FROM FATHER JAY SMITH: “THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL”

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., is where the original, signed manuscript of the Declaration of Independence is housed, conserved, and cared for. The Declaration is not buried out of sight in some deep, hidden vault. Along with the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights, its home is in the “Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom,” located on the upper level of the Museum.

Christians and Jews understand the importance of foundational texts that bear witness to fundamental histories. For Jews, and in many ways for Christians, the Exodus is one of those stories. For Christians, the story of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection is fundamental and indispensable. We treasure those stories because they tell us about the power of God to change things, to change history, to change us.

There’s something paradoxical about foundational texts. They are so important that we do everything in our power to keep the original text—and if possible, the original, physical record of that text—safe from alteration, doubt, damage, or decay.[1]

But then what do we do? We may etch the words of the text into the façade of a building, but we don’t let the text itself turn to stone. We read it. We interpret it. Most importantly, we use it. The words of the text may remain fixed, but their meaning becomes fluid, something to be dissected, discussed, debated, sometimes rejected, and often loved.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. How did the men who drafted those words arrive at those momentous, foundational words?[2] As we know and are often reminded, they were all male, white Christians, who enjoyed the benefits of their class and status. All but one of the signers of the Declaration were Protestants, though some were not what many would consider orthodox Christians. How did they get there? They read Greek and Roman philosophy and oratory. They read the Bible, perhaps especially the Old Testament. They were men of their times, the Enlightenment. They talked, argued, and wrote. They were lucky enough to enjoy the freedoms that they sought and demanded, and often used those freedoms well and for the benefit of others, though not always.

All men are created equal? How could the men who signed the Declaration, not understand the full implications of what they were signing? How could they tolerate slavery and impede the full inclusion of Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and women? We have difficulty understanding some of their thinking and actions. But what should we do? Should we discard their text? Or should we simply use it?

And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matthew 13:52).

So, that’s what we do. We become attentive, persistent scribes and disciples in the kingdom that is coming. And we do our best not to surrender to cynicism or despair.

As I write this early on Independence Day, these are my treasures (what are yours?):

Genesis 1:27: “So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Galatians 3:27–29: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

And four poems. The first is Walt Whitman’s “America” (1888):

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.

The second is Whitman’s “I hear America singing” (1860):

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

The third is Langston Hughes’s, “I, Too”:

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

The fourth is Elizabeth Alexander’s “Praise Song for the Day: A Poem for Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration, January 20, 2009.” More of that in a moment.

Walt Whitman (1819–1892) is one of America’s most important poets. His poetry is unique and idiosyncratic. He breaks the rules of meter and rhyme. To my ear, the language of his poetry manages to be both elevated and approachable, even colloquial. Whitman had a theory of “the merge.” One observer writes, “In Song of Myself, Whitman repeatedly returns to a theme of ‘merging’ as it relates to a profound number of combinations: the body and soul, flesh and nature, Whitman and his reader, the past, present and future, as well as life and death. Whitman speaks of living in his own unified utopia whereby the arbitrariness of human distinctions is irrelevant and one lives in a certain harmony with himself, others, and nature.”

There is a problem, however. Whitman was sometimes but not always able to include African Americans in this “merge,” especially in later life. Although there are many texts in which Whitman speaks movingly and sympathetically of African Americans, we also have texts in which he speaks disparagingly of Black people and is clearly being racist. He seems to have been infected with some of the racist ideas of post-Civil War, post-Reconstruction America. This is a sad thing and disappointing, because Whitman was self-educated, working-class, and queer. His genuine feeling for “the merge” is nourished by an outsider’s experience. And yet, sometimes, when we need him most, he fails us.

So, what to do? Does one stop reading this canonical writer? Several generations of Black poets and critics say no. What they do and have done is “talk back” to Whitman. That’s what Langston Hughes does so beautifully in “I, too, sing America.” If Walt Whitman forgets to put Black people in his song, then Hughes will.[3]

“I, too, am America,” says Langston Hughes (1901–1967). On this Fourth of July, these words sound so beautiful to me. They are determined, clear, courageous, and, in the end, filled with hope. Hughes will not let Whitman, or anyone, tell him that he is alien, that he is Other, that he doesn’t belong to America.

