FROM FATHER PETER POWELL: ON STIR UP SUNDAY

This coming Sunday, December 11, is of course Rose Sunday. It is also known as Gaudete Sunday. But it is also Stir Up Sunday, and I’d like to say a few words about why this is so.

The term comes from the opening words of the collect appointed for the Third Sunday of Advent in the Book of Common Prayer 1979:

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

“Stir Up” Sunday commends itself to me for a number of reasons, among them its appearance in an Agatha Christie mystery novel. Poirot (in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding in The Sketch, 1923) is at an English Country Home on “Stir Up” Sunday and the meaning of “stir up” here refers to the making of Christmas pudding, a concoction that improves with age. This appropriation of the collect has nothing to do with the prayer, but does illustrate how the liturgy invades popular culture. Making the pudding on “Stir Up” Sunday—at that time the collect was appointed for the Sunday Next Before Advent, reminded the British to “stir the pudding.” Five weeks before Christmas gives it enough time to age well.

The collect also commends itself because it is an excellent example of how easy it is to write a collect. As Episcopalians we pronounce collect differently from everyone else. A successful collect collects the thoughts of the petition we wish to make in prayer. Collects usually include only a single petition. They are both simple and compelling. Episcopalians are notoriously poor extemporaneous prayers. Memorizing the form of a collect makes off-the-cuff prayer easier. The form is straightforward once you see it. Collects open with that aspect of God we wish to address. Sunday’s collect uses the vivid phrase “stir up” as a way of focusing on the Lord’s power or “might.” Then there comes a petition. In this collect, we ask to be freed from the burden of our sins. The petition is followed by the solution that we seek, which in this case is God’s grace and glory, which are gifts that have the power to deliver us from our sinfulness. Collects close with an ascription of praise offered in the confidence that our petition will be granted.

If the Anglican Church, and by extension the Episcopal Church, can be said to have a sixteenth-century founder, like Calvin for the Reformed Churches and Luther for Lutheranism, it could be argued that that founder was Thomas Cranmer. He served Henry VIII and was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1532–1534. We owe much of our liturgy’s shape to him and to his facility in translating Latin into an economical but beautiful and memorable English. He translated this prayer from the Latin, rendering the Latin word excita as “stir up.” At that time, it was one of three Advent “stir up” prayers.

We can see the basic structure of a collect modeled in my other favorite collect, which is appointed to be said or sung on a Sunday late in the post-Pentecost season, namely on Proper 28.

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them. that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Here the petition is addressed to the aspect of God that caused the Bible to be written. The petition is a desire to study scripture intensely and to read the Bible for content, not looking for inspirational phrases but to know the Bible’s story. The solution is an enhanced ability to apprehend the life we have in Christ, followed by an ascription of praise.

For those of us who grew up with the Book of Common Prayer 1928, we cannot help noticing that this collect used to be sung in Advent, while the “stir up” collect was heard on a Sunday after Trinity. The current Prayer Book restores Stir Up to its traditional place in Advent and puts the Collect for Scriptures at the end of the church year.

Rose Sunday is modeled on Refreshment Sunday (Lent IV) and reflects the thought that Advent is a little Lent. Most of us no longer see Advent as a little Lent, but the practice of Rose Sunday continues. I was sitting next to a United Methodist pastor earlier this week and she said that they used pink candles on this Sunday, but she had no idea why. In the United Kingdom, Lent IV is also known as Mothering Sunday

The title Gaudete Sunday comes from the first word of the traditional introit for the day. “Gaudete” means “rejoice.”

The collects are the church’s gift to us. I hope you have a copy of the Book of Common Prayer and pray the collects. If you are troubled and wish you knew the appropriate prayer, you can either construct your own collect using the guidelines in this article, or consult pp. 810-813 in the Prayer Book for more examples of specific petitions. The goal is to help each of us develop our confidence in praying to God with the hope of deepening our relationship with God. — PRP 

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

We pray for those who are sick and for those in any need or trouble. We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week; for those living with drought, storm, flood, fire, and earthquake; and we pray especially for Emil, Marilyn, Clark, David, Pat, Penny, Steven, Gloria, Samantha, Lourdes, Luis, Liduvina, Nora, Emily, Theodore, Joyce, Joe, Monique, Frank, Mary Hope, Marjorie, José, Bruce, Robert, Barbara, Gigi, Julie, Carol, Helga, Gina, Maria, Charlotte, Greg, Eric, Carlos, Christopher, Shalim, Greta, Quincy, Laverne, Gypsy, Robert, and Rick, priest.

We give thanks for God’s many blessings, especially for the gifts of life, abundance, prayer, music, art, and beauty. We give thanks for those times and places when goodness has overcome evil, courage has overcome fear, and life has overcome death. We give thanks for this parish community and for the many volunteers—both members and friends of this parish—who gave of their time this week in support of this parish’s ministries.

