Brooklyn Boro

Faith In Brooklyn for April 14

April 14, 2016 By Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The Rev. Stephen D. Muncie hands the keys to Grace Church to the parish’s Junior Warden, Kate Rock (wearing purple) as Senior Warden Vivian Toan (foreground) and members of the Parish Choir watch. At left, holding the Gospel book, is the Rev. Nan Peete, a longtime friend of Muncie’s. Photo credit: Martin Friedman
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Two Congregations in Transition: Grace Church Bids Godspeed to the Rev. Stephen Muncie

Energetic Rector Retires After 34 Years in Ordained Ministry; Led Grace Through $5 Million Renovation, Making National News

The parishioners of Grace Church-Brooklyn Heights bid farewell to their rector, the Rev. Stephen D. Muncie, during a packed and poignant service on Sunday, April 10.

Muncie retires from Grace and the active ministry after 12 years at Grace and 34 years as an ordained priest, during which time he helped establish a new parish, St. Francis Episcopal Church, in Springboro, Ohio.

Ordained in 1982, he served as organizing priest and the first rector of St. Francis. In 2000, (the late) Bishop Herbert Thompson Jr. called Muncie to be the canon missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. Four years later, Grace Church here in Brooklyn called Muncie to be its 14th rector.

Muncie brought many strengths and talents to Grace Church, foremost among them the ability to build and expand congregations.

He led Grace Church’s capital campaign and renovation of the 166-year-old church building.  Kate Rock, Grace Church’s junior warden, explained to the Brooklyn Heights Press that “Steve guided us through the renovation process and restored the church to historical significance, as well as securing it for future generations with a new roof and upgraded systems.”

That renovation, particularly the discovery of the starry ceiling, made national news, attracting The New York Times, CBS and other media outlets to the landmark church.

Rock said that Muncie “has broadened and strengthened our commitment to outreach in our neighborhood, our city and our world. Notably, for more than 10 years, members of Grace have traveled to New Orleans to provide help following Hurricane Katrina, we had a concentrated response to Sandy’s devastation in our city helping to rebuild the home(s) of those displaced by the storm, and we have made a sustained commitment to El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza in Honduras [a home and school for orphaned or abandoned children] with mission trips every year.”

Rock pointed out that, more locally, Muncie “has strengthened our commitment to being a community of radical welcome, with particular attention to reaching out to those on the margins, including the LGBT community, those who may have been hurt by the church in the past, or those who are ‘seekers.’ Steve also helped us grow our parish, particularly by adding a family worship service and creating a welcoming and nurturing environment for families with young children.”

An excellent, insightful homilist, Muncie also fully supported and nurtured Grace Church’s legacy of strong music ministry that dates back to the parish’s 1847 founding.

In the wider community, he and Rabbi Serge Lippe of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue continued a longstanding tradition of Interfaith Scholar-in-Residence weekends. Muncie has also been active in diocesan and national church ministries, serving as legislative secretary for the House of Bishops.

Muncie hosted a farewell tea on April 7 for the parish’s Seniors, Retirees and Opinionated Elders group who have supported him over the years, and for whom he has hosted luncheons for most of his tenure here.

The 11 a.m. service on April 10 incorporated the outgoing rector’s favorite hymns and motets, which were sung by the Parish Choir.

Participating in this liturgy were Muncie’s longtime friends and colleagues, Rabbi Lippe and the Rev. Nan Peete. During the “Ending of a Pastoral Relationship” rite at the conclusion of the service, Muncie officially ended his tenure as rector, handing the keys of the church to Rock and the Gospel book to Senior Warden Vivian Toan.

The process of parish and rector saying goodbye actually began in February, when Muncie announced his intention to the wardens and vestry to retire, and stating his farewell Sunday as April 10.

According to Episcopal policy, the next steps are for diocesan officials to meet with the parish about the process of calling an interim rector, conducting a survey of how the parish identifies itself and mission, and forming a search committee for the next rector. Canon John Betit of the Diocese of Long Island will meet with parishioners next weekend. Meanwhile, the Rev. Julie Hoplamazian, associate rector, highly regarded as a strong administrator, pastor and preacher, will continue to offer pastoral presence.

Speaking with the Heights Press on April 7, Muncie downplayed his role, saying that he is part of a legacy of strong clergy in Grace Church’s history, starting with Francis Vinton in 1847. Muncie added that a parish’s legacy also is the strength of its lay leadership. He established the Francis Vinton Society — a tradition in which two parishioners (man and woman) with longstanding service are honored at the parish’s annual meeting each January.

In his retirement announcement, he wrote, “I am humbled by the knowledge that you — God’s people at Grace Church — have led us into new ventures in ministry, new dimensions of worship, and new commitments in outreach. Our God is always calling us toward the new — calling us to what may yet be — and I am confident that the God who has led us this far along the way will lead Grace Church into a vibrant, faith-filled future.”

* * *

Plymouth Church Bids Godspeed to Interim Pastor Tom Lenhart

Landmark Congregation Soon Hopes to Announce New Senior Minister

Plymouth Church — further along in its journey toward calling a new settled senior minister — also bid Godspeed to Interim Senior Minister Tom Lenhart and his family earlier this month.

