FROM FATHER JAY SMITH: WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK

At the Brown Bag Bible Study on Wednesday, we talked about Mark 1:16–20, The Call of the First Disciples:

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.”

One of the details in the passage that seemed important to us was the appearance twice of the verb “to see.” Jesus saw Simon and his brother Andrew. Jesus saw James and John. Joel Marcus, in the first volume of his commentary on the Gospel of Mark, writes:

[Mark, not his source,] is probably behind the references to Jesus seeing the prospective disciples, since elsewhere in his Gospel he frequently draws attention to the way in which Jesus looks at people . . . This seeing is not to be interpreted as passive observation but as an active “possessive gaze” by means of which Jesus lays claim to something through a thorough inspection of it—though this claim can sometimes be refused (see Mark 10:21).[1]

In contemporary casual speech, especially among young people of a certain age, the phrase “I see you” is now often heard. The Urban Dictionary defines this usage as, “A term often used to express [the fact] that you’re impressed by someone whether it be what they wear or something they do,” or “Phrase used when acknowledging another's existence and/or point of view in a situation where they might be the minority.”[2] This usage is interesting since those who employ it are deliberately not saying “I understand you.” “I see you” is less cerebral, less detached, less analytical than the latter phrase. However, the contemporary usage can’t help but move in a certain tried-and-true human fashion. It still implies judgment, assessment, and careful, often qualified, approval. And those who use the phrase are claiming a certain authority to render judgment. They hope that the object of their approval will value the compliment but will also value them.

As we discussed the verse and looked at several other verses, including the following:

As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6:34).

[The man] said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:20–23).

In class, we decided that the way Jesus sees is very different from the ways in which we see and look. There is no social give and take in these passages. Jesus is not a showman typical wonderworker; he does not yearn for applause or approval. Jesus sees but seems remarkably uninterested in writing up a report. In Mark, Jesus’ seeing is intense, penetrating. The goal is to see people as they really are, but not to categorize, isolate, or even judge them, but rather to draw them in, and, in Mark, to protect them from evil, to save them from those actions that harm them and distance them from God, and to alert the person on whom his gaze has fallen to the presence and possibility of love.

Our discussion led us to another text that we think is significant, Genesis 2:8–10:

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Shame makes us run from God. God keeps asking, “Where are you?” Why are you hiding from me? God delights in us. God seeks us out. Is Jesus’ advent simply the next chapter in God’s passionate desire to be close to us? “Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You trace my journeys and my resting-places and are acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:1–2). In a moment of inspiration, the psalmist saw the truth that is so hard for us to see and accept. God sees us but does not flee from us. We, however, are often afraid to accept this double truth: God sees us and knows all that there is to know about us and God loves us.

1. Consider this: find an image of Jesus—an icon, a painting, a drawing or illustration in a book—or choose a favorite word of Jesus and allow yourself to just sit with the image or the words. What happens? If there is unease, or uncomfortable memory, or discomfort note that, maybe even write it down. Try not to judge yourself for feeling judged, but also try not to give up or walk away. Perhaps not the first time you practice this exercise, but over time see if you can allow yourself to coexist with Jesus’ loving gaze. Allow yourself to consider the possibility that Jesus comes and calls disciples, not to fix us up and make us presentable, but because he wants to end our pain and shame and to help us not to hurt ourselves and others. He has come because he is the precise and exact Incarnation of God’s gaze and of God’s love.

2. Spend some time reading and meditating on the following verses, “…for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:8b–12). Ask yourself if you believe these words, and if not, why not? What would it mean to believe that love is at the foundation of everything? What would it mean to consider that love is stronger than sin or death, despite much evidence to the contrary?

