells us, is 'Go and find out.'" - Murder of Roger Ackroyd) From A Brief History of Integrity, I learned that Integrity began as a newsletter in November 1974.
November, 1974. I met Rex in a bar at 415 Amsterdam Avenue in the wee hours of November 5, 1958. Sixteen years later, in 1974, I think it was November 6, Liz invited me to a concert at St. Thomas Church where her nephew Chuck was a chorister. At the end of that week, I invited myself to move in with Liz. We have been together ever since.
I was transitioning from a nearly 15 year gay relationship to marriage with Liz. We were married on February 8, 1975. At the time, Liz's daughter Jane was living with her grandparents in Vermont. At the end of the school year, Jane came back to New York to live with us. Also we moved from Liz's two bedroom apartment to our new three bedroom apartment.
Remember stress points? In the period from February 1973 to July 1975 I had (a) lost a male partner (to death), (b) married a woman, (c) moved twice, (d) acquired a thirteen year old daughter. Mongoosing hasn't helped me find how many points that is. But it's a lot. No wonder I didn't notice that Integrity was being founded under my nose. Especially since I was convinced that it didn't matter that I had been gay. (By the way, it took me almost twenty years to admit to myself and to Liz that I am and always have been gay.)
The chronology is not completely clear from sources on the internet, but apparently the first convention of Integrity was held in Chicago in the late summer of 1975, before September 7 when four women were ordained in Washington. The Brief History says that immediately after the convention "Co-President Jim Wickliff and Editor Louie Crew called the first meetings of chapters in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York City, on their way to meet in September with the Presidng Bishop." So Louie Crew was involved in founding the New York chapter.
Memory is an odd thing. I was 77 in April of this year. According to Ancestry.com, Louie Crew will be 77 on December 9 and Neale Secor was 79 on July 3. We are all in the same cohort. And we all have different memories of that time almost forty years ago.
It was clear to Rex, on Twelfth Night 1973; it was clear to me; it is clear to Bishop Robinson; but it is not clear to every gay man now nor was it in 1973, that the oppression of gay men and the oppression of women, straight or gay, are inextricably intertwined.
More later
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Music
I spend an awful lot of time at the computer. For many years I have been listening to (classical) music on the radio all the time. Let's say for over fifty years -- when I first came to New York, there were at least three 24 hours classical musivc stations. at Heart Lake there are two -- well, they're now 24 hour, but not 24 hour music -- or not classical music.
Anyway, I now mostly listen live to the BBC (Radio 3) on the computer. The music helps me work.
Recently, I discovered that there are full operas and operettas on youtube. Two days age I watched the met Opera Bartered Bride with Teresa Stratas, Nicolai Gedda, Jon Vickers and Msrtti Talvea. I have long been wanting to see and hear this again,
Then last night I watched the NYC Opera production of The Merry Widow, a glorious production which inspired me to mongoose a little and I'll write abohut that later.
Tonight I watched a concert production of HMS Pinafore from the BBC Proms ion 2005, conducted by Charles Mackerras.
The problem with videos is that I get engaged in them and don't write. Audio files without video are better for writing.
More later.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Last Sunday I blogged about wellness problems that Liz and I are enduring right now. I informed a few friends about the blog post and two of them acknowledged it in emails.
Until today, I have never posted statuses in Facebook. Every now and then, when i sign a petition, I have it posted to Facebook. I have also used Facebook to send messages, for instance when the coroner called me to tell me that my brother Philip was found dead in his apartment, I used Facebook to get in touch with my nephew. But I have never before used Facebook to report on my status.
I have 111 Facebook friends. They fall into three (or four) categories. One group is my relatives, including my dead Uncle Chuck. Another is people I got to know when I began blogging in earnest a few (maybe six or seven) years ago. They range from June Butler (Grandmère Mimi,) a laywoman a year older than I to Toby Haller, a priest in the Diocese of New York; they are all Anglicans and all are gay or gay-friendly . A third group is people I know either from Morningside Gardens or other contexts. The fourth group is people I know from my 55 years at St. Mary's Manhattanville. (Forgive me, I'm speaking [that is, writing] impressionistically here, because obviously with only 111 people, I could figure out my connection to each of them. But that is not the point of this post.)
Facebook sends me emails that say that 5 friends have posted updates. I used to click on them all the time. My cousin Leslie posts Bible verses; Ken Arnold, an erstwhile deacon at St. Mary's, posts updates on his serious health issues; and several people post links to their blogs.
Today, I posted an update on Facebook on Liz's and my health issues. As of now, I have received comments from two cousins, a St. Mary's friend, a Morningside Gardens friend, and my brother-in-law. There's something to be said for Facebook.
Until today, I have never posted statuses in Facebook. Every now and then, when i sign a petition, I have it posted to Facebook. I have also used Facebook to send messages, for instance when the coroner called me to tell me that my brother Philip was found dead in his apartment, I used Facebook to get in touch with my nephew. But I have never before used Facebook to report on my status.
