FROM THE RECTOR: OPENINGS

First, I want to tell you about new guidance for in-person worship. Last Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo “lifted [COVID-19 restrictions] across commercial settings, including retail, food services, offices, gyms and fitness centers, amusement and family entertainment, hair salons, barbershops, personal care services, among others,” for individuals who are fully vaccinated. Our next steps for in-person worship are these:
·        We will continue to reserve a section of pews near Father Brown’s memorial for persons who wish to safe distance and for persons who are not fully vaccinated. The rest of the nave will be open seating. Here is the seating chart prepared by Marie Rosseels, chair of the Usher Guild.
·        We ask all persons who are not fully vaccinated to wear masks while they are in the church.
·        Fully vaccinated persons will not need a facemask in the church but, of course, may continue to wear them.
·        We will continue the present pattern for the ministration of Communion.

This week I was in touch with the Reverend Dr. Ryan Lesh, associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Lesh came to New York in the early 2000s to take a position at Columbia University. Our parish later sponsored him for ordination to the priesthood. After ordination, Father Lesh served as vicar of Christ Church, Red Hook, for ten years while working as an anesthesiologist at a hospital in Poughkeepsie. Though he has since moved to Virginia, he remains a member of our wider community, valuing as he does our parish’s mission and witness. I asked questions about newer COVID-19 protocols. I asked him in particular about congregational singing and the ministration of the chalice. He urged us to take things one step at a time.

One thing he said during our conversation made a big impression on me. It was something he’d heard from a colleague of his who is a senior virologist: “The three most consequential risk factors for COVID-related illness are age, age, and age.”

I suspect that I’m not the only one who has noticed adults, some of whom are much younger than I am, riding on bicycles while wearing a face mask but not a helmet, which seems to me to be not an entirely logical or helpful combination of practices. Bicycling is not an inherently dangerous activity. But it does make sense to take certain precautions whenever one is riding a bike, and wearing a good helmet is one of those precautions, perhaps especially on Manhattan’s busy streets. I would not ride a bike in the city without a proper helmet. Similarly, as the pandemic recedes, I think each of us needs to be asking ourselves: What precautions do I, and we, still need to be taking? How can we continue to take care of ourselves and others? We may come up with different answers, and we should try to respect each other’s choices, but we still need to ask the questions.

Second, I want to tell you that on Monday night, June 21, I told Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees that I plan to retire at the end of this year. On December 31, 2021, I will have served as rector for twenty-two years and eleven months. Only two rectors have had longer tenures, the founding rector, Father Thomas McKee Brown, and the sixth rector, Father Grieg Taber. I am 67 years old. Because I have not reached 72, the mandatory retirement age for clergy in the Episcopal Church, the canons require that I ask for the Board’s permission to resign. That is the same motion presented to the vestry of Trinity Church, Michigan City, Indiana, on December 8, 1998, after Saint Mary’s called me to serve as the ninth rector of the parish. The necessary motion was made and passed.

I’ve put our board’s vice president, Mark Risinger; treasurer, Steven Heffner; and secretary, Marie Rosseels, in touch with the Reverend Canon Nora Smith, canon for Transition Ministries in the diocese of New York. In due time, the Board will call a new rector. This is not a process in which an incumbent or former rector can or should participate.

My husband, Richard Mohammed, and I will be moving to in Naples, Florida, during the last week of December. When I realized that the anniversary of Father Brown’s death, December 19, 1898, is the Fourth Sunday of Advent this year, I decided for reasons personal and symbolic that I very much want that to be my last day of work here at Saint Mary’s. Between December 20 and our flight to Florida, Richard and I will worship at another parish. It will undoubtedly feel strange not to be with you for Christmas this year, but the timing seems to me to be right.

