FROM THE RECTOR: A KING WHO WEEPS

The shortest sentence in the New Testament is in John’s account of the Raising of Lazarus. When Jesus sees the tomb where his friend was buried, the evangelist writes, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). (It’s a three-word sentence in the Greek New Testament, and I suspect it’s still the shortest sentence in that language, too.) I was celebrant and preacher for the Daily Eucharist on Thursday, November 19, 2020. The appointed gospel was from Luke. It includes the only other occasion of Jesus weeping in the New Testament. Compassion is one of the Lord’s virtues.

For whatever reason, the Weekday Lectionary omits the passage that set the stage for the day’s lesson. Jesus’ disciples have been sent and have found a “young ass” on which Jesus will ride into Jerusalem. The evangelist says, “As [Jesus] was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ ” (Luke 19:37–38). The late New Testament scholar François Bovon called this “The Royal Procession” (Luke 3: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [2012], 3–12). The appointed lesson begins, “And when [Jesus] drew near and saw the city he wept over it, ‘Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes’ ” (Luke 19:41–42).

The word “compassion” occurs in two parables in Luke: it’s what the Good Samaritan feels for the man who was robbed and beaten (10:29–37) and what the father feels for the prodigal son who returns home (15:11–32). In Matthew, it occurs in the parable of the unmerciful debtor, the slave/servant whose master had compassion on him, but who had no compassion on the one who owed him money (18:23–35).

I first encountered Bowen Family Systems Theory therapist Rabbi Edwin Friedman (1932–1996) at a conference of the National Association of Episcopal Schools when I was a curate in Baton Rouge, along with my rector, then-Father Charles Jenkins, who would serve as bishop of Louisiana from 1998 until 2010. (Both of us continue to work with this theory.)

Friedman looked at the role of the leader in family, synagogue, church, and society in new ways. It was from Ed that I first heard about the particular meaning of the word “compassion.” Compassion is an old word. It’s from a Latin word, compassio. Its means to have sympathy and pity for another. My late stepfather’s Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1949) defines compassion as “sorrow or pity excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pitiable” (page 168). Its meaning is distinct from a word that has come into everyday use since it first appeared in print in English in 1912: empathy.

The Oxford English Dictionary Supplement (1971) gives this definition for that word: “The power of entering into the experience of or understanding objects or emotions outside of ourselves” (page 329). I think we are on firmer ground when we cultivate compassion rather than imagining we can actually feel what someone else is truly feeling. Compassion invites us to act and not be constrained by whatever feelings we may have, when we meet a situation that calls for gentle words, respectful silence, or an act of charity. Since the adoption of the 1979 Prayer Book, the Last Sunday after Pentecost celebrates Christ the King. This year the gospel lesson for Sunday is “The Great Judgment” (Matthew 25:31–46). May Christ’s compassion for us encourage us not to hide from opportunities to act with compassion for those in need. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Nan, Renate, César, Nadia, Barbara, Gladys, Matt, Carmen, Shalim, Brice, Margaret, John, Marilouise, Ethelyn, Dennis, Abraham, Emil, Robert, and Burton; for all who suffer from COVID-19; for Thomas, Damien, and Desmond, religious, for Michael, Gaylord, and Louis, priests, and Charles, bishop, for all those who work for the common good, for all the members and friends of this parish; and for the repose of the soul of Michael A. Cooper. . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . November 22: 1901 Laura Janes; 1932 Gulian Crommellin Verplanck Richards; 1946 Amelia Stout Slavin; 1960 Marion Eppley.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Michael A. Cooper died here in New York on November 16, 2020, due to the effects of COVID-19. He was eighty-four years old. Mr. Cooper was a prominent lawyer here in the city. He was the husband of Professor Nan Rothschild of Columbia University, who is herself recovering from the effects of COVID-19. Professor Rothschild guided the dissertation of Father Matthew Jacobson’s wife, Professor Meredith Linn. Please keep Michael, Nan, their family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021 . . . Our stewardship campaign is well underway, and we are receiving pledge cards each day here at the parish. Some statistics may be helpful. We mailed packets to 117 households that pledged last year; to 47 households that did not pledge last year, but did pledge at some point during the previous four years households; and to 698 households that have expressed an interest in supporting the parish in the past. Our goal for the campaign is $400,000. As of November 10, we have received $192,716.00 in pledges from 54 households, 48.2% of our goal. This is a decent start, but we still have a ways to go. We encourage all the friends and members of the parish to return their pledge cards on Sunday, November 22, the Last Sunday after Pentecost and our Commitment Sunday. 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, especially in these days of the pandemic. Our mission is clear. We invite your support.

