FROM THE RECTOR: THE ORDINATION OF A PRIEST

When Mary Jett was ordained deacon here in February, I thought Father Smith or I would be traveling to Montana for an ordination in the fall. Things change. In the spring, Mary completed the work for her master of divinity degree in two years—the only person I have ever known to do this. The bishop of Montana gave her permission to continue studying in New York for a third year. In May 2013 she will receive two degrees, master of divinity and master of sacred theology. Mary’s bishop, the Right Reverend C. Franklin Brookhart, Jr., has encouraged her studies, but has also insisted that she be in active pastoral ministry.

Bishop Brookhart will be with us on Wednesday, October 3, to ordain Mary to the priesthood. The service is at 6:00 PM. The preacher will be the Reverend Canon John G.B. Andrew OBE, rector emeritus, Saint Thomas Church, New York City. The parish choir will sing. A reception will follow in Saint Joseph’s Hall. We hope that many of you will be able to join us.

After Mary’s ordination to the diaconate in February, the bishop of New York gave his permission for her to serve here as an assisting deacon. He has indicated that he will welcome a call for her to be an assisting priest here after her ordination to the priesthood. I am hopeful she will be with us for a while.

Mary was born and reared in Illinois. She also lived a good part of her childhood with her grandfather here in the States and in Ireland. She finished high school in southern Illinois and was graduated from Purdue University. After deciding not to go to law school, she moved to Montana to teach. She ended up working at a church. A vocation was recognized. Her bishop sent her to the General Theological Seminary.

There are many points of formation in every person’s life that enrich and help us forward. Some points are moments of great challenge, even real hardship; some are moments of grace, recognized and unrecognized.

Just yesterday I was speaking with Sister Laura Katharine about the first work I had right after seminary as an assistant (that was the title, not curate) at the Church of the Incarnation, Dallas. Looking back, I had no idea how much I was learning indirectly about the work I would do in years to come.

I don’t recall who I was visiting in the middle of the night at Saint Anthony’s Hospital as rector of Trinity Church, Michigan City, Indiana, when I realized I was the parish priest because I was the parish pastor, not the pastor because I was the priest.

My generation of Anglo-Catholics was taught that during the Mass servers bowed to priests, not the other way around. It didn’t take long after ordination for me to realize the practical value of bowing to those who served. Over the years no gesture is a more important reminder for me of whose servant I am.

I don’t know, and Mary cannot know, what graces will come to her and be useful for the service of the gospel in the years to come from her time here. I’m sure her ministry will be filled with many unexpected graces. I hope she may smile when she remembers Saint Mary’s in Times Square. Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Joseph, Harriet, Arielle, Mary, Sylvia, Lillian, Betty, Beneb, Carol, André, Marie, Sal, Sharon, Linda, Phillip, Ben, Janet, Janice, Casey, Anna, Barbara, Arpene, and Joyce; for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Elizabeth, Nicholas, and Matthew; and for the repose of the soul of the Reverend John Sturm, S.J. . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . September 30: 1889 Mary Theresa Fitzsimmons; 1953 Rebecca Mason.

THE ORDINARY FRIDAYS OF THE YEAR are observed by special acts of discipline and self-denial in commemoration of the crucifixion of the Lord.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The Ordination of a Priest, Wednesday, October 3, at 6:00 PM. A reception will follow in Saint Joseph’s Hall . . . Father Jay Smith will hear confessions on Saturday, September 29. Father Jim Pace will hear confessions on Saturday, October 6. If you do not see a priest in the church at the appointed times for confession, please speak to the sexton on duty and he will call the priest on duty; or you may call the parish office ahead of time to make an appointment.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Thank you to Mark Risinger, who stepped in at the last minute last Sunday and served as cantor at the Solemn Mass, when the scheduled cantor became ill . . . Thank you to Elizabeth Nisbet and Dale Reynolds for organizing the church-school picnic last Sunday . . . Attendance: Last Sunday 191.

FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR . . . The prelude at Solemn Mass on Sunday is the chorale prelude on Vater Unser (“Our Father”) by Georg Böhm (1661–1733). At the ministration of Communion, I will sing the motet Lord, what is Man, Z. 192, by Henry Purcell (1659–1695). The song was published in the second volume of Henry Playford’s Harmonia Sacra, or Divine Hymns and Dialogues, in 1693. The text is by Dr. William Fuller, bishop of Lincoln (1608–1675), and expresses, in vivid musical terms, an individual’s amazement at Christ’s sacrifice. Despite its religious subject, it is probable that it was performed for private edification rather than as part of a service. This would also account for the extreme ranges of expression, which include recitative and virtuosic flourishes, as well as several time-meter changes. Parishioner and ’cellist J. Grace Bruni will play continuo for the Purcell. James Kennerley

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . On October 7, the Sunday fall, winter and spring schedule returns: Sung Matins 8:30 AM, Mass 9:00 & 10:00 AM, Church School 9:45 AM, Adult Education 10:00 AM, Solemn Mass 11:00 AM (choir returns), Solemn Evensong & Benediction 5:00 PM . . . Monday, October 8, Columbus Day, Federal Holiday Schedule . . . Saturday, October 13, Oktoberfest, 6:00 PM-9:00 PM.

