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All Souls Church Stony Brook

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Runners head down Main Street during the annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk. Photo courtesy of Dan Kerr

By Dan Kerr

Many believe Stanford White was the greatest American architect and the end of the 1800s. His gift to Stony Brook Village, All Souls Church, has stood on the hill overlooking Main Street since 1896. All Souls was there long before Ward Melville forever changed the village in 1941, and the simple beauty of the building and the interior have remained true to Stanford White’s original vision. 

Life expectancy in the United States back then was less than 50 years, and accessibility for the elderly and/or handicapped was not part of the design. 

The historical church is open for prayer and reflection every day. In addition to its Episcopal services on Sunday, All Souls offers ecumenical services every Tuesday and Wednesday, and hosts monthly concerts, poetry readings and Native American Drumming for the community at large. On Sunday, October 6th, the 16th annual SOLES for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk will celebrate the role of the National Landmark chapel in the community and raise funds to make it accessible to all.

All Souls warden Herb Mones has been leading the accessibility project and has been guided by local historical architect John Cunniffe. Jazz Loft Director Tom Manuel has observed “Being a steward of a historic property is a real privilege, but it can also be a challenge to balance historical integrity and aesthetics with modern day expectations. I am more than confident that the team involved with making All Souls Church accessible will find that balance and accomplish something that is long overdue. We are blessed to have such a collaborative community of people entrusted with our historic places.” 

SOLES For All Souls is the most inclusive Race/Walk on Long Island. Serious runners compete for gold, bronze, and silver medals in age groups from under 13 to over 80 and receive their hard-won medals in an Olympic-style awards ceremony. Dogs are welcome to accompany their masters and students from Stony Brook University and others often come in costume. Senior citizens with walking sticks line up at the starting line along with parents pushing their kids in strollers. 

Long time Stony Brook resident and previous gold medal winner for the 70+ age group Dick Halluska shared, “I like running in the SOULS for All Souls race because it offers a challenge and a reward. The biggest challenge is running up Hollow Road. The reward, if you are patient, is twofold. The first is being able to enjoy the beauty of Stony Brook Village as you jog along the quiet streets and past the harbor, and the second is knowing your efforts and contributions are supporting a worthy cause.”

Overall 2022 and 2023 female winner Christa Denmom said, “I’ve truly enjoyed this race over the last few years as it runs through many of my favorite locations in Stony Brook Village. On top of being a great race, it always brings out great people with an inspiring and friendly 5K atmosphere. 

Port Jefferson Station resident Margaret Kennedy stated “I look forward to this race every year, eager to see familiar faces and the creative costumes. It is the camaraderie and fellowship that keeps us coming back to collect a new color in our t-shirt rainbow. Everyone is welcome, whether running up the challenging hill or walking with a team. This race is truly a labor of love.” 

The event is also a food drive for St. Gerard Majella’s food pantry. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine is a staunch supporter. “SOLES for All Souls 5K is a tremendous community event that brings our residents together while helping our neighbors who are in need. I encourage runners and walkers of all ages to support this wonderful cause and participate in the Lend a Hand, Bring a Can food drive.” 

Suffolk County Poet Laureate Deborah Hauser looks forward to this year’s race. “This event combines two of my passions: running and activism. I admire All Souls Church’s commitment to the community and support its mission to make the church accessible to all. If my knee recovers in time, I hope to be the first poet to run the race. Whether I run or walk, I am looking forward to participating and contributing to the food drive.”

Registration for SOLES for All Souls 5K Race/2K Walk is through the ACTIVE.COM website (Search: SOLES for All Souls) or register on the Race Day — October 6. The Registration desk at the Reboli Center for Art & History at 64 Main Street will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m; the starting bell is at 9 a.m. Complimentary pre and post event stretching will be provided by Progressive Personal Training. Local band The North Shore Rockers will perform throughout the morning. 

Please call 631-655-7798 for more information about the event or if you would like to be a sponsor. Donations dedicated to the Handicap Accessibility Project should be mailed to All Souls Race, P.O. Box 548, Stony Brook, NY 11790.

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Members of the Stony Brook community are invited to attend a brief “Service of Thanksgiving” on Saturday, August 24 in front of Historic All Souls Church, 61 Main Street, Stony Brook beginning at 1 pm. Clergy and members of the community will share their reflections and prayers. All are welcome.

The ten inches of rain that fell on Stony Brook Sunday night/Monday morning burst the dam separating the Duck Pond and Stony Brook Harbor, drained the pond, and destroyed Harbor Road and Old Mill Creek Road.  Although the dam broke in 1750, again in the 1800s, and in 1910, this is the first time the village has seen such a catastrophe in our lifetimes.

