FROM FATHER WOOD: AN INCLUSIVE, DIVERSE COMMUNITY

This is the seventh in an ongoing series of articles exploring the following statement, which is our parish vision for the next three years of our common life here at Saint Mary’s:

Saint Mary’s is a vibrant Anglo-Catholic witness in the heart of New York City. 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.

As we get closer to the end of the statement, today we come to the phrase “we are an inclusive, diverse community . . .”

Back in the early 2000s, I was ordained a priest in a parish that still used the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, and I remember praying the Daily Office with my mentor and pondering passages in the Psalter that said God “smote divers nations” (Psalm 135.12) and the “heads of divers countries” (Psalm 110.6). Turns out divers didn’t mean God somehow had it in for countries blessed with great scuba spots; it’s just an old spelling for diverse, which really meant “different” and “various.” “Diverse” can itself have a diversity of meanings. As the Harvard Business Review said in 2018, diversity can mean, among other things:

demographic diversity (our gender, race, sexual orientation, and so on), experiential diversity (our affinities, hobbies, and abilities), and cognitive diversity (how we approach problems and think about things).

At Saint Mary’s, we strive to be a community that is truly diverse and inclusive in those ways and more, so let’s think a moment about each of the key terms.

First — Diversity

We already covered some of this ground in considering “identity” in the May 19 issue of The Angelus. As we said in that article, Christian community is beautiful precisely because, like our Trinitarian God, it is unity amidst stunning diversity, and we should expect Saint Mary’s to exhibit that same unity in diversity and diversity in unity. This is in accordance with the entire scope of Scripture which opens with the promise that “all the peoples of the world” will be blessed by God’s covenant family (Genesis 12.3), and closes with the image of a great multitude praising God and comprising people “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7.9).

Anglo-Catholic parishes like ours often have a special charism for diversity. Shared theological commitments—to the centrality of the Incarnation, indispensability of the Eucharist, transcendent worship—allow deep community to form and flourish among people who are Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor, old and young, gay and straight, black and white, married and single. Together we are living the mystery of unity in diversity. 

Next — Inclusivity

Our baptismal covenant commits us to “honor the dignity of every human being,” which implies all are truly welcome here at Saint Mary’s. For over a half century, “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You” signs have announced to the world that we are open and inclusive of all people, but sometimes it seems our reach exceeds our grasp. We do welcome all—if you know your way around a prayer book, like the smell of incense, have Sunday mornings free, watch the same cable news station, possess impeccable manners, read the Times and don’t sit in my pew. But real inclusivity calls for a welcome to people who aren’t just like us. Father Samuel Wells, Vicar of Saint Martin-in-the-Fields in London, wrote in a recent issue of The Christian Century:

I often say our congregation shouldn’t call itself an inclusive church if it won’t include people who disagree . . . I myself have a strong view, but being a community means open arms to people of diverse views, not cocooning oneself with like-minded people.

And real inclusivity comes with a caveat: It falls to us to actually invite a diverse group of New Yorkers to belong to our family here. That’s hard to do if, in the world, we do cocoon with like-minded people and don’t befriend folks who aren’t like us. Realizing our vision of inclusivity at Saint Mary’s requires us to be open to sharing our lives with a broad range of people, and then, in what we’re calling a “Year of Invitation," be willing to invite them to experience firsthand the community we’ve found in this sacred place.

And that’s the last point — Community

Being part of a real community implies diversity and inclusion, but it’s more. The word in the Bible translated “community” is koinonia. We often translate it “fellowship,” but the root just means “common.” All the baptized share a common life because we are all connected to a common head, Jesus Christ. And like siblings connected to common parents—we don’t get to choose who belongs in the family! Here’s how one person puts it:

We shouldn’t seek the ideal community. It is a question of loving those whom God has set beside us today. They are signs of God. We might have chosen different people, people who were more cheerful and intelligent. But these are the ones God has given us, the ones he has chosen for us. It is with them that we are called to create unity and live a covenant. We choose our own friends; but in our families, we do not choose our brothers and sisters; they are given to us. So it is in community life.