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN . . . The Stewardship Committee is making plans to mail its annual appeal letter at the end of October. Commitment Sunday is November 25, the Last Sunday after Pentecost. For more information, please contact MaryJane Boland. Thank you to all those who give so generously to support the mission of the parish.

ADULT EDUCATION . . . Sunday, October 7, 10:00 AM: Dr. Dennis Raverty will introduce the class to the life and work of Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937), an African-American painter who specialized in religious and biblical subjects . . . Wednesday Night Bible Study Class (October 17, 24; November 7, 14, 28; December 5, 12, 19): Father Jay Smith will lead the class in a study of the Lord’s Prayer. The class will discuss contemporary Jewish prayer forms, the text of the Prayer in the gospels, and early patristic interpretations of the Prayer, hoping to understand what the Our Father has to teach us about the act, goals, life, and discipline of prayer. The autumn schedule for our adult-education offerings has now been posted on our website.

OKTOBERFEST & HYMN SING 2012 . . . Our annual Oktoberfest and Hymn Sing is on Saturday, October 13, 6:00-9:00 PM. Dinner is potluck. Please contact Grace Bruni or Father Smith if you think you might be able to bring a dish to share. Beverages will be provided. Invite a friend! All are welcome!

SMV WOMEN’S GROUP . . . Please join fellow parishioners for an outing at the Museum of Biblical Art on Thursday, October 25, 6:00-9:00 PM, for the “Louis C. Tiffany & Art of Devotion” exhibit. A fellowship dinner in the Lincoln Center area will follow. The museum is located at 1865 Broadway & 61st Street (northwest corner). For additional information please speak to Renée Pecquex or Mary Robison. If you plan to attend, please RSVP using the group’s email address.

VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM (VAP) . . . On Thursday, November 1, All Saints’ Day, VAP will present a new exhibition in the gallery in Saint Joseph’s Hall, “Genesis: Paintings by Erick Sánchez.” Sánchez’s pictures are meditations on some of the biblical stories in the early chapters of the Book of Genesis and all have been created for this exhibition. VAP is seeking to support Erick in his preparations for the exhibition and hopes to assist him with the cost of supplies, crating, moving, and transportation. Saint Marians and their friends, and all those who support artists who are inspired by religious, biblical and spiritual themes, are invited to contribute to this effort by making an online donation. If you have questions, please contact José Vidal.

OUTREACH AT SAINT MARY’S . . . We are beginning now to gather toys and other gift items for children of all ages. They will be donated in November to the New York Foundling Hospital and AIDS Action International. Donations can be left, with a note on them explaining what they are for, in the parish kitchen or you may give the items to Father Jay Smith . . . We are also receiving donations of small- or medium-sized luggage to be used by children in foster care. The luggage is given to the Foundling Hospital. Please contact Father Jay Smith . . . We recently updated and printed a new edition of our brochure, “Resources and Assistance for Those in Need.” Please look for copies on the ushers’ table and in the sacristy. One useful item that we added to the latest edition of our brochure is a link to the Coalition for the Homeless website’s resource guide. The Coalition describes this digital guide as “an online version of the widely popular Coalition for the Homeless Resource Guide. In it, we provide the most comprehensive catalog of emergency services – shelter, outreach, soup kitchens, etc. – available for homeless families and individuals in New York City.”

AWAY FROM THE PARISH . . . Sunday, October 7, 7:00 PM, “Tales from the Life of Saint Francis in Great Paintings of the Western Tradition,” a presentation by Dr. Dennis Raverty, Saint John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher Street, near Sheridan Square . . . At the Museum of Biblical Art, 1865 Broadway at 61st Street, Louis C. Tiffany & the Art of Devotion, October 12, 2012-January 20, 2013. The exhibition will consider the array of church decorations and memorials that Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933) produced beginning in the early 1880s . . . At the Rubin Museum of Art, a cultural and educational institution dedicated to the art of the Himalayas: Free Seniors Day, a special initiative to welcome older adults to the museum on the first Monday of every month, beginning October 1. Seniors (65 and older) visiting the Rubin Museum on Free Seniors Day enjoy free admission, a 10% discount on select items at the Shop and Café, and a full schedule of special programs . . . Father Matthew Mead, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Granite Springs—who served here as curate from 2004 to 2009—will be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land June 28 to July 8, 2013. The pilgrimage is open to anyone, and this is an excellent opportunity to visit the Holy Land with a great group of Episcopalians and their friends. Please feel free to contact Father Mead for more information.