Manola, John

 

MANOLA, John

John Manola spent most of his 102 years serving others. He was an ordained

minister, social worker and a chaplain for the blind for the Lions Club.

When he moved to a retirement community, Cathedral Village in Philadelphia,

he became a popular figure among many residents. He died on Sept. 5.

Manola, an erudite and gentle man, was born Dec. 29, 1917, in East Orange, NJ,

where he spent his formative years. He attended Upsala College there,

then studied at Unity Seminary in Missouri and after further study at an

Episcopal seminary was ordained a minister.

He enlisted in the Air Force during WWII and was sent to Australia,

China and India. In 1969 he shifted his focus and began a career as

a social worker for the State of New Jersey, retiring in 1981.

 

Manola had two decades-long relationships in his long life.

Both men predeceased him.  The second of them was William Talero,

with whom he moved in 2013 to Cathedral Village from the Chestnut Hill area.

Manola was several years older than Talero, who was visually impaired,

and he led the two on frequent walks and outings, both sporting hats

and smiling faces ready to engage with passersby. Talero died in 2017.

 

At Cathedral Village, Manola was a popular figure among the 300 residents,

not as much because of his longevity but his pleasant and warm personality.

The table at which he regularly ate lunch in the café after Talero died was among

the most coveted on campus.

 

He often told friends that what sustained him throughout his life were his

strong spirituality and the comfort of his remarkable memory – he was able

to recite from memory long, favorite passages from poetry and Scripture.

When asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied,

“As a man who was nice, kind to people, happy.”

He is survived by a niece, nephew, great-nephew and great-grandniece. 

His two siblings, Frances and Jean, predeceased him.

His many friends at Cathedral Village will gather there at a later date to

remember him.

Manola, John

 

MANOLA, John

John Manola spent most of his 102 years serving others. He was an ordained

minister, social worker and a chaplain for the blind for the Lions Club.

When he moved to a retirement community, Cathedral Village in Philadelphia,

he became a popular figure among many residents. He died on Sept. 5.

Manola, an erudite and gentle man, was born Dec. 29, 1917, in East Orange, NJ,

where he spent his formative years. He attended Upsala College there,

then studied at Unity Seminary in Missouri and after further study at an

Episcopal seminary was ordained a minister.

He enlisted in the Air Force during WWII and was sent to Australia,

China and India. In 1969 he shifted his focus and began a career as

a social worker for the State of New Jersey, retiring in 1981.

 

Manola had two decades-long relationships in his long life.

Both men predeceased him.  The second of them was William Talero,

with whom he moved in 2013 to Cathedral Village from the Chestnut Hill area.

Manola was several years older than Talero, who was visually impaired,

and he led the two on frequent walks and outings, both sporting hats

and smiling faces ready to engage with passersby. Talero died in 2017.

 

At Cathedral Village, Manola was a popular figure among the 300 residents,

not as much because of his longevity but his pleasant and warm personality.

The table at which he regularly ate lunch in the café after Talero died was among

the most coveted on campus.

 

He often told friends that what sustained him throughout his life were his

strong spirituality and the comfort of his remarkable memory – he was able

to recite from memory long, favorite passages from poetry and Scripture.

When asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied,

“As a man who was nice, kind to people, happy.”

He is survived by a niece, nephew, great-nephew and great-grandniece. 

His two siblings, Frances and Jean, predeceased him.

His many friends at Cathedral Village will gather there at a later date to

remember him.

Prayers in time of calamity

O most mighty and merciful God, in this time of hurricanes, fires, protests and viruses, we flee to you for succor. Deliver the people, we beseech you, from their peril; give strength and skill to all those who minister to the needy; prosper the means of their safety; and grant that, perceiving how frail and uncertain our life is, we all may apply our hearts unto your heavenly wisdom which leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers in time of calamity

O most mighty and merciful God, in this time of hurricanes, fires, protests and viruses, we flee to you for succor. Deliver the people, we beseech you, from their peril; give strength and skill to all those who minister to the needy; prosper the means of their safety; and grant that, perceiving how frail and uncertain our life is, we all may apply our hearts unto your heavenly wisdom which leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Important Article to read: "Giving the full history: Who owned Absalom Jones?"

