FROM FATHER SAMMY WOOD: ON THE LITURGY

Father Richard Major clearly loved the Mass. In his little commentary, The Freeze-Frame Mass, the former associate at the Anglo-Catholic Church of the Ascension & Saint Agnes in Washington, DC, explained:

The Mass is prayer: the best prayer of all. The Mass is also the world’s greatest work of art: the biggest (because millions of Christians, dead and living, have contributed to its development by their preferences, dislikes, inspirations, reactions); the oldest (it has a continuous history of twenty centuries); the richest (in the sense of its uncountable echoes and layers); and the most important.

Precisely because this is our greatest prayer, Saint Mary’s (like Ascension & Saint Agnes) strives to make the experience of the Mass positively transcendent for the worshiper. To that end, I wrote an Angelus article last May to announce some tweaks to our liturgy, and mentioned that in the coming months Saint Mary’s would look for other opportunities to “draw on the best of our own particular history of liturgical practice, reaching back for every treasure of our catholic heritage, to set apart the entire action of the Mass and lift our hearts heavenward.” That very week we began a practice called “the elevations” at the words of institution in the Eucharistic Prayer—“This is my body, This is my blood”—when the celebrant holds the elements aloft, accompanied by the ringing of a bell as an audible sign of our praise and thanksgiving.

Well, that was just phase one. In the months since, our faithful MCs and Guild of Altar Servers have continued to work with our clergy team to plan the most excellent religious service we are able to execute as a parish family. Some small changes you may have already noticed include:

• A slightly modified entrance rite where the Gospel book is carried into worship and the entire altar party genuflects as one, rather than individually upon arriving at the altar.

• Reading Bible passages from the New Revised Standard Version in the Daily Office and, beginning this past week on Michaelmas, at the Mass.

• The next “phase” of change you can watch for is a modified Gospel procession, with the Gospeller bringing the Gospel book to the Celebrant for a blessing (a prayer that he may “worthily proclaim the Gospel”) before heading out into the midst of the people to chant as we all look on. As Father Major says, at this point of the Mass, the Gospel book “has drawn every eye in the building, as a magnet draws iron filings.”

Our goal is to have our new pattern in place for the beginning of the church year on Advent I, when our prayer will be more focused on the altar and accompanied by fuller choreography for which our wonderful building was designed and built.

Meanwhile, this Sunday marks the beginning of our program year, when we welcome the return of our wonderful choir, begin a three-week sermon series on parish vision, and end the day, as we do the first Sunday of every month, with a lush service of Solemn Evensong & Benediction. This year, we have decided to delay the return of the Asperges, the rite of sprinkling the congregation with holy water, waiting to restore it in Advent. Reserving the Asperges for Advent and Lent, and continuing it throughout Eastertide, allows us to experience both the penitential and celebratory aspects of the action, while retaining the specialness of a ritual done certain times of the year but not every single Sunday. Again, this is not a huge change, and I plan to write more about the Asperges as we get closer to Advent. After all, “the Christian faith has mysteries, but not secrets . . . it is full of truths too deep for human reason to plumb, but there is no confidential information and . . . we never mean to mystify” (Father Major, again).

One last point—Why devote so much thought and energy to this Liturgy Project? For me, it goes back to when my family lived in Washington, DC, and I was curate at the same church Father Major had served. One Wednesday evening, I assisted at Mass said by a beloved mentor, Father Ronald Conner. That particular night, no one came to worship except for Father Conner, one altar server, and me. But Father suggested “Let’s fire up the incense,” which we never did for low Masses. Although we were alone—were we really, amidst the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven?—we vested as Celebrant, Deacon, and Subdeacon. That night the three of us pulled out all the stops, reveling in the luxurious pageantry of the Mass, and in his homily (Father Conner always preached, even if it was just to me!), he said something I’ve never forgotten. Hearing the horns of traffic in the street outside, he said “What we do in here tonight makes no sense to the world out there, but that’s how worship works—worship is foolish exuberance.”

