FROM BRENDON HUNTER: THE SUBTLE INSPIRATION OF BEAUTY

All of us on the Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Flower Guild at Saint Mary’s are amateurs who have learned from each other and picked up skills over the years—and we have some incredible talent in this parish. It’s very process intensive that involves going to the floral district (centered around 28th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan) very early in the morning to shop at the wholesalers. Orders for flowers and branches are only for major occasions like Easter and Christmas when the quantity we need merits this. So, we shop from what is available and always try to pick up items that are going to last and anything in season. We never know what to expect.

When selecting material, if a donor has a special request, we will try to honor that as best we can. As Saint Mary’s is a large building, it requires quite a bit of material, and we save and use every scrap. While having enough stems is important, we are also ever mindful of being good stewards of the money offered and the flowers and branches that have been grown and are part of God’s creation. We always recycle any viable stems from older pieces, often for smaller arrangements for other parts of the church, or in Saint Joseph’s Hall.

We will also try to incorporate materials and configurations that have had some special significance, whether this is through color, shape, or flower type. I’ve selected a type of Ornithogalum, commonly known as star of Bethlehem, at the crèche for Christmas the last two years, and asters, also known at Michaelmas daisies, for the Sunday closest to the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. There are times I’ve used focal flowers in sets of five, representing the five wounds, for principal feasts of Our Lord or twelve, representing the number of stars in Mary’s crown, for feasts of Our Lady. The point is never to draw attention to ourselves or the flowers themselves in this work, but to create an offering that enhances the beauty and worship of God here at Saint Mary’s.

My hope when designing and creating the flower arrangements is that they will give people a chance to be drawn in to see and feel the beauty and love of God (whether they understand it to be this or not), to connect to something beyond themselves, and to be inspired in their journey. There is also something particularly special about the ephemeral nature of flowers that I find important.

The twentieth-century philosopher Jacques Derrida, considered the father of deconstructionism, wrote about a concept he called différance. What interests me with a concept like this is how it relates to the areas of aesthetics (what is beauty and taste) and ontology (what is being, as in existence, reality, etc.). While I am not a philosopher or academic, I’d loosely summarize différance as how we can’t ever fully experience presence, that there is a fluidity to it and there will always be something we have yet to understand. This isn’t to say that we can’t understand and experience more, but that there will always be an element we haven’t been able to know and thus the argument is that nothing is fully present.

To me, this is part of the invitation we have when we walk into Saint Mary’s, whether to soak up the space, receive the Sacrament at Mass, or see what the crèche at Christmas looks like. I can’t fully explain or know it, though I am absolutely certain that Jesus is fully present when I walk into Saint Mary’s. I see and experience that everywhere in the building, from the flowers on the altar to the faces of all of you when we gather for worship. In this very noisy world of ours, signs and symbols help us to articulate presence. It is one of the hallmarks of Anglo-Catholicism and why I am at Saint Mary’s, to be utterly bathed in all my senses, through the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and feelings that help remind me that Christ yesterday, today, and forever is present.

Flowers have a role in helping to call this out, that we’ve entered into a sacred space, a special time and place. They remind me of the fleeting specialness of the present, to mark an occasion or memorial of a donor, the feast celebrated in our church, and the phenomenal beauty and joy of God in our world. Perhaps you see one of these things, maybe even more, but I hope the next time you’re at Saint Mary’s you’ll have a moment to pause at the flower arrangements to enjoy, reflect, and then see and feel where that takes you.

Parishioner Brendon Hunter first came to Saint Mary’s in 2012. He has served the parish in several ways—as acolyte, member of the Sacristy Leadership Team, trainer of new acolytes, founder of the Candle Guild, member and leader of the Flower Guild, curator of vestments, member of the Board of Trustees, and consultant on organizational processes and structures. He has worked for the Episcopal Church both in Chicago and here in New York, in parishes and for the church at large. Trained as an artist, he remains interested in design, architecture, and the visual arts. He is an enthusiastic baker, avid runner, and coffee fanatic. He grew up in Southern California; lived, studied, and worked in Chicago; and has made New York his home for many years. He remains ready and willing to describe all that Queens has to offer and to explain that borough’s complex grid and address system to Manhattan-centric members and clergy of the parish.

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 victims of violence, assault, and crime; for all refugees and migrants; 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 keep the people of Hawaii in our prayers this week as they recover from devastating fires on the island of Maui. We pray for the repose of the souls of those who died in those fires.

We pray for the people and clergy of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin as we prepare for the Listening Session following the Solemn Mass on Sunday, August 20.

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine, Russia, Niger, Ecuador, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar.

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

We pray for the people and clergy of the Diocese of Florida.

