Autumn 2012 The Swan & Elk Newsletter

Fall 2012 Swan & Elk Page 1 of 12

Fall 2012

SERVICE TIMES

Sundays

7:30 am Morning Prayer

8:00 am Holy Eucharist

10:00 am Cathedral Eucharist

3:00 pm Choral Service Oct. 21, Nov.4 & Nov.11

Sundays at Six

Sept. 23, Oct. 28 & Nov. 18

Monday – Friday


12:05 pm Holy Eucharist

Tuesday


Friday

5:30 Evening Prayer

6:00 Lectio Divina

Saturdays & Holidays



First Fridays

9:00 pm Sung Compline

THE CATHEDRAL OF

ALL SAINTS The Rt. Rev. William H. Love, Bishop

The Rt. Rev. David S. Ball, Bishop-in-Residence

The Rt. Rev. Daniel W. Herzog, Bishop Retired

The Venerable David J. Collum, Dean

The Rev. Peter Pierson, Priest

The Rev. Allen D. Carpenter, Deacon

The Rev. Richard P. Erickson, Deacon

The Rev. Susan A. Plaske, Deacon

The Rev. Christine R. Wickman, Deacon

Mr. Woodrow Bynum, Music Director

Mr. L. Graham Schultz, Organ Fellow

THE SWAN & ELK

Volume VI, Issue 3

Number XXXXIX

Send correspondence to:

[email protected]

www.thecathedralofallsaints.org

Dear readers of the Swan & Elk,

I pray that you are well as this latest edition of the Swan & Elk reaches your

door. At our Cathedral doors the anticipation of the Fall, with all it brings, is

palpable. This newsletter is filled with the dates and times of events that we hope

might be a blessing to you as we witness the love in Christ in a classically

Anglican way.

However, before rushing into the fall, let me reflect for a moment on our summer

here at the corner of Swan & Elk: it has been very different. There were certainly

similarities with a sense of things slowing down; less traffic during the week as

office workers were on vacation and so on. There was still much ministry taking

place beyond Sunday worship as the Tuesday midday study, Prayer Table,

working at shelters and more continued; but unlike prior years we dealt with

change.

The most significant was trying to be with and help Bishop Ball amid the injuries

which resulted from his fall. I pray that all of you receiving this letter are by now

aware that at the end of July Bishop Ball fell fracturing two of his vertebrae. By

God‟s grace there is no paralysis. The event means a long recovery and forces a

new chapter to begin in the Bishop‟s life.

A situation of this magnitude is one where many defining stories emerge: some

of them poignant, others silly, and still others show resolve. All of them reinforce

what we all know about the Bishop and his gentle kindness. As you receive this

newsletter he has been recovering for a little more than a month. Through it all

his patience and grace have shown. There are times when the gravity of the

changes he is facing is evident in him; still he perseveres.

In all of it God‟s grace prevails, which is really the point I need to be mindful of

in circumstances such as these. The demands placed upon us, whether the person

dealing with change or those surrounding them, those demands can be consuming

to the point where they supplant God in our consciousness. He is always present,

yet it becomes more necessary to be intentional about seeking Him. How can we

seek Him? What can we do? Getting silent and spending time in Scripture is

helpful: the Psalms are a good home port in times of storm.

So it has been a different summer, one of challenge and one of reflection here

atop the hill at the capital. If you have not been receiving updates about Bishop

Ball, please send us your email address and we will add you to the periodic

updates. Finally, if you have not already done so I ask that Bishop Ball and the

Cathedral be in your daily supplications to God: I covet your prayers greatly.

Your brother in Christ,

Dean David J. Collum+

Contact Information for Dean Collum:

Office phone: 518-465-1342

Cell phone number: 518-469-8722

email: [email protected]

THE SWAN & ELK The newsletter of the Cathedral of All Saints

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


RECENTLY AT THE CATHEDRAL

Rachmaninoff‟s All-Night Vigil.

A mere fifteen weeks ago, on May 20th, under the direction of our

Music Director Mr. Woodrow Bynum, the Cathedral presented

Rachmaninoff‟s All Night Vigil. This work comes to us from the

Russian Orthodox tradition with its own unique and beautiful approach

to worship. The Cathedral Choir of Men & Boys and Guest Soloists

blessed all who attended with a presentation that transported us to the

very throne room of God. The day before the event John Froebel-

Parker led a trip to an Orthodox Monastery, Holy Trinity in

Jordanville. On the day of the performance Fr. Peter Pierson offered a

talk on both Rachmaninoff and this specific work to concert goers. For

all who were able to attend one, two, or all of these events, the time

was truly blessed.

