About 30 people from all around Brooklyn, and a few from further afield, gathered in the previous Sunday afternoons to practice the parts in the first half of "The Messiah" score. On Sunday the 9th, from the original 30, there were just over two dozen members of this 'Community Choir' participating in the concert. It was also wonderful to see over 50 'spectators' sharing the wonderful sounds of this massed group of voices. "It did the heart good", one spectator said as he left the Sanctuary after the concert.

Many in the audience participated in their own way. Some moved with the flow of the music as each part was sung. Some mouthed the words as the melody filled the building. And a few added their own voice and joined in. It was what it had been planned to be. It was a time and opportunity for members of the community to come together, and to heal, with the joy of shared music.

To wind-up the several weeks of daily activities on Sunday August 4th the participants were honored as part of the Combined English/Chinese Sunday Worship.

Being recognized were the teachers: Ms. Daisy Wong and Pastor Mary Chang. The Volunteer Assistants: Yan Wan Leung, Anthony Lam, Mui Luen Lo, Ying Ha, Susan Mills, Sam Kong, Alice Leung and Joe Smith. And of course the Studens: Peter Lee, Steven Lee, Jie Wei Li, Jie Wen Li, Yi Yu He and Jai Li Chen.

Next year is already anticipated for by some of the students. With a few remaining weeks of summer the activities were already being missed.

Dr. Thomas Schmidt on St. Jacobi's 1931 Moler Organ started the program with Dietrich Buxtehude's rendition of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" followed by organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Back, Camille Saint-Saens, Anton Dvorak and Felix Mendellsohn.

The Organ was pit through it paces with these wonderful works and the very skilled Dr. Schmidt gave the audience the opportunity to know what was comming next, which only added to the enjoyment.

After a brief intermission and some words from Pastor Mary Chang the second half of th program started.

Mr. Roosevelt Andre Credit a veteran of both Broadway and off-Broadway had a vocal treat for the members of the community present. With his wonderful Baritone voice he thrilled the audience with more than a half dozen traditional Spirituals and creations he wrote himself. One could both see and hear how his experience on stage and his talent was aptly used to leave everyone with a feeling of satisfaction as his presentation.

St. Jacobi was once again blessed to have two greatly skilled musicians and performers offering their services to be a part of the Music & Art Ministry. Each month on the second Sunday at 4pm St. Jacobi has offered a program in it's new Music & Art Ministry. This program is in response to the sad event of September 2001. It is an opportunity for the community to relieve the stress brought on by that event.

A native New Yorker Ms Pechefsky has degrees from Columbia University, Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. Her credits include Carbegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, the Brooklyn Museum, the Morris-Jumel Mansion and many other venues in the metropolitan area.

At St. Jacobi's performance Ms. Pechefsky captivated the audience with works by Johann Gottfried Walther, Johann Sebastian Bach, Francois D'Agincour and Domenico Scarlatti.

Once again the one hour afternoon concert was a welcome respite from the commotion just outside the doors. We are fortunate to have such a fine artist perform at St. Jacobi.

With the help of several people espesially Angel and Esther our Sextons the the north side courtyard was cleaned for members to use. To add to the comfort a bench was supplied by the Church's Secretary and installed.

Ms. Marcia Young, suprano and Harpist and Mr. Andy Rutherford on Lute performed through a list of some two dozen 16th and 17th Century period pieces. It was at times soothing, at times vigerous, and at times uplifting as they masterfully rendered the music and filled the Sanctuary with sound.

This provided the audience with the opportunity to spend an hour away from the reminders of the everyday rush. The Music and Art Ministry is our response to the need to have the chance to involve ourselves in something other than stress. At least once a month at the free events St. Jacobi plays host to members of the Brooklyn community who seek out the soothing sounds of music.

For the second time, Dr. Schmidt led the volunteers in selections from George Frederick Handel's "The Messiah". Added for the Christmas season were five Christmas Carols both new and familiar.

Once again the concert allowed the spirits of both the singers and listeners to refresh and recharge from the daily hectic community life. ST. Jacobi has again given the community an opportunity to heal a little more after the events of 9-11.

Each month there is usually a short devotion to open the meeting. Then its on to some catching up with each other as the evenings event is pursued until refreshments to close.

The group has worked on Easter and other holiday baskets for a woman's shelter; Accessory Boxes of personal items for seamen laying over at the Seamen's International House in Manhattan.

With only a few members and friends it has been a very successful year. Plans are to continue into 2003.

The Saturday morning Basketball program went through about half the year. There were anywhere from six to fifteen participants on any one Saturday. We were indebted to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Fourth Ave. between 74th & 75th Streets for the use of the Gym. Unfortunately after the summer the lack of adult availablity for supervision made it impossible to continue.

There were other activities. A highlight was that the Youth put together a Dinner for the Congregation that was well planned, executed and well received.

The Congregation was also granted two Charters to operate two program for the Chuch by the Boy Scouts of America. Boy Scout Troop 350, although only one Patrol in size, continued regular meetings and a strong program. Venturer Crew 350, with its specialty of Model Railroading was only able to meetin about two thirds of the Fridays scheduled due to conflicts with personal schedules. It continues to build its HO Scale model layout.

St. Jacobi continues its support of youth activities by planning to start in January a Junior Youth Fellowship on Friday afternoons from 3:30p to 5:30p. We have about twenty participants ready to start in January.

We look forward to 2003 for the opportunities to have a growing youth program and involvement.