We invite you to join us for Bible Study at 12:45 on Wednesdays (we won’t meet on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving). We are a small but dedicated group and I am grateful to all those who gave themselves to these texts on Wednesday. Come and join them! We would love to have you. And I know that Father Powell would love to have you on Sunday morning as he leads a discussion of Isaiah 1–12. Tolle lege. Pick up and read. And then see what happens. — JRS

PRAYING FOR THE WORLD AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD

We pray for peace in Ukraine and Russia, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

We pray for the sick, for those in any need or trouble, and for all those who have asked us for our prayers. We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week; for those who are traveling; for the unemployed and for those seeking work; for the incarcerated and for those recently released from prison; for all victims of violence, assault, and crime; for all refugees and migrants, especially those sheltering in our neighborhood; for those struggling with depression, anxiety, or addiction; for those whom we serve in our outreach programs, for our neighbors in the Times Square neighborhood, for the theater community, and for those living with drought, storm, punishing heat, flood, fire, or earthquake.

We pray for those for whom prayers have been asked Chelsea, Trevor, Dennis, Pat, Jennifer, Barry, Frank, Simon, Richard, Charles, Tatiana, Tony, Charlotte, Meredith, Emily, Mary, Eleanor, Eugene, Steven, Quincy, Gigi, Claudia, June, Sharon, Bruce, Robert, Carlos, Christopher, José, Brian, Susan, Antony, Pablo, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and John Derek; Keith, religious; Matthew, Robby, Allan, and Stephen, priests; and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the soul of Levi and of those whose year’s mind is on Sunday, November 12: Thomas Edward Farson (1904); John Robert Moore (1916); Sarah Zoufe (193); Mary Elizabeth Smith (1939); Kate Lee Moon (1955).

WE ARE GRATEFUL AND WE THANK YOU

Thank you to all those who have returned their pledge cards already. Much appreciated. We are grateful for your continued support of Saint Mary’s.

We are grateful to parishioner, Terry Carlson, who now lives in Minnesota. Terry often donates excellent baked goods to help with our hospitality efforts. He’s done so again this month, sending us cookies, shortbread, and other delicious treats.

Thank you to the stalwart and ever-faithful Blair Burroughs. He livestreamed All Saints’, All Souls’, Solemn Mass on Sunday morning, November 5, and then returned for Evensong and Benediction that evening. Thank you, Blair. If you would like to volunteer for our livestreaming ministry—and the need is great for this important ministry—please speak to Father Matt Jacobson.

Thank you to Renee Wood and Susanna Randolph for organizing and hosting the reception after the Solemn Mass on All Saints’ Day.

Thank you to all those who have sprung into action and responded to the recent leak in the Mission House: Marcos Orengo, Shalim Peña, Chris Howatt, Father Victor Conrado, Lucia Conrado, Father Jay and Father Sammy.

We are very grateful to Reha Sterbin who fixed our website on short notice and got us back online before the weekend (and in time for this issue of the newsletter).

Thank you to all those who have responded to the call to bring mugs to church to use at Coffee Hour in lieu of disposable cups. The variety of mugs that have arrived is a pleasure to see. Thank you for your generosity.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Our regular daily liturgical schedule: Monday through Friday, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM. Holy Hour is offered on Wednesday at 11:00 AM and Thursday’s Mass includes anointing and prayers for healing. On Saturdays, Confessions are heard at 11:00 AM, Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer is prayed at 5:00 PM. On the third Saturday of each month, a Requiem Mass is normally celebrated at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel. On Sundays, A Low Mass (Rite One) is celebrated in the Lady Chapel at 9:00 AM. Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Evensong and Benediction (E&B) is normally offered on the first Sunday of every month and will next be offered on December 3 and January 7.

Saturday Confessions at 11:00 AM . . . The priest-on-duty can be found in one of the confessionals at the back of the church, near the 46th Street entrance, at 11:00 AM on Saturdays to hear confessions. Once nobody is left waiting, if it is after 11:15 AM, the priest will return to his office. If you arrive later, the sexton will be able to call him if it is not too close to the midday Mass.

Saturday, November 11, Martin, Bishop of Tours, 397, Confessions 11:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM. At Mass we will pray for all veterans and for those who have died in the service of our country. The Eve of the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM.

Sunday, November 12, The Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost, Year A, Proper 27, (Charles Simeon, Priest, 1836), Mass 9:00 AM, Adult Formation 9:45 AM, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM.

Tuesday, November 14, The Consecration of Samuel Seabury, First American Bishop, 1784.

