FROM FATHER SMITH: “THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE”

At our recent Annual Meeting, Father Wood asked the congregation to consider these questions:

1. Why do we exist as a congregation (“mission”)?

2. What do we contribute to our community or our world in a unique way?

3. What purposes or principles must we protect as central to our identity (“core”)?

4. What are we willing to let go of so the mission will continue?

To answer these questions, we should consider not only the present and the future, but also the past. Saint Mary’s founders were unabashedly catholic in their ideas and inclinations. They had been shaped not only by the writing of the Tractarians—Keble, Newman, and Pusey—but also by the efforts and liturgical experiments of the post-Tractarian Ritualists.

And yet the parish has never severed its ties to the wider Anglican tradition. We have remained firmly in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Of the parish’s nine rectors, only one converted to Roman Catholicism. The parish’s forebears and guiding lights were more likely to be John Henry Hobart, John Keble, Edward Pusey, Harriet Monsell, Charles Chapman Grafton, Charles Gore, Sister Constance, Richard Meux Benson, James Huntington, Frank Weston, and Michael Ramsey than John Henry Cardinal Newman. And if I am right about this, the assumption that one can be both Anglican and catholic has been a core element of the parish’s identity.

So, what did all those guiding lights, and what did our forebears here at Saint Mary’s, mean when they said, “We are Anglican”? The standard, and very Anglican, way to answer that question is often to be somewhat evasive. I’d like to suggest something a bit different by quoting Archbishop Rowan Williams’s attempt at a definition in his book Anglican Identities:

The word “Anglican” begs a question at once. I have simply taken it as referring to the sort of Reformed Christian thinking that was done by those (in Britain at first, then far more widely) who were content to settle with a church order grounded in the historic ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, and with the classical early Christian formulations of doctrine about God and Jesus Christ—the Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon. It is certainly Reformed thinking, and we should not let the deep and pervasive echoes of the Middle Ages mislead us: it assumes the governing authority of the Bible, made available in the vernacular, and repudiates the necessity of a central executive authority in the Church’s hierarchy. It is committed to a radical criticism of any theology that sanctions the hope that human activity can contribute to the winning of God’s favour, and so is suspicious of organised asceticism (as opposed to the free expression of devotion to God which may indeed be profoundly ascetic in its form) and of a theology of the sacraments which appears to bind God too closely to material transactions (as opposed to seeing the free activity of God sustaining and transforming certain human actions done in Christ’s name).[1]

Archbishop Williams knows all too well how difficult it is to define “Anglicanism,” and his book reflects this. One cannot help noticing that there is no mention in his definition of those “instruments of communion” that until very recently have held us Anglicans together, however tentatively. Still, I cannot help admiring Williams’s stab at a definition. It gives us something to work with.

In his book, Williams works out the validity of his definition, not by debating dogma or doctrine, but by examining critically the lives and work several thinkers, from William Tyndale (d. 1536)—English Reformation theologian and translator of the Bible—to Michael Ramsey (d. 1988), archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 until 1974.

When I started to read Williams’s essay on Tyndale, I thought that he would focus on Tyndale’s courageous work, undertaken in a hostile environment, to produce an accurate, readable version of the Bible in the English language. It seemed like Tyndale would be a good way to demonstrate the validity of Williams’s claim that to be Anglican is to “assume the governing authority of the Bible, made available in the vernacular.” But that is not quite what Williams does. He simply assumes that we already know and appreciate Tyndale’s influence not only on the English language but also on English theology, spirituality, and devotional practice. (Some scholars who are patient enough to do the counting and crunch the numbers claim that at least 90% of the King James Version of the Bible comes from Tyndale.) But what Williams really wants to demonstrate is that Tyndale translates the Bible into English because he believes that to read and listen to the Bible is to enter into a kind of divine force field that has the power to change lives. And it is this belief that really interests Rowan Williams.