Bishop Ball Golf Tournament

On June 3rd

people from around the Cathedral, the City of

Albany, and the Diocese came together for an afternoon of fun,

as we honored the ministry of the Seventh Bishop of Albany,

David Standish Ball.

The weather “mostly cooperated” with just two afternoon

bursts of rain. The winning team this year was from St.

Boniface, Guilderland, who retained “The Bishop‟s Cup.”

Bishop Ball participated in the golfing and other festivities.

Thank you to the Committee, and to all who volunteered,

donated, attended, and in any way supported the event.

And…mark your calendars for next year when the Fourteenth

Annual Bishop Ball Golf Tournament will take place on June

23rd

, 2013.

Ordinations at the Cathedral

On June 2nd

eleven candidates were ordained to

the Sacred Order of the Diaconate. The Right

Reverend William Love celebrated and

presided at the service with The Very Reverend

Derik Roy offering the sermon. The Cathedral

was filled, with people sitting in the Nave,

Transepts and Choir.

Congratulations to Laurie Bartlett, Patricia

Beauharnois, David Beaulac, Gil DeLaura,

Shane Gormley, Emily Hylden, Rodney

Roehner, Jill Stellman, Susan Stewart, Lorraine

Thurber and William Wright, Sr.


SEPTEMBER AT THE CATHEDRAL

Invitation Sunday & Cathedral Picnic, 9 September

If you look through some of the old photos and books that chronicle the history of the Cathedral you will

immediately notice something, it is filled with people! You might wonder, “How did all these people find

their way to the Cathedral?” Some might answer that churches were filled “back in those days.” Others

might answer that there were more people in Albany. Beyond speculating, we know that most of those

people came to the Cathedral because someone invited them. No doubt some invitations were rejected,

but from the photos it is clear that many were accepted. Regardless, invitations were extended. This year

September 9th is designated as “Invitation Sunday”, a day you are encouraged to intentionally invite a

friend, family member, or a next door neighbor who does not have a church home to attend the Cathedral.

Our goal isn‟t to fill the Cathedral as much as it is to let people begin to explore their relationship with

God. If you pause and ponder for a moment your relationship with God through His Son Jesus, it is a

wonderful gift. In some ways the Cathedral plays a role in your life to help you in your relationship with

God. I want to encourage you to extend an invitation to either of our Sunday Services, at 8 am or 10 am,

so that the Cathedral may be such a place for people you know. It is a great day to invite them because it

is the day of our Annual Picnic. And speaking of our picnic…it is from 2 pm to 5 pm at the Schodack

Island State Park. The Stewardship Committee and others provide the meat and drinks and you are asked

to bring a salad or dessert.

Bible Symposium, 22 September 9:30 am to 2:30 pm

Please join noted Theologian and Lecturer Douglas Stuart for a day of

exploring the Scriptures. Dr. Stuart is a scholar of the Old Testament, Assyrian

and Babylonian languages and literature, and the cultures of the Ancient Near

East. He is versed in the use of 14 different languages, both ancient and

modern. Dr. Stuart‟s talks will include material from a work he co-authored,

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, as well as providing time for those

who attend to actually apply these Bible reading techniques to the Scriptures.

Doors open at 8:30 am. The cost is $20.00 and covers coffee, pastry, lunch and the speaker. Tickets can

be purchased online via the Cathedral website, or by mailing a check to the Cathedral, with Bible

Symposium in the memo.

The Friends of the Choir 2012 Annual

Garden Party at the Historic Pruyn House

Sunday, 30 September 2:00 to 4:00 pm

An event in support of The Cathedral Choir of Men

and Boys and The Lloyd Cast Organ Fellowship.

Music provided by

The Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys

Enjoy good company, music, gardens, hors d‟oeuvres & desserts

and a Silent Auction. Admission is $35 for adults and $25 for

seniors 65+ and students. Children 12 and younger are admitted

free of charge.

