FROM THE RECTOR: ALL ARE ESSENTIAL

Last week I had the chance to read one of the well-known devotional writings on the Eucharist with a newcomer to the parish community. I’m speaking of Dom Gregory Dix’s words in his book, The Shape of the Liturgy (1945). The famous passage begins with these words, “At the heart of it all is the eucharistic action, a thing of an absolute simplicity—the taking, blessing, breaking and giving of bread and the taking, blessing and giving of a cup of wine and water, as there were first done with their new meaning by a young Jew before and after supper with His friends on the night before He died . . . He had told His friends to do this henceforward with the meaning ‘for the anamnesis’ of Him, and they have done it always since. Was ever another command so obeyed?” (page 743–744).

It was in The Alternative Service Book 1980 (ASB) of the Church of England that, after the bread and wine are placed on the altar and the collection is received (page 129), the two numbered instructions under the title “The Eucharistic Prayer” were these words, “The Taking of the Bread and Cup and the Giving of Thanks: 36 The president [ASB’s title for presider] takes the bread and wine and places them on the Holy Table. 37 The president uses one of the four Eucharistic Prayers follow” (page 130). In their commentary A Companion to the Alternative Service Book 1980 (1986), Ronald Jasper and Paul Bradshaw direct our attention to another numbered note at the beginning of the section of the book “The Order for Holy Communion also called The Eucharist and The Lord’s Supper Rite A:” 16 Manual Acts In addition to the taking of the bread and cup at section 36 the president may use traditional manual acts during the Eucharistic Prayer” (page 117).

At first glance, I was sorry that this rubric wasn’t carried over to Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000). I follow the Prayer Book’s rubrics, but I wish I weren’t required to do something that suggests I’m standing at the altar in place of the Lord. When I preside at the liturgy, I’m not doing so in persona Christi—in the place of Christ. I’ve quoted before Louis Weil’s words, “the actions of the presider are done in persona ecclesia: the priest acts as an ordained member of the community, as a member of the Body of Christ, not as Christ himself” (Liturgical Sense: The Logic of Rite [2013], 99).

Many years ago, a liturgical scholar was with a group of us at Saint Mary’s, and we were talking about worship. At some point, I said something like, “Our goal is for everyone present at the service to feel his or her presence is essential.” His response was something along the lines of, “Can worship ever really do that?” I said I think it can. I’m hoping that the return of congregational singing will grab us powerfully. Our music program has been a tremendous spiritual help since our church reopened on July 1, 2020. I look forward to the joy and unity singing will bring us when we can praise the Lord together in song. —Stephen Gerth

MY HAPPY EXPERIENCE FINDING A VACCINE APPOINTMENT . . . On Wednesday March 3, the New York Post had an article about Epicenter-NYC. It’s a network of volunteers helping New York City residents to get vaccinated. I filled out a short form just before 11:00 AM. Around 1:30 PM, I received a text (they use email too) that more appointments had just become available for the next day, Thursday, March 4. I had a confirmed appointment for 8:00 AM at a convenient location by 1:13 PM. Affiliated Physicians was the practice managing the vaccination site. It was very well organized. There was an abundance of registered nurses. I was happy to be there, and I sensed that was a feeling shared by the staff and those of us being vaccinated. If you have been trying to find a vaccination site using the city and state websites and have been unsuccessful, I pass along my experience to you. —S.G.

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Margaret, Leslie, Heike, Daphne, Michelle, Jerry, Ida, Jake, Rita, Natasha, Soveryn, Ken, Loretta, Aston, Burton, Caryn, Christine, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, John, Shalim, Abraham, Dennis, Emil, Ethelyn, Hardy, Margaret, Robert, and José; for all who suffer from COVID-19; for James and Louis, priests and Charles, bishop, for all those who work for the common good, and for all the members and friends of this parish. Grant that we may serve Christ in them and love one another as he loves us. . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . March 7: 1900 Mary Ann Holman; 1910 Charles Gallagher; 1918 Margaret Merti Widmeyer; 1921 Frances Post; 1924 Vallie B. Martin; 1930 Thomas J. Reid; 1941 Anne Sylvia Cairns; 1943 Edith Mead Slocum Culver; 1949 Lucy W. B. Kempson.

THE WEEKDAYS OF LENT AND OF HOLY WEEK, except for the feast of Saint Joseph and the feast of the Annunciation, are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial.

