FROM THE RECTOR: SAINTS, SOULS & REQUIEMS

Until I came to Saint Mary’s, I never served in a congregation where All Saints’ Day was only celebrated on its eve, October 31, or on its day, November 1. And I had never served in a congregation where there were so many prayer requests for departed loved ones that the five weekdays following All Souls’ Day, November 2, are reserved for these Eucharists.

Through November, we will continue our current church schedule being open daily from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM. On Sundays, the Solemn Mass will be at 11:00 AM. Monday through Saturday, the daily Mass will be at 12:10 PM. Daily Evening Prayer is at 5:00 PM, except on Thanksgiving Day when the church will be open from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

So, All Saints’ Day, Monday, November 1, and All Souls’ Day, Tuesday, November 2, will be celebrated with Said Eucharists and Daily Evening Prayer on these days. We will celebrate Solemn Mass for All Saints’ Day on Sunday, November 7. We are going to resume singing a hymn at the preparation of the gifts. On November 7, our hymns will be “For all the saints,” “Jerusalem, my happy home,” and “Ye watchers and ye holy ones.”

The 1928 Prayer Book introduced this rubric for All Saints’ Day: “This Collect is to be said daily throughout the Octave” (page 256). Following the reforms of the Roman Catholic Church with the Missal of Paul VI, the word “octave” is absent from the present Prayer Book. That said, Easter Day has an octave though it is not referred to in that way. From Easter Eve until the Second Sunday of Easter, a proper (collect and lessons) is appointed from each of these eight days. The calendar of the 1979 Prayer Book states, “All Saints’ Day may always be observed on the Sunday following November 1, in addition to its observance on the fixed date” (page 15).

The 1928 Prayer Book was the first American Prayer book to appoint a proper preface for All Saints’ Day. Massey Shepherd’s The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary (1928) states that it was based on Hebrews12:1–2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” The traditional language was much loved: “Who, in the multitude of thy Saints, has compassed us about with so great a cloud of witnesses that we, rejoicing in their fellowship, may run with patience the race that is set before us, and, together with them, may receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away” (page 79).

Shepherd also wrote about the absence of All Souls’ Day from the Prayer Book since the Protestant Reformation: “The Reformers eliminated All Souls’ Day from the Calendar, chiefly because of their distaste for ‘masses for the dead (c.f. Article XXI), but also because they recognized that the New Testament provides no warrant for the distinction of ‘all saints; and ‘all souls.’ In Scripture the word ‘saints’ is used of all the people of God, that is all who have been sanctified by the Spirit” (page 256–57).

One of my favorite prayers was introduced to the Prayer Book in 1928 and is included in the new book. It’s titled “For those we Love:” “Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (1979, page 831).

For me, this prayer sums up these words of Jesus from John’s gospel. They are the beginning of a second anthem introduced in 1928 that can be used as the committal begins at the grave or resting place of the departed. I quote the King James Version, used in 1928 and Rite One: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Patricia, William, Brian, Shalim, Irma, Linda, Theresa, Margaret, Dave, Ted, Arax, John, Karen, Gary, Greta, Larry, Pat, Liduvina, Jonathan, Emerson, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, Ralph, Mario, Peter, George, Abraham, Burton, Dennis, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and Robert; Randall, Louis, and Albert, priests; all who work for the common good; and all the friends and members of this parish . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . October 31, 2021: 1896 William Samuel Diller; 1903 Charles Bauer; 1912 Ellen Bentz; 1941 Holbrook W. Coulter; 1945 Miriam G. Redfield Snowden; 1964 Earl Brandt Bird; 1974 Isabel Knight Hatfield; 2008 Gertrude Carlson Bartlett.

FROM THE STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE . . . Yes, it’s the time of year in which we ponder whether we can increase our financial pledge to our parish. But after making your pledge to Saint Mary's, consider also what other commitments you might make. As someone who is or has been an usher, an acolyte, a launderer of fair linens, a bread baker, a member of the stewardship committee and a volunteer for Neighbors in Need, I can attest that I get back far more than I give. To talk about volunteering, please contact me or put a note on your pledge card. — MaryJane Boland for the Stewardship Committee

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . On Sunday, October 31, Father Jay Smith will conclude his series on the spirituality of the Desert Elders and the origins of Christian monasticism. Then, on November 7, Father Powell will begin his series on the Holiness Code in Leviticus.

