Reggae the best music for quarantine – Episcopal priest - Father Mark Bozzuti-Jones names Tosh, Marley

From Jamaica-

A Jamaican pastor, the Rev Dr Mark Bozzuti-Jones, is being hailed for his conscious reggae talk from the pulpit as he delivered a sermon to the faithful about the positive effects of the music created in the land of his birth. The priest at Trinity Wall Street parish in New York City, where he is the director of core values and also the director of Latin American and Caribbean relations, served up some listen-to- reggaemusic-and-chill, quarantine advice. 

“I am not sure if you are aware of this, but it is written, and if it is not written, then it should be written, that the best music during the time of quarantine is reggae music. So you should be listening to reggae music at home. I want to invite you to listen to two of my favourite pieces of music,” the Episcopal priest said while addressing his congregation virtually.

One of the pieces was Redemption Song, the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1980 Uprising project, the last album released by the reggae icon during his lifetime. The priest soberly quoted some of the lyrics of Redemption Song: “How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look, some say it’s just a part of it we’ve got to fulfil the books.”

More here-

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20200517/reggae-best-music-quarantine-episcopal-priest-father-mark-bozzuti 

Trinity Church Wall Street: Can reporters solve the case of the missing Episcopal rector?

From Get Religion-

It was a strange way to announce one’s resignation, I must admit.

On Jan. 5, the rector of the richest Episcopal church in the country was standing before his congregation in downtown Manhattan giving some rather banal parish announcements. Then, he added, he knew that some folks had heard that he was leaving and yes, this would be his last Sunday there. Comparing himself and his wife to the Mary, Joseph and Jesus trio in terms of being on the move toward Egypt (and away from Herod, one supposes), he said they were going to take a sabbatical and that he wished the church well.

It was clear that many in the church had no idea what was going on, including the choir that was awkwardly standing by, waiting to sing an anthem during the offering. (You can see all this go down in this video. Start at the 50-minute mark).

More here-

https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2020/1/20/trinity-episcopal-church-wall-street-can-reporters-solve-the-case-of-the-missing-rector

Some churches get creative with downsizing issues

From Florida-

But one church is sitting on several billions of real estate – Trinity Wall Street.

The Episcopal church founded in 1696 in New York City was gifted in 1705 with 215 acres from Queen Anne. Once farmland in Lower Manhattan, it is now some of the highest-priced real estate in the country.

Most of the land was sold over the centuries, but the congregation is still one of the largest landowners in the city with 14 acres valued in 2015 at $3.5 billion. The holdings include 5.5 million square feet of commercial space in Hudson Square that in 2011 brought the church $158 million in revenue and $38 million in net income.

Though the value of the property has waxed and waned over the centuries, Trinity is credited with a recent revival of the Hudson Square area as a creative hub. That caught the eye of the Walt Disney Company, which has signed a 99-year lease with the church for its new headquarters. The deal is valued at $650 million.

More here-

https://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/some-churches-get-creative-with-downsizing-issues/article_8aa95502-2f5e-11ea-95df-17a3948558e6.html

Trinity Wall Street Rector Abruptly Resigns

From The Living Church-

The rector of the richest Episcopal Church in the world abruptly resigned January 3, saying he and his wife want to “enjoy some sabbath rest to open our hearts to God’s call for the next chapter of our ministry together.”

The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, rector of Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church for the past five years, announced his departure in a letter to the Trinity staff, which was obtained by TLC.

The church’s vicar, the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, will become priest-in-charge on Monday, January 6, while a search begins for the 19th rector of Trinity. The vestry announced that appointment in a separate letter, saying the move was made “with the full support of the Vestry” by the Rt. Rev. Andrew Dietsche, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/2020/01/03/trinity-wall-street-rector-abruptly-resigns/?fbclid=IwAR1-7L31hkkIbR1_f5lP4tiwScRlb3OoNLUmlx8uHLxp1PMPMd3Y81RePQM

Trinity Church Wall Street acquires Church Divinity School of the Pacific

From ENS-

Church Divinity School of the Pacific, or CDSP, and Trinity Church Wall Street announced March 4 that the New York parish has acquired the Berkeley, California-based seminary.

The Very Rev. W. Mark Richardson, CDSP president and dean, told Episcopal News Service in an interview that the deal will put the school on a solid financial footing and position it for growth. CDSP and its assets now belong to Trinity, he said, and the value of those assets “will be a fund, among other resources they have, that supports the program at the school and operation.”

“It’ll be starting point of the kinds of funds we need to, say, augment faculty or to provide scholarship funding for students,” he said. “This becomes part of their assets that are poured back into the mission of the school.”