LENTEN QUIET DAY AT SAINT MARY’S VIA ZOOM . . . Brother Thomas Steffensen SSF writes, “This year’s Lenten Quiet day will be held virtually on Saturday, March 13, from 10:00 AM to 3:30pm (multiple breaks and times for reflection are included). Through the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Book of Hours, we will be exploring questions about our relationship to God and how we engage with and talk about our own spiritual journeys. This particular work of Rilke, written over two decades, documents Rilke’s own struggle to find words to express his relationship with God and the world around him in real and authentic ways. Throughout the day we will use Rilke’s life and work as a guide to help us begin to explore ways in which we can give voice to our own spirituality. There will be three sections to our time together. Beginning at 10:00 AM, we will be laying the foundation for our conversations.  From 12:00 to 2:00 PM, you will be invited to spend some time reflecting on your own on some pieces of poetry from Rilke and about the material covered in the first session. At 2:00 PM, we will reconvene on Zoom and close out our time together.  For registration or more information, please contact me via e-mail by following this link. mailto:ssf.br.thomas@gmail.com.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2021 . . . Our stewardship campaign has come to an end. We were not able to achieve our $400,000.00 goal, but we recognize that we are living in a difficult time, and we are all doing the best we can. We live in hope and trust in God. Still, we continue to ask you for your help. We would welcome your financial pledge if you have not yet pledged for 2021. and we are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, March 7, The Third Sunday in Lent, Adult Education 9:30–10:30 AM, Mass 11:00 AM. The church opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 12:30 PM. The preacher is the Reverend Stephen Gerth. The service is played by Dr. David Hurd. He will be joined by cantor, Ms. Sharon Harms, soprano . . . Tuesday, March 9, Racism Discussion Groups, 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Please contact Brother Damien Joseph or Brother Thomas for more information . . . Saturday, March 13, Quiet Day via Zoom, led by Brother Thomas Steffensen SSF.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 14, at 2:00 AM. Clocks will be turned forward one hour . . . Saturday, March 13, Quiet Day (via Zoom), led by Brother Thomas Steffensen SSF . . . Friday, March 19, Saint Joseph, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Thursday, March 25, The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mass 12:10 PM . . . March 28, Palm Sunday, Mass 11:00 AM . . . April 1, Maundy Thursday, Liturgy 6:00 PM . . . April 2, Good Friday, Liturgy 12:30 PM.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . On Sunday, March 7, 9:30–10:30 AM, Father Peter Powell will continue his series on the Revelation to John, the Christian Bible’s final book. If you’d like to do some preparation, Father Powell plans to discuss chapters 17 and 18 on Sunday. These chapters include the very problematic story about the Whore of Babylon. He suggests that in addition to reading those chapter you take a look at this short video on VCS, the Visual Commentary on Scripture. Father Powell will teach on all the Sundays of Lent and on Palm Sunday. No prior experience is necessary, and attendance at the autumn session is not a prerequisite to attend classes during the winter and spring. We invite you to join us in person or via Zoom.

If you would like to attend Father Powell’s classes via Zoom, please send an e-mail to Grace Mudd or to Father Powell, 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.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The organ prelude on Sunday is a setting of Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, BWV 658, one of the eighteen Leipzig Chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The “Great Eighteen” were collected and published in the final decade of Bach’s life, and are considered to represent the summit of chorale-based Baroque organ composition. In this case, the chorale text, the first phrase of which is interpreted as “I shall not abandon God, for he does not abandon me,” is attributed to Ludwig Helmbold and dated 1563. Its melody, from an anonymous 1557 source, is set by Bach to be played on the organ pedals in the alto register surrounded by a gentle three-voice lace of manual accompaniment. The ending of this chorale prelude is notably prolonged, and with an additional voice added, as if to tone-paint a steadfast desire to remain and not leave. There are four additional four-voice harmonizations of this same chorale melody by Bach, only one of which has its source in one of his cantatas. Bach’s harmonization of Von Gott will ich nicht lassen—cataloged as BWV 418 and about which there is no further source data—is the postlude on Sunday.

The setting of the Mass on the third Sunday in Lent is Messe du sixième ton by Henri Dumont (1610–1684). Dumont was born in Belgium. As a child, Henri and his brother Lambert were choirboys at the Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht. Henri was later named organist there and was eventually succeeded by his brother. In 1639 Henri moved to Paris to become organist of the parish of Saint Paul. Beginning in 1652 he was harpsichordist at the court of Phillipe I, Duke of Orléans. From that post he advanced to Master of the Chapelle Royale in Versailles in 1663 and, in 1893, Master of the Queen’s Music. He composed mostly religious music including nearly a hundred Petits Motets. His five plainsong Masses, known as Messes Royales, gained currency alongside the anonymous repertory of medieval plainsong Masses. The Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei from Dumont’s plainsong Mass on the sixth tone will be sung as the ordinary on Sunday.