We pray for those for whom prayers have been asked: Aston, Joe, Mary Lou, Mary Barbara, Emily, Marie, Bert, Marc, Humberto, Joan, Frank, Steven, John, Blaise, Marie, John Derek, Carl, Tristan, Ingrid, Janet, Claudia, Joyce, June, Cooki, Lydia, Sharon, Bruce, Robert, Matt, Carlos, Christopher, Liduvina, Richard, Brendon, José, Brian, Carmen, Susan, Charlotte, Keith, Jennifer, Harka, Suzanne, Quincy, Gigi, Ava Grace, Phyllis, Jim, Bruce, Robert, Matt, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, and Margaret; for Jamie, religious; Lind, deacon; and Allan and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of members of the parish whose year’s mind falls on August 20: Robert Heckroth (1903); Henry Gascheidle (1915); Courtland Palmer Hull (1916); Angela English (1921); Arthur John Barrett (1925); Mary Bull Boyd (1952); Hubert Johnson (1958).

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, August 18, 1:30–3:00 PM, Neighbors in Need Drop-by Distribution of Clothing and Hygiene Items, Church, Lady Chapel, Saint Joseph’s Hall.

Friday, August 18, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Saturday, August 19, Monthly Requiem Mass, Mercy Chapel 12:10 PM

Sunday, August 20, 9:30–10:30 AM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in the Livestream Control Room, which is located just outside the Sacristy.

Sunday, August 20, The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Proper 15 (Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153), Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. A cantor will assist the congregation’s worship at the Solemn Mass. The readings are Isaiah 56:1–8; Psalm 67; Romans 11:13–15, 29–32; and Matthew 15:21–28. Father Matthew Jacobson will preach. Christopher Howatt is the cantor.

Sunday, August 20, after the Solemn Mass, Listening Session in Saint Joseph’s Hall. See below for further information.

Thursday, August 24, Saint Bartholomew the Apostle

Friday, August 25, Louis, King of France, 1270

Friday, August 25, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Sunday, August 27, 9:30–10:30 AM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in the Livestream Control Room, which is located just outside the Sacristy.

Sunday, August 27, The Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost, Year A, Proper 16 (Henry Winter Syle, 1890, and Thomas Gallaudet, 1902, Priests) 

A LISTENING SESSION
Sunday, August 20, 2023
12:45 PM

Please join us after the Solemn Mass on Sunday in Saint Joseph’s Hall
to pray, to share, to listen, and to consider the movement of the
Spirit here at Saint Mary’s both now and in the future. 

These are some of the questions, we invite you to consider:

• What do you dream about God doing at Saint Mary’s in the next decade? 

• What are your hopes for the near- and long-term future of Saint Mary’s? What are your fears? What makes you anxious?

• What questions arise for you from the Board’s recent decision to suspend the rector search?

• What are you personally willing to commit to this project of ours?

 LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S: NEWS & NOTICES

On Tuesday, August 15, we celebrated the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a Solemn Mass at 6:00 PM. We give thanks to all those who came from near and far in the spirit of joy, peace, goodness, and faith to worship the Lord, to honor his Blessed Mother, and to sing the many hymns beautifully and with great enthusiasm. It was good to be able to welcome so many old friends of the parish. It was a blessing to be able to hear Father Norman Whitmire’s sermon. It was a pleasure to hear the Choir again under the leadership of Dr. Hurd. We are grateful to all those here at the parish who worked so hard to prepare for the liturgy that evening and for the reception that followed.

Looking for Daily Prayer Resources? Take a look at the resources of the Forward Movement. The popular Forward Day by Day booklet is available in print by subscription (a limited number of copies of the booklet can be found on the ushers’ table at the beginning of each quarter; the next quarter begins in November and copies ship in late September). The booklet is also available on Kindle, on an app, and as a podcast. Forward Movement also provides a user-friendly and well-designed version of Morning and Evening Prayer, both on your desktop as an app. There is much to be said for beginning and ending the day using two books, the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. But these resources are useful. They are convenient. They are helpful when traveling. And they are especially good when one is just beginning to pray the Daily Office.

At the Cathedral . . . On Sunday, September 24, at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the inaugural cohort of the Community at the Crossing will be received and vested at the 10:30 AM Mass. This ecumenical group of young adults will spend a year together in an intentional religious community on the cathedral grounds. Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew have all expressed their support for this important initiative by our diocese. The Archbishop of Canterbury will be the preacher at the liturgy, and all are invited. Please RSVP here by September 8. Father Matt serves on an advisory board for the program and will be attending on behalf of the parish clergy.

