New Sights

Last night I came up from the B train at Rockefeller Center at 49th, on the west side of the street.  There were some folks coming down the steps so I walked up the staircase looking up, instead of down - the way most of us walk around New York most of the time. 

Prayer Book Studies

In 1950 the Standing Liturgical Commission published the first issue of “Prayer Book Studies.”  This booklet, in a series that would continue through the development of the present Prayer Book, contained two studies: I. Baptism and Confirmation and II. The Liturgical Lectionary.  Revision of the 1892 Prayer Book had begun in 1913. 

Epiphany

An e-mail inquiry about Epiphany (“manifestation”) sent me to the books the other day.  I am always forgetting that Christmas is not just about the birth of Jesus, liturgically speaking, and Epiphany is not just about the coming of the Wise Men.  I’m pretty good at remembering that what we call “Palm Sunday” is the original “Good Friday” – hence, the Liturgy of the Palms is attached to the Mass of the Passion.  It’s just as complicated during this time of year, too.

Spontaneous

Something unusual happened on Christmas Eve: the assembly starting applauding as the final hymn, Hark! the herald angels sing, ended.  There was still a dismissal to do, still a postlude to be played.  I had the strong sense that the spontaneous applause that broke out throughout the filled church was not just for the hymn and the descant on the final verse, which was glorious, but for the whole Mass – and, I confess, especially for our parish musicians.  The music and the Mass were extraordinary.

Christ the King

I was making a short retreat at Saint Gregory’s Abbey when I met a priest who had been a member of the Standing Liturgical Commission in 1976.  The adoption of a new Prayer Book requires the action of two successive General Conventions.  The 1979 Prayer Book, the one we have today, had to be complete by a date and time certain during the 1976 General Convention.  The priest told me they stayed up through

An Annual Report of Sorts

The Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s will be meeting on Monday night, November 17.  For those new to the community, Saint Mary’s is one of a small number of Episcopal parishes in the United States not organized in the ordinary way.  It is a structure that has its strengths and weaknesses,

From Father Beddingfield: Wisdom and the Body

I’ve been thinking a lot about wisdom lately.  Any search for wisdom risks arriving at a point of frustration where we might agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes, “In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.”  Nevertheless, those of us involved in the current Wednesday night Christian formation series are plodding forward. 

November at Saint Mary’s

The first day of November is All Saints’ Day.   This year it occurs on a Saturday.  And as is our custom, the principal service for the feast will be Friday evening at 6:00 PM.  On the most sacred days, the Church still reckons time as Jesus did.  In the Hebrew calendar, the day begins at sunset.  All Saints’ is the day the Church remembers with thanksgiving those who have died in Christ, especially those whose names are no longer known to us, and asks for their intercession for us.

From Father Beddingfield:  A note about Confession

Increasingly, we have people from many different religious backgrounds who find Saint Mary’s.  For many, our building and what we do inside raise questions.  Very often, I find that the confessionals at Saint Mary’s (those wooden booths at the back of the church and down the side aisle) provoke some of the more interesting conversations.  People ask, “You don’t still use those, do you?” 

Saint Mary’s Matters

When I think about the future of our parish and its mission I cannot help but be aware of what a unique place of worship Saint Mary’s is.  I am aware, and many who read this newsletter may not be aware, that liturgical formation has virtually disappeared from the seminaries of the Episcopal Church.  I don’t expect this to change anytime soon.

More is Better

This past Sunday’s celebration of the Feast of Dedication was great.  A lot of things go into making such a day so powerful at Saint Mary’s.  It’s a day when it is so easy to see the hard and committed work of those who are here and of those who were here before us.

The Dedication of the Church

As far as I can tell, the anniversary of the dedication of Saint Mary’s church building has never been celebrated on the actual anniversary.  The church was consecrated by the Right Reverend Henry Codman Potter, bishop of New York, on December 12, 1895.  Yet the first service had already been held, on December 8, 1895.  Beginning in 1896, December 8 was celebrated as the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Church.

A Lovely Gift

The Reverend Gene Paradise is a longtime friend of Saint Mary’s.  He is presently associate for senior pastoral care at Saint Luke’s Church, Atlanta, after having retired as rector of Saint Michael’s Church in Waynesboro, Georgia and after serving the Church in many positions since ordination in 1983.  Father was a member of Saint Mary’s from 1963 through 1967.  He’s been here several times since I’ve been rector.

Ordination

On Saturday, September 20, John Beddingfield is to be ordained priest at the Cathedral.  I met John shortly after I arrived in New York.  He invited me to dinner on Sunday night, February 28, 1999.  He told me something about himself, he spoke of his hope that he might be called to priesthood in this Church, and he asked me if I thought he might be a postulant for Holy Orders from Saint Mary’s.

Holy Cross Day 2003

For liturgical Christians in the United States and elsewhere, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, August 6, does not stand by itself.  August 6 is the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  The mystery of war and victory is with us on that day whether the preacher mentions it or not.  I cannot hear the gospel account of the Lord being transfigured by light without remembering how terrible and high the cost of peace in this world is.

Liturgical Things

I happened to be in Rome this spring on the weekend that a prominent group of Roman Catholics was gathering at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to celebrate a solemn Mass using the rite of the Roman Church on the eve of Vatican II. 

September 11, 2003

Earlier this year when plans were being made in the church office for the fall I had thought that there would be no special services at Saint Mary’s this year on September 11.  I expected us to do the regular Masses of the day with a commemoration of the departed during the Prayers of the People.  I now realize the pastoral need for us to do something more.

Assumption at Saint Mary’s

Shortly after 8:00 AM on Friday, August 15, electric power returned to Times Square.  A few minutes later two of our sextons, who had spent the night here – and would spend a second night here because transportation would still be a problem, opened the doors. 

Lectionary Learning

Saint Mary’s continues the celebration of Daily Morning and Evening Prayer (otherwise known as “The Daily Office” or, more simply, “The Offices” or “The Office”) in a fairly traditional parochial way.  Except on Saturday mornings (when the church doesn’t open until 10:00 AM), Morning and Evening Prayer are offered daily.  Along with the Daily Office, at Saint Mary’s there is a Daily celebration of the Eucharist.  A lot of Scripture is read, prayed and proclaimed every day here.

This week at Saint Mary’s

My office is in one of the galleries that overlooks the parish hall.  This morning there is the sound of construction in the third floor office above me and the sound of carpentry coming from the organ gallery next to my office.  The balustrade in the organ loft required rebuilding.  During his first summer at Saint Mary’s, Robert McCormick leaned over the rail and it leaned with him.  The internal wooden supports have been well used since 1895.