FROM THE RECTOR: CANDLES, NO; ASHES NO; PALMS, YES

During announcements at Mass last Sunday, I spoke briefly about challenges for worship presented by the need for all of us to be vigilant about safe distancing. Our bishop has asked us not to impose ashes this year. We will follow his pastoral direction. I also mentioned that we would not be distributing and lighting candles on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple on Tuesday, February 2, and that we couldn't think of a way safely to distribute palms on the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, March 30. But someone else did.

After Mass, parishioner Zachary Roesemann, a professional iconographer, spoke with Father Jay Smith. It had occurred to Zachary that palms could be placed before the service on every seat which could be occupied. Everyone can hold his or her branches up while the celebrant prays the blessing over the palms. Roman Catholics have passed out palms as people arrive since the Missal of Paul VI was published in 1970. Zachary, thank you so much for the grace that palms will bring this year.

At the 12:10 PM Mass on Candlemas, Dr. Hurd will play the service, and Mr. Jonathan May will be the cantor. Father Jay Smith will be celebrant and preacher. Two of the candlesticks from the St. Francis Altar, formerly in St. Joseph's Hall, will be placed by the restored cross for the church roof, now in the nave by the chancel. These will be lit before the service begins and extinguished when the Eucharist is over. The service will be live-streamed on Facebook. Chris Howatt and I are working with three consultant teams on their proposals for St. Mary's. It's very good news that the supply chain for their work has been restored.

It seems likely that we will continue to be open for public worship daily, and that's what we are planning. I know Dr. Hurd has sketched out music for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Day. Last year, our experience with scaling back our rites should help make the task this year a little easier. The greater task for us is not just deciding what is essential to do but getting the service bulletins and altar materials ready for our services.

Last year at this time, Father Jim Pace was still with us. Br. Desmond Alban had not arrived. Br. Damien Joseph and Br. Thomas, as you know, are strong singers. Our music traditions did a lot to help shape our worship during the shutdown. Of course, Dr. David Hurd was not with us, but hymns and simple chanting carried us, as it were, through Holy Week and Easter Day. As I've written before, on Sundays, I miss singing at Mass and Evensong & Benediction. I've been singing at church on Sundays since I was a young boy at Trinity Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia. A year ago, I could not imagine that we would not be singing songs to our God this year—perhaps by Christmas?

Finally, you will read below that Barbara Klett, a longtime and devoted lay leader in this parish, died on January 28, 2021, very early in the morning. I met Barbara in November 1998, when I arrived to meet the board of trustees. I will write more about her next week. She helped me grow in the job I was called to do. I’m thankful she rests in the loving care of her Lord and Savior. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Ivy, Jay, Aston, Burton, Victor, Peter, George, Bob, Glee, Michael, Caryn, Trevor, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, Shalim, John, José, and Abraham, for all who suffer from COVID-19; for James, Curtis, Stephen, 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 Barbara Larsen Klett . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . January 31: 1955 Howell Denniston Essex.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Barbara Larsen Klett, a longtime member of the parish, died at the New Jewish Home Manhattan on Thursday, January 28, after a long illness. Barbara was, for many years, a member of the board of trustees and treasurer of the parish. She volunteered countless hours in the parish office, helping to oversee the parish’s financial affairs. Barbara also volunteered her time at the Science, Business, and Industry Division of the New York Public Library and worked in the office of her husband, the late John Cleveland Klett, Jr., a tax attorney, who died in 2011.

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

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021 . . . Though a new year has begun, we are still eager to receive pledges from our friends and members who have not yet made a financial pledge for 2021. This is especially true since the Budget Committee is meeting this month in order to prepare a budget for the coming year. A reminder about 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; 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 January 26, 2021, we have received $344,139.00 in pledges from 104 households, 86% of our goal. We know that time are tough, and, if making a commitment at this time 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.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, January 31, The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Mass 11:00 AM. The church opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 12:30 PM. The preacher is the Reverend Dr. Peter Ross Powell. The service is played by Dr. David Hurd. He will be joined by cantor, Daniel Castellanos, tenor. This service is live-streamed . . . Monday, February 1, Saint Brigid, Mass 12:10 PM. Brigid is one of the two patrons of Ireland. Saint Patrick is the other . . .  Tuesday, February 2, The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, Mass 12:10 PM. The service will be played by Dr. Hurd and will be live-streamed. The cantor on Candlemas will be Jonathan May, countertenor.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . It makes us very happy to be able to open our doors again for public worship, on weekdays as well as on Sundays. The surge of infections in our city and around the country is concerning. We have committed ourselves to redoubling our efforts to keep every member of the community safe and healthy. If you are at all unwell, do not come to church. If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your primary-care physician and get tested. If you have a fever of 103.5, which is not being handled by an analgesic, and/or you are having difficulty breathing (by difficulty we mean you must stop talking in order to focus on your breathing), go to an emergency room immediately.