 

Giving the full history: Who owned Absalom Jones?

February 11, 2008

Timothy B. Safford

The Rev. Timothy Safford, rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia

Absalom Jones is one of the Episcopal Church's and our nation's most heroic founding fathers, and on February 13, we commemorate blessed Absalom, the first black priest and founder of the first black congregation in the Episcopal Church. Absalom Jones had been born into slavery in 1746 and achieved his own freedom in 1784. But, from whom?

I know it's awkward at this time of celebration to acknowledge the man who enslaved Absalom. But the 2006 General Convention mandated that the Episcopal Church give a "full, faithful and informed account of our history" with slavery. So, the time is right to remember that the man he called "master" for 38 years was Benjamin Wynkoop vestrymen, warden and benefactor of Christ Church and St. Peter's in Philadelphia, our Church's two historic congregations that helped give birth both to the nation and the Episcopal Church. May a fair accounting of Jones' and Wynkoop's history as slave and master provide Episcopalians today with the insight to overcome the legacies of a racist past infecting our society, and beloved Church, still.

Absalom was not given the last name of Jones when born on the plantation of Wynkoop's parents in Sussex, Delaware. At an early age, he was taken from the fields and came to work in the house. When Wynkoop chose to farm no longer, but to make his way as a merchant, he sold Absalom's mother and six siblings, and brought the 16-year-old Absalom as his slave to Philadelphia in 1762.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Wynkoop began attending the newly constructed St. Peter's, built when Christ Church had become fully subscribed; Christ Church and St. Peter's were one parish church in two congregations.

Wynkoop's business was successful, and how not? Absalom labored from dawn to dusk, he reported, often till midnight. Not only staffed by slave labor, the store sold the fruits of slave labor: "rum, molasses, coffee, chocolate, pepper, and other groceries." According to a biographer, Wynkoop was a "prompt contributor to worthy causes" through his gains reaped by the labor of others. A major donor in the parish, Wynkoop was elected to the common Vestry of Christ Church and St. Peter's in 1769.

According to Absalom's own autobiographical sketch, Wynkoop permitted him to attend a school for blacks, possibly one in Christ Church conducted by the Bray Associates (another history that needs a full accounting). Absalom married a slave, Mary, whose master was Wynkoop's neighbor and fellow parishioner at St. Peter's. Absalom took on the cause of Mary's freedom. With the skills learned in school, he wrote the case and raised the necessary money to purchase her freedom, which her master accepted. Absalom remained a slave.

When General Howe marched his British troops into Philadelphia in the autumn of 1777, Wynkoop temporarily fled. Absalom could have easily taken refuge with and received freedom from the British. But he stayed in the Wynkoop's store. Mary was now free, he had a family that he would not abandon, and a house he had built that he rented to free blacks, saving the money. "I made application to my master in 1778 to purchase my own freedom," he wrote, "but this was not granted."

"My desire for freedom increased," he wrote, because he feared that, while a slave, his house might be taken by Wynkoop. He made "many applications to [Wynkoop] for liberty to purchase my freedom," but Wynkoop wouldn't budge. Why couldn't Wynkoop breath the air of freedom rich and redolent in Philadelphia? Why did his Church, that had many abolitionists as members, remain silent? Those are the questions we are obligated to ask now.

On October 1, 1784, Absalom recounts with a charity surprising that Wynkoop, "generously gave me a manumission." Then, Absalom freely took the surname Jones, uniquely American and sounding nothing like the Dutch Wynkoop.

Within three years, Absalom Jones co-founded the Free African Society. In 1792, he led his congregation from St. George's Methodist Church and founded St. Thomas, which then in 1794 affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese, and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas was born. But what of Benjamin Wynkoop? He becomes warden of Christ Church and St. Peter's during these formative years of the Episcopal Church, but little detail of his life remains. The most interesting detail is from Absalom Jones.

