Celebration of the Rev. Deacon Caroline Boynton & Dedication of our Parish Kitchen May 22, 2016

Transcription

1 1 Celebration of the Rev. Deacon Caroline Boynton & Dedication of our Parish Kitchen May 22, 2016 (1) Welcome: The Practice of Hospitality Matt Heyd (2) Thank you to Caroline Boynton Caroline Williamson Evan Davis (3) Remarks Caroline Boynton (4) Introduction: Kitchen as Bridge Matt Heyd Gathering our Community Being with our Neighbors Importance of Faith Communities in Responding to Hunger How Neighbors Working Together Makes a Difference in NYC Holly Hughes & McKelden Smith Andrew Horrocks & Diana Smith Barbara Turk NYC Hunger Policy Coordinator Dan Garodnick NYC City Council (5) Dedication of the Parish Kitchen (script follows)

2 2 Dedication of our Parish Kitchen Participants gather at the front of Darlington Hall Caroline Williamson: Historian Diana Butler Bass writes: The unanimous witness of the ancient fathers and mothers was that hospitality was the primary Christian virtue. From New Testament texts that unambiguously urge believers to practice hospitality through St. Augustine s works in the fifth century, early Christian writings extol hospitality toward the sick, the poor, travelers, widows, orphans, slaves, prisoners, prostitutes, and the dying. As the preacher Ambrose wrote, Love hospitality, whereby holy Abraham found favor, and received Christ as his guest. You too can receive Angels if you offer hospitality to strangers. For all these people, from Paul to Ambrose to pagan reporters, hospitality equaled Christian morality. Hospitality is the practice that keeps the church from becoming a club, a members-only society. It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of our many opponents, claimed the African theologian Tertullian. Only look, they say, look how they love one another! Evan Davis: The story goes that our first ministry on East 45 Street in the 1860's was a soup kitchen. In 1929, Church of the Heavenly Rest moved to East 90 Street as the City shifted uptown. The Church built

3 3 this parish house for community outreach. It started a school, now the Trevor Day School, to be the parish's primary way of serving the City. Jo Dare Mitchell: Over time, the Parish renewed its commitment to hospitality and created new ways to serve its neighbors. In the 1980's, we launched Holiday Meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter to serve those without a place to go on these special days. Parishioners helped prepare and serve the meals. But-- we had to borrow back the school's kitchen every time. We were visitors in our own space. Now, for the first time in 87 years, we will have our own kitchen. Caroline Williamson: Today, we celebrate our continued call to Gospel hospitality as we recognize the ministry of Caroline Boynton and dedicate our new Parish kitchen. Through Caroline's ministry over 15 years as our deacon, we have tried to bridge the work of the Church to the needs of the world. Through our Third Founding over the last year, we have re-imagined how our space can help us join God's mission. Evan Davis: Now, this morning, we join together to dedicate this new space for God s mission among us. Holly Hughes & McKelden Smith: Jesus brought together diverse communities around a table. May this new kitchen help us to gather our

4 4 Parish community for shared meals. Together, we can experience joy and fun in welcoming and loving relationships. Andrew Horrocks & Diana Smith: Christians have always reached out to be with those in need. May this new kitchen give us creative opportunities to build bridges with our neighbors. Together, we can join with partners to nourish our City in mind, body, and soul. Canon Jeanne Person: Hospitality serves as a common foundation for the Anglican tradition and of many faiths. May this new kitchen connect this Parish to congregations across the Diocese of New York and to interfaith communities in New York City. Together, we can witness to the shared values that connect us. Councilmember Dan Garodnick: We are all engaged in the work of reconciliation. May this new kitchen connect this Parish more deeply to our common neighborhood. Together, we can make our City a kinder and more just place for all New Yorkers. Barbara Turk: We have the chance to look anew at how we respond to the needs of our City. May this new kitchen serve as a catalyst for to us live fully the values that we proclaim. Together, we can find fresh expressions of ancient wisdom.

5 5 Caroline Boynton: Now we ask God's grace for the ministries of this new kitchen. May it be blessed by the work of many hands over the generations of our history. May it be dedicated by the shared commitment to hospitality for the years ahead. May it serve as the bridge between our Parish and our neighbors, the Church and the world. AMEN. Now we pray together: It is time to eat, and, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we pause to break bread together. May our eyes be opened, and in this act of common sharing, may we see the Risen Lord in one another.

6 6 May we see the Lord of life in our food, our conversation and lives shared in common. May the blessing of God, His peace and Love, rest upon our table. Alleluia! AMEN.