1-800-838-3006 www.brownpapertickets.com Event#267928

tel:1-800-838-3006

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/


OCTOBER AT THE CATHEDRAL

Blessing of the Animals, 4 October 5:15 pm

Every year the at the Feast of St. Francis people from around the

world ask God‟s blessing upon animals. At the Cathedral our

tradition is to join with the Cathedral of the Immaculate

Conception, with whom we are in covenant, on this festive day.

This year the Cathedral of All Saints will host the blessing of

animals.

Please join Dean Collum, Father Pape, parishioners from both

cathedrals, and their pets for a special service.

The service is animal friendly and of an appropriate length for our

feather, furry or scaled friends!

Our service is on Thursday, October 4th at 5:15 pm.

Moveable Feasts Return!

We will again be hosting a series of dinners in the homes of

congregants during the fall of 2012. These dinners, which are titled

Moveable Feasts have been a wonderful success and, as well, a great source of fellowship. To refresh

your memories, these are dinners hosted by one or more members of the congregation in a member‟s

home. The dinner consists of appetizers, wine, main course, dessert and coffee, and has a particular

“theme” (i.e. Spanish, Italian, Armenian, Thai, etc.) The hosts open their homes and provide the

dinner…and it is up to you to sign up to attend, and hopefully, to bring a friend with you. The cost of the

dinner remains $35 per person, to benefit the Cathedral General Fund.

Medieval Faire, 20 October 10 am to 5 pm

On October 20th the Cathedral Nave will be

transformed into a scene from ages past, as the

Medieval Faire returns. The Faire resets the Cathedral

in a medieval setting with vendors and performers in

period costume. Vendors will be offering a variety of

handmade goods, foods and beverages. Tours of the

Cathedral will be offered, and the Faire runs from 10

am to 5 pm. The Medieval Faire at the Cathedral of All

Saints will be a mostly non-devotional activity taking

place in a sacred space. It will bring into the Cathedral

individuals who might not otherwise visit us. Most will

come for the costumes and the music, for the

entertainment, venders and food, for the pageantry and

family fun. Few will fail to be moved by the sacred

space, with its beautiful stained glass windows and

gothic stone arches pointing heavenwards. For a brief

time, during the Faire, the boundary between the sacred

and the profane will have been made less distinct and,

perhaps, easier to cross.

Mark your calendars now to come and enjoy a truly

unique Cathedral event.


MUSIC AT THE CATHEDRAL

Montreal Boys‟ Choir Course

Eleven choristers from the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, together with Mr. Schultz enjoyed yet

another successful Montreal Boys‟ Choir Course this summer. This is the second consecutive year that

the Cathedral of All Saints has brought the largest contingent of boys to the camp. Malcolm Archer

served as the camp‟s Guest Music Director. Mr. Archer is the Director of Chapel Music at Winchester

College, England and has previously held posts at Norwich, Bristol, and Wells Cathedrals, as well as St.

Paul‟s Cathedral, London. Mr. Archer is a brilliant conductor whose passion and energy made for a week

of exceptional music making. The theme of this year‟s course was the Celebration of the Mass. Fr. Ed

Pickup, the course chaplain, focused his daily sermons on Biblical references to our Eucharistic Theology

as well as the history of the liturgy itself. A Festal Eucharist celebrated by the Bishop of Montreal at

Christ Church Cathedral concluded the week. Three of our choristers received awards from Mr. Archer

for outstanding musicianship: Ian Davis, Christopher Howard, and Sebastian VanDerbeck. Sebastian

VanDerbeck also received the camp‟s award for all around best chorister. Congratulations to these and all

of our choristers on representing our Cathedral in fine fashion.

Compline, 7 September 9 pm

Each month on the First Friday of the month at 9 pm The Cathedral of All Saints offers sung Compline.

One of the Service of the Hours, the service is designed to end our day. In ages past and present monks

and nuns pray Compline, turn off their lights and go to sleep. This Office, conducted in the candlelit

choir, is a beautiful combination of sung psalms, verse and response, and short verses of Scripture read

aloud.

We pray you can join us.

Evensong, 21 October 2:30 pm

350th

Anniversary of

The Book of Common Prayer

Join The Cathedral Choir of Men & Boys for

a celebratory Evensong as we honor the 350th

Anniversary of The Book of Common

Prayer. The Reverend Andrew Piper of

Hereford Cathedral has been invited to join

us for the afternoon as our guest.