LENTEN QUIET DAY . . . On Saturday, March 13, Brother Thomas Steffensen SSF will lead a virtual quiet day via Zoom. The structure of the day is still being worked out, but it is likely that the day will have three parts: a morning session, followed by a break for reflection at midday, and then a second session in the afternoon. Brother Thomas hopes to use the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) as a way of considering our relationship with God and our inherited images of the divine. Stay tuned for further details.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) composed nearly a dozen organ settings of Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, the popular German chorale which paraphrases Gloria in excelsis (“All glory be to God on high”). This chorale had been adorned with organ arrangements before Bach’s time and, in our own day one finds its melody paired with translated and paraphrased text in the hymnals of many denominations. The organ prelude on Sunday is a setting of Allein Gott from Bach’s miscellaneous chorale preludes. It is a bicinium, a piece in two voices. The upper voice is a modestly ornamented version of the chorale melody; the lower voice’s accompaniment clearly outlines the harmonies which support the melody.

The Danish-born Dieterich Buxtehude (1637–1707) has long been recognized as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the generation before Johann Sebastian Bach. His works for organ span the range of styles and forms characteristic of his time and place. Most of Buxtehude’s organ works are thought to date from his earlier years at the Marienkirche in Lübeck where he served as organist from 1668 until his death. His Praeludium in G, played for the postlude today, is an uncharacteristically straightforward Prelude and Fugue. It opens with a brief pedal passage and continues in an improvisation-like manner as an extended introduction to the stately fugue. A brief final coda in free style closes the piece.

The settings for the Mass on Sunday are from Music for the Lord’s Supper by McNeil Robinson (1943–2015). Robinson was an internationally celebrated organist, composer, improvisateur, and teacher. He headed the organ department at the Manhattan School of Music for many years in addition to serving religious institutions. In 1965, while still a student at The Juilliard School, he began long and well-remembered associations with the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and with Park Avenue Synagogue. While he remained organist at Park Avenue Synagogue until retiring in 2012, he left Saint Mary’s in 1982 and subsequently served at Park Avenue Christian Church and at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church before failing health necessitated his retirement. Robinson’s reputation as a virtuoso organist, improviser, and composer became established during his years at Saint Mary’s. Music for the Lord’s Supper, a setting for Rite II Eucharist for unison voices and organ, was published in 1979. Its Kyrie and widely sung Lord’s Prayer are found in The Hymnal 1982. At Mass on Sunday the cantor will sing the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei from this setting. These movements are composed in a conventional style with a fine economy of melodic grace and harmonic interest.

The cantor on Sunday is tenor, Daniel Castellanos. During the Communion he will sing Let all the world in every corner sing, a setting of George Herbert’s Antiphon (I) by the American composer Calvin Hampton (1938–1984). The words come from Herbert’s 1633 collection The Temple: Sacred Poems. Their original page layout suggests Herbert’s intention that they be sung, but no original music setting has been identified. Notably this poem was set by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) as the fifth of his Five Mystical Songs. Although most of Herbert’s poems are too complex in thought and structure for liturgical hymn singing, Antiphon (I) is one of five Herbert hymns in The Hymnal 1982. Between the Episcopal hymnals of 1940 and 1982 alone, Antiphon (I) has been set four times, including the music of Calvin Hampton sung today. Hampton’s setting dates from the early 1970s and is named for his friend, Episcopal priest, Jeffrey MacDougall. It is very much an art-song with lyric melody and continuously flowing accompaniment.