I have 111 Facebook friends. They fall into three (or four) categories. One group is my relatives, including my dead Uncle Chuck. Another is people I got to know when I began blogging in earnest a few (maybe six or seven) years ago. They range from June Butler (Grandmère Mimi,) a laywoman a year older than I to Toby Haller, a priest in the Diocese of New York; they are all Anglicans and all are gay or gay-friendly . A third group is people I know either from Morningside Gardens or other contexts. The fourth group is people I know from my 55 years at St. Mary's Manhattanville. (Forgive me, I'm speaking [that is, writing] impressionistically here, because obviously with only 111 people, I could figure out my connection to each of them. But that is not the point of this post.)
Facebook sends me emails that say that 5 friends have posted updates. I used to click on them all the time. My cousin Leslie posts Bible verses; Ken Arnold, an erstwhile deacon at St. Mary's, posts updates on his serious health issues; and several people post links to their blogs.
Today, I posted an update on Facebook on Liz's and my health issues. As of now, I have received comments from two cousins, a St. Mary's friend, a Morningside Gardens friend, and my brother-in-law. There's something to be said for Facebook.
More personal stuff
A week later, Liz and I are still not recovered. It now appears that Liz's problem was not kidney stones after all. Now her New York GP thinks it is most likely Lyme Disease. She has begun a regime of pills for that, and may be beginning to feel somewhat better.
My ear and balance problem are still with me, and I expect to see my own doctor on Monday.
My ear and balance problem are still with me, and I expect to see my own doctor on Monday.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
August 2013
Here it is the middle of August and once again our family (daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters) are visiting us at Heart Lake.
It's been ages since I posted anything on this blog -- the reasons are various, and this post is going to be intensely personal. At St. Mary's, which currently has no rector, Liz and I are both deeply involved although neither of us is on the vestry. Liz is chair of the Property Committee and the point person on two significant construction projects, both of which require loans to fund them. She is also on the Search Committee, which right now is engaged in putting together a parish profile.
I am once again treasurer, and I'm trying to get our financial reporting in order. As a retired high school math teacher, and before that a pension actuary, you might think I would know something about bookkeeping and accounting, but in fact I never learned anything about either. The saving grace is that I am pretty bright and also a good mongoose (the motto of the mongoose family is "go and find out.") So I at least manage to keep up with the bookkeeping and am making slow progress towards improving the reporting.
This summer we knew we would be here at Heart Lake somewhat less than usual -- too many responsibilities keep pulling us back to New York and St. Mary's. But three weeks ago we set out from New York with the expectation of having a pleasant and productive month here, with only two quick returns to the city. On the way Liz began experiencing back pain. It took a week and a half before it was diagnosed as kidney stones. The pain medication is constipating, and Liz is often in great discomfort and/or severe pain.
Meanwhile, I had an incipient sore throat at the same time, and I kept expecting it to develop into either a chest cold or a head cold. But it didn't -- in four or five days I began experiencing pain in my jaw and ear, as well as severe balance problems. An emergency room doctor here in Montrose told me I had TMJ, with arthritis in the jaw joint. A week later, I went to my own doctor in New York, and he saw a canker sore way in the corner of the back of my mouth. I began using Orajel, and I think the canker sore is gone. But the ear ache is still with me, although much milder. Also my balance is closer to normal, but I am still not recovered.
The worst thing for me, apart from the discomfort, is that in the last three weeks I have not been at all productive. Now I have to at least rise to the occasion of a vestry meeting next Sunday, for which I need to have a financial report. I'll make it, but it will be a struggle.
I'm sorry for the tone of this post. I really want to write about the concerns that normally occupy my attention -- environment, the state of the world politically and economically, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden, Trayvon Martin, the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA, all that stuff. I'm usually stopped from writing about those things by the pressures of everyday life -- and by my aversion to saying something trite. I hope to resume again before too long.
It's been ages since I posted anything on this blog -- the reasons are various, and this post is going to be intensely personal. At St. Mary's, which currently has no rector, Liz and I are both deeply involved although neither of us is on the vestry. Liz is chair of the Property Committee and the point person on two significant construction projects, both of which require loans to fund them. She is also on the Search Committee, which right now is engaged in putting together a parish profile.
I am once again treasurer, and I'm trying to get our financial reporting in order. As a retired high school math teacher, and before that a pension actuary, you might think I would know something about bookkeeping and accounting, but in fact I never learned anything about either. The saving grace is that I am pretty bright and also a good mongoose (the motto of the mongoose family is "go and find out.") So I at least manage to keep up with the bookkeeping and am making slow progress towards improving the reporting.
This summer we knew we would be here at Heart Lake somewhat less than usual -- too many responsibilities keep pulling us back to New York and St. Mary's. But three weeks ago we set out from New York with the expectation of having a pleasant and productive month here, with only two quick returns to the city. On the way Liz began experiencing back pain. It took a week and a half before it was diagnosed as kidney stones. The pain medication is constipating, and Liz is often in great discomfort and/or severe pain.
Meanwhile, I had an incipient sore throat at the same time, and I kept expecting it to develop into either a chest cold or a head cold. But it didn't -- in four or five days I began experiencing pain in my jaw and ear, as well as severe balance problems. An emergency room doctor here in Montrose told me I had TMJ, with arthritis in the jaw joint. A week later, I went to my own doctor in New York, and he saw a canker sore way in the corner of the back of my mouth. I began using Orajel, and I think the canker sore is gone. But the ear ache is still with me, although much milder. Also my balance is closer to normal, but I am still not recovered.
