Author: St. Andrew's

On Saturday, December 1, 2012, the Diocese of New York & New Jersey’s Commission on Liturgical Music held its first ‘Children’s Choir Workshop’, hosted by our parish here at St. Andrew’s.  Led by noted diocesan conductor and musician David Lucs, the workshop was a fun-filled and inspiring day, as David creatively engaged the group of eight enthusiastic young girls who joined this program’s initial run.

Students learned several hymns, especially those related to the season of the Nativity which is upon us: the Feast of Saint Nicholas, the Holy Nativity, and the Holy Theophany, and were given booklets of liturgical music to take back to their homes and parishes along with their newly-acquired skills in liturgical music.  The children took advantage of the personal attention to clear up some misconceptions as well; among the most interesting, that on celebrations, we don’t actually sing “God Grant you many ears!” Others learned that a Nativity irmos does not actually begin with “Christ is bored, glorify Him!”  Thankfully, our intrepid instructor was able to gently reorient the young students to a more traditional understanding of how these hymns should go!  In addition to the instruction in signing, the students shared meals together, got to know each other, and establish friendships with fellow Orthodox youth from nearby parishes.

St. Andrew’s is thankful to the Diocesan Commission on Liturgical Music, in particular Doreen Bartholomew and Carol Wetmore, for the honor of being able to host this event; to David Lucs for the wonderful instruction he provided; and to His Grace Bishop Michael for his presence, teaching, and encouragement throughout the workshop.  We hope our own parish’s youth who participated had a good experience, and hope that they will now join us in the choir sometime soon!  We look forward to sending even great numbers of our youth to future workshops.

Photos from the event can be viewed here.

On November 29, the eve of our Patronal Feast of Saint Andrew, our parish was honored to welcome our diocesan archpastor, His Grace Bishop Michael, for the celebration of the Vesperal Liturgy.  We were also honored to be joined by Fr. David Cowan, rector of Holy Trinity Church in Yonkers NY and secretary to His Grace, as well as Fr. Seraphim Joa, a recent graduate of St. Vladimir Seminary and an assistant priest at Holy Trinity Church in East Meadow NY.  Joining in the celebration of the Liturgy were a wonderful contingent of parishioners, who would have been otherwise unable to join in the feast due to their work and school schedules.  

Continue reading Bishop Michael Celebrates Feast of St. Andrew

Thank you to all who supported our 2012 Clothing Drive. We collected quite a few donations – over 50 fully laden bags. These donations will benefit United Veterans’ Beacon House, and will help the lives of struggling veterans on Long Island. The collection of the items took place a few days before Thanksgiving, having been postponed for several weeks due to Hurricane Sandy.

A brief report from the 17th All American Council

Yesterday, at the plenary session of the 17th All-American Council – held here in Parma, outside Cleveland, Ohio – six hundred and sixty three participants, five hundred and ninety who were eligible to vote, forwarded two names to the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, after hours of prayer and balloting.

His Eminence Archbishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and His Grace Bishop Michael of New York were considered by the Holy Synod, who makes the final decision and election of our new Metropolitan, the bishop who acts as Primate (head) of our Church.

After many hours of and much anticipation, the curtain to the sanctuary was opened and Archbishop Tikhon was brought forth, having been elected by the Synod, to be vested in the appointments of the Metropolitan.

Continue reading A New Metropolitan is Elected

During the storms related to Hurricane Sandy this past week, our church suffered little damage. Several tree limbs fell throughout the wooded property, one of which severed the electrical service connection from the street to the Rectory & Hall. Power remains to the church. Thank you to our caretakers for their diligent work (pictured, in action, above) in cleaning the property up – when we arrived for services this weekend, it seemed as if nothing had happened! We know of no injury to any of our parishioners, or major damage to their homes. Many of us are still without power, a minor inconvenience when we consider the massive loss of many of our brothers and sisters on Long Island and beyond. Please keep all of those suffering in the wake of the storm, as well as those who tragically lost their lives, in your prayers.