More about Sunday’s cantor: Daniel Santiago Castellanos is a composer, tenor, and pianist based in New Jersey. His piece for mezzo-soprano and piano, Death is nothing at all, won first prize at the 2019 NYC songSLAM competition. Ensembles that have performed his music include the Semiosis Quartet, The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Da Capo Ensemble, and The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. After graduating from Bard College Conservatory of Music in 2018, he will attend Mannes School of Music at the New School to pursue graduate studies in composition in the fall of 2021. Daniel has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since the fall of 2018.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED . . . Our next Drop-by Day will take place on Friday, February 19, 2:003:00 PM in the church and Lady Chapel. We need eight (8) volunteers for the event. (Volunteers work from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. However, doors do not open to guests until 2:00 PM.) If you would like to volunteer or make a donation of cash, clothing, or toiletry articles, please contact Brother Desmond Alban, SSF . . . Saint Mary’s has long provided assistance to our neighbors at the Saint Clement’s Food Pantry, sending cash donations, but also receiving non-perishable food items which were then delivered to the Pantry. The pandemic has made collecting and delivering difficult for a number of reasons. However, since food insecurity has increased in the city—also because of the pandemic—we would like to re-double our efforts in assisting the Saint Clement’s program. Cash donations are gratefully received. Please put Saint Clement’s Food Pantry in the memo line or field when you make your donation, and we thank you.

THE GIFT OF FLOWERS . . . We are hoping to receive donations for Sunday, February 14 (The Last Sunday after the Epiphany), Sunday, March 14 (The Fourth Sunday in Lent), and Palm Sunday (March 28). Donations for flowers at Easter are also very welcome. If you would like to make a donation, please contact Chris Howatt in the parish office. If you are interested in the work of the Flower Guild, please speak to Brendon Hunter, Grace Mudd, Marie Rosseels, or Brother Thomas.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . Please note: all the adult-education classes this year begin at 9:30 AM, NOT at 10:00 AM. They normally conclude at 10:30 AM, allowing those attending the class to serve at the altar or to attend Mass in the nave.

If you would like to attend Brother Damien’s five-week series via Zoom, please send an e-mail to Grace Mudd or to Brother Damien, who will send you a link.

Brother Damien writes, “On Sunday, January 10, we began our five-part introduction to mystical theology in the Western Christian tradition, “Christian Mysticism and the Secret of Knowing God.”. On Sunday, January 31, our focus will be Passio – knowing God in suffering. The cross, suffering, and death of Christ may seem an unlikely ground for a way of contemplation often associated with “raptures” and “ecstasy,” but it is in fact central to the mystical vision. We’ll look at excerpts of Bonaventure’s reflections on the Cross and Passion of Christ and on Francis of Assisi as an example of mystical union with Christ. Finally, on Sunday, February 7, we will discuss Ablatio – the way of negation and unknowing. The pinnacle of experiencing God, according to virtually all of the great mystics, is the entry into a state of unknowing, beyond conceiving or describing. In this session, we’ll use selections from Angela of Foligno’s Memorial to approach the mystical via negativa (“way of negation”) and the compelling, if counter-intuitive idea, of the “darkness of God.” (Please note: Brother Damien Joseph has kindly agreed to extend his series one week. There will be a class on February 7. There will not be a class on Sunday, February 14.

Next Up: Father Peter Powell will resume his series on the Revelation to John, the Christian Bible’s final book, on February 21. (There will be no class on February 14.) Father Powell will teach on all the Sundays of Lent and on Palm Sunday. His classes in the fall on Revelation were extremely interesting. Our current political situation reminds us that certain ways of apocalyptic thinking persist in our society. Reading Revelation together and confronting that text’s beauties and its challenges has many benefits. We invite you to join us.

If you would like to attend Brother Damien’s five-week series via Zoom, please send an e-mail to Grace Mudd or to Brother Damien, who will send you a link.

The class will meet in Saint Joseph’s Hall, with face coverings and social distancing required.

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.

AT THE MUSEUMS . . . International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurs each year on January 27, is a day that commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany between 1941 and 1945. January 27 was chosen since it was on that day in 1945 that the Soviet army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. Now, on January 27, and on the days that follows, the people of the world are asked to remember, and never forget, the slaughter of six million Jews and eleven million others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. It was designated by United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 on November 1, 2005. The resolution came after a special session was held earlier that year on January 24 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust. One way to do this work of remembrance is to visit the website of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, which includes an online curriculum concerning the Holocaust. It is designed for students of all ages here in New York and beyond.

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 mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt and parish volunteer, Clint Best.