That’s why I’m so committed to worshiping with abandon, with our whole selves and all the smells and bells we can find. This is, indeed, our greatest prayer. At Mass, time falls away and we find ourselves transported to heaven. “The liturgy,” Mark Galli writes, “is an experience of the kingdom in which past and future coincide in joyous present . . . we are remembering a blessed past, anticipating a glorious future, looking expectantly now in the face of our Master.” And that Master deserves all the exuberance this fool can muster. — SW

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

We pray for an end to war, division, violence, and injustice, especially in the Middle East, Venezuela, Ukraine, Russia, Myanmar, Sudan, and Darfur. We pray for justice and for an end to violence and discord in our city and nation.

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

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, especially Abraham, Tracy, Jacques, Keith, Claudia, Suzanne, Dorian, Margaret, Patrick, Frank, Carmen, Steve, Susanna, Rolf, Richard, Josh, Cedric, Elena, Otis, David, Joseph, Carmen, Rick, Maddie, Tony, Hattie, Paul, Nettie, Chrissy, Robert, Duncan, Justin, Sheila, Jan, Pat, Marjorie, Carole, Sharon, Quincy, June, Carlos, Hardy, Giovanna, Gypsy, Leroy, and Liduvina; Laura Katharine, Barbara-Jean, Eleanor-Francis, religious; and Curtis, religious; Jay, Julie, Jean, Robby, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Alden Welling Belknap (1880), John Ross Grant (1928), and Marie Purnell (1920), whose year’s mind falls on October 6. We also prayed this week for the repose of the soul of George Blackshire, a former trustee of Saint Mary’s, who died fifteen years ago on October 5, 2009. George, who was an active and generous member of the parish, is still remembered by many Saint Marians. May he and all the faithful departed rest in peace and rise in glory.

COMING UP

Sunday, October 6
Rite I Mass 9:00 AM, Adult Formation 9:45 AM, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM
The program year begins and the full choir returns at Solemn Mass!

&

Blessing of the Animals, 2:00 PM
Forty-sixth Street, in front of the church.

&

Evensong & Benediction, 4:00 PM
Note the new time!

Sunday, October 13
Virtual Coffee Hour after the Solemn Mass
Link will be posted on the livestream page.
Contact Father Sammy for more information.

Sunday, October 20
Newcomers Reception in the Rectory
After the Solemn Mass & a Bit of Coffee Hour

Sunday, October 27
Guild Fair in Saint Joseph’s Hall, 12:30–1:30 PM

NEWS & NOTICES

Adult Formation: Classes continue Sunday mornings at 9:45 AM . . . As we begin our “year of invitation,” we are each sent back into our individual circles of influence as evangelists and servants to share the good news of the reign of God and to renew the world. To that end, our year of invitation includes an “invitation” of our own—God’s invitation into an ever-deepening walk with him. That is the goal of our first “Foundations Course” this October. This four-week study, which begins this coming Sunday, October 6 and is called “Invitation to a Journey,” is about building a “trellis” for us to grow along. Father Sammy will begin with a survey of the purposes of the Church, then move on to examine Anglican Spirituality and experiment with the “Threefold Rule of Prayer” embodied in our Prayer Books. The Foundations Courses aim to increase our proficiency in various aspects of the Christian life and are geared for people curious about Anglican spirituality or interested in joining the Episcopal Church or Saint Mary’s, for longtime practitioners brushing up on the basics of their faith, and for newcomers who seek connections within the parish. In a word, Foundations Courses are for all adults who find themselves around Saint Mary’s!

And we invite you to participate in another Formation offering . . . On Wednesday nights starting October 16, after Evening Prayer and Mass, you are invited up to the Rectory for a small group experiment we’re calling “Group Seeks God.” Drawing on years of experience hosting small groups, Father Sammy and Renee will demonstrate how simple practices like hospitality and storytelling create opportunities for engagement and invitation in our everyday worlds. Hopefully this group will serve as proof of concept for more small groups we dream of launching around the city next year.

From Bishop Matthew Heyd . . . On Monday we launched a new video series of Renewal Stories featuring our local communities. You can watch the Renewal Stories video here.

