FROM THE RECTOR: BAPTISM AND WORSHIP

It’s worth remembering that the first American Prayer Book (1789) altered the wording of the Lord’s Prayer: “which art” became “who art” and “the Kingdom, the Power” became “the kingdom, and the power.” What is significant is the recognition by the post-Revolution church that the spoken English of the country was different from that of England. That said, it would not be until 1892 that the American church found its way to revising its Prayer Book.

One of the most useful books in my library is by the Rev. Dr. Lesley Armstrong Northup, a priest of the diocese of New York. Its title is The 1892 Book of Common Prayer (1993). Northup was the first woman priest to serve as a chaplain in the United States Naval Reserve. Her principal career has been as an academic. She is a professor of religious studies and a dean at Florida International University, Miami. A conversation with the late liturgical scholar Marion J. Hatchett (1927–2009) inspired her research on the 1892 Prayer Book. I quote the concluding sentence of the book’s introduction, “The significance of the 1892 revision lies not so much in the magnitude of its changes, but in the fact that it happened at all, in its impact on future revisionary work, and in the story of how it came to be” (page 5).

The 1928 Prayer Book would leave a lot unchanged, but some important changes were made. Top of my list: the Lord’s Prayer was restored to its historic position as the conclusion of the prayer of consecration—it had languished since 1552 as the first of two prayers after communion. (Another example of clericalism in worship?) We found a way to pray for the departed (“And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to grant them continual growth in thy love and service” (pages 74–75). The word “obey” was omitted in the vow made by a woman in Holy Matrimony. And the lectionary of the church began to be reworked. In previous Prayer Books, the gospel on the Sunday after the Epiphany was the story of the boy Jesus at Jerusalem (Luke 2:41–52). In 1928, a change came with the next Sunday. It had been the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1–11). This was shifted to the following Sunday so that another primary Epiphany gospel could be read: the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:1–11). I wouldn’t be surprised that preaching on baptism, in the decades after the 1928 book was adopted, helped prepare the way for a larger understanding of the place of Holy Baptism that would come with the 1979 Prayer Book. With the 1979 book, the First Sunday after the Epiphany has a secondary title: “The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

At baptisms, we pour more water into our font than it really holds—the overflow is fun, but it also says that we’re not stingy when it comes to sacramental signs and symbols at Saint Mary’s. “Baptism” means “washing, bathing.” If Thomas McKee Brown, our founding rector (1841–1898; rector 1870–1898), were building Saint Mary’s church home today, I suspect that the baptistery would be as impressive as our high altar. I think it would be large enough for real washing, real bathing, the New Testament sign of new birth. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Marilouise, MaryHope, Gretchen, Stephanie, Sharon, John, Renée, Luis, Margaret, Murray, William, Gloria, Mel, Richard, Carlos, Ken, May, Willard, Alexandra, Karen, Takeem, Michael, Rita, Ivy, Pearl, and Dennis; for Jon, deacon; for Horace, Gene, Gaylord, Louis, and Edgar, priests; for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Edward; for all the benefactors and friends of this parish; and for James Parks Morton, priest . . . GRANT THEM PEACE: January 12: 1882 Susan McLaughlin; 1899 Charles Parsons; 1912 Margaret E. Culbertson; 1937 Harry Wildner; 1949 Clara Maud King; 1953 Loretta M. Adger; 1955 Lena Lloyd; 1975 Clarissa Pierson Jacocks.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . The Very Rev. James Parks Morton, VII Dean of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine (1972–1996) and founder of the Interfaith Center of New York, died at his home here in Manhattan on Saturday, January 5, 2020. He was eighty-nine years old. His funeral will take place at the Cathedral on Saturday, January 11, 2020, at 6:00 PM. Please keep James, his wife, Pamela, their daughters, their friends and family, and the cathedral community in your prayers.

THE ORDINARY FRIDAYS OF THE YEAR are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial in commemoration of the Lord’s crucifixion. This devotion returns on Friday, January 10, 2020, the first Friday after the Epiphany.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2019–2020 . . . Our stewardship campaign has been underway since late October, but pledge cards continue to arrive the mail. As of December 30, we have received $292,009 in pledges from 84 households, 69% of our goal of $425,000. We still have a ways to go. We encourage all the friends and members of the parish to return their pledge as soon as possible. This will help the Budget Committee in its work. However, if making a commitment by that date is not possible, we will gladly receive pledge cards at any point during the coming year. Our needs are urgent. Our mission is clear. We invite your support. Please speak to the members of the Stewardship Committee—Maryjane Boland, Steven Heffner, or Marie Rosseels, chair—if you have questions.

