FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: THE NEW INTERIM RECTOR

Merry Christmas and thank you to everyone who contributed to the various farewell celebrations for Father Gerth. We can report that he and Richard made it safely to their home in Florida this week.

Stephen Gerth’s departure leaves some big shoes to fill and many questions about what is next. The board began working with the Reverend Nora Smith, Canon for Transitional Ministry of the Diocese of New York this past summer. Mother Smith helped us to identify candidates for the position of Interim Rector and she continues to guide us through this period of change. We are most grateful for her counsel. 

We are pleased to announce that we have chosen an Interim Rector: the Reverend Sammy Wood. Father Wood is currently the rector of Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and has served at the Church of the Ascension & Saint Agnes in Washington, DC, and at the Church of the Advent in Boston, Massachusetts. Father Wood and his family will be moving into the rectory in mid-February, and he will celebrate his first Mass with us shortly thereafter. We hope many of you will be able to join us to welcome “Father Sammy,” as he is known at his current parish, in at that time.

Until our interim rector can join us, our most able curate, Father Jay Smith, will act as temporary priest-in-charge, assisted by Father Matthew Jacobson, who is working part-time for the parish, by Father Peter Powell and Father Conrado, who generously contribute their services, and by Saint Mary’s excellent professional staff, headed by parish administrator, Christopher Howatt. We should also note that the Board has extended an invitation to Father Smith to remain with the parish in his role as curate throughout the interim period, and he has graciously accepted our invitation.

After Father Wood’s arrival, the Board will be looking to initiate a formal search process for the next permanent rector of Saint Mary’s, and we’ll ask everyone to participate and assist in that process. More to come. — The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Philip, Joan, Linda, Claire, Emil, Fidel, Sylvia, Pat, Eloise, John, Karen, Shalim, Brian, Penelope, Carmen, Jean, Greta, Liduvina, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, Peter, George, Abraham, Dennis, Ethelyn, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and Robert; James, Monica Clare, and Robert James, religious; Sammy, Carl, Stephen, Randall and Louis, priests; Frank and Andrew, bishops; all who work for the common good; all the friends and members of this parish; and for the repose of the soul of Desmond Mpilo Tutu, VI Bishop of Johannesburg and X Archbishop of Cape Town . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . January 2: 1915 Frederick Charles; 1928 John Chamberlain; 1931 Everett Vincent Thomas; 1936 Warreta Atlanta Selden.

PROBLEMS WITH THE LIVESTREAM . . . It is our hope to be able to livestream Solemn Mass on most Sunday mornings and on holy days. We believe that we have mostly conquered the sound problems that frequently occurred when we were streaming via Facebook (and an iPhone). We have heard from many that the quality of the livestream has improved markedly since those days. However, we are aware that we have not managed to exorcise all the glitches in the system. We have heard from many that accessing the video of Mass—either live or when the video has been archived—has been frustrating. We hope to improve things early in the New Year. In the meantime, please follow this link: https://vimeo.com/stmarythevirginnyc. When doing so, you will discover that, at the moment, you must scroll down, click on Load More, and scroll down again in order to find the most recent videos and the livestream. We are working with our Vimeo rep to order the videos so the most recent video(s) appear at the top of the queue.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Saturday, January 1, The Holy Name of Jesus, Said Mass 12:10 PM . . . Sunday, January 2, The Second Sunday after Christmas Day, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. Father Jay Smith, celebrant and preacher. Evening Prayer is said at 5:00 PM in the church on Sunday afternoons . . . Tuesday, January 4, Racism Discussion Group Meeting, 7:00 PM via Zoom. For more information about this ongoing weekly meeting, please call the parish office . . . Thursday, January 6, The Epiphany, Mass 12:10 PM, Organ Recital 5:30 PM, Solemn Mass 6:00 PM, Father Peter Powell, celebrant and preacher . . . Sunday, January 9, The First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM, Father Matthew Jacobson, celebrant and preacher. Evening Prayer is said at 5:00 PM.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Thank you, thank you, thank you! . . . Along with Father Jacobson, I want to express my gratitude to the members of the guilds of altar servers, ushers, and readers, to the members of the flower guild and those who assisted them, to the musicians, the staff, and the sextons for their hard work and for all that was accomplished last week.

