From the Rector: Pentecost

This Sunday we gather to celebrate “The Day of Pentecost,” the last day of the Easter Season.   Pentecost is one of the great ancient Hebrew pilgrimage feasts.  It was a “week of weeks” – “seven” weeks – connected to the cycle of harvests.  The Church began to use a period of fifty days to celebrate its central belief, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This earlier understanding of a fifty-day Eastertide began to break down as centuries passed.  This breakdown went so far that some formularies suggested that both Jesus and the Holy Spirit were entirely absent from the Christian community between the fortieth and fiftieth days after the first Easter.  One of the great accomplishments of the liturgical revisions of the last fifty years has been the recovery of the integrity of Eastertide.

From the Rector: Urban Christian Ministry

Often when I meet people they ask, “What kind of ministries does Saint Mary’s do?”  My answer is sometimes one they don’t expect.  I say simply, “We do church.”  They continue, “Do you have a soup kitchen, a clothing closet?”  I say, “No, we do church.”  And then I usually end up saying something like, “Our doors are open all day, every day of the week and we have at least five services – every day of the week.”

From the Rector: Anniversary & Ascension

This Sunday, May 21, the Right Reverend Richard F. Grein, XIV Bishop of New York, will celebrate and preach at the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass to celebrate his twenty-fifth anniversary of consecration to the episcopate.  I know I speak for the parish community when I say we are so honored by his presence on this occasion.

From Father Beddingfield: Living into Generosity

Almost every weekend people in Central Park are raising money.  At the end of April several of our parishioners participated in the Parkinson’s Unity Walk.  Last weekend others were a part of the Revlon Run/Walk for Women to fight women’s cancers.  Next Saturday is the Healthy Kidney Run, and on Sunday is the AIDS Walk/Run, in which a whole team from Saint Mary’s will be participating.  The various cycling, running, rowing, swimming and walking events continue through the summer, not to mention the CROP Walk for Hunger, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and others in the fall.  How do we determine what to support?  What does faithful generosity look like? 

From the Rector:  Meaning and Discipline

I think it was during Eastertide before the beginning of the present war in Iraq that someone asked Father John Beddingfield whether we might have a special shrine and candle dedicated to prayers for peace.  His response included a remark about the paschal candle that was standing by the altar and reference to the prayers of the Mass and of the Offices.  Every service at Saint Mary’s, every Mass and every Office, Morning, Noon, and Evening, includes real prayers for peace, for justice and for the increase of the Kingdom of God.

From the Rector:  Easter Priorities

For the first time I can recall I recently have had some trouble remembering to add one or more “alleluias” to things during Mass – much to the delight of my colleagues.  I think it is fair to say that I’m pretty reliable and regular as a celebrant.  I’m not an automaton but my body, as it were, has a good liturgical memory both of word and gesture.  As I write on Thursday morning of the Second Week of Easter, I think I’m on track now.  No promises, but missing some of this stuff at weekday Masses and Offices has gotten my attention.

From the Rector:  Easter Graces

The Easter Triduum unfolded with many graces – as it always seems to.  The quiet and purposeful work during the day on Maundy Thursday gave way to the power of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.  The profound solemnity of the washing of feet and of the procession to the altar of repose set the evening apart from the rest of the year.  My only note for next year is to set out more chairs for the washing of feet – for the past seven years four have been enough.  I think next year there will need to be eight. 

From the Rector:  Easter Triduum

In every part of the world the Church will gather over the  Three Days to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection.  As I write to you on Thursday morning in New York, quiet and not-so-quiet (organ tuning) final preparations are going forward here at the church.  Virtually all of the work has already been done.  If you are new to Saint Mary’s, you may not realize this parish community organizes its year around these Three Days.

From the Rector: Holy Week and Easter

I want to thank all who have already been working and will be working over the next week to make Holy Week at Saint Mary’s possible.  I want to thank volunteers and staff, along with members and friends near and far, whose prayers and gifts help make it all possible.  As is our custom, our doors are open daily and the ordinary and the great rites of the Church year are celebrated with an integrity and richness that reflects our commitment to Christ.  We take nothing for granted at Saint Mary’s when it comes to worship.  I hope this means we are growing into a people who take nothing for granted when it comes to love for all.  Love was in fact Christ’s greatest commandment to us who call him Lord.