In his essay, the archbishop focuses not so much on the Tyndale Bible, but on Tyndale’s long exegesis of Luke 16:1–13 in his treatise, The Parable of the Wicked Mammon. In that essay, Tyndale assumes the reformed doctrine of justification by faith. He therefore rejects any idea that to be in relationship with God is to engage in a set of transactions that mirror human social structures or obligations. Williams writes, “What critics of the doctrine of justification of faith fail to understand is that faith is not a human action . . . but God’s, and is therefore ‘ever-working’. It renews the whole human being, making us hungry to do God’s will.”[2] What this meant for Tyndale is that we do not try to get good at being a Christian to make God accept or love us. Rather, God calls us into relationship with him and works on us through the power of his holiness, life, and love—we call this grace—and in doing so transforms us. We are necessarily responsive agents in this relationship, but this does not make us entirely free agents. We are not independent contractors, who can negotiate some sort of contract with God, or do something to earn more of God’s love. To be a Christian is not to be number one in the NFL draft or to be the best little boy (or girl) in the class. For Tyndale, such transactional attitudes are anathema.

But as Williams explains, for Tyndale the result is that God’s gracious love, which reconciles us with God and frees us from the frightening and repetitive burdens of sin and death, leads us—and it takes some time to recognize this—not out of this messy and contradictory world, but into the world as it is, where God’s love working in us invites, urges, maybe even compels, us to love one another. In Tyndale’s exegesis, “the problem is the evil use of money; and the definition of evil use is the failure to use it to meet the need of another.” Williams goes on to demonstrate how radical Tyndale is being here, but he also wants to suggest that Tyndale is anticipating certain later developments in Anglican theology and practice. He writes, “[Tyndale assumes that] Christian discipleship will change social and economic relations to an almost unrecognisable extent. Wilberforce’s evangelical passion for reform, Westcott’s Christian Socialism, Temple’s work for the welfare state are all foreshadowed [here].”[3]

Williams does not romanticize or idealize Tyndale. He points out certain negative aspects of his political and social thought. But, still, Williams, using Tyndale as an example, shows that by reading and studying the Bible we are opening ourselves to a Word just might allow us to experience God’s love not as a concept or a doctrine but as a demonstrable and life-altering fact.

I believe that Archbishop Williams is correct: to be an Anglican is “to assume the governing authority of the Bible, made available in the vernacular” (and that does not mean just English, and it does not restrict us to the King James Version). But I also believe that our Catechism is correct when it says, “We call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God…because God still speaks to us through the Bible” (BCP, p. 853). And if that is so, we Catholic Anglicans might want to say that the Bible, handed down to us by fallible human authors, who used imperfect human language and vulnerable technologies, conveys to us a holy and sacred Sacrament, an outward, visible, and legible sign of a spiritual and life-altering grace.

Some questions to consider:

1. Do you agree the Bible is an essential part of an Anglican identity?

2. Is the reading, study, and proclamation of Scripture at Saint Mary’s a “core” element of our own parish’s identity?

3. Saint Marians famously prefer short sermons. Does this impatience with the human preacher mean that you are impatient with Scripture itself? Does the Bible interest you, fascinate you, bother you, annoy you, confound you, frighten you, or bring you joy? Or something else?

4. Many secular people talk about how they are alienated by biblical images of God that are patriarchal, authoritarian, even violent. Has the reading, hearing and studying of the Bible helped you to deal with the Bible’s difficult passages? How have your own images of God changed over time? Has the Bible helped or hindered that?

5. On Thursday afternoon, Father Victor Conrado gave a presentation to the Midtown clericus. He asked us to consider the following four questions: who are we at the level of faith?; what are we here for as a parish?; who is our neighbor here at Saint Mary’s?; and how does our parish relate to our neighbors and our neighborhood? If you had to answer those questions, would the Bible be a useful resource for answering them?

6. Has a passage of the Bible ever changed your life?

 If you’d like me to hear your answers to some or all of those questions, please send me an e-mail. — JRS

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

We pray for the sick, for those in any need or trouble, and for all those who 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 living in the midst of warfare or with drought, storm, frigid weather, flood, fire, and earthquake.