Wednesday, November 15, Weekday, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Holy Hour 11:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, Bible Study 12:45 PM, Evening Prayer 5:30 PM, Mass 6:00 PM, Anglicanism 101 Class 6:30 PM.

Thursday, November 16, Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 1093.

Friday, November 17, Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, 1200.

Saturday, November 18, Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, 680, Confessions 11:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, The Eve of the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM.

Sunday, November 19, The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Proper 28, (Elizabeth, Princess of Hungary, 1231), Mass 9:00 AM; Adult Formation 9:45 AM; Solemn Mass 11:00 AM, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM.

FROM THE STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE:
THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year again: Stewardship Season! You may be excited for a different “most wonderful time,” but I hope you can also appreciate this one which gives us all the chance to assess our priorities and make prayerful decisions about supporting the mission Saint Mary’s in the new year. By now, many of you will have received a letter from the Stewardship Committee that outlines that mission:

• To be a witness to the love of Christ in Times Square, an embassy of the Kingdom of God in one of the most visible places on the planet.

• To worship as a vibrant, diverse parish firmly rooted in our Anglo-Catholic tradition yet speaking these timeless truths in a way that is intelligible in a modern urban setting.

• To be a witness to the love of Christ in Times Square, an embassy of the Kingdom of God in one of the most visible places on the planet.

• To serve the needs of the poor and marginalized in our neighborhood and our city.

This witness, this worship, and this work cannot continue without you. We need your presence, your energy, your prayers, your influence, and yes, your financial support!

Saint Mary’s is currently operating with a deficit budget that is not sustainable over the long term. To improve that outlook, one of the things we need to do is increase our pledge base. If you have never pledged before, please make a pledge this year. If you are a returning pledger, consider increasing your commitment for 2024. Your decision really will make a difference!

Making a pledge is easy: You can go online (www.stmvirgin.org/donatenow) and click on the 2024 Pledge Card button. Or, if you received a card in the mail, you can fill that out and return it in the reply envelope

With your help, Stewardship Season truly can be a wonderful time—a time that sets up the stewardship committee’s favorite time of the year: Thank-You-Note-Writing Season! Please do your part to keep the committee extra busy this year!
— Steven Heffner, on behalf of the Stewardship Committee

LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S: NEWS & NOTICES

From Father Sammy: Damage in the Mission House . . . In the early morning hours of Sunday, October 29, the water heater in the apartment on the fifth floor of the Mission House failed. This is the apartment where Father Victor Conrado and his family live. Water spread through much of the north side of that apartment—the hallway, the laundry room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. Although Father Victor was able to turn off the heater’s water valve after he discovered the leak, water had already gone down and through much of the Mission House’s north side: the Conrados’ living room on the fourth floor; meeting rooms on the third and second floor; and the corner of the Wedding Chapel just east of the statue of Saint Joseph. Water collected on the floors of each of these rooms, and some ceilings sustained significant, if partial, damage. Much of the Conrados’ living room furniture, their rugs, and some of their clothing was damaged and will need to be replaced.

We immediately called our sexton, Shalim Peña, and asked him to come in, as well as our plumber, Peter Moeller. Shalim came in and worked with Marcos Orengo throughout that day to mop up standing water and to begin to remove carpets and some furniture. They were joined in this work the following day by sexton Jorge Trujillo. Peter also came in and assessed the situation and made sure that the heater would not continue to leak. The hot-water heater was replaced the following day, but the damage in the Mission House will need to be remediated and repaired. The Board and staff are in the process of getting estimates for this work, and we hope that work will begin soon. However, our parish administrator, Chris Howatt, has had to develop a plan so that the many twelve-step groups that meet each day in the Mission House could continue to meet, though in rooms that have not been affected by the leak. Unfortunately, the Conrados have not yet been able to move back into their apartment and have been staying in a hotel. For all these reasons, we hope that the remediation work will begin soon and proceed quickly. We will of course keep the parish informed about progress on this project. — SW

Trevor Mills, a longtime friend of Saint Mary’s, who worships with us most Sundays, is seriously ill and is being cared for at Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island. Father Jacobson was able to visit Trevor last week and Father Wood saw him yesterday. He is also receiving pastoral care from his home parish on Staten Island. His family informs us that his condition has improved somewhat in recent days. We urge you to keep Trevor in your prayers.

