Happy Friday! January 24, 2025

Beloved community, some of you might have heard or seen on social media that there was a police involved incident on Tuesday, January 21, during which officers entered St. Mary’s without permission, and blocked a scheduled meeting of Columbia University students in the Undercroft. To find out more about the incident and what has happened since, please scroll down. Prayers requested: If you would like to add a name to the prayer list or an event, please email the Rector. We pray for all our ministries and all who participate: for our worship partners, St. Martin’s & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church; for the Mail Service (Mon-Friday 10am-2pm), Welcome Place & Movie Night; for St. Mary’s vitality; for on site ministries: Alanon, AA, CHHMP Medical Clinic, Connie & Jessie Mae’s Pantry (next 2/26/25), Martial Arts, Movie Night, NA, Quality Services for the Autism Community (QSAC), Three and a Half Acres Yoga, and Urban Qi (tai chi & qi gong). for everyone in our parish: for all affected by and all first responders to the fires in Southern California, for Pam Champion (F Brown-Carter), Evan Porter & Wendy Self (Foulke-Hill). for the repose of the soul of: James E. Carter, the 39th President of the United States. for an end to war and violence everywhere, for release of all hostages and captives, and for an end to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and every kind of oppression. for our neighbors and partners: St. Mary’s Center, people experiencing homelessness, for all refugees, Unity Fellowship Church NYC, Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, African

Friday, January 24 11 am Alanon in the Undercroft 2:30 pm The Welcome Place Volunteers needed! for more information and/or to volunteer contact Lysander Puccio. 6 pm St. Mary’s Movie Night – 5 pm set up Movie Night needs your help! Sign up to bring and/or prepare food on a future Friday. Prepared food or sandwich makings & drinks for 20 people.

Saturday, January 25 10 am Parish Hall Clean Up & Live Stream of Miguel Escobar’s Ordination to the Diaconate livestream link to Miguel Escobar’s Ordination 2:45 pm Gentle Yoga in the Undercroft with instructor Timothy Lewis

Sunday, January 25
10:30 am, Eucharist for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany with our partners from St. Martin’s/St. Luke’s, Harlem

Meeting ID: 700 867 563 Passcode: praise 10:30 am Service Zoom link to call in by phone: 1 929 205 6099, enter meeting ID and then passcode: 820010 or go to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Harlem page on facebook for the 10:30 am service. Followed by coffee hour in the rectory. 1 pm Vestry In person/Zoom Hybrid meeting in the Parish Hall

Worship Slides Worship Readings

8 am, Monday-Friday Online Morning Prayer with the Diocese of New York A 30 minute Zoom service: join together daily in shared prayer— the foundation of our Anglican tradition and our lives as Christians.  Using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer rite II morning prayer liturgy, the service will include different leaders as officiants and feature diverse voices to offer brief daily reflections. Join Morning Prayer with the Diocese of NY here

Next Sunday, February 2 St. Mary’s Annual Meeting! 12:00 pm in the Undercroft elections of Warden & Vestry, Financial, Building & Ministry Reports, and looking ahead at 2025

Police Incident at St. Mary’s What happened? Members of Columbia University Apartheid Divest arranged for space sharing at St. Mary’s for Tuesday, January 21, from 2:30-5 pm in order to hold a TeachIn by Science for the People about the plight of the Palestinian people. They confirmed the capacity, and said that they would be having a march around the neighborhood that concluded at St. Mary’s. Police barricaded 126th Street shortly after 2 pm, on both the Old Broadway and Amsterdam sides, and they locked all the gates to Sheltering Arms Park. When the Rector asked why the students were not allowed to enter the church, officers said it was because they had been “breaking the law” by marching in the street and blocking traffic. The Commanding Officer of the 26th Precinct refused to speak with the Rector about alternatives. Police officers entered the church without permission, demanding to know our capacity. One police officer grabbed the Rector’s arm and threatened to move her by force if she did not move for a police vehicle. The whole stand off lasted over an hour, finally law enforcement “gave permission” for students to enter after they had dispersed (shortly after 3:30 pm). In a meeting yesterday St. Mary’s expressed the following concerns to the Commanding Officer of the 26th Precinct about the behavior of law enforcement on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 21: 1) Law enforcement prevented a group from coming into the church for a scheduled meeting. This resulted in compromising St. Mary’s mission to welcome and care for people. Additionally, the blockade disrupted people’s way who live or walk on the block who were not involved in the situation. 2) Law enforcement entered the church sanctuary and the church basement uninvited. Not only is this improper, it resulted in causing alarm for a person who had been praying in the church, and when she looked outside she was afraid to leave. 3) Law enforcement did not contact the Rector directly about concerns, and would not engage the Rector to explore possible solutions. This is a public street, not a private campus. We strongly object to law enforcement unilaterally shutting down the street without notification or explanation. |4) Law enforcement told a church volunteer that it was too dangerous for students to walk down the street because of police vehicles blocking the sidewalk. This danger is one we have been complaining about since 2014. 5) Law enforcement should not put hands on anyone without warning and cause. The meeting was congenial enough and it clearly outlined that we have very different worldviews. Deputy Inspector Taveras apologized for issues #2 & 5 above, and pledged to work on #3 & 4. We agreed to disagree about #1. Vestry will have a conversation about next steps on Sunday. Stay tuned for further developments. The Bishop is aware of the incident and is willing to support our pursuit of a more respectful relationship with NYPD. *** Always remember to take care of yourself and stay connected! If you are not feeling well, please stay home from activities with others; log in to Zoom and/or give us a call 212-864-4013. If you have questions or want more information about COVID 19 in New York, please call the NY Department of Health hotline: 1-888-364-3065, or its designated website. To schedule your COVID vaccine use: NYC COVID vaccine finder.

St. Mary’s Church | 521 West 126th Street | New York, NY 10027 US