FROM THE PARISH ARCHIVIST: ON THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN, A HISTORY

Ever since he published his article about Father Brown and the founding of Saint Mary’s in Anglican and Episcopal History, Father Warren Platt and I have been talking about his writing a new history of our parish. I’m delighted to announce that The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, a History has been published at last. Please join us on Sunday, November 17, after Mass, when I’ll interview Father Platt, author, librarian, and church historian, about his research and discoveries. You’ll also be able to see some of the vestments featured in the book’s illustrations. These fragile, historic items are too delicate for regular use, so we’re excited to share this rare treat with you.

Our first parish history, The Story of Saint Mary’s, was written by Newbury Frost Read in 1931. Why bother with more research into the origins of Saint Mary’s? Mr. Read wrote from his standpoint as Secretary of the Board of Trustees. In that early history, we learn about the Board’s work but not much about the people, while Father Platt’s research uncovers the personality of rectors from Father Brown through Father Wells.

This new history puts Saint Mary’s into context within the city and the Episcopal Church. Father Platt considers the rectors’ theology, diocesan and national church involvement, along with their interests and outside hobbies, to give us a sense of what it was really like to be a parishioner here between 1870 and 1999.

We learn the history of the music program and how it reflects the customs and liturgical tastes of those who worshiped and celebrated in this space. We discover women’s innovation and leadership from the early days: living their faith through running the church school, keeping the parish’s summer retreat house financially afloat, and teaching children to count (using poker chips, much to Father Brown’s chagrin).

Saint Mary’s has been diverse in race and class since its founding, and in this history, we find out how the rectors interpreted scripture and led the flock through the upheavals of the civil rights movement. We learn about Saint Mary’s history as a haven for the LGBT+ community as far back as the 1890s.

Father Platt’s work is an enormous gift to Saint Mary’s. He is one of the best researchers and church historians I know and certainly one of the most knowledgeable about Episcopal history in New York City. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, a History includes color illustrations, some of which are previously unpublished. The cover design was created by our own Charles Carson, graphic designer and member of the parish since the early 1970s.

I hope you’ll join us for the conversation on Sunday. You can buy your copy that day for $30 each or purchase it online through Lulu Publishing.
— Mary Robison, parish archivist

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

A Prayer for Our Country (Book of Common Prayer, p. 820)

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the Spirit of Wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We pray for an end to war, division, violence, and injustice, especially in the Middle East, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, Ukraine, Russia, Myanmar, Sudan, and Darfur.

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

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Meg, Charles, David, Clark, Vicky, Michele, Ana, Maria, Brett, Andrew, Barbara, Jacques, Keith, Claudia, Suzanne, Rolf, Adair, Susanna, Dorian, James, Margaret, Leroy, Steve, Josh, Maddie, Tony, Hattie, Paul, Nettie, Chrissy, Maureen, Tessa, Robert, Duncan, Justin, Sheila, Audy, Jan, Mark, Andrew, Pat, Marjorie, Sharon, Quincy, June, José, Shalim, Cedric, Elena, J.C., Gene, Dennis, Hardy, Giovanna, Gypsy, Bob, and Liduvina; Barbara-Jean, Eleanor-Francis, Keith, James, Curtis, and Laura Katharine, religious; Lind, deacon; and Matthew, Jay, Julie, Jean, Robby, and Stephen, priests.

We also pray for Jeff Buchanan and Maria Arias-Buchanan, who were in New York last week to celebrate their thirteenth wedding anniversary. They were married here at Saint Mary’s on November 11, 2011 (11/11/11). They remain good friends of the parish. Please keep them in your prayers.

We pray also for the repose of the souls of Abraham Rochester, William J. Platt, III, Ann McGrath Smith, and for those whose year’s mind falls on November 17, George Mullins (1913); Harry Albert Stuart (1919); Evelyn Selden Delany (1928); Francis Wright (1941); Pauline Madeline Poviano (1976).