The worst thing for me, apart from the discomfort, is that in the last three weeks I have not been at all productive. Now I have to at least rise to the occasion of a vestry meeting next Sunday, for which I need to have a financial report. I'll make it, but it will be a struggle.
I'm sorry for the tone of this post. I really want to write about the concerns that normally occupy my attention -- environment, the state of the world politically and economically, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden, Trayvon Martin, the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA, all that stuff. I'm usually stopped from writing about those things by the pressures of everyday life -- and by my aversion to saying something trite. I hope to resume again before too long.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
TEC is Practically Dead (not)
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Summer's End
All right, it's actually Autumn. But today is the day the Liz and I finally begin withdrawing from our summer place and returning to the Big Apple. Yesterday we took our last canoe ride and put the canoe in the garage for the winter. Yesterday I briefly stood in the lake while I took the steps off the dock. Now that's all over.
We're not completely closing up yet -- we'll be back briefly tqwo r three times in the next couple of weeks. Partly it will depend on how much I can get in the car -- pratly on the weather. Our first return will be sometime next week -- I hope on Monday, since that is supposed to be warm and sunny, but perhaps later in the week. On that visit, I'll drain the water and bring in the outside furniture.
Oh, I forgot to mention that on Sunday we took a 6 and 1/2 mile hike that was actually 8 and 1/2 because of the walk from the car to the beginning of the loop and then became 10 and 1/2 because we tokk a wrong turn and had to retrace our steps. It was grueling and scary because we got pretty close to sunset, but since it turned out ok we were fairly happy and relieved at the end.
This summer I zeroed in on my family history project and I am planning to continue it over the winter -- which involves taking a lot of papers home that I don't really have room for in my study. So making room will be part of my New York activities.
My attention to what we are calling "my project" has had some side effects: I am less involved at Morningside Gardens than I might otherwise have been; I have not been following Episcopal Church developments as assiduously as I was before; I have not been blogging about things either.
For example, I have not mentioned meeting Canon Alan Perry in Allentown on September 24 -- that put me back in touch with my thoughts on the Anglican Covenant. In fact, I have not mentioned the meeting of the North American Academy of Ecumenists at all. Although I am only a hanger-on, I find these meetings stimulating and thought provoking and this one was exceptionally good.
One week ago today, we were going to come back to Heart Lake from New York, but we delayed our return by a day so we could join the march from Foley Square to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) site. We were near the front of the gathering in Foley Square, which was union led. As we entered the square we were offered caps -- by chance they were UFT caps and I was happy to wear one. It was good to see the unions in solidarity with OWS. It is just possible that this will develop into a real populist movement on the left. It remains to be seem whether the kind of real structural change we (the American people and the entire human race) need will begin to happen. Can the 99% actually bring about change? In truth, the 1% are supported by a cadre -- at least 9% and probably more -- so the 99% is really 90% or less -- and how many of those have the consciousness to realize that the game is rigged and to (at least) sympathize with OWS?
Postscript: I wrote the above before breakfast. Now it's almost suppertime and we are in New York.
We're not completely closing up yet -- we'll be back briefly tqwo r three times in the next couple of weeks. Partly it will depend on how much I can get in the car -- pratly on the weather. Our first return will be sometime next week -- I hope on Monday, since that is supposed to be warm and sunny, but perhaps later in the week. On that visit, I'll drain the water and bring in the outside furniture.
Oh, I forgot to mention that on Sunday we took a 6 and 1/2 mile hike that was actually 8 and 1/2 because of the walk from the car to the beginning of the loop and then became 10 and 1/2 because we tokk a wrong turn and had to retrace our steps. It was grueling and scary because we got pretty close to sunset, but since it turned out ok we were fairly happy and relieved at the end.
This summer I zeroed in on my family history project and I am planning to continue it over the winter -- which involves taking a lot of papers home that I don't really have room for in my study. So making room will be part of my New York activities.
My attention to what we are calling "my project" has had some side effects: I am less involved at Morningside Gardens than I might otherwise have been; I have not been following Episcopal Church developments as assiduously as I was before; I have not been blogging about things either.
For example, I have not mentioned meeting Canon Alan Perry in Allentown on September 24 -- that put me back in touch with my thoughts on the Anglican Covenant. In fact, I have not mentioned the meeting of the North American Academy of Ecumenists at all. Although I am only a hanger-on, I find these meetings stimulating and thought provoking and this one was exceptionally good.
One week ago today, we were going to come back to Heart Lake from New York, but we delayed our return by a day so we could join the march from Foley Square to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) site. We were near the front of the gathering in Foley Square, which was union led. As we entered the square we were offered caps -- by chance they were UFT caps and I was happy to wear one. It was good to see the unions in solidarity with OWS. It is just possible that this will develop into a real populist movement on the left. It remains to be seem whether the kind of real structural change we (the American people and the entire human race) need will begin to happen. Can the 99% actually bring about change? In truth, the 1% are supported by a cadre -- at least 9% and probably more -- so the 99% is really 90% or less -- and how many of those have the consciousness to realize that the game is rigged and to (at least) sympathize with OWS?
Postscript: I wrote the above before breakfast. Now it's almost suppertime and we are in New York.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Update on September 11, 2011
Today is 9/11. I have to admit that I don't feel particularly moved by this anniversary. This year that's partly because I am at last actually working on publishing my family history cum genealogy, and have already put some of it on the web. (at allenandliz.com.)