I’m a big fan of narrative theology, which suggests our faith is better expressed in story than doctrine. We all share in God’s story. God’s story for us now is the renewal of the Church for the healing of the world.

• The series will include 10 videos featuring congregations and chaplaincies in every part of the Diocese. The videos share renewal in real life— flourishing and struggling at the same time.

• We’re releasing videos in groups of three or four. You’re invited to share with your congregations and your networks. 

• Andrew Fillippone from Telling Stories has produced the series. The 2025 operating budget includes additional emphasis on communications. We’ll continue to create video stories about our local communities.

All of our communities have stories to tell! Any series of videos will be incomplete. Communications director Nick Richardson has developed a way that we can all share stories this fall. We’ll share more in future weeks. Thanks to Nick for coordinating, to Andrew for his gift for storytelling, and to everyone who has taken time to tell their stories in these videos.

Grace & Peace,
+ Matt Heyd

Anglican Heritage Pilgrimage: June 9–20, 2025 . . . Father Sammy Wood will be leading a pilgrimage to England in June 2025! For Episcopalians in the Anglican tradition, England holds a place of distinct significance. The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin’s Anglican Heritage Pilgrimage will trace Christianity’s early days in Great Britain, medieval England, and the Reformation as we experience the treasures of our Anglican tradition. Skilled guides will lead our small group through the sacred places that bore witness to Christian saints, Protestant martyrs, and significant events in Anglican church history. Click here for additional details and please speak with Father Sammy if you have any questions.

Bible Readings at Saint Mary’s . . . Until recently, we had been using the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible at all public liturgies, though we often read from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), as well as other translations, at Bible Study and Adult Formation. In fact, Father Powell often recommends reading a passage from multiple translations to get a sense of the possible ways to render the original text without having to study Hebrew and Greek.

Over the summer, we began using the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) at Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Prayer Book Offices by Church Publishing includes all the office readings appointed by the Book of Common Prayer in the NRSV translation. It also has the Prayer Book’s office rites and psalter. We are now using this book for the readings at the Daily Offices, but it may be of interest to those who pray the offices at home. Click here to learn more.

On the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, we began using the NRSV translation at Masses as well. Readings at upcoming Masses will be posted on our website here, which can be reached from the “Worship” dropdown on our homepage. We will continue to use the RSV translation at the Sunday morning Rite I Mass (9:00 AM).

The Preface to the NRSV offers a thorough description of the translation committee’s approach and is worth reading in its entirety. Here are a few highlights:

• “Following the publication of the RSV Old Testament in 1952, significant advances were made in the discovery and interpretation of documents in Semitic languages related to Hebrew . . . In order to take these discoveries into account, along with recent studies of documents in Semitic languages related to Hebrew, in 1974 the Policies Committee of the Revised Standard Version, which is a standing committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., authorized the preparation of a revision of the entire RSV Bible.”

• “As for the style of English adopted for the present revision, among the mandates given to the Committee . . . was the directive to continue in the tradition of the King James Bible, but to introduce such changes as are warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony, and current English usage. Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Committee has followed the maxim, ‘As literal as possible, as free as necessary.’ As a consequence, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation.”

• “The mandates from the Division specified that, in references to men and women, masculine-oriented language should be eliminated as far as this can be done without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture . . . In the vast majority of cases, however, inclusiveness has been attained by simple rephrasing or by introducing plural forms when this does not distort the meaning of the passage.”

In addition to the webpage with the Mass readings, we also post a detailed a Calendar of Services for each month. We hope that you find these resources helpful as you prepare to come worship at Saint Mary’s. Please let me know if you have any questions about this change to the NRSV translation or about finding the readings for any of our upcoming liturgies. — Father Matt

Would you like to donate the altar flowers? . . . The following Sundays are available: October 13, 20, November 1, 10, 17, and 24. The customary donation requested is $250. Please call the Parish Office for more information (212-869-5830).

OUTREACH AT SAINT MARY’S

We continue to collect nonperishable food items for distribution to those in the neighborhood seeking food assistance. They may be placed in the basket near the ushers’ table at the Forty-Sixth Street entrance on Sunday mornings. We are also happy to receive cash donations that allow us to purchase food vouchers at a local bodega.

