FROM THE RECTOR: NARVEL JAMES CRAWFORD, JR., NOVEMBER 11, 1929–SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Narvel James Crawford, Jr., known to everyone as Jim, died early on Friday morning, September 10. He was ninety-one years old. He was born and grew up in Asheville, North Carolina. When his work as a property manager no longer took him on the road, he returned and lived in Asheville for the rest of his life. He was an only child. I know his parents are buried in the churchyard of Calvary Church, Fletcher, North Carolina, and I presume he will be buried there too.

As a teenager visiting New York with his parents, Jim walked by Saint Mary’s along with them. The rector, Father Grieg Taber, happened to be there and greeted them. It was the beginning of what would be a relationship with Saint Mary’s for the rest of Jim’s life. He would know four rectors of this parish.

Jim was a graduate of Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 in the Counter Intelligence Corps. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1981 and served until 1995.

One of Jim’s great friendships was with the Right Reverend James Winchester Montgomery (1921–2019), IX Bishop of Chicago. Jim was confirmed here on January 17, 1968, by Bishop Montgomery in the Lady Chapel. Another friend was the Reverend Canon A. Darwin Kirby, Jr., (1918–2006, rector of Saint George’s Church, Schenectady, New York, from 1947 until 1987). Father Kirby proposed Jim, a lifelong Democrat, for membership in the Union League Club—founded in 1863 to support the Union. Jim always smiled as he spoke about the membership interview. It’s where he stayed when he came to the city. He loved New York and all that it offered, especially music, theater, and dining.

Jim liked to be at Saint Mary’s for the patronal feast, December 8, the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So he and Clayton Ryan, his companion, a realtor who lived with him and was a great help to him, had already made plans to be here this year for the patronal feast.

Jim encouraged me to invite Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to be here for Maundy Thursday in 2020. Jim’s home was in the diocese of Western North Carolina, not Bishop Curry’s diocese of North Carolina. But he had met and was a great supporter of Bishop Curry. In the end, we were not open for public worship because of the pandemic. But Bishop Curry graciously recorded a sermon for us to broadcast that night.

Jim was always a generous host to the clergy when he was in town and was often a guest at Saint Mary’s rectory during his visits to the city. He loved recalling how things had changed in the rectory over the years. For example, when Father Taber was rector, he often reminded me that the parish still employed a housekeeper who cooked for the rector. Jim said Father Taber would use a buzzer near the head of the table in the rectory dining room to summon his housekeeper. Back then, the rectory kitchen was located in what is now Saint Benedict’s Study, and what is now the kitchen was a pantry. (If you open the door in Saint Benedict’s to see inside what seems to be a closet, you will discover the staircase that linked the room to the pantry. There was also a dumbwaiter that ran from the basement to the fourth floor.)

Finally, though he remained a member of Saint Mary’s, he lived close (479 feet according to Google Maps) to Saint Mary’s Church, Asheville, a parish with an Anglo-Catholic tradition. He worshipped there and was loyal to that parish, but his church home was here on West Forty-sixth Street.

I had hoped to visit Jim in Asheville in late October. I enjoyed meeting his friends there. One couple turned out to be friends of an aunt and uncle of mine. Jim was frail in recent years. But he was still very sharp. A recent fall meant surgery and hospitalization. He did not recover from the surgery. I will miss knowing him. I will miss his phone calls—they could come just about any time of the day or evening. I will remember his gentle Carolina accent. I’m glad his mortal body is at rest, and he is home with his heavenly Father. —Stephen Gerth

LIVE-STREAM OPERATORS NEEDED . . . On September 1, 2021, Father Matthew Mead wrote his congregation about their new live-stream system. I shared it with Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees. Board Member Blair Burroughs has volunteered to head up the team of four or five persons who can rotate the working of this new ministry. I asked for his permission to edit and publish it for our situation. I think you will find Father Mead’s explanation very helpful. For this newsletter, I’ve made changes to make to reflect our parish’s installation and program.

Our new live-stream system is nearly installed! We think the Solemn Mass at 11:00 AM on Sunday, September 19, may be the first live-stream service on the new system, if not September 19, then September 26 for sure.

What is a Live-stream Operator/Producer? Our new live-stream system (see below for details on the system) requires an operator to run. The operator essentially produces the broadcast for each live-streamed service. The operator oversees audio levels, switches between cameras and camera views, and tracks and interacts with online viewers. The room next to the sacristy that we call the Morning Room will be the control room. Father Mead wrote of himself: “I’d love to be an operator. I have enjoyed playing around with the cameras as the system was installed. But I have a different ministry at church. It requires me to be in front of the cameras rather than behind them!”