We pray for the members of the Discernment Committee who have been asked to search for a new rector for Saint Mary’s

STEWARDSHIP UPDATE

As of December 7, we have received 60 pledge cards for a total of $299,311 -- almost 75% of our $400,000 goal. Last year, however, we had 130 pledges, so we still anticipate more coming in. The vital work of prayer and outreach at Saint Mary's is only possible because of the financial support of people like you, and the Board and Staff have already begun the process of budgeting for our work in 2023. If you have not done so, please consider making your pledge today. You can click here to submit a pledge online.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Sunday, December 11, The Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete or Rose Sunday), Adult Education 9:30 AM in Saint Benedict’s Study in the Parish House; Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. The Liturgy of the Word at the Solemn Mass will be an adaptation of the service of lessons and carols. The readings will be Genesis 3:1-15, Isaiah 40: 1–11, Isaiah 35:1–10, Isaiah 7:10–15, and Luke 1:26–38.

Commemorations this week: Monday, December 12, Anniversary of the Dedication of the Church, 1895. On this day we remember the one hundred twenty-seventh anniversary of the consecration of the parish’s second and present parish church. We also commemorate Our Lady of Guadalupe at this Mass . . . Tuesday, December 13, Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse in Sicily, c. 304 . . . Wednesday, December 14, John of the Cross, Mystic and Monastic Reformer, 1591.

Wednesday, December 14, Holy Hour, Lady Chapel, 11:00–11:50 AM. A time of prayerful silence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

THE GREAT O ANTIPHONS OF ADVENT

Beginning on Friday, December 16, we will recite the traditional Advent antiphon appointed for that day at the beginning and end of the Magnificat, the canticle recited after the first reading at Evening Prayer. We will recite a different Advent antiphon each day through and including December 23. From An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: “The Great O Antiphons are the antiphons sung [or said] before and after the Magnificat at [Evening Prayer] on the seven days before Christmas . . . Each antiphon begins with the letter ‘O” and a name or attribute of God from the Hebrew Scriptures: O Sapientia,/‘O Wisdom’; O Adonai/‘O Sacred Lord’; O Radix Jesse/‘O Root of Jesse’; O Clavis David/‘O Key of David’; O Oriens/‘O Rising Sun’; O Rex gentium/‘O King of the nations’; and O Emmanuel. In the Roman rite the antiphons are sung December 17–23, but in the medieval Sarum use [which we use here at Saint Mary’s], they begin on December 16 [and conclude] on December 23 with O Virgo virginum (‘O Virgin of virgins’). The Great O Antiphons have been adapted as a popular Advent hymn, ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ (Hymnal 1982 # 56).”

The O Antiphons are a beautiful and much-loved part of the Advent season. Their appearance in the Daily Office marks the soon-to-arrive Feast of the Nativity. The antiphons can be used as a form of prayer and meditation both within and outside of the Daily Office. They remind us that both Jews and Muslims recite the Names of God as a form of prayer and devotion. For Christians, to recite the Names of God during Advent is to point to Jesus the Christ, Son of God, Word of God, second person of the Holy Trinity. They remind us that Jesus is the helpless child in the manger and is also, miraculously and ineffably, God from God, Light from Light, the One “through whom all things were made.” They point us to Jesus of Nazareth who suffered, died, and was buried “for our sake,” but who also rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, taking his and our humanity into the very heart of God, and who is now present with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

AROUND THE PARISH

The Parish Prayer List: Intercessory prayer is very important to the people of Saint Mary’s. The clergy receive several requests to add new names to the prayer list each and every week. Unlike some parishes, we do not remove names after a set number of days or weeks. Some names have been on the list for a very long time.

We would like to bring a bit more clarity to this process:

a.) When asking for names to be added to the prayer lists, try to give us an estimate of how long you’d like the name to be on the lists.

b.) If you’d like the name to remain on the list “indefinitely,” please send an e-mail to Father Smith every month, letting him know if you’d like the name to remain on the list for another month.

c.) Whenever possible please try to avoid making requests on Sunday mornings or just before the beginning of a weekday Mass, solemn or said. If you do that, the name will have to be written into the list, and the name is then easily forgotten in subsequent weeks. This is, unfortunately, where the mundane and bureaucratic comes crashing into the spiritual and pastoral.

Roberto’s Winds and the Michiko Rehearsal Studio are located at 149 West 46th Street, right next door to Saint Mary’s. They have been our neighbors for many years, and they have been good neighbors. However, they have lost their lease and are moving to West 39th Street. We will miss them.

