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Queens General Assembly 20th Anniversary Celebration - "Looking Back, Moving Forward" from Queens Public Television on Vimeo.

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Our annual Christmas letter, 2022 edition

Susan, Dustin, Fiona, Colin, and Heath’s annual look back at the year that was, filled with travel, hard work, a little bit of COVID-19, and a whole lot of love.

Heath, Fiona, Colin, Susan, and Dustin at Schloss Neuschwanstein near Füssen, Bavaria, Germany, 26 August 2022. The sun was extremely bright, but how could we not make this our family Christmas photo this year? NEW YORK • DECEMBER 2022 Dear family and friends, WHAT A YEAR! We rang it in with our first round of COVID-19, which put a bit of a damper on Colin’s birthday celebration. Midway…

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A disposition of gratitude

A disposition of gratitude

As we work to be grateful in our circumstances rather than for things, we can find greater peace in life and greater joy in discipleship. When you hear the word “commandment”, I’m guessing two or three words immediately come to mind: “thou shalt” or “thou shalt not”. Almost all of the commandments we know as the Ten Commandments begin with one of those phrases. In a revelation to the Prophet…

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2020 in hindsight

🎄 Merry Christmas! We present our annual Christmas letter, along with our love to you and yours and wishes for a happy holiday and a very happy (and hopefully more normal) new year.

Our annual Christmas letter At the Pemaquid Point Light, Maine, 13 August 2020 NEW YORKDECEMBER 2020 Dear family and friends, We’ll start with the obvious: 2020 has not been the year we expected it to be. Of course, it didn’t start out that way. It was a leap year. We were married on Leap Day 2008, which meant that in February, for the first time in four years, we got to celebrate our…

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Chart of general authorities and general officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 2020

I have made a chart of the worldwide leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints available as a free download. Two versions are available:

One page (11 by 17 inches/27.9×43.2 cm)

Download in PDF

In this version the chart is a single page. Use this version if you plan on printing the chart on a single tabloid-size sheet of paper (11 by 17 inches).

Two pages (each 11…

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Our 10th annual Christmas letter

Our 10th annual Christmas letter

Dustin, Susan, Heath, Colin, and Fiona in the main concourse at Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, Sunday 15 December 2019.

NEW YORK ▪ DECEMBER 2019

Dear family and friends,

In August, Susan decided it was time to redo the caulking around our bathtub, starting with where the tub touches the tile on the wall around it. Of course, to put new caulk on Susan first had to take the old caulk…

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The second great commandment/El segundo gran mandamiento

A talk Dustin gave in Spanish in the Jamaica 2nd Ward, 25 August 2019.

ENGLISH It is impossible to fulfill the first great commandment — to love God — without fulfilling the second — to love others.

[Read this in Spanish]

Good morning! I am Dustin Joyce. I am the first counselor in the bishopric of the Jamaica 1st Ward, and I am very happy to be here with you today. Though I can understand and read a bit of Spanish, I don’t really speak it, so I hope you can…

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You are welcome here

In light of recent events, I shared some thoughts with my ward — the majority of whose members are immigrants — on 11 August 2019.

This church is for everyone everywhere because Jesus Christ is the Savior of everyone everywhere.

It is my responsibility to conduct sacrament meeting in our ward this month. On 11 August 2019, we had some extra time at the end of the meeting, so I took the opportunity to offer a few words on recent events. I should note that the majority of the members of our ward are immigrants.

A week ago,…

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On Mormons and punctuality

Throughout my life I have seen church leaders chastise church members for being late. I have a two-word reply to these leaders: STOP IT.

Throughout my life I have seen church leaders chastise church members for being late. I have a two-word reply to these leaders: STOP IT.

There is a joke that Latter-day Saints operate on “Mormon standard time” — that is to say, we’re always late. Really it’s a stereotype that borders on a truism, because members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dooften seem to show up late for…

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The life of Gary Hedrick

Dustin’s uncle, Gary Hedrick, passed away unexpectedly just over a week ago. Dustin had the opportunity to offer this eulogy at his funeral in Greensboro, North Carolina, on 22 March 2019.

My uncle, Gary Hedrick, passed away unexpectedly on 17 March 2019. I had the opportunity to offer this eulogy at his funeral in Greensboro, North Carolina, on 22 March 2019.

James Gary Hedrick was born 16 August 1946 in Iredell County, North Carolina, to James and Reba Hedrick. He was the oldest of three sons. The other evening I was speaking with Daria and I asked her where her dad grew up. She…

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The results are in: How changes in federal tax law affected me and my family

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 did indeed cut my taxes. But at what cost?

My 2018 tax returns are at the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. That means the annual ritual and aggravation (that Schedule C — grrr) of completing tax returns is behind me and that my wife and I have a sizable chunk of money headed our way in the coming weeks. (I don’t care what anyone says: I believe in large refunds as a good way to save money.)

