Poem 133: The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver (1935–2019)

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

From New and Selected Poems, 1992, Beacon Press, Boston, MA
Copyright 1992 by Mary Oliver. All rights reserved.
Accessed July 2023, the website of the Library of Congress. Used with permission.

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 all refugees and migrants; for those struggling with depression, anxiety, or addiction; and for those living amid violence, or with drought, storm, punishing heat, flood, fire, or earthquake.

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine, Russia, Niger, Sudan, South 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 the Episcopal Church and for all the people and clergy of the Diocese of Florida.

We pray for John, Humberto, and Joan, who are gravely ill; and for Vera, Carl, Lydia, Janet, George, Claudia, José, Barry, Anthony, Joyce, June, Cooki, Steven, Sharon, Barbara, Bruce, Robert, Carlos, Christopher, Liduvina, Richard, Chuck, Frank, Brendan, Carmen, Susan, Paris, Charlotte, Chelsey, Keith, Jennifer, Harka, Ingrid, Gigi, Julie, Carole, Suzanne, Greta, Quincy, Ava Grace, Phyllis, Jim, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Randy, and Margaret; for  David and Thomas, religious, Lind, deacon, and Allan and Stephen, priests. We also pray also for the repose of the souls of George Alagiah, Tony Bennett, Zelimkhan Bakayev, and Dave Wilson, priest, and those whose year’s mind falls on July 30: Mary Almack (1940); Charles McFall (1944); George Brannick (1956); Edith Collins (1986); Clifford Licorish (1986).

We pray in thanksgiving that no one was seriously hurt in the crane fire on the 42nd Street and 10th Avenue on Wednesday, and we give thanks for the skill and courage of the firefighters and EMTs who contained the fire, cared for the injured, and prevented loss of life.

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 the third Saturday of each month, a Requiem Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel. On Sundays, Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Evensong and Benediction will be offered next on the first Sunday in October.

Friday, July 28, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Sunday, July 30, The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A, Proper 12. Summer schedule. Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. A cantor will assist the congregation’s worship at the Solemn Mass. The readings are 1 Kings 3:5–12, Psalm 119:129–136, Romans 8:26–34, and Matthew 13:31–33, 44–52.

Monday, July 31, Ignatius of Loyola, Priest, Monastic, and Founder of the Society of Jesus, 1556

Tuesday, August 1, Joseph of Arimathaea

Friday, August 4, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Sunday, August 6, The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. The readings are Exodus 34:29–35; Psalm 99; 2 Peter 1:13–21; Luke 9:28–36.

LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S: NEWS & NOTICES (AND REQUESTS FOR HELP)

On Tuesday, August 15, we will celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There will be a said Mass in the Lady Chapel at 12:10 PM and a Solemn Mass in the church at 6:00 PM. Our guest preacher at the Solemn Mass will be the Reverend Dr. Norman Whitmire, Jr. Father Whitmire is the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Woodhaven, New York. You may read more about Father Whitmire, his life, education, ministry, and path to ordination on his parish’s website. There will be reception in Saint Jospeh’s Hall at the end of Mass. All are invited.

Our senior sexton, Mr. Harka Gurung, has stepped down from his position after working at Saint Mary’s for nearly ten years. His reliable dedication to his work—and the church—is greatly appreciated, and we would like to acknowledge Harka and his many contributions to our common life here. We will be honoring him at the coffee hour following Solemn Mass on Sunday, August 6, so please plan on attending if you are able. For further information on this special celebration and fond farewell, please contact the Parish Office. — Chris Howatt

Shalim Peña, who was our weekend sexton until early 2020, has been working part-time for us in recent weeks and will be returning to the staff full-time beginning on August 1. He will normally be working from 11:00 AM until closing. He will be working under the direction of Chris Howatt and will be mentored for a time by sexton, Jorge Trujillo. Shalim has many gifts and it is good to have him back with us. He has, for instance, been very helpful to the Neighbors in Need Team, who are very grateful to him for his assistance. Please keep Shalim, and his son Adrian, in your prayers as Shalim begins this new work.

Neighbors in Need, Saint Mary’s Primary Outreach Program: The next Drop-by Distribution of Clothing and Hygiene Items will take place on Friday, August 18, 1:30–3:00 PM. Lightly used, sensible shoes and sneakers for both men and women are a particular need just now. Cash donations are always welcome: donations online or by check should include the notation “Neighbors in Need.” We are very grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry. For more information about the work of Neighbors in Need or if you are interested in volunteering, please speak to MaryJane Boland, Marie Rosseels, or Father Jay Smith.

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, there are many available dates coming up August 13 and 27, every Sunday in  September and many Sundays in October. 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.

Father Jay Smith returns from vacation and will be back in the office on Wednesday, August 2. He will celebrate the 12:10 PM Mass the next day and will also be the celebrant at Solemn Mass on the following Sunday, the Transfiguration.

Father Sammy Wood will be away from the parish August 14–18. He and his wife Renee will be with their son Patrick as he travels south to begin his first year at university.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, JULY 30, 2023

Sunday’s organ voluntaries continue a series, begun last Sunday, 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 Bach’s pupils, very likely Johann Tobias Krebs (1690–1762), or his son Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780). Of these eight relatively short preludes and fugues, four are in the 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. This morning’s prelude is BWV 559 in A minor, and the postlude is BWV 553 in the relative Major key of C. BWV 559, for the prelude, is probably the most dramatic of the eight preludes and fugues, displaying elements of the stylus fantasticus (“fantastic style”) of north-German Baroque keyboard music. BWV 553, numbered first in the collection and played for the postlude, is a bright and innocently straightforward piece. Both preludes and fugues have stylistic similarities to the larger works BWV 543 and BWV 545, which are in the same respective keys and are more certainly authentic works of J. S. Bach.