As a way of saying goodbye to our neighborhood, they will be presenting a farewell concert here at Saint Mary’s on Sunday, December 11, at 2:00 PM, when Coffee Hour is over. The concert is free, and the friends and members of Saint Mary’s are invited to attend.

FROM THE FLOWER GUILD

Volunteers are needed for Christmas flowers and decorations. Preparations will begin on Saturday, December 17, with work continuing daily through December 24, with particular need for people of any skill level (no flower arranging happening) to help unpack deliveries, move materials into place, and hang greenery on Saturday, December 17 from morning through afternoon; Sunday, December 19 in the afternoon; and Tuesday, December 21 in the morning. Anyone interested in creating flower arrangements, of any skill level, is also welcome during the production week. Please contact Brendon Hunter if you are able to help or have any questions.

Many Sundays and feast days in 2023 are available to donate the altar flowers, including the Epiphany and Baptism of Our Lord, January 6 and 8; Sundays January 15 and 22; Candlemas, February 2; Sundays February 5, 12, and 19; and the Annunciation, March 25. Please contact Chris Howatt if you would like to make a donation for one of the available dates.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED, SAINT MARY’S OUTREACH MINISTRY

There will be two Drop-by distributions of clothing and hygiene items in December. The first, which is planned for Tuesday, December 13, is designed primarily for families with children, especially for those seeking asylum now sheltering in our neighborhood. The second will take place on Friday, December 16, and will be primarily for the guests, mostly single adults, whom we’ve served for some time now. This two-part distribution system will allow us to prepare somewhat different items for each group and to provide Spanish-speaking interpreters for those who have come from South and Central America, many of whom have limited English.

If you would like to ask questions about volunteering for any of our Neighbors in Need activities or if you would like to volunteer, please send us a message at neighbors@stmvnyc.org.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11

Sunday’s organ voluntaries are based upon Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (“Come now, Savior of the Gentiles”). This chorale (54 in The Hymnal 1982) is Martin Luther’s sixteenth-century adaptation of the fourth-century Latin hymn Veni Redemptor gentium attributed to Ambrose of Milan (55 in The Hymnal 1982). Today’s prelude is a set of three short settings of this old chorale melody by David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary’s. These pieces were composed in 2008 for a series of hymn-prelude collections released by Selah Publishing that same year. The three settings, though modern, are crafted upon formal models well known to baroque composers. These models include melodic embellishment and ground bass variation. The postlude on Sunday is the third of the three settings of Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland from the Great Eighteen Leipzig Chorales of J. S. Bach. (The first and second of this set of three were played as voluntaries two weeks ago on Advent I.) This third setting, BWV 661, is a vigorous fugue for the hands under which each of the four phrases of the chorale is in turn stated boldly in long tones played on the organ pedals.

The Ordinary of the Mass at the Solemn Mass on the Third Sunday of Advent is Saint Paul’s Service by David Hurd. This setting of the Rite I Ordinary was originally commissioned in 2000 by Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York, in honor of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of the parish. The text is the traditional English Mass Ordinary (Rite I) and it was originally scored for unison voices and organ. It previously has been offered at Saint Mary’s by solo cantors and organ in the absence of the full choir. This morning, its Kyrie (which includes both Greek and English texts), Sanctus, and Agnus Dei will be heard for the first time in their newly fashioned choral versions. The movements of this Mass setting are unified by the flavor of French impressionism, a feature requested by the commissioning parish, and can be recognized in their harmonic and melodic elements.

Following the reading from Genesis 3, the choir will sing Gabriel’s Message, a translation by John Mason Neale (1818–1886) of four stanzas of the Medieval carol Angelus emittitur. This carol was first published in Piae Cantiones, 1582, a collection intended to preserve medieval carols well known in Sweden. This carol is found at 270 in The Hymnal 1982, harmonized by Richard Runciman Terry (1865–1938).

Following the reading from Isaiah 7, the choir will sing I sing of a maiden by Arnold Bax (1883–1953). Bax, a composer, poet, and author, was born in London into a prosperous family which encouraged his musical development. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Music. Remembered for his songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, he is probably best regarded for his orchestral music. In 1942, he was appointed Master of the King’s Music. Bax’s I sing of a maiden, a setting of a fifteenth-century text, was composed in 1926 and was dedicated to John B. McEwen who later became the director of the Royal Academy of Music. Bax’s carol is for five voices and is full of the harmonic color typical of his music.

The motet sung during the Communion on Sunday is E’en so Lord Jesus by Paul Manz. Manz (1919–2009) was a distinguished American Lutheran organist, composer, and teacher. Although he is well remembered for his brilliant organ improvisations on hymns and chorales, many of which subsequently have been transcribed and published, his most beloved work may well be his Advent anthem E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come, first published in 1954. In a relatively simply yet highly expressive four-voice texture, Manz has set an adaptation of Revelation 22 crafted by his wife, Ruth (1919–2008).

