Eugene A. Monick

Monick, Eugene A. , M. Div., Ph. D. December 25, 2007 Eugene A. Monick of Glenburn Pennsylvania died Tuesday of complications from diabetes at Mercy Hospital in Scranton. His wife is the former Barbara Blair Platt. Rev. Monick was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1929. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1951 and the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia in 1954, where he received a Master of Divinity. Rev. Monick was the vicar of the innovative St. Clement's Church in the "Hell's Kitchen" area of Times Square, New York City from 1965 to 1975. As vicar, Rev. Monick became a national figure in the growth of an artistically avant-garde and politically sensitized style of ministry. At the time, St Clement's was known for its association with the American Place Theatre which staged productions in the retrofitted church building. Mass was held on Sundays, frequently on the sets of the current production. Rev. Monick's liturgical style borrowed heavily from theater, modern music and the visual arts to develop "multimedia" techniques of worship and hands-on religious expression. The critically acclaimed "Environmental Eucharist" in 1969 epitomized his dramatic approach to "experiencing" communion. Worshipers were blindfolded and, one by one, guided by hand up flights of stairs, down again, and tossed in the air in order to instill trust in one's guide. They then crawled on their hands and knees over bread crumbs as a sign of "humble access" to the sacrament of the Lord's supper. Some years later Rev. Monick's work on an "Environmental Theatre Baptism Service" garnered national attention for its uniquely theatrical expression. At St Clement's, Rev. Monick was also increasingly active against the war in Vietnam. He served on the defense committee for the Jesuit Priests Daniel and Philip Berrigan who were imprisoned for the destruction of draft records in protest against the war. At various points St. Clement's was the object of hate crimes, including a firebombing, due, it was believed, to its outspoken political views and innovative techniques of worship. During these years Rev. Monick became interested in the psychoanalytic teachings of C. G. Jung. He resigned his ministry at St. Clement's in 1975 to study at the C. G. Jung Institute for Analytical Psychology in Zurich, Switzerland. He graduated in 1977 and entered private practice as a Jungian psychoanalyst. Rev. Monick is the author of a number of leading Jungian texts on the links between masculinity, male aggression and male spirituality. These include Phallos: Sacred Image of the Masculine (1987), Castration and Male Rage (1991), Evil, Sexuality and Disease in Grunewald's Body of Christ (1993), and Potency: Masculine Aggression as a Path to the Soul (2006). He has given numerous lectures and talks on the subject throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He received a doctorate in psychoanalysis from the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1985. He practiced psychoanalysis in New York City and Scranton, Pennsylvania until 2007. A prominent member of the community, Eugene served on a number of boards of directors including the American Place Theatre, the Episcopal Council of Foreign Students in New York, the New York-Harrisburg Defense Committee, Planned Parenthood of Northeast Pennsylvania, WVIA and the Architectural Heritage Association. He was a member of the New York Association for Analytical Psychology and the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. He began his career as a priest as vicar of St. Bartholomew's Church in Bemidji, Minnesota. He then became Executive Secretary of the Committee on College Work for the Episcopal Province of New York and New Jersey. He is survived by his wife, son Stephen Blair Monick of Hong Kong, daughter Katherine Monick Hogarth of London, and brother Bruce Robert Monick of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also survived by his four grandchildren; William Hogarth, Charlotte Hogarth, Alec Hogarth, and Eliot Yang Monick. He is preceded in death by his sister, Nancy Monick Budd. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 29th, 2007 at 11AM in the CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY (Church Hill Road) in Glenburn with services by the Reverend Craig C. Sweeney, which will be preceded by a private burial for the family. A reception will take place following the service. Memorial contributions may be made out to the "Central Park Conservancy", 14 East 60th Street, New York, New York 10022, attn: Stephanie Donley (212) 310-6613. Please indicate that the contribution is to be made "for the endowment of a tree in memory of Rev. Eugene Monick".