FROM FATHER WOOD: OUR SISTER PARISH IN LONDON

In March 2022, not long after I arrived in New York City to serve as interim rector at Saint Mary’s, I received an email from the Rev’d Dr. Peter Anthony, who had been named vicar of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, not long before, in December 2020. I was delighted because I’d been intrigued by All Saints for years. Designed by famed British Gothic revival architect William Butterfield, the gorgeous red brick All Saints church was completed in 1859. The parish website describes the church as “a living house of prayer [that] is cherished by all who worship here for its sacred atmosphere and magnificent heritage.” All Saints was a must-see destination for Mass when my family made a trip to England a few years ago. And, as it turns out, there is quite a shared history between our two parishes.

Before I came to Saint Mary’s, and Father Peter to All Saints, our two parishes had been “twinned” as part of a program linking churches in New York and London. The Link Program between our diocese and London’s began in 2006, and is currently administered by the Rev. Douglas Ousley and our great friend, Bishop Allen Shin. The program promotes a spiritual relationship between our two dioceses, and linked parishes are encouraged to creatively partner for shared mission and ministry depending on their needs. Linked churches should share a similar history, ministry, or worship style, and the fit between Saint Mary’s and All Saints was meet and right, given our shared Anglo-Catholic heritage and similar locations in the center of our cities.

I’m thrilled to announce that Father Peter will visit the rectory this summer and will be our guest preacher at Saint Mary’s on Sunday, July 2. If his name is familiar to you, perhaps it’s because he served here for a couple of months in the summer of 2002 as a pastoral assistant before attending theological college. Father told me he “completely fell in love with New York City and with the parish and its people,” and he’s kept in touch over the years and eagerly anticipates the arrival of our Angelus each week. He even wrote a lovely article for their own newsletter earlier this year describing Saint Mary’s to the All Saints faithful.

If you find yourself in London, I hope you’ll visit your other “home parish” to pray and bring greetings. I have met a few Londoners on holiday in New York, and I know our treasurer, Steven Heffner, has visited All Saints on work trips to the United Kingdom. In fact, the vice president of our Board of Trustees, Dr. Charles Morgan, was at All Saints for Mass earlier this week!

My own dreams about what this relationship could be are still growing. I attended a Zoom theology seminar All Saints hosted in November; could God be calling us to some sort of shared program of Christian formation? I love following All Saints on social media to see the vibrancy of their parish life—a Coronation Lunch, Corpus Christi processions, pilgrimages to Walsingham, a growing community of young adults (always with lots of cake!)—perhaps the seed for us to host similar events at Saint Mary’s. One particular hope I have is that our parish’s vision for God’s work in the world will be enriched and enlarged by our link to All Saints, Margaret Street. As Episcopalians, we are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, a family of independent-yet-interdependent churches that span the globe. We number more than 80 million, which makes us the third largest communion in Christ’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. When we pray for All Saints at Mass, we’re reminded that we aren’t alone here in midtown; we’re part of a global family, and we have a partner half a world away in London’s West End that prays for us, as well.

I hope you’ll circle July 2 on your calendar and be sure to join us for Mass that day to welcome Father Anthony and celebrate our relationship with All Saints, Margaret Street. Let’s have cake! — SW

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

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 those struggling with depression, anxiety, or addiction; and for those living amid violence, or with drought, storm, inclement weather, flood, fire, or earthquake.

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

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, 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 our city and for all the people of the Northeast and Canada as we cope with the smoky atmosphere and the unhealthy air.

As we begin this Pride Month, we pray for all LGBTQI+ people. May it be a time of celebration and joy. And we also pray for a growth in understanding and respect among all people and for an end to hatred, contempt, intolerance, and violence.

We pray for the people and clergy of the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, United Kingdom.

We pray for John and Humberto, who are gravely ill, and for Marie, Barbara, Theo, Steven, Carlos, Sean, Giovanna, Carlos, Christopher, Daniel, Imani, Richard, Chuck, Alexandra, James, José, Paris, Charlotte, Chelsey, Penny, Erica, Mark, Liz, Keith, Carl, Thomas, Jennifer, Susan, Harka, Gigi, Julie, Carole, Suzanne, Sharon, Liduvina, Carmen, Karl, Greta, Quincy, Ava Grace, Phyllis, Jim, Barbara, Bruce, Robert, Abe, Gypsy, Hardy, Randy, Margaret, Bob, James and Allan, priests, and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Stephen Rumpf, Enzo Cosentino, Michelle Morgan-Herb, Marjorie Ross, and Bert Frederick Breiner, priest; and for those whose anniversary of death falls on June 11: Richard John O’Brien (1923); Mary Lou Zerler (1952); and Edwin Burch (1954).