Helping those with HIV and AIDS . . . September was Suicide Prevention Month, and we received several e-mails last month from our friends at GMHC alerting us to a particular health crisis: people living with HIV and AIDS are 100 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. That and other statistics caught our attention. Saint Mary’s has long responded to such needs through its very successful support of the AIDS Walk each May. However, if you didn’t manage to make a donation then, consider making one now. GMHC can always use your help. If you or someone you know is in immediate need of help, call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 888 or chat via 988lifeline.org.

Responding to the Storms in the Southeast . . . Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc throughout the Southeast. Episcopal churches and cathedrals—and the well-known Kanuga Conference Center—were not spared. For more information, read this summary article in The Living Church. The article gives several ways to help, including a link to a GoFundMe page created to assist the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, North Carolina. Also, Episcopal Relief & Development has a Hurricane Relief Fund to provide critical supplies, such as food and water, pastoral care, and other urgent needs, and to support long-term efforts needed to rebuild in the wake of Helene.

Neighbors in Need . . . If you would like to volunteer or make a cash donation, please speak to MaryJane Boland. We are also eager to receive donations of new or lightly used sneakers and shoes, in all sizes, for both men and women. A Drop-by was held on September 20, and the next one will take place on Friday, October 18, 1:00–3:00 PM. We are looking for a few more good volunteers, who feel called and inspired to give this work a try. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Father Jay about our work and how you might help.

A webinar series offered to encourage and empower individuals to be agents of positive social change . . . In September and October, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine is hosting four webinars in preparation for the election. They will explore key issues precisely from an Episcopal perspective, taking note especially of resolutions of General Convention. The Very Rev. Patrick Malloy, PhD, will be in conversation on four topics with featured guests. The webinars may be accessed in real time by RSVPing at each of the calendar pages linked below. They will subsequently be available on the Cathedral's YouTube channel.

Upcoming webinar:

Wednesday, October 9 at 4 PM: The Environment with Dr. Andrew Thompson. Dr. Andrew Thompson, director of the Center for Religion and Environment at The University of the South (Sewanee); author of Reconsider the Lilies: Challenging Christian Environmentalism's Colonial Legacy.

ART AT SAINT MARY’S

Michael Takeo Magruder’s artwork
Reconstructed Landscape(s) – Central Park (This work is part of a larger series entitled Un/familiar Terrain{s})
On Display in the Wedding Chapel at Saint Mary’s, September 29–November 29, 2024

Un/familiar Terrain{s} is an exhibition series by British-American visual artist Michael Takeo Magruder arising from a sophisticated partnership between artist and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This creative “collaboration” transforms personal footage captured on AI-enabled smartphones into otherworldly installations rooted in specific places of renowned natural beauty.

Reconstructed Landscape{s}–Central Park is the latest work in this ongoing project. Created for Saint Mary’s, the installation is a pair of “tapestries” generated from a digital photograph of New York City’s renowned green space. Through a sequence of processes that alternate between traditional media production tools and leading-edge AI systems, the ordinary scene is remade into a moment of striking luminosity. Focusing on an area of the flowering treescape, each pixel in the composition is expanded, producing an aesthetic reminiscent of stained-glass windows. The natural world is thus suffused with technology, encouraging viewers to consider the synthetic nature of their memories and inviting them to reimagine the world anew.