The viol consort Sonnambula will

accompany the The Cathedral Choir of Men

& Boys at 2:30 pm in place of the usual

organ recital followed by our service at 3 pm.


NOVEMBER AT THE CATHEDRAL

All Saints Day Celebrations, 1 November & 4 November The Cathedral of All Saints will celebrate its Patronal Feast with three festal occasions. On Thursday,

November 1st, All Saints Day at 6 pm, join members of the Cathedral for Holy Eucharist at 6 pm followed

by a pot-luck dinner. This mid-week evening service, held in choir, has proved to be warm and beautiful.

Then, on All Saints Sunday, November 4th, our Cathedral Eucharist with the Cathedral Choir of Men and

Boys will be offered at 10 am followed by Evensong at 3 pm. The All Saints Evensong is typically the

service when honorary Canons to the Cathedral are installed. At this special evensong Rector Emeritus of

St. Thomas Fifth Ave, The Reverend John Andrew will preach. Father Andrew is well known for many of

his abilities, especially the expositing of God‟s Word.

Diocesan Acolyte Festival, 17 November 9:30 am to 2:30 pm The Cathedral of All Saints is excited

to announce the Third Annual

Diocesan Acolyte Festival. A Festival

Service of Holy Eucharist with

Rededication of Acolytes will be at 10

am followed by lunch. In the

afternoon a variety of presentations

will be offered to equip and

encourage acolytes, acolyte leaders

and clergy.

This year, in addition to several of the

standard presentations being offered,

new presentations will be provided

for those who have attended in prior

years, or who may be interested in the

finer points of serving.

Both acolytes, clergy and parishioners from around the diocese are invited. Each acolyte will receive a pin

for attending. There is a cost for all who attend to cover the expense of food. The cost this year is $12.00.

Please come! Each parish from around the Diocese is invited to send their acolytes. Each participant is

invited, but not required, to vest and bring processional crosses, parish banners, and thuribles.

Remembrance Sunday Evensong – 11 November 3 pm

This year Veteran‟s Day, November 11th, is on Sunday. To honor our Veterans, The Cathedral of All

Saints will offer Choral Evensong. If you are watching the calendar you will note that there will be two

evensongs on successive Sundays. We normally try to avoid scheduling the choir in such a manner, but

we feel this is a very important day and want to honor our Veterans. We are inviting Veterans and

Veteran Organizations from around the area. The Very Reverend Harry Krauss, past Dean of the

Cathedral of St. John in Providence, RI has been invited as our guest preacher. Please come, and if you

know a veteran, please invite them. Our day starts with an Organ Recital at 2:30 pm, Choral Evensong is

at 3 pm, followed by a reception.


COURSES AT THE CATHEDRAL

"Zechariah was a Prophet"

Who were the prophets of the Old Testament who

appear most often in the New? One thinks

immediately of Isaiah, or perhaps Daniel; but, how

about Zechariah?

In fact, there are 54 references to Zechariah in 67

different passages of the New Testament, including this

one: “Say to the daughter of Zion, „Behold, your king

is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden..." from

Zechariah 9:9. Zechariah, by the way, lived around the

time of the rebuilding of the Temple, circa 520 BCE.

We may briefly consider why Three Dog Night chose

to sing about Jeremiah, and not Zechariah, but our

main consideration will be the relevance of Zechariah

to our understanding of the Christian faith, and to our Christian lives lived out today.

We will begin our Fall Studies with a Six week class focused on Zechariah. The inclusive dates are

September 4th through October 9th. This class will be held following the 12:05 pm Eucharist on Tuesday

afternoons, and from 6:30 - 7:30 pm on Tuesday evenings. As always, there will be light refreshments.

Dean‟s Forum χαρις Each Sunday at 9:10 am an Adult Forum is held,

conducted by Dean Collum. During the summer the Dean

led discussions on the results of The General Convention

of the Episcopal Church, a six week series on Humility,

and a three week series on how to reach out and invite

people to the Cathedral.

This coming Fall the Dean will be leading a multi-week

discussion on Grace. What is it? How have theologians

thought about it in the past? What is the difference

between “costly grace” and “cheap grace”, and more?

The Dean seeks to lead the forums in a manner that

invites questions – and answers – from all who attend.

