FROM FATHER PETER POWELL: BEING FAITHFUL

Does the Bible have anything to say to us? I read and hear this condemnation frequently from people who are angry at the church, especially because they see the church as a destructive force. Some of our fellow Christians give them plenty of ammunition to think this way. In many ways it was the same in the time of Isaiah of Jerusalem, roughly 741 BCE to 690 BCE. Yahwism was on the decline and reduced to essentially empty ritual. This is exactly parallel to the way many view the church today.

FROM DR. DAVID HURD:
FEAST DAY RECITALS 2023-2024

The organ at Saint Mary’s, Aeolian-Skinner Opus 891, dates from 1932 with additions in 1942 and 2002. It is a legendary instrument largely due to its high rear-galley installation and the resultingly rich musical voice it has given to the dynamic worship life of Saint Mary’s. Its tonal refinement (in contrast with its strikingly unfinished appearance), and its thrilling engagement of the church’s gracious acoustics, have been brought to life by the remarkable musicians, too many to name, who have performed on it through the years in the liturgy, in recital, and on recordings.

FROM FATHER SAMMY WOOD:
ON ALL SOULS’ DAY

November is sometimes called the Month of Holy Souls, and our observances at Saint Mary’s are rich and deeply textured. I hope you will join us for the sung Requiem Mass at 6:00 PM on All Souls’ Day, November 2, or for one of several said Requiem Masses that follow on each weekday through November 8. The Requiem is a Mass offered for the dead, requiem being the first Latin word in the Introit for All Souls’ Day. 

FROM FATHER JACOBSON: EUCHARISTIC VISITORS AND THE BODY OF CHRIST

Saint Paul tells the community in Corinth that they “are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27) He also explains to them how all the members of the body have been given gifts “for the common good” by the Holy Spirit and that “in the one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 13) Paul goes on to paint an image of the Church as a living organism. No one part of the body can do it all on its own, but the members need to work together. If the body was just an eye, it would see, but how would it hear without ears.

FROM DR. DAVID HURD: ANOTHER SEASON OF CHORAL MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S

The Choir of Saint Mary’s has been on summer break for fifteen weeks since Corpus Christi with the exception of the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August when we donned our surplices and sang at the Solemn Mass. During this summer’s choral hiatus, individual members of the choir have sung as cantors for the Sunday Masses, providing support for the congregation’s singing as well as singing portions of chant and vocal solos while the assembly receives Communion.

FATHER SAMMY WOOD: THE RETURN OF RITE ONE

The Book of Common Prayer is a remarkably adaptable resource, with no fewer than six (!) eucharistic prayers which a parish may use to celebrate the Holy Communion. Here at Saint Mary’s, our most familiar choices are Prayers A and B from Rite Two, and we typically switch between them a couple of times a year. We also use Prayer D during Eastertide. These prayers are, and will continue to be, the standard prayers at our flagship Solemn High Mass at 11:00 AM on Sunday.

FROM DR. DAVID HURD: A MOVABLE ORGAN COMING TO THE LADY CHAPEL

The history of pipe organs at Saint Mary’s includes several instruments in several locations. Here is a brief summary of some of that history and its context, and news about a recent development. The original main organ in the present building was a rebuild and enlargement of the 1886 George Jardine instrument from the previous building. The Jardine organ originally had been built with mechanical action, but in the redesign for the new church building, its action was electrified which allowed its two playing consoles to be at a distance from the pipes they controlled.

FROM FATHER SMITH: CONVERSION, AND THEN THE DAY AFTER

Arthur Darby Nock (1902-1963), who taught for many years at Harvard University, published his book, Conversion: The Old and the New in Religion from Alexander the Great to Augustine of Hippo in 1933. It remained on the syllabus of certain religious-studies programs for decades, especially those programs dedicated to the study of the social and cultural aspects of early Christianity.

FROM BLAIR BURROUGHS: SOMETIMES GOD GIVES YOU A NUDGE

For almost two years, Saint Mary the Virgin has been livestreaming every Solemn Mass on Sunday and the principal feast days. I am grateful to be a part of this new ministry. Over time, week by week, I have gone from being a complete novice to having some confidence in this new way of bringing Saint Mary’s to people all over the world.

FROM MARK RISINGER: A CRITICAL EDITION OF HANDEL’S SEMELE AND AN APPRECIATION FOR BIBLICAL TEXTUAL STUDIES

In the realm of historical research, scholars strive to build arguments and interpretations of evidence based on clear, accurate, and authoritative sources. Anyone who has studied the fascinating history of Biblical transmission, for instance, knows that tracing the development of an ancient book from one epoch to another and one language to another raises many questions.

FROM BRENDON HUNTER:
THE SUBTLE INSPIRATION OF BEAUTY

All of us on the Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Flower Guild at Saint Mary’s are amateurs who have learned from each other and picked up skills over the years—and we have some incredible talent in this parish. It’s very process intensive that involves going to the floral district (centered around 28th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan) very early in the morning to shop at the wholesalers.

FROM GRACE MUDD: ON SERVING AT THE ALTAR SINCE CHILDHOOD

It doesn’t take long knowing me to understand that I say, “I could do that!” pretty frequently. Sometimes practical limits come up, but I’ve always been interested in the deep dive with anything I do, and church was never an exception. In the parish where I was raised, kids could start serving as acolytes at age 10 and that’s exactly what I did.

FROM MARIE ROSSEELS: FINDING GOD IN FRIEND & STRANGER

When I first walked through the doors of Saint Mary’s on a hot and humid August day in 2006, I was still new to the neighborhood. Even though I had lived in Manhattan for a very long time, my then employer had recently moved its offices to Sixth Avenue, just around the corner from the church. Other than the occasional visit to a Broadway theater, I’d never had much use for Times Square. From a colleague’s office, I spotted the roof of a church and set out to find it. It was a discovery that would forever change my life.

Poem 133: The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver (1935–2019)

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—

FROM CLARK MITCHELL: A CALL TO CARE FOR CREATION

While serving as thurifer recently at Solemn Mass, I began muttering something under my breath as I listened from the smoke room to the Old Testament reading. The lesson was the story of creation, the very first few words of the Bible and, for me, an allegory of how God created the world.

FROM MARYJANE BOLAND: “LET BIRDS FLY ABOVE THE EARTH ACROSS THE FIRMAMENT OF THE HEAVENS”

Early one morning in May, my husband and I took Father Sammy “birding”—bird watching—in Central Park. He claimed that he was “not a nature guy” and that he didn’t visit parks, but I think he had heard me talk about birding enough that he was curious. So, with loaned binoculars in hand, he joined some fifteen of us during spring migration.

FROM FATHER WOOD: A CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL SANTIAGO CASTELLANOS

Daniel Santiago Castellanos’s newly composed Miss Brevis received its premiere performance here at Saint Mary’s on the Day of Pentecost, May 28, 2023. Daniel is a composer, vocalist, and pianist based in New Jersey, and has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since the fall of 2018.

FROM FATHER LESH: A VOCATIONAL CALL TO HEAL

Many years ago, while visiting friends at Yale Divinity School, I attended a weekday Eucharist at Christ Church, New Haven. I knew no one present but was well acquainted with the parish. The experience of worshiping there reminded me of what I had grown to love about Saint Mary the Virgin: a deep sense of engagement with centuries of Christians who had gathered to do what our Lord had asked them to do in remembrance of Him.

FROM FATHER JACOBSON: THE ANGLICAN CENTRE IN ROME

This morning, I attended the Tuesday midday Eucharist at the Anglican Centre in Rome. Many at this Mass are parishioners of either Saint Paul’s within the Walls or All Saints’ Church, the two Anglican churches in Rome. Saint Paul’s is part of the Episcopal Church and All Saints’ is a Church of England congregation. A third category are Anglicans from around the world who happen to be passing through Rome for work or as tourists. Afterwards, the Centre hosts a lunch for everyone.

FROM DR. DAVID HURD: FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON

One of the things which defines Solemn Mass is the intentionality of its music. Sunday Solemn Mass at Saint Mary the Virgin has a long history of being infused with rich choral and organ music in addition to hearty congregational singing. With the approach of summer, the parish choir will be on hiatus for fifteen weeks, gathering midway to sing on the Feast on the Assumption (15 August), but not resuming a regular schedule until October.