Foundational texts invite our reverent care and attention. But if they are to continue to be useful to us, we must dare to talk back to them. Saint Marians know how to do this. We talk back in sermons, in class, at Coffee Hour, in the sacristy, over a beer. This is right and just. This is in fact how the sacred text gets inside us and changes us.

In her inauguration poem, Elizabeth Alexander (b. 1962) talks back to Whitman, perhaps especially to his poem, “I hear America singing.” In her poem, she sings of the Black people who built and fed America. If Whitman forgets to put Black people in his song, then Alexander will. But she also does something else. She keeps going, moving forward, finding her own voice, using her own voice, speaking from her own heart,

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

“Love is patient, love is kind,” Saint Paul says. Is that what the poet is getting at? When we love, we talk back, we speak from the heart, trying to find the words that build up and don’t tear down. We speak of struggle but also of determination. We also try—and this is the hardest thing—to listen, to be patient and kind when we ache to win the argument. And on our good days, we listen with “no need to pre-empt grievance.”

And when we learn how to do some of that, we can, perhaps, let Jefferson’s Declaration be foundational for us, our shared and common treasure. We can be grateful for the courage and rightness of his words. We can also grieve that that brilliant man could not in the end find the courage to say or to live everything that he knew to be true. I wonder what might have happened if he’d been able to do that?[4]

On this Independence Day, I am trying to see the past clearly, filled with pain and with glory. I pray that with God’s help we might welcome the Kingdom that is coming, and that someday we might be everything we’ve ever hoped to be. — JRS

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 Shan, Noa, Erika, Alex, Steve, Annette, Martin, Frank, Susanna, Rolf, George, Joyce, Leroy, Christine, Donald, Richard, Josh, Maddie, William, John, Robert, Hattie, Tony, James, Dorian, Nettie, Chrissy, Jan, Mark, Pat, Marjorie, Carole, Luis, Sharon, Quincy, June, Carlos, Chris, José, Manuel, Robert, Abe, Suzanne, Hardy, Giovanna, Gypsy, Liduvina, Margaret, Rita, and Bob; James Phillips, Jack Crowley, William Benefield, James Koester, and Curtis Almquist, religious; Barbara-Jean and Eleanor-Francis, religious; Ignacio and Lind, deacons; and Robby and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the soul of Grace Westerfield, who died on July 7, 1921.

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US
FOR BIBLE STUDY
ON SUNDAY MORNINGS IN JULY:
9:45 AM IN SAINT BENEDICT’S STUDY,
BEGINNING THIS COMING SUNDAY, JULY 7

Our seminarian intern, Andrew Raines, has very kindly offered to lead a Sunday morning Bible Study for us during the month of July—July 7, 14, 21, and 28. He will be 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 these four Sundays in July. We will 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.

ANOTHER INVITATION
THE SAINT MARY’S 20s & 30s GROUP

Young Adults (20–39)—members and friends of Saint Mary’s and anyone interested in our parish—are invited to a meet-and-greet on the rooftop of the Mission House on July 9 at 6 PM! Join us for pizza, wine, and good vibes! RSVP with an email to info@stmvnyc.org.   

A VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR
SUNDAY, JULY 14, AFTER SOLEMN MASS

For months now we’ve been greeting “those who are with us online.” We’d love to meet and have a chance to talk with all of you who join us for worship on Sunday mornings, but who can’t join us in person either for Mass or for fellowship in Saint Joseph’s Hall. More information and a Zoom link will be provided in the livestream of the Solemn Mass on Sunday, July 14. We hope that you will be able to join us.

NEWS & NOTICES

We are very grateful to parishioner Clark Anderson, who once again filled in on Sunday, June 30, playing the service.

For those coming to the parish on Saturday, July 6 . . . from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, there will be a street festival on 6th Avenue, between 42nd Street and 54th Street. Note that traffic closure begins at 8:00 AM.

