St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

Dear Gawain:

I am so glad I made it back to White Plains and be at St. Bart’s for Easter. Since I get news of the church weekly through email, I had of course taken note of the changes to the configuration of the altar and pews as well as the article in the Journal News back last fall. It looked lovely and tasteful and I was very curious to see it.

But it was not the only reason I wanted to come back to St. Bart’s, as you know. I have friends in the congregation, you included, and left a piece of my heart in your church. Since April 2004, when I left, the church has evolved in many ways, it seems.

Basically, outside the worship space, it was the same, but brighter. I had a chance to go to the parish hall and nursery first because I was there early. Touches here and there made it look a lot more welcoming: It was tidy, clean (the sexton is busy, no doubt!), cheerful, and there were signs that a lot more people were attending than before, such as pictures on the wall or new children’s toys.

But the best was yet to come. There were quite a lot of people coming in and among them plenty of new faces, parishioners who had not been at St. Bart’s for a while and apparently had returned, children turned into teenagers, teens turned into adults, a new priest and a rector wearing glasses. When the church was full, there was a good number of children, and most of them looked comfortable. Eventually, I realized that all the pews were filled. Of course, this was Easter, but a few years ago, we would not have filled the pews like that for such major holiday.

I enjoyed the service as well. The bulletin was gorgeous and accurate. Nice mix of old and new ritual (the bells at the beginning of the service, the meditation bowl resonating at the Elevation), and a very good set-up at the lectern for the readings and the Prayers of the People. It was seamless. There was a wonderful feeling of intimate fellowship. Parishioners looked engaged in their worship and I did not notice any “strangers”. I mean by that people who would have felt out of place.

There has been some serious progress made, no doubt. I went back to Montreal where I now worship at St. George’s and told them what St. Bart’s had done. As it turns out, we are contemplating some major changes in not only our worship space, but in the rest of the church buildings. I joined the Buildings and Grounds sub-Committee here since my return because I now can tell them why we need to be bold.

I want to thank you for your welcome, as well as Rita for putting me in the choir where I enjoyed singing along. I am certainly still with you in my heart and look forward to my next visit at St. Bart’s.

Peace to you and a good summer.

Muriel