An Important Discovery

Upon entering the church, your eyes are immediately drawn to a glorious stained glass window on the back wall to your left. This window, a heartfelt tribute, was given in memory of J. Kent Willing, Jr. and his wife, Margaret Ansbach Willing, who were tragically lost at sea during a storm off the Bermuda coast in 1955. The window's depiction is a testament to their faith, showing Christ walking upon the waters of a lake towards a boat that holds some of his disciples.

The Centennial (page 22), credited the Willet Stained Glass Studio for the design and execution of this window and the rest of the church's windows in the nave. Upon closer inspection, I discovered in the lower right-hand corner that the Willing Window had been designed and executed by the esteemed D’Ascenzo Studios. Nicola D’Ascenzo (1871-1954) established the studio, where he crafted stained glass windows for numerous illustrious buildings, including Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

Despite D'Ascenzo's passing in 1954, his studio continued to produce windows in his distinctive style that he learned in Chartres, France. We are privileged to have a window inspired by D’Ascenzo and the beautiful windows designed by the Willet Studio as they continue to comfort us in 2024.

Sunday, April 28, 2024

9:15 am Holy Eucharist

Link for all livestream services: christchurchithan.org/live

Please note that our church office is open Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 1:00pm. In the case of a pastoral emergency, Father Karl Krueger can be reached on his cell phone at 610 209 6193.

Wedding bells rang at Christ Church Ithan last Saturday.

The joyful sound of a bagpiper accompanied the bride and groom, Timothy & Maria Fitzgerald.

Our choral scholars are all members of the Haverford High School Choral Association. This Saturday, April 27th, is their annual Choral Cabaret, the main fundraiser supporting sheet music purchases, activities, and the choirs' trips.

This year's theme is the Golden Age of Hollywood. Be serenaded by songs from classic musicals such as West Side Story and Singin' in the Rain and experience an extravaganza of vocal talent.

The Choral Cabaret will begin with an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner, silent auction, raffle baskets, and more from 5:30 to 6:45. The show itself will follow the dinner.
 

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

Suppose you cannot attend the Choral Cabaret but would like to support its fundraising efforts. In that case, you can write a check to Haverford Choral Association and send it to our church office at 536 Conestoga Rd, Villanova, PA 19085, attn: Nancy McLaughlin. You may also Venmo a donation to @haverfordchoralassociation.

The CCI Vestry met on Thursday, April 18th, and discussed several topics, including the approval of the Rector’s Housing Allowance, ideas on how to honor Sally Caruso’s estate gift to CCI, and supporting the Blessing Bag project at St. Stephen’s in Norwood (where parishioner Ron Spinelli volunteers weekly to prepare weekend bags of food for children who are typically fed at school during the week).

 The May meeting will continue these discussions, and outcomes will be shared with the congregation.  

Christ Church Ithan and St. Martin's Church enjoy a thriving book club. Meetings often take place online, and recently, members gathered at the home of Dick and Chris Herring. The group discussed the book The Watchmaker's Daughter by Larry Loftus.

From left to right, Janice Martin, Dave DeWitt, Sandy Reinhardt, Susan Underwood, Bev Reinhardt, Nancy Breitling, Chris Herring, and Gwinnie Scott are pictured below. Anyone interested joining please contact Nancy Breitling at nanbreit@verizon.net.

Many members of Christ Church Ithan volunteered two Saturdays ago to help a resident of Wayne and her daughter clean and prepare their house for rental.

The following week parishioners Bruce and David Wietlisbach finished painting the first and second floor rooms.

An excellent tenant has been found and the job is complete!