Plymouth Church has stood as a strongly bonded congregation since the retirement of its Senior Minister, the Rev. Dr. David Fisher, three years ago. He retired in September 2013. The Rev. Alvin Bunis, a longtime member of Plymouth who had discerned a calling to the ordained ministry and then was ordained at Plymouth some years ago, stepped forward to serve as interim senior minister. He then fulfilled the terms of his contract and received a call to be a permanent minister in Miami. Plymouth’s next interim, the Rev. Thomas Lenhart, also brought strong pastoral and managerial experience to Plymouth.

John Scibilia, Plymouth’s lay executive administrator, explained to the Brooklyn Heights Press last week that a long discernment and call process can be very fruitful, especially when it leads to the best match for a congregation.

“The hope was that a new settled senior minister would be found within a year. Tom was gracious enough as the process was longer than we had hoped.

“The search committee cast the widest net possible, and I think it even touched internationally,” he said. “It was a wide, open process. It is a very difficult position to fill when it was filled for many years by Henry Ward Beecher — one of our most famous preachers in the U.S. There were many people who expressed interest in being the settled senior minister at Plymouth.”

Scibilia explained, “The transition of the first year — the important part — was to look at who we were and to develop a profile of who Plymouth Church is, and where does Plymouth want to go. And then the search committee takes that information and uses it as its baseline for who it will consider, and how far they want to go with each candidate. That process has taken about a year and a half.

“The search committee goes through a process of vetting those profiles and applications, listening to sermons, visiting with potential candidates. Then there’s a process, when you get close, of the entire committee seeing the potential candidate at what is called a neutral pulpit.

“Following that, the interviews continue, and the committee prays on that, and decides whether or not this is a candidate they want to move forward. In the long run: I always use the term, ‘Measure twice and cut once.’ While it may take a little bit longer, it pays off in the end when you do your homework before hiring.”

Highlights of the Rev. Tom Lenhart’s Ministry

“The job of an interim is to maintain stability; and while doing that, to also while being stable, maintain some kind of momentum, moving forward in activity,” explained Scibilia.

“Plymouth Church has maintained its vision work.”

During Lenhart’s time as interim, he instituted Friday evening contemplative worship services during Advent and Lent. Plymouth held its first jazz service, and Lenhart wrote a piece that became a dramatic presentation of Christ’s Passion, which took place on Palm Sunday.

“One of the most important things that the congregation did during his time as interim minister, was to adopt a Statement of Inclusivity. That was a major study for the congregation. For a congregation to work through those issues and to come to a conclusion as a group, that was one of the major accomplishments of his interim time at Plymouth Church,” Scibilia said.

“Do we go through the process of studying inclusivity — what it means to us in our faith, and develop a statement — during an interim time, or do we wait for a settled senior minister?” The congregation decided that the process was too important to postpone and so “rolled up its sleeves and worked hard “in the tradition of Congregationalism — as a group. So, the new settled senior minister will come into a congregation that has made this decision.”

Speaking also of the staff, Scibilia said, “I think that entire team — all bring unique gifts and talents to the table; and they’ve worked very well during this interim time.

“In September I’ll mark my 40th year as a lay professional working in the church. I’ve seen a lot. I will tell you, the congregation has come through this interim time certainly blessed by God, and are coming through on the other end in good shape — which is often not the case. The new settled senior minister will not need to rebuild the congregation; but rather, will have the opportunity to build upon what has already been built, which is a strong foundation.”

Scibilia said that Lenhart and his wife, Lynn, stayed through the end of March. “It was clear at that time that the search committee was very close to selecting a candidate it thought would be appropriate for the congregation to consider.”

He said that more information about that candidate would be released within a few days.

* * * 

Noted Organist Gail Archer Will Give Recital at Grace Church

Dr. Gail Archer, organist at Vassar College and director of the music program at Barnard College, will be offer an organ concert at Grace Church on Sunday, April 24.

Archer is an international concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor  and lecturer who draws attention to composer anniversaries or musical themes with her annual recital series in New York City, “An American Idyll, Liszt, Bach, Mendelssohn and Messiaen.” In spring 2013, the five-concert series was “The Muses Voice: A Celebration of International Women Composers.”

Archer was the first American woman to play the complete works of Olivier Messiaen for the centennial of the composer’s birth in 2008; Time-Out New York recognized the Messiaen  cycle as “Best of 2008 ” in classical music and opera.

Her recordings include “The Muse’s Voice,” “Franz Liszt: A Hungarian Rhapsody,” “Bach, the Transcendent Genius,” “An American Idyll,” “A Mystic In the Making” on Meyer-Media LLC  and “The Orpheus of Amsterdam: Sweelinck and his Pupils” on CALA Records, London.

Archer is the founder of Musforum (www.musforum.org) an international network for female organists to promote and affirm their work. She is college organist at Vassar College and director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University where she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus. She serves as director of the artist and young organ artist recitals at historic Central Synagogue, New York City.

Her program at Grace Church will include works by Bach and Samuel Barber, and also by female composers Johanna Senfter, Libby Larsen and Jeanne Demessieux.

Tickets to the 7 p.m. recital are $20 at the door, $10 for seniors and students.

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