Thursday, September 14, 2023

A General Thanksgiving

 


A General Thanksgiving

Accept, O Lord, 
our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. 
We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation,
for the beauty of this world, 
for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.


We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, 
and for the loving care 
which surrounds us on every side.


We thank you for setting us at tasks 
which demand our best efforts, 
and for leading us to accomplishments
which satisfy and delight us.


We thank you also
for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.


Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; 
for the truth of his Word 
and the example of his life; 
for his steadfast obedience, 
by which he overcame temptation; 
for his dying, 
through which he overcame death;
and for his rising to life again, 
in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.


Grant us the gift of your Spirit, 
that we may know him and make him known; 
and through him, at all times and in all places,
may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.



Book of Common Prayer


Thursday, August 31, 2023

Richard F. Harrold November 22, 1954 - August 28, 2023

 

Richard F. Harrold 

November 22, 1954 - August 28, 2023


Richard F. Harrold passed away on August 28, 2023 at the age of 68. He is the husband of Karen Harrold (nee Graham). Son of the late Richard J. and Irene Harrold. Brother of Michael Harrold. Also survived by his niece, Michelle Harrold.


Relatives and friends are invited to his Viewing on Saturday beginning at 10 AM at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 630 E. Cathedral Rd. A Funeral Service will follow at 11 AM. Interment in Whitemarsh Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Wounded Warrior Project.


Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory, Harold Starr

 



Harold P. Starr

d. August 23, 2023

 

Obituary for Harold Starr

Harold Page Starr (age 91) died peacefully on August 23, 2023, at Cathedral Village in Philadelphia, thirteen years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The son of Isaac and Edith Page Starr, he grew up in Wyndmoor, PA, and graduated from Episcopal Academy, Yale College and Harvard Law School. Between Yale and Harvard he served in the Navy. In 1960 he married Emily Woodward Churchman. They had five children and lived for fifty years in the house his grandmother built in Wyndmoor, PA. He is survived by his children Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia and her husband, Shahram Masoudnia; Edith Starr and her husband, Mark Feighn; Page Starr and his wife, Helen Starr; and Alice Starr Wagg and her husband, Geoffrey Wagg. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Sholeh Masoudnia, Milan Masoudnia, Coco Starr, Harold Starr, Nicholas Wagg, Emily Wagg and Henry Wagg. Emily, his wife of 62 years, died in 2022, and their son, Isaac, died of natural causes in 2000 at the age of 28. 

After law school, Harold specialized in business law at Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz for twenty years and was a solo practitioner for twenty more years. He acquired an impressive collection of modern art and served on committees at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. An active community member, Harold was chair of the Springfield Township Bicentennial Committee, served on the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, and was President of the Chestnut Hill Community Association. Harold vacationed in Nova Scotia with extended family nearly every summer of his life and oversaw the upkeep of the family property there for twenty-five years. An avid gardener, he filled the house with roses and fed the family with delicious vegetables from his bountiful garden. In the winter he heated the house using wood he enthusiastically chopped himself.

In retirement, Harold and Emily enjoyed traveling to Mali, India, China, and over forty other countries. Inspired by the children they met along the way, they supported international organizations providing food, education, and opportunity to those in need. They were also devoted supporters of many of Philadelphia’s cultural, educational, and service organizations.

The funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Church, 22 E. Chestnut Hill Avenue, Philadelphia, on September 2 at 2:00 pm, with a reception to follow at the church. The service will also be live-streamed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V43Y2KWxal4).