FROM THE RECTOR: LATER, OUR FRIEND

On Sunday, May 10, Father Jim Pace will be celebrant and preacher for the live-stream Sung Mass at 10:00 AM and officiant for the live-stream Evening Prayer and Sung Benediction at 5:00 PM. The moving van has taken away the furniture and furnishings that are going to his home in Georgia. On Friday morning, May 15, he will be celebrant and preacher for the 10:00 AM Eucharist. That afternoon he will leave for Georgia to take up his new position on June 1 as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University. I know I speak for many when I say he will be greatly missed as a priest, a teacher, a pastor, and, for many, a great friend.

In The Angelus for Sunday, January 23, 2011, I wrote to introduce Jim to the parish community, “The Reverend James Pace is a priest of the Diocese of Tennessee and has been professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. He has just moved to New York to take a position at the New York University College of Nursing. Father Pace has academic degrees from the University of the South, Florida State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Vanderbilt University. He was ordained priest in 1989. In addition to faculty positions, he has served as chaplain in hospice and in pastoral-care programs at the Vanderbilt Medical Center. He is also a nurse practitioner. Jim was a concelebrant last Sunday at the Solemn Mass—and I confess I forgot to introduce him formally during the announcements. I will not fail to do so this Sunday. A number of people met him at coffee hour last Sunday. Jim has a great love and commitment to his nursing profession, to the priesthood, and to Saint Mary’s. This semester, it looks as if he will be able to assist us on Sundays and sometimes on Saturdays— with the great thanks of Father Smith and myself. Jim is the father of three sons. His partner Quentin Swain is still in Nashville until the end of the academic semester. Please join me in welcoming Father Pace to the parish.”

When I met Jim and Quentin the first time it was for lunch, on a sunny winter day. I love to kid Jim about him telling me that day that he couldn’t sing. At some point pretty early in his ministry here, while sitting next to him in the chancel, I realized he was singing and could sing a Solemn Mass. He is a graceful celebrant. The care he takes in leading worship is the same kind of care he gives as a pastor and friend. We’re going to miss him very much.

Growing up, I knew one member of my great-grandparents’ generation, my grandfather’s aunt, my great-grand-aunt, Teresa Brooks Demarais. She lived all her life in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where my father grew up. She was born in 1896 and died in 1992. Aunt Teresa was very strict about members of the family not saying “Good bye.” It was always, “See you later.” Watching the news reports from Britain of the celebrations for V-E Day, I really liked how the British turned out of doors after the Queen gave an address to the nation to sing “We’ll meet again.” If I may, Jim, I hope we will be able to say “See you later” and “We’ll meet again” many times in the years to come. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Jorge, Margarita, Shalim, Nam, John, Marilouise, Ken, May, Willard, Alexandra, Takeem, and Abraham; for Randy, Barbara Jean, and David, religious; for Ryan, Jim, Gene, Gaylord, Louis, and Edgar, priests; for Charles, bishop; for all nurses and doctors, for all those who work for the common good; for all the members, benefactors and friends of this parish; and for the repose of the soul of James Malone Coleman, bishop.

GRANT THEM PEACE: May 10: 1873 William Clark Pancoast; 1898 Mary Elizabeth Leute, William Husenetter Kies; 1926 John D. M. Priest; 1948 Florence Webb; 1957 Rhea McKee Scott; 1959 Everett Bertram Bosshard, priest; 1994 James Barth.

WE NEED YOUR HELP . . . We closed our doors on the morning of Sunday, March 15. Since that time life has changed radically here at Saint Mary’s, as it has for all the friends and members of our parish community. Those of you who are reading this newsletter are surely facing challenges of which we do not yet know and perhaps cannot imagine. We know this. The world as we knew it on March 1, or even on March 15, has changed and we are not yet sure of the implications of all those changes. Nonetheless, Saint Mary’s still has many needs. That has not changed. Bills must be paid. The building complex must be attended to. Opportunities for worship and pastoral care must be provided. Planning for the future continues. Many of us are “sheltering in place,” but this is not a holiday or a hiatus for any of us. Practical matters must be attended to. That is why we urge the local and the wider parish community to continue their support of Saint Mary’s. If you have made a pledge for 2020, please continue to make payments on your pledge, if possible. If you have not yet made a pledge for 2020, we urge you to do so. If you are able to make an additional donation to support the parish at this time, we would happily receive it. Donations may be made online via the Giving section of the parish website. You may also make arrangements for other forms of payment by contacting our parish administrator, Christopher Howatt, who would be happy to assist you. We are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously. —Stewardship Committee

AROUND THE PARISH . . . The movers arrived early this past Monday in order to take away the contents of the fifth-floor apartment in the Parish House. As the readers of this newsletter will know, Father Pace is leaving Saint Mary’s and will soon take up a new position as dean of the college of nursing and health sciences at Valdosta State University in southern Georgia, and he has been hard at work packing boxes in recent weeks. The movers had been warned ahead of time that there was no elevator in the Parish House, and so they came prepared. Still, it was a long, hard day, and a sad one for Father Pace’s neighbors and colleagues. He will celebrate the Eucharist for the final time as assistant on Friday, May 15, at 10:00 AM. We wish Jim Godspeed, much happiness, and great fulfillment in his new position. We look forward to seeing him in Georgia and, before too long, we hope, back here in Times Square . . . Longtime parishioner Bill Poston died on Thursday, April 2. His friend and fellow parishioner, Clint Best, has been helping Bill’s executor, Francis Polizio, deal with the contents of Bill’s apartment. Next week, they will be bringing many of Bill’s clothes to Saint Mary’s for use in our clothing ministry. Clint tells us that there are also some kitchen utensils, dishes, and pots and pans that are in good condition that are available for those who would find them useful. For more information, please contact Clint in the parish office.