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE

William J. Platt, III, the brother of Father Warren Platt, died on All Saints’ Day, November 1, 2024, in Bullhead, Arizona. Please keep William, Father Platt, their family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

WE ARE GRATEFUL

We are grateful to Emma Daniels, one of our very fine choristers. We heard her setting of Psalm 23 during Communion at the Solemn Mass on November 3. Thank you, Emma, for your artistry and for contributing so beautifully to our worship.

Once again, we want to thank our longtime parishioner, Kenny Isler, who was here recently and managed to confect a very large bin of his well-known and very popular blend of Saint Mary’s incense. Kenny must travel to New York from his home in South Carolina in order to do all this and we are very grateful to him for his expertise and his commitment to the parish.

UPCOMING AT SAINT MARY’S

Wednesday, November 20
After Evening Prayer (5:30 PM) and Mass (6:00 PM)
“Group Seeks God”

In this small-group experiment, Father Sammy and Renee Wood will demonstrate how simple practices like hospitality and storytelling create opportunities for engagement and invitation in our everyday worlds.

Thursday, November 21
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Morning Prayer 8:00 AM
Sung Mass in the Lady Chapel 12:10 PM
Evening Prayer 5:30 PM

Wednesday, November 27
Eve of Thanksgiving Day
Sung Mass with a Quartet from the Choir 6:00 PM
Evening Prayer is not said publicly in the church on the Eve of Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving Day
Mass 10:00 AM in the Lady Chapel
Federal Holiday Schedule: the church opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 12:00 PM. Parish offices are closed.

Sunday, December 1
The First Sunday of Advent
Mass 9:00 AM
Adult Formation 9:45 AM
Litany and Solemn Mass 11:00 AM
Evensong & Benediction 4:00 PM

Monday, December 9
The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (tr.)
Morning Prayer 8:00 AM
Sung Mass 12:10 PM
Organ Recital 5:30 PM
Solemn Mass 6:00 PM

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.

The deadline for deposits has been extended to January 3! We hope that you will be able to join us!

ADULT FORMATION

Come join us for class on Sunday, November 17, 2024, 9:45–10:40 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall, as Father Peter Powell continues his series of classes on The Passion and Resurrection Narratives in the Gospels. This series continues every Sunday through and including December 15 (and, yes, the class meets on Thanksgiving weekend). Father Pete says his plan for this coming Sunday, November 17, is this, “I will be teaching about how Jesus could be both fully human and fully divine. This continues my quest to figure out who Jesus was or is for us. In other words, what is the identity of Jesus?”

NEWS & NOTES

A Requiem Mass will be celebrated for Abraham Rochester on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 10:00 AM. The service will be played by Clark Anderson and sung by a quartet of singers from the Choir of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. Interment will be in the columbarium here at Saint Mary’s. A reception in Saint Joseph’s Hall will follow. The service will be livestreamed. Abe was a longtime parishioner and a faithful member of the Saint Raphael’s Guild of Ushers.

On Sunday, November 17, Clark Anderson will play the Solemn Mass and conduct the choir. Dr. David Hurd is at the Cathedral of Saint John in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this weekend. The Cathedral, and the Friends of Cathedral Music at Saint John’s, commission a new work every year. David was chosen this year to compose the Commissioned Anthem at Saint John’s. His motet, a setting of George Herbert’s “The Altar,” will be sung this morning at the Cathedral. Congratulations, David, and thank you Clark. See below for the text of Herbert’s poem.

Father Warren Platt, who recently published The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, New York City: A History, will be with us on Sunday morning, November 17. You are invited to come to Coffee Hour after Mass. Father Platt has agreed to join us there and talk about the book and what he learned and discovered during his research. Mary Robison, who edited the history, will join Father Platt and moderate the discussion. See Mary’s article above.

Advent Wreath Making on Sunday, Dec. 1 at Coffee Hour . . . Join us on the first Sunday of Advent, December 1, at Coffee Hour after the 11:00 Mass to make an advent wreath for your home. All supplies will be provided, you supply the creativity! The suggested donation to cover the cost of materials is $30 per wreath. A small liturgy booklet will be available for use at home when lighting your Advent wreath. We also ask that you confirm you'll be making a wreath with us because we only have supplies for 24 wreaths; let Father Sammy know to set aside a space for you while supplies last.

