Many thanks to Jim Noyes for making this available to all!

Happy Christmas to you all –  not from New York, but a little village of about 450 near Banbury in Oxfordshire, quite a change from Bennett Avenue where far more lived in the apartment building across the street!

Dear Members and friends of OSA,

The OSA Call Committee met Sunday, October 28, after worship to discuss the four candidates for the office of pastor.  After an hour of conversation and prayerful thought, the committee decided not to recommend any of the four. 

The Committee wishes you to know that it spent careful time considering the needs of OSA and the gifts of the candidates. From the beginning the ministry site profile (MSP) guided our decisions.  The MSP, as you know, was itself carefully constructed with input from you.  It was, and is, the “organizing principle” as we read the candidates’ profiles, interviewed, and listened to them. 

The Committee stayed in touch via email and telephone, traveled to other churches to hear two of the candidates preach, and with honesty and forthright discussion weighed the pros and cons of each candidate.  In the end, the decision was that each candidate had strengths but none had the combination of skills, based on the MSP that would serve OSA best.  None of the candidates, although all were highly qualified and are excellent pastors, entirely met the expectations that you/we established. 

When the candidates were informed of the Committee’s decision, each was gracious and thankful for the opportunity to be considered. 

The next step is to await further candidates from the Metropolitan New York Synod office, our Bishop and his staff.  The Synod was informed the following Tuesday after the Committee’s decisions.  The Synod office has informed us that they are immediately working to give us the next slate of candidates.

The Call Committee requests that you remain patient during the process, even as we ourselves seek to do the same.  Although we wish the Holy Spirit would reveal to us quickly who our next pastor will be, we believe that everything happens in God’s good time.  OSA has an excellent coverage pastor in Rev. William Eggers, dedicated lay leadership, and a host of committed members to see us through this transition. 

God bless you all! 

-- The OSA Call Committee

Bob Wollenburg, Chair

The Swell Division of the organ at OSA is nearing completion.  This is the section which occupies the chamber upstairs to the left of the altar, more or less unseen from the sanctuary.  (The original OSA organ was entirely located in this space.)  Its expressive capacity is augmented by a series of shades, which the organist controls from the console.  Opening or closing these makes possible a dramatic range of dynamics from soft to loud.  Inside the chamber are two brand new windchests, one above the other, which support a large variety of colorful sounding pipes (770 to be exact) and rise to a total of about 25 feet.   Some are made from wood, and some from metal, and come from different sources, including the original Moller Organ of 1929. 

Each pipe has been meticulously worked on in the shop of Lawrence Trupiano in order to speak as well as possible and also blend with all of the pipework as a whole.  In addition, all of the wiring required between the playing console downstairs and the new chests upstairs is new, as is the solid state relay which (with a little help from the organist) makes the right notes play at the right time.  More joyful noise is coming soon to OSA!

A month spent in England would not be complete without a stop at the Lawless family compound.  I was in London to write, to experience the culture, the Olympics, and of course, a home cooked meal from Lois Ann.  My class and I were staying in London, so finding the time and the energy to take the 45 minute train ride to Banbury was hard, but well worth it. 

    Aboard the train I told them stories about Domingo Gordo, Christmas, and the amazing garden Lois Ann had built.  Cassie and Joanna, my travel mates, are Agnostic and Conservative Jewish History majors (respectively) – so I knew they would have plenty to talk to Barrie about.  We met them at the train station, the couple just as bright and warm as always, I no longer felt like a stranger in a foreign country.

These images and more are available at WHIN's Facebook page!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/WHIN-Music-Project/140364006103392