Edited and supplemented on 1/9/08, one correction made on 1/10/
The closing service for St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was held Sunday afternoon. One report indicates that attendance was about 80 persons including, according to one report, about a dozen youth who were brought there by members of Trinity Memorial. Bringing youth to a church closing is an interesting choice for youth ministry, but given the current path of pecusa maybe it will make them more understanding when pecusa closes other churches.
I was told this morning that the service was held at the instigation of a son of the founding record and that invitations to the service were sent to former parishioners who are not members of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Vestal. In addition to this, members of area Episcopal churches were asked to attend.
The choir was led by Bill Synder of Christ Church and a number of Trinity members sang in the choir. Two of the former organists were asked to play at the service and both declined. The organist of Christ Church consented to play and an ad hoc choir was formed for the occasion.
Participants in the service included the founding rector, the dean of the Binghamton District and the Bishop of Central NY. Oddly, at no time during the service, not in the sermon nor in any announcements, did the bishop even mention why the church was closing, according to two attenders.
A former parishioner of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was told that he didn't belong at the service by one attender and received some less than friendly glares from another. Conservatives are often portrayed as unloving and uncaring, but in my experience this is simple projection by liberals. When a gay couple visited our parish a few years ago they were treated with the utmost respect and given a warm welcome. This is not how conservatives are treated in many liberal parishes.
Details will be added to this report as they are received.
3 comments:
The choir was directed by Bill Snyder of Christ Church, not Peter Browne. FWIW the ad hoc choir seemed to be missing a tenor section. The offertory was "In This Very Room" ("... there's quite enough love for everyone ...").
Was it a deconsecration? I have no idea. There was an interesting litany that both confessed promises not kept, etc. and celebrated promises kept, etc. The main apparent purpose of the service was to comfort people at the closing of a church they had left voluntarily some time ago without airing dirty laundry. The sermon was not the least bit odd for the CNY bishop. Mentioning the reason for closing would have been self-flagellation or slander -- neither one fits his style.
Thank you about the information about the choir; I will make that correction.
I do find it odd that there was no acknowledgement of the reason for the service. While it isn't the bishop's style that certainly doesn't mean it shouldn't have been addressed. I personally don't think a style of denial is helpful. Honesty is not necessarily self-flagellation and certainly would not veer into slander.
btw, it was not a deconsecration.
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