ADVENT QUIET DAY . . . On Saturday, December 11, Sister Monica Clare, C.S.J.B, will lead a Quiet Day in person here at the church. Her theme will be the virtue of hope. Her reflections, based on the scriptural foundations of Christian hope, will suggest  some ways of keeping hope alive even in times of despair. The day will begin at 9:30 AM. There will be two reflections in the morning and one in the afternoon. Mass is at 12:10 PM, followed by lunch. Opportunities for prayer, reflection, and journaling will be provided. Reservations for the Quiet Day may be made by sending an e-mail to Father Jay Smith.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . October 31, The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 26, Year B). Adult Education 9:30–10:30 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall. Solemn Mass, 11:00 AM. The appointed readings at the Mass are Deuteronomy 6:1–9; Psalm 119:1–8; Hebrews 7:23–28; Mark 12:28–34. The celebrant and preacher at the Mass will be Father Victor Conrado. Evening Prayer will be said in the church at 5:00 PM . . . Monday, November 1, All Saints’ Day, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Tuesday, November 2, All Souls’ Day, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Wednesday–Saturday, November 3–6, Requiem Mass 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The church is open on weekdays from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM . . . Tuesday, November 2, Racism Discussion Group Meeting, 7:00 PM via Zoom. For more information about this ongoing weekly meeting, please call the parish office . . . Friday, November 5, 6:30 PM, Saint Mary’s Online Centering Prayer Group . . . Next Sunday, November 7, All Saints’ Sunday. Adult Education 9:30–10:30 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall. Solemn Mass, 11:00 AM. The appointed readings at the Mass are Deuteronomy 6:1–9; Psalm 119:1–8; Hebrews 7:23–28; Mark 12:28–34. The celebrant and preacher at the Mass will be Father Jay Smith. Evening Prayer will be said in the church at 5:00 PM.

ALL SOULS’ DAY . . . On All Souls’ Day and on the following five weekdays, we remember by name those we love who are now in the nearer presence of God. This year, All Souls’ Day is Tuesday, November 2, and Mass will be at 12:10 PM that day. Requiem Masses will then be celebrated Wednesday–Saturday, November 3–6, and on Monday, November 8. Mass, as usual, will be celebrated each day at 12:10 PM.

Names will be read at the 12:10 Mass during the Prayers of the People according to the following schedule, which is based on the last name of the person making the intention (e.g., names provided by Ms. Adams will be read on Wednesday, November 3 and names provided by Mr. Washington will be read on Monday, November 8):

On Wednesday, November 3           Last names A–F

On Thursday, November 4              Last names G–L

On Friday, November 5                    Last names M–R

On Saturday, November 6                Last names S–V

On Monday, November 8                Last names W–Z

AROUND THE PARISH . . . We urge all members and friends of the parish to return their pledge cards by Commitment Sunday, November 21. For information about how to make a pledge online, please contact the parish office . . . Father Jay Smith is very grateful to the members and friends of the parish who have sent him messages of support since the death of his brother, William. He greatly appreciates their kindness and their prayers.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED . . . We hope to receive donations of socks and underwear for both men and women in all sizes. Since the weather is beginning to grow colder, we also welcome donations of sweatshirts, thermal underwear, and coats . . . At our monthly Drop-by Days, we distribute clothing, toiletry, and hygiene items—and Metro Cards when they are available—to those in need in the Times Square neighborhood. Our next Drop-by Day is scheduled for Friday, November 19. Volunteers work from 1:30 PM until 3:30 PM. Our guests are invited into the church at 2:00 PM, and we close our doors at 3:00 PM. We need six (6) volunteers for each Drop-by. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Marie Rosseels, MaryJane Boland, or Father Jay Smith. You may reach them by calling the Parish Office at 212-869-5830.

