FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: SEARCHING FOR THE NEXT RECTOR

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, which consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Board, is delighted to announce that Mary Robison and Mark Risinger have graciously agreed to serve as co-chairs of the Rector Search Committee, which begins its work this fall. Their first task is to select the membership of the committee itself. If you are interested in serving, or would like to nominate someone, simply click here, or follow the link from the parish homepage to complete an application online or submit your nomination. Desired characteristics of potential committee members include: 

• A personal spirituality and a life of faith and prayer that undergird discernment
• An ability to maintain confidentiality and work for consensus
• Insightful, knowledgeable, and willing to speak their mind
• Collaborative and cooperative
• Respected by the congregation
• Computer access and ability
• Skill at communication (possibly including webpage skills), interviewing, and human resources
• Demonstrated hospitality
• Committed to Saint Mary’s, in part shown by length of membership

Watch the Angelus, the weekly parish newsletter, for more information about the search process in the weeks to come. And, most importantly, please add Mary, Mark, and the search committee to your personal prayers.

Prayer for the Search Committee of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the hearts and minds of those who shall choose a rector for Saint Mary’s, that we may receive a faithful priest and pastor who will boldly proclaim the gospel, faithfully administer your sacraments, and serve your people with love and compassion, equipping us for our ministries in the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

Prayers are asked for the sick, for those in any need or trouble, for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week, for those who are travelling, and especially for Meredith, Dickie, Renee, Larry, Katie, Noah, Addison, Sue, Salman, Maggie, Barbara, James, Claudia, Ben, Allen, Marjorie, Shalim, Greta, Liduvina, Quincy, Florette, José, James, Frank, Laverne, Carlos, Loretta, Ken, Abraham, Gypsy, Margaret, Emil, Pat, Robert; Jim, religious, Scott, priest, Matthew, priest, and for the repose of the soul of Kallistos, bishop.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE

His Eminence, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia, fell asleep in the Lord on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, at the age of eighty-seven. Metropolitan Kallistos was a world-renowned Orthodox scholar and a hierarch in the Archdiocese of Thyateira (Great Britain) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Born Timothy Ware in 1934 and raised in an Anglican family, he converted at age twenty-four and became one of the most influential Eastern Orthodox theologians in the English-speaking world in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Bishop Kallistos’s most famous books were The Orthodox Church, the standard introductory textbook for nearly sixty years; The Orthodox Way; and The Philokalia, a classic text of Orthodox spirituality which he co-translated. He served as the Spaulding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University for thirty-five years until his retirement in 2001. After Oxford, he continued to publish, but focused the remaining years of his life on strengthening the internal life of the Orthodox Church and on building bridges with non-Orthodox Christians, including Catholics, Anglicans, and evangelicals. He was instrumental in teaching many Christians, especially in the West, about the beauty and richness of the Orthodox tradition. Collated from the obituaries of the Greek Orthodox Church and Christianity Today.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
In a blessed falling asleep, grant, O Lord, eternal rest
unto Thy departed servant Kallistos and make his memory to be eternal!
Memory eternal! Memory eternal! Memory eternal!
With the saints, grant him rest O Lord, memory eternal!

You are invited to pray:
For peace in Ethiopia, Ukraine, Myanmar, Syria, Israel, Gaza, and Yemen;
For an end to violence, suspicion, hatred, and discord;
For those ill with COVID-19;
For those suffering from depression, anxiety, and addiction;
For all refugees;
For those without food, shelter, or work;
For the Broadway community of artists and technicians;
For those who will visit Saint Mary’s this week;
For the Search Committee of the parish;
For all those who support Saint Mary’s with their time, talent, and treasure.

A Prayer for Our Country (Book of Common Prayer, p. 820)

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

TIMES AND LOCATIONS OF DAILY AND SUNDAY LITURGIES:

Monday–Saturday: Daily Mass 12:10 PM, Lady Chapel

Monday–Sunday: Evening Prayer 5:00 PM, Choir and Church

The Solemn Mass on Sunday morning at 11:00 AM is celebrated in the Church.

AROUND THE PARISH

Morning Prayer in the church returns: It is our plan to resume Morning Prayer in the church, Monday through Friday at 8:00 AM, beginning on Monday, October 3. All are invited to join us in person to pray the Office. It is a fine way to begin the day. If you think that you might like to officiate at Morning or Evening Prayer, and would like to discuss that possibility, please speak to Father Wood.

