Volume 9, Number 4, December 24, 2006
From the Rector: Merry Christmas
Sunday, December 24, is Christmas Eve. Liturgically it is two days. Sunday morning is the Fourth Sunday of Advent and like every other Sunday of the year, we will have four Sunday morning services: Sung Matins at 8:30 AM, Said Mass at 9:00 AM, Sung Mass at 10:00 AM and Solemn Mass at 11:00 AM.
The Church reckons time on its most sacred days as Jesus and his companions did, according to Jewish practice. Thus, the greater festivals of the year all begin on the eve of a day at sunset. Again this year we will have two Masses on Christmas Eve, Sung Mass at 5:00 PM and Solemn Mass at 11:00 PM. The parish choir will sing at both Masses. The 5:00 PM Sung Mass will be preceded by Christmas music at 4:40 PM. Christmas music precedes the Solemn Mass at 11:00 PM.
This will be the second year we have done a 5:00 PM Mass on Christmas Eve. Last year many families and households with children were with us at this Mass. This service lasts just over one hour. Four hymns are sung: O come, all ye faithful, Angels we have heard on high, Silent night, holy night and Hark! the herald angels sing.
If you want to be sure of a seat for the 11:00 PM Mass, please come for music at 10:30 PM. We do not fill up every year but often we do. The entire service will last about one hour and forty minutes – although I promise you it will not feel long at all.
The Solemn Mass of the Nativity at 11:00 PM is the traditional great service of the Church. The ministers of the assembly enter while the choir sings triumphant words from the second Psalm, “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.’” The Proclamation of the Birth of Christ, which recounts salvation history, is sung by a minister. An image of the Christ child is carried in solemn procession to the crèche and Mass is celebrated.
As has always been the cases, services vary from congregation to congregation throughout the Christian community but the basic structure is the same everywhere. One of the reasons each church is different is that no two church buildings are alike. We always try to take advantage of our building!
Here, after the image of the Child has been reposed at the crèche, a solo soprano voice begins the first verse of one of the most beloved Christmas hymns, Once in royal David’s city. As the congregation joins in singing the rest of the hymn, the ministers move from the crèche to a station below the rood (the great beam above the chancel on which there is a very large crucifix – one great symbol of our belief that Christ Crucified and Risen reigns over all). At the rood, the final verse is sung: “Not in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by, we shall see him: but in heaven, set at God’s right hand on high . . . .” This year the music for the Mass ordinary will be Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor. Yours truly is the celebrant and preacher for both Christmas Eve Masses.
On Christmas Day, Saint Mary’s has one Mass at 11:00 AM. Father Beddingfield is celebrant and preacher. It’s a Solemn Mass. During the final hymn, the clergy and people process to the crèche were the Angelus is said. It’s a very special day. Members of the Church are invited to come on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to Mass – and many do. (And by ancient tradition Christmas Communion may be received by all on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day.)
The kingdom of God breaks in on this world and on us in so many ways. I hope God’s kingdom may make its presence known in new ways to us as we gather at his table and remember what he has done, is doing and will do because of us his love for all people. I hope that God may show us new ways to share Good News with others. Merry Christmas. Stephen Gerth
PRAYER LIST . . . Your prayers are asked especially for Arturo, Ana, José, Gert, Peter, Harold, Robert, Gloria, Ray, Tony, Joy, William, Gabriela, Eve, Virginia, Mary, William, Gilbert, Rick, Thomas, priest, Louis, priest, and Charles, priest; for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Fahad, Barron, Joseph, Patrick, Bruce, Brenden, Jonathan, Christopher, Timothy and Dennis . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . December 24: 1962 Charles Moran; December 25: 1986 Norman Albert Rollings; December 28: 1953 Martha May Cockrill Lewis; December 29: 1957 Mary Isobel Sonnenberg; December 30: 1977 Josephine Thompson.
IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Craig Crabtree’s mother, Betty Ann Crabtree, died on December 16. Please pray for her, Craig, and all those who mourn.
AROUND THE PARISH . . . Give a Christmas gift that honors someone and helps others. Alternative Gifts for Honduras brochures are available in the church and at the mission section of the parish website . . . The Tuesday Night Bible Study is moving to Wednesday night beginning in January . . . The 2007 Ordo Calendar is available in the gift shop . . . Confessions will be heard on Saturday, December 23, by Father Gerth. The parish clergy hear confessions during the Christmas season only by appointment. . . . The parish office will be closed on Christmas Day. December 25, and on New Year’s Day, January 1. The parish office will keep regular office hours Tuesday, December 26, through Friday, December 29 . . . Attendance last Sunday 324.