As the dust…

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Our annual Christmas letter, 2018

Read the 2018 edition of our annual Christmas letter to family and friends, looking back on the year that was for Susan, Dustin, Fiona, Colin, and Heath.

NEW YORK DECEMBER 2018

Dear family and friends,

This was the year we finally became grownups! We started our year living in our little one-bedroom apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, but in January we went to an open house and found an apartment to buy in Briarwood, Queens. If you’ve bought an actual house before, then you’re probably used to the idea that you can have the whole thing done…

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The cornerstone of Christ Church was laid 15 November 1931. A church brochure describes the architecture: “The catholic (i.e. universal) nature of Christ Church takes flesh and bone in the Romanesque architecture of our worship space, a style which recalls the period when the church was marked by communion, before the divisions between East and West, Catholic and Protestant. A sacred space that evoked the era of universal, united Christianity seems to have been the intention of Rev. Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, the pastor who presided over the design and construction of Christ Church, as well as Ralph Adams Cram, [the] principal architect.”

Of the places I visited for Open House New York on Saturday 13 October 2018, this was the one that left the greatest impression and sense of awe.

This chapel, on the north side of the main sanctuary, is smaller but just as rich in decoration, materials, and symbolism as the larger space.

Looking across the baptismal font from the main sanctuary through the arcade to the small side chapel.

This icon of Christ is located in the choir passageway at the west end of the arcade, through a doorway to the right of the baptismal font in the previous image. A church brochure explains: “Jesus wears robes in the style of Byzantine emperors, with the red, an earth color, evoking his humanity, while blue, the heavenly color, symbolizes his divinity. The ornate embroidery of the garment suggests a style characteristic of 16th century Russia. The text Jesus holds in his hands is Matthew 11:28–30. … Notice how Jesus’ fingers, held in the position of blessing, form the Greek I C X C abbreviation [for Jesus Christ].”

The choir screen or reredos. At Christ Church, the altar is in front of the screen, though in Eastern Orthodox churches — whose artistic influence is clearly seen in this design — the screen, called an iconostasis, separates lay congregants in the nave from the altar in the apse. In some Orthodox traditions only the priest may pass the screen; in others, lay people may pass using the side doors, but only the priest can use the center doors. (I had the opportunity to go through the side doors of an iconostasis at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, back in February 2018.) According to a church brochure, the center doors here, off the ground above the altar, “originated in a Russian Orthodox church, circa 1660. Through accidents of history they found their way into the private collection of czar Nicholas II before being purchased by Christ Church member Juliet Thompson and donated to the church in the mid-1930s.”

The interplay of mosaic, stone, and light formed by the intersecting arches, vaults, and columns of the adjacent nave, arcade, and chapel is to dazzling effect.

Location 524 Park Avenue at East 60th Street Manhattan

Faith Christian: Methodist

Founded Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church: 1881 City Sunday School Society, later the 61st Street Church: 1863 Merged 1933

Building Constructed: 1931–33 Architect: Ralph Adams Cram

I had never really heard of Christ Church until I saw it listed as a site for this year’s Open House New York (OHNY) weekend. I’m sure I had walked past it before and noted its impressive exterior. But I had no idea what awaited me inside, and its open doors during OHNY seemed the perfect opportunity to check it out.

What greeted me — in addition to two very friendly OHNY volunteers — were the most dazzling mosaics I’ve seen in any house of worship in New York City. Approximately 7 million tesserae, colorful tiles each about ¾ inch (1.9 cm) square, adorn Christ Church’s walls, vaults, arches, and other interior spaces.

A panorama of Christ Church’s main sanctuary from the choir loft.

The cornerstone of Christ Church was laid on 15 November 1931, and the first worship services were held there less than two years later, in 1933. However, the financial struggles of the Great Depression followed by the material shortages of World War II delayed completion of the church’s interior, including its ornate mosaics, until 1949.

Overall, Christ Church’s architecture is a blend of Romanesque and Byzantine. These styles, which originated with Christian churches built before the Great Schism, were chosen under the direction the Rev. Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, the pastor who presided over the construction of the church, and Ralph Adams Cram, the principal architect. A brochure I picked up at the church explained the architecture’s significance: “The catholic (i.e. universal) nature of Christ Church takes flesh and bone in the Romanesque architecture of our worship space, a style which recalls the period when the church was marked by communion, before the divisions between East and West, Catholic and Protestant. A sacred space that evoked the era of universal, united Christianity seems to have been the intention” of the pastor and architect.

The focal point of the main sanctuary is the choir screen, or reredos. At Christ Church, the altar is in front of the screen, though in Eastern Orthodox churches — whose artistic influence is clearly seen in the design here — the screen, called an iconostasis, separates lay congregants in the nave from the altar in the apse. In some Orthodox traditions only the priest may pass the screen; in others, lay people may pass using the side doors, but only the priest can use the center doors. (I had the opportunity to go through the side doors of an iconostasis at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, back in February 2018.)

