FROM FATHER JACOBSON: STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Years ago, when I was in the mountains of northern Italy skiing with Meredith, we decided to take a break one day and instead went hiking. It happened to be a Friday in Lent, and at some point along the way, I said something to her about how we were missing Stations of the Cross at Saint Mary’s back in New York. At the time, I was a parishioner at Christ and Saint Stephen’s in the Upper West Side, but I worked in midtown and would sometimes come to Saint Mary’s for the weekday Masses and also for Stations in Lent.

FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR: CH-CH-CHANGES

A fortnight into my tenure as your interim rector, I’m finally starting to learn my way around the rectory, the neighborhood, and— more importantly— the liturgy. Saint Mary’s reputation for exquisite worship is certainly well-deserved, and it is, and will always be, an honor to pray with you whenever we gather for worship.

FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR: NEIGHBORS IN NEED

The Swiss Reformed theologian Emil Brunner is purported to have said once, “The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.”

Brunner’s quote serves to raise an incisive question: Where no mission work is being done, is the church really being the church?

Saint Mary’s is proud to be the church in and for Times Square, an outpost of the kingdom of God in this vibrant urban area. And as the church here, Saint Mary’s has a rich history of service in the neighborhood because deep in our Anglo-Catholic DNA is a commitment to serving the least, the lost, the lonely, and the left-behind.

FROM THE INTERIM RECTOR: “ENTERING UPON THIS WORK”

First, let me say thank you!

Thank you to the staff who’ve so graciously welcomed me to New York, and thanks to each of you and to the Board for the trust you’re placing in me to be part of the team to lead and serve alongside you during this period of transition at Saint Mary’s. I arrived on Thursday last and have slowly been getting acquainted with the rectory, church, and neighborhood—venturing a little farther out in each one every day. My family arrives over the course of this week—Renee, my wife, along with Patrick and Flannery, my two youngest children. (Elizabeth, the eldest, is at Rhodes College in Memphis, but you’ll get to meet her in the summer.) In fact, by the time you read this they should be here, and I can’t wait to introduce them to you and to this place I’ve already come to love in just a few days.

FROM FATHER SMITH: NEW VOICES

Members of the staff have been working this week to make sure that the rectory is ready for the arrival of our new interim rector, Father Sammy Wood. The cleaners have been here. We’ve figured out the alarm system. We think the space is ready for Father Sammy’s arrival this week. Our parish administrator, Chris Howatt, has arranged for a car to meet Father Sammy and his son, Patrick, at the airport. Father Sammy’s wife, Renée and their daughter, Flannery, will arrive next week. If all goes well, Chris will greet Father Sammy and Patrick in the rectory one evening this week and get them settled. Father will be at the Solemn Mass on Sunday morning, when he will be introduced to the parish. I look forward to meeting him this weekend.

FROM FATHER JACOBSON: ONLINE MINISTRY AT SAINT MARY’S

As you may have noticed, the location for joining us online for Solemn Mass changed this week. Rather than going to Vimeo’s website, our live-streaming is now on our own site. This new webpage can be reached under the Worship tab on the top of our homepage by clicking on Live-stream and Featured Videos. We are still using Vimeo, but they are now mostly behind the scenes. It is our hope that having the webcast, resources for the service, and archived videos all in one place will make it easier for those who are unable to worship with us in person.

FROM FATHER SMITH: THE CHURCH PREPARES FOR GENERAL CONVENTION

We have been looking inward rather a lot here at Saint Mary’s in recent days and understandably so. We’ve been dealing with the challenges presented by COVID-19, and we’ve now entered a time of transition following the retirement of our rector, Father Gerth. But it is never a good idea to ignore the needs and demands of the wider world altogether.

FROM FATHER SMITH: “HOLY ONES RIDING THAT OCEAN OF AIR”

As I write on Friday morning, January 21, we are more than halfway through the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which ends next Tuesday, on the Feast of the Conversion of Paul the Apostle. I confess that this year, and for some years past, I have wondered if prayers for unity are simply fruitless. Divisions between and among the churches are as deep as they have ever been. Some Christians seem to revel in the differences, broadcasting them as a badge of their doctrinal purity. I sometimes wonder if God has simply given up on us, leaving us to our bickering. Still, I’m not sure it’s ever a good idea to think that way.

FROM FATHER SMITH: SAINT MARY’S INTERIM RECTOR

On Wednesday afternoon, January 12, I spoke with Father Sammy Wood via Zoom. Father Wood is the newly appointed interim rector here at Saint Mary’s, so we had a lot to talk about. I’d not met Father Sammy before—he prefers Father Sammy—so we spent some time introducing ourselves to each other. You can read a short biography of him here. Father Sammy then asked me to tell him about Saint Mary’s and our team of staff, volunteers, and clergy. He was interested to hear about our history and traditions. He listened carefully and asked really good questions. He was also, I soon realized, taking notes. He tells me that he is eager to come to New York, to begin work, and to meet all of you. He also wants to spend some time getting to know how things work here, and so we decided, tentatively, on the following schedule.

FROM FATHER SMITH: “WATER, RIVER SPIRIT, GRACE”

As I write on Friday morning, January 7, 2022, snow is falling in Manhattan, and the streets are quiet, because of the snowfall certainly, but also because most of the tourists who came for Christmas and the New Year have returned home. January is usually a quiet month here in the Theater District, but it may be a bit more so this year, since some Broadway shows have closed either temporarily or permanently because of the COVID surge. (Not all of the theaters have gone dark. For a list of plays still open, please visit this website.)

