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The Message - Fall 2021
September 23, 2021
Download the latest issue of our newsletter, The Message Fall 2021
Late night fire causes damage to vesting room, Cathedral safe
August 09, 2021
There was a fire in the clergy vesting room around 8 pm last night. The fire department quickly responded and extinguished the fire. The good news is that our security system and fire protocols work: the greatest damage was contained in one room. The robes and banners in the Acolyte vesting room and Cathedral may smell bad, but they are intact. It does appear that the chasubles and stoles in the chest may only have smoke damage. We are indebted to the good work of Ricky Parks, the Little Rock Fire Department and Fire Marshall. Because of their swift response, the fire was quickly extinguished. Most of all, no one was hurt and the Cathedral is safe. Alleluia!
Due to the good work of Mary Hodges, Staley Electric was here by 10am. They have secured the Cathedral, Morrison Hall, and the Parish House electrically. There is no power going to the Dean's Hall.
Church Insurance had ServPro here by Noon. He has examined the Cathedral and Dean's Hall. While the Cathedral and Parish House were not damaged, the smoke smell is quite strong. We are already working on deodorizing the Cathedral. And have made the difficult decision to close ECEP for tomorrow (they were already scheduled to be closed wednesday to friday for teacher training.
Dean's Hall will take more time and we have extensive work in our future. Unfortunately, the damage in the clergy vesting room is extensive. The robes and vestments in the closets will need to be inventoried and examined before we can say any more about them.
Thankfully, our colleagues in the Bishop’s office, St. Mark's and Christ Church are already providing us vestments to use in worship as soon as this Sunday. We are blessed with wonderful colleagues in ministry!
Colin MacKnight, our Director of Music, is communicating with organ specialists to determine how we care for and protect the instrument.
I am sorry to say that this fire was created by a person. We do not know if it was intentional or an accident. And, there is evidence that there was someone on campus attempting to break into those rooms and who, likely, caused the fire. Mary and I are already discerning what needs to change in our security protocols to, hopefully, prevent these circumstances in the future. We will communicate these decisions to you in the future.
You may have questions: please call Lisa or myself. You may want to do something: I promise - as soon as there is something to do, we will ask for help. Please pray for the staff: we are blessed with an incredible staff, many who were here with me and the Bishop until as early as 1am this morning to ensure the Cathedral was safe.
New Liturgical Vestments
May 25, 2021
This Trinity Sunday, we visibly celebrate the gifts of the Holy Trinity at the Cathedral. A collection of altar hangings; pulpit and lectern hangings; and priest, deacon, and crucifer vestments, is being used for the first time. This grouping will be known as the Treadway Collection, as it celebrates the lives of five generations of the Treadway family and their faithful service to Trinity Cathedral, the Diocese of Arkansas, and the community of Little Rock since the 1880s. This gift is made possible through the generosity of Lou Ellen East Treadway, Ellen Treadway Engelke, and Amy Treadway Iacaboni.
The fabrics used are Portuguese Tapestry and Dupioni Silk. This exceptional collection was made especially for Trinity Cathedral by C.M. Almy. The Treadway Collection takes its place as a beautiful addition to the already historic altar hangings and vestments used by the Cathedral.
New Music Director Hired
May 20, 2021
We are excited to announce that Colin MacKnight will start as our new Music Director on July 12.
Colin, called “a stunning player of exceptional ability” by composer and conductor Bob Chilcott, will complete his doctorate in organ performance at The Juilliard School (where he also received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees) in June. He currently serves as Associate Organist and Choirmaster at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, Long Island. Prior to Incarnation, he was Assistant Organist and Music Theory Teacher at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue and Assistant Organist at Church of the Resurrection, both in New York City.
Colin has won first prizes in several competitions, including the Paris Music Competition, West Chester University International Organ Competition, Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, Arthur Poister Competition, American Guild of Organists (AGO) Northeast Regional Competition, and the Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition. He was also a laureate in the 2016 and 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competitions.
Colin received the Fellow and Choirmaster Certifications from the AGO, receiving the prize for that year’s top Choirmaster score, and was named one of the top “20 Under 30” eminent young organists by The Diapason magazine in 2019. For more information, about Colin and to see videos of him playing visit colinmacknight.com.
Mother’s Day Purse Drive a Huge Success
April 28, 2021
Early in the morning before the 10 a.m. service about 70 gift bags with purses were arranged at the front of the church. Would we make our goal of 125 Mother's Day presents? As folks began arriving for the service, people streamed to the front of the church with gift bags. The collection grew and grew threatening to block access to the Chancel steps.
Following the announcements, Dean Meaux and the other clergy blessed the purses in the name of Jesus who, we were reminded, had a human mother.
After the service the bags were organized in groups of ten. Rows and rows of colorful bags, thirteen in all with three left over. (Sunday afternoon and Monday morning even more bags came in for a total of over 150!) A record number of purses had been collected.
To each bag was added a packet of feminine hygiene products provided by the Arkansas Women's Outreach, and organization that promotes the wellbeing of local homeless women through access to the basic items women need.
All counted and ready for delivery, 100 bags were set aside for Our House. The rest were delivered to Arkansas Children's Hospital and Dorcus House and were received with gratitude. In the words of a staff member at Our House, "This donation will put a smile on so many mom's faces."
Thank you to the Matthew 25 group for organizing this event and for the tremendous generosity of the many people who brought purses. It is a true testament to the commitment Trinity has to serve our community.
Mother's Day Purse Drive
April 21, 2021
The Matthew 25 Outreach Committee is happy to bring back our wonderful annual Mother’s Day Purse-Giving project this year to benefit so many mothers that, unfortunately, miss out on their due recognition. We skipped last spring (for obvious reasons), so we’re excited to bring this very popular outreach project back to the parish. The need is great this year- we are looking to collect 125 purses, or more!
How can I help?
Purchase or donate a very lightly used purse. Have fun filling it with a few goodies for “Mom,” such as: lip gloss, hand lotion, hand sanitizer, perfume, scarf, small jewelry pieces, mirror, candy…use your imagination! Wrap your purse gift in a gift bag with tissue, ribbon, Happy Mother’s Day card, etc. And, invite your neighbors and friends to help, also!
Where do the purses go?
The purse gifts will be distributed to the children of Our House, Dorcas House and Arkansas Children’s Hospital to present to their mothers on Mother’s Day.
When are the purses needed?
Bring your Purse gift/gifts to church Sunday, May 2. The purse gifts will be blessed at the 10:00 service. If you cannot make the service, please make plans to drop your gift by the church office.