A month ago our famiy was here -- Jane, Scott, Amanda and Juliana. They arrive Thursday, August 11, and left Sunday, August 14. It seems such a long time ago now. The day after they left, I drove to New York for a meeting. After I came back, for a week and a half I worked fairly steadily on my family history project and on a sermon I was scheduled to give at the Heart Lake Church on August 28th. Meanwhile, Liz worked on a proposal for a grant related to a new boiler at St. Mary's. On Tuesday, August 23, we felt the cottage shaking -- it was the earthquake in Virginia. Then on Sunday August 28, Hurricane Irene broguht large amounts of rain to our area. We had lost power hear in the middle of the night, so we had no power when we woke up Sunday. Church at Heart Lake was cancelled, so I didn't get to deliver my sermon. For about four hours on Sunday, starting around 10:30 AM the winds off the lake was strong and drove large amounts of rain straight at us. Water came in around the glazing in our porch windows and under the door. Without power, Liz was unable to work on the proposal. We had planned to drive to New York on Sunday afternoon, but we rescheduled for Monday. When we left, the power was still off. Our drive on Monday was uneventful until we hit the intersection of Rte 17 and the Thruway (I-87). Both the Thruway and Rte 17 were closed and everyone was trying to cross Long Mountain on Rte. 6 and take the Palisades Parkway. A trooper told us that the parkway was a parking lot and advised waiting a few hours, which we did in a park in Monroe. When we finally left Monroe about 4 in the afternoon, it was slow but steady going over the mountain, but on the parkway itself we moved pretty steadily.
The remains of Irene did a lot of damage north of us -- in the Catskills and in Vermont. Where Jane and Scott are in North Middlesex was spared the worst, but there was a lot of flooding not far from them.
After mailing off the proposal, we returned to Heart Lake on Wednesday, August 31. Along with our cousin Tim, we hosted our by now regular Labor Day Sunday family gathering. My mother's two surving siblings were there with spouses, as well as other representatives of each of the four families of my grandparent's children. There was also one family of second cousins. The threatened rain held off, and it was a vey pleasant gathering.
Then on Monday afternoon the rain started. The rain was light the rest of Monday and on Tuesday, but got heavier on Wednesday and serious flooding began on Thursday not very far from here. Finally the rain stopped Friday afternoon. The remnants of tropical storm Lee raised our lake as high as I have ever seen it. We are near the top of a hill. Down in the valleys, the flooding was devastating. Binghamton, my home town and just forty minutes from here, was flooded and in the surrounding area lots of homes were inundated. 20,000 people were evacuated. The Susquehanna River in this area isn't expected to subside below flood level until late tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I go to New York for evening meetings both Monday and Tuesday. Liz will stay here at Heart Lake and I expect to be back Wednesday afternoon -- I hope fairly early. In addition to the laundry, I'm taking home the first load of genalogical materials to aid me in writing through the fall and winter.
A month ago our famiy was here -- Jane, Scott, Amanda and Juliana. They arrive Thursday, August 11, and left Sunday, August 14. It seems such a long time ago now. The day after they left, I drove to New York for a meeting. After I came back, for a week and a half I worked fairly steadily on my family history project and on a sermon I was scheduled to give at the Heart Lake Church on August 28th. Meanwhile, Liz worked on a proposal for a grant related to a new boiler at St. Mary's. On Tuesday, August 23, we felt the cottage shaking -- it was the earthquake in Virginia. Then on Sunday August 28, Hurricane Irene broguht large amounts of rain to our area. We had lost power hear in the middle of the night, so we had no power when we woke up Sunday. Church at Heart Lake was cancelled, so I didn't get to deliver my sermon. For about four hours on Sunday, starting around 10:30 AM the winds off the lake was strong and drove large amounts of rain straight at us. Water came in around the glazing in our porch windows and under the door. Without power, Liz was unable to work on the proposal. We had planned to drive to New York on Sunday afternoon, but we rescheduled for Monday. When we left, the power was still off. Our drive on Monday was uneventful until we hit the intersection of Rte 17 and the Thruway (I-87). Both the Thruway and Rte 17 were closed and everyone was trying to cross Long Mountain on Rte. 6 and take the Palisades Parkway. A trooper told us that the parkway was a parking lot and advised waiting a few hours, which we did in a park in Monroe. When we finally left Monroe about 4 in the afternoon, it was slow but steady going over the mountain, but on the parkway itself we moved pretty steadily.
The remains of Irene did a lot of damage north of us -- in the Catskills and in Vermont. Where Jane and Scott are in North Middlesex was spared the worst, but there was a lot of flooding not far from them.
After mailing off the proposal, we returned to Heart Lake on Wednesday, August 31. Along with our cousin Tim, we hosted our by now regular Labor Day Sunday family gathering. My mother's two surving siblings were there with spouses, as well as other representatives of each of the four families of my grandparent's children. There was also one family of second cousins. The threatened rain held off, and it was a vey pleasant gathering.