Keeping up to date with pledge payments: It is not uncommon for us to experience cash-flow problems during the summer months, we urge all our members and friends to stay current with their pledge payments, and we welcome donations in support of the parish’s mission during this time. If you have questions, please contact the parish treasurer, Steven Heffner. We are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

On Thursday, September 29, the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, we will keep the feast with a Sung Mass at 6:00 PM. A quartet from the choir will sing. The preacher at the Mass will be the Reverend Dr. Lloyd Alexander Lewis, Jr., Molly Laird Downs Professor of New Testament Emeritus at the Virginia Theological Seminary. Dr. Lewis—known to many of his friends and colleagues as Tony—also served parishes in Brooklyn and on Long Island and taught at the General Theological Seminary. He was, for a time, Dean of the George Mercer, Jr. Memorial School of Theology and Bishop’s Deputy for Education in the Diocese of Long Island. He is a learned scholar, a kind and compassionate pastor, and a fine preacher and priest. We hope that many of our members and friends will be able to join us on Michaelmas to celebrate the feast and to hear Father Lewis preach.

On Tuesday, November 1, All Saints’ Day, Solemn Mass will be celebrated at 6:00 PM in the church. The Bishop of New York, the Right Reverend Andrew M.L. Dietsche will celebrate and preach. Mass is preceded by an organ recital that begins at 5:30 PM.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Sunday’s organ voluntaries conclude a series, begun four weeks ago, of the eight “Little” Preludes and Fugues, traditionally attributed to J. S. Bach (1685–1750). These pieces are now widely believed to have been composed by one of his pupils, possibly Johann Tobias Krebs (1690–1762), or his son Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780). Of these eight preludes and fugues, four are in major keys of C, F, G and B-flat, and the remaining four are in their relative minors of A, D, E, and G. The standard ordering of these eight pieces begins with BWV 553 in C Major and progresses up the scale to BWV 560 in B-flat. Sunday morning’s prelude will be BWV 558 in G minor, and the postlude will be BWV 560 in the relative major key of B-flat. BWV 558, for the prelude, begins with a clear harmonic plan, almost suggestive of a chaconne, simply and directly stated. Its accompanying fugue has a charmingly delicate quality. BWV 560, the last of the collection and played for the postlude, is probably the most extraverted of the eight preludes and fugues. Its prelude includes a distinctive pedal solo, and its fugue is angular and emphatic.

The settings for the Mass on August 28 are from Music for the Lord’s Supper by McNeil Robinson (1943–2015). Robinson was an internationally celebrated organist, composer, improvisateur, and teacher. He headed the organ department at the Manhattan School of Music for many years in addition to serving religious institutions. In 1965, while still a student at the Juilliard School he began long and well-remembered associations with the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and with Park Avenue Synagogue. While he remained organist at Park Avenue Synagogue until retiring in 2012, he left Saint Mary’s in 1982 and subsequently served at Park Avenue Christian Church and at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church before failing health necessitated his retirement. Robinson’s reputation as a virtuoso organist, improviser, and composer became established during his years at Saint Mary’s. Music for the Lord’s Supper, a setting for Rite II Eucharist for unison voices and organ, was published in 1979. Its Kyrie and widely sung Lord’s Prayer are found in The Hymnal 1982. At Mass on Sunday, the cantor will sing the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei from this setting. These movements are composed in a conventional style with a fine economy of melodic grace and harmonic interest.

During the Communion, Sunday morning’s cantor, Charlotte Mundy, will sing Letzte Stunde, brich herein, the eighth of the nine movements of Cantata 31 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). Bach’s Cantata 31, Der Himmel lacht! die Erde jubilieret (“The heavens laugh! The earth shouts with joy”) was composed for Easter Day, April 21, 1715, a little more than a year after his appointment as concertmaster at the Ducal court at Weimar. The Cantata’s libretto, like that of many other Bach cantatas, is by Salomon Franck (1659–1725). It is a free poetic reflection on Easter themes from 1 Corinthians 5:6–8 and Mark 16:1–8. Bach later carried Cantata 31 to Leipzig and performed it there several times between 1724 and 1735. The soprano aria Letzte Stunde is in a graceful triple meter and was originally scored for oboe, violins, violas, cello, and continuo. — David Hurd

More about Sunday’s cantor: Vocalist Charlotte Mundy has been called a “daredevil with an unbreakable spine” (SF Classical Voice). Recent performances include George Benjamin’s one-act opera Into the Little Hill at the 92nd Street Y, George Crumb’s Night of the Four Moons with Emerald City Music, the world premiere recording of Unisono II by Agata Zubel with cellist Inbal Segev, and a set of music for voice and electronics presented by New York Festival of Song, described as “an oasis of radiant beauty” by the New York Times. In 2020–21 she developed and presented a sound/light/wind installation titled Light as a Feather at the Harvestworks House on Governor’s Island, and in 2022, Ekmeles premiered her ritual for four singers, SWEET FLAG! at the University of New Mexico’s Robb Composers Symposium. Charlotte is a member of TAK ensemble and Ekmeles vocal ensemble.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Sunday, August 28, The Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 17C), Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. The readings Are Ecclesiasticus 10:12–18; Psalm 112; Hebrews 13:1–8; Luke 14:1–14. Father Smith will celebrate, and Father Wood will preach. The prelude before Mass will be Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 558, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), and the postlude will be Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Major, BWV 560, also by Bach. The Mass setting on August 28 will be Music for the Lord’s Supper by McNeil Robinson (1943–2015). The vocal solo, sung by cantor Charlotte Mundy, will be Bach’s Letzte Stunde, brich herein from Cantata 31.