Michael Takeo Magruder (born 1974) is a British-American new media and digital artist who uses digital technologies to create work that connects with real-time data, virtual worlds and networked mobile devices. Magruder studied at the University of Virginia in the United States during 1992–96, gaining a BS degree in Biological Sciences.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2024, THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Jean Adam Guilain is the composer of Sunday’s organ voluntaries. His dates are not certain, his nationality was actually German, and his original name was Johann Adam Wilhelm Freinsberg. However, he came to Paris sometime before 1702 and probably soon became a student of Louis Marchand (1669–1732). In 1706, he published his two-volume Pièces d’orgue pour le Magnificat sur les huit tons différents de l'église (Organ pieces for the Magnificat on the eight church tones). Only the first of these two volumes is extant. It contains a suite of seven pieces for each of the first four church modes. The lost volume undoubtedly contained pieces of very similar character for tones five through eight. Guilain’s suites were intended to be played at Vespers, their movements in alternation with chanted verses of the canticle. Despite his German origin, Guilain’s organ suites are idiomatically very French. Typical of organ suites of his time, each movement is designated by a description of the character of the piece, indicating the organ stops intended to be used. Thus, in the course of such a suite, one hears the characteristic timbres of the instrument in stylized segments. The first three movements of Guilain’s suite on the second tone are played for the prelude this morning, and the sixth movement is the postlude.

Tomás Luís de Victoria (c. 1548–1611), the composer of the Mass ordinary at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, knew and may have been instructed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594) who was maestro di cappella of the Seminario Romano in Rome at the time Victoria was studying at the nearby Jesuit Collegio Germanico. During his years in Rome, Victoria held several positions as singer, organist and choral master, and published many of his compositions. He was ordained priest in 1575. There are twenty authenticated Mass settings of Victoria in addition to two Requiems. Although the Missa Dominicalis, Sunday’s Mass setting, has long been attributed to Victoria, it is considered spurious by some scholars who recognized elements in the music which appear uncharacteristic of Victoria’s style. However, no alternative authorship has been determined. Missa Dominicalis is an alternatim setting, that is, phrases of text are sung in segments which alternate chant with polyphonic writing. In this case, the polyphonic segments are in four voices and are rigorous in their use of chant phrases as cantus firmus. The cantus firmus for the Kyrie (not sung this morning) and the Gloria is Mass XI, Orbis Factor, the plainsong designated for Sundays throughout the year. The cantus firmus for the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei is Mass XVIII, the plainsong designated for Weekdays in Advent and Lent, and at Masses of the Dead.

Canadian-born Ernest F. White, organ designer, teacher, editor, and esteemed former organist and music director at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, wrote the following in the introductory note to his edition of Alessandro Scarlatti’s joyous four-voice motet Exsultate Deo:

Alessandro Scarlatti is one of the most important figures not only in his field of opera, but in the entire history of music. He leads that group of composers who were pioneers in the monodic style based upon the modern tonal system, and who moulded and developed a musical idiom which served as the language of musical expression down to the days of Beethoven. It is interesting to compare Scarlatti with Purcell, who was his exact contemporary. Purcell was under Italian influence, and we find in Scarlatti many points of resemblance to him—notably his treatment of harmony—both composers showing a tendency to think polyphonically, though melodiously, and being either indifferent to, or more probably taking a positive pleasure in the sharp dissonances resulting from their unbending logic.

AWAY FROM SAINT MARY’S

In New York and in Assisi

October 4 is the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. Inspired by the life of the saint, we might go to Mass today or tomorrow and then do something to help someone who needs it. We might also want to head over to the Frick Collection to view Giovanni Bellini’s famous painting, Saint Francis in the Desert. Unfortunately, the Frick is closed just now. But there are still ways to learn more about the painting and spend some time with images of this great work. The Frick has made available on their website at least five discussions of Saint Francis in the Desert. Of course, there are other ways to view paintings of Francis. You might head up Fifth Avenue to the Metropolitan Museum, where Antoniazzo Romano’s Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1480) is on view in Gallery 609. Other paintings—mostly, but not all, by Italian artists—are on view in Galleries 956, 636, and 620; or, if you want to dream about visiting Assisi one day, take a look at this website which gives you twenty-eight of Giotto’s frescoes of the life of Saint Francis. Then, after considering Francis’s life, we should probably get up and “go and do likewise.”

We need your help to keep holding our services. Click below, where you can make one-time or recurring donations to support Saint Mary’s. We are very grateful to all those who make such donations and continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

Saint Mary’s is a vibrant Anglo-Catholic witness in the heart of NYC. With our identity in Christ and a preference for the poor, we are an inclusive, diverse community called to love God and each other for the life of the world.

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.