Amidst all the destruction and loss, no one died, and the village we all love will survive and recover.

Arrive early for easy parking.  Please call 631-678-6232 or email Rob Taylor at [email protected] for more information.

RSVP – [email protected]

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Participants from last year's concert. Photo courtesy of Dan Ker
Dan Kinney will perform on the church's tracker organ. Photo from Dan Kerr
Deborah Hauser will be one of the featured poets at the event. Photo from Dan Kerr
Ford Fourqurean will perform at this year's event. Photo from Dan Kerr
Ric Statler will perform at the event. Photo from Dan Kerr

Historic All Souls Church, 61 Main Street in Stony Brook Village presents monthly Saturdays at Six concerts, Second Saturdays poetry readings, and Native American Drumming to the community. Each of these programs brings its own unique mix of visitors to the Stanford White-designed national landmark chapel. Their latest event, Conversations on the Sacred on Saturday, July 6, will combine, music, poetry and drumming into one unique performance.

Local poet Carolyn Emerson selected the sacred readings for the program and assigned them to local poets. She also collaborated with Stony Brook University Director of Concerts Ford Fourqurean, All Souls organist Dan Kinney, and Native American Elder and Drummer Ric Statler on the musical interludes that follow each reading. The tracker organ at All Souls, built by Henry Erben of New York in 1854, will be part of the program, responding to readings with appropriate hymns.

One of the poets that will be reading is Suffolk County Poet Laureate Deborah Hauser. She shared “I’m grateful to All Souls Church for the invitation to join this sacred conversation and am looking forward to a transcendent evening.”

The selection of poems and religious texts includes works that are widely regarded for their technical virtuosity and lyrical beauty.  Each reading includes a specific conversation with the sacred but offers at the same time a way into the life and sensibility of the poet. Christian and Judaic religions are in conversation with Taoism, Zen Buddhism, Islam, and the Native American tradition.

One of the poets that will be reading is Suffolk County Poet Laureate Deborah Hauser. She shared “I’m grateful to All Souls Church for the invitation to join this sacred conversation and am looking forward to a transcendent evening.”

From a Native American perspective, sacred conversations are ongoing.  This is because all life (be it two-legged, four-legged, winged, finned, slithering, crawling, plant people, earthly matter, heavenly mater) is sacred and valued. The most often missed of sacred conversation is the listening part of the conversation. Native American culture recognizes the listening to nature, wind, animals, heavens, people’s hearts, as they all have something to say.   Drummer Ric Statler states “when we listen to what God/Creator says, shows or makes us feel, we can respond from a holy place within us, and conversation becomes sacred.”

All Souls organist Dan Kinney observes “Music and poetry are often bound together in sacred conversations. This can be seen in the iconography of King David singing psalms and accompanying himself on the lyre. David is represented as a poet, composer, and musician. The organ has played a role in sacred music for centuries–witness the traditional image in art of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music, seated at the organ conversing musically with heaven.”

“Conversations on the Sacred brings together a wide variety of poetry from different cultures, ideologies, and styles and the music we pair it with will reflect so many different eras from Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) to more contemporary composers like Linda Catlin Smith,” commented Fourqurean. “The audience is invited into so many different artistic sound worlds.”

The concert will begin promptly at 6 p.m. will include a 15-minute intermission and conclude by 8 p.m. The event is free. For further information please call 631-655-7798. 

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Many participants from last year’s concert will be returning this year. Photo from Dan Kerr
Stony Brook University musician Lindsay Ross will take part in this year’s concert. Photo from Dan Kerr

Historic All Souls Church, 61 Main Street in Stony Brook Village presents monthly Saturdays at Six concerts, Second Saturdays poetry readings, and Native American Drumming to the community.  Each of these programs brings its own unique mix of visitors to the Stanford White-designed national landmark chapel on the hill across from the Duck Pond. Their latest event, Conversations on the Sacred on Saturday, Aug. 5, will combine, music, poetry and drumming in one unique performance for the community.

The special program is the brainchild of Stony Brook University adjunct professor, poet, and literary scholar Carmen Bugan.  She selected the sacred readings for the evening and collaborated with Stony Brook University musicians and composers Ford Fourqurean and Lindsay Ross, All Souls organist Dan Kinney, and Native American Elder and Drummer Ric Statler on the musical interludes between readings.