In a time of transition, the parish celebrated three important liturgies last week, one after another, and did so beautifully and prayerfully, while dealing creatively with change and uncertainty. Those who provided leadership during a very busy week deserve a word of thanks: Dr. David Hurd, organist and music director, who once again contributed to the parish’s worship in the most powerful and creative way; Brendon Hunter, who designed the crèche and many of the decorations in the church and who oversaw the decorating effort; Marie Rosseels, who recruits ushers and continues to oversee the ushers’ guild at a difficult moment in the neighborhood and city (she also readied vestments for Christmas and laundered small altar linens); Christopher Howatt, parish administrator, who keeps things running, while also dealing with seasonal pressures (he also sings in the choir); MaryJane Boland, who schedules acolytes and readers (not as easy as it sounds), manages the business affairs of Neighbors in Need, and launders the fair linen; and Harka Gurung, who provides leadership and training for the sexton crew.

I would also like to thank Father Matthew Jacobson, who is moving into new roles, taking on new tasks, and is helping me, Chris Howatt, and the parish in essential ways. I am also grateful to Father Peter Powell and Canon Victor Conrado, who have moved into the parish complex here on Forty-sixth Street and are becoming part of our community in very helpful ways. Thank you so much. We are not a huge parish but because of the work of all the volunteers, staff, and clergy we accomplish a great deal. As my Jesuit teachers taught me, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, To the greater glory of God—doing so can be difficult, but it can also be a joyful, even fun, thing to do. Come and join us! — JRS

FROM THE MEMBERS OF THE FLOWER GUILD . . . Thank you to the volunteers who helped the Flower Guild make our Christmas celebrations so beautiful and festive: MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, Daniel Picard, Barbara Powell, and Chisa Takagi. Our thanks to Saint Mary’s sextons Harka Garung, Marcos Orengo Roman, and Jorge Trujillo for going to extra lengths to help with a variety of things from setup to staging and to Rick Miranda for helping us dismantle the Advent wreath. This is a huge effort that could not have been done without their help. Thank you! – The Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Flower Guild: Brendon Hunter, Matthew Lobe, Grace Mudd, and Marie Rosseels.

HELP WANTED! . . . Get involved at Saint Mary’s—Volunteer opportunities!

Whether you’re new to Saint Mary’s or a longtime friend of the parish, we welcome and invite you to get involved in one of the many parish guilds. No experience is required for any of these ministries. We will be happy to help train, answer questions, and assist you in getting started.

We feature two guilds this week:

Saint Vincent’s Guild of Servers consists of the lay members of the congregation who assist the clergy and their fellow parishioners at worship, from Evensong to Solemn Mass. In many parishes these are called acolytes. At Saint Mary’s, the servers also handle other aspects of worship including setup and cleanup and other needs for special services. The parish is very grateful to our dedicated guild of servers for all that they did to make worship possible at Christmas and throughout a very challenging year. Those servers include Penny Allen, MaryJane Boland, Charles Carson, Julie Gillis, Brendon Hunter, Kenny Isler, Rick Miranda, Clark Mitchell, Grace Mudd, Santiago Puigbo, Luis Reyes, Mark Risinger, Dorothy Rowan, Leroy Sharer, and Ingrid Sletten. You are invited to join them.

Neighbors in Need Drop-in Days are the core of outreach ministry at Saint Mary's. This dedicated group includes members of the clergy, their spouses, members of the congregation and friends of Saint Mary’s in our neighborhood who organize clothing and other basic necessities such as toiletries for a monthly drop-in on the third Friday of the month. Those intrepid volunteers include Penny Allen, MaryJane Boland, John Heffernan, Tom Heffernan, Clark Mitchell, Deacon Lind Phillips, Barbara Powell, Nam Rattan, Mark Risinger, Leroy Sharer, Father Jay Smith, Jennifer Stevens, Sharon Stewart, Chisa Takagi, and José Vidal. Come join them! You’ll be glad you did. Please contact MaryJane Boland, Marie Rosseels, or Father Jay Smith to learn more.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION FOR ALTAR FLOWERS? . . . Many dates for donating flowers are available, including the feast of Candlemas and Sunday, January 16 and 30, and several Sundays in February. Sundays in Eastertide are also available. The suggested donation is $250 which provides flowers on the high altar; shrines of Christ the King, Blessed Virgin Mary, and Sacred Heart; and/or other locations depending on the calendar. The donation amount can be divided between more than one donor. Please contact Chris Howatt or Father Smith to donate the altar flowers. For questions about flowers and the Flower Guild, please speak with Brendon Hunter.