After his manumission, he writes, "I have ever since continued in [Wynkoop's] service at good wages, and I still find it my duty, both late and early, to be industrious to improve the little estate that a kind Providence has put in my hands."

I leave to historians the interpretation of the meaning or importance of Absalom Jones continuing to work for Benjamin Wynkoop, building a relationship of some warmth and forbearance such that Wynkoop's respect for Jones was quoted in Jones' obituary in 1818. But I challenge myself, and the tour guides at Christ Church who will tell Wynkoop's history of slaveholding this year to some 100,000 school children, not to jump to the conclusion of a happy ending to a slavery story in our beloved Episcopal Church. I hope that Jones and Wynkoop truly enjoyed the embrace of reconciliation, but take that possibility as a challenge today to reconcile our present Church with its own history with slavery. Might we be guided by the wisdom of theologian Miroslav Volf: "Remembering well is one key to redeeming the past; and the redemption of the past is itself nestled in the broader story of God's restoring of our broken world to wholeness -- a restoration that includes the past, present, and future."

Absalom Jones wrote that the motivation for founding the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas was "to encourage us to arise out of the dust and shake ourselves, and throw off that servile fear, that the habit of oppression and bondage trained us up in." That same habit of oppression and bondage will continue to infect the Episcopal Church until we tell our complete history with slavery. I pray we, as a Church, arise out of the dust and shake ourselves, and give an informed account of the slaveholders in our past, and not just the slaves.

Worship for Sunday, September 27th Online & Updates from the Rector's Office

 

Dear Friends,

I am praying for you all and I hope that you are well.  In addition, I am praying for our nation in this difficult time. 

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: 

Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, 

may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Please join us for online worship tomorrow at 10 am for Morning Prayer, at 10:15 for Music, and at 7:30 for Compline.

Morning Prayer:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb1xy_8svq8

Music:   https://youtu.be/PYXYBuIebQg

Compline:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA7WUcLs0Rk

Updates from the Rector's Office

Daily Prayers at noon

I am posting a prayer each day at noon via our church's youtube channel.   These are prayers mostly from our prayer book, but also some others.  "Join me" for prayer.  I will post the words of each of the prayers along with the video. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU9NTjXV4ocl0WBliZyYRuQ

An idea: Zoom worship and gatherings 

I wanted to reach out to you all to see if there is interest in doing some "gathering" together via Zoom at some point in the week.  I was thinking of perhaps doing a Zoom prayer service in the midweek, perhaps on Wednesdays at noon (I am not wedded to this as the time!).  Would you be interested in joining us for prayer on Zoom? 

Relatedly, would any of you be interested in a Zoom Bible Study?  Or, perhaps a Zoom "coffee hour"?  Some churches have done this sort of thing and it seems like it has been great. 

Would any of you like to lead a book study, a Bible study, or a class online/zoom? 

Burial Service for John Manola - October 14th at 11am

John Manola was a beloved friend of so many at Cathedral Village, and in the larger community.  He lived nearly 103 years, and I was blessed to have some wonderful conversations with him in the last year or so.  We will be having a graveside service for John on October 14th at 11am.  This will be held outdoors at our Columbarium, and all are invited.  Please wear your masks and practice social distancing.  May John Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory! 

Baptism for Leah Schnell - October 17th at 1pm

On October 17th at 1pm, we will baptize Leah Schnell, who is the daughter of Olivia and Jim Van Osten's niece, Joanie Schnell.  We will do this service outdoors, under the guidelines of Bishop Gutierrez.   Since a key part of the Baptism liturgy is to have the "community of saints" (that is, the Parish) lift up and support the baptized, I would LOVE to have some folks to join us.  We will use masks, and be socially distanced.  Join us if you can. 

Vestry Meets on Tuesday / Outdoor Worship

Our Vestry is meeting on Tuesday Evening online using Zoom, and our main agenda item is to finalize a proposal to re-entry for outdoor worship on Sundays at St. Mary's.  We will need to submit this to the Bishop's office, but I am confident that very soon we can do some outdoor worship together! Alleluia!  I realize that October temperatures are a bit cool, but perhaps we can weather the cold in order to gather.  Would you be interested in joining us?