THE ORDINARY FRIDAYS OF THE YEAR are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial in commemoration of the Lord’s crucifixion.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, November 22, The Last Sunday after Pentecost, Adult Education 9:30 AM; Mass 11:00 AM. The church opens at 10:00 AM and closes at 12:30 PM. The preacher is the Reverend Jay Smith. The service is played by Dr. David Hurd. He will be joined by cantor, Christopher Howatt, tenor. This service is live-streamed . . . Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving Day . . . Sunday, November 29, The First Sunday of Advent and Commitment Sunday . . . Monday, November 30, Saint Andrew the Apostle . . . Monday through Saturday, the church opens at 11:00 AM and closes at 2:00 PM. Mass is celebrated daily at 12:10 PM. Please see the Calendar of the Week below, and on the website, for this week’s commemorations.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . A Reminder about the Parish Office: Our office manager, Chris Howatt, continues to work only three days per week, normally Tuesday–Thursday. You may always leave a message for him on the office’s voicemail (212-869-5830 x 10). For pastoral emergencies, please contact Father Gerth or Father Smith by e-mail or on their landlines . . . Friday, November 27, Clothing Ministry Set-up, 10:00–11:00 AM, Saint Joseph’s Hall and Lady Chapel: 2:00–3:00 PM, Clothing Ministry Drop-by, The Lady Chapel. If you would like to volunteer for this ministry, please contact Brother Desmond Alban SSF.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The Sunday organ preludes during the month of November have all been settings of the great Latin hymn Te Deum laudamus (“We praise thee, O God”). On Sunday, the Last Sunday after Pentecost, the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday before Advent takes us into a new liturgical year will be no different. The prelude on Sunday is Te Deum by Max Reger (1873–1916). Reger’s Opus 59, of which Te Deum is the last of twelve pieces, was composed in 1901. Most of the pieces of Opus 59 have general descriptive titles. Te Deum is one of three, however, which have liturgically related titles, the other two being Gloria in excelsis and Benedictus. Te Deum begins boldly with a unison statement of the first phrase of the Gregorian melody. Rich harmony then begins to surround this melodic fragment as it recurs three times in the development of the opening fantasia section. A brief section of imitative writing follows. It is followed by a build-up of entries of the Gregorian theme, beginning in the pedal, which drive inexorably and with increasing intensity to the conclusion of the piece.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is Mass VI as found in the Liber Usualis (“Usual Book”), a comprehensive anthology of medieval Roman plainsong compiled in the nineteenth century by the monks of Solesmes, France. Like the several other numbered Masses of the Gregorian Missal, Mass VI (In Festis Duplicibus, 3) is a collection of chants for the Ordinary of the Mass which likely were originally independent pieces brought together and associated with one another by later custom. This particular combination was traditionally sung on certain feast days in the Roman calendar. The Gloria of Mass VI is in Mode 8 and dates from the tenth century. The Agnus Dei, also in Mode 8, dates from the eleventh century. The Sanctus also dates from the eleventh century and is in Mode 3.

The cantor on Sunday is tenor, Chris Howatt. During the Communion he will sing Be thou my vision by Bob Chilcott (b. 1955). Bob Chilcott has had a long and deep involvement in choral music. He was a chorister and choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. He also was a member of The King’s Singers for twelve years. Much of his work is for young singers, and he has conducted choral festivals worldwide. He is Principal Guest Conductor of The BBC Singers and in 2019 he was appointed Principal Conductor of Birmingham University Singers. The text of Chilcott’s Be thou my vision has its source in eighth-century Celtic monastic spirituality. Translated by Mary Byrne (1880–1931) and versified by Eleanor Hull (1860–1935), stanzas of this text have become quite dear to singing congregations, usually sung to the Irish ballad melody Slane. Chilcott’s original setting, which exists both in solo voice and choral forms, presents this venerable prayer text both gracefully and attractively.  —David Hurd

AN ONLINE CONCERT . . . Our good friends, the Community of Saint John Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey, are presenting an online concert, Music on a Sunday Afternoon, to benefit its Capital Campaign. The Adelphi Chamber Orchestra will play the concert, performing Mozart’s Quartet for Strings, No. 17, in B-flat Major, K. 458 (“The Hunt”) and Dvořák’s Quartet for Strings, No. 12, in F Major, Op. 96/B 179 (“American”). The Quartet will play the concert in the main chapel at the Mendham coven and the concert will be live-streamed on YouTube to an entirely virtual audience. This will be the first event in the Chapel, with its fine acoustics, since the beginning of the pandemic. More information is available on the Community’s website. Tickets are $25.00 and may be purchased online at Eventbrite. The link is here.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . Please note: all the adult-education classes this year begin at 9:30 AM, NOT at 10:00 AM. On November 29 and on December 6 and 13, Father Peter Powell will lead a class on the final book in the Christian Bible, the Revelation to John. (The second half of this series will resume during Lent 2021.)

Up Next: In January, after the Christmas break, Brother Damien Joseph SSF will lead the Sunday morning adult-education class in a discussion of Christian mysticism, focusing on four different figures from the Western Christian mystical tradition.

For all these classes, seating in Saint Joseph’s Hall will be arranged to maximize social-distancing. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide refreshments. All those attending the class must wear a face covering.

