News from the Congregation October 27, 2022

Oct 29

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra & Joan Adams

‘‘‘ Vivian Hewitt, Constance Coles, Percy Lambert, Nathaniel Queen’ ” | Application to Serve on the Vestry, Intention to Change the By-Laws, Dates to Remember| Sunday Programs: 10:30am Worship Service In-Person and Online, 11:30am All Are Welcome Coffee Hour, 4:00pm Evensong | Weekday Programs: Wed Bible Study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Returns Nov. 30ish) , M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom)

Congregation of Saint Saviour Remembers

Over the past twelve months four members of the Congregation died.

In this time of All Saints/All Souls, we remember them fondly.

Vivian Hewitt

Marsha Ra: I first met Vivian when we both served on the board of METRO, an organization that supports libraries in New York City. At the time, she worshipped at Saint Phillips. We were both also on the board of the Laymen’s club if memory serves. When her husband John passed away in 2000, Vivian transferred her membership to Saint Saviour and she became a fixture at the 11:00 a.m. service. I knew little then of her work in the Civil Rights movement, but came to understand her interest in politics when I attended a fund raiser in 1982 for Major Owens at her townhouse around the corner from my apartment. Owens was to become the first Black librarian to serve in Congress. At that event I discovered that Vivian and John were passionate art collectors. Their house was filled with works by many famous Black American and Haitian artists. They eventually amassed more than 500 items, as their collection grew into one of the country’s largest devoted to Black artists. Vivian was a gracious hostess. One day I ran into her on West End Avenue as we both were coming home from grocery shopping. She invited me in, had me sign her guest book (a guest book!) and served me tea. We had much to talk about: Cathedral gossip, library gossip, her travels, the eye doctor we both went to, and the state of the world. What I will remember most fondly of Vivian is her energy and beauty when she was young, her humor and her graciousness, her fabulous birthday parties, her passion for art and for the challenges facing Black Americans. Vivian lived to be 102. And she was a beauty to the end.

Constance Coles, Priest

Since she was a priest, Constance was not technically a member of the Congregation of Saint Saviour, but her husband Bill McKeown was. We knew Constance as a priest who worked for the Diocese of New York, who led noon-day prayer weekly, and who always, always showed up for big Cathedral services. On Maundy Thursday Constance got on her knees and took her turn washing the feet of worshippers. A native New Yorker and a birthright Quaker, she first attended Matinecock Meeting. But in her youth her uncle, the Rev. George F. Kempsell, Jr., helped guide her toward the Episcopal Church where she served as a priest in the Diocese of New York for 43 years. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Constance was one of the first women ordained to the priesthood in 1979. She was the third woman to become a rector in the Diocese.

In 2001 the Bishop of New York asked Constance to serve as Canon for Ministry. As canon she was responsible to the Bishop for supporting people discerning a call to ordained ministry, both before and during their theological studies, guiding them through ordination, and overseeing them for two years afterwards. In that role she shaped the formation of dozens of deacons and priests for the Church. In her words, in her decades in ministry, Constance did much discernment about vocations — her own and those of others! Those who worked with her on the Bishop’s staff noted her strong will and her sense of humor.

After serving as canon for two Bishops, as a Trustee of The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine for 21 years, as a board member of Metropolitan Japanese Ministry for over two decades, and in various other ministries, Constance officially retired in 2013. Until the pandemic limited in-person engagements, she continued serving part-time at the Cathedral and for short periods in parishes in New York and Connecticut. She continued to worship at the Cathedral and joined the part-time clergy serving during Holy Week and Feast Days including Christmas Eve and St Francis Day. Constance brought calm reverence, a wonderful smile, a twinkle in her eyes and a ready wit to everyone who served with her. We miss her!

Percy Lambert

A beloved and effective civil rights attorney, Percy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Buffalo and studied law at Rutgers University. He worked as a defense attorney for the Legal Aid Society juvenile rights division and became a well-known community leader in Harlem during the 1970’s. He was the vociferous president of the Broadway Democrats in the 1980’s. He transitioned into Law education and taught at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) for over 40 years.

Percy was a lifetime member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and held a national office position as past Second District Counselor within the fraternity. He wrote the well-received book The Courts of New York and continued to author several law textbooks and articles. He served as an election observer in South Africa after the fall of apartheid and he led the BMCC CUNY chapter of the faculty and staff union.

Most of us knew nothing of his stellar career outside the church. We knew Percy as a devoted member of the Congregation and a consistent presence at the 9:00 a.m. service where two of his granddaughters served as acolytes. We knew that he was a loving husband and the father of seven, that he was a congregation leader, and a two-term warden. Percy was never quiet about his political positions and his passion for civil rights. He was always concerned about fairness and about the position of people of color right in our church and in our congregation. What many of us didn’t know was his quiet generosity to members of the worshipping community and cathedral staff. Percy quietly helped many people within our community, by finding one person an apartment to live in while she waited for her asylum case to be decided by the courts, by assisting others in legal matters. Percy could be quite funny. When another member noticed that Percy had started to walk with a cane he quipped “If I had known what old age would be like I would have waited a while!” We wish he had waited longer to leave us.

Nathaniel Queen

Nat Queen was the consummate churchman. After a successful career in banking, he was called to the lay ministry and served as a chaplain at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Medical center. For many years he divided his time and his church life between the Cathedral in New York and Saint Mary’s in London where he lived with his beloved husband Nigel. In his later years he made a definitive move to London where he continued to make pastoral visits to the sick and to shut-ins and often cared for his rector’s dog.