Father Edgar Wells, eighth rector of Saint Mary’s, died on June 7, 2020. We have been praying for the repose of his soul this week at Mass. We are grateful for his leadership during a difficult time in the life of the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of New York, and this parish. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

ON THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Eric Mascall once wrote, “The Eucharistic rite, which is the source and center of the Church's life, is both a symbol and a foretaste of the gathering of the human race into Christ and the transformation of the material world in him. The conversion of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is the symbol and foretaste of the transformation of the material world; the feeding of Christ's Body the Church with the Eucharistic gifts is the symbol and the foretaste of the gathering of the human race into Christ, for in communion, as St. Augustine says, we are what we receive. But here we must recall a truth . . . namely that, although from one aspect the Church is the ark of salvation in which the saved are protected from the flood outside, from another aspect the Church is not sealed off from the world at all, but is the source from which grace flows into the world to heal and transfigure it. Every time the Eucharist is celebrated, the full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction which Christ offered throughout his life and on Calvary, and which is now a perpetually efficacious reality in the heavenly realm, is made a present and active power of redemption and sanctification in our world of time and space, and by their sharing in it the members of Christ's Body the Church are sent out to their life in the world renewed and strengthened for their share in the work of the world's transformation.”

Eric Lionel Mascall (1905–1993) was a priest of the Church of England, a theologian, philosopher, a prominent Anglo-Catholic, and the author of many books and articles. The quote is from The Christian Universe (1966). Some of Father Mascall’s positions on the ordination of women will be less than congenial to many Saint Marians. However, his work, read and appreciated by Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican theologians alike, is important and has been rediscovered in recent years.

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 anointing and prayers for healing. 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, June 9, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

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. Following the procession, Mass ends with Eucharistic Benediction in the church. Evening Prayer is said in the church at 5:00 PM.

Commemorations & Other Masses during the Week of June 11, 2023 at 12:10 PM. All of these Masses are celebrated in the Lady Chapel except the Monthly Requiem, which is celebrated in the Mercy Chapel:

Monday, June 12, Saint Barnabas the Apostle (transferred)
Friday, June 16, Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, 1752
Saturday, June 17, in the Mercy Chapel, Monthly Requiem

PLEASE READ: NEWS OF SAINT MARY’S

Music, Food, Friends & Central Park! The New York Philharmonic’s annual free concert on the Great Lawn of Central Park will take place on Wednesday, June 14, at 8:00 PM. The program includes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the Overture to Rossini’s William Tell, Strauss waltzes, and works by very young composers. Grace Mudd will be hosting a potluck picnic for this event and would like to invite anyone interested in joining a Saint Mary’s group for the concert. For more details about how to find the amazing technicolor picnic blanket and join the fun, please contact Grace.

The Gallery at Saint Mary’s: A new art exhibition was installed in Saint Jospeh’s Hall this week: Six Latina Artists, curated by José Vidal. The six artists are Scherezade Garcia, Iliana Garcia, Lina Puerta, Roca, Noelle Velez, and Rachelle Mozman. All of the work is vivid and personal. Friends and members of the parish are invited to attend an “opening night” reception in the Gallery on Thursday, June 15, between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. We hope that some of the artists will be able to join us for the reception. We hope that you will be able to come and meet the artists and other lovers of contemporary art. — JV

Have you ever thought of serving at the altar? Things are about to quiet down just a bit here at Saint Mary’s during these summer months. Perhaps this is a good time for you to explore the possibility that you have a call to serve here as an acolyte. This is intimidating to some, but it shouldn’t be. The Guild of Acolytes is composed of friendly and helpful folks who would be glad to give you a tour of the sacristy, the smoke room, the frontal room, and even the basement sacristy. They’d be happy to explain how training works, and, most important, what the experience of being an acolyte is like. Schedule a tour today! Just speak to MaryJane Boland, Brendon Hunter, or Grace Mudd. Or come by the sacristy after Mass some Sunday for a chat. We’d be very happy to welcome you to the community of servers. — MJ & JRS