Neighbors in Need: The next Drop-by will take place on Friday, July 19, 1:00–3:00 PM. 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 preacher at the Masses on Sunday, July 7, will be our seminarian intern, Andrew Loran Raines.

Members of the Flower Guild will be available to arrange flowers for many Sundays this summer. The following Sundays are still available: July 28; August 11, 18, and 25. The customary donation requested is $250.00. Please call the Parish Office for more information (212-869-5830).

One of our faithful and very capable sextons, Jorge Trujillo, is originally from Colombia. He recently returned from some days of vacation in Chicago, Illinois. During a previous vacation, Jorge and his wife, Margarita, visited Las Vegas. Jorge tells Father Jay that he recently realized that he’d lived in the United States for many years but didn’t know much of the country outside of New York. He’s doing something about that. This is impressive, and we are enjoying his Tales of America.

Father Matt Jacobson is away from the parish through Monday, July 8.

Father Sammy Wood will be away from the parish on vacation with his family from Friday, June 28, until Monday, July 8. He 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 away from the parish on a work assignment from Monday, July 8, until Thursday, July 11. He will be on retreat from Friday, July 12, until Monday, July 15. He will be on vacation July 22–25.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON SUNDAY, JULY 7, THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

On most Sundays, the music of the Ordinary of the Mass at Saint Mary’s is the work of a single composer or drawn from a single source. At the Solemn Mass on Sunday, however, the setting is a composite from three different places and times.

The Gloria is a metrical paraphrase translated into English from the German Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr as found in The Hymnal 1982 at #421. Both the German paraphrase and its chorale melody are credited to Nikolaus Decius (c. 1490–1541). The present English translation is credited to the Reverend F. Bland Tucker (1895–1984). Father Tucker served on the Commission which produced The Hymnal 1940 and is represented by twenty-six hymn texts in The Hymnal 1982. Like many chorale melodies, Allein Gott exists both in duple and triple rhythmic forms. The stately duple rhythm version was included in The Hymnal 1940 at #303 with a harmonization by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1849). However, the older and more dance-like triple rhythm form, with harmonization by Hieronymous Praetorius (c. 1560–1629), was chosen for the metrical Gloria in The Hymnal 1982.

The Sanctus on Sunday is from A Community Mass by Richard Proulx (1937–2010). Organist, composer, and conductor, Richard Proulx was one of the brightest lights in American Roman Catholic church music in the late twentieth century. He was also sought out internationally and ecumenically to compose, to consult, to teach, and to direct music programs. In addition to church music, his works include operas, orchestral music, and film scores. From 1980 to 1994 Richard Proulx directed a distinguished music program at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago during which time the Casavant choir organ and landmark four-manual Flentrop gallery organ were commissioned and installed. Proulx’s A Community Mass was composed in 1970 and quickly became a staple in Roman Catholic congregations. Its sturdy Sanctus, when sung by congregations, carries the text and its liturgical function powerfully.

The Agnus Dei is from John Merbecke’s Communion setting originally published in The booke of Common praier Noted of 1550. Merbecke (c. 1510–c. 1585) was known to have been a lay-clerk and organist at Saint George’s, Windsor in 1541. Apart from an obscure Latin Mass and two motets composed in his earlier years, Merbecke’s lasting musical contribution is his collected plainsong settings of the 1550 Prayer Book, most likely the earliest musical setting of the English Ordinary. Merbecke’s settings for the Mass are scrupulously syllabic and free of melodic fancy but yet melodically graceful. Although his original notation and instruction clearly indicate notes of long and short duration, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century editions of his music made all but final syllables of phrases equally short. The Hymnal 1982 edition has restored the original rhythms to Merbecke’s chant. His Agnus Dei is found at S 157.