The Saint Mary’s Book Club. . . The first book of the new season is Barbara Brown Taylor’s “Leaving Church.” Taylor is an Episcopal priest, author, and acclaimed preacher who has written movingly about her hopes, her struggles, and her not-always-easy journey in faith. From the book’s back cover, “Taylor describes a rich spiritual journey in which God has given her more questions than answers. As she becomes part of the flock instead of the shepherd, she describes her poignant and sincere struggle to regain her footing in the world without her defining collar. Taylor’s realization that this may in fact be God’s surprising path for her leads her to a refreshing search to find Him in new places. Leaving Church will remind even the most skeptical among us that life is about both disappointment and hope—and ultimately, renewal.” The book is available in paperback and hard cover in the usual places. Discussion of the book was planned for Sunday, September 24. However, the second listening session on the search for a new rector is to take place that day. New date and time will be announced shortly. In the meantime, start reading! — JRS

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: September 17 and 24, October 22 and 29 and many Sundays in November. 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.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, AUGUST 20, 2023

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

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is Mass VIII as found in the Liber Usualis (Usual Book), a comprehensive anthology of medieval Roman plainsong compiled in the nineteenth century by the monks of the Abbey of Saint Peter, in Solesmes, in northwestern France. Like the several other numbered Masses of the Gregorian Missal, Mass VIII (In Festis Duplicibus. 5 also known as De Angelis) is a collection of chants for the Ordinary of the Mass which likely were originally independent pieces brought together and associated with one another by later custom. This particular combination was traditionally sung on certain feast days in the Roman calendar. The Gloria in excelsis of Mass VIII is in Mode 5 and dates from the sixteenth century. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei are both in Mode 6 and date from the twelfth and fifteenth century respectively. Credo III, which we have been singing weekly during this summer season, is often associated with Missa de Angelis. Credo III shares its Mode 5 classification with the Gloria of Mass VIII and is dated as seventeenth century in the Liber Usualis, a century later than the Mass VIII Gloria.

During the Communion of the people on Sunday, our cantor, tenor Christopher Howatt, will sing Arise, My Love by Richard Hundley (1931–2018). Hundley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended the Cincinnati Conservatory from age eleven and, while yet a teenager, performed as piano soloist with both the Northern Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony. He moved to New York in 1950, briefly attending the Manhattan School of Music. He joined the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in 1960 and his experiences and personal associations there had a strong impact upon his development as a recognized and prize-winning composer of art songs. He wrote the following: “The words of Arise, My Love are taken from the impassioned verses of the Song of Songs (2:13–14). The song was first performed by baritone Joseph Penrod and pianist Morgo Garrett at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1981.” Hundley originally conceived Arise, My Love for low voice, but subsequently created an edition for sopranos and tenors.

More about Sunday’s cantor: Christopher Howatt is the parish administrator here at Saint Mary’s. He was also until recently a regular member of the Choir here at the parish. An actively performing singer in the realms of musical theater and cabaret, he was a member of the Associate Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera for two seasons. He has been heard on recordings as diverse as Jessye Norman’s Christmas CD, In the Spirit, to singing backup for The Pet Shop Boys on their cover of the Village People’s “Go West.” As an accompanist and music director he has worked with such talents as David Hyde Pierce, Howard McGillin, Tyne Daly, Rita Moreno, Brad Oscar and Cady Huffman, among others. He has served as musical supervisor for productions of Sylvia, Lend Me a Tenor and Inspecting Carol at George Street Playhouse as well as musical director for George Street’s world-premiere production of Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are, written and directed by the late theatrical legend, Arthur Laurents. For several years he displayed both pianistic and vocal talents as music director/arranger and performer with the two-time MAC Award nominated vocal group Boulevard East, producing and recording their CD, Timeless, as well as performing with them in various cabaret venues. 

COMING UP AT SAINT MARY’S

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

Sunday, October 1, Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost,
Beginning of Program Year 2023–2024 & Return of the Choir of Saint Mary’s

 AT THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
170 Central Park West at Richard Gilder Way (77th Street)

“Women’s Work,” July 21, 2023–July 7, 2024

From the museum website: “What is ‘women’s work?’ How have broad trends in American economic, legal, and political history encouraged women to take certain jobs and restricted them from ‘men’s work?’ How have race, ethnicity, social class, legal status, sexual orientation, and gender presentation impacted these distinctions? In a new exhibition, the Center for Women’s History showcases approximately forty-five objects from New-York Historical’s own Museum and Library collections to demonstrate how ‘women’s work’ defies categorization. The items range from a nineteenth-century mahogany cradle to a twentieth-century doctor’s dissection kit to a pinback button with the message ‘Shirley Chisholm for President.’ The exhibition seeks to demonstrate that women’s work has been essential to American society and is inherently political: Women’s work is everywhere. Curated by the Center for Women’s History curatorial staff and fellows.”

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.