From the Rector: Holy Week Primer

Holy Week is a rich layering of Christian tradition in which you and I can rejoice in so many ways.  During this time we try very hard to let the tradition of the Church speak clearly to us so that we can enter as individuals and as a community more deeply into the mystery of Christ.

From the Rector: Definitions

Broadly speaking, it is correct to say there are two basic theological approaches to Baptism in the New Testament.  One approach associates it with the death and resurrection of Jesus.  One associates it with new birth.  These approaches are complementary and neither approach by itself describes completely the mystery of Baptism.  What is going on in any our lives and in the lives of all people, baptized and unbaptized, is the work of the Holy Spirit. 

From the Rector:  An Exercise of Lent

Several years ago I was in Rome and I had one of those conversations that all of us have from time to time, a conversation that really did change the way I think about things.  I had just met a Roman Catholic pastor, from Philadelphia, I believe, but I don’t remember his name and we met only briefly.  We were each waiting for a mutual acquaintance, a liturgist, to return.  I think I was coming and the priest from Philadelphia was leaving.

From the Rector: Heavenly Father

Because of the leadership role of the presider, a celebrant’s voice often booms out at Saint Mary’s.  It’s a big building and some leadership is usually required to encourage participation and to make sure people hear.  I want to tell you about something that happened the last time I was celebrant for Solemn Mass.  Something happened that reminded me that my role in worship is to be a servant of the assembly.

From Father Beddingfield: Why all the Ashes?

I was lucky enough to be in one of Professor Frederick Shriver’s classes at General Seminary just before he retired.  Father Shriver is not one to keep his opinions to himself and I especially recall his thoughts about ashes.  “You know what I’d do if I were the rector of a church?” he asked our class.  “You know what I’d do?  I’ll tell you what I’d do.  At the end of the Ash Wednesday liturgy, I’d be at the back door with a big washrag.  As people left the church, I’d wipe the ashes off their forehead and remind them of the words of our Lord, “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1).

From Father Beddingfield: A Cross of Iron and Air

During the Honduras mission trip two weeks ago, we were able to meet the Right Reverend Lloyd Allen, bishop of Honduras, who presented us with a cross made by the young men studying and working at St. Mary’s Technical Institute.  The cross is 22 inches by 16 inches and made of iron --pieces that are carefully curved, joined and welded.  But it is also made of air – space left between the iron, like an ornate fence or grill. 

From the Rector: Presentation

February 2 is the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple.  It is based on the account in Luke’s gospel of the bringing of the infant Jesus to the temple on the fortieth day after his birth.  Along with the feast of the Annunciation on March 25, it is one of two “Christmas” celebrations outside of the Christmas Season.  Here at Saint Mary’s it is one of the great annual celebrations in the life of our parish community.

From Father Mead: Disagreements

I offer a Bible Study most Tuesday evenings.  During Advent we looked at the Birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, and beginning this Tuesday we will look at the Passion narratives in all four gospels.  It is true that we read much of the Passion narratives each year during Holy Week – this year we read Mark’s account of the Passion on Palm Sunday, and we always read John’s account of the Passion on Good Friday – however, I think we often forget or ignore the major differences in each account . . . or maybe we just don’t know they are different at all.

From The Rector: Pace

Saint Mary’s is a place where we always have visitors and newer members at every service.  It’s truly a given around here and it’s one of the really great things about our parish.  Our response is a given too.  A lot of us, lay and clergy, work very hard to make visitors feel welcome.  There are always going to be people who need to know where we are or what is coming next.  That’s such a blessing for us, a great blessing.

From The Rector: Epiphany

One can learn a lot from buildings.  There are lots of things to be learned from our own church building.  Clearly the altar is the heart of Saint Mary’s.  But it is also clear the church was built for congregational worship.  The altar is visible from every seat in the house.  The room has extraordinarily fine acoustics.  Generations have sacrificed much to make it a sacred place for the worship of God by the people of God.