Neighbors in Need . . . Our next Drop-by Day is Friday, November 17, 1:00–3:00 PM. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact MaryJane Boland or Father Jay Smith.

Urgent Needs: We need warm-weather jackets and coats in all sizes—though we especially need sizes Large, XL, and XXL—for both men and women. We also like having some jackets and coats for children, toddler to adolescent in ages. We would also gratefully receive new or lightly-used shoes and sneakers in all sizes for men and women. Please speak to MaryJane about how to make donations. We are so grateful to all those who support this ministry with such generosity.

Please join us for a field trip! . . . The Morgan Library and Museum is currently hosting an exhibition entitled, Morgan’s Bibles: Splendor in Scripture. A group from Saint Mary’s will be going to see the exhibition on Saturday, December 9. One of the museum’s docents will guide the group through the exhibition. There is room for 10 in the group and there are still 3 spots left. Please contact Father Sammy if you’d like to join us for this event. To read more about Morgan’s Bibles, please visit the Museum website.

Advent Quiet Day with Ruth Cunningham and Tuesday Rupp
Saturday, December 2, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM 

In our hemisphere, Advent takes place in the darkest season of the year, anticipating the light of God-with-us. What are the gifts the darkness brings, and how do these gifts help us welcome the light of Christ?

As Advent begins, we invite you to join master musician Ruth Cunningham and the Reverend Tuesday Rupp for a day of quiet, of healing sounds, and of meditation as together we explore the gifts of this holy season in the beauty of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin.

The Quiet Day will include Mass at 12:10 PM, which will be followed by lunch. Please RSVP to Father Jay Smith so we can plan for the day, and especially for lunch. We hope that you can join us!

Tuesday Rupp is an Episcopal priest and a classically trained singer and music director. She is the co-founder of two women’s vocal ensembles, In Mulieribus and The Julians, both in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Tuesday is blessed to bring her love of music, literature, art, and performance to her role as Rector at Saint Paul’s Church in Woodbury, CT. She has an M. Div. from Yale Divinity School, with certificates from the Institute of Sacred Music and Berkeley Divinity School, an M. Mus. from Portland State University, and a B. Mus. from Boston University.

Ruth Cunningham is a founding member Anonymous 4 and a sound healing practitioner. She specializes in early music performance as well as improvisational sacred music from varied spiritual traditions in both liturgical and concert settings. She works with individuals and groups on using the voice and music as tools for healing.  With Anonymous 4, Ruth performed in concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Europe and the Far East and made thirteen recordings.  Ruth’s own CD releases are Light and Shadow: Chants, Prayers and Improvisations and Harpmodes: Journey for Voice and Harp. She has released two CDs of multi faith chants with colleague Ana Hernandez: Blessed by Light and HARC: Inside Chants. She has been the musician for a number of summer courses for Ubiquity University in Chartres France. She has also performed and recorded renaissance music with Pomerium and is a regular member of the professional choir at Church of Our Savior in New York City. (Ruth’s website and YouTube page) 

Evensong & Benediction is offered on the first Sunday of the month from October through May at 5:00 PM. Evensong is a sung form of Evening Prayer. We are supported at this service by Dr. Hurd and a quartet from the Choir. The liturgy concludes with Eucharistic Benediction, a short rite of prayer and blessing, where we focus on the Lord’s continuing presence among us in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Last Sunday, we recorded the service (click on the thumbnail to view). Evensong & Benediction will next be offered at Saint Mary’s on Sunday, December 3. Consider joining us on one of these Sundays to experience for yourself this beautiful way to conclude the Lord’s Day!

Guild of All Souls Annual Requiem, Saturday, November 11, 2023, 11:00 AM . . . The Annual Requiem of the Guild will take place on 11 November 2023, 11:00 am at the Church of the Resurrection, 119 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021. The Annual Requiem will be streamed live on Vimeo, Facebook, and YouTube. It will also be available on demand for viewing after the event.