During the administration of Communion at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, the cantor, Joy Tamayo, will sing Ich folge dir from the Saint John Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach (1695–1750). This soprano aria is the ninth of the forty movements of Bach’s massive Johannespassion, BWV 245. This Passion was composed over several years and was first performed on Good Friday in Leipzig in 1724. It incorporates texts from many sources as well as pre-existing chorale melodies and was revised three times over the years. It received four additional Leipzig performances in its composer’s lifetime. The final such performance took place on March 27, 1750. Ich folge dir is a graceful through-composed aria in 3/8 meter scored for solo soprano, two flutes, and continuo. The organ prelude and postlude on Sunday will be improvised.

More about Sunday’s cantor: As an artist, Joy Tamayo expresses herself as a performer, a writer, and an educator. She is a graduate of both the University of the Philippines and the Crane School of Music. Fates have determined that most of her life be within orbit of whatever representative of the Stage, whether a barangay singing competition at the foot of an active volcano or a medieval church in Europe. Her New York art life has continued this penchant for the all-venues approach to performance. Highlights include the premiere of Chaitanya Sangco’s Subway Atmos (for soprano, cello, piano, chorus, and electronics) at Opera America; the Calf in Kento Iwasaki’s portable opera Beloved Prey at Flushing Town Hall; Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble; lead soprano for Pete Wyer’s opera Spring Street which premiered online at jeeni.com. For collaborative works, Joy Tamayo performed for Tino Seghal's This You, a 2016 Public Art Fund's exhibit called The Language of Things at City Hall Park; a recording with C4 Ensemble of Jonathan David's Blue Planet Blues/The Time Is Come, commissioned by Zsuzsanna Ardo for an art installation at Skopje, Northern Macedonia; and chorus for National Sawdust’s project with composer Sxip Shirey’s The Gauntlet at Rockefeller Center. As one half of the duo an outskirt, she is pursuing the stage with the most eyes on it. She wrote, danced, and performed the opera Mga Stasyon as part of the 2021 Exponential Festival. She was composer and vocalist for Tanika I. Williams’ film Sanctuary which was featured at the BAMcinemaFest 2021 Shorts Program. Joy was born and raised in the Philippines. She has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since 2021.

COMING SOON

Michael Petry’s artwork Apollo’s Mirror
will be exhibited in the Wedding Chapel
at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin
July 15–August 26, 2024

Opening Night Reception with the Artist Scheduled for Friday, July 19, 6:00–8:00 PM

Saint Mary’s continues its exhibitions of notable contemporary art with Michael Petry’s Apollo’s Mirror to be displayed in next month in the Wedding Chapel. An opening night reception with the artist is scheduled for Friday, July 19, 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The work can be viewed whenever the church is open. The exhibit is free, and no reservations or ticketing are required.

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] When it comes to ancient biblical texts, this is easier said than done. The goal of the text critic is to arrive at a text that is as close to the original text as possible. Those scholars depend in part on early manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts, which are often preserved with as much care as the Declaration of Independence.

[2] The Committee of Five, “The committee consisted of two New England men, John Adams of Massachusetts and Roger Sherman of Connecticut; two men from the Middle Colonies, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York; and one southerner, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.” Jefferson is the primary author of the text. He asked Franklin and Adams to read his draft and make comments. They did so and suggested minor changes. That text was presented to the members of the Second Continental Congress, who also suggested a few changes. For a summary of this history, visit the website of the National Archives.

[3] I learned about this from Lavelle Porter’s essay “Should Walt Whitman Be #Cancelled?” in JSTOR Daily, April 17, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/should-walt-whitman-be-cancelled/

[4] “Only seven manuscript versions of the Declaration of Independence are known to survive in the hand of Thomas Jefferson, its principal author. Jefferson made [a copy now in the collections of the New York Public Library] for a friend shortly after the July 4th, 1776, ratification of the Declaration, which announced to the world the American colonies’ political separation from Great Britain. The text recorded in this copy very nearly mirrors what was presented to the Second Continental Congress for review; underlinings show original text that was later modified by the Congress before finalizing the document. Among the rejected passages, present here: a passionate condemnation of African chattel slavery and the slave trade, the perpetuation of which Jefferson blames on King George III. Jefferson’s antislavery sentiments were not insincere, but how he could hold them, as an enslaver himself, remains a conundrum.” Website of NYPL.