A MESSAGE FROM THE BISHOP OF NEW YORK . . . On Tuesday, January 7, 2020, Bishop Dietsche issued a pastoral letter to the clergy and people of the diocese of New York expressing his “outrage and sorrow for the rapidly escalating pattern of anti-Semitic violence across America and in this our own New York.” The letter may be read in its entirety on the diocesan website.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . On Thursday afternoon, Brother Damien Joseph SSF rented a van and drove to Thirty-first Street to pick up around fifty boxes and bags containing cold-weather coats and jackets for use in our Clothing Ministry. Waiting for him to make his way bravely through Manhattan traffic were MaryJane Boland, Harka Gurung, Nam Rattan, Marie Rosseels, Jorge Trujillo, and Father Jay Smith. They moved the coats quickly to the undercroft. More information about this ministry is available below in the Outreach section of the newsletter. We are grateful to New York Cares, the people of New York, who donated the coats, and to all of our volunteers and donors for making this ministry possible . . . Copies of the 2020 calendar will be on sale during Coffee Hour on Sunday, January 5 . . . Flowers are needed for Sunday, January 19 and 26; and February 9, 16, and 23. Please be in touch with Chris Howatt in the parish office if you would like to make a donation for one of these dates . . . Father Matthew Jacobson is away from the parish. He returns the week of January 19. Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish on vacation between January 17 and January 26 . . . Attendance at all Offices and Masses: Last Sunday 196; Epiphany 131.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, January 12, 2020, The First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord, Sung Matins 8:30 AM; Mass 9:00 & 10:00 AM; Adult Education 10:00 AM; Solemn Mass 11:00 AM, Solemn Evensong and Benediction 5:00 PM. . . . Wednesday, January 15, Sung Mass 12:10 PM . . . Wednesday, January 15, Bible Study Class 6:30 PM in Saint Benedict’s Study . . . Thursday, January 16, Mass with Healing Service 12:10 PM . . . Friday, January 17, Centering Prayer Group 6:30 PM in the Morning Room.

OUTREACH AT SAINT MARY’S . . . This week we picked up over 200 winter coats from the New York Cares coat drive. They’ll be put to good use, beginning at our next Drop-in Day on Wednesday, January 15, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, in the Mission House basement, and in the former Gift Shop. Please contact Brother Damien if you would like to donate cash, clothing, or toiletry articles for this ministry . . . Would you like to volunteer for Drop-in, but can’t get away for two hours mid-day? Consider being with us for an hour or half hour between 2:00 and 3:00 PM. The beginning of the event is especially busy, and we can use extra hands to help, even if you can’t stay until 4:00 . . . One of our greatest donations needs currently is for adult shoes in various sizes and styles. Shoes are an infrequent donation and are in constant demand . . . We continue to receive donations of canned goods and other nonperishable food items for the Saint Clement’s Food Pantry. Donations may be placed in the basket next to the Ushers’ Table at the Forty-sixth Street entrance to the church. —Br. Damien Joseph SSF

ABOUT THE MUSIC ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 . . . The choral setting of the Mass on Sunday morning is Mass in the Dorian Mode by Herbert Howells (1892–1983). This posthumously published work of Howells was his first to receive a professional London performance when it was sung at Mass in Westminster Cathedral in November 1912 under the direction of Sir Richard Terry, just six months after Howells became a student at the Royal College of Music. Over the next four years Howells composed several more pieces in Latin for the liturgy at Westminster Cathedral, all of which soon slipped into obscurity, and none of which were published in his lifetime. Fortunately, these remarkable earlier pieces subsequently have been published and are taking their place along with Howells’ many later beloved settings for Anglican services. Howells’ Dorian Mass is clearly a product of the resurgence of renaissance polyphony which the papal Motu Proprio of 1903 had encouraged, and which Dr. Terry’s work at Westminster Cathedral had anticipated. Almost a decade later, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor (1921) would similarly reflect the inspiration and influence of renaissance church music in early twentieth century England.

The Communion motet on Sunday is a setting of the collect for the First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord. It was composed by David Hurd, organist and music director at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, as one of several works commissioned for the 1985 Mississippi Conference on Church Music and Liturgy. The conference that year recognized that the Baptism of Our Lord had recently been given increased prominence in the liturgical calendar of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and that new choral works were desired that it might be more richly observed. Father in heaven follows in the long tradition of prayers from the Book of Common Prayer being set for choral singing. In this case, the setting is for unaccompanied mixed voices in voicing ranging from four to six parts. The musical character of the prayer’s opening address returns for its concluding doxology while the actual petition at its center is cast in a more reflective tone. 