Milestones . . . Three young members of the wider Saint Mary’s community are graduating this month. David Conrado is graduating from the Saint Thomas Choir School. He will be headed to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts near Lincoln Center in the autumn. David is the older son of Canon Victor Conrado and Mrs. Lucia Conrado. Imani Baptiste is graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Imani is the daughter of Mrs. Erica Baptiste and the granddaughter of Mrs. Anne Baptiste. Imani was confirmed here some years ago. Until the pandemic, Erica, Imani, and Anne worshipped with us frequently. Anne and Erica have been back to the parish recently, and we have been very happy to see them. Patrick Wood, the son of Father Sammy Wood and Mrs. Renee Wood, attended his senior prom this week and he will soon graduate from the West End Secondary School. He will be heading off to the University of Mississippi, his parents’ alma mater, in early August. We are very proud of all these young people, and we wish them well as they begin their new adventures in the fall. Please keep them in your prayers.

The Guild of All Souls: A few months ago, I floated the idea of rebooting the local chapter of the Guild of All Souls here at Saint Mary’s, and I’m delighted to announce that we’re finally able to move forward on this project! I would like to invite all the members and friends of Saint Mary’s to the first monthly Requiem Mass to be celebrated here at the parish in some time. The Mass will be offered at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel on Saturday, June 17, at 12:10 PM. If you are interested in hearing more about the Guild of All Souls, you are invited to join me after Mass for a light lunch during which I will speak about the Guild, its history, mission, and ministry. If you would like to join us, please let me know by sending me an e-mail by Wednesday, June 14. — Father Sammy Wood

Donations for altar flowers. If you would like to make a donation to cover the cost of flowers to be placed on the high altar and at the shrines on an upcoming Sunday or holy day, you should know that there are many available dates coming up: Sunday, July 2, 23, and 30; and, in August, Sunday, August 6, the Transfiguration; Tuesday, August 23, the Assumption, and these other Sundays: August 13, 20, and 27. The suggested donation is $250. To reserve a date and make your donation for the altar flowers, please contact Chris Howatt. If you’d like to explore other dates or have questions about the flowers or the Flower Guild, please contact Brendon Hunter.

Neighbors in Need: 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.

This month’s Neighbors in Need distribution event will take place next week, 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.

The Episcopal Relief & Development Mission Statement reads as follows: “Episcopal Relief & Development is the compassionate response of The Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, Episcopal Relief & Development serves to bring together the generosity of Episcopalians and others with the needs of the world. Episcopal Relief & Development faithfully administers the funds that it receives from the church and raises from other sources. It provides relief in times of disaster and promotes sustainable development by identifying and addressing the root causes of suffering. Episcopal Relief & Development cherishes its partnerships within the Anglican Communion, with ecumenical bodies and with others who share a common vision for justice and peace among all people.” Through their website, it is possible to donate directly to ongoing work in Haiti, Ukraine, Türkiye, Syria, and many other important efforts.

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

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, JUNE 11, 2023

The organ prelude on Sunday morning is the chorale prelude on Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (“Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness”) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The chorale itself is found in the “Holy Eucharist” section of The Hymnal 1982 at #339 with a harmonization by Johann Cruger (1598–1662) and will be sung as today’s offertory hymn. This Eucharistic hymn by Johann Franck (1618–1677) appeared as a single stanza in Cruger’s Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien, published in Berlin in 1649. It has been sung widely in an English translation by Catherine Winkworth (1827–1878). It appeared in The English Hymnal, 190, and entered the Episcopal hymnal in 1940. Bach’s organ setting of the Cruger chorale is an expression of serene spiritual confidence. Found among the “Great Eighteen” Leipzig chorales of Bach’s mature period, this setting features the chorale melody, in an elegantly but simply ornamented form, singing above the bass line and two accompanying voices.