WE INVITE YOU TO THE NEW YEAR’S FIRST ORGAN RECITAL . . . On January 6, 2022, at 5:30 PM, just before the 6:00 pm Solemn Mass, Dr. Jason Roberts will play a recital here at Saint Mary’s. Dr. Roberts is music director at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament on the Upper West Side. He has also served at Saint Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue and at the Church of Saint James in West Hartford, Connecticut. He is a winner of the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation and has been a finalist at competitions in St Albans, England, and Haarlem, the Netherlands. He maintains an active recital schedule and enjoys accompanying silent films. He has served on the faculty at Westminster Choir College, and his compositions have been performed at such diverse venues as Princeton University Chapel in New Jersey, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Westminster Abbey in London. Dr. Roberts’s program on January 6 will include Improvisations on Themes of Epiphany hymns, including the chorale Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (“How bright appears the Morning Star”) and the nineteenth-century American carol We three kings of Orient are. He will present these themes in his half-hour program of improvisation ranging in style from German baroque to modern French. The organ at Saint Mary’s is an exceptionally fine instrument, and it is exciting to be able to hear it again in this way, played by a fine musician, in this the first of a series of recitals in the New Year.

ABOUT THE MUSIC . . . The organ prelude on January 2, the Second Sunday after Christmas Day, is the third movement of David Hurd’s Te Deum Laudamus, titled The Humbling. The four-movement work was composed in 1981 for Larry King, who was at that time organist and director of music at Trinity Church, Wall Street. The Humbling begins with an extended flute solo, after which the plainsong melody for Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum (When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin’s womb) is heard. In its final section, the original solo melody returns, but now it has organ strings accompaniment, and with Divinum mysterium (“Of the Father’s love begotten”) sounding in long tones in the tenor register.

The setting of the Mass on Sunday is the Short Communion Service by Adrian Batten (1591–1637). Born in Salisbury, Batten was subsequently a chorister and organ scholar at Winchester Cathedral. He moved to London in 1614 to become a lay clerk of Westminster Abbey. He later assumed a similar position at Saint Paul’s Cathedral where he also played the organ. As a music copyist in London, Batten is credited with preserving much significant church music of his time, his copies being the only surviving source. Ironically much of his own music has been lost. However, Batten’s surviving compositions show him to be a thoroughly skilled composer of liturgical music, even if not especially daring or original. His modest mass for four voices models the restraint which was typical of Batten’s church music. Maurice Bevan, editor, has produced a liturgically practical edition of Batten’s Communion Service, including a nine-fold Kyrie, Benedictus qui venit, and Agnus Dei fashioned from music found elsewhere in the Service.

The motet sung during Communion on Sunday is one of the sixteen movements from the cantata Hodie by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958), begun in 1953 and first performed at Worcester Cathedral during the Three Choirs Festival on 8 September 1954 under the composer’s direction. Hodie was Vaughan Williams’ last large-scaled choral work and is scored for chorus, boys’ choir, organ and large orchestra with soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists. The cantata, with text drawn from scripture, The Book of Common Prayer, and various poets, is dedicated to Herbert Howells. The Blessed Son of God, the fifth movement of Hodie, is one of only two which is set for unaccompanied chorus. The text is a translation by Miles Coverdale of a three-stanza hymn by Martin Luther. This movement is often lifted from the larger work and performed separately.

The organ postlude is by American composer Garth Edmundson (1892–1971). Edmundson’s musical education included study in New York, in Paris and London, and at the Leipzig Conservatory, but his life began, centered, and ended in western Pennsylvania where he held several church and teaching positions and composed extensively for the organ. His Toccata–Prelude IV is based on the Christmas chorale Vom Himmel hoch (“From heaven high”). It is from his Christmas Suite No. 2, titled Christus Advenit, and is one of his most well-known works. The chorale, with text by Martin Luther and melody from a German 1539 collection of sacred songs, is found in The Hymnal 1982 at #80. Edmundson presents this melody in four variations bound together by continual and energetic figuration.

NEW YEAR’S EVE IN TIMES SQUARE . . . A Masked and Vaxxed New Year's Eve, or a Streaming Celebration: Friday, December 31, 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM (no entry into the Square until 3:00 PM)

If you plan to celebrate in person, be sure to have your proof of full vaccination and photo ID ready and your mask on.

Proof of vaccination can be:

•           NYC COVID Safe App on Android or iOS

•           New York State Excelsior Pass

•           CLEAR’s Digital Vaccine Card or Health Pass on Android or iOS

•           a photo or hard copy of your CDC vaccination card

•           an official vaccination record of a vaccine administered outside the United States.

As part of the newly announced additional safety measures for New Year’s Eve, everyone will have to stay masked during the event. Revelers also won’t be able to enter until 3:00, and there will be fewer people per viewing area to allow for more social distancing.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED . . . We hope to receive donations of new or lightly used winter coats during the winter months. The coats should be clean. Their pockets should be empty, and the zippers, if any, should be in good repair . . . 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, January 21. 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. The February Drop-by will take place on Friday, February 18.

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Jay Smith. Father Matt Jacobson is responsible for posting the newsletter on the parish website and distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt, parish administrator, and parish volunteer, Clint Best.