At the center of the reredos is one of the most historically significant artifacts in the church. According to that brochure, the center doors here, off the ground above the altar, “originated in a Russian Orthodox church, circa 1660. Through accidents of history they found their way into the private collection of czar Nicholas II before being purchased by Christ Church member Juliet Thompson and donated to the church in the mid-1930s.”

On the north side of the main sanctuary is a chapel. Though smaller, it is just as rich in decoration, materials, and symbolism as the larger space.

A panorama looking south from the side chapel toward the main sanctuary at Christ Church.

It is separated from the main sanctuary by an arcade. At the west end of the arcade, in the choir passageway, an icon of Christ looks over a baptismal font of solid stone. The icon, though a fairly recent work, is in the style of icons found in much older Eastern Orthodox churches. The brochure explains, “Jesus wears robes in the style of Byzantine emperors, with the red, an earth color, evoking his humanity, while blue, the heavenly color, symbolizes his divinity. The ornate embroidery of the garment suggests a style characteristic of 16th century Russia. The text Jesus holds in his hands is Matthew 11:28–30. … Notice how Jesus’ fingers, held in the position of blessing, form the Greek I C X C abbreviation [for Jesus Christ].”

A barrel vault arches over the arcade. A blue and gold mosaic in the vault evokes a starry sky, “symbolizing a ‘gossamer veil’ between the heavenly and earthly realms.” Which, it seems, is a fitting description of this entire jewelbox of a church tucked in among the skyscrapers and luxury apartment blocks of Park Avenue, where Midtown meets Lenox Hill in Manhattan.

A jewelbox of a church is tucked in among the skyscrapers and luxury apartment blocks of Park Avenue where Midtown meets Lenox Hill in Manhattan. #52HOWin52weeks Location 524 Park Avenue at East 60th Street Manhattan Faith Christian: Methodist Founded Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church: 1881…

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Exterior from the northwest corner of Broadway and West 155th Street.

The nave.

Timber ceiling with stenciling over the nave.

Arcade over the south aisle and with stained-glass windows in the clerestory above.

Location 550 West 155th Street at Broadway Hamilton Heights, Manhattan

Faith Christian: Episcopal

Founded 1846

Building Constructed: 1912–15 Added to National Register of Historic Places: 1980 Designated New York City Landmark: 1966 Architect: Bertram Goodhue

One of New York City’s best annual events doesn’t cost anything to attend: Open House New York Weekend, which takes place each fall. This year, over 300 sites across the five boroughs were open to the public, and among those were a number of houses of worship. It was a perfect opportunity to continue this project.

The first house of worship I visited was the Church of the Intercession, an Episcopal diocese in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan. The congregation was founded in 1846 while its current home was built between 1912 and 1915. Its designer was Bertram Goodhue, a prolific architect whose work includes two other churches I’ve visited for this project, St. Bartholomew’s Church and St. Thomas Church, as well as the Nebraska State Capitol and the Los Angeles Central Library. It was named a New York City Landmark in 1966 (Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report [PDF]) and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

  Open House New York Weekend in October provided a perfect opportunity to visit more houses of worship, including the Episcopal Church of the Intercession in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan. Location 550 West 155th Street at Broadway Hamilton Heights, Manhattan Faith Christian: Episcopal Founded 1846 Building…

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Now available online: GSE 1999’s student newspaper (with more coming soon)

I have digitized everything related to one of my best experiences in high school: attending the Governor’s School of North Carolina in the summer between my junior and senior years. Up first: the five issues of the student newspaper.

One of the best experiences I had in high school was attending the Governor’s School of North Carolina in summer 1999, between my junior and senior years. Yes, I was the kind of teenager who was happy to spend the bulk of my summer in an educational program, but I was in the best company: that of 400 other really intelligent, insanely creative, and incredibly talented nerds. I attended Governor’s…

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NYC Ferry’s fall 2018 timetables: not rocking the boat

NYC Ferry’s fall 2018 timetables: not rocking the boat

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun.

NYC Ferry’s fall 2018 timetablesgo into effect on Monday 17 September. About one in eight trips across the system is being eliminated in the pared-down seasonal schedule. NYC Ferry will provide 2,074 weekly journeys on the six routes connecting four boroughs. That’s down from the 2,359 trips it provided each week after the launch of the LES–Lower East Side…

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It’s finally back. #WorldTradeCenter #WTC #WTCTransportationHub #WTCOculus #WTCCortlandt #NYC #NYCsubway #NYCTsubway #transit #September11 #September11th #September11th2001 #911 #neverforget #🚇 #🇺🇲 (at World Trade Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnhpoSMAvz7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2psz7zllf8nb