Then on Monday afternoon the rain started. The rain was light the rest of Monday and on Tuesday, but got heavier on Wednesday and serious flooding began on Thursday not very far from here. Finally the rain stopped Friday afternoon. The remnants of tropical storm Lee raised our lake as high as I have ever seen it. We are near the top of a hill. Down in the valleys, the flooding was devastating. Binghamton, my home town and just forty minutes from here, was flooded and in the surrounding area lots of homes were inundated. 20,000 people were evacuated. The Susquehanna River in this area isn't expected to subside below flood level until late tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I go to New York for evening meetings both Monday and Tuesday. Liz will stay here at Heart Lake and I expect to be back Wednesday afternoon -- I hope fairly early. In addition to the laundry, I'm taking home the first load of genalogical materials to aid me in writing through the fall and winter.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Another month gone by
Another month has passed, and the current week is certainly eventful. On Tuesday we were sitting on our porch here at Heart Lake in Northesatern Pennsylvania and we felt the cottage shaking. Of course it was the earthquake, but for a moment we thought it was a big animal.
Now there's a hurricane bearing down on us. We had planned to drive to New York Sunday afternoon, but now we realize that would be foolish -- we'll wait until Monday. There's no telling what conditions will be if New York City takes a direct hit, or even a very near miss. Here at Heart Lake we're certain to get a lot of rain and maybe wind, but so far the projected path of the eye is well to the east of us.
Meanwhile, I have been working steadily at my family history, found at allenandliz.com, or rather, that's the introductory page to the site. I have posted the bulk of my TMG data, some of which is really not yet ready for publication, and am working on text pages to accompany it. Some of the commentary is already there. I will be posting details about the current state of the work on my genealogy blog.
Now there's a hurricane bearing down on us. We had planned to drive to New York Sunday afternoon, but now we realize that would be foolish -- we'll wait until Monday. There's no telling what conditions will be if New York City takes a direct hit, or even a very near miss. Here at Heart Lake we're certain to get a lot of rain and maybe wind, but so far the projected path of the eye is well to the east of us.
Meanwhile, I have been working steadily at my family history, found at allenandliz.com, or rather, that's the introductory page to the site. I have posted the bulk of my TMG data, some of which is really not yet ready for publication, and am working on text pages to accompany it. Some of the commentary is already there. I will be posting details about the current state of the work on my genealogy blog.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Oh, What a Week!!
Last Monday evening I had an insect sting or bite that I didn't even notice until my arm began to swell. On Tuesday, I began taking benadryl for the swelling and I was heartened that it was contained -- it didn't spread. But it didn't go away either and I knew I had to see a doctor. We were planning to drive back to New York on Wednesday morning, so I decided not to see a local doctor here in Pennsylvania, but to wait until I was home -- a decision I shouldn't have made, but in fact there were no bad consequences.
On our way home Wednesday, after we had been gone an hour, we realized we had forgotten to bring a very important flash drive, so we turned around, went back to the cottage, got the flash drive, and proceeded to drive home, arriving two hours later than we had expected. And arriving into a very hot New York City, with record breaking 100 degree temperatures.
I got to the doctor on Thursday and he prescribed a powerful antibiotic and told me to come back in a week for blood tests. Also, if there was no improvement, he wanted me to come back Monday (that is, yesterday.) I noticed a small improvement on Friday, and by Sunday it was clear that the antibiotic was dramatically reducing the effects of the infection.
One of the things on our schedule in New York last week was to have work done on our car -- it needed a new power steering pump and and oil pan gasket. So we took the car to our mechanic Thursday morning. We also had an important joint meeting of the finance, property, and stewardship committees at St. Mary's. Liz is working on putting together a grant proposal for some of the money we need for a new boiler at St. Mary's.
But our major preoccupation while we were in New York was working towards a resolution of a family situation involving some property in Vermont. That took up almost all of Liz's time and good deal of my time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Since my arm didn't need attention, on Monday morning we began loading the car for our return to Heart Lake. Thin coming weekend sees a trip to Vermont for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a return to New York on Sunday so I can attend a meeting at Morningside Gardens on Monday, and then a return to Heart Lake next Tuesday, a week from today. So our packing took that upcoming schedule into consideration.
We got off shortly before ten in the morning, not good, but not too bad considering the things that had been occupying us on Sunday (I haven't yet mentioned the Vestry meeting and a farewell party for our interns, both on Sunday afternoon.)
After about 35 miles, at the top of the Palisades Parkway, I discovered that there was too much play in the brake. I was cautious with the brake as I went over Long Mountain on Route 6, and drove more slowly than usual on Route 17 to our favorite stop at Stewarts in Goshen. I began to notice a little stiffness in the steering, and thought, oh gee, I'll have to take it back to the garage to have that looked at. But as I pulled into Stewarts, I found that the power steering had failed completely. Manually steering a modern Buick is a lot different from manually steering a car was in the 1950's. A kind woman in the Stewarts directed us to a good garage in Goshen who sent us on to the local GM dealer. It turns out that we had sprung a leak in the brake line to one of the rear wheels, so we lost brake fluid. About the same time, the new (rebuilt) power steering pump failed. It was a message -- it's time to stop putting money into this car.