Upcoming Commemoration: Monday, August 29, The Beheading of John the Baptist; Wednesday, August 31, Aidan of Lindisfarne; Friday, September 2, The Martyrs of New Guinea; Saturday, September 3, Phoebe, Deacon.

The Holy Eucharist is celebrated Monday–Saturday at 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel.

Holy Hour. Wednesday mornings 11:00–11:50 AM, in the Lady Chapel. A time for silent prayer and contemplation before the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Eucharist follows at 12:10 PM. We invite you to join us.

NEIGHBORS IN NEED

The Neighbors in Need program is Saint Mary’s principal outreach ministry. It was founded by members of the parish, along with resident sisters and friars and members of the parish’s clergy staff. We “own” it and run it. We provide clothing and basic, but essential, hygiene items to our neighbors in Times Square. Your cash donations and gifts of new and lightly used clothing make this ministry possible.

We need pants! At our Drop-by last Friday our stock of pants mostly for men, but for women also, was seriously depleted. Please take a look in your closets and see if you have some pants or slacks for women and men that you are able to part with. Donations can be brought to church on Sunday morning. Leave the bag with the ushers, and thank you.

The September Drop-by will take place on Friday, September 16.

If you would like to volunteer for Neighbors in Need, please contact Marie Rosseels.

Our goal is to continue to distribute clothing and hygiene items to those in need in the Times Square neighborhood. We are grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry.

The Anti-Racism Group Meeting: The Group meets online on most Tuesday evenings from 7:00–8:00 PM. For more information about this ongoing weekly meeting, please call the parish office, or speak to one of the current members of the group, such as Charles Carson, Charles Morgan, Marie Rosseels, or Ingrid Sletten.

The Saint Mary’s Centering Prayer Group meets online on most Friday evenings at 6:30 PM. If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail to this address or speak to Ingrid Sletten or Blair Burroughs.

A Time for Prayer and Preparation Before Mass on Sunday: The acolytes, readers, and members of the audiovisual team are invited to gather in the Lady Chapel each Sunday between 10:00 and 10:20 AM for a time of silent prayer and preparation before Mass. All are invited to join them.

HEALING MASS ON THURSDAYS

The noonday Mass on Thursdays at 12:10 PM includes anointing, also known as unction, and prayers for healing immediately after the homily or, on holy days, after the Nicene Creed. “Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 861). Anointing is a much-respected rite here at Saint Mary’s, and all are invited, though none are compelled, to come to the rail for anointing during Mass should they wish.

AT THE MONASTERY IN WEST PARK, NEW YORK

Four stained-glass windows that had been preserved during some earlier renovation at the Order of the Holy Cross’s monastery in West Park hung in recent years, somewhat obscurely, at the back of the brothers’ chapel. They have now been moved into Pilgrim Hall at the center of the monastery Guest House, where they can be easily viewed, admired, and considered. Among the four is a depiction of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, whose feast day we celebrate this week.

From the Encyclopedia Britannica: “Aidan, (born, Ireland—died Aug. 31, 651, Bamburgh, Northumberland, Eng.; feast day August 31), apostle of Northumbria, monastic founder, first bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the coast of Northumberland. Aidan was a monk at Iona, an island of the Inner Hebrides in Scotland, when King Oswald of Northumbria requested that he be made bishop of the newly converted Northumbrians. Consecrated in 635, Aidan settled on Lindisfarne, where he established his church, monastery, and see near the royal stronghold of Bamburgh. Under his direction and that of his successors, Lindisfarne flourished as a leading ecclesiastical centre until the Danish invasions began in 793. From Lindisfarne, Aidan evangelized northern England. He founded churches, monasteries, and, on Lindisfarne, a school for the training of ministers, among whom were Chad (first bishop of Lichfield), his brother Cedd (who converted the East Saxons), and Eata, abbot of Melrose. The Anglo-Saxon historian and theologian Bede praised Aidan for his learning, charity, and simplicity of life.”

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Jay Smith, except as noted. Father Matt Jacobson helps to edit 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.