The cantor this coming Sunday is soprano, Sharon Harms. During the administration of Communion, she will sing He shall feed his flock from Messiah by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759). Although Handel’s Messiah is classified as an oratorio, it departs from the classical definition of an oratorio in that its libretto is an extended biblical meditation rather than a dramatic biblical narrative. Nonetheless, Messiah is deservedly recognized as one of the great oratorios of the western music canon. Handel’s friend, Charles Jennens (1700–1773), compiled the libretto of biblical quotes which begin with the prophetic anticipation of the promised Savior and extend to matters of the final consummation at the end of time. Composed within a month’s time in the summer of 1741, Handel’s Messiah is divided into three parts with a total of fifty-three musical components. He shall feed his flock occurs late in the first part of Messiah. Its text is Isaiah 40:11, and its style is that of a pastorale in lilting 12/8 meter. He shall feed his flock is the first half of a double aria, the second section of which contains the same essential music transposed a perfect fourth higher and paired with the text “Come unto him, all ye that labor” (Matthew 11:28-29).

More about our cantor on Sunday: Praised as “superb”, “luscious-toned”, “extraordinarily precise and expressive”, and “dramatically committed and not averse to risk” by the New York Times, American soprano Sharon Harms is known for fearless performances and passionate interpretations of works new and old for the recital, concert, and operatic stage. A member of the Argento Ensemble, Ms. Harms has premiered the music of some of today's leading composers and her repertoire spans a versatile spectrum of periods and styles. She has sung with Da Capo Chamber Players, East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Signal, International Contemporary Ensemble, Juilliard Center for Innovation in the Arts, Limón Dance Company, MET Opera Chamber Orchestra, New Chamber Ballet, Pacifica Quartet, Princeton Festival Opera, Simon Bolivar Orchestra, Talea Ensemble, and Third Coast Percussion, among others. She has also been a guest artist with the American Academy in Rome, Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Columbia University, Cornell University, June in Buffalo, MATA Festival, University of British Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Notre Dame, Radcliffe Institute, and Resonant Bodies Festival and a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Ms. Harms is soprano faculty for the Composer’s Conference at Brandeis University and was a visiting guest instructor at East Carolina University in 2017. She appears on the Albany, Bridge, and Innova labels. www.sharonharms.com.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Looking for a COVID-19 Vaccine Site? Try these websites: https://nycvaccinelist.com/; https://vaccinefinder.nyc.gov/; https://vaccinefinder.org/; https://www.walgreens.com/topic/promotion/covid-vaccine.jsp . . . Worshipping Safely at Saint Mary’s: If you are at all unwell, please 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. That said, we are very happy to be able to welcome you to worship with us here at Saint Mary’s (11:00 AM on Sunday, 12:10 PM Monday–Saturday). When you arrive, please fill out the contact sheet at the ushers’ table. Please take a seat in one of the open pews, and feel free to ask an usher, one of the brothers, or a member of the clergy if you have questions about seating, Communion, or safe-distancing. Face masks are required while in the church building. We know all too well that many of these precautions are tedious, but we accept them as a way to keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy. We continue to pray for those who are sick and for a swift end to the epidemic.

FROM THE BISHOP OF NEW YORK . . . On Friday, March 5, Bishop Andrew M. L. Dietsche issued a letter to the Clergy and People of the Diocese. He wrote in part as follows: “We are now in a season which offers us great hope and calls on us again to caution. Two million people a day are being vaccinated in America, and we may anticipate a time in the next months when the crushing surges of the virus which have impaired our common life may be behind us. At the same time, the dramatic decrease in infections across America has been less noticeable in New York than in other parts of the country, and the decreases we have enjoyed seem to have flattened out. This is still very much a time to exercise caution, and it would be imprudent to imagine that we are yet close to being “back to normal. However, I am removing all restrictions which I have required in the past regarding opening our sanctuaries to public worship and asking only that the limitations required or recommended by the State of New York be our governing principles in these matters. I believe that the current guidelines allow for 50% capacity for public worship.” As of Friday evening, the link to the letter on the diocesan website was broken. We trust that the link should be functioning soon.

VIA ZOOM . . . Tuesday, March 9, 7:00 PM, The New York Times’s T Book Club: A Discussion of “Passing.” Join T’s book club, which focuses on classic works of American literature, for a conversation of Nella Larsen’s Passing, led by the novelist Brit Bennett. The third title selected for T Magazine’s book club, Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929) tells the story of two old friends, both Black women, who reunite in 1920s Harlem, despite the fact that one of them is living as a white person. Critically acclaimed at the time of its publication, the novel captures the social anxieties that plagued America during the Great Migration and remains a resonant portrait of a fractured nation. On March 9, watch a virtual discussion of the book, featuring the novelist Brit Bennett in conversation with T features director Thessaly La Force, that will address questions from readers. RSVP via 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 for distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt and parish volunteer, Clint Best.