Hoping to meet for Indoor Worship as soon as we can do it safely

Relatedly, we are also working to figure out solutions to some of the challenges in order to have indoor worship on Sundays.  With the help of our Vestry and worship leaders, I am hopeful that before long, we can also gather, in some form, on Sundays.  Whether this is in the Parish Hall or the Nave, I am not sure.  In addition, I am not sure whether this will take the form of Morning Prayer or some form of the Eucharist.  We shall see.  What are your thoughts, concerns, hopes in this area?

Accessibility

While our Architects were not doing work "in person" on any of their projects during the early months of the pandemic, they were doing planning and strategizing about our accessibility project.  We had a site plan done by a surveyor earlier this spring.  This week, we will have an engineering firm come in to assess some of the structural requirements and challenges.  I had a great conversation with our point person with the architecture firm the other day, and he is hopeful that before too long we will have some proposals to choose from in terms of the work.  This is VERY exciting for me, as I am really hoping to get us fully accessible to ALL, and as soon as we can.  I am so thankful to our Vestry in their leadership to fully support this work! 

Thank you

Thank you all for your prayers, your support for one another, and for your ongoing faithfulness.  Thank you also for so many of you who have continued to give to St. Mary's and I am amazed at the great number of you who have kept up your pledge in this uncertain time.  Please continue to do this generous work, and for those who have not been keeping up with your pledge, if you can, please do. 

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so

move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the

people of this land], that barriers which divide us may

crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our

divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Christ's Love,

~Peter+

The Rev. Peter M. Carey, Rector

St. Mary's Episcopal Church - Cathedral Road

www.stmaryscathedralroad.com/

revpetermcarey@gmail.com

Worship for Sunday, September 27th Online & Updates from the Rector's Office

 

Dear Friends,

I am praying for you all and I hope that you are well.  In addition, I am praying for our nation in this difficult time. 

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: 

Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, 

may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Please join us for online worship tomorrow at 10 am for Morning Prayer, at 10:15 for Music, and at 7:30 for Compline.

Morning Prayer:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb1xy_8svq8

Music:   https://youtu.be/PYXYBuIebQg

Compline:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA7WUcLs0Rk

Updates from the Rector's Office

Daily Prayers at noon

I am posting a prayer each day at noon via our church's youtube channel.   These are prayers mostly from our prayer book, but also some others.  "Join me" for prayer.  I will post the words of each of the prayers along with the video. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU9NTjXV4ocl0WBliZyYRuQ

An idea: Zoom worship and gatherings 

I wanted to reach out to you all to see if there is interest in doing some "gathering" together via Zoom at some point in the week.  I was thinking of perhaps doing a Zoom prayer service in the midweek, perhaps on Wednesdays at noon (I am not wedded to this as the time!).  Would you be interested in joining us for prayer on Zoom? 

Relatedly, would any of you be interested in a Zoom Bible Study?  Or, perhaps a Zoom "coffee hour"?  Some churches have done this sort of thing and it seems like it has been great. 

Would any of you like to lead a book study, a Bible study, or a class online/zoom? 

Burial Service for John Manola - October 14th at 11am

John Manola was a beloved friend of so many at Cathedral Village, and in the larger community.  He lived nearly 103 years, and I was blessed to have some wonderful conversations with him in the last year or so.  We will be having a graveside service for John on October 14th at 11am.  This will be held outdoors at our Columbarium, and all are invited.  Please wear your masks and practice social distancing.  May John Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory! 

Baptism for Leah Schnell - October 17th at 1pm

On October 17th at 1pm, we will baptize Leah Schnell, who is the daughter of Olivia and Jim Van Osten's niece, Joanie Schnell.  We will do this service outdoors, under the guidelines of Bishop Gutierrez.   Since a key part of the Baptism liturgy is to have the "community of saints" (that is, the Parish) lift up and support the baptized, I would LOVE to have some folks to join us.  We will use masks, and be socially distanced.  Join us if you can. 