Sunday, November 12, the Adult Formation class in Saint Joseph’s Hall, 9:45 AM to 10:40 AM, will be taught by Father Pete Powell, who will continue his series on Isaiah 1-12 (every Sunday in November; December 3; Sundays in Lent).

Please join us for Brown Bag Bible Study—Wednesday, November 15, 12:45–1:30 PM. The Class meets in Saint Benedict’s Study and is led by Father Jay Smith. The class will not meet on November 22, the Eve of Thanksgiving. This week we will read and discuss Mark 1:21–45. After inviting disciples to follow him, Jesus begins his ministry be confronting demons and healing the sick. This is how he chooses to begin his ministry. What is Mark trying to say about who Jesus is, what he intends to do, and what all that has to do with us today? Come join us. Discussion is lively as we grapple with these ancient stories and draw meaning from them for our own lives. — JRS

Bring a mug, save a tree . . . The new dishwasher for the parish kitchen arrived a couple of weeks ago. It is working well and has been very helpful. Now that the dishwasher is here, we invite all of our members and friends to donate a mug to the church to be used at Coffee Hour so that we need no longer use paper or plastic. Bring it to the kitchen this Sunday and we’ll take it from there: the goal is to be able to have enough mugs on hand for the use of everyone who joins us on Sunday morning.

We invite you to help us decorate the church for Christmas.  To make a donation, please contact Chris Howatt or donate online. Once on the donation page of our website, click the “Donate” button to open the form. Inside the form, there is a “Fund” dropdown, where you may direct your donation to the Flower Fund. If you’d like to find out about dates in November and January that are available for making a donation of flowers on a Sunday or feast day or have other questions about the Flower Guild, please call the Parish Office.

A Letter from the Bishop of New York . . . Bishop Dietsche wrote to the diocese about the war in Israel and Gaza and focused in a particular way on the bombing of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. He makes some useful suggestions about how Episcopalians can help. You may read his letter by following this link.

Some additional links with suggestions for aid and assistance:

National Public Radio (NPR) has posted a comprehensive list of organizations that are providing aid in Israel and Gaza. You can read the list and NPR’s analysis by following this link.

• Neighbors in Need: Saint Mary’s Outreach to Our Neighborhood

• Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen and Pantry

• The Little Shop of Kindness (Pequeña Tienda de Bondad)

• Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres

• Episcopal Relief & Development

• Jewish Federations of North America

• The Diocese of Jerusalem: The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East

• Charity Navigator

Dr. David Hurd, organist and music director, was away this week playing a recital on Thursday, November 9, at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Shreveport, Louisiana; this performance was part of the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival. Dr. Hurd performed several of his own compositions, in addition to works by J. S. Bach and Paul Hindemith. For more information about the event, please see the festival website. David will be with us this coming Sunday but will be away next Sunday. Parishioner Clark Anderson will play and conduct the choir at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, November 19. David will be playing a recital that afternoon in the Arts in the Square series at Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, NOVEMBER 12, 2023

The setting of the Mass on Sunday is the Mass in the Phrygian Mode by Rick Austill (1955–2019). Rick Austill was a faithful parishioner at Saint Mary’s for several years. He served with distinction as a member of the Flower Guild whose work praises God in visual beauty week after week. Rick was a 1977 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where he earned a Fine Arts degree in piano performance as a student of Nelson Whittaker, and in composition as a student of Roland Leich. Rick had worked extensively as a dance accompanist and held positions at Carnegie Mellon, the Pittsburgh Ballet, the Washington Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He composed his Mass in the Phrygian Mode for Saint Mary’s in 2012, and the Mass was premiered here in November of that year. It is scored for unaccompanied mixed voices, including solos and some divisi, and it uses the Rite II Eucharistic texts. Each of the movements of Austill’s Mass contains a mixture of exactly noted music and aleatoric elements. In explanation, Austill wrote the following: “Aleatoric, in this setting, means individual voices enter at uneven times determined solely by the conductor. In the glorious acoustics of Saint Mary’s, it creates a ‘cloud’ of sound hopefully like the clouds of angels praising God. It’s in the third church mode which I feel has a particularly haunting quality.” Although this setting has been sung several times at Saint Mary’s since its 2012 premiere, its aleatoric sections make each performance a unique event.