So we looked at cars in our price range that the dealer had, and narrowed the choices down to two, one five and one six years old -- a Buick LaCrosse and a Chevy Malibu. The Chevy is very like an updated version of the Vega we were driving when we first began going back and forth to Heart Lake -- it's very practical for carrying stuff, but not as comfortable as the Buick. The Buick has a very roomy trunk like our present Buick, and will suit our needs very well. So I think we'll go with the Buick. Both cars had to be prepped, so we got a loaner Malibu, and after the 2 hour drive to Heart Lake from Goshen, I am strongly leaning to the Buick.
Soon we face a four hour drive to pick up the car and come bake to the lake.
On our way home Wednesday, after we had been gone an hour, we realized we had forgotten to bring a very important flash drive, so we turned around, went back to the cottage, got the flash drive, and proceeded to drive home, arriving two hours later than we had expected. And arriving into a very hot New York City, with record breaking 100 degree temperatures.
I got to the doctor on Thursday and he prescribed a powerful antibiotic and told me to come back in a week for blood tests. Also, if there was no improvement, he wanted me to come back Monday (that is, yesterday.) I noticed a small improvement on Friday, and by Sunday it was clear that the antibiotic was dramatically reducing the effects of the infection.
One of the things on our schedule in New York last week was to have work done on our car -- it needed a new power steering pump and and oil pan gasket. So we took the car to our mechanic Thursday morning. We also had an important joint meeting of the finance, property, and stewardship committees at St. Mary's. Liz is working on putting together a grant proposal for some of the money we need for a new boiler at St. Mary's.
But our major preoccupation while we were in New York was working towards a resolution of a family situation involving some property in Vermont. That took up almost all of Liz's time and good deal of my time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Since my arm didn't need attention, on Monday morning we began loading the car for our return to Heart Lake. Thin coming weekend sees a trip to Vermont for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a return to New York on Sunday so I can attend a meeting at Morningside Gardens on Monday, and then a return to Heart Lake next Tuesday, a week from today. So our packing took that upcoming schedule into consideration.
We got off shortly before ten in the morning, not good, but not too bad considering the things that had been occupying us on Sunday (I haven't yet mentioned the Vestry meeting and a farewell party for our interns, both on Sunday afternoon.)
After about 35 miles, at the top of the Palisades Parkway, I discovered that there was too much play in the brake. I was cautious with the brake as I went over Long Mountain on Route 6, and drove more slowly than usual on Route 17 to our favorite stop at Stewarts in Goshen. I began to notice a little stiffness in the steering, and thought, oh gee, I'll have to take it back to the garage to have that looked at. But as I pulled into Stewarts, I found that the power steering had failed completely. Manually steering a modern Buick is a lot different from manually steering a car was in the 1950's. A kind woman in the Stewarts directed us to a good garage in Goshen who sent us on to the local GM dealer. It turns out that we had sprung a leak in the brake line to one of the rear wheels, so we lost brake fluid. About the same time, the new (rebuilt) power steering pump failed. It was a message -- it's time to stop putting money into this car.
So we looked at cars in our price range that the dealer had, and narrowed the choices down to two, one five and one six years old -- a Buick LaCrosse and a Chevy Malibu. The Chevy is very like an updated version of the Vega we were driving when we first began going back and forth to Heart Lake -- it's very practical for carrying stuff, but not as comfortable as the Buick. The Buick has a very roomy trunk like our present Buick, and will suit our needs very well. So I think we'll go with the Buick. Both cars had to be prepped, so we got a loaner Malibu, and after the 2 hour drive to Heart Lake from Goshen, I am strongly leaning to the Buick.
Soon we face a four hour drive to pick up the car and come bake to the lake.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Publishing my Family History and Genealogy
Finally my genealogy is back online at my new website. I'm starting small -- so far I have information up only on people descended from my 2nd great grandfather, Manzer Judson Goodrich. Manzer's oldest son, my great grandfather Earl Ashton Goodrich, was born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, not far from Heart Lake where I am writing this. I am beginning by publishing the information I have on his family, because several of my first and second cousins have expressed interest in the family stories. All four of Earl's grandparents, six of his eight great grandparents, and three of his sixteen second great grandparents lived in Susquehanna County. Two of his great grandparents lived in adjacent Wayne County, Pennsylvania and two other great grandparents lived two counties away in Chenango County, New York. I'll be adding information on all of those families. After that I'll be moving on to my father's family, my maternal grandfather's family, and my great grandmother Grace (Dayton) Goodrich's family. There are also pictures, letters and other exhibits to be added. I can't predict the order in which I'll be adding things.
For over fifteen years I have been using what I think is the best genealogy computer program on the market, The Master Genealogist, commonly called TMG, from Wholly Genes -- the link is actually to the Wholly Genes website. Some people think that TMG is hard to use, but I have always found it pretty straightforward.
The web presentation of my genealogy data is generated by John Cardinal's program Second Site, which is designed for use with TMG data. I am also using Second Site to link the narrative section of my family history to the more specifically genealogical pages.
I have no connection with either Wholly Genes or Second Site except as a satisfied user, although I contributed two chapters to the book Getting the Most Out of The Master Genealogist.
The website is in its infancy and has a lot of growing to do. Right now all I have is the beginning of the narrative and some rudimentary information on Manzer Judson Goodrich, his three wives, and his descendants. Part of it is still pretty kludgy. There will be pictures soon and information on more people. Navigation will improve, too.
