THE ANGELUS
Volume 7, Number 4, December 19, 2004
The Weekly Newsletter from the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin

PREPARATION

Except during an electrical blackout, it's never really physically dark here at Saint Mary's. Sure, we get close at night, but some light always seems to be shining in from Times Square. This is different than other places I have lived in my life. I love the natural physical darkness of December. Here in New York nature prepares us to celebrate Christmas with increasingly short days. I love it. And I'm not opposed to a little snow for Christmas as long as it doesn't interfere with Mass attendance. Atmosphere can matter a lot.

Father David Wood's parish in Joondalup, Australia, is preparing for Christmas too. After their Christmas Eve Mass, "Champagne under the Stars" is on offer. It's another hemisphere. My guess is that those of us from the north could enjoy that kind of Christmas every bit as much as our own. What is essential, truly essential, is the same everywhere. The following is from the Proclamation of the Birth of Christ that is sung at the beginning of the Christmas Eve Mass:

The forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; the whole world being at peace, Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and nine months having passed since his conception was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.

As always at Saint Mary's, and at Grace Church, Joondalup, Australia, it is always about Jesus Christ and the love God has for all humankind in him and through him.

I can hardly wait for some of the small Christmas rituals that are a part of my adult life. I look forward to hanging a Christmas stocking an aunt made for me and all of the kids in our family when I was a child. I try to listen to at least the beginning of a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Cambridge on Christmas Eve. Beef and chocolate have a large role to play, although the latter was not part of our Lord's life - chocolate being one of the gifts of the New World to the Old. But most of all, I look forward to going to church. It always seems to me that the Christmas Eve Mass is over so quickly. In a liturgical and sacramental sense, we really do go to Bethlehem. Once there, I really don't want to leave.

But, I think this year I'm going to break open some Champagne after the Christmas Eve Mass - not drinking a lot, Christmas morning comes all too early for those of us who do Church on Christmas. I'm going to toast all of my Anglican friends in Australia. I'm going to say a particular prayer for the men and women I know who are serving overseas. I'm going to think of family and friends. I'm going to try to be thankful for the goodness and blessings of the Lord. Stephen Gerth

PRAYER LIST . . .Your prayers are asked for Joan, Brenda, Cecil, Ibo, Deborah, Dick, Mary, Rick, Pamela, Charles, Gloria, Penn, Gilbert, Robert, Margaret, Jason, Bart, Hugh, Marion, Mamie, Christine, Judith, Thomas and Charles, PRIEST . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . December 10: 2001 Helena M. Handy; December 19: 1991 Grace L. Taylor; December 24: 1962 Charles Moran.

LITURGICAL NOTES . . . THE SUNDAY PROPER: Isaiah 7:10-17, Psalm 24:1-7, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25 . . . Father Mead will be celebrant and preacher for the 9:00 AM Mass . . . Father Beddingfield will be celebrant and preacher for the 10:00 AM Sung Mass . . . The Right Reverend David Stancliffe, The Bishop of Salisbury will be the celebrant for 11:00 AM Solemn Mass and Father Beddingfield will be the preacher . . . Father Gerth will be the preacher at Solemn Evensong & Benediction at 5:00 PM . . . CHRISTMAS CONFESSIONS . . . Confessions will be heard on Saturday, December 18, from 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM and from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM by Father Mead. Father Gerth will hear confessions on Christmas Eve from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM and from 10:00 PM to 10:30 PM.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . The Visual Arts Program announces a new exhibition beginning this Sunday. New York artist Miriam Hernandez has created a special series for Saint Joseph's Hall entitled "Meditation: Mother and Child." . . . Father Mead's "Birth of the Messiah" class concludes on Tuesday, December 21, at 7:00 PM . . . Many thanks to George Handy, Dennis Smith and Eileen Whittle for all their work on the Christmas Flower and Offering mailing! . . . Please send in your requests for altar flowers for 2005. Even if you have given flowers before send in a new request directly to Sandra at the parish office - sschubert@stmvirgin.org . . . We are delighted that the Right Reverend David Stancliffe, bishop of Salisbury, England, will be with us on Sunday, December 19, as celebrant at the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass. Bishop Stancliffe presently serves as chair of the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England . . . The sermon preached by the Presiding Bishop here on Sunday, November 14, 2004 is posted on the webpage of the Presiding Bishop at www.episcopalchurch.org . . Attendance last Sunday 304.