The Communion motet at the Solemn Mass on Sunday is a four-voice setting of O Sacrum convivium by priest-musician Giovanni Croce (c. 1557–1609). Croce, though overshadowed in historic reflection by certain other Venice-centered composers of the late Renaissance, was well known in his time for his madrigals and secular compositions as well as his extensive output of church music. Croce sang as a boy chorister under Gioseffo Zarlino (1517–1590) at Saint Mark’s, Venice, eventually succeeding Zarlino as maestro di cappella there. He remained in that position until his death in 1609, four years before it went to Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643). The text O sacrum convivium, often attributed to the theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), found a home in the Roman liturgical cycle as the antiphon for Magnificat at second Vespers of Corpus Christi but is also very much at home in any Eucharistic celebration. It has been set in Latin, as well as in vernacular translations, by distinguished composers of every generation. Croce’s setting of O sacrum convivium is in a conservative style with graceful falling melodic lines and close imitation between the voices. — David Hurd

CONCERTS AT SAINT MARY’S

New York Repertory Orchestra, December 2, 2023, 8:00 PM. Program: Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question; Mieczysław Weinberg: Cello Concerto, Matt Goeke, cello; Ruth Gipps: Symphony No. 3. Admission is free. A donation of $15.00 is welcome.

Saturday, December 9, 2023, 8:00 PM, The Tallis Scholars 50th Anniversary, While Shepherds Watched. Celebrating their 50th year this season, the renowned Tallis Scholars make their annual New York City appearance with a unique holiday program that offers a fresh perspective on the Christmas story, examining it through the eyes of the shepherds who came to worship at the manger. Anchored by the Flemish composer Clemens non Papa’s popular Mass Pastores quidnam vidistis? (“Shepherds, what did you see?”), the evening features a selection of works by other notable composers of Renaissance polyphony including Tomàs Luis de Victoria, Pedro de Christo, and Peter Phillips. Tickets may be purchased here.

AT THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF ART
99 Gansevoort Street New York, NY 10014, Floor 5
“Henry Taylor: B Side”
Until January 28, 2024

From the museum website: “For more than thirty years, the Los Angeles–based artist Henry Taylor (b. 1958) has portrayed people from widely different backgrounds—family members, friends, neighbors, celebrities, politicians, and strangers—with a mixture of raw immediacy and tenderness. His improvisational approach to artmaking is hinted at in this exhibition’s title, Henry Taylor: B Side, which refers to the side of a record album that often contains lesser-known, more experimental songs.

“Taylor’s paintings, executed quickly and instinctually from memory, newspaper clippings, snapshots, and in-person sittings, are variously light-hearted, intimate, and somber. In them, he combines flat planes of bold, sensuous color with areas of rich, intimate detail and loose brushstrokes to create paintings that feel alive. Guided by a deep-seated empathy for people and their lived experiences, Taylor captures the humanity, social milieu, and mood of his subjects, whose visceral presence is heightened by their closely cropped, often life-size images. In working from personal experience and shared history, Taylor offers a view of everyday life in the United States that is grounded in the experiences of his own community, including the incarceration, poverty, and often deadly interactions with police that disproportionately affect Black Americans. Deeply steeped in art history, his work forms a continuum with the expressive figurative painting and politically engaged work of European and American artists from Max Beckmann to Bob Thompson, Philip Guston, and Alice Neel.”  

COMING UP AT SAINT MARY’S

Tuesday, November 21, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sung Mass 12:10 PM (Lady Chapel)

Wednesday, November 22, The Eve of Thanksgiving Day
Sung Mass 6:00 PM

Thursday, November 23, Thanksgiving Day
Said Mass 10:00 AM

Saturday, December 2, Quiet Day

Sunday, December 3, The First Sunday of Advent

Friday, December 8, The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Our Patronal Feast)
Organ Recital 5:30 PM, Solemn Mass 6:00 PM

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We are very grateful to all those who make such donations and continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

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.

[1] Marcus, Joel, Mark 1–8: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 182, 183.

[2] The Urban Dictionary, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I%20see%20you. Accessed November 9, 2023.