Saint Mary’s has a decades-long legacy of diversity and inclusion, and we aim to live more deeply into those aspects of community life in the years to come.

Thanks, as always, for your attention to these pieces we run monthly in the Angelus. Do you think we really are a picture of healthy diversity and inclusion, a community that’s a foretaste of the kingdom of God in Times Square? I continue to be interested in your own answers to these questions and your thoughts about our future. Please make it a practice to reflect on this vision statement, pray through it often, and reach out if you’d like to talk more about it. — SW

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH & FOR THE WORLD

We pray for an end to war and violence, especially in the Middle East and in Ukraine. We pray for justice and for an end to violence and division in our neighborhood, city, and nation.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, especially Tom, Charles, Susan, Clay, Lynn, Dennis, Darwin, Steve, Noa, Shan, Rick, Thomas, Carlos, Chris, Martin, Frank, Susanna, Rolf, George, Richard, Joyce, Leroy, Christine, Donald, Richard, Josh, John, Robert, Tony, James, Dorian, Carl, Maddie, Hattie, Nettie, Chrissy, Jan, Mark, Pat, Marjorie, Carole, Luis, Sharon, Quincy, June, José, Brian, Manuel, Abe, Suzanne, Hardy, Giovanna, Gypsy, Liduvina, Margaret, and Rita; Lain, Jack, James, Barbara-Jean, Eleanor-Francis, and Ben, religious; Ignacio and Lind, deacons, Julie, Robby, and Stephen, priests; and Michael and Paul, bishops.

We pray for the repose of the souls of Stephen Zawie, William Benefield, Sr., and for those whose year’s mind is on July 21: Leonard Cooke (1892); George Lawrence Murrell (1898); Mary Bell (1914); William Copper Dickey (1959); Frederick Webb Ross (1963).

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE

William Henry Benefield, Sr., the father of parishioner, Brother William Benefield, Jr., BSG, died on Tuesday, July 16, at his home in San Antonio, Texas. He was 90 years old. Mr. Benefield was born in Fort Payne, Alabama. He worked for many years as a community pharmacist. He is survived by his wife, Kay McCormick Benefield and his son, Brother William. There will be a Requiem Mass for Mr. Benefield on Saturday, November 16, at the Church of the Epiphany in Lake Guntersville, Alabama. A second Requiem Mass will be celebrated at the Church of Saint Mark, in San Antonio, in the fall, on a date to be determined. Mr. Benefield’s ashes are to be interred in the columbarium here at Saint Mary’s after a Sung Requiem Mass in the Lady Chapel at a later date.

Stephen Zawie, a close friend of Father Matthew Jacobson’s family, died unexpectedly earlier this week. He is survived by his wife, his two children, and his parents.

Please keep William, Stephen, their family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

COME AND SEE, AND JOIN US ON FRIDAY EVENING
July 19, 6:00–8:00 PM
The Wedding Chapel

Michael Petry’s artwork Apollo’s Mirror
will be exhibited in the Wedding Chapel
at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
July 19–August 26, 2024

Opening Night Public Reception
with the Artist
Friday, July 19, 6:00–8:00 PM
The Wedding Chapel

Parish Reception with the Artist
Sunday, July 21, during Coffee Hour after Solemn Mass

Saint Mary’s continues its exhibitions of notable contemporary art with Michael Petry’s Apollo’s Mirror to be displayed in the Wedding Chapel. The work can be viewed whenever the church is open. The exhibit is free, and no reservations or ticketing are required.

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US
BIBLE STUDY ON SUNDAY MORNINGS
ALL OF JULY & AUGUST 4
9:45 AM IN SAINT BENEDICT’S STUDY

Our seminarian intern, Andrew Raines, has very kindly offered to lead a Sunday morning Bible Study during the month of July. He is teaching the Letter to the Ephesians, which we’ll hear at Mass during July and early August as our second reading. Andrew grew up hearing and reading the Bible, and his love for the biblical texts continues. He writes, “Starting in July, the Sunday lectionary will begin reading through Saint Paul’s Letter to the Church at Ephesus. I’ll be leading a Bible Study delving into this epistle—one of Paul’s most polished (and liturgical!).”