The selection of poems includes works that are widely regarded for their technical virtuosity and lyrical beauty. Each reading includes a specific conversation with the sacred but offers at the same time a way into the life and sensibility of the poet. Christian and Judaic religions are in conversation with mystical Judaism, Taoism, Zen Buddhism, and Native American tradition. The literary selections will be placed in descending chronological order, beginning with a Native American chant (Where I Stand is Holy), all the way to several hundred years before Christ with a reading from Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching).

Long Island poets Adam Fisher, Linda Dickman, Mindy Kronenberg, Vivian Viloria-Fisher, Greg Alexander, Bruce Johnson, Jack Zaffos, and Kathy Donnelly will serve as readers. The musical pieces interspersed with the poetry will include Native American Drumming; a mix of baroque, modern, improvisation; and classical hymns performed by Dan Kinney on All Souls’ almost 200-year-old Henry Erben-designed tracker organ.

The concert will begin promptly at 6 p.m., will include a 15-minute intermission and conclude by 8 p.m. The event is free. All Souls collects food to feed the hungry at every event.  “Lend a Hand; Bring a Can.” For further information, call 631-655-7798.

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Photo by Dan Kerr
Photo by Dan Kerr
Photo by Dan Kerr
Photo by Dan Kerr
Photo by Dan Kerr

MAKING BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

All Souls Church in Stony Brook welcomed the renowned Euclid Quartet on April 30 as part of the church’s Saturdays at Six concert series. Pictured from left, violinist Jameson Cooper, violinist Aviva Hakanoglu, cellist Chris Wild, violist Luis Enrique Vargas, concertgoer Kathy Donnelly and Dan Kerr of All Souls Church. “We had a full house, and the music was world class!” Kerr said.

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Vicki Iorio

Historic All Souls Church in Stony Brook continues its Second Saturdays poetry series on Jan. 8 from 11 a.m. to noon. To maintain “social distancing,” the program will be delivered virtually in an interactive forum via ZOOM. The readings will be hosted by Suffolk County Poet Laureate Richard Bronson.  The featured poet will be Vicki Iorio.

Iorio is the author of Poems from the Dirty Couch and the chapbooks Send Me a Letter and Something Fishy.  Her poetry has appeared in The Painted Bride Quarterly, Rattle, poets respond online and The Fem Lin Magazine, Redheaded Stepchild Magazine, The Paper Street Journal, Poetry Bay, Home Planet News, Concise, Cactus Heart, Rattle on line, South Florida Poetry Journal, 521 Magazine, and Rats Ass Review.

An open-reading will follow the featured poet; all are welcome to read one of their own poems.  For more information, please call 631-655-7798.  Participants can access the program through the All Souls website https://www.allsouls-stonybrook.org/

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Ric Statler

All Souls Church Rectory, 5 Mill Pond Road, Stony Brook hosts a Native American Drumming Meditation on Jan. 28 from 7 to 8:45 p.m. Led by elder drummer, Ric Statler, drumming meditation seeks to integrate the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual parts of the human self, creating a state of well-being. Free. Call 631-655-7798 for further information.

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Gregorian Chant at All Souls 

All Souls Church, 61 Main Street, Stony Brook hosts a Gregorian Chant/Music of Taizé on Thursday, Nov. 19 from 8 to 9 p.m., providing a time for quiet meditation to clear the mind and rest the soul. The historic chapel will be lit with candles and alive with the mystical sounds of Gregorian chant and Songs of Taizé. This is a unique opportunity for reflection and/or silent prayer for people of all faiths (or no faith) searching for a spiritual connection in their lives. Masks required and social distancing will apply. For more information, please call 516-607-9111.

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Stock photo

All Souls Church in Stony Brook hosts a Shamanic Drumming meditation session in its Parish Hall basement, 10 Mill Pond Road, Stony Brook on Thursday, Jan. 30 from 7 to 8:45 p.m. Led by experienced shamanic drummer Ric Statler, the meditation seeks to integrate the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parts of the human self, creating a state of well-being. Free. Call 631-655-7798 for more info.

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The interior of Alls Souls Church. Photo from Daniel Kerr

All Souls Church, 61 Main St., Stony Brook has added Gregorian Chant/Music of Taizé to its monthly programs, providing a time for quiet meditation to clear the mind and rest the soul. The historic chapel will be lit with candles and alive with mystical chants and songs. This is a unique opportunity for reflection and/or silent prayer for people of all faiths (or no faith) searching for a spiritual connection in their lives. Next session will be held tonight, Thursday, Jan. 16 from 8 to 9 p.m. For more information, please call 516-607-9111.

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