Dear Friends,

I want to ask something important of you. I want to ask you to come to church this Sunday. If you live in the New York City area and are able to travel, I want you to come and be with us in person. If you live outside the New York City area, or if you cannot attend in person, I want you to worship with us online. I want you to prioritize attending worship over any one of a thousand other things you could do on a Sunday morning. I want you to know that your participation in our community of faith is important, even imperative.

Now, I realize there is nothing novel in a clergyperson asking members of his community of faith to come to church! But we have just come through an extraordinary period of time and old habits, developed over a lifetime of church participation, were severely disrupted. People who never missed a Sunday in church before the pandemic have begun to feel that church attendance is more optional. They may even feel it is less important. I want to argue that participation in worship has never been more important. We need God, as individuals, and as a nation, in ways it would be hard to overemphasize.

Of course, if you live outside of New York City, I understand you cannot attend in-person worship regularly on Park Avenue. If you have a preexisting health condition or if you would be at risk in some way by attending church, we completely understand. We have created the online worship experience for you and hope you will prayerfully participate from home and remember it is only through your generosity that we can continue to offer these services. 

We are truly grateful for all the people who have come to be with us via livestream.

Yet, if you can attend in person, it is important for you to do so. Your attendance helps to create a critical mass that draws others to participate. Few people want to attend worship in a large, empty church and yet almost everyone wants to attend worship in a church filled with people and buzzing with energy. Our attendance numbers have been climbing towards our pre-pandemic levels, but we still have a ways to go.

I do not make this request for the sake of the church, although large, midtown parishes like St. Bart’s were constructed for large, in-person congregations to worship, and our predecessors, at great cost, created an environment intended to instill a sense of awe and wonder.

Rather, I make this request for your own soul’s sake. I believe everyone lives a healthier and more grounded life when they participate regularly in worship.  I believe being connected to a vibrant parish like St. Bart’s exposes one to erudite learning, transcendent music, challenging teaching and preaching, and dynamic opportunities for service in the community. I believe that participating at St. Bart’s allows one to experience the warmth of a community of souls, gathering to give thanks for all the blessings they have received at God’s hand.

This Sunday, at the 9 am and 5 pm services, we will celebrate the Feast of St. Francis by offering a blessing of pets of all kinds. It is a lot of fun. We invite you to bring your beloved pet to church (or bring a photo) so we can recognize and honor the joy our animals bring to our lives.

You are important. St. Bart’s Church is important. Worshipping together is important.

Come and see what lots of people around New York are beginning to talk about.

Faithfully,

The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, D. D. 
Rector