FROM THE RECTOR: NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER

Since March, with the closing of places of worship in New York, I’ve tried to take things one month at a time. COVID-19 has reordered so much of our lives, including worship. For me, safe distancing in a church means fewer people can be together. It’s not ideal, but Sunday Eucharists with our organist, a cantor, a crucifer, and a thurifer, keeps us linked to Saint Mary’s traditions and are a promise for renewing them in the New Year. Our weekday Eucharists also touch as many bases, as it were, as we can at present. November and December are upon us. I think it’s time to announce what we will be doing on the greater feast days fall in November and December.

The absence of Broadway productions, office workers in midtown skyscrapers, and tourists mean that our neighborhood is not as safe at night as it was before the pandemic. So, through December 31, 2020, with two exceptions, the church will be open from 10:00 AM until 12:30 PM on Sundays. Mass will be at 11:00 AM. Monday through Saturday, the church will be open from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Mass will be at 12:10 PM. The two exceptions are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The resident clergy and friars will celebrate the last Mass of Advent on the morning of Christmas Eve at 9:00 AM in Saint Joseph’s Chapel. The church will open at 11:00 AM. At 4:00 PM, there will be ten minutes of Christmas music by the organist and a quartet from the parish choir. The Holy Eucharist will begin at 4:10 PM. The service should conclude by 5:15 PM. The church will close for the evening. On Christmas Day, the Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 11:00 AM and conclude with the Angelus. A quartet will sing the Mass ordinary. The church will open at 10:00 AM and close at 12:30 PM.

Since the last Sunday in July, a cantor from the choir has been with us each Sunday to sing the Mass ordinary and a song during the ministration of communion. On All Saints’ Day, Sunday, November 1, at 11:00 AM, on All Souls’ Day, Monday, November 2, and The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuesday, December 8, at 12:10 PM, a quartet will be with us. A special donation from the Board of Trustees members, along with a generous and unsolicited donation for music, has covered the cost for singers for Sundays and these special days. All of these special services will be live-streamed.

We will need to take reservations for the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We will do our best to have this organized by Tuesday, December 1. It may be possible to have a few extra spaces in Saint Joseph’s Chapel and the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy. The crèche will be in the Lady Chapel. There will be special Christmas flowers, but restraint will characterize our decorations this year.

Finally, a word about hopes for new video and sound equipment: we are still awaiting our consultant's proposal. Equipment is back-ordered. New pricing and delivery times are unknown. I did speak with our Lewis Gleason of Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, Inc. about suspending the microphones we want from the ceiling. He knows the attic. I was glad he said this location should be no problem. —Stephen Gerth

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Barbara, Trevor, Carmen, Shalim, Ingrid, Paul, Omar, Quincy, Brice, Margaret, Larry, James, Samantha, John, Randy, Wilbert, Marilouise, Ken, May, Willard, and Alexandra; for all who suffer from COVID-19; for Rafael and Barbara Jean, religious; for Michael, Gaylord, and Louis, priests; and Charles, bishop; for all those who work for the common good; for all the members and friends of this parish; and for the repose of the souls of Riley Abdelnour, Brian Malloy, José Rodriguez, and Carmen Rodriguez . . . GRANT THEM PEACE . . . October 25: 1902 Jennie McLean; 1924 James Robert Wood.

ALL SOULS’ DAY & PARISH REQUIEM MASSES . . . Monday, November 2, is All Souls’ Day. Mass will be celebrated at 12:10 PM and will be livestreamed. Father Stephen Gerth is the preacher. Dr. David Hurd will play the service, and he will be joined by a quartet of singers from the Choir of Saint Mary’s. On the weekdays following, we will celebrate the annual parish Requiem Masses, at which the first names of those for whom prayers have been requested will be read during the Prayers of the People, Prayers will be offered according to the following schedule, by the last name of the person making the intention, (e.g., the names provided by Ms. Adams will be read at Mass on November 3; the names provided by Mr. Zabriskie will be read on November 7). Please note: this year, only one Mass will be celebrated at each day, at 12:10 PM.

Tuesday, November 3              Last names A–F

Wednesday, November 4         Last names G–L

Thursday, November 5            Last names M–R

Friday, November 6                 Last names S–V

Saturday, November 7             Last names W–Z

Forms for submitting these names will be arriving in mailboxes by the end of the coming week. We will also have copies of the forms on the ushers table on Sunday morning. Please give the form to an usher or place it in the collection basket at the head of the main aisle. A free-will offering is customary at All Souls’ Day.