Trinity sees CDSP as part of its strategy “to present and offer the curriculum that will bring new leaders into the world that can gather communities and resource them in a way that we have not been able to do currently,” the Rev. William Lupfer, Trinity’s rector, told ENS in an interview.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2019/03/04/trinity-church-wall-street-acquires-church-divinity-school-of-the-pacific/

Kenya hosts 18 Anglican communion primates

From Kenya-

The primates who are currently at a retreat in Maasai Mara are in the country to reflect and pray over their ministry in a visit hosted by the Most Rev Dr Jackson Ole Sapit, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK).

In the dinner hosted at the Archbishop’s official residence on Sunday evening, the church leaders reiterated the need for oneness among Christian faithful and the need for peaceful coexistence. “This is an annual meeting where we get together and have a peer review even as we share our experiences and pray for each other and deliberate on our ministry,” said Dr Sapit.

He also stated that the meeting which is held in different countries came to Kenya this year; last year it was held in Ghana while in 2017, the leaders were in Zambia.

The trip has been organized by Trinity Church Wall Street, a leading episcopal church in Manhattan, New York.

More here-

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001314042/kenya-hosts-18-anglican-archbishops

When Trinity ruled lower Manhattan

From Curbed-

In December 1894, the vestry and clergy of Trinity Wall Street—New York’s oldest, wealthiest, and trendiest Episcopal church—should have been deep into their celebrations of Advent, a time of penitence and reflection before Christmas.

Instead, Trinity’s leadership was reflecting on something entirely different: the near-daily revelations in New York’s newspapers about the church’s recently discovered role as the city’s most egregious slumlord.

“Tenement Houses in a Deplorable Condition” blared the front page of the New York Times on December 9, 1894.

The next day, the New-York Tribune led with “Tenement-House Abuses,” while the less staid Evening World ran an illustration labeled “In the Shadow of Trinity,” showing the back side of the elegant Gothic Revival church at the corner of Broadway and Wall Street overshadowing dilapidated tenements. Four days later, that same paper would run the headline “DEATH LURKS IN SQUALOR” over a story about the “appalling” mortality rate in Trinity tenements, which was 35 percent higher than the city’s average. Even “in the larger tenements in similar localities,” the World reported, “the death rate has never exceeded that in the houses owned by the Trinity corporation.”

More here-

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/8/22/17764064/trinity-church-real-estate-history-hudson-square

As A Queer Indian-American Christian, This Priest Had To Create Her Own Path

From Huffington-

One of Rev. Winnie Varghese’s proudest moments as a queer priest was being asked to speak to an ecumenical gathering of Christian leaders in India about homophobia in the church.

Starting around 2009, the country started re-examining Section 377, a colonial-era ban on gay sex that is still being debated in Indian courts. During the conference, Varghese stood up and testified to the assembly of mostly male Indian priests about how Christian bigotry has hurt LGBTQ people. 

Varghese said that it was a powerful experience for her ― and one of the hardest things she’s ever had to do. 

“It was just about me as a person,” the 46-year-old said. “It was me as a queer priest saying, ‘This is who I am. And this is what the church demands of you.’”

Varghese, 46, is an Episcopal priest who lives in New York. A queer South Asian woman, Varghese said she’s often called on to perform a “ministry of representation,” showing people what it’s like to listen to a priest with her unique identities.

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-its-like-to-be-a-queer-indian-american-priest_us_5b21783de4b0bbb7a0e449e7

Historic Trinity Church begins 2-year, $98.6 million renovation

From Metro-

For more than 320 years, Trinity Church Wall Street has been both a house of worship and a tourist attraction thanks to notable permanent residents like Alexander Hamilton.

But starting Monday, the nave, or main body of Trinity Church, will be closed while the landmarked building begins a two-year, $98.6 million renovation. Though the nave will be closed, New Yorkers, tourists and parishioners alike can still visit the Chapel of All Saints and Trinity’s churchyard, which will remain open during the work.

With the renovations expected to end in the spring of 2020, church services will take place at St. Paul’s Chapel just up Broadway. This is not the first time Trinity Church’s sister chapel will serve as its stand-in — parishioners relocated there after the Great Fire of 1776 and again in 1839 when the current church was constructed. The last major renovation of Trinity Church took place in 1945.

More here-

https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/nycs-historic-trinity-church-begins-986m-renovation

and here-

http://abc7ny.com/religion/nycs-historic-trinity-church-to-partially-close-for-renovation/3435622/

and here-

http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20180506/historic-trinity-church-in-nyc-to-partially-close-for-two-years

and here-

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/05/07/trinity-church-renovation/

Artist sues Trinity Church for removal of 9/11 sculpture

From Newsday-

A Pennsylvania artist whose sculpture memorializing a sycamore tree destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks was displayed in the courtyard of Trinity Church in lower Manhattan has filed an unusual lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, challenging the church’s removal of his piece.