Vestry Meets on Tuesday / Outdoor Worship

Our Vestry is meeting on Tuesday Evening online using Zoom, and our main agenda item is to finalize a proposal to re-entry for outdoor worship on Sundays at St. Mary's.  We will need to submit this to the Bishop's office, but I am confident that very soon we can do some outdoor worship together! Alleluia!  I realize that October temperatures are a bit cool, but perhaps we can weather the cold in order to gather.  Would you be interested in joining us?

Hoping to meet for Indoor Worship as soon as we can do it safely

Relatedly, we are also working to figure out solutions to some of the challenges in order to have indoor worship on Sundays.  With the help of our Vestry and worship leaders, I am hopeful that before long, we can also gather, in some form, on Sundays.  Whether this is in the Parish Hall or the Nave, I am not sure.  In addition, I am not sure whether this will take the form of Morning Prayer or some form of the Eucharist.  We shall see.  What are your thoughts, concerns, hopes in this area?

Accessibility

While our Architects were not doing work "in person" on any of their projects during the early months of the pandemic, they were doing planning and strategizing about our accessibility project.  We had a site plan done by a surveyor earlier this spring.  This week, we will have an engineering firm come in to assess some of the structural requirements and challenges.  I had a great conversation with our point person with the architecture firm the other day, and he is hopeful that before too long we will have some proposals to choose from in terms of the work.  This is VERY exciting for me, as I am really hoping to get us fully accessible to ALL, and as soon as we can.  I am so thankful to our Vestry in their leadership to fully support this work! 

Thank you

Thank you all for your prayers, your support for one another, and for your ongoing faithfulness.  Thank you also for so many of you who have continued to give to St. Mary's and I am amazed at the great number of you who have kept up your pledge in this uncertain time.  Please continue to do this generous work, and for those who have not been keeping up with your pledge, if you can, please do. 

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so

move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the

people of this land], that barriers which divide us may

crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our

divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Christ's Love,

~Peter+

The Rev. Peter M. Carey, Rector

St. Mary's Episcopal Church - Cathedral Road

www.stmaryscathedralroad.com/

revpetermcarey@gmail.com

News from the Diocese

 

“Jesus commanded love of neighbor. Voting in a democracy is how we love our neighbor. It is also how we submit to and participate in the government God has given us. To refrain from voting is to opt out of a critical social responsibility whereby we shape our life together in justice, peace and Godliness. Voting is sacred because people died for it.” The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel Join us this Sunday from The Washington Memorial Chapel as Bishop Gutiérrez leads the service on YouTube, Facebook and our One Love platform. All at 9 a.m. The diocese has organized opportunities for people to obtain free flu shots at churches across the diocese - and we are adding more locations. Flu clinics start on 10/7. Your talents are needed. Volunteer to serve on a diocesan committee: The Board of Trustees, Commission on Wellness Nominations Committee, The Church Foundation, The Christmas Fund, The Disciplinary Board, Alternate Delegate to General Convention, and Church Attorney. Details for each position and form linked from our Convention page. Deacon Rena Graves turns 100! On 9/29 at 5 p.m. the celebration is coming to her in the form of a parade outside her house. St. Martin-in-the-Fields is closing the street in her Germantown neighborhood, bringing in high school steppers and asking people to don their hats (and masks!) in her honor. To RSVP for the parade, email Rena100thBirthday@gmail.com.  Ordinations continue, even virtually. Darrell Tiller and Yesenia Alejandro will be ordained to the priesthood on 10/10 and Jeremiah Mustered will be ordained to the diaconate on 10/14. St. David's in Radnor will hold a drive-through exhibition, The ThoroughFair on 10/3. The first of a trio of events being held by the church as alternatives to the traditional fair and auction; followed by the Steals and Deals Shed Sale on 10/17; and the church's first virtual auction The UnFair! on 11/6. 100% of proceeds benefit local and international outreach partners. These events mark the 169th year of the longest running church fair in the country. Details. Pre-convention meetings begin 9/29 and continue on 10/7, 10/15 and 11/5. An updated Parish Resources for Resisting Racism has been added by the Anti-Racism Commission of the diocese. More.  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

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