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

STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN 2020 . . . Stewardship packets were mailed this week. We urge you prayerfully to consider how you might commit your time, treasure, and talent to Saint Mary’s during the coming year. We hope that all who read this will be able to make Saint Mary’s a priority in their lives. Now more than ever we need the support of all our members and friends. Once you have received your stewardship packet, if you have questions, please contact Stewardship Committee members MaryJane Boland, Steven Heffner, or Marie Rosseels. We are grateful to all those who continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

AROUND THE PARISH . . . Parishioner Barbara Klett was recently admitted to Metropolitan Hospital for treatment and for physical therapy after a fall. It is likely that she will be there for at least another week. Please keep her in your prayers . . . During the lockdown, Brother Damien Joseph SSF explored the interior of the church and chapels, looking closely at aspects of the building’s art and architecture that are often overlooked or never seen. He captured some of those missing moments with his camera and has printed a number of the images for an exhibition in the Gallery in Saint Joseph’s Hall. The exhibition—“Watchers and Holy Ones”— is still available for viewing in the Gallery in Saint Joseph’s Hall. Those attending Mass on Sunday morning are invited to view the exhibition, while maintaining social-distancing and wearing a face covering. The exhibition can also be viewed in the Gallery Space portion of the parish website. For information about purchasing one of the photographs, please contact curator, José Vidal. Damien Joseph and his brothers have kindly agreed to donate all sale proceeds to the Parish of Saint Mary the Virgin.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, October 25, The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25), Mass 11:00 AM. The church opens at 10:00 AM and closes at 12:30 PM. The preacher is the Reverend Stephen Gerth. The cantor is Jonathan May. The service is played by Dr. David Hurd . . . Wednesday, October 28, Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Sunday, November 1, 2:00 AM, Daylight Saving Time ends. Clocks are set back one hour . . . Sunday, November 1, All Saints’ Day, Said Mass with Organ and Cantor, 11:00 AM. This service will be live-streamed . . . Monday, November 2, All Souls’ Day, 12:10 PM, Said Mass with Organ, Cantor, and Blessing of the Vault, 12:10 PM. This Mass will be live-streamed . . . Monday through Saturday, the church opens at 11:00 AM and closes at 2:00 PM. Mass is celebrated daily at 12:10 PM. Please see the Calendar of the Week below, and on the website, for this week’s commemorations.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION . . . We invite you to join us for the beginning of a new season of adult-education classes at Saint Mary’s during the months of October, November, and December. On October 25, at 9:30 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall, Grace Mudd will conclude her four-part series of classes, entitled “Living in a Time of Plague.” Grace writes, “Since COVID-19 triggered massive changes to our ordinary way of life in March, historical plagues have piqued the interest of many people who may only have heard of the Black Death in passing before. The Black Death of 1347–1351 killed about a third of the population of Europe, triggering profound changes in European society. During the month of October, I will lead a class exploring how this (and other historical plagues) influenced religious and secular society and culture and how these changes point toward later developments that may be more familiar. Some parallels like quack cures and scapegoating will feel very familiar, but others like shifts in popular culture and social structures may not.” This class may be attended in person or via Zoom. If you would like to attend the class via Zoom, please contact Grace by e-mail.

Please note: the class “Living in Times of Plague”, and all the adult-education classes this year, begin at 9:30 AM NOT 10:00 AM.

Next up: On November 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, and December 6 and 13, Father Peter Powell will lead a class on the final book in the Christian Bible, the Revelation to John. Father Peter writes, “Episcopalians rarely study or refer to the last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse or the Revelation to John. It’s not a simple read and the images are fantastic. Nevertheless, it exerts a huge impact on the way Christianity is understood in our culture. It underlies the popular understanding of how God works in the world. This Fall, beginning on All Saints’ Day and continuing until the second Sunday in December, then resuming in the spring during Lent, we will explore how we can understand and appreciate the Apocalypse, while weighing its theology against that of the Gospels and Pauline Epistles. As we work through the text, we will encounter the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Michael and the Dragon, the concept of God keeping an accounting of our misdeeds, Armageddon, the Crystal Sea, and much more. We will also see how the imagery of the Apocalypse fueled the contest for faith during the Reformation. You can get a feel for that by searching online for the woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer. Ever wonder why 666 is an evil number? We will encounter it in Revelation. When a Jehovah Witness visits you, why do they speak of 144,000 saved? We will encounter it in Revelation. This promises to be a visually and intellectually stimulating study of the last book of the Bible.”