There will be time for me to write words of appreciation for the journey we’ve made together. I know there will be unexpected moments during these last months when I will be overwhelmed by the grace and privilege of serving here as rector. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Charles, Mario, Maria, Nam, Ronald, Roman, Alexei, Christopher, Liduvina, James, Jonathan, Emerson, Rita, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, John, Shalim, Peter, George, Abraham, Burton, Dennis, Ethelyn, Emil, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and Robert; James, Randall and Louis, priests; all who suffer from COVID-19; all who work for the common good; and all the friends and members of this parish. We pray also for the repose of the soul of Ivy Morgan . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . June 27: 1928 Edward Granville Nellis; 1987 Bertram Peate, Robert Hunsicker.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Ivy Morgan, the mother of Dr. Charles Morgan, died at home on Thursday, June 24. Please keep Ivy, Charles, their family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

WE NEED YOUR HELP . . . If you have made a pledge for 2021, please continue to make payments on your pledge, if possible. If you have not yet made a pledge for 2021, we urge you to do so. If you can 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 flowers on Sunday, June 27, the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, are given to the glory of God and in memory of Grace Ijose Aideyan and Emokpolo Aideyan. The flowers were arranged by Scott Holman.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, June 27, The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. No adult-education class. Classes have ended for the summer and will resume in the autumn. Mass 11:00 AM, Father Stephen Gerth, celebrant and preacher; Evening Prayer 5:00 PM . . . Monday–Saturday, June 28–July 3, Mass 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The church is open from 11:00 AM until 5:30 PM . . . Tuesday, June 29, Racism Discussion Group Meeting, 7:00 PM via Zoom. For more information about this ongoing weekly meeting, please call the parish office . . . Next Sunday, July 4, The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Mass 11:00 AM, Father Jay Smith, celebrant and preacher; Evening Prayer 5:00 PM . . . Monday, July 5, Independence Day, Mass 12:10 PM. Evening Prayer will not be said in the church. The parish offices are closed.

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 evening 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.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED . . . At our monthly Drop-by Days, we distribute clothing and toiletry and hygiene items to those in need in the Times Square neighborhood. Last Friday, May 21, we served 29 guests. Our next Drop-by Day is scheduled for Friday, July 16. 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.

You may also support this ministry by making a cash donation (if using PayPal, please write “Neighbors in Need” in the memo line); or by making a donation of clothing or hygiene items. We welcome donations of gently used or new clothing and footwear; unopened toiletry items; backpacks, or small rolling suitcases. All these items should be clean and in good repair. Popular clothing items are: T-shirts, socks (e.g., white and black ankle socks), polo shirts, shirts, and blouses with collars; underwear for men and women in all sizes, including bras, slips, briefs; thermal underwear, sweaters, sweatshirts; slacks/blouses; caps, and scarves. We are happy to receive donations of clean towels, but not bedding or housewares such as dishes, glasses or silverware. Please speak to MaryJane Boland, Marie Rosseels, Sharon Stewart, or Father Jay Smith about scheduling a donation.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Toccata in C Major, BWV 564, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is also known as Toccata, Adagio and Fugue because its component sections are so fully developed that they seem more like distinctly separate movements than a string of sections making up one continuous piece. The Adagio which Bach placed between the three-sectioned opening of the Toccata and the concluding Fugue is separated out and played as Sunday’s prelude. This Adagio (slow movement) is a gentle instrumental aria with treble melody supported by a simple pizzicato-style bass and essential harmony. It is in the key of A minor, the minor key most closely related to C Major. Just as this Adagio seems to be drawing to a close, the solo line leads into a rich chordal passage which effects a modulation and final cadence in C Major. The postlude on Sunday is Bach’s stand-alone Prelude in A minor, BWV 569. This seldom performed piece begins with a descending flourish over a pedal point. It then launches an extended series of short harmonic motives which are answered by rocking bass tones an octave apart. Variants of these musical gestures repeat and animate the remainder of the piece.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is Mass III as found in the Liber Usualis (“Usual Book”), a comprehensive anthology of medieval Roman plainsong compiled in the nineteenth century by the monks of Solesmes, France. Like the several other numbered Masses of the Gregorian Missal, Mass III is a collection of chants for the Ordinary of the Mass which likely were originally independent pieces brought together and associated with one another by later custom. This particular combination was traditionally sung on solemn feasts. The Gloria of Mass III dates from the eleventh century and is in Mode 8. Sanctus and Agnus Dei of this Mass are both in Mode 4 and are probably of twelfth-century origin.