What skills are needed? The only skills needed for being an operator are enjoying TV, Movies, Tech, and “Running the Show.” The basics of live-stream setup can be learned fairly easily. A good live-stream operator will soon understand advanced features and bring his or her vision and ideas to the broadcast. Suppose you or your teenager has a YouTube or TikTok channel, enjoys recording videos, is a movie or TV buff, has a background in theater, or knows even a smidge of tech or programming. In that case, you and your teenager probably already know half of what you need to know to be an operator. For a teenager, this is a great way to help Saint Mary’s. He or she can learn a new ministry, earn community service hours, add a skill set that looks good on a college application or resume, and, most importantly, have fun. Of course, training sessions will be held for the team as needed.

Which Services & Events will be live-streamed by the operator? We are planning to live-stream our 11:00 AM Sunday Solemn Mass and other greater feasts during the year and weddings and funerals. Each service requires only one operator, and we hope to have a team of four to five operators who can take turns. In addition, when Sunday Evensong & Eucharistic Benediction returns to our regular schedule, I hope we can live-stream those services as well.

What if we have no operator on a given Sunday? We can do a “set shot” without an operator for any service using only a single camera that doesn’t move or zoom in during the service. Unfortunately, that is less than ideal, and it’s not much fun.

What sort of Live-stream system does Saint Mary’s have? Video: Saint Mary’s has installed and mounted three permanent video cameras that provide excellent views of our entire sanctuary. The cameras are new PTZ cameras that Point, Tilt, and Zoom. These cameras can each provide great views around the whole church.

Audio: We have installed new speakers, pulpit and lectern mics, and new headset mics for the clergy. The sound for in-person worship is excellent. Additionally, we have mounted microphones to ensure that the choir, organ, and congregation will be heard online clearly. The result will be good audio in church and online.

The Morning Room: The live-stream system hub is a room that was originally two rooms, one opening to the rectory entrance hall (a closet, I think) and a smaller room opening from the hallway by the sacristy. I suspect they were made into one room in 1964 when the original rectory kitchen became Saint Benedict’s Study.

The operator will run the live-stream from this room and be close enough to the chancel to receive Communion—or ask that Communion be brought to him or her. The morning room houses two monitors, control panels—including a joystick!—to run the cameras and audio. Everything runs off a powerful “gaming” computer. Again, if you are interested in this fun and rewarding new ministry, or if you have any questions, let me know ASAP!—S.G.

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Jack, Ernest, Bradley, B.G., José, Larry, Emily, Robert, Talia, Esmé, Joseph, Mashayla, Gary, Greta, Pat, Eloise, Hortense, Ralph, Mario, Liduvina, Jonathan, Emerson, Rita, Marilouise, Quincy, Florette, John, Shalim, Peter, and George; Randall, Louis, and Albert, priests and Andrew, bishop; all who suffer from COVID-19; all those affected by terrorist attacks, warfare, or natural disaster; all who work for the common good; all the friends and members of this parish; and for the repose of the soul of Narvel James Crawford, Jr. . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . September 12: 1916 Mr. Wilkinson; 1940 Eliza Cecilia Knight; 1941 Walter Beal Holden; 1947 Thomas Henry Coles; 1998 John William Onderko.

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

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, September 12, The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19, Year B). The readings are Isaiah 50:4–11; Psalm 116:1–8; James 2:1–5, 8–10, 14–18; Mark 8:22–9:1. The celebrant and preacher will be Father Stephen Gerth. Evening Prayer is said in the church on Sundays at 5:00 PM . . . Monday–Saturday, September 13–September 18, Mass 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The church is open from 10:00 AM until 5:30 PM . . . Tuesday, September 14, Holy Cross Day . . . Tuesday, September 14, Racism Discussion Group Meeting, 7:00 PM via Zoom. For more information about this ongoing weekly meeting, please call the parish office . . . Friday, September 17, Neighbors in Need Drop-by, 2:00–3:00 PM . . . Friday, September 17, 6:30 PM, Saint Mary’s Online Centering Prayer Group . . . Next Sunday, September 19, The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20, Year B). The readings are Wisdom 1:16–2:1, 12–22; Psalm 54; James 3:16–4:6; Mark 9:14–37.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish for work between Tuesday, September 14, and Thursday, September 16. He will assist at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, September 19 . . . Dr. David Hurd will be away from the parish on vacation until the end of September. He returns to the parish in time for the beginning of the choir season on Sunday, October 3 . . . Father Gerth will be away from the parish from Saturday, September 18. He returns Saturday afternoon, September 25.

ABOUT THE MUSIC . . . The organ voluntaries at the Solemn Mass for the next three weeks will explore the liturgical music of Marcel Dupré (1886–1971), the French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Dupré, titular organist at St. Sulpice in Paris for most of his life, was one of the great organ prodigies, able to do such things as play all the works of J.S. Bach from memory. His legacy as a teacher is especially profound, and many of his liturgical compositions were written to help his students master both the instrument and the different styles they would encounter in the organ repertoire. Often woven around the ancient chant melodies familiar to us at Saint Mary’s, Dupré’s music sounds especially wonderful on the Saint Mary’s organ, with its French colors and elegant ensembles.