For all these classes, seating in Saint Joseph’s Hall will be arranged to maximize social-distancing. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide refreshments. All those attending the class must wear a face covering.

FROM THE FRIARY . . . Brother James Nathaniel SSF, who lives at San Damiano Friary in San Francisco has posted a personal reflection on the news this week that Pope Francis has voiced his approval of civil unions for same-sex couples. You may read his essay on the Society’s website.

CLOTHING MINISTRY . . . We were unable to hold our weekly Drop-by on Friday afternoon this week, since we did not have enough volunteers to staff the event. This was mostly due to a perfect storm of prior commitments on the part of the staff and volunteers. However, we would like to avoid having to cancel in the future. If you would like to volunteer for this ministry—this would mean committing to work for a couple of hours on one Friday afternoon per month—please speak to one of the friars or to Father Smith.

NEWS FROM TIMES SQUARE . . . The Times Square Alliance is proud to present the Taste of Times Square Week, which will run from October 23rd to 30th. Participating restaurants throughout the district will offer three-course prix fixe menus at $35 (plus tax and gratuity) for all available dining options: takeout, delivery, and indoor & outdoor dining.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The organ prelude on Sunday is Dona nobis pacem by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The ever creative and practical J. S. Bach frequently recycled or re-purposed whole compositions, making adaptations to accommodate differences of instrumentation and/or text, and to accommodate various circumstances. Thus, one can find versions of the same essential piece in concertos, sonatas, partitas, cantatas, organ works, Masses, etc. The music of the chorus which ends Bach’s monumental Mass in B minor, Dona nobis pacem (“Grant us peace”), occurs earlier in the Gloria in excelsis of the Mass where the text Gratias agimus tibi (“We give thanks to you”) is sung. Still at an earlier date, this same music provided a setting for the text Wir danken dir, Gott (“We thank you, O God”) as the opening chorus of his Cantata 29 (also named Wir danken dir, Gott), premiered in Leipzig in 1731. The music itself, in these three appearances, is a grand motet-styled alla breve. In addition to four vocal parts, which are enhanced by instrumental doubling, a brilliant halo of three independent trumpet parts is employed to adorn its climactic finish. The adaptation of this magnificent chorus for organ solo performance is by David Hurd.

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday was commissioned in 1974 from Calvin Hampton (1938–1984) by the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship. When the Standing Commission on Church Music of the Episcopal Church compiled its 1976 Church Hymnal. Series I, Hampton’s setting was chosen as the fifth of five new musical settings for Eucharist Rite II. Hampton’s eight-movement setting includes Kyrie, Trisagion, Lord’s Prayer, and Jesus, Lamb of God, in addition to the Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei to be sung at Mass today. The Gloria is in a flowing 6/8 meter with largely stepwise melodic motion which supports a gentle lyricism throughout. The Sanctus is in common time, but maintains a similar lyricism through the fluid movement of the accompaniment. This Sanctus is the only movement from the setting which was included in The Hymnal 1982. (Hampton’s well-known setting of the Nicene Creed which is often sung at Saint Mary’s—S105 in the Hymnal—is from his Mass for the New Rite, also dating from 1974.) Calvin Hampton was organist and choirmaster at Calvary Episcopal Church in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, for much of his active professional life. He was especially admired for his brilliant organ playing, his wide-ranging and eclectic compositional palette, and his imaginative liturgical and concert programming.

Sunday’s cantor is countertenor, Jonathan May, a regular member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s. During the Communion he will sing Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen from Cantata 34 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). Cantata 34 is named for its opening chorus, O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe (“O fire everlasting, O well-spring of love”). Sources disagree on the provenance of this work, most saying that it was composed in Leipzig in the mid-1740s as a cantata for Pentecost, reutilizing movements from an earlier cantata composed in the 1720s for the wedding of a clergyman. More recently, however, some scholars have contended that the Pentecost cantata came first, and the wedding cantata was a later adaptation of it. Dates and places associated with this work are uncertain and the authorship of its libretto is unknown. It is, nonetheless, a work of great importance and is accorded a large instrumentation for its opulent opening and closing choruses. The centerpiece of this cantata, however, is the alto aria Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen, an extended pastorale for alto voice with two flutes, muted strings, and continuo.

Jonathan May, countertenor, performs regularly with ensembles such as Early Music New York, Trident Ensemble, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. He was most recently featured as a soloist in SWELL, a music-theater work by Melisa Tien that weaves together ten original avant-garde/new music compositions written by ten composers drawing from their personal histories as immigrants and children of immigrants. Through SWELL, he worked with Carolyn Chen, Tamar Muskal, Polina Nazaykinskaya, and other composers to premiere several new music pieces written specifically for his voice.

Jonathan has appeared with New York City’s TENET Vocal Artists in unconducted performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, featuring only twelve singers and the instrumental ensemble The Sebastians. He also appeared as Testo in Academy of Sacred Drama’s modern premiere of Vincenzo de Grandis’ Il Nascimento di Mose. Other season highlights include appearances as alto soloist in C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat with American Classical Orchestra and in Handel’s Dixit Dominus with Canticum Scholare; singing the role of Spirit in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Mark Morris Dance Group; singing Philip Glass’s A Madrigal Opera at National Sawdust; and performing Tallis’s Spem in alium with The Tallis Scholars. He holds a degree in music from Dartmouth College. —David Hurd

MARK YOUR CALENDAR . . . Saturday, November 7, 244th Convention of the Diocese of New York . . . Sunday, November 22, Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King & Commitment Sunday, Mass 11:00 AM . . . Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving Day, Mass 12:10 PM . . . Sunday, November 29, First Sunday of Advent, Mass 11:00 AM . . . Tuesday, December 8, The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the 150th Anniversary of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mass 12:10 PM. This Mass will be live-streamed.

SAINT MARY’S ONLINE CENTERING PRAYER GROUP . . . The Saint Mary’s Centering Prayer Group continues to meet! The Group meets online, via Zoom, every Friday evening at 7:00 PM. If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail to this address. The convenors of the group will then send the link to the Zoom meeting.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR ATTENDING SERVICES AT SAINT MARY’S

We are now open for public worship. In order to ensure the health and safety of all, we have instituted the following procedures and guidelines:

-The 47th Street Doors, though open for ventilation, won’t be used for entry into the church. Entry is only via 46th Street. Exit only through the most western 46th Street door (near the former gift shop).

-The Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy and Saint Joseph’s Chapel are closed. The Lady Chapel is open, but all chairs, kneelers, candles, hymnals, and Prayer Books have been removed.

-Facemasks must be worn in the church at all times, except when consuming Communion. Masks should cover both mouth and nose.

-Hands-free sanitizer dispensers are available by the doors and at the head of the center aisle, where Communion will take place.

 -The city, state, and diocese of New York encourages all those attending services to sign a registry and to provide one means of contact. This will be used only if it emerges that an infected person has been in attendance at a particular service and contact tracing is required.

-Everyone must maintain safe distancing (at least 6 feet apart).

-Pews have been marked with blue tape to indicate where seating is allowed.

-Only 44 people will be allowed in the nave at any time (this includes 6 couples or pairs—people who live together—who may sit together).

-All cushions have been removed from the pews. All prayer books and hymnals have been removed from the church. Service bulletins will be provided, but will be removed from the church after each service.

-Electric fans have been removed from the nave of the church. There will be no hand-held fans available at the door.

-A basket has been placed at the head of the main aisle, where pledge envelopes and other donations may be safely placed. There will be no collection taken by ushers.

-Communion (wafers only) will be administered at the foot of the chancel steps. Gluten-free hosts are available. Please inform an usher or a member of the clergy.

-All communicants must proceed down the main aisle, maintain social distance as indicated by the decals on the floor, and return to their seats via the side aisles.

-Restrooms will be available only to those who are attending the service.

If you have questions or wish to make a suggestion, please contact the rector. 

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Stephen Gerth and Father Jay Smith. Father Gerth is responsible for posting the newsletter on the parish website and for distributing it via e-mail.

The Calendar of the Week
The Calendar for October