June, 2004 Vestry Report

The Choir Benefit Concert held on Saturday, May 1st was a resounding success. The evenings’s program, entitled “Once Upon A Time. . . American Composers Telling Ancient Stories,” featured tenor David Bell and soprano Alison Davy, accompanied by John Sheridan on the piano. Concertgoers reported that the program was delightful. A reception followed in the Parish Hall. The concert raised a profit of $1,300 after expenses, and the Vestry voted to allocate all the proceeds to the St. John’s Choir School program.

On the same evening, May 1st, a gala reception and dinner was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to celebrate the ministry of the Rev’d Dr. Daniel Paul Matthews, who retired as Rector of Trinity Church on the following day. Program participants included the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, Bishop Mark Sisk, and Master of Ceremonies Katie Couric. Father Prator, who could not be downtown at the St. John’s in the Village concert and uptown at the Cathedral at the same time, asked Father Sam Cross and Warden Margot Shields to represent St. John’s at the tribute to Dr. Matthews. We at St. John’s continue to be grateful to Dr. Matthews and Trinity for the generous 3-year grant by the Trinity Grants Program, which enabled us to start up our AIDS ministry program, The Open Door. Dr. Matthews will remain in New York City after his retirement; it was announced that he has agreed to serve on the staff of the Cathedral to assist with fund-raising and other special projects.

The Annual Parish Barbecue will be held on Thursday, June 10, the Feast of Corpus Christi, following the 6:30 p.m. Solemn Eucharist and the Veneration of the Blessed Sacrament. Tickets are $5.00 for all the hamburgers and hotdogs you can eat plus soda, beer, or wine. Newcomers to the parish will be invited as our guests. As usual, the parish will provide the hamburgers, hotdogs, rolls, relishes, and drinks. Parishioners are invited to bring salads or deserts to share. Weather permitting, we will be outdoors in the courtyard, but in case of rain we will move indoors to the Parish Hall.

The annual New York City AIDS Walk was held on Sunday, May 16th in Central Park. The St. John’s walking team, led by Suzanne Culhane and Gerry Dilley, raised over $1,200 to benefit GMHC in its fight against AIDS. Prior to the walk, St. John’s team members attended an outdoor Mass together with other members of the New York Diocesan ERA [Episcopal Response to AIDS] walking team. Our profound thanks to those who contributed so generously of their time, effort, and money to this crucial work.

Two oil paintings by well-known local artists have been donated to St. John’s. One is by Harriet Fitzgerald, who founded the Abingdon Square Painters in 1948, the other by Peggy Anderson, current president of the group and a frequent visitor to St. John’s. The recent annual exhibition by the Abingdon Square Painters (held May 14-17 in their studio on West 14th Street) included works by Anderson as well as our own artist-member Jeanne Morrow and was attended by many parishioners. The St. John’s Arts Committee is planning areception in the fall to display these paintings and to honor artist Peggy Anderson and donor Judy Albert. Date to be announced.

Vestry on Call schedule for June: Sunday, June 6 (Nancy Warfield, Fred Pattison); June 13 (Jay Campbell); June 20 (Margot Shields); June 27 (Pam Brown).