PLEDGES AND YOUR TAX DEDUCTION . . . There are only 13 days left to complete pledge payments; all payments must be received by December 31, 2004 to qualify for tax deduction this year. We want you to know that every dollar is very much needed. If you have any questions about the status of your pledge payments, please call our treasurer, Barbara Klett.

SUMMARY OF THE DECEMBER 13, 2004, BOARD MEETING . . . At its December 13, 2004, meeting, the Board of Trustees: 1. Changed the term of members of the Board of Trustees, from unlimited appointments for life, to terms limited to four years, thereby officially establishing a rotation for Board members. 2. Accepted with regret resignations of two members of the Board of Trustees, Ms. Gloria Fitzgerald and Mr. Fred Peelen (Mr. Dan Franks had resigned from the Board at the November 2004 meeting). 3. Elected officers of the Board of Trustees for the year 2005: Vice-President, Mr. Robin Landis, Secretary, Dr. Leroy Sharer, Treasurer, Mrs. Barbara Klett. 4. After receiving input from the Nominating Committee (Mr. Landis, Mr. David Gillespie, Mrs. Camille Gillespie, Mrs. Donna O'Dwyer and the Rector ex-officio), elected four new members of the Board of Trustees: Ms. Linda Bridges for a one-year term, Mr. Jon Bryant and Mr. Robert Picken for two-year terms (to fill the terms of departing Board members), and Mr. James Dennis for a full, four-year term. 5. Acknowledged a Diocesan Assessment for 2005 of $64,400, compared with the Diocesan Assessment for 2004 of $63,775. 6. Approved Dr. William Franklin and Dr. Ryan Lesh for ordination to the Diaconate in the Diocese of New York, which will occur at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Saturday, March 19, 2005. 7. Learned that the Stewardship Campaign for 2005 has thus far had pledges from 151 people totaling $306,000, compared with 2004 pledges of approximately $240,000, from 112 people. Leroy Sharer, secretary

FRIENDS OF SAINT MARY'S . . . Most readers of this newsletter received the wonderful stewardship brochure. Nothing is ever perfect, though. I want to confess publicly that yours truly forgot to include the name of the photographer, Jack P. Holman. Mr. Holman is the Brown Foundation Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Southern Methodist University, Dallas. He has taken photographs of Saint Mary's twice. I regret very much that I have never met him, but he was so taken with our space when he discovered Saint Mary's that he made photographs over a year ago and again last October when he was in the city. Mr. Holman, thank you! S.G.

NOTES ON MUSIC . . . I do not publicly give thanks to our fine associate organist nearly as much as I should.  I now have a perfect opportunity.  Thank you, Robert McDermitt, for all you did last week and on Sunday during the worst of my time with the flu.  It was very difficult for me to realize early in the morning of December 8 that there was no way I would be able to play or conduct that evening.  I took great comfort in the knowledge that the organ and choir would be in very capable hands, and since then everyone has assured me that the music was splendid (which was no surprise to me!).  Robert is a first-rate musician and colleague; I am so thankful to work with him, and we as a parish are incredibly blessed to have him.  Thank you . . . This Sunday at the Sung Mass, played by Robert McDermitt, the prelude is Prelude in G (1837) by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and the postlude is Präludium G-dur, BWV 568 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) . . . At the Solemn Mass, the voluntaries are by Bach: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 660 and Fuge über das Magnificat, BWV 733.  The setting of the Mass ordinary is Messe basse by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924).  Composed in Fauré’s harmonically and melodically rich fashion, the setting is for two-part choir of sopranos and altos.  The title means “Low Mass,” and as this setting does not include Gloria in excelsis Deo  it is likely that Fauré composed it for a simple weekday celebration of the Eucharist.  The anthem at Communion is Fauré’s beautiful Ave Maria, Opus 67/2 . . . The organ recital at 4:40 is played by Iris Lan of Washington, DC.  Robert McCormick

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE NOTES . . . The complete service schedule is on our webpage, www.stmvirgin.org. On Christmas Eve, Morning Prayer is said at 8:30 AM. The last weekday Mass of Advent is said on December 24 at 9:00 AM. There are no noonday services. (The church is being decorated!) Evensong is sung at 6:00 PM. (This is mostly attended by those of us who are here working and tourists.) Christmas Music and Carols for Choir and Congregation begin at 10:30 PM. The Solemn Mass of the Nativity is at 11:00 PM. If you are here by 10:15 PM you are usually able to get a seat in a pew. On Christmas Day the church is open from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The Solemn Mass of Christmas Day is offered at 11:00 AM. The regular Sunday schedule is observed on Sunday, December 26, the First Sunday after Christmas Day.