St. Mary's Friends will be holding a Zoom session to present the public with an update on the current status of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and actions taken to prevent it from being closed, sold and demolished. The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26th.
CLICK HERE for particulars and instructions for attendance.
The latest on efforts by diplomats and clergy to halt plans to close this uniquely Lithuanian church from closing from lrytas.lt: "This is shameful": Lithuanians in New York fight plans to close Lithuanian church. The article is in Lithuanian, but the Chrome translation is comprehensible.
The organization"St. Mary's Friends" will be carrying a banner for our endangered church in Saturday's St. Patrick's Day Parade up McLean Avenue in Yonkers. This is fitting recognition for a parish that was formed to minister to the Irish laborers brought in to build the railroad. The Irish were the first wave of immigrants to support and grow the parish, building a strong foundation for succeeding waves.
Latinos, many Mexican/Mexican-American, are the latest group to invigorate St. Mary's with their devotion, culture and service. I haven't been cued in to the planning, but I hope that Our Lady of Guadalupe will be there.
The parade begins at 1:00 PM on Saturday, CLICK HERE to view the site where you will find a button for the livestream.
Jonas Mekas hovered around Our Lady of Vilnius like a vapor. He remained at 1 degree of separation from me: a mailing label on a sheet of past donors, a friend or acquaintance of many who came to the church, a benefactor giving us use of his Anthology Film Archives for a fundraiser and a name heard often in passing.
Soon I will have a chance to get a better fix on his nebulous presence. On March 13th Amazon Prime Videos will start streaming "Fragments of Paradise," KD Davidson's 2022 documentary about Mekas' relationship with his camera and with the world.
Read all about it in the New York Times: Jonas Mekas shows his tender side: Diaristic clips fuel a new documentary about the master of avant-garde film
I learned today that Saulius Janusas passed away on February 26 after praying for him through a long and challenging illness.
Saul and his wife, Grazina, were among the first people to extend their hands in friendship when I resumed attending the church of my father and his family. Saul possessed a prodigious intellect that he applied, but never flaunted. Our priest once said that Saul was the only person he met that he would describe as a genius. He had a keen sense of the absurd that was frequently expressed in his drily hilarious observations. He was an important member of the Save Our Lady of Vilnius campaign and contributed greatly with intelligence, strategy and translation. Most important of all, Saul was a truly decent man and great companion to everyone in our community.
Here is a video of the candle light vigil held the evening that Cardinal Egan had the church locked without warning. Grazina and Saulius appear at 5:07 minutes, where this excerpt begins.
See information about viewing and funeral Mass as well as Saul's lovingly written obituary HERE.
I first met Alejandra when she was an undergrad and I was very impressed with her ability to engage in an authentic dialogue as well as to document her experience and that of others. Now, 12 years later her skill and compassion continue to grow.
Here is a link to her most recent endeavor at Commonweal, which allows non-subscribers to read 5 free articles/issue online: Visibly Invisible; Immigration enforcement in Chicago
Echoing the sentiments of the young ladies of St. Barnabas High School last year, the self-possessed and articulate young women of Preston expressed their dismay at having to find a high school for their senior year instead of exploring colleges. Some of the women of Barnabas were welcomed into All Hallows, previously an all-male school, only to hear that this school, too, would close at the end of this academic year. Preston was established in 1947 by the Sisters of the Divine Compassion as an independent college preparatory school
The decision to close was made by the school's board, citing low enrollment and the cost of maintaining an aging physical plant (sound familiar?)
Former board member, Gerilyn Harty, disputes this saying:
"The school is operating in the black. Enrollment is up. The only thing in the letter that they said they were closing the school for that is true is it's an old building. It's going to need care. But it has been cared for by the Preston administration for 50 years."Isn't there a better way? Why is this news always a shocking surprise that precludes at least the upper classes from graduating. Are students supposed to go from school to school cobbling together an education as all of the dominoes fall?
The imminent demise of Preston was covered by all of the main outlets and more: CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox5 and Spectrum.
Here's coverage from CBS: Preston High School in the Bronx announces closure, sparking protest by families, staff
Read more about Preston, its history and its mission HERE.
Queens Modern describes the church as follows:
"The Church of the Transfiguration is one of the most unique and striking structures honored by the Chamber of Commerce during this era. Nestled within a compact residential part of Maspeth, the A-frame church incorporates traditional Lithuanian symbols into a definitively modern structure. The front facade is a wall of colored glass which sits recessed under the projecting eaves of the A-frame. The red entrance doors are surrounded by white brick, have a red undulating canopy over them, and above that a modern sculpture of the Transfiguration. The base of the building and the short projecting wings are clad in orange brick. Symbols of Lithuanian culture abound on the exterior as well as the interior, which was designed by V. K. Jonynas. A prominent bell tower rises up with a stylized shrine at the top. The architect Jonas Mulokas specialized in Lithuanian Catholic churches and several of his works still exist in Illinois among other places. An older rectory sits to the right of the church and was reclad in orange brick to match the newly constructed church."
As with almost every church that is deconsecrated and sold to developers, low attendance and poor condition of the physical plant are cited:
"The church’s pastor, Monsignor Joseph Calise, wrote that the property needs extensive, costly repairs that demand for the space cannot justify, leading him and members of the board to see selling the property as the only option."
In this instance the figure is $800,000.
While Maspeth has been called "the place public transportation forgot" and parking in this residential neighborhood is difficult, this is the only Lithuanian church in New York City where culture is reflected in architecture. It has also been the headquarters for Lithuanian Catholic Religious Aid and the seat of the delegate of the Lithuanians' Bishops Conference charged with the pastoral care Lithuanians outside Lithuania.
Read all about it in Queens Chronicle: Longtime Maspeth church could close;Transfiguration RC needs costly repairs; sale of property possible