During the Communion on Sunday, Jonathan May, countertenor, will sing the aria Thou shalt bring them in from Part II of the oratorio Israel in Egypt by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759). Handel completed Israel in Egypt in 1739. The libretto was likely compiled by Charles Jennens (1700–1773) who worked with Handel on several other oratorios, most notably, Messiah. The texts for Israel in Egypt are compiled from the Book of Exodus and the Psalms. Typical of its time, Handel’s Israel in Egypt contains some previously composed music which the composer recycled and repurposed. Handel also parodied works of other composers in this oratorio. Atypical for the time was the large number of choral movements relative to those for solo voices. The graceful alto aria Thou shalt bring them in comes near the end of the oratorio and immediately precedes its grand and celebratory final choruses.

More About the Cantor on Sunday: Jonathan May, countertenor, performs regularly with ensembles such as Early Music New York, Trident Ensemble, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. He was most recently featured as a soloist in SWELL, a music-theater work by Melisa Tien that weaves together ten original avant-garde/new music compositions written by ten composers drawing from their personal histories as immigrants and children of immigrants. Through SWELL, he worked with Carolyn Chen, Tamar Muskal, Polina Nazaykinskaya, and other composers to premiere several new music pieces written specifically for his voice.

He has appeared with New York City’s TENET Vocal Artists in unconducted performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, featuring only twelve singers and the instrumental ensemble The Sebastians. He also appeared as Testo in the Academy of Sacred Drama’s modern premiere of Vincenzo de Grandis’s Il Nascimento di Mose. Other season highlights include appearances as alto soloist in C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat with American Classical Orchestra and in Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Canticum Scholare; singing the role of Spirit in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group; singing Philip Glass’s Madrigal Opera at National Sawdust; and performing Tallis’s Spem in alium with The Tallis Scholars. He holds a degree in music from Dartmouth College. —David Hurd

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Would you like to donate altar flowers? We are looking those willing to donate altar flowers for all the Sundays in July and August, except for August 15. The suggested donation is $250. Donors often give flowers in memory, thanksgiving, or celebration of people or life events they would like to pay tribute to. Please contact Chris Howatt, if you would like to donate or speak to Brendon Hunter for more information . . . Please speak to the rector if you’d like to volunteer to take photographs on Sunday morning, during Mass or the adult-education classes. The photographs are used to illustrate the weekly newsletter.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Thursday, July 22, Saint Mary Magdalene . . . Friday, August 6, The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Sunday, August 15, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . Tuesday, August 24, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle . . . Monday, September 6, Labor Day . . . Wednesday, September 8, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . Saturday, September 11, Requiem Mass for Victims of Attacks on 9/11/2001 . . . Tuesday, September 14, Holy Cross Day . . . Tuesday, September 21, Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist . . . Wednesday, September 29, Saint Michael and All Angels.

AT THE MUSEUMS . . . At the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library, Central Park West and Seventy-seventh Street (entrance at Seventy-sixth Street), Safe/Haven is a free, outdoor exhibition that takes place in the rear courtyard of the museum. (The entrance is near 5 West Seventy-sixth Street.) To maintain social distancing, you are asked to book your free, timed-entry tickets on the museum’s dedicated Safe/Haven ticketing site.

More about the Safe/Haven exhibition: During weekends and summers in the pre-Stonewall era, gay men and women, including many New Yorkers, traveled to the secluded beach town of Cherry Grove on Fire Island where they found opportunities for sexual exploration and self-expression—behavior that was both stigmatized and criminalized in the straight world. Together with creative figures like Truman Capote, W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, and Patricia Highsmith, these visitors to the Grove took pleasure in the costumed parties, theatrical events, and liberated atmosphere that this gay sanctuary provided.

On view outdoors in New-York Historical’s rear courtyard, this exhibition explores the gay and lesbian community that flourished during the 1950s in Cherry Grove through some seventy enlarged photographs and additional ephemera from the unique holdings of the Cherry Grove Archives Collection. Visiting Hours: Monday–Thursday Closed; Friday (Members, age 65+, and immunocompromised only) 10:00–11:00 AM; (all others) Friday 11:00 AM–8:00 PM; Saturday & Sunday 11:00 AM–5:00 PM.

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.