We pray for Matthew Heyd, who is to be ordained and consecrated bishop-coadjutor of the Diocese of New York on Saturday, May 20.

We pray for our AIDS Walk Team, for all those who have donated to the Walk, and for all those living with HIV and AIDS.

We pray for the members of the Board of Trustees of this parish and for the members of the Search Committee.

We pray for all who are in pain and trouble and all who suffer from injustice and oppression of any kind. We pray, too, that God may forgive us for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty.

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine, Sudan, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar.

We pray for reconciliation among the churches and people of the Anglican Communion.

We pray for Carlos, Christopher, Barbara, Richard, Chuck, Alexandra, James, José, Nadira, Paris, Charlotte, Chelsey, Penny, Pat, Erica, Anthony, Mark, Liz, Keith, Brent, Carl, Thomas, Jennifer, Susan, Sylvia, Harka, Bethel, Gigi, Julie, Carole, Suzanne, Sharon, Liduvina, Carmen, Karl, Margaret, Greta, Quincy, Ava Grace, Willard, Phyllis, Jim, Barbara, Robert, Bruce, Abe, Gypsy, Hardy, Randy, Margaret, and Allan, priest; and for the repose of the soul of Robert Leibowitz.

A Prayer for the Diocese of New York

O God, by your grace you have called us in this Diocese to a goodly fellowship of faith. Bless Matthew, bishop-elect; Andrew, Allen, and Mary, our bishops; and all the clergy and people of this Diocese. Grant that your Word may be truly preached and truly heard, your Sacraments faithfully administered and faithfully received. By your Spirit, fashion our lives according to the example of your Son, and grant that we may show the power of your love to all among whom we live; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

A Prayer for the Anglican Communion

Gracious God, we give thee thanks for the gift of the world-wide Anglican Communion of churches: for the experience of belonging to all the ages, for the gift of thoughtful prayer that thou hast taught us, and for the task of reverent study to which thou dost call us. We thank thee for the love of worship which thou hast stirred up in our hearts, and for the love of justice which thou hast implanted in our wills. Remind us that thou art with us in times of trouble as in times of joy; nurture in us thankful hearts when we stand together, and send thy holy wisdom into our disagreements. In dispute, may we be gentle and loving; in unity, may we be humble; in poverty, nourish us with hope; in wealth, help us become responsible and generous. Inflame us with prophetic vision so that our fellowship may bear the likeness of the incoming kingdom proclaimed for all by Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Our regular daily liturgical schedule, Monday through Friday, is Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Holy Hour is offered on Wednesday at 11:00 AM and Thursday’s Mass includes a Healing Service. On Saturdays, Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer is prayed at 5:00 PM. On Sundays, Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM.

Friday, May 19, 5:30 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Saturday, May 20, The Ordination and Consecration of Matthew Heyd, at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine 11:00 AM. Father Jacobson and Father Smith will represent the parish. If you wish to attend the Consecration liturgy, please plan on arriving at the Cathedral no later than 10:00 AM. Seating is first come, first serve. Do not bring or carry knapsacks or large packages, all of which will need to be searched before entering the Cathedral.

Saturday, May 20, 5:30 PM, Vigil Mass for Sunday in the Lady Chapel, Father Jacobson will celebrate, and Father Wood will preach. Members of the AIDS Walk Team will attend so they can take part in the Walk in Central Park on Sunday morning. All are welcome to join the Team on Saturday evening for this celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Saturday, May 20, 8:00 PM, New York Repertory Orchestra Concert. Admission free, donation of $15.00 encouraged. Program: Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5; Bacewicz: Partita; Coleridge-Taylor: Symphony in A minor.

Sunday, May 21, AIDS Walk 2023. The Saint Mary’s Team will be away from the parish, participating in the Walk.

Sunday, May 21, The Seventh Sunday of Easter, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM. The Adult Education class does not meet this morning. Classes will resume after Labor Day.