FROM THE FRIARY . . . Brother James Nathaniel SSF recently posted a new meditation on the website of the Society of Saint Francis. In this essay, James Nathaniel discusses Pope Francis’s recent encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, which means something like “brothers and sisters all,” a phrase taken from one of the writings of Saint Francis of Assisi. The English version of the encyclical may be read here.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Tuesday, December 8, The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the 150th Anniversary of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mass 12:10 PM. This Mass will be live-streamed . . . Monday, December 21, Saint Thomas the Apostle, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Thursday, December 24, Eve of The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The sun will set on Christmas Eve at 4:34 PM. Christmas Music & The Holy Eucharist 4:00 PM. The Mass itself will begin at 4:10 PM and conclude by 5:10 PM . . . Friday, December 25, The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Christmas Day. The church will be open today from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Mass & Angelus 11:00 AM.

SAINT MARY’S ONLINE CENTERING PRAYER GROUP . . . The Saint Mary’s Centering Prayer Group continues to meet! The Group meets online, via Zoom, every Friday evening at 7:00 PM. If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail to this address. The convenors of the group will then send the link to the Zoom meeting.

AT THE GALLERIES . . . At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at Eighty-second Street, The New British Galleries. Many New Yorkers have been watching season 4 of The Crown on Netflix, a series that provides a dramatization of certain events in the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The latest season of this controversial series takes things up to around the year 1990. This is not documentary, and clearly a good deal of dramatic license has been taken here. However, if the series has whet your appetite for all things British, a trip to the Met may be in order. From the museum website, “The re-opening of The Met’s British Galleries is one of the highlights of the Museum’s 150th anniversary—11,000 square feet devoted to British decorative arts, design, and sculpture created between 1500 and 1900. The reimagined suite of ten galleries provide a fresh perspective on the period, focusing on its bold, entrepreneurial spirit and complex history. The British Galleries exhibit almost seven hundred works of art, including a large number of new acquisitions, particularly objects made in the nineteenth century that were purchased with this project in mind. A prominent new entrance provides direct access from The Met's medieval galleries, creating a seamless transition from the Middle Ages into the Tudor Renaissance. A seventeenth-century staircase with exquisite naturalistic carvings—brought to The Met in the 1930s from Cassiobury House, a now-lost manor house—has been meticulously conserved and re-erected like an enormous jigsaw puzzle. Three magnificent historic interiors from Kirtlington Park, Croome Court, and Lansdowne House have been transformed by painstaking restoration and new lighting, and remain at the heart of the galleries. The visual exuberance of the eighteenth century is explored through one hundred English teapots displayed in two twelve-foot-tall semi-circular cases, as well as a huge ‘retail case’ containing an array of enameled candlesticks, silver toys, nécessaires, and gold boxes.” The galleries opened on March 2, 2020, and the exhibition is ongoing.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR ATTENDING SERVICES AT SAINT MARY’S

We are now open for public worship. In order to ensure the health and safety of all, we have instituted the following procedures and guidelines:

-The 47th Street Doors, though open for ventilation, won’t be used for entry into the church. Entry is only via 46th Street. Exit only through the most western 46th Street door (near the former gift shop).

-The Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy and Saint Joseph’s Chapel are closed. The Lady Chapel is open, but all chairs, kneelers, candles, hymnals, and Prayer Books have been removed.

-Facemasks must be worn in the church at all times, except when consuming Communion. Masks should cover both mouth and nose.

-Hands-free sanitizer dispensers are available by the doors and at the head of the center aisle, where Communion will take place.

-The city, state, and diocese of New York encourages all those attending services to sign a registry and to provide one means of contact. This will be used only if it emerges that an infected person has been in attendance at a particular service and contact tracing is required.-Everyone must maintain safe distancing (at least 6 feet apart).

-Pews have been marked with blue tape to indicate where seating is allowed.

-Only 44 people will be allowed in the nave at any time (this includes 6 couples or pairs—people who live together—who may sit together).

-All cushions have been removed from the pews. All prayer books and hymnals have been removed from the church. Service bulletins will be provided, but will be removed from the church after each service.

-Electric fans have been removed from the nave of the church. There will be no hand-held fans available at the door.

-A basket has been placed at the head of the main aisle, where pledge envelopes and other donations may be safely placed. There will be no collection taken by ushers.

-Communion (wafers only) will be administered at the foot of the chancel steps. Gluten-free hosts are available. Please inform an usher or a member of the clergy.

-All communicants must proceed down the main aisle, maintain social distance as indicated by the decals on the floor, and return to their seats via the side aisles.

-Restrooms will be available only to those who are attending the service.

If you have questions or wish to make a suggestion, please contact the rector. 

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Stephen Gerth and Father Jay Smith. Father Gerth is responsible for posting the newsletter on the parish website and for distributing it via e-mail.

The Calendar of the Week

The November 2020 Calendar