For many, Christmas, at least secular Christmas, has come and gone. But here at Saint Mary’s we continue to celebrate the Nativity and the Mystery of the Incarnation. Last night, we celebrated the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel passage, Matthew 2:1–12, told the story of the Three Magi, which is the particular focus of Epiphany celebrations in the West. In some places, such as Puerto Rico, Spain, and Italy, these celebrations, and their associated customs, eclipse those of Christmas Day, December 25.

FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: THE NEW INTERIM RECTOR

Merry Christmas and thank you to everyone who contributed to the various farewell celebrations for Father Gerth. We can report that he and Richard made it safely to their home in Florida this week.

Stephen Gerth’s departure leaves some big shoes to fill and many questions about what is next. The board began working with the Reverend Nora Smith, Canon for Transitional Ministry of the Diocese of New York this past summer. Mother Smith helped us to identify candidates for the position of Interim Rector and she continues to guide us through this period of change. We are most grateful for her counsel.

We are pleased to announce that we have chosen an Interim Rector: the Reverend Sammy Wood. Father Wood is currently the rector of Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and has served at the Church of the Ascension & Saint Agnes in Washington, DC, and at the Church of the Advent in Boston, Massachusetts.

FROM FATHER SMITH: CHRISTMAS 2021

As I write on Tuesday, December 21, the spread of the Omicron variant has meant that we are all seeking reliable information so we can make good decisions for ourselves, our families, and our communities. This is not easy, since the situation is evolving rapidly, and each day brings with it a new set of facts. We do know this. The rate of infection is on the rise in New York State and here in the city. The good news is that New Yorkers continue to get vaccinated and boosted, and the hospitalization rate is not what it was in the spring of 2020. Still, the effects of the Omicron variant are obvious to those of us who live and worship here in the theater district. Several Broadway plays have closed this week, though it is hoped that they will open once more in mid-January. And it seems that many of us know somebody who has tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days.

FROM THE RECTOR: JOY

Occasionally at Solemn Mass, I will have a note to remind me of what needs to be announced as I welcome the congregation before the final hymn and dismissal. Last Sunday, I followed my usual practice of spontaneous remarks. I didn’t realize until I saw the service video how much I was smiling. It was not because I only had one more Sunday at this altar. The Solemn Mass on Gaudete Sunday was especially joyful. The setting Dr. David Hurd selected for the day, Mass (2005) by American composer Randall Svane (b. 1955), a composition new to the repertory, had every ear listening. Advent hymns sung here are always good ones. After the postcommunion hymn, I stepped to the lectern to welcome the congregation. As I watched and listened to myself, I realized I was moved to joy by our worship. So, I transcribed my words to share what was in my heart—the joy and faith I have found here as your pastor.

FROM THE RECTOR: SESQUICENTENNIAL PLUS

On Wednesday, December 8, 2021, The Society of the Free Church of Saint Mary the Virgin will celebrate the beginning of the one hundred fifty-second year of witness and ministry in this neighborhood and the wider fellowship of people who have found this to be a place of prayer and service. Except for those new to the parish and its newsletter, you will know that our first church was located at 225 West Forty-fifth Street, on the other side of what was then Longacre Square. The Square got its new name in 1904 when a new building for the New York Times opened on the east side of Seventh Avenue and the west side of Broadway between Forty-third and Forty-second Streets. You can read Newbury Frost Read’s (1887–1950) The Story of St. Mary’s (1931) online here. The photographs in his book are also online with the text.

FROM THE RECTOR: ADVENT LIGHT

I experienced “Manhattanhenge” in the summer of 1999, my first summer in New York City. Before and after the summer solstice, the sunset on two days in May and two days in July aligns with the east-west street grid in Manhattan. As a result, there are intense sunsets these days. My gym reopened the day after Labor Day 2020. Since then, I try to get there by 6:00 AM. I missed the phenomenon known as “Reverse Manhattanhenge” last year. But I saw it this year. As the winter solstice approaches, the fierce light of sunrise will align with the east-west street grid in the city. Farmers’ Almanac at this link explains the phenomena.

FROM THE RECTOR: COMPASSION

Last Wednesday, November 10, I was the celebrant and preacher for the commemoration of Leo, bishop of Rome, who died in 461. In A.D. 376, before Leo was born, Goths invaded the eastern region of the Roman Empire. In 401, they entered Italy. In 410, they captured Rome and sacked the city for three days. (Bryan Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization [2005], 2–3, 16–17). I went to Ward-Perkins to learn something about Italy in Leo’s lifetime.

FROM THE RECTOR: LOOKING AHEAD

As announced, the Solemn Mass for All Saints’ Day will be celebrated on Sunday, November 7, 2021. We will return to singing three hymns at Solemn Masses, though we are not quite ready yet to resume the Offertory Procession. Sunday, November 21, 2021, is the Last Sunday after Pentecost: The Feast of Christ the King. The First Sunday of Advent is November 28, 2021. On Advent Sunday, a new church year begins. We move to Lectionary Year C for Sunday Eucharists and Year Two for the Daily Office Lectionary. We use the Book of Common Prayer Eucharistic Lectionary rather than the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). (Note well: more recent editions of the 1979 Prayer Book include only the RCL.)