All are welcome to join us on the four Sundays in July—and on Sunday, August 4. It isn’t necessary to have attended the prior weeks. We meet at 9:45 AM in air-conditioned Saint Benedict’s Study, as we read portions of this important part of the New Testament canon together. Refreshments are provided.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER?

Have you been coming to Saint Mary’s, but are unsure about how to get more involved?

We’d love to talk to you about that.

During 2024–2025 we hope to recruit more volunteers for the following ministries:

Neighbors in Need

Acolytes & Readers

Ushers

To do what we do, we need your help.

We urge you to pray about this, asking God to help you discern how you are being called to serve here at the parish.

For more information, speak to Father Sammy or Father Matt.

MAKING THE PILGRIMAGE TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Father John Beddingfield invites all Saint Marians to join him at his parish, Holy Trinity Church, on 88th Street in Manhattan this coming Sunday from 4:00 to 5:30 PM. They’ll be celebrating the Feast of Saint James the Apostle (July 25) a bit early with Spanish snacks, stories, and pictures from the Way of St. James in Spain. They'll also preview the 100k Camino Francés to be led by Father Beddingfield and Pam Tang in June 2025. More at the Holy Trinity website. Father John Beddingfield is a former curate of Saint Mary’s and remains a good friend of the parish.

NEWS & NOTICES

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 next Drop-by will take place on Friday, August 16, 1:00–3:00 PM. We are looking for a few more good volunteers. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Father Jay about our work and how you might help.

Bring a box of cookies . . . This coming Sunday, July 21, we will be celebrating a birthday—and yes there will be cake. But beginning next Sunday, July 28, and for the rest of the summer, we will have a simple Coffee Hour: coffee and tea, of course; but also lemonade and cookies. You’d be helping our hospitality budget if you bought a box of your favorite cookies—or baked your favorite cookies—and brought them to the parish kitchen (or gave them to Marcos, our weekend sexton).

Members of the Flower Guild will be available to arrange flowers for many Sundays this summer. The following Sundays are still available: August 11, 18, and 25. The customary donation requested is $250. Please call the Parish Office for more information (212-869-5830).

Father Sammy Wood will be away from the parish, attending a Conference of the College for Congregational Development from the afternoon of Sunday, July 28, until the afternoon of Friday, August 2.

Father Jay Smith will be on vacation July 24–25, and August 8–24.

Dr. David Hurd will be away from the parish from July 21–26 to participate in the Church Musicians Workshop at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. The workshop is an “immersive five-day residential program under the direction of Dr. Geoffrey Williams that combines the liturgical life of [the seminary] with the expertise of renowned veteran church musicians and scholars to create a vehicle for professional development and personal enrichment that is unlike any other.” Dr. Hurd will be a composer-in-residence and was commissioned to compose settings of Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for unison voices and organ which will be premiered at Evensong during the week. Dr. Geoffrey Williams is Assistant Professor of Church Music and Director of Saint Mary’s Chapel at Nashotah as well as a good friend of our parish. Some may remember that Geoff and his wife Emilie used to sing in our choir.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON SUNDAY, JULY 14, THE NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

One of the great regrets we organists have is that Handel, a dazzling organ virtuoso, wrote so little music for solo organ, unlike his contemporary J. S. Bach. But Handel was not a working church musician, and his compositions are primarily secular and for the concert or opera stage. So, organists have taken matters into their own hands and over the years adapted for solo organ many of Handel’s orchestral and vocal works. Sunday’s voluntaries are two of those adaptations. The prelude is an arrangement by Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911) of one of Handel’s most beautiful melodies. A noted organist and even more famous teacher in nineteenth-century Paris, Guilmant adapted numerous historical works for use by his organ students. In this famous movement from the last of Handel’s “grand concertos” for strings, the melody is presented and then varied twice, all with a graceful, quiet gravity. The postlude is an arrangement by Jonathan Scott, one of today’s foremost British organists. Handel invented the organ concerto as a musical form, composing sixteen of them to play as interludes during performances of his oratorios at Covent Garden. The postlude on Sunday is from the first concerto, performed during the premiere of Alexander’s Feast in 1736. Like Sunday’s prelude, the Andante is a theme (in this case an elegant minuet) and two variations. Scott aptly notes that this, the final movement of the concerto, “is one of the most effortlessly joyful and uplifting pieces of music.” — Clark Anderson