Lectio Divina

“Divine reading,” is a method of reading and meditating

upon the Scriptures that finds it roots in monasticism. As

early as the fifth century we see in the Rule of St. Benedict

the centrality of spending time in the Sacred Text.

At The Cathedral of All Saints, each Friday evening, people

gather to practice this ancient form of devotion and

reflection. Deacon Susan Plaske leads the group which

meets for Evening Prayer at 5:30 pm and the Lectio Divina

at 6 pm.


CATHEDRAL PROPERTY

Work Day! 8 September

Several Cathedral Work Days have taken

place and all have made great strides. The

Cathedral has been cleaned and dusted, lights

re-lamped, several closets and storage areas

cleaned and organized, and more.

Most Friday mornings Doug Hamilton leads

a small group of people who are steadily

addressing issues, tending to outside lawns,

etc. If you would like to help please contact

Doug.

Our next Work Day is scheduled for September 8th. The day will start with Holy Eucharist at 9 a.m.

Students from the College of St. Rose are joining us to help! We hope to be finished by noon, certainly no

later than 1 pm. Join us!

St. Alban‟s Restoration

It is taking some time, but the results are being to show. The labor that a small dedicated crew of people

has put into the woodwork restoration at St. Alban‟s is impressive. Since the last Newsletter the false

floor has been removed, and not too soon. We discovered mold and rotted word underneath. Another

round of plaster work is being scheduled along with heating system and electrical work.

Several people have asked what the restored chapel will be used for. It will be first and foremost a chapel.

This means, similar to the other chapels, it will be used for weekday services and special liturgies.

Because of its unique location in our Cathedral, we are also exploring how it might be used when we want

to keep the majority of the Cathedral locked. Finally, some have asked about cost. It will most likely cost

about $10,000 when all is said and done. The first half of that was donated by several people specifically

at the start of the project. The Dean is soliciting help for the remainder.

Cathedral Repairs Since our last newsletter progress has been made with respect to the “roof leak” of the Bishop‟s Sacristy.

You may remember that after much investigation by Gene Garber, our architect, and our roofer, the

source of the water was actually a clogged drain. The blockage caused the water to back up inside a

downspout almost twenty feet until it poured out into the sacristy. The company has cleared the blockage

and a first cleaning of the sacristy has been completed. Additionally, Church Insurance has inspected the

damage and the Cathedral is collecting bills and cost estimates for: roof repair, drain unclogging, ceiling

repair, wall/plaster repair, floor resurfacing and painting.

Also, in the last newsletter it was reported that a full Cathedral roof inspection was planned and estimates

for repair of specific deficiencies were being established. These have been received, a contractor hired,

and during the first two weeks of September, the work is scheduled to be performed.


CATHEDRAL WORKS

Harmonies for Haiti Concert

Bishop of Haiti

To Visit Cathedral of All Saints

On November 15th at 7 pm The Cathedral of All Saints,

the Diocese of Albany and the Empire Haiti Coalition

with hold Harmonies for Haiti – A concert to celebrate

and support mission in Haiti. Bishop Jean Zaché

Duracin, Diocesan of Haiti will speak to us about how

our work in Haiti is making a difference. The Cathedral

Choir of Men & Boys will offer their musical talents.

Your are invited to bring your concern for Haiti and

your pocketbooks.

Please mark your calendars now for this wonderful

event.

Mission update! This past spring we participated in

shipping a container to the six villages we support. The

container has arrived, cleared customs was unloaded and

then…turned into a medical clinic! Students from RPI

and members of the Empire Haiti Coalition worked with residents of Haiti to convert the container.

Prayer Table

Each Wednesday, people from the Cathedral and other Episcopal Churches sit quietly at a small table and

offer to pray with people. It is a remarkable ministry. A gentleman who works “next door” and watches

the table each week (in addition to bringing someone to it) offered the following poem and gave us

permission to share it.

The Prayer Table

Two women of the Cathedral sit

in the windy summer heat.

Like a bake sale or church supper they offer

sustenance for the soul,

so generously,

like the washing of the feet.

As a person randomly walks by,

stops to talk or slows to stare,

does that become a prayer?