The Mass setting at the Solemn Mass on Sunday is Missa Aedis Christi (“Mass of the House of Christ”), which was composed in 1958 by Herbert Howells (1892–1983) for the Cathedral Church of Christ, Oxford. The Christ Church Cathedral setting is one of several liturgical cycles Howells composed for a particular place. Although he also composed extensively for orchestra and smaller instrumental ensembles, he is best remembered for his choral compositions, many of which were composed for Anglican services. Howells had been a student of Stanford and Parry at the Royal College of Music in London and was a close friend of Vaughan Williams whom he considered a mentor. Extending from this distinguished lineage, Howells is especially recognized for his expressive approach to text setting and his distinctive harmonic vocabulary. Most of Howells’s English church music is composed for choir with organ accompaniment. Missa Aedis Christi, in contrast, is composed for unaccompanied choir, in four voices with liberal division within voices to accommodate his expressive harmonic and textural palette. 

The motet sung during the preparation for the procession and for Eucharistic Benediction on Sunday, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, is a setting of Father, we thank thee by David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary’s. This setting was commissioned in 2006 to honor the fortieth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood of the Reverend Peter Carey (1938–2022) and first sung at Holy Apostles Church, Chelsea, where Father Carey and Dr. Hurd were both serving at the time. Father Carey chose the text for this composition, an English translation by F. Bland Tucker (1895–1984) of a second-century Greek text (Didache) which entered the Episcopal hymnal in 1940 and appears at #302 and #303 in The Hymnal 1982. Today’s motet renders the first of the two hymn stanzas in a four-part a capella choral texture. The second stanza, however, expands out to eight-part double-choir in which Choir II sings the words of the second stanza to the same music as the first while Choir I sings an additional four-voice overlay. This motet is one of eight choral works for which the Choir of Saint Mary’s created virtual performances in 2020 while we were unable to sing in person due to pandemic conditions. All eight videos remain available as YouTube videos. — David Hurd

A NEW BOOK BY MOTHER LEE

Mother Deborah Lee, who led a Lenten Quiet Day at Saint Mary’s in March, has just published a new book, This Is Another Day: Reflections on Scripture, Faith, and Prayer for Action. Some of her reflections from the quiet day were drawn from this manuscript. The book is available for ordering online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and WestBow Press. From Amazon’s website: “This Is Another Day is a collection of daily meditations crafted to be a companion on your spiritual journey. Written from the heart, these devotional reflections invite us into God's word in order for us to speak a shared language of love, inspiration, sustenance, and even challenge as we journey together into unknown seasons. Buoyed by the overwhelming grace of Christ, we are called by Jesus-whose resurrection transcends death and fear-to keep our hearts and minds set on hope, love, mercy, justice, thanksgiving, and reconciliation.” Congratulations Mother Lee! — MDJ

SAINT MARY’S SUMMER READING LIST: A FEW SUGGESTIONS & NO QUIZZES

Saint Augustine, The Confessions (Father Matt recommends Maria Boulding’s translation, which is published by New City Press, 1997)

Day, Dorothy, The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day (HarperOne, 2017)

Gioia, Luigi, Saint Benedict’s Wisdom: Monastic Spirituality and the Life of the Church (Liturgical Press, 2020)

Lewis, C. S., Mere Christianity (HarperOne; Reissue edition, 2023)

Olsen, Derek, Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life (Forward Movement, 2016).

Radcliffe, Timothy, O.P., What Is the Point of Being A Christian? (Burns & Oates, 2005)

Taylor, Barbara Brown, Leaving Church: A Memoir (HarperOne, 2012)

Wilson, A. N., C. S. Lewis, A Biography (W. W. Norton & Company, 2002)

COMING UP

Saturday, June 24, The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Mass 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer 5:00 PM.

Thursday, June 29, Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM and Evening Prayer 5:00 PM in the Church. Mass 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel. This Mass will include anointing and prayers for healing.

AN INVITATION FROM THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

The Church of the Good Shepherd has invited Saint Marians to the following:

The feast of St. Mary Magdalen—the first to encounter the Risen Christ and then announce the Good News to the men as “the Apostle to the Apostles”—is Saturday, July 22. We will celebrate Mass at noon and then have a discussion of the ways St. Mary Magdalen and the Blessed Virgin Mary have been seen in the past as each a witness of the Resurrection and each a mother of the faithful.

The Church of the Good Shepherd is located at 240 East 31st Street.

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.