ADULT EDUCATION 2022–2023

This coming Sunday, December 11, at 9:30 AM, in Saint Benedict’s Study (Parish Hall, 145 West 46th Street), Father Peter Powell will continue his series of classes on several of the so-called Deutero-Pauline Letters. This Sunday, Father Powell plans to discuss Colossians 1:1–23.

Next Sunday, December 18, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Father Powell will conclude this first part of his series on these letters. He will resume the series, with a second set of classes, on the Sundays in Lent. We are very grateful to Father Pete for his continued commitment to our adult-education program.

We hope you’ll be able to join us in Saint Benedict’s at 9:30 AM on Sunday. Coffee available. All are welcome. Questions and discussion encouraged.

To find Saint Benedict’s Study, please enter Saint Joseph’s Hall via the entrance at 145 West 46th Street, bear right and head down the long hallway which takes you past the rest rooms, the windows, and then head toward the Sacristy. The classroom is located on your left, just short of the doors to the Smoke Room, the Control Room, and the Sacristy.

THE SOCIETY OF MARY

The local ward of the Society of Mary will meet for a guided meditation and a celebration of the Eucharist on Saturday, December 10, at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 240 East 31st Street, at 10:30 AM.

The Society of Mary is an international devotional society or fellowship whose work and witness is to celebrate, teach, and extend a proper understanding of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ by devotion to the Blessed Virgin. (There are many devotional societies in the Anglican Communion and the Society of Mary is one of these.) The Blessed Virgin has a unique place in salvation history and the liturgical or devotional practices associated with her strengthen our discipleship to Our Lord. Additionally, the worship and mission of the Church is advanced, and the full Christian faith is promoted, through the work and fellowship of the Society

The members of the Society invite you to take this opportunity for a moment of quiet during the holiday rush. Join us for prayer and fellowship on December 10 at the Church of the Good Shepherd. — Father Stephen Morris

COMING UP

Saturday, December 24, The Last Mass of Advent, 9:00 AM in the Lady Chapel.

Saturday, December 24, Christmas Eve, Musical Prelude 9:30 PM, Procession and Solemn Mass 10:00 PM.

Sunday, December 25, Christmas Day, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM.

Saturday, December 31, New Year’s Eve. The church opens at 9:00 AM. Mass will be said in the Lady Chapel at 10:00 AM. The church will close at the end of Mass. The parish offices will be closed that day, since Times Square will be preparing for its famous New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Sunday, January 1, The Holy Name of Jesus. Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. Evening Prayer will not be said in the church. Evensong and Benediction will not be offered during the month of January 2023.

Friday, January 6, The Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Said Mass 12:10 PM, Organ Recital 5:30 PM (Gail Archer, Barnard College), Procession and Solemn Mass 6:00 PM. Brother Jim Woodrum, SSJE, will preach at the Solemn Mass.

AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
1220 FIFTH AVENUE AT 103RD STREET
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

City of Faith: Religion, Activism, and Urban Space. Open Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Friday to Monday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. From the museum website: “[This exhibition] looks under the surface of New York’s image as a secular city and maps the complex and often surprising relationships that connect religion to public space. The exhibition focuses our attention on how religion engages the city at a public level—in “secular” streets and sidewalks, waterfronts, and other liminal spaces. Focusing on South Asian American and other communities who have faced religious profiling and surveillance—particularly after 9/11—the exhibition critically examines the nature of secularism in the city, how it has historically favored Protestantism while rendering other communities hyper-visible, and how these latter communities assert their right to the city through transformative art and collective action.” Visit the museum’s website for more information about timed tickets and the museum’s other exhibitions.

CONCERTS AT SAINT MARY’S

On Saturday, December 10, 2022, 8:00 PM, The Early Music Series of the Miller Theatre at Columbia University Series presents The Tallis Scholars: Hymns to the Virgin. The program includes the following music: Josquin Desprez Missa ‘Ave maris stella’; Francisco Guerrero Ave virgo sanctissima; Francisco Guerrero Maria Magdalene et altera Maria; Heinrich Isaac Virgo prudentissima; Arvo Pärt Virgencita (2012/2013).

ORGAN RECITALS AT SAINT MARY’S IN 2023

Friday, 6 January, The Epiphany
Gail Archer, Barnard College, New York City

Thursday, 2 February, The Presentation
David Hurd, Church of Saint Mary the Virgin New York City

Friday, 24 March, Eve of The Annunciation
Timothy Pyper, Church of the Holy Apostles, New York City

Thursday, 18 May, Ascension Day 5:30 PM
Mickey Thomas Terry, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Jay Smith, except as noted. Father Matt Jacobson also edits the newsletter and is responsible for formatting and posting it 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.