Sunday’s voluntaries look ahead to Holy Cross Day on Tuesday. One of Dupré’s best-known collections of works, Le Tombeau de Titelouze (1942), is a tribute to Jean Titelouze (1588–1633), a pioneer in liturgical French music Dupré greatly admired. The prelude is Dupré’s setting of “Vexilla Regis” from this collection. (“Forth come the standards of the king. Here shines the mystery of the Cross on which Life has suffered death. And, through death, has begotten Life.”). A surprisingly meditative work, it seems to invite contemplation of the phrase, “Here shines the mystery of the Cross.” At the postlude we hear from Titelouze himself. Titelouze was canon and organist at Rouen Cathedral, where he composed organ music rooted in the Renaissance polyphonic style rather than the much different French Baroque fashion emerging at the time. His style shines through in the first verset of “Ad Caenam Agni Providi” (“At the Lamb’s High Feast, clothed in white robes, after passing through the Red Sea, let us praise Christ our Lord”). The Gregorian melody sounds forth from the pedal under a grand three-voiced contrapuntal setting.

Sunday’s cantor is Dr. Mark Risinger. During the Communion he will sing As we gather at your table. The text, published in 1989, is by the Reverend Dr. Carl P. Daw (b. 1944), one of the most prolific hymn writers of our time. Father Daw, English scholar and Episcopal priest, was a major contributor of original hymn texts, fresh translations, and refinements of older English texts in the preparation of The Hymnal 1982. His work since that time has received broad ecumenical and international recognition as many of his texts have become staples of modern hymn collections. Daw’s three-stanza As we gather at your table has appeared in recent hymnals set to various standard hymn tunes. However, the original music for this text was composed by David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary’s. Eastern Shore Chapel, Virginia Beach, Virginia, commissioned both the words and the original musical setting in 1988, which Dr. Mark Risinger will sing at Mass on Sunday.

Mark Risinger, a Texas native, has been a member of the Saint Mary’s choir since 2005 and is also currently a member of the Board of Trustees. He teaches music and English literature at Saint Bernard’s School and serves on the Education Committee of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. As a soloist, he has performed opera and oratorio throughout the United States, Europe, and Mexico, including appearances with New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the New York Choral Society, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Opera Orchestra of New York, Boston Baroque, and the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia. In addition to degrees in English literature, he holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Harvard University, where he completed a dissertation on the compositional process of G.F. Handel and where he was Lecturer on Music for five years. In addition to teaching and singing, he is a frequent guest lecturer for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and an editor of the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe.

Our guest organist on Sunday is parishioner, Clark Anderson. Clark took his first job as church organist at the age of thirteen and went on to hold a variety of organist and music director positions over the next thirty years, until his day job as a banker forced him to retire from the organ bench. Since then, he has performed and accompanied periodically, and he is always happy to be at the Saint Mary’s console. Clark holds degrees from Princeton University (where he was University Organist and Assistant Conductor) and Pomona College. Clark is currently a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley here in the city, and he and his husband, Zachary, have been members of Saint Mary’s since 2014. Dr. David Hurd is on vacation this month.

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, September 17. (Next month’s Drop-by Day is to take place on Friday, October 15.) 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.

We would welcome donations of new packets of underwear for both men and women, including undershirts, briefs, boxers, boxer briefs, brassieres, etc. We are so grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry so generously.

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.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . There has been a change in our Christian Education offerings for the fall. Father Jay Smith will not be teaching his series on Virtue and the Virtues as Guides for Christian Living. He plans to teach that series in spring 2022. Instead, on the five Sundays in October 2021, he will teach a series on the Desert Fathers and Mothers, their sayings, their lives, and their enduring influence and significance. During the month of November, Father Peter Powell about The Holiness Code, Leviticus 17–27.

VOLUNTEERS & DONORS NEEDED . . . A Note to Our Faithful Ushers: If you are at Mass and notice that the ushers’ table is understaffed, we invite you to jump in and lend a hand. It’s vacation season, and on some Sundays, we do not have a full complement of ushers . . . Would you like to donate altar flowers? We are hoping to receive donations for flowers for the following Sundays: October 17, 24, and 31. The flowers on the altar on October 31 will, of course, remain on the altar for All Saints’ Day, Monday, November 1. 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.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Tuesday, September 21, Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist . . . Wednesday, September 29, Saint Michael and All Angels . . . Sunday, October 3, The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, The Beginning of the 2021–2022 Choir Season and the 2021–2022 Christian Education Season . . . Monday, October 11, Columbus Day, Federal Holiday Schedule . . . Monday, October 18, Saint Luke the Evangelist . . . Saturday, October 23, Saint James of Jerusalem . . . Thursday, October 28, Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles . . . Monday, November 1, All Saints’ Day . . . Tuesday, November 2, All Souls’ Day. 

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.