Creator, guide me to cross safely

and keep me from facing the

possibilities of faith,

as it pulls on me

with its strange weight

against the relief

of everyday distractions

Content with concupiscence,

greed and old-fashioned hate,

striving to avoid any taste

of fate near such holy ground,

vainly dissecting further from grace.

The table‟s offering – a sign:

Even moving away

can be a moving toward.

The silent Spirit will chase,

like it chased Jonah,

to an unlikely place. Even when

willing darkness, one must face into

that terrible brightness.

Frank Coco, 2012

idolized with zeal.

If you are interested in the Prayer Table contact Deacon Plaske for details.


God has decided upon you sermon delivered by Dean Collum on John 6:25-51

One of my preaching mentor‟s would always ask, “In one

sentence what do you hope those who hear your message

will take away?” One of my colleagues responded, “But if

we tell people that, won‟t they then be relieved of listening

to the rest!” In the face of that risk let me give you my one

sentence. My prayer is that you will see in John chapter 6 a

Gospel that describes God not as exclusive, but rather as a

God of promise and invitation, as a God that has decided

upon you.

A portion of John‟s Eucharistic theology is found in the 6th

chapter of his Gospel. His Evangelon does not have a Last

Supper narrative per se. Do not feel deprived. Here in

chapter six John offers us a rich banquet; to dine on it may

require we be open to new tastes – new ideas.

Have you ever thought you had something “all figured out”

only to be surprised to learn you had it all wrong? Or have

you ever been sure you understood a situation so well that

you realized your confidence was actually a barrier to

learning more. Read chapter 6 and we note that people are

grumbling, indeed struggling to even hear what Jesus is

saying.

His words are not just hard for the religious of his own day,

but they cause many to struggle. Words such as “I am the

bread of life” or “whoever believes has eternal life” have

led people to develop such highly refined theologies that

those schema have driven some to grumble and have driven

others away. In error they have presented a God who seems

to “pick and choose” whom he will offer his love to.

That is a natural result of having it “all figured out.” For

example, we in the church have become obsessed with

“bread” and with “decisions” to the point of bringing

division into Christ‟s Body, the Church. I want to suggest

rather than present that I have it all figured out, that instead

we seek to understand what God is trying to communicate

to us today.

The first step in our consideration is whether we are

thinking about this text and these issues from our

predetermined perspective – by that I mean do we feel

compelled to have the answer to a question such as “How

exactly is Jesus the Bread of Life?” or “What if people who

believe in Jesus have some doubts?” Or are we trying (as

best we can) to ask of the text what God might be telling

us?

If we read through the text we will see Jesus describing

both the Father and himself. He is using the “first person” a

great deal; more than he normally does. I suggest he is

trying to tell us about himself and about his Father.

Consider what he is telling us: v.37 anyone who comes to

me I will never drive away, v.39 I will lose nothing of all

that He has given me, v.40 he who believes in Him should

have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,

v.46 I am the bread of life, and v.51 I am the living bread.

In all these verses Jesus is saying “I will lose none, I won‟t

reject, I will raise up, I am the Bread of Life, I am Living

Bread. Can we hear Who is taking the lead? Everything is

centered in, and flowing from, Jesus.

Some people who have recognized that Christ is at the

center have, in an effort to better understand,

unintentionally put human beings back at the nexus. They

have sought to comprehend exactly what Jesus means. The

scenario can be described when people are asked if “they

have made a decision for God?” Now please don‟t

misunderstand. I want everyone to know God through his

Son Jesus Christ. I believe all that we say in the Creeds.

What I want us to be mindful of is what I believe this text is

trying to communicate to us and that is simply – GOD IS

THE FIRST MOVER – God loses none who come, rejects

none who come, raises up, is the Bread of Life and more.

Perhaps a story would help. C.S. Lewis, someone who

certainly deeply believed in and was a premier apologist for

Our Lord, would not say he had made a decision for Christ.

In a famous interview with a magazine the reporter kept

asking “when it was he decided for God?” Lewis instead

described that God had closed in on him and he couldn‟t

escape. The reporter kept pressing and Lewis finally is

reported to have said, “I was decided upon.” In Lewis‟

answer we can hear the point – GOD is the first mover –

God surrounded Lewis making it clear that God was for

Lewis. The Gospel says the same thing: God is for you. He

is always leaning toward humankind.