Come join us for some loneliness prevention in Advent . . . “I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” You are invited to join some of your fellow Saint Marians on Saturday, December 7, at 12:45, following the noonday Mass, for some communal Christmas “scribing.” The plan is to send messages of hope to 50 people who are incarcerated—all of whom have asked for a card or note during the Christmas season. The event is being organized and led by parishioner Jennifer Stevens, who will bring bagels and materials for the mailing. This gathering is also an opportunity for us to write Christmas cards to some of our fellow parishioners who are homebound or unable to visit us in person. Who knows, maybe we will even be inspired to fold some origami to include for our parishioners?  Let’s see what God has in store for us. If you cannot join us on December 7, please pray for our endeavor. You can also help by making donations of cards or stamps. Please contact Jennifer if you plan to come.

“Waiting for God Who Waits for Us,” An Advent Quiet Day . . . The Church inhabits time differently from the world around us—or at least we should. And that is never more apparent than in the season of Advent. While Times Square and Fifth Avenue are bustling their way toward Christmas, we are invited to wait for the God who graciously waits for us. Join us at Saint Mary’s for our annual Advent Quiet Day on Saturday, December 14, from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. We will begin the day praying the Daily Office together, then sit for three short reflections led by Father Sammy Wood before heading into long periods of reflection and silence. Throughout the day we will draw on the writing of people like Paula Gooder—The Spirit of Advent: The Meaning is in the Waiting (Paraclete 2008); James K. A. Smith—How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos 2022); and Fleming Rutledge—Advent: The Once & Future Coming of Jesus Christ (Eerdmans: 2018). Lunch will be provided, so please RSVP to Father Wood by December 11 so we can have ample food for all of us.

Mark Your Calendar: Parish Retreat . . . If you’re unable to join us for the Advent Quiet Day on December 14—and even if you are—we hope that you will be able to join us on Saturday, January 11, for a Parish Retreat. The theme of the retreat is “The Benedictine Promise”—Benedictine Spirituality and Practice. The retreat, which will take place here at Saint Mary’s, will be co-hosted with our friends uptown at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Inwood, and will be led by Sister Michelle Heyne of the Order of the Ascension. For more information, please speak to Father Wood.

Father Jay Smith’s last Mass at Saint Mary’s will be on January 12 . . . Father Jay Smith will be retiring in early 2025 and his last Mass at Saint Mary’s will be on January 12, 2025, the Baptism of Our Lord. Father Smith will be the celebrant and preacher at both Masses that day. We are planning a festive reception following Solemn Mass to celebrate his retirement. Please plan to join us on this Sunday!

Preparing for baptism . . . We expect to have several candidates for Father Smith to baptize on January 12 and Father Sammy Wood is coordinating their preparation. If you are interested in receiving the sacrament of baptism, or having your child baptized, please contact Father Wood.

Joachim Seelos has been worshipping with us for several months now and has decided to join the parish. Since we don’t expect to have an episcopal visitation any time soon, Joachim will be received into the Episcopal Church on Sunday, December 15, at the Church of the Transfiguration. Father John David van Dooren, the rector of the The Little Church Around the Corner, has kindly agreed to have Joachim received at his parish so that he may become a member of Saint Mary’s and of the Episcopal Church. Joachim will be presented for reception by Brother Thomas Steffensen, SSF, and received by Bishop Mary Glasspool. Please keep Joachim in your prayers—and welcome him to Saint Mary’s!

OUTREACH AT SAINT MARY’S

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. The November Drop-by was held on Friday, November 15, when we served around 50 people. Next month’s Drop-by will take place on the second Friday of the month, not the third: December 13, not December 20.

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 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDING BISHOP FOLLOWING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THE UNITED STATES

November 6, 2024

Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church,

Early this morning, we learned that President Trump has been elected to another term as president of the United States. I pray that he will govern wisely and justly.

