Excerpt from last night’s concert

Calm before the holiday festivities start

Fitzroy Stewart conducts the Basically Bach Ensemble.

     Want to put yourself in the perfect mood for this holiday weekend? Take some time for yourself Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and come hear the wonderful Basically Bach Ensemble perform at St. Ambrose Church.
     The concert will feature J.S. Bach’s “Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn BWV 132″ and W.A. Mozart’s “Mass in C-minor, KV 427 (The Great Mass).”
     The ensemble is conducted by Fitzroy Stewart. Soloists will include Ghislaine Stewart, soprano; Jean Goodheart, soprano; Hilerie Klein-Rensi, alto; James Gleason, tenor; and Randolph Messing, bass. A free-will offering is suggested.
     The acoustics in our church are wonderful. These singers and musicians are extremely talented. What better way to calm yourself before the holiday hubbub by listening to great music written by Bach and Mozart?
Hope to see you there!

Hungry fed well

Last night was the Thanksgiving Dinner at our Soup Kitchen. Students in our High School Faith Formation program helped serve the dinner to more than 120 people! As always, wonderful music was provided by keyboardist Gene Cothran (joined by a friend on saxophone).
The night before, these same students packed Thanksgiving baskets to be distributed to the needy families of our parish this Saturday. We’re thankful for the efforts of these fine students, the cooks and other servers at the soup kitchen and the beautiful music that enhanced the dining experience.

Giving thanks

We have so much to be thankful for at St. Ambrose Parish:

•  For our priests, who offer guidance and celebrate the Eucharist with us.
• For our staff and boards who ensure the parish runs smoothly.
• For our parish members who volunteer countless hours of service.
• For the members of our music ministries, whose beautiful voices enhance our Eucharistic celebrations.
• For the Basically Bach Ensemble and Parlor City Boys Chorus for the gift of their beautiful singing.
• For those who guide the faith formation of our children.
• For those who visit our sick and shut-ins.
• For those who help feed the hungry through our soup kitchen, holiday food baskets and Mother Teresa’s Cupboard.
• For those who help run our social hours after the 10:15 a.m. Sunday Mass.
• For those who take care of our altar linens and floral decorations.
• For those who knit and stitch gifts for our seniors.
• For our CYO athletes whose efforts fill us with pride.  For those who pray for our sick and needy.
  The list goes on and on………..
  This Thanksgiving we add some other names to the list:
• We’re thankful for the people who have come forward to sponsor one or more windows in our Preservation Drive. Their generosity has been overwhelming!

On Thanksgiving Day we have one Mass at 9 a.m. Parishioners are invited to bring their food and have it blessed at that Mass.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Thank you for your service

Today we give thanks for generations of men and women who have given selflessly to this country through our armed forces. We continue to pray for the safe return of our parishioners serving currently.
You can find their names on our Military Prayer List.

Sharing our bounty

     This year the requests for Thanksgiving baskets have doubled! It’s just another sign of the tough economy in the Southern Tier (as well as nationwide).
     We will be collecting food from now until Nov. 15 to fill baskets for the less fortunate. Please help by providing any of the following items that you can:

Foods needed: Canned Vegetables (corn, green beans, peas, mixed vegetables), Canned Yams, Instant Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing Mix, Canned Pie Filling (pumpkin, apple or cherry), Evaporated Milk (for pumpkin pies), Pie Crust Mix/Pie Pans, Canned Gravy, Canned Fruits (peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, applesauce), Cranberry Sauce, Jell-O/Pudding, and Cake & Brownie Mixes/Frosting.

     Please do not bring in anything in a glass container. Monetary donations are also accepted. Place your food in a grocery bag, labeled for Thanksgiving baskets, to the elevator lobby (atrium).
     Thank you for your generosity!

Preserving our stained glass windows

UPDATE No. 2: The response from parishioners has been overwhelming! There are just NINE windows left to sponsor!

As you heard last weekend, we have launched a preservation drive for our historic stained glass windows here at St. Ambrose Church.
     These windows are century-old priceless treasures. The work represents a level of artistry that you’d be hard-pressed to find today.
     The painterly scenic windows were created by the Franz Mayer studio of Munich, Germany. His work was so valued worldwide at the time that Pope Leo XIII declared his studio a “Pontifical Institute of Christian Art.”
     The opalescent glass symbolic windows in the upper, or clerestory, level of the church were created by Henry Keck’s studio in Syracuse. Keck was an apprentice to renowned glassmaker Louis Comfort Tiffany. 
     It will cost the parish about $59,500 to have these windows preserved through repairing rotting millwork around the windows, re-cementing them and placing new acrylic protective covers over them to replace the ones that have clouded over. On a sunny day, you can already see the difference the preservation work by Associated Crafts is making.
     This week all parishioners have been mailed a brochure explaining the process of sponsoring a window to help defray the substantial (but necessary) cost to our parish. Pledges have already been made toward several windows, so if there is one that you are interested, act quickly. Call the parish office at 754-2330 to make an appointment with Joe Maher or Phyllis Gonzales.
     A century ago, our parish was founded by just 25 families. The gift they gave us, this beautiful church, must be preserved in their honor, for our own spiritual inspiration, and to preserve Western Broome County’s first Catholic church, St. Ambrose.

Q&A with Father Don

 

 

 St. Ambrose Parish welcomes Father Don Bourgeois to the staff as our new parochial vicar. Father answered 10 questions about himself so we can get to know him better.

1. Full name: Donald Edward Bourgeois
2. Birthplace: Waterford, N.Y.
3. How long have you lived in the Southern Tier? Since 1985
4. What do you like best about the Southern Tier? The hometown feeling of the area
5. Name the saint whose life you find most inspiring: St. Marguerite Bourgeois
6. Favorite quote or scripture passage: Jeremiah 20:9
   (“I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it. “)
7. Favorite music genre: Oldies from the ’50s & ’60s/Broadway shows
8. Favorite sports team: DODGERS!
9. Name a book, besides The Bible, that influenced your life: “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles
10. Favorite movie: “It Could Happen To You” (old) and “Up!” (new)

Funeral this evening for St. Ambrose’s cook

 Tonight our parish celebrates the life of Darlene Sacco, our cook and housekeeper since 1997.
Darlene was a kind-hearted person with amazing self-taught culinary skills.
She’d come to work with her beloved dog, Riley, who had his personal teacup of water waiting for him in the rectory kitchen.
Darlene’s family will welcome friends at the church this evening from 4-6 p.m. A funeral Mass will follow.
We extend heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. We were blessed to have her as our co-worker.

What are YOU missing?

(The following is an e-mail pass-along. Its message is universal. The video above shows the story described below.)

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and without stopping continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The boy stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made – how many other things are we missing?