To say “I have decided for God” is as if to say I stand

above God and I judge God. We do not stand above God

and God is not at our “beck and call.” He is God alone.

Therefore His image, His character as best we can see it, is

crucial. God understands this need and since the beginning

words of Genesis God has been seeking to reveal himself to

us. Jesus in v.45 quotes Isaiah. In doing so he is not just

giving a verse. Rather he is bringing into mind an entire

section of Isaiah:

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and

you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come,

buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Can you hear God coming upon you? Think of some of our

language. We might find ourselves saying we have decided

to have Holy Communion with God, or we have decided to

have the children Baptized. I might suggest that we instead

say that “God has decided upon us” and we, respond to His

decision of love with infinite thankfulness.


Like Father, Like Son

by James Gwynn

We have all heard that the apple

doesn‟t fall far from the tree and

the similarities of aspiration and

accomplishment between George

Washington Doane and his

second son William Croswell

Doane attest to the accuracy of

that axiom. To begin with they

both became bishops, a situation

possibly not unique but certainly

rare enough to be remarked

upon. George Washington

Doane was raised to the purple

as second diocesan of New Jersey in 1832 and in 1868 William Croswell Doane became bishop of the

newly formed Diocese of Albany. Both men esteemed the value of education and one of George

Washington Doane‟s first acts on arriving in Burlington was to buy a Quaker school for girls which he

renamed St. Mary‟s Hall. Years later, his son in Albany founded St. Agnes School, an immediate and

long term success. Both men had passion for architecture. They had together visited the major cathedrals

of England and had each been infected with incurable cases of Gothicitus. The two men chose relatively

unknown architects for their building projects. George Washington Doane engaged John Notman, a

young Scotsman working in Philadelphia to build a chapel for St. Mary‟s Hall, and later Richard Upjohn

for his Episcopal seat, St. Mary‟s Church. Both of these projects got him in deep trouble with the

Cambridge-Camden Society, a starchy, arbitrary crowd who considered themselves final arbitrators of the

kind of gothic to be used in new church buildings in England and abroad, and who were incensed that

they had not been consulted. Notman had also been the architect of “Riverside” a 25 room Italianate Villa

on the banks of the Delaware that Doane used as his residence. (Note: in 1829 Doane Pere had married

Eliza Callahan Perkins, a rich Boston widow ten years his senior, and it was most probably her money

that funded some these projects). William Croswell Doane‟s wife did not come burdened with a large

dowery, but he had many rich and generous friends (J. Pierpont Morgan among them) and he lived in high

Victorian style in a four story town house on Elk Street.

George Washington Doane‟s St. Mary‟s was of modest size, but William Croswell Doane had a grander

vision when he engaged Robert W. Gibson, an unknown English architect then living in Albany to design

the monumental All Saints Cathedral – still a work in progress.

Some of the works of both men have vanished. “Riverside” was razed in the 1960‟s and Notman‟s St.

Mary‟s Hall was destroyed by fire in 1974. William Croswell Doane Child‟s Hospital is long gone and

the St. Agnes school building burned to the ground in 1945.

For both of these men money, or the unavailability of it, was an ongoing problem. In George Washington

Doane case his wife‟s income was a great help although eventually one of her sons by her first marriage

became alarmed by the drain and sued successfully to be granted Power of Attorney. Doane‟s son in

Albany struggled to the end. Both men were visionaries and towering figures in their church and thus they

will be remembered.

The Cathedral of All Saints

62 South Swan St.

Albany, NY 12210

518-465-1342

www.thecathedralofallsaints.org

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Join Us!

CATHEDRAL DATES

9 September Invitation Sunday

9 September Cathedral Picnic

22 September Bible Symposium III

23 September Sundays as Six

30 September Friends Garden Party

4 October St. Francis Day

Blessing of Animals

@ Cathedral of All Saints

20 October Medieval Faire

21 October Evensong

28 October “The Big Brunch”

28 October Sundays at Six

1 November All Saints‟ Day

4 November Choral Evensong

11 November Choral Evensong

15 November Harmonies for Haiti

Concert

17 November Diocesan Acolyte

Festival

18 November Sundays at Six

2 December Advent Procession

11 December Messiah Concert

23 December Christmas Lessons &

Carols

25 December Christmas Day

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Documents

Autumn 2012 The Swan & Elk Newsletter