FROM FATHER SAMMY WOOD: SAINT MARY’S IS VIBRANT

This is the second in a series of articles in which I hope to unpack Saint Mary’s concise vision statement. You’ll remember that the Board of Trustees adopted this statement last fall to guide our common life during the next three years:

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.

Praying through each of the phrases in my own devotional time of late, I’ve been intrigued by the many meanings some of the words have. For instance, we’re a “vibrant” Anglo-Catholic witness. What exactly does that mean?

The dictionary says vibrant can mean “vigorous and energetic,” but notice the primary meaning is, unsurprisingly, “vibrating”—a vibrant string vibrates, it rapidly quivers to and fro. To be vibrant means we’re moving, vibrating in response to something. As an amateur guitarist (and a fairly bad one at that), I’m familiar with the concept of sympathetic vibration—how playing one string can make the other strings vibrate in sympathy. And at Saint Mary’s, one way we can be vibrant is to be a community that resonates in sympathy to the voice of God and his call on our lives. Put it another way—when God says go, we go!

That makes it incredibly important that we train our sense of hearing so we resonate with the right frequency, if you will. To that end, we started the Brown Bag Bible Study on Wednesdays because studying sacred Scripture trains us to pick out God’s voice in the cacophony of Times Square. We learn its timbre and tone, its pace, and its pitch. The regular rhythm of the Daily Office prayed in the church each morning and evening includes reading almost all the New Testament every year and over half the Old Testament, which is spread over two years, steeping us in stories about God’s holiness, covenant faithfulness, wisdom, and love. We hear the voice of God in our readings at Mass, and we read the same passages day-by-day in Lent. Then we’re moved, in turn, to resonate—to act in sympathy with—these qualities wherever God may send us in New York City. Spending time listening to God’s voice is how we’re trained to recognize God’s voice.

And there’s never been a more important time to be able to detect that particular voice out of all the other voices that clamor for our attention. We are bombarded thousands of times a day with messages about what the world says is true and desirable. “If the biblical story does not control our thinking, then we will be swept into the story that the world tells about itself” (Lesslie Newbigin). I’m reminded of the old analogy about how Treasury agents are trained to detect counterfeit bills by handling real currency for hours on end—the trick is to get so familiar with the genuine article that any deviation stands out like a sore thumb. That’s why we listen so closely to the voice of God in sacred Scripture: It’s the legitimate exemplar by which we test the genuineness of every message. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10.27)

Of course, the other definition of “vibrant” will apply to us, as well—we will, indeed, be a community pulsating with vigor and energy. Last month we hosted an inaugural weekend event at Saint Mary’s and demonstrated that people will come from near and far away if we present a compelling speaker on a topic that’s important. We just hosted a member of the Community at the Crossing for a week, and we’re planning to welcome our first summer intern from the Anglican House of Studies at Duke Divinity School this year. Neighbors in Need is flourishing and serving dozens of friends from our neighborhood each month. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd returns to the Atrium in Eastertide. And we’re keeping Lent and a set of common disciplines as a community for the second year in a row. Our calendar brims with liturgies and classes and ministry opportunities. Attendance is at its highest level since the pandemic, and we greet newcomers almost every Sunday. That’s a parish life full of vigor and energy—we’re a vibrant place!

Which leads me to a special request I have for each of you. Will you pray with me for God to keep us truly vibrant? Pray that God will continue to add to our numbers, that we’ll be the growing, active parish we feel God calling us to be. Then invite your friends to come experience Saint Mary’s with you. And let me hear your thoughts—I’d love a conversation with you about the work and witness of Saint Mary’s and about this vision for our life together. — SW

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

We pray for peace in the Middle East, in Ukraine, Russia, Mali, Iran, the Red Sea, and Myanmar. We pray for an end to violence and division in our neighborhood, city, and nation.

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 migrants and those seeking asylum, especially those sheltering in our neighborhood; 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 pray for those who are sick or in any special need, especially Celia, Rolf, Sharon, Victor, Murray, Jan, Frank, Charles, Maureen, Elizabeth, Ruth Ann, Barbara, Cindy, Tom, Avdi, Larry, Violet, Eleanor, Eugene, Quincy, Claudia, June, Joyce, Robert, Bruce, Christopher, Carlos, Liduvina, Luis, José, Susan, Carmen, Brian, Antony, Manuel, John, Shalim, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and John Derek; for Monica Clare, religious, Eleanor Francis, religious, Thomas, religious; Lind, deacon; Robby, Allan, and Stephen, priests; and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Bill Jacobson, Gregory Boyle, Alexei Navalny, and of those whose year’s mind is on Sunday, February 25—Helen Wallace Northrup, Dutilly Harrison, Ruth Clara O’Brien, and Helen Mosher. 

COMING UP AT SAINT MARY’S

Saint Joseph
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Mass 12:10 PM

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
March 24, 2024
Procession to Times Square & Solemn Mass 11:00 AM

Maundy Thursday
March 28, 2024, 6:00 PM

Good Friday
March 29, 2024, 12:30 PM

Holy Saturday/Easter Eve
March 30, 2024
Holy Saturday Liturgy 9:00 AM
The Great Vigil of Easter 7:00 PM

The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (transferred)
Monday, April 8, 2024
Organ Recital 5:30 PM
Solemn Mass 6:00 PM

LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S

Our regular daily liturgical schedule: Monday through Friday, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM. On Wednesdays, Holy Hour is also offered at 11:00 AM and an additional Mass is said at 6:00 PM. Thursday’s Mass includes anointing and prayers for healing. On Saturdays, Confessions are heard at 11:00 AM, 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 normally celebrated at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel. On Sundays, a Low Mass (Rite One) is celebrated in the Lady Chapel at 9:00 AM. Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Evensong and Benediction (E&B) is normally offered on the first Sunday of every month and will next be offered on March 3 and April 7.

Friday, February 23, Evening Prayer 5:30 PM & Stations of the Cross 6:00 PM

Saturday Confessions at 11:00 AM . . . The priest-on-duty can be found in one of the confessionals at the back of the church, near the 46th Street entrance, at 11:00 AM on Saturdays to hear confessions. Once nobody is left waiting, if it is after 11:15 AM, the priest will return to his office. If you arrive later, the sexton will be able to call him if it is not too close to the midday Mass.

Saturday, February 24, Confessions 11:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM, Quiet Day, Gathering and Refreshments 9:30 AM, Addresses, Mass, Lunch, and Final Address & Departure 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Sunday, February 25, The Second Sunday in Lent, Mass (Rite One) in the Lady Chapel at 9:00 AM, Adult Formation 9:45–10:40, Confirmation Class 9:45–10:30 AM, Solemn Mass (Rite Two) 11:00 AM, Evening Prayer 5:00 PM

Wednesday, February 28, Weekday in Lent, Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Holy Hour 11:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, Bible Study 12:45 PM, Evening Prayer 5:30 PM, Mass 6:00 PM. Mass is followed by a new adult-formation class—Wednesday Nights in Lent: “Introduction to a Rule of Life.” On Wednesdays in Lent join Father Sammy and others, including our own Brother Thomas Steffensen, as we examine the concept of a Rule of Life as a “trellis” to help us grow toward our God-ordained purpose. The class meets on four consecutive Wednesdays (February 28 and March 6, 13, and 20) from 6:30–7:30 PM in Saint Benedict’s Study right after Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM and the 6:00 PM Mass. All are welcome!

NEWS & NOTICES

The Observance of a Holy Lent . . . As you think about the shape of your Lenten practices this year, we hope that you will consider the following:

The Saint Mary’s Shape of Lent Booklet . . . The electronic version of this year’s guide to Lent at Saint Mary’s can be downloaded here. Hardcopies will also be available at the usher’s table starting this Sunday. The booklet contains suggested prayers, readings, and devotions for the parish community during Lent.

Wednesdays at 12:45: Brown Bag Bible Study. The class meets on Wednesdays, at 12:45 PM, in Saint Benedict’s Study. We have been reading the Gospel of Mark in this class, and during Lent we will jump ahead to read the Passion Narrative in Mark (14:1–16:8). This is the gospel text appointed to be chanted at Mass on Palm Sunday. It is the text that begins our Holy Week journey.

Preparing for Holy Week . . . Please see the following from MaryJane Boland about upcoming dates to save for helping with Holy Week preparation. All are welcome and we would love your help.

Saturday, March 16, morning starting at 10:00 AM. We will be veiling the church and polishing many, many things.

Saturday, March 23, after the 10:00 AM rehearsal required for servers the next day, Palm Sunday. For those not serving, let's say 11:00 AM. We will be stripping palms, bringing things up from the basement, polishing many things and an array of other tasks. Big work day!

Holy Week, March 24–30.  This is when the flower people go into high gear. Whether you are skilled at arranging flowers or a broom pusher like me, we can use your help!

Thanks to everyone who will help Saint Mary's!—MaryJane Boland

A MESSAGE FROM BISHOP MATTHEW HEYD

Theology is how we speak of God— and how we understand God’s relationship with the Church and with each other. [I’m pleased to announce] that Bishop Allen Shin will soon convene a group of theologians across our Diocese to serve as a Bishop’s Advisory Theology Committee. He has invited the Rev. Dr. Patrick Cheng to co-convene with him. We have remarkable gifts in our clergy and lay leaders. There are trained theologians from diverse disciplines resident in New York— both in our parishes and in our seminaries— whose scholarship can help us deepen our own formation.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry named Bishop Shin to be chair of the House of Bishops’ Theology Committee. The committee has published a study on racism and white supremacy that we’ve read together as a diocese; the committee is now completing work on Christian nationalism.

This new diocesan advisory committee will begin by studying the theology of reconciliation and healing.

The Holy Spirit moves at ground level. I hope the advisory committee’s activities will support conversations about theology and formation in our congregations. In the coming months, I’d like to expand conversations in our common life about support for prayer, liturgy, and formation. — The Right Reverend Matthew Heyd, Bishop of New York

OTHER NEWS . . .

We are again collecting non-perishable food items for those in need in our neighborhood, who have access to kitchen facilities. We are looking for canned soups, canned vegetables, tuna fish, and stews, in addition to breakfast cereals, pasta, bottled sauces, peanut butter, jams and jellies, and bottled condiments. Please place these items in the basket at the ushers’ table or take them in a bag to the parish kitchen. Please label the bag “donation” and tell us who the donor is. And we thank you!

On Sunday, March 3, Dr. David Hurd, organist and music director here at Saint Mary’s, will be away from the parish. At 4:30 PM that day he will be playing a recital—the David Boe Memorial Concert—in the Finney Chapel at his alma mater, Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio. The day before, Saturday, March 2, David will be teaching a Master Class to students of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Parishioner Clark Anderson will play the organ and conduct the choir at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, March 3, in David’s absence.

Adult Formation on Sunday mornings . . . On Sunday, February 25, Father Peter Powell will continue his series of classes on Isaiah 1–12. On Sunday, Father Pete will lead the class in a discussion of Isaiah 7, a chapter in which faith and trust are of central importance. You are invited to come to the class to learn about faith in ancient Israel and to consider your own experiences and struggles with faith and trust.

Confirmation Preparation for Young People 13–18 . . . Father Sammy is leading a confirmation class for young people on Sundays. The class will meet on Sunday mornings at 9:45 AM in Saint Benedict’s Study, January 14 to May 5. The class will not meet on Palm Sunday (March 24) or Easter Day (March 31). If you are interested in the class, please speak to Father Sammy.

Donating Flowers for Altar and Shrines . . . We are looking for donations for flowers for the many Sundays in Eastertide. In order to make a donation and reserve a date, please contact the parish office. In addition, we always welcome donations to support the ministry of the Flower Guild during Holy Week and at Easter.

Neighbors in Need . . . The March Drop-by will take place on Friday, March 15, 1:30–3:00 PM. Warm-weather clothing is a particular need at the moment. In addition, we have been providing food support to a number of folks in our neighborhood in recent months, including many recent immigrants. We do this through a voucher system. We welcome financial donations so that we may continue this work. You may donate online or with a check—when making the donation please be sure to indicate that your gift is for “Neighbors in Need.”

ABOUT THE LITURGY . . . If you were in the church on the morning of Last Epiphany, February 11, no doubt you heard our church school kids banging pots and wailing as they processed to the Mercy Chapel, dressed in funereal black crepe, to “bury the Alleluias.” You may have also noticed a conspicuous lack of Alleluias in the liturgy as of last week. That’s because “Alleluia”—a Hebrew expression that means “Praise the Lord” (Hallelu + Yah)—is a joyful word, so we “suppress” it in Lent because this is a more somber, penitential (although it certainly shouldn’t be joyless) liturgical season. Lent is meant to evoke the forty years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, to remind us of Jesus’ forty days of fasting and temptation. Just for this season, the church takes its most joyful word and “buries” it, not saying it even once. We’ve been bidding a fond farewell to this familiar, beloved word in Lent since at least the twelfth century. Bishop William Duranti wrote in the thirteenth century: “We part from the Alleluia as from a beloved friend, whom we embrace many times and kiss on the mouth, head and hand, before we leave him.” And this is found in a fifteenth-century statute book of the Church of Toul, France:

On Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday all choir boys gather in the sacristy during the prayer of the None, to prepare for the burial of the Alleluia. After the last Benedicamus Domino [i.e., at the end of the Vespers service] they march in procession, with crosses, tapers, holy water, and censers; and they carry a coffin, as in a funeral. Thus, they proceed through the aisle, moaning and mourning, until they reach the cloister. There they bury the coffin; they sprinkle it with holy water and incense it; whereupon they return to the sacristy by the same way.

Pay attention today to the places we expect a joyous Alleluia and watch for the Resurrection of Jesus accompanied by all our joyful Alleluias on Easter Day.—SW

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT: FEBRUARY 25, 2024, 11:00 AM

The organ prelude on Sunday is one of the miscellaneous chorale preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). It is based upon the German paraphrase of Psalm 51, Erbarm dich, mein o Herre Gott (“Have mercy on me, O God”). This work, cataloged as BWV 721, is unusual among the organ chorales of Bach in that its unadorned melody, stated in half-notes, is accompanied throughout by a steady succession of eighth-note chords which provide homophonic harmonic support. One finds this sort of texture from time to time in other music of Bach, but not in the organ repertory. In light of its style, some scholars consider this chorale prelude an homage to Johann Kuhnau (1660–1701) whose music was known to Bach and whom Bach eventually succeeded as organist of the Church of Saint Thomas in Leipzig. The text paraphrase of Erbarm dich is attributed to Erhart Hegenwalt based upon a broadsheet from 1524. The anonymous melody, in Phrygian mode, dates from the same 1524 Wittenberg source. Bach’s four-voice harmonization of this chorale, catalogued as BWV 305, will be played for the postlude on Sunday.

Sunday’s choral music is English in origin. The setting of the Mass is by Charles Wood (1866–1926). Wood had a decided influence on the development of English church music in his time. His principal composition teachers were Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) and Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848–1918), and his students included Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) and Herbert Howells (1892–1983). Irish by birth, Wood received his early musical training as a treble chorister in the choir of the Church of Ireland’s Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. In 1883, he became a member of the inaugural class of the Royal College of Music. His career included teaching music, directing, and playing the organ at several colleges. After Stanford’s death in 1924, Wood succeeded his mentor as Professor of Music at Cambridge. Wood’s compositions are varied and include eight string quartets, but he is chiefly remembered for his church music and his arrangements of carols. His Short Communion Service, sung this morning, is described as “In the Polyphonic style, written for unaccompanied singing, chiefly in the Phrygian mode.” As such, Wood has done what church music composers throughout the centuries have done by returning to a stilo antico (“antique style”) for inspiration. 

Bob Chilcott (b. 1955) 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. John 3:16 is arguably one of the most frequently quoted verses in the New Testament. Musical settings of this text, in various languages, can be found among the past several centuries of choral literature. Of all the settings, that of Sir John Stainer (1840–1901) from his 1887 Passion Cantata The Crucifixion is almost as familiar to English-speaking Christians as the scripture verse itself. Chilcott’s 1999 setting of this beloved scripture verse, sung on Sunday as the Communion motet, was commissioned in memory of Dan and Pat Jacobson for the Lovers Lane United Methodist Sanctuary Choir, Dallas, Texas. Curiously, it imitates Stainer by repeating the word ‘believeth’ in the course of the text. This sort of word repetition, presumably to accommodate a predetermined musical idea, was a typical liberty taken by Victorian composers but critiqued by a later generation. However, perhaps in part because of this familiar resonance with Stainer, and also because of its simple and expressive beauty, Chilcott’s setting of God so loved the world has taken a place of prominence among musical settings of this familiar scripture verse.—DH

AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM
The Met Fifth Avenue, The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery for Special Exhibitions
Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, New York, NY

The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism. From the museum website:

Beginning this weekend, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will present the groundbreaking exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism. Through some 160 works of painting, sculpture, photography, film, and ephemera, it will explore the comprehensive and far-reaching ways in which Black artists portrayed everyday modern life in the new Black cities that took shape in the 1920s–1940s in New York City’s Harlem and nationwide in the early decades of the Great Migration when millions of African Americans began to move away from the segregated rural South. The first art museum survey of the subject in New York City since 1987, the exhibition will establish the Harlem Renaissance and its radically new development of the modern Black subject as central to the development of international modern art.

Featured artists include Charles Alston, Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, William H. Johnson, Archibald Motley, Winold Reiss, Augusta Savage, James Van Der Zee, and Laura Wheeler Waring. These artists will be shown in direct juxtaposition with portrayals of international African diasporan subjects by European counterparts ranging from Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, and Pablo Picasso to Germaine Casse, Jacob Epstein, and Ronald Moody.”

A description of the work in the exhibition is available here.

You may also subscribe to a five-part podcast “Introducing Harlem Is Everywhere,” Hear how music, fashion, literature, and art helped shape a modern Black identity. Presented alongside the exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, the podcast is hosted by writer and critic Jessica Lynne. The five-part series features a dynamic cast of speakers who reflect on the legacy and cultural impact of the Harlem Renaissance.

Subscribe to the podcast here.

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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.