For over fifteen years I have been using what I think is the best genealogy computer program on the market, The Master Genealogist, commonly called TMG, from Wholly Genes -- the link is actually to the Wholly Genes website. Some people think that TMG is hard to use, but I have always found it pretty straightforward.
The web presentation of my genealogy data is generated by John Cardinal's program Second Site, which is designed for use with TMG data. I am also using Second Site to link the narrative section of my family history to the more specifically genealogical pages.
I have no connection with either Wholly Genes or Second Site except as a satisfied user, although I contributed two chapters to the book Getting the Most Out of The Master Genealogist.
The website is in its infancy and has a lot of growing to do. Right now all I have is the beginning of the narrative and some rudimentary information on Manzer Judson Goodrich, his three wives, and his descendants. Part of it is still pretty kludgy. There will be pictures soon and information on more people. Navigation will improve, too.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Independence
We're back at Heart Lake for the summer. This year I swear I'm going to make real progress on my family history project as well as getting the books in the attic organized.
I thought I might have separation anxiety after my term on the board at Morningside ended about two months ago, but in fact I don't. I'm just relieved, especially given what the current board has to face. If I feel moved to do so, I may write a little about that later.
I have agreed to remain as co-chair of the Tenant Selection Committee (our name for the admissions committee) and have also agreed to join the new Apartment Sales Committee. Those committees are meeting on Monday and Tuesday evenings next week and I'm going back to New York for both meetings -- which means two nights away from here. Not so long ago, it cost about $35 to make the trip -- now it's over $50.
I'm also still Treasurer of St. Mary's, a position I want to give up, and that will take some of my attention (and gas money) this summer aas well. I'm grateful that others, especially Warden Dorothy, are carrying a great deal of the responsibility for financial planning and keeping us on track.
For the most part, I'm free -- freer than I've been any time since February 2003.
For the most part, I'm free -- freer than I've been any time since February 2003.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Well, we've come to the end of another board year
Well, we've come to the end of another board year here at Morningside Gardens. This year the terms of four of us board members were up. All four of us were eligible to run again but for varying reasons each of us chose not to run, so there were four vacancies. Seven candidates ran for those four positions; they ran as two slates -- one slate of three people and one slate of four people. The slates were each backed by one of the two parties that have dominated internal politics here at Morningside for the past few years.
In the past, I have agonized over how to refer to the two parties, since they don't have names and aren't even really parties. For the moment I'm going to use color names that don't carry too much baggage (at least for me) -- Purple for the supporters of the slate of four and Orange for the supporters of the slate of three.
While the parties embody divisions that have been with us during the more than thirty years that I have been actively involved in the governance of Morningside Gardens, their recent history goes back to the debates over the resale price that occupied us in the first half of the past decade and culminated in a change in the price structure in 2006. The Purples have at their core many persons who supported the increase in price while the Oranges have at their core many persons who opposed the increase in price.
Some vocal members of both the Orange and the Purple parties have made public statements which I deplore, and it is easy to caricature the stances of both parties. Despite slogans and hyperbole, though, both parties are concerned about both the future and the present well-being of Morningside Gardens and of its cooperators. However, they have divergent views of the best way to achieve that well-being. There is also, on each side, a deep mistrust of certain people on the other side which often spills over into a near total rejection of anything put forward by any of the people on the other side.
The Orange slate won the election handily, but one member of the Purple slate out polled all three of them. When we take into account that four of the continuing members of the board are supported by the Orange party and three are supported by the Purple party, it appears on the face of it that the board is starting out divided seven to four or possibly six or seven to three with one or two swing persons. This is essentially the position we were in two years ago and we didn't come out at all well. Last year we had a board which started out divided five to five with one swing vore. Again we didn't come out well.
The reason we came out badly each year is mistrust. Two years ago it was mistrust of the manager by the newly elected officers and mistrust of the officers by the minority. Last year it was mistrust of the preceding year's officers by the newly elected officers. I am not proud of my own role in the past year -- if I had been a little more thoughtful, I might have been able to steer us away from what became an expensive debacle -- expensive in dollars but more importantly expensive in increased ill-feeling and party spirit.
With four new members, the board has an opportunity to try to pull together. Time will tell.
In the past, I have agonized over how to refer to the two parties, since they don't have names and aren't even really parties. For the moment I'm going to use color names that don't carry too much baggage (at least for me) -- Purple for the supporters of the slate of four and Orange for the supporters of the slate of three.
While the parties embody divisions that have been with us during the more than thirty years that I have been actively involved in the governance of Morningside Gardens, their recent history goes back to the debates over the resale price that occupied us in the first half of the past decade and culminated in a change in the price structure in 2006. The Purples have at their core many persons who supported the increase in price while the Oranges have at their core many persons who opposed the increase in price.
Some vocal members of both the Orange and the Purple parties have made public statements which I deplore, and it is easy to caricature the stances of both parties. Despite slogans and hyperbole, though, both parties are concerned about both the future and the present well-being of Morningside Gardens and of its cooperators. However, they have divergent views of the best way to achieve that well-being. There is also, on each side, a deep mistrust of certain people on the other side which often spills over into a near total rejection of anything put forward by any of the people on the other side.