Regardless of our political allegiances, we must remember that God has called us in The Episcopal Church to seek and serve Christ in all persons. No matter the party in power, we are one church, and we will continue to fulfill our baptismal covenant by proclaiming in word and example the Good News of God in Christ, striving for justice and peace among all people, and protecting the dignity of every human being.

We commit to working with the new administration to advance policies that follow the teachings of Jesus by supporting the most vulnerable among us. Through Episcopal Migration Ministries, we abide by God’s command to welcome the stranger, and since 1988, we have resettled more than 100,000 refugees through a bipartisan program with a strong record of success. We urge President Trump and members of Congress to exercise compassion toward the immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees we serve and to know that, at every turn, we will stand for the dignity and human rights of all of God’s people.

We are Christians who support the dignity, safety, and equality of women and LGBTQ+ people as an expression of our faith. I pray that President Trump and his administration will do the same.

In the coming months, I ask us all to be agents of peace and reconciliation in our communities, both in person and online. As people of faith, we can work and pray for peace and unity among God’s people whether we are joyful, hurting, or afraid. Especially now, when we know of efforts by domestic terrorists and foreign adversaries to undermine our trust in institutions and in one another, we can combat the misinformation and fear by which the Enemy seeks to divide us from one another.

I give thanks for all the ministries in dioceses and congregations across the church that are tangible expressions of our belief in a God of compassion and mercy. In every season, this is the work that God has set before us.

The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe
XXVIII Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2024, THE TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Herbert Howells decided at an early age to focus on composition, and he succeeded admirably, becoming one of the most admired English composers of the twentieth century. He wrote for a variety of instruments and ensembles but throughout his life he regularly returned to organ and church music. His works have been described as “a fusion of many things English,” especially of the music of his friend Ralph Vaughan Williams and the great Tudor composers such as Thomas Tallis. In his compositions for the organ, Howells treats the instrument orchestrally, writing richly colorful, resonant pieces infused with strong melodies and evocative dissonances. Sunday’s voluntaries come from a collection of manuscripts deposited after Howells’s death at the Royal College of Music, where he taught for fifty-nine years. From those manuscripts, editor Robin Wells, in collaboration with Howells’s long-time publisher, Novello, brought to fruition the composer’s stated intention to publish a set of six short works for the organ. This week’s prelude pairs the first and third compositions in the set, both compact and lyrical, and both in a modal tonality typical of Howells. The postlude is more substantial. Marked Allegro Scherzando, Howells’s orchestral approach is especially striking in this dramatic work. — Clark Anderson

The Mass setting at the Solemn Mass on Sunday is Missa Quarti Toni of Tomás Luís de Victoria (c. 1548–1611). Victoria is considered the most important Spanish composer of Renaissance polyphony. Born in Ávila, the seventh of eleven children, he began his musical education as a choirboy at Ávila Cathedral, and began his classical education at San Gil, a Jesuit school for boys founded in 1554. By 1565, Victoria had entered the Jesuit Collegio Germanico in Rome, where he was later engaged to teach music and eventually named maestro di cappella. Victoria knew and may have been instructed by Palestrina (1525–1594), who was maestro di cappella of the nearby Seminario Romano at that time. 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 after a three-day diaconate. There are twenty authenticated Mass settings of Victoria of which the Missa Quarti Toni is probably the freest of parody or quotations from other works. Although its title suggests a modal character, this Mass offers a major-minor harmonic palette which is not uncharacteristic of much of Victoria’s music. The setting is for four voices except the Agnus Dei which expands to five with the two soprano parts singing in canon at the unison.