Commemorations during the Week of May 21, 2023: Said Mass at 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel

Monday, May 22, Helena of Constantinople, Protector of the Holy Places, 330
Wednesday, May 24, Jackson Kemper, First Missionary Bishop in the U.S., 1870
Thursday, May 25, Bede, The Venerable, Priest and Monk of Jarrow, May 25, 735
Friday, May 26, Augustine, First Archbishop of Canterbury, 605

A Poem: “Augustine of Canterbury”
by Malcolm Guite

“Oh loving Lord don’t send me to the English,
Boorish and brutal pagans that they are”
You prayed, you wrote to Gregory in anguish
But he replied “since you have come so far,
Your hand is on the plough, you must continue,
And reach them on their rain-drenched island shore
There’s something in the English that will win you
And Christ himself will open up the door.”

And so the gospel came to Canterbury,
The very gospel book we still possess,
Weathering the storms of history
In all its splendour and it’s hiddenness.
We bless you for that gospel you proclaim,
Bless your successors as they do the same.

READ THESE! NEWS, NOTICES AND REQUESTS FOR HELP

Christian Education and Formation 2022-2023: Our adult-education classes on Sunday morning have ended and we now begin our summer break. Thank you so much to all who taught and all who came to study, seek, learn, and participate this year. If you attended a class, book discussion, or quiet day this year, we hope you will fill out our end-of-year evaluation. This link will take you to the one-page, two-sided evaluation form. You can fill out the form and give it to an usher or to one of the priests. Or, if you’d prefer to remain anonymous, you can fold it up and put it in the collection basket. If you didn’t attend a class this year, take a look at the form and see if there’s something you’d like to say or add. We welcome your feedback.

Neighbors in Need: This month’s distribution event took place this afternoon, Friday, May 19, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM. Our biggest needs now are clothing, especially shoes (sneakers or athletic shoes and other sturdy shoes), men’s and women’s pants and tops, and coats for next winter as well as jackets, t-shirts, polo shirts, and women’s tops suitable for spring and summer. And, of course, donations help us to purchase toiletries and underwear. Next month’s distribution event will take place on Friday, June 16. Please contact us at neighbors@stmvnyc.org for more information about volunteering, making a donation, or about the goals, work, and methods of Neighbors in Need.

AIDS Walk 2023: Sunday, May 21: Thank you!! This week, due to your generous support, we surpassed our goal of $60,000. We have now raised $60,528 and are currently ranked second among all the participating teams. It is not too late to contribute. To donate and support our Team, visit our page on the AIDS WALK website. Additional detail about our team’s history can also be found on the parish website. Our team captains—MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, and Father Matt Jacobson—welcome your questions.

Donations for altar flowers may be made for Sunday, June 4, Trinity Sunday; and for Sunday, June 18 and Sunday, June 25. There are many available dates in July and August. To inquire about available dates and to arrange a donation for the altar flowers for a Sunday or a particular feast day, please contact Chris Howatt. For questions about flowers or the Flower Guild, please speak with Brendon Hunter.

Coming Up: Sunday, May 28, The Day of Pentecost, Procession and Solemn Mass at 11:00 AM . . . Monday, May 29, Memorial Day. Federal Holiday Schedule. The church opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 12:00 PM. Mass is celebrated in the Lady Chapel at 10:00 AM. The parish offices are closed. Morning and Evening Prayer will not be said in the church . . . Wednesday, May 31, The Visitation, Mass in the Lady Chapel at 12:10 PM; Sung Mass in the Church at 6:00 PM . . . Sunday, June 4, Trinity Sunday, Solemn Mass and Te Deum 11:00 AM . . . Sunday, June 11, The Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Corpus Christi, Solemn Mass and Procession to the Times Square Neighborhood with the Blessed Sacrament 11:00 AM.

Father Matthew Jacobson will be away from the parish on vacation from Monday, June 12, until Thursday, July 6.

Father Sammy Wood will be away for some days of vacation, June 21–24.

Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish on vacation from Wednesday, July 5, until Wednesday, August 2.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, MAY 21, 2023

The organ prelude on Sunday morning is the first movement of L’Ascension by Olivier Messiaen (1902–1992). Born in Avignon, son of the poetess Cécile Sauvage, Messiaen was a student of Marcel Dupré and Paul Dukas at the Paris Conservatory where he became professor of musical analysis, philosophy, and aesthetics in 1942. His legendary tenure as titular organist of Trinité, Paris, began in 1931. The brilliant light and vivid colors of this magnificent church proved a defining stimulus to Messiaen’s musical imagination for sixty years. The majesty of Christ asking that the Father glorify him is the first of the four movements of L’Ascension. This movement, like the fourth, was originally scored for orchestra in 1933 and transcribed by the composer for the organ later the same year. It carries the text from the Gospel according to John, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son as your son has glorified you” (John 17:1).

The Mass setting on Sunday morning is Missa Brevis by David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary the Virgin. Missa Brevis was composed for and first performed on Ascension Day 1991 while Dr. Hurd was Director of Music at All Saints Church, Manhattan. It is dedicated to the Reverend R. DeWitt Mallary, Jr., who was rector of All Saints Church at that time. The Kyrie, not sung this morning, is in Greek, and the remaining Mass parts are in Latin. The musical themes of each movement of this setting are derived from the rendering of the letters of Father Mallary’s name as musical pitches. These pitches are intentionally arranged to achieve upward melodic gestures suggestive of Ascension. Each movement of the Mass is compact and rhythmically straightforward. The words are presented directly in angular melodic shapes and lean harmonic textures. The Mass is scored for four-part choir, although solo voices complement the choral parts in the Agnus Dei.

The motet sung during the administration of Communion on Sunday is by William Byrd (c. 1540–1623). Byrd, like the slightly older Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585), enjoyed the favor of Queen Elizebeth I and composed effectively for both the English and Latin rites of his time. His motet Non vos relinquam orphanos, often sung in English as I will not leave you comfortless, is a five-voice setting of a Magnificat antiphon for the first Vespers of Pentecost. It was published in the second book of his Gradualia(1607). The text source for this motet is John 14:18 and 16:22.

Sunday’s organ postlude is from the Orgelbüchlein (“Little Organ Book”) of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), a collection of forty-six short and masterful pieces based on chorales for the liturgical year, mostly composed between 1708 and 1717 while Bach was court organist in Weimar. The text of the chorale Heut’ triumphiret Gottes Sohn, first published in 1591, has variously been credited to Kaspar Stolzhagen, Jakob Ebert, and Basilius Förtsch. It’s first line translates as “Today God’s Son arose from death and triumph won.” The melody used by Bach in BWV 630 is attributed to Bartholomäus Gesius in Gesius’ own hymn publication of 1601. — David Hurd

THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN

Entrances to the Garden are at 150 Eastern Parkway, 455 Flatbush Avenue, and 990 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. The month of June is when roses bloom. From the Garden’s website: “Be sure to visit the Cranford Rose Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden during the month of June. Blooms abound in the central beds, which contain modern hybrids, as well as those alongside, which contain species and old garden roses (those developed before the first modern hybrid in 1867).

“The month of June should be pretty glorious with many hybrids blooming repeatedly. Things will be a little quieter during July and August, says the Cranford’s curator . . . with a second flush occurring in September.

“You can also consider becoming a member of the Botanic Garden. Wednesday evenings from May 31 through September 6 are for members only. Enjoy the Garden during the twilight hours on these special nights when the Garden grounds, shop, and Canteen stay open exclusively for members. Wednesday, June 14, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:30 PM is Picnic Night at the Botanic Garden. Stroll through the Cranford Rose Garden and chat with the Garden’s new director of Horticulture, Shauna Moore. You can bring your picnic basket to Cherry Esplanade, purchase a rose-inspired cocktail at the bar, and enjoy live music by the New Wonders.”

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]  Williams, Rowan, Anglican Identities, Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. Kindle Edition, 2014, pp. 2-3. First published in 2004.
[2] Williams, Anglican Identities, p. 12
[3] Williams, Anglican Identities, p. 3