At the Cathedral he was known for his elegance, his precision as a verger, his service as Head Acolyte and for his term on the vestry. Nat lived life to the fullest. An avid moviegoer, Nat was always the first to see any film that came out. He traveled often far and wide, visiting friends in Cambridge, New York, Missouri. He traveled to Barbados, Spain, Rome, Paris, and New Zealand. But England was his true home. He once shared a great picture of himself dressed to the nines as he prepared to attend Her Majesty’s garden party.

As a Harvard graduate, he could be seen in Harvard Yard at the annual commencement assisting, dressed in the requisite top hat and tails. Nat loved life, loved dancing—he was great at it—loved the theater, and especially loved his many friends. His friends included many from the Lawrenceville School (class of 1973), from Harvard (class of 1977 ) and from his professional life as a banker. A diminutive man with a secret smile and a sparkle in his eye, he faced his declining health with grace and faith. He waited for months for a liver transplant, but when it finally came it was sadly too late.

NEWS FROM THE CATHEDRAL - Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (stjohndivine.org

Dates to Remember
Nov 1| All Saints Day Service
Nov 2 | All Souls Day Commemoration
Nov 6 - Cathedral Trustee Sunday
Nov 11 to 12 - 246th Annual Diocesan Convention at Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, New York
Nov 13 - American Poets Corner Evensong honoring 2022 Inductee Lorraine Hansberry
Nov 16 at 7:00 pm - Meet and Greet at St. Andrew's, Harlem for candidates for Bishop of New York
Dec 3 - Special Convention to Elect Bishop Coadjutor at the Cathedral
Dec 6 - Episcopal Charities 25th Anniversary Tribute Dinner at the Cathedral
Dec 9 & 10 at 7 pm - Cathedral Christmas Concerts
Dec 21 - Performance of El Nino, an opera-oratorio by John Adams, at the Cathedral

Columbarium Visits - Please Schedule in Advance
Due to cleaning and ongoing construction at the Cathedral, some areas may occasionally be inaccessible. Anyone wishing to visit a loved one in the Columbarium is strongly encouraged to schedule their visit in advance via this Columbarium Visit Registration form.

HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR UKRAINE

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance) as it provides critical assistance to support people affected by violence in Ukraine. Working through ACT member Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and other local organizations, ACT Alliance is providing emergency assistance such as food, shelter, water and basic supplies to refugees and people displaced within Ukraine. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Ukraine Crisis Response Fund will help the organization and its partners continue to provide assistance to people displaced by the crisis in Ukraine.

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE Home - Episcopal Diocese of New York (dioceseny.org)

NEWS FROM THE CONGREGATION

The Weekly Sunday Hospitality continues.

Research shows that the more you give the more you get. The more you help, the more invested you become in your church and the more it feeds you. Isn’t that amazing? Do you enjoy the coffee and the treats--the time together every week for conversation and welcoming of visitors? To keep this ministry going we need to expand the number of people involved. If you are on the list of helpers and providers of snacks, THANK YOU! If you haven’t volunteered yet— why not join the team? There is nothing exclusive about it. All are welcome to help out. If you can come once a month or every 6 -8 weeks to set up before the service and clean-up after the coffee hour, please contact Marsha Ra or Sue Sobolewski. Or talk to us on any Sunday. We will get you started on this ministry.

NEWS FROM THE VESTRY

NOMINATIONS FOR VESTRY

Have you ever considered serving on the vestry? What does the vestry do?

Since the Cathedral has a Board of Trustees responsible for many of the things that vestries of parish churches deal with--namely all matters related to the building, land, and staff--our vestry is in the enviable position to deal primarily with issues related to building community and encouraging spiritual growth. The vestry has a special charge to offer welcome to potential new members and visitors alike. The vestry also manages the congregation’s assets—primarily the money collected through our on-going stewardship program and special collections for outreach.

To serve on the vestry:

You must be a baptized Christian and a member in good standing of the Congregation for at least one year prior to the election.
To be a warden you must be a confirmed Episcopalian and you must have served as a member of the vestry in the past.
You must be able to regularly attend vestry meetings. Vestry meetings are held in the evening of the third Tuesday of every month.

To run for the vestry, you must fill out and submit this electronic nomination form. Deadline: December 15, 2022. In January, we will distribute information about the candidates. The election takes place at the annual meeting, which is after the 10:30 AM service on February 5, 2023.

CHANGES TO THE BYLAWS

The vestry has been discussing changing the bylaws so that petition candidates must be proposed prior to the Annual Meeting. If you have any comments about this change, please contact the wardens, Marsha Ra or Joan Adams, or come to the vestry meeting on November 15, 2022, which will take place on Zoom.

GIVE/SERVE

Questions about Realm, the Congregation’s Online Hub for Giving, Volunteering, and Reaching Out to One Another
The Admin team would love to hear from you. Whether you need help making the shift to online donations, setting up your account, or just want to know what Realm can do for you, please contact Laura and Bob at this email address: info@saintsaviour.org

THIS SUNDAY

In-Person Worship at the Cathedral

10:00 am - Doors to Cathedral open.
10:30 am - Eucharist Service
11:30 am - All Are Welcome Coffee Hour
4:00 pm - Evensong
4:45 PM - Wine and Cheese Reception
5:00 PM - Organ Concert
The Cathedral requires those entering its buildings to wear a mask.

You can also watch a Livestream of the Cathedral Worship Service
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/StJohnDivineNYC
On the Cathedral website: http://www.stjohndivine.org