The Hymnal 1940 Companion contains the following entry under the heading “Fourth Communion Service.”

The various portions of this service are plainsongs which have long been associated with the Feasts of the B.V.M. The present adaptation to the American liturgy was made by Winfred Douglas for the use of the Community of St. Mary, and published in 1915 under the title Missa Marialis.

Canon Charles Winfred Douglas (1867–1944) was a giant in the history of music in the Episcopal Church. A priest and member of the Committee which produced the 1916 edition of the Episcopal Hymnal, he was the principal editor and driving force behind The Hymnal 1940 which was for decades the indisputable benchmark for American hymnals. Composer, author, musicologist, editor, historian, liturgiologist, theologian, linguist, poet, teacher (in no particular order) are some of the well-deserved attributions accorded him. Missa Marialis is an enduring example of Canon Douglas’s zeal for merging medieval plainsong with English Prayer Book texts. Its components under the heading “Fourth Communion Service” in The Hymnal 1940 were Kyrie (Mass IX), Gloria (Mass X), Sanctus (Mass IX) Agnus Dei (Mass IX) Also included were Canon Douglas’s  rendering of Credo I (which we customarily sing at Saint Mary’s during Lent) and the traditional Lord’s Prayer setting which is sung weekly at Saint Mary’s. All of these settings, edited by Douglas, were retained in The Hymnal 1982. At the Solemn Mass on Sunday, we sing Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.

During Communion, Daniel Santiago Castellanos will sing But who may abide the day of his coming from Messiah by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759). Although Handel’s Messiah is classified as an oratorio, it departs from the classical definition of an oratorio in that its libretto is an extended biblical meditation rather than a dramatic biblical narrative. Nonetheless, Messiah is deservedly recognized as one of the great oratorios of the Western music canon. Handel’s friend, Charles Jennens (1700–1773), compiled the libretto of biblical quotes which begin with the prophetic anticipation of the promised Savior and extend to matters of the final consummation at the end of time. Composed within a month’s time in the summer of 1741, Handel’s Messiah is divided into three parts with a total of fifty-three musical components. But who may abide is the sixth of the twenty-one movements of Messiah’s first part. While this aria is sometimes sung by a bass and has also been transposed to a higher key for soprano voice, it is thought to have been originally intended for male alto voice. The aria’s text is Malachi 3:2 and its musical setting alternates a gracefully lyric theme with a contrasting theme full of drive and agitation. — David Hurd

More about Sunday’s cantor: Daniel Santiago Castellanos is a composer, tenor, and pianist based in New York. He graduated from Bard College Conservatory of Music in 2018 (B. Mus., B.A.), where he studied voice with tenor Rufus Müller, and Mannes School of Music | The New School in 2023 (MM Composition). As a vocalist, he has performed with various choirs and vocal ensembles in the New York City area, including The Salvatones, C4, and the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys, which he joined in Fall 2023. Castellanos is also the Executive Director of The Big Lemon Collective, a composer/performer group he co-founded in August 2023. He composes for the group and occasionally performs as a vocalist. He sang with the choir at Saint Mary’s between 2018-2023 as a tenor and countertenor and composed a Mass setting for the church last year, “Mass of Light and Smoke” (previously titled “Missa Brevis”). For more information, visit www.Daniel-Castellanos.com.

Parishioner Clark Anderson will play the organ at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, July 21. David Hurd will be away from the parish.

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.