ABOUT THE MUSIC . . . Sunday’s organ prelude is by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707). Buxtehude’s organ chorales are less reliant on the formal contrapuntal devices which distinguish the great chorale preludes of J. S. Bach, but rather, they lean more toward a style of improvisation which delights in the chorale melody itself and in the musical colors and textures possible on the organ. The present setting of Luther’s Ein feste Burg (“A mighty fortress”) is typical of his chorale preludes in ornamented melody style. An embellished form of the chorale melody is played, phrase by phrase, in the uppermost voice with accompaniment in two voices and pedal beneath. The postlude on Sunday is indisputably the most well-known organ work of J.S. Bach. Toccata in D minor, BWV 565, was probably composed about 1704 and as such is among Bach’s earlier works. Its vigor and freshness, its brash spurts of figuration, and its dramatic harmonies are born of the improvisatory organ music of an earlier age. At the same time, these same qualities prefigure the range of romantic expression which would bloom a century and a half later. While known to some as “Toccata and Fugue in D minor,” the fugal writing which follows the improvisatory opening section of this piece is more like an orderly interlude in the course of an extended fantasia. The fugal theme itself is hardly a melody but rather a figure or pattern suggestive of the string writing of Vivaldi and his Italian contemporaries. Consequently, the lone descriptive title Toccata for this work seems both appropriate and sufficient.

The setting of the Mass on Sunday morning is by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). Mendelssohn blossomed early as a conductor, composer, and pianist. His initial music studies in Berlin were followed by travel in England, Scotland, Italy, and France before his 1833 appointment as music director in Düsseldorf. Two years later he became conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig where, together with Schumann and others, he founded the Leipzig Conservatorium in 1842. His 1829 Leipzig performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion helped decisively to stimulate the nineteenth-century rediscovery of the music of J. S. Bach. His contributions as a composer span the categories of orchestral, choral, stage, chamber, piano, vocal and organ works. His music is said to have set the canons of mid-Victorian musical taste. Mendelssohn’s Die Deutsche Liturgie (1846) for eight-voice double choir includes Kyrie (not sung this morning), Gloria (Ehre sei Gott), and his previously composed Sanctus (Heilig, 1844). Agnus Dei (Lamm Gottes) is an adaptation of Mendelssohn’s eight-voice motet, In der Passionszeit (Herr, gedenke nicht), from Sechs Sprüche, Op 79/4, (1844). It is sung on Sunday as adapted by James Kennerley.

The motet sung during the ministration of Communion at Mass on Sunday is also an eight-voice setting and is from Mendelssohn’s Sechs Sprüche, Opus 79. Its text paraphrases Philippians 2:8-9. This text finds its traditional liturgical usage as the Gradual for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. The power of the passage, however, is certainly not limited to those usages in Holy Week. As such, this text has received distinctive choral settings from countless composers over the centuries and to the present time. In Mendelssohn’s six-movement liturgical cycle, this motet bears the designation Am Karfreitag (“On Good Friday”), but it concludes, nevertheless, with Halleluja.

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 at 6:30 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.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Thursday, November 25, Thanksgiving Day . . . November 28, The First Sunday of Advent (Year C/Year Two) . . . Wednesday, December 8, The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Celebration of the Founding of the Parish and the First Mass in the First Church on December 8, 1870 . . . Tuesday, December 21, Saint Thomas the Apostle . . . Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve. Music for Congregation and Choir 4:30 PM and Mass 5:00 PM . . . Saturday, December 25, Christmas Day . . . Sunday, December 26, First Sunday after Christmas Day.

STREAMING NOW . . . The New-York Historical Society Museum and Library regularly hosts lectures and discussions with historians, political scientists, diplomats, and policy makers. When possible, these events are recorded for later viewing. They are not free, but they are often worth the price. One such event recently caught our eye. On October 15, 2020, the well-known historians, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., and David W. Blight held an online discussion entitled, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. The event was part of the Society’s Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished Speakers Series. From the Society website, “In the past decade, the United States has seen the rise of both the Black Lives Matter movement and a reinvigorated wave of white supremacism. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. will discuss author and activist James Baldwin’s writing on race relations from the 1960s and ’70s—in the wake of the civil rights movement and the murders of leading activists Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr.—to find answers to our current era’s tangled web of race, trauma, and memory.” Professor Blight was the event moderator. Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, is chair of the Department of African American Studies and James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University. David W. Blight, a trustee of the New-York Historical Society, is Sterling Professor of History and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. He is the author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2019. The price to view the archived recording of the event is $20.00, $10.00 for Society members. For more information and to purchase viewing rights, please follow this link.

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