The Orange slate won the election handily, but one member of the Purple slate out polled all three of them. When we take into account that four of the continuing members of the board are supported by the Orange party and three are supported by the Purple party, it appears on the face of it that the board is starting out divided seven to four or possibly six or seven to three with one or two swing persons. This is essentially the position we were in two years ago and we didn't come out at all well. Last year we had a board which started out divided five to five with one swing vore. Again we didn't come out well.
The reason we came out badly each year is mistrust. Two years ago it was mistrust of the manager by the newly elected officers and mistrust of the officers by the minority. Last year it was mistrust of the preceding year's officers by the newly elected officers. I am not proud of my own role in the past year -- if I had been a little more thoughtful, I might have been able to steer us away from what became an expensive debacle -- expensive in dollars but more importantly expensive in increased ill-feeling and party spirit.
With four new members, the board has an opportunity to try to pull together. Time will tell.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
No Anglican Covenant
This afternoon, I emailed the following statement to both the General Convention office of The Episcopal Church and to the Covenant Study design group of the Diocese of New York.
My parish, St. Mary's Manhattanville, came out unanimously against the Anglican Covenant at our Annual Meeting on the first Sunday in Lent. A drafting committee, of which as it turned out I was the principal drafter, came up with a statement for submission to the national church by the stated Easter deadline. I apologize for a little awkwardness in the statement, especially for the fact that the scriptural quotations are somewhat loosely stuck in. I simply ran out of time and I wanted to include all the suggestions of all the members.
Here is the statement:
* The Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 provides a sufficient base for the unity of The Anglican Communion.
* The discipline that would be imposed by the Covenant is contrary to the traditional autonomy of the provinces of the Anglican Communion [Covenant § 3.2.2] and, in particular, of The Episcopal Church.
* The Covenant would change the balance of Scripture, reason, and tradition by minimizing the role of reason.
* We are concerned that the Covenant would establish an ultimate teaching authority that would impair freedom of conscience by dictating which beliefs and norms are permitted to Anglicans.
* We believe that each province in the Anglican Communion, and in particular, The Episcopal Church should continue to be free to respond to its discernment of God's will.
My parish, St. Mary's Manhattanville, came out unanimously against the Anglican Covenant at our Annual Meeting on the first Sunday in Lent. A drafting committee, of which as it turned out I was the principal drafter, came up with a statement for submission to the national church by the stated Easter deadline. I apologize for a little awkwardness in the statement, especially for the fact that the scriptural quotations are somewhat loosely stuck in. I simply ran out of time and I wanted to include all the suggestions of all the members.
Here is the statement:
April 23, 2011
Resolution of the Annual Meeting
St. Mary's Manhattanville Episcopal Church
521 West 126th Street
New York, New York 10027
In response to the invitation extended to all parishes in The Episcopal Church to study and comment upon the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant, this parish of St. Mary's Manhattanville Episcopal Church in New York, New York recommends that the General Convention of The Episcopal Church not endorse the Covenant. Adopted unanimously, March 13, 2011.
New York, New York 10027
In response to the invitation extended to all parishes in The Episcopal Church to study and comment upon the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant, this parish of St. Mary's Manhattanville Episcopal Church in New York, New York recommends that the General Convention of The Episcopal Church not endorse the Covenant. Adopted unanimously, March 13, 2011.
A drafting committee was authorized to expand upon the bare bones resolution and has concluded that we concur with the reasons set out in the vestry resolution of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Albany, New York as follows:
* The Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 provides a sufficient base for the unity of The Anglican Communion.
* The discipline that would be imposed by the Covenant is contrary to the traditional autonomy of the provinces of the Anglican Communion [Covenant § 3.2.2] and, in particular, of The Episcopal Church.
* The Covenant would change the balance of Scripture, reason, and tradition by minimizing the role of reason.
* We are concerned that the Covenant would establish an ultimate teaching authority that would impair freedom of conscience by dictating which beliefs and norms are permitted to Anglicans.
* We believe that each province in the Anglican Communion, and in particular, The Episcopal Church should continue to be free to respond to its discernment of God's will.
We also have a reason that is related to our history. As the sponsoring parish of two of the women who were ordained priest in Philadelphia on July 29, 1974, we see that one effect of the proposed Covenant would be to discourage actions that offer challenges to the church through prophetic witness. In this connection some of us are reminded of the words of Isaiah (61:8):
For I the Lord love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
We also think of St. Paul in 1 Thessalonians (5: 16-20a):
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets,
We are aware that Paul’s next words are “but test everything.” We believe the proposed covenant has too great a potential for quenching the Spirit and short-circuiting testing.
Finally, some of us feel, along with our Suffragan Bishop Catherine Roskam, that A Covenant for Communion in Mission is worthy of our study and attention. To quote Bishop Roskam, “It is neither juridical nor punitive and is consonant with our Anglican tradition—member churches joined by common prayer and common mission.”
St Mary’s Manhattanville has ministered to all sorts and conditions of people in what is now called West Harlem since our founding in 1823. For nearly 200 years we have stood for peace and justice for all – for racial justice, economic justice, gender justice, and sexual orientation justice.
Respectfully submitted,
on behalf of the Rector, Wardens, Vestry, and Annual Meeting of St. Mary’s Manhattanville,
Allen Mellen, Treasurer
Cc: Covenant Study design group of the Diocese of New York
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