FROM THE FRIARY . . . Brother Damien Joseph SSF and Brother Thomas SSF, along with some of their brothers in California, have been posting meditations and reflections on the current crisis on the website of the Society of Saint Francis in recent weeks. Brother Damien posted a new reflection this week entitled “Yes, This Is the Apocalypse (and why that's not such a bad thing...).” We commend it to you.

DEVOTIONS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN IN THE MONTH OF MAY . . . The reasons for the dedication of the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the West are obscure. King Alfonso X of Leon, Castile, and Galicia (1252–84) wrote a set of poems in Galician entitled the Cantigas de Santa Maria which speak of honoring Mary on specific dates during the month of May. The consolidation of such devotions evolved over time and especially between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries, first in Italy, then in Belgium and France, and, finally, throughout the Roman Catholic world. Here at Saint Mary’s we have traditionally honored our patroness with prayers at the Lady Shrine at the end of Mass on the first Sunday of May. This year, Mass in the Lady Chapel will conclude with the singing of the hymn, Ye who claim the faith of Jesus (Tune: Julion, composed by Dr. David Hurd), followed by prayers at the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. On April 29, 1965, Pope Paul VI issued his encyclical Mense Maio in which he wrote, “It has been a favorite custom of our predecessors to choose [the month of May], dedicated to Mary, for urging the Christian people to offer up public prayers whenever the needs of the Church demanded it or some grave crisis threatened the human race.” He then asked for prayers for peace. Perhaps this year, we might turn to Our Lady and ask her to intercede on our behalf for peace, for the health and safety of all the world’s people, and for the repose of the souls of all those who have died of COVID-19.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Dr. David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary’s has been sharing with the parish community a series of articles entitled “Music Listening for the Easter Season.” The fifth part of the series is now on our website.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Father Peter Powell recently concluded his online study of passages in the books of the so-called “twelve prophets” of the Old Testament. He has kindly agreed to continue his online bible study, focusing first on the Book of Exodus. He writes, “My Exodus papers will begin a study of the Book of Exodus. You will remember that Martin Luther King used the Exodus event to understand the Civil Rights movement. I believe that Exodus continues to have much to teach us about how God works in the world today and how God continues to care for the powerless. Among many other things Exodus shows how deeply God wants a relationship with us. We have been taught that God is omniscient, but Exodus reveals that God’s actions are influenced by Moses’s intercession with him. Frequently in Exodus Moses reminds God that God’s reputation is linked to the people he has brought out of Egypt. If God wants the world to know that YHWH is Lord of all creation then God is bound to his people and cannot destroy them despite their stiff-necked behavior and their outright apostasy (e.g., the Golden Calf). Moses provides us with a model on how to relate to God and the assurance that God desires to relate to us. We will explore the stories of Exodus to better understand the importance of worship, faith, and prayer.”

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . For the foreseeable future, the resident clergy and the friars will continue to celebrate the Eucharist every day at 10:00 AM in the Lady Chapel. On Saturdays and Sundays, we gather for Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM, and on weekdays at 6:00 PM. The daily 10:00 AM Mass and Sunday Evening Prayer & Sung Benediction at 5:00 PM are live-streamed on the parish’s Facebook page. The videos are then posted on the Saint Mary’s website here . . . Sunday, May 10, Fifth Sunday of Easter, Mass and Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary10:00 AM in the Lady Chapel and Evening Prayer and Eucharistic Benediction 5:00 PM. The readings at Mass are 1 Peter 2:1–10; Psalm 66:1–8; John 14:1–14. At the center of Sunday’s gospel are Thomas’s words, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” and Jesus’ response. Father Pace presides and preaches at the 10:00 AM Mass on Sunday. Evening Prayer and Eucharistic Benediction at 5:00 PM. Both services are live-streamed and then archived on the parish website.

LIFE IN TIMES SQUARE . . . Encore Community Services provides care and service to the elderly of the Clinton/Times Square/Midtown communities. Although seated meals and group classes have been suspended due to the risk that COVID-19 poses to older adults, Encore remains open for take-out lunch and home delivered meal service. During this unprecedented health crisis, Encore remains dedicated to its promise of helping seniors and making sure our vulnerable homebound neighbors receive the lifesaving meals they rely on. You can donate to them using this link, or email Jennifer Asquino to volunteer to help deliver meals, Monday through Saturday.

FROM THE MISSION HOUSE STUDIO . . . Our resident iconographer, Zachary Roesemann, recently told us of an icon now in a gallery in London that is of particular interest during this pandemic. The icon was painted in the early nineteenth century and is in what Zach has described as “the distinctive Lebanese style.” It was probably painted by a Melkite (Greek Catholic) iconographer. The image is of the Blessed Virgin nursing the Child Jesus. The icon has inscriptions in Greek and Arabic. One of those inscriptions reads, “Star of Heaven, please save us from the epidemic. Please answer our prayers, because your Son hears you and he will not hold back anything from us. Our Lord Jesus, set us free from death, because your pure Virgin Mother hears our prayers, and for the sake of your Mother help us. For our sake, you pure Virgin, the hand of Jesus, you are the saint and the Mother of God.” The owner of the Temple Gallery has kindly granted us permission to quote the prayer. The icon may be viewed here.

SPREADING THE WORD . . . Since Saint Mary’s is not exactly a neighborhood parish, we often depend on Sunday Coffee Hour as our way to catch up and hear what’s going on in each other’s lives. Since coffee hour is out, we must rely on other means of communication. If you have some news—a celebration or a challenge—that you would like to share with your fellow parishioners, please let us know. We’d be glad to share your news in the “Around the Parish” section of this newsletter. Notices may be sent by e-mail to Father Jay Smith.

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