The organ prelude is an extended setting from the third part of J. S. Bach’s Clavierübung. It is based upon the traditional melody for Martin Luther’s text on the baptism of our Lord, translated “Christ, our Lord, to the Jordan came” (cf. The Hymnal 1982, # 139). The melody is played on the pedals of the organ, sounding in the alto register, against the running scale-wise motion of the left hand which suggests the flowing of the Jordan River. The right hand, in the meanwhile, provides additional rhythmic and harmonic texture. Sunday’s postlude is also a work of J. S. Bach. His Fantasia in C minor (the same key as today’s prelude) may well have been modeled after the five-part fugues of Nicolas de Grigny (1672–1703). Its rich ornamentation, close imitation, and harmonic plan seem to combine features of the French, German and Italian schools of Bach’s time. The Fantasia begins as an extended tonic pedal-point with four imitative voices entering one at a time above it. After arriving at a cadence on the dominant, a section follows which is similar to the first except that it is based upon a dominant pedal. From this half-way point forward, the pedal becomes a more active member of the counterpoint and the pace of harmonic activity quickens as the music gradually winds its way back to a final tonic pedal. It is possible that a fugue was meant to follow this Fantasia, and a fragment of such a work exists. —David Hurd

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . Beginning this coming Sunday, January 12, and for the next two Sundays, January 19 and 26, Father Jim Pace will lead the Adult Forum in a discussion of healing ministry, hospice ministry, and end-of-life care. Father Pace is the senior associate dean for academic programs at the New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, where he holds the rank of clinical professor . . . On the four Sundays in February, Father Jay Smith will lead the Adult Forum in a discussion of the various meanings of Jesus’ death on the cross. Using images of the Crucifixion, the class will study how Jesus’ death was understood, from very early on, as having been “for us,” and how that understanding both evolved and changed over time . . . The Wednesday Night Bible Study Class meets next on January 15 at 6:30 PM in Saint Benedict’s Study. This term the class is reading Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.  The class is led by Father Jay Smith.

COMING UP . . . Saturday, January 18, The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle, Mass 12:10 PM. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Begins . . . Saturday, January 25, The Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Sunday, February 2, The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple . . . Monday, February 17, Washington’s Birthday (Presidents’ Day) . . . February 26, Ash Wednesday.

AWAY FROM THE PARISH . . . On Saturday, February 1, the parish of Calvary-Saint George’s (at Calvary Church) will host a “Samuel Shoemaker Day.” The day will include presentations, an open-step meeting, a twelve-step Eucharist, and a lunch. It is open to everyone who wants to learn more about AA and its deeply Christian roots. Calvary Church is located at 277 Park Avenue South in Manhattan. The Reverend Dr. Samuel Moor Shoemaker (1893–1963) was Calvary’s rector from 1925 to 1952. He is remembered as a co-founder and spiritual leader of Alcoholics Anonymous. Father Shoemaker is commemorated in some parishes of the Episcopal Church on January 31.

AT THE GALLERIES . . . At the Metropolitan Museum Fifth Avenue, Eighty-second Street and Fifth Avenue, The Conversion of Saint Paul (1509) by Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, c. 1494–1533).  Engraving. From the museum website, “In a tiny vignette in the left background, Lucas depicted the dramatic moment when Saul of Tarsus (Saint Paul), on a journey to Damascus to arrest the followers of Christ, is confronted by God, who strikes him blind. In this extraordinary print, the artist chose to focus on a less traditional but more emotionally poignant and human aspect of the story. Saul, now blind, is shown in the foreground, his head bowed as he continues on his way to Damascus, helplessly leaning against his companions for guidance. The busy horizontal procession, in front of a peculiar rocky outcropping and under a partially defined sky, full of exotic gesticulating figures who animatedly discuss the event, indicates Lucas' familiarity with Martin Schongauer's engraving Christ Carrying the Cross. Yet, in contrast to Schongauer's work of about three decades earlier, Lucas invites viewers into the composition rather than confronting them with it. In addition, his style is marked by a shallow engraving line, which, when printed, produces an overall soft, atmospheric, and flowing tone.”

CLICK HERE for this week’s schedule.

CLICK HERE for the full parish calendar.