The name of Healey Willan (1880–1968) is well known to Episcopalians because of his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena, composed in 1928, which appeared in The Hymnal 1940 and was retained in The Hymnal 1982. This setting, which we will sing at Solemn Mass, has been sung widely throughout the Episcopal Church, as well as in other denominations, for decades. Willan’s career and reputation, however, went far beyond composing this beloved Mass. He composed more than eight hundred works including operas, symphonies and other music for orchestra and band, chamber music, and music for piano and organ, in addition to a great quantity of choral music. His liturgical music includes fourteen choral Masses, occasional motets, canticles, and hymn settings. Willan was born in England and began his career as an organist in London parish churches. He joined the faculty at Toronto University in 1914, later becoming Professor of Music there. In 1921 he was named organist at Toronto’s Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, a position he retained until his death. Said to have described himself as “English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption,” Willan was a champion of historic liturgical chant and the aesthetic of Renaissance church music. He incorporated these influences and mingled them with an appreciation of the rich harmonic palette of the late nineteenth-century masters. Through his compositions and choral direction, he significantly set the standard for North American Anglo-Catholic church music in his time. In 1956 Willan became the first non-English church musician to be awarded the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus.D. Cantuar.

The cantor on Sunday is soprano, Joy Tamayo. During the Communion she will sing Be thou my vision by Bob Chilcott (b. 1955). Bob Chilcott has had a long and deep involvement in choral music. He was a chorister and choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. He also was a member of The King’s Singers for twelve years. Much of his work is for young singers, and he has conducted choral festivals worldwide. He is Principal Guest Conductor of The BBC Singers and in 2019 he was appointed Principal Conductor of Birmingham University Singers. The text of Chilcott’s Be thou my vision has its source in eighth-century Celtic monastic spirituality. Translated by Mary Byrne (1880–1931) and versified by Eleanor Hull (1860–1935), stanzas of this text have become dear to singing congregations, usually sung to the Irish ballad melody Slane. Chilcott’s original setting, which exists both in solo voice and choral forms, presents this venerable prayer text gracefully and attractively.

More about the cantor on Sunday: As an artist, Joy Tamayo expresses herself as a performer, a writer, and an educator. She is a graduate of both the University of the Philippines and the Crane School of Music. Fates have determined that most of her life be within orbit of whatever representative of the Stage, whether a barangay singing competition at the foot of an active volcano or a medieval church in Europe. Her New York art life has continued this penchant for the all-venues approach to performance. Highlights include the premiere of Chaitanya Sangco’s Subway Atmos (for soprano, cello, piano, chorus, and electronics) at Opera America; the Calf in Kento Iwasaki's portable opera Beloved Prey at Flushing Town Hall; Barbarina in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble; lead soprano for Pete Wyer’s opera Spring Street which premiered online at jeeni.com. For collaborative works, Joy Tamayo performed for Tino Seghal's This You, a 2016 Public Art Fund’s exhibit called The Language of Things at City Hall Park; a recording with C4 Ensemble of Jonathan David's Blue Planet Blues/The Time Is Come, commissioned by Zsuzsanna Ardo for an art installation at Skopje, Northern Macedonia; and chorus for National Sawdust’s project with composer Sxip Shirey’s The Gauntlet at Rockefeller Center. As one half of the duo an outskirt, she is pursuing the stage with the most eyes on it. She wrote, danced, and performed the opera Mga Stasyon as part of the 2021 Exponential Festival. She was composer and vocalist for Tanika I. Williams’s film Sanctuary which was featured at the BAMcinemaFest 2021 Shorts Program. Joy was born and raised in the Philippines.

COMING UP AT SAINT MARY’S

Tuesday, August 15, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Monday, September 4, Labor Day, Federal Holiday Schedule

Friday, September 8, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Thursday, September 14, Holy Cross Day

Thursday, September 21, Saint Matthew the Apostle

Friday, September 29, Saint Michael & All Angels

AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
1220 Fifth Ave at 103rd St., Open Thurs 10–9, Fri–Mon 10–5

This Is New York: 100 Years of the City in Art and Pop Culture

From the museum website, “In honor of the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Museum of the City of New York as the city’s storyteller, This Is New York: 100 Years of the City in Art and Pop Culture explores the many ways that the city has inspired storytelling across art forms. It features both famous and lesser-known depictions of New York in film and television, visual and performing arts, music, poetry and literature, and even fashion, painting a collective, moving, and sometimes funny version of a city that has captured the imagination of the world.

“The full-floor exhibition is organized around the types of urban spaces where the stories of New York are told. Tempo of the City explores the ways in which artists have depicted life in the city’s streets and subways, and the emotions that the experience of joining the public crowd often evoke, whether joy or alienation, fear or pride. The gallery also features Songs of New York, an interactive installation that allows visitors to explore the richness and diversity of each borough through songs it has inspired. In the Tiffany & Co. Foundation Gallery, At Home in New York spotlights literature and art works that animate the unique challenges and opportunities of making a home in a city of eight million people. The third gallery, Destination: NYC, showcases work about the city’s spaces for gathering and spectacle, its dynamic unique nightlife spots, as well as its iconic parks and waterfronts.

“A special gallery, You Are Here, dedicated to New York on film, provides an immersive 16-screen experience drawn from hundreds of movies about the city made over the past century. The film immersive also includes an introductory installation, Scenes from the City explores how New York has been used as a movie set for the past century.”

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.