The Communion motet is a setting for four voices of the first stanza of Jesu dulcis memoria, a Latin hymn traditionally attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090–1153). The entire hymn in some manuscripts has fifty or more stanzas, groups of which were assigned to various offices of the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. English adaptations found in many modern hymnals include Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts by Roy Palmer (1808–1887) and Jesus, the very thought of thee by Edward Caswall (1814–1878), both of which are found, slightly altered, at 649/650 and 642 respectively in The Hymnal 1982. The musical setting of Sunday’s motet traditionally has been attributed to Victoria, based upon a nineteenth-century French source, but some scholars now consider this attribution spurious. — David Hurd

The Altar
By George Herbert

David Hurd’s setting of this text will receive its first performance on Sunday, November 17, at the Cathedral of Saint John, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A broken ALTAR, Lord, thy servant rears,
Made of a heart and cemented with tears:
Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;
No workman's tool hath touch'd the same.
A HEART alone
Is such a stone,
As nothing but
Thy pow'r doth cut.
Wherefore each part
Of my hard heart
Meets in this frame,
To praise thy name:
That if I chance to hold my peace,
 These stones to praise thee may not cease.
Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFICE be mine,
And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine.[1]

CONCERTS AT SAINT MARY’S

The Miller Theatre’s Early Music Series at Saint Mary’s
The Marian Consort: Music from Renaissance Scotland
Saturday, November 16, 2024, 7:30PM

From the Theatre’s website: In their Miller Theatre debut, the award-winning voices of The Marian Consort present a program of sumptuous Renaissance polyphony from some of Scotland’s few surviving sixteenth-century manuscripts. Works from the Dunkeld Partbooks provide a glimpse of the musical riches performed in this period, including the beautiful anonymous Missa Felix namque (“For you are happy”). In addition, selections from the Wode Partbooks showcase pieces by local musicians responding to the changing musical styles and requirements of post-Reformation Scotland. Visit the Theatre’s website to purchase tickets. Tickets cannot be purchased ahead of time here at Saint Mary’s or by calling the parish office.

The New York Repertory Orchestra
Saturday, December 7, 2024, 8:00 PM

J.S. Bach/Webern: Ricercar a 6
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 6
Admission is free. A $15.00 donation is gratefully received.

The Young New Yorkers Chorus
YNYC Mixed & Treble Ensembles present Holiday Modulations
Friday, December 13, 8:00 PM
Saturday, December 14, 8:00 PM

Witness the combined excellence of both YNYC Ensembles as they sing a program full of wintry, solemn, powerful repertoire about the holidays. Works by Joanna Marsh, Dale Trumbore, Saunder Choi, Zanaida Robles, B.E. Boykin, Joel Thompson, Eric William Barnum, and more! Please note that only Saturday night's performance will be livestreamed. Livestream ticket buyers will receive a link to the livestream via email on the day of the performance. Buy tickets here.

AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street

Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350
Through January 26, 2025
Now on view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 999
Free with museum admission

From the museum website: Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350 examines an exceptional moment at the dawn of the Italian Renaissance and the pivotal role of Sienese artists—including Duccio, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini—in defining Western painting. In the decades leading up to the catastrophic onset of the plague around 1350, Siena was the site of phenomenal artistic innovation and activity. While Florence is often positioned as the center of the Renaissance, this presentation offers a fresh perspective on the importance of Siena, from Duccio’s profound influence on a new generation of painters to the development of narrative altarpieces and the dissemination of artistic styles beyond Italy.

Drawing on the outstanding collections of The Met and the National Gallery, London, as well as rare loans from dozens of other major lenders, the exhibition will include more than 100 works by a remarkable group of Sienese artists. It will feature paintings alongside sculptures, metalwork, and textiles, ranging from large works made for public display to intimate objects created for private devotion. Although none of these artists survived the plague of circa 1350, their achievements had an immeasurable impact on painters and theorists in the centuries that followed.

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.

[1] Martin Elsky, “The letters and words that form the typographical pictograms of Herbert’s hieroglyphic pattern poems, ‘The Altar’ and ‘Easter Wings,’ for example, are also the written marks of the poet’s utterance—his prayer, his plea, his spoken word.” See Elsky, Martin, “George Herbert’s Pattern Poems and the Materiality of Language: A New Approach to Renaissance Hieroglyphics,” in ELH 50, No. 2 (Summer 1983), pp. 245-60.