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FROