FROM MARYJANE BOLAND & CLARK MITCHELL: KEEPING THE DOORS OPEN

With little fanfare, during Holy Week we installed the Open Doors Campaign plaque in the narthex to celebrate and thank again the almost 200 people who donated to the Open Doors Campaign. After some fourteen years living behind a sidewalk bridge, we think it worth reliving a bit of history.

On Easter Sunday 2010, Parishioner Hardy Geer came into the sacristy with a piece of stone that had fallen from the façade of our church. When, days later, a bridge covered the Forty-sixth Street sidewalk to protect passersby from any further bits of masonry, we had no idea how long this protection would remain in place. Our early introduction to Jan Hird Pokorny, an architectural firm focused on the preservation of historic buildings, brought us Michael Devonshire, the architect who, with his colleague Lewis Gleason, led us through the design and construction process and celebrated with us when Saint Mary’s won the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the NY Landmarks Conservancy in 2023.

In spring 2012, Father Stephen Gerth invited MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, and Mark Risinger to breakfast at the New York Athletic Club where he asked us to take on the task of raising the money to repair and preserve our building. And so began the Open Doors campaign. We first worked with the Episcopal Church Foundation and then with Claudia Chouinard Brink, founder and principal of Results Group International. Parishioners Steven Heffner, Grace Mudd, and Marie Rosseels joined us, coached by Claudia every step of the way. Many people reading this article will have participated in one of Claudia’s listening sessions, an assessment of how much Saint Mary’s meant to them and how they felt they could support our campaign. She helped us to design Open Doors campaign literature and to do our mailings and phone calls, and she trained us to make follow-up calls and to obtain dedications for the plaque. As someone who made many calls, I had a wonderful time talking to people from near and far, who have loved Saint Mary’s for many years and told me about the reasons for that love.

Now, standing across Forty-sixth Street from our beautiful façade, all those years of work and delays are forgotten—but they were there: identifying our architect and our contractor, raising the money to do the work, obtaining the many permissions required from the City of New York, the Landmarks Conservancy, and other regulatory bodies and then working to avoid violations at every step. When the work was finally underway, Covid shut down the project for months and then it resumed with regulations and limitations on the number of workers who could be on the scaffold at any one time.

All of that is forgotten and, with the Open Doors Campaign plaque installed in the narthex, we celebrate the generosity of the donors to the campaign, and we look to the future. This rejuvenation of our church façade has led to other renewals: our post-Covid attendance is ticking up and, coming soon, we hope to launch a revitalized Legacy Society for those who have planned for Saint Mary’s in their wills or with other financial support, as well as a redesigned giving section on our website. I hope that all of you, near and far from Times Square, will be a part of writing the next chapter of Saint Mary’s story.
—MaryJane Boland, Co-chair with Clark Mitchell of the Open Doors Campaign

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

We pray for an end to war and violence, remembering especially the people of Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon, Sudan, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, the Red Sea, and Yemen. We pray for an end to violence and division in our neighborhood, city, and nation. We pray for justice and peace.

We pray for the people and clergy of our sister parish, All Saints Margaret Street, London, and of the parishes of the Midtown Clericus.

We pray for those preparing for confirmation and reception on Ascension Day and for baptism on the Day of Pentecost.

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 and around Times Square, 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 Richard, Josh, Jeff, Aliza, Bob, Chuck, Eleni, Andrew, Maria, Linda, Johanna, Pat, Marjorie, Carole, Eloise, Suzanne, Luis, David, Clark, Willard, Virginia, Celia, Rolf, Sharon, Victor, Jane, Murray, Quincy, June, José, Manuel, Liduvina, Robert, Randy, Christopher, Carlos, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, and John Derek; James, Jack, Curtis, and Eleanor-Francis, religious; Matthew, Rob, Robby, and Stephen, priests; and Michael, bishop.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Bruce Fulton and Liz Vallen and for the repose of the souls of Louis Many (1877), Annie Kent (1878); Frank Julius Hoffman (1941), Madeleine Seaman (1958), whose year’s mind is on Sunday, April 21. 

EASTERTIDE AT SAINT MARY’S

The Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 21

Said Mass (Rite One) 9:00 AM in the Lady Chapel
Adult Formation 9:45 AM in the Parish Hall, Fr. Jacobson on Theosis
Solemn Mass 11:00 AM, Fr. Wood, preacher
Evening Prayer 5:00 PM

The Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 5

Said Mass (Rite One) 9:00 AM in the Lady Chapel
Adult Formation 9:45 AM in the Parish Hall, Fr. Smith on Hope in the Second Half of Life
Solemn Mass and May Crowning 11:00 AM, Fr. Wood, preacher
Annual Meeting of the Parish in Saint Joseph’s Hall 1:00 PM
Evensong & Benediction 5:00 PM

Ascension Day
Thursday, May 9

Morning Prayer 8:00 AM
Sung Mass 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel
Organ Recital 5:30 PM
Procession, Solemn Mass & Confirmation 6:00 PM
The Right Reverend Matthew Heyd, Celebrant & Preacher

The Day of Pentecost
Sunday, May 19

Procession, Solemn Mass & Holy Baptism 11:00 AM
The Reverend Landon Moore, Preacher

AIDS WALK NEW YORK UPDATE

We are just beginning to form our team and fundraise. We currently have nine members and are growing. We’ve raised $1425 at this point out of our goal of $50,000. Saint Mary’s is consistently one of the top teams in the city and we hope to repeat that accomplishment in 2024. Won’t you consider helping us?

This year, AIDS Walk New York takes place on Sunday, May 19. To join the team, to support us with a donation, or to follow our progress, please click here. We are grateful to all those who continue to support this ministry.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AT SAINT MARY’S

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd began last Sunday, April 14, at 9:45 AM . . . The Atrium is ready and will again be open for the younger members of our congregation this coming Sunday, April 21, the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Learn more about this formation program for children in an article by Renee Wood from a past issue of The Angelus. Catechesis of the Good Shephard Level 1 formation is designed for ages 3-6. Older children are welcome to join and assist with the younger children. Parents can drop off their children at the Atrium (Parish House, Second Floor) at 9:45 AM and pickup is at 10:45 AM. If you have any questions about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd or would like to enroll your child, please send Renee an email. Please keep this important program in your prayers!

The Sunday Morning Adult Formation Class resumed last Sunday, April 14, when Father Matt Jacobson began his three-part series (April 14, 21, and 28) on the theological concept of theosis (also sometimes referred to as deification or divinization). In last week’s issue of The Angelus, Father Matt outlined his plans for these sessions in which he explores what it could possibly mean for humans to become gods with a lowercase “g.” These classes are part of this year’s focus on Conversion, Transformation, and the Christian Life.

The last set of classes in the Conversion & Transformation series will take place on Sunday mornings in May—May 5, 12, and 19—when Father Jay Smith will lead the class in a series entitled Living in Hope: Following Jesus in the Second Half of Life. We’ll consider the work and thought of writers such as Richard Rohr, OFM, and Joan Chittister, OSB, as well as others who have talked about regret, forgiveness, managing retirement, the “missed life,” the spirituality of aging, and living, thriving, and being transformed after fifty (or thereabouts) This is a class for one and all, and we will benefit from the presence of both the young and those who have entered into this “second half of life.”

NEWS & NOTICES

Guest Preachers at Saint Mary’s . . . We will have two guest preachers during the month of May, the first is our bishop, the Right Reverend Matthew Heyd, who will be celebrant and preacher at the Solemn Mass on Ascension Day, Thursday, May 9. This is the bishop’s first visitation to Saint Mary’s, and we are happy that we have candidates to present to him for confirmation and reception into the Episcopal Church. The second guest is the Reverend Landon Moore of the Diocese of Long Island, who will preach at the Solemn Mass on the Day of Pentecost, Sunday, May 19. We thought it might be a good idea to tell you about our two guests—Bishop Heyd this week and Father Moore next week.

From the diocesan website:

Matthew Heyd was installed as the seventeenth bishop of New York on Saturday, February 10, 2024, after serving since his consecration in May 2023 as bishop alongside the sixteenth bishop, Andrew ML Dietsche.

He served for ten years as the tenth rector of Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. As rector, he engaged with congregation and staff to create a “bigger table” of deep belonging and wide invitation.

Prior to coming to Heavenly Rest, Bishop Heyd served as director of Faith in Action at Trinity Church Wall Street. He expanded volunteer engagement with opportunities for children in New York City, New Orleans, Haiti, Panama, and Burundi. He supported the development of the Episcopal Service Corps. Matt also helped launch Episcopal Charities in the Diocese of New York and served as chief operating officer of a national non-profit connecting students and teachers in schools to service opportunities. He worked with the family of Martin Luther King, Jr., on a program to help students celebrate the King National Holiday with service.

Bishop Heyd was a Morehead Scholar and student body president at the University of North Carolina. He holds a Master of Arts in religion summa cum laude from Yale University and a Master of Sacred Theology from The General Theological Seminary.

His spouse Ann Thornton is Vice Provost and University Librarian at Columbia University.  They have a sixteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son. Bishop Heyd grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from Providence Day School.  He likes to read and run and has completed five marathons.

We would like to recommend The Living Church Podcast to all our readers. The Living Church works to keep its readers informed about what’s happening in the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, and beyond. Published monthly, every issue includes news and commentary on the issues of the day, plus reflections on ministry and theology. Saint Mary’s is a supporter of the Living Church Foundation. In the podcast’s most recent episode (April 8), we hear from Suhaila Tarazi, director of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. Another episode that is timely is the June 2023 interview with the wonderful poet, Malcolm Guite, “Poetry and Pentecost.”

The Saint Mary’s Centering Prayer Group meets in the Atrium on Fridays at 6:00 PM, following Evening Prayer. Click here or speak to Blair Burroughs for more information about this beautiful and distinctive form of prayer.

Would you like to donate altar flowers and support the work of the Flower Guild? We are hoping to receive donations for May 9 and 26, and all the Sundays in June, including June 2, Corpus Christi. The suggested donation is $250. Please contact Chris Howatt in the parish office for more information and to reserve a date.

Dr. David Hurd will be away from the parish on Sunday, April 21, when the Central Florida Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (CFAGO) will present “A Community Sing-In: The Music of David Hurd,” at 4:00 PM, at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church, in Orlando, Florida. On Friday, April 26, David will play a recital at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas. This is part of the Arts on Alexander: Holbrook Organ Series at Redeemer. Parishioner Clark Anderson will play the service and direct the choir here at Saint Mary’s on April 21. We wish David much success in all his endeavors. We are very proud of him.

Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish from the afternoon of Sunday, April 21, until the evening of Saturday, April 27. He will be leading a retreat for the sisters of the Community of Saint John Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey.

Father Matthew Jacobson will be away from the parish on retreat at Holy Cross Monastery from Tuesday, April 30, through Thursday, May 2.

You may assist the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem through the Friends of the Diocese website. The website provides information about the work of the Diocese in the Middle East and updates concerning the Israel-Hamas War and the war’s impact on the region. We continue to pray “for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) and all the peoples of the Middle East.

The New York City Landmarks Conservancy Sacred Sites Open House 2024  will take place once again this year  on Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19th! Saint Mary’s has once again registered for the Open House and will welcome visitors to use our recorded self-guided tours.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, APRIL 21, 2024

I first heard Henry Heron’s Voluntary in G Major (Sunday’s postlude) on a video about the organ at Westminster Abbey. The music made me smile; I was charmed by its combination of joie de vivre and English pomp. Heron was a well-respected musician in late-eighteenth century London and a friend of more famous English musicians such as John Stanley, whose compositional style he emulated. Following in his father’s footsteps, Heron made his living primarily from giving dancing and singing lessons, and most of his compositions were songs for the various pleasure gardens around London. But he also served as organist at the prestigious church of Saint Magnus the Martyr, next to London Bridge, from 1762 until his death. Today’s prelude and postlude come from a collection of ten voluntaries for keyboard Heron published about 1770. Compared to German or French organ music of the period, these compositions are simple in structure, making especial use of echo effects. Nor were English organs in the eighteenth century as developed as their continental counterparts: the first swell box in England was introduced only in 1712 (coincidentally for the Saint Magnus organ), and the first true pedal pipes did not sound until 1778. But the familiar range of organ stops on the manuals was present by about 1700, and Heron could specify a Cornet for the primary voice in Sunday’s prelude and a full-organ sound for Sunday’s postlude. — Clark Anderson

The Lord as Shepherd is familiar to us, from the twenty-third psalm through to the Gospel according to Saint John and beyond. The Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter is addressed to God “whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people.”  The motet during Communion echoes this reference. Surrexit pastor bonus (“The Good Shepherd has arisen”) is the second Matins responsory for Easter Monday. Its text declares and rejoices that the good shepherd, who has lain down his life for his sheep, has indeed risen. Orlando di Lasso (c. 1532–1594), also known as Orlande de Lassus, was one of several composers of his time to set this responsory text, as he did in his 1562 collection of sacred songs for five voices published in Nuremberg. The motet begins with an expressing upward sweeping phrase sung by the highest three voices. The two lower voices then echo the same. The two soprano parts joyfully weave among one another through the motet, and it concludes with many alleluias.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is Missa Brevis by Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1533–1585). Andrea Gabrieli, uncle of the even more prolific Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1556–1612), is credited with bringing international stature to the Venetian musical compositional culture, where the Netherlands school had previously been dominant. Andrea Gabrieli, composer and organist, is principally associated with Saint Mark’s, Venice, where he was organist from 1566 until his death. It is in this post that his reputation as a composer soared, and he became known especially for his ceremonial music. Gabrieli’s style included mediating the juncture of polyphonic and homophonic textures, use of voices and instruments together in choirs, and setting multiple choirs of musicians in vibrant dialogue with one another. The Missa Brevis is a relatively modest work in four voices. While much of the text of this setting is declaimed in rhythmic unison, imitative counterpoint and flowing melodic lines are also very much in evidence. The Agnus Dei has two independent tenor parts and, thus, the enhanced richness of a five-voice texture. — David Hurd

AN INVITATION TO THE PEOPLE OF SAINT MARY’S

The Sisters of the Community of Saint John Baptist would like to invite the people and clergy of Saint Mary’s to the Celebration of the Community’s 150th Anniversary of the Community in the United States. The Celebration will take place at the Convent of Saint John Baptist, 82 West Main Street, Mendham, New Jersey 07945 on Saturday, June 15. The Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 10:30 AM. The guest celebrant and preacher will be the Right Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, XXVI Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. A luncheon will follow the Mass. RSVP the Sister Superior. Clergy: White Stoles

FROM FATHER SAMMY: ATTENDANCE

My favorite TV show of all time is The West Wing. I’ve seen every episode so many times it can be annoying to watch the show with me, and often I actually “think” in West Wing quotes. Recently I asked Father Matt to work on a new feature for the Angelus, after seeing that our sister parish in London, All Saints, Margaret Street, reports their attendance every week (a feature Father Peter Anthony, All Saints’ vicar, tells me he actually copied from an earlier practice Saint Mary’s had back before the pandemic!) Starting this week, we are experimenting with including a report of our own Sunday attendance. 

Why do I think it’s important for us all to be aware of attendance? For one thing, to quote actor Al Fann in an episode entitled, “Mr. Willis of Ohio”

I think the problems that we’re going to face in the new century are far beyond the Wisdom of Solomon, let alone me. But I think the right place to start is to say—fair is fair. This is who we are. These are our numbers.

Over the two years I’ve served as one of your priests, I’ve been encouraged to watch our attendance rise slowly but steadily from its pandemic low mark. It’s also a joy to welcome newcomers almost every Sunday. As we move our focus this fall to a “Year of Invitation,” we turn our attention from our own conversions and formation to opening our doors ever wider and inviting our friends, neighbors, families to “come and see” what God is doing at Saint Mary’s. I’m inviting you to begin to pray regularly, as I do, for God to “add to our number daily those who are being saved” (Acts 2.47) through our work of evangelization and discipleship. These are our numbers, and this new feature will keep that prayer on our hearts every week, as well as give us a front row seat to how God is answering. — SW

  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.