Sculptor Steve Tobin, who gave his three-ton “Trinity Root” bronze to the church for display on its site just south of the World Trade Center, said that by moving it to Connecticut the church violated the federal Visual Artists Rights Act. He wants damages and an injunction.

“Its purpose was to memorialize the site of a 9/11 event of grace and celebrate the tree’s role and sacrifice,” the lawsuit said. “The intent, spirit and design of the sculpture – its aesthetic essence and spiritual meaning – were inextricably specific to that site.”

More here-

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/artist-sues-trinity-church-for-removal-of-9-11-sculpture-1.13461506

Historic Trinity Church Wall Street Unveils Plans for New Tower Space

From The Wall Street Journal-

Trinity Church has revealed its design for a building to house its new parish center and commercial office space behind the 19th-century Episcopal church.

Trinity Church Wall Street officials unveiled the designs over the weekend for the estimated $300 million project, capping almost two years of discussions and outreach for ideas that involved church members and the broader downtown Manhattan community. The plans call for a new tower with a facade of glass and bronze-colored aluminum and 26 floors that can be occupied rising at 74 Trinity Pl.

“The design itself is like the process we used to design it,” said the Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, Rector of Trinity Church, referring to the new building. “We wanted people to see in and feel the vitality and welcome.”

More here-

http://www.wsj.com/articles/historic-trinity-church-wall-street-unveils-plans-for-new-tower-space-1477265669

Grace Episcopal Church to host forum on race relations

From Western NC-

Grace Episcopal Church will host a forum on race relations on Jan. 22 and 23 called, “Listen for a Change: Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice.”

The forum will be live-streamed from Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church in New York City to dozens of locations across 34 states and several provinces in Canada. It will feature twelve keynote speakers with backgrounds in academia, theology, media, grassroots activism and more. All have had a particular focus on race during their careers, according to a press release from Trinity Wall Street.
The press release said that forum topics will provide “life-giving conversations on the racial issues of our time, including structural racism, mass incarceration, and policy change, (for those) interested in a practical, theological perspective on racial equality.”

More here-

http://www.morganton.com/community/grace-episcopal-church-to-host-forum-on-race-relations/article_03a07b44-b096-11e5-8a62-b7bb84e37488.html

Trinity, Norges ink massive Hudson Square deal

From New York-

Trinity Real Estate has found a venture partner for its 11-building portfolio in Hudson Square: Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund, the largest in the world. The real estate arm of Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church agreed, in principle, to bring in the $830 billion fund as a partner on 5 million square feet of real estate. The church’s governing body voted late Wednesday on the deal, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but sources previously told The Real Deal that the offering could fetch $3 billion. An earlier offering of just four buildings was expected to go for $1.25 billion. The partnership will enable Trinity “to diversify its real estate assets in order to ensure that it will be able to sustain the hundreds of programs, services and ministries provided by the church in service to millions of people for generations to come,” Betsy Vorce, Trinity’s chief communications officer, said. 

More here-

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2015/09/10/trinity-norges-ink-massive-hudson-square-deal/

Wal-Mart Wins Gun Case With Third Circuit Reversal

From Legal Intelligencer-

Wal-Mart won back control of its policy for the sale of guns with high-capacity magazines with a short order from the Third Circuit on Tuesday.

The appeals court reversed a December decision from the District of Delaware that had ruled Wal-Mart would have to include in its annual report to shareholders, called a proxy statement, a proposal from one of its shareholders, an Episcopal church in New York that filed under the name Trinity Wall Street, that would ask them to vote on putting the oversight of policies concerning the sale of certain merchandise, including guns with high-capacity magazines, in the hands of the board.
The company has to go to the printer with its proxy statement by Thursday, so the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its decision in less than a week. It heard arguments last Wednesday and gave its two-page order Tuesday afternoon. It will issue a full opinion with its reasoning at a later date, according to the order, signed by Judge Thomas L. Ambro.


Read more:

http://www.thelegalintelligencer.com/id=1202723473007/WalMart-Wins-Gun-Case-With-Third-Circuit-Reversal#ixzz3XNKOcsd2

Why Walmart is battling a church over gun sales

From CBS-

Walmart (WMT) is gearing up for a battle over gun sales with an influential New York parish.

Located in the heart of Manhattan's financial district, Trinity Wall Street is an Episcopal church where George Washington once worshiped and which became a symbol of New York's resilience after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It now has a new mission: it wants Walmart to stop selling assault rifles with high-capacity magazines. Walmart, for its part, is arguing that the church's plan would interfere with its "ordinary business operations."

While selling guns with high-capacity magazines is controversial in its own right, the heart of the battle is over whether Trinity, as an investor in Walmart, has the right to place proposals about a company's day-to-day operations -- such as its inventory mix -- onto shareholder ballots. Given the rise of activist investors, who have in recent years pressured companies to ditch board members and spin off business units, an anti-Walmart precedent could add fuel to the movement.

More here-

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-walmarts-battling-a-church-over-gun-sales/

Wall Street’s Inner Sanctum

From Marketplace-

 Once during the roaring '90s, I was ushered into the high temple of Wall Street. You might be thinking Goldman Sachs, but its headquarters are near, but not on, Wall Street. The high temple of Wall Street is the big church that presides over the street’s high end, Trinity.

I was interviewing the Rev. Dan Matthews, the Episcopal priest who was, at the time, rector of Trinity. The topic was what we then called “socially responsible investment,” a way to apply an investor’s personal values to a portfolio. Trinity owns a lot of Manhattan real estate and I was curious if the parish screens its massive portfolio to be sure it doesn’t own securities in companies that do things the church finds morally repugnant.

Not really, came the answer. Matthews told me that his board of directors consisted of captains of Wall Street, and, try as he might, he could never get his vestry to agree on good versus bad companies (beyond their capacities to generate future profits). There was a strong view that it was the board’s fiduciary responsibility to make sure the church’s portfolio generated the best return. It was the job of priests and parishioners to then decide what good works could be done with the proceeds.

More here-

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/indie-economics/wall-street’s-inner-sanctum

Trinity Wall Street Adds Northern Haiti As New Mission & Service Location

From Haiti-

Located in a pocket of wealth in New York City, Trinity Church is known for its affluent parishioners and its rich portfolio of real estate and stock investments. However, one aspect of the church that is at times overshadowed by its well-endowed members is their tradition of philanthropy and charity – one that will soon benefit a community in Haiti.

The Episcopalian church added the northern region of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti as a fifth Mission & Service location, Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper announced on July 30. Following the recommendation of a team who visited Cap-Haïtien earlier this year, the parish’s Faith in Action Committee and Grants Board selected Cap-Haïtien for a mission partnership.

More here-

http://haitiantimes.com/?p=7369

Two NYC churches provide rare relief to the weary masses

From Telegram-

St. Paul's Chapel, the tour guide explained to the guests in its sun-dappled churchyard Monday, was built in 1766, making it the oldest building in continuous use in Manhattan. George Washington prayed there. When the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed across the street in 2001, the chapel suffered not even a broken window.

And then the guide, Zev Baranov, relayed the most remarkable thing about St. Paul's, at least from the point of view of 20 tourists who had just completed a two-hour walking tour of lower Manhattan on a hot summer's day.

"Bathrooms are in this church; there are three of them, and they are free to use," he said, to some relieved nods. "And then you can see the inside of the church, too."

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140816/NEWS/308169702/1052&Template=printart

Trinity Wall Street's Music Director Considers Himself a 'Composer Who Conducts'

From The Wall Street Journal-

If there are two types of classical composers in the world, the artist-colony type and the extroverted sort, then the composer Julian Wachner falls squarely in the second camp.

"I'd never survive as a guy who sits in a log cabin, composing," he said. "I need the energy of people. I need the energy of music-making."

In New York's classical music scene, Mr. Wachner, 44 years old, is best known as a conductor and music director at Trinity Wall Street, the downtown church where he has created an ambitious music program, focusing on early and Baroque music, new commissions and festivals of works by composers like Stravinsky and Britten.

More here-

http://online.wsj.com/articles/trinity-wall-streets-music-director-julian-wachner-considers-himself-a-composer-who-conducts-1407781427

Portland dean William Lupfer named rector of Trinity Wall Street

From ENS-

The Parish of Trinity Wall Street has called the Very Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, the dean of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, as its next rector. Lupfer was named at the vestry’s June 11 meeting.

Lupfer will succeed the Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper to become the 18th rector of the historical Episcopal parish, chartered in 1697.

“Early in the Call process, a rector from another church advised us to seek someone ‘who loves the people.’ We believe we have found such a person in Dr. Lupfer. The Visitation team that went to see him at Trinity Cathedral in Portland was struck by the palpable affection that seemed to flow within that Congregation and between the Congregation and their Dean. We have faith in the Holy Spirit that as the steward of Trinity Wall Street, Dr. Lupfer will be a profound leader who will forge a strong and pastoral bond with the members of our parish and engage the diverse viewpoints of our community and our world,” said Church-Warden Christopher McCrudden.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2014/06/13/portland-dean-william-lupfer-named-rector-of-trinity-wall-street/