FROM THE RECTOR: ENRICHING THE LECTIONARY

Since the pandemic began, your clergy, though we continued to pray Daily Evening Prayer together in the church, have prayed Daily Morning Prayer on our own. I have been praying Morning Prayer using a small size two-volume travel version, Daily Office Book (Church Publishing, 1986). Our 1979 Prayer Book only requires a total of three lessons for Daily Morning and Evening Prayer. So, when I travel, I use Derek Olsen’s online St. Bede’s Breviary (this link will give you a choice to choose your platform) so that I can have two lessons at Evening Prayer without having to carry two books.

Father Matthew Mead, since 2015 rector of Christ Church Pelham, initiated our Lectionary Project while he served here as curate from 2004 until 2009. Since its inception, we have used the Prayer Book’s permission to lengthen lessons. One of the first goals was to make sure that we read all of the New Testament at the Daily Office. Over time, we also have included more of the Old Testament than is appointed.

Just this week, on Thursday, July 22, I prayed the Morning Office for Saint Magdalene and discovered an omission. The second lesson omits the concluding verse of Mark’s gospel. (You can learn about the final appendix, Mark 16:9–20, here). It appoints the beginning of Mark’s concise account of the first Easter, Mark 15:47–16:7, to be read: and omits the last verse, Mark 16:8. Here is the appointed passage:

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; -it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’ ”

This is the omitted verse, Mark 16:8:

And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.

I was very happy when I checked and discovered that our lectionary page for Morning Prayer for the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene already includes the omitted verse. I think we should hear the whole story: the women were afraid. Writing about this verse, Raymond Brown wrote, “Mark’s theology is consistent: Even a proclamation of the resurrection does not produce faith without the hearer’s personal encounter with suffering and carrying the cross” (An Introduction to the New Testament [1997], 148). We should work to be aware of the way different translations and lectionaries obscure the role of women.

Most weeks, there are few footnotes in the appointed readings of our own lectionary pages. However, the week that began on Sunday, July 18, 2021, Year One, Proper 11, has four evenings with notes about what we hear or don't hear from the Book of Joshua.

• We include Joshua 7:14–16a, 18b–21, 25–26 to hear the discovery and punishment of the criminal (Monday).

• We include Joshua 8:23 to set the stage for the continuation of the story of the victory at Ai (Tuesday).

• We include Joshua 9:1–2 to hear the beginning of the story of the Gibeonites (Thursday).

• The structure of the lectionary makes it impractical to continue with Joshua 10:16–11:23, which recounts in some detail the cruelties of the conquest of Canaan. The lectionary also omits Joshua 12:1–22:34. These chapters are “dominated by the allotment of territory to the tribes” (John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 3rd. Ed. [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018], 208) (Friday).

I feel blessed to be an Episcopalian for many reasons. Our Anglican tradition values truth about what we know and don’t know. I dislike intensely the narratives of cruelties ordained by the Lord in the Book of Joshua. But I won’t pretend that these passages are not there. I pray that hearts and minds may continue to be open to scripture, reason, and tradition and to carrying the burden of our humanity in this life so that we may be ready for the life of the world to come. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Terry, Norman, Phil, Shayleigh, Richard, Emily, Brian, Larry, José, Liduvina, Jonathan, Emerson, Rita, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, John, Shalim, Peter, George, Abraham, Dennis, Emil, Ethelyn, Hardy, Margaret, and Robert; for Jack, RELIGIOUS, and James, Randall, and Louis, PRIESTS; for all who suffer from COVID-19; for all who work for the common good; and for all the friends and members of this parish . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . July 25: 1892 Emma J. Estelle; 1893 Jacob Hatter; 1898 Evan Gwynne Sherman; 1910 Frank Joseph Horworth; 1914 John Allen West; 1944 Emma Brandt Donovan; 1949 Oswald Tregaskis.

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. —The Stewardship Committee

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Would you like to donate altar flowers? We are looking those willing to donate altar flowers for all the Sundays in August and September, except for August 15. (During the month of September, we celebrate the following feast days: the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Cross Day, Saint Matthew, and Saint Michael and All Angels.) The suggested donation for flowers is $250. Donors often give flowers in memory of, thanksgiving for, or celebration of certain people or life events. Please contact Chris Howatt in the parish office, if you would like to donate or you may also 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.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, July 25, The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Mass 11:00 AM, Father Stephen Gerth, celebrant and preacher; Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The church opens at 10:00 AM and closes at 5:30 PM . . . Monday–Saturday, July 26–31, Mass 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The church is open from 11:00 AM until 5:30 PM . . . Monday, July 26, Saint James the Apostle (transferred) . . . Tuesday, July 27, Racism Discussion Group Meeting, 7:00 PM via Zoom. For more information about this ongoing weekly meeting, please call the parish office . . . Next Sunday, August 1, The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: Mass 11:00 AM, Father Matthew Daniel Jacobson, celebrant and preacher; Evening Prayer 5:00 PM.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . We are happy to announce that Father Peter Powell will be teaching in our adult-education program this fall on Sundays from November 7 until December 19. Father Powell has proven to be a popular Bible teacher both here at Saint Mary’s and at parishes in Connecticut. We are pleased that he will be able to teach in the autumn and again during Lent 2022.

This year, Father Powell will be teaching a class about the Holiness Code, Leviticus 17–27. He writes, “I have long been attracted to the Holiness Code as the source of much of what has become Christian Ethics. The foundation of the call to be ethical is that we are called to be Holy because the Lord Our God, who brought his people up from the land of Egypt, is Holy. To be Holy is to be a people apart. This fall and then again in Lent we will look at these chapters and related chapters in the Torah that ground us in what we undertake when we say we are children of God. Our faith has expectations. These are not the easiest chapters to read so we will do so carefully as we learn about ourselves and our faith. In these chapters you will find the texts used to argue against same-sex marriage as well as the texts used to mandate the forgiveness of debts. How do we read these texts today in a way that takes each seriously while understanding them in their context? We live in a church that encourages marriage for all who desire it. Are we in conflict with the bible or might there be, as I think there is, another way of treating these difficult verses? We live in world in which some are calling for the forgiveness of all student debt (and some for the cancelling of all debt for the poor), what does the call for Jubilee have to say about how we are Christians today? These are only two of the many ethical issues raised in these chapters. I look forward to studying with you in the fall.”

ABOUT THE MUSIC . . . English musicologist Denis Vaughan’s 1957 edition of the thirty keyboard voluntaries of John Stanley includes the following note: “John Stanley was born in London in 1713. He was blinded by accident at the age of two and at eight years was studying music with Maurice Greene. His genius was such that he was appointed organist at All Hallows, Bread Street, at the age of eleven, and in 1726 organist of Saint Andrew’s, Holborn. He graduated as a Bachelor of Music at Oxford in 1729, and in 1734 was appointed one of the organists of the Temple Church in London. In 1779, he succeeded [William] Boyce as Master of the King’s Band of Music. His compositions include several oratorios, a masque, a cantata, and an opera. He also wrote many songs; solos for the flute, violin, or harpsichord, [and] concertos for strings.” Voluntary VIII in D minor is comparable to Italian baroque concertos which such composers as J. S. Bach and his cousin Johann Gottfried Walther transcribed for keyboard. Stanley similarly appropriated much of the character of Italian baroque string writing to his keyboard voluntary. The first two movements of Voluntary VIII will be played for the prelude. This final movement, a fugue marked Allegro, will be played for the postlude.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is Mass V 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 V (In Festis Duplicibus. 2) 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 combination was traditionally sung on certain feast days in the Roman calendar. The Gloria of Mass V is in Mode 8. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei are both in Mode 4. All three chants date from the twelfth century.

The cantor at Mass is Christopher Howatt, office manager at Saint Mary’s and tenor in the choir. During the ministration of Communion, he will sing A Simple Song from Mass (1971) by Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990). Bernstein, a giant of American twentieth-century musical life, called the piece “Hymn and Psalm: A Simple Song.” The text consists of verses taken from several psalms, which have been adapted and woven together by the composer in collaboration with Stephen Schwartz (b.1948). —David Hurd

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. Our next Drop-by Day is scheduled for Friday, August 20. 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.

At the moment, we would welcome donations of travel-size hygiene items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, hand sanitizer, and feminine hygiene products. We are also very happy to receive donations of single-trip MTA Transit cards. These are useful for our guests who need to travel to soup kitchens, appointments at health clinics, or meetings with social workers. We are so grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry so generously.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . 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.

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.