NOTES ON MUSIC . . . This Sunday at the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass, the prelude is an improvisation on ‘Veni Emmanuel’, and the postlude an improvisation on ‘Veni Redemptor gentium’. The setting of the Mass ordinary is Missa parvula (2002) by Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1938). Written by one of Britain’s most prominent living composers, this Mass for treble voices and organ was premiered by the choir of Westminster Cathedral, London, in 2003 . . . The full choir sings for the 5:00 PM Sung Mass, including music of Sumsion (Communion Service in F) and Rutter (Candlelight Carol). Music for choir, congregation and organ begins at 4:40 PM . . . Music at 10:30 PM again is for choir, congregation and organ, and includes works of Buxtehude, Daquin, Hadley (I sing of a maiden), Vaughan Williams (The Truth from above) and Warlock (Bethlehem Down). At the 11:00 PM Solemn Mass, the setting of the ordinary is Mass in G minor (1921) by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). This setting, a gem of early twentieth century sacred music, is for double choir without organ or instrumental accompaniment. Though it was dedicated Gustav Holst and his secular Whitsuntide Singers, it was intended for liturgical use. The first liturgical performance was in 1923 by the Westminster Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Richard Runciman Terry. The character of the mass hearkens back, in a way, to the spirit of sixteenth century polyphony. Music sung during Communion is by Rutter (Candlelight Carol) and Wood (arr., Ding, dong! merrily on high). The postlude is Alleluyas (1965) by Simon Preston (b. 1938), a piece inspired by the final verse of a great Eucharistic hymn: “At his feet the six-winged seraph: cherubim with sleepless eye, veil their faces to the Presence, as with ceaseless voice they cry, “Alleluya, alleluya! Alleluya, Lord Most High.” It is not much of a stretch to read that text through the lens of the biblical narrative of the Incarnation . . . The 11:00 AM Solemn Mass on Christmas Day, sung by the full choir, includes music of Sumsion (Communion Service in F) and Warlock (Bethlehem Down). Robert McCormick
FIND TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Christmas is not lost at Saint Mary’s! Christmas Day is the first of the Twelve Days of the Christmas season. Christmas Day is followed by three Major Feasts, Saint Stephen, Deacon & Martyr, Holy Innocents’ Day, and Saint John, Apostle & Evangelist. Early Church calendars from the East and West from the fourth century onward include celebrations on the days that follow Christmas. Stephen, the Holy Innocents and John are called the “Companions of Christ.” December 29 is a special day for Anglican Christians. On December 29, 1170 Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his cathedral, which has been a site of Christian pilgrimage ever since. Saturday, December 30, is a “Christmas Weekday.” (There are special readings appointed for each of the Twelve Days even if there is not a commemoration of a saint.) Sunday, December 31, is “The First Sunday after Christmas Day.” Only our regular Sunday morning services can be offered because of the location of the parish – by Times Square. It’s also New Year’s Eve. The church will close at 2:00 PM. Monday, January 1, is a Major Feast of Our Lord, The Holy Name. Solemn Mass will be offered at 11:00 AM. Because it is a federal holiday, the church will be open only from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on this day. Tuesday, January 2, through Friday morning, January 5, are observed as Christmas Weekdays. Friday evening, January 5, is the Eve of The Epiphany. Solemn Mass is celebrated on Friday evening at 6:00 PM. A reception follows in Saint Joseph’s Hall. The Mass includes the chanting of the “Proclamation of the Date of Easter” – an announcement of the great Holy Days that will be observed in the New Year.
YEAR-END GIVING REMINDER FROM THE IRS . . . “Contributions are deductible in the year made. Thus, donations charged to a credit card before the end of the year count for 2006. This is true even if the credit-card bill isn’t paid until next year. Also, checks count for 2006 as long as they are mailed this year” (From “IR-2006-192, December 14, 2006). For further details please see the IRS web page (www.irs.gov) or consult your tax professional. Of special note for tax years 2006 and 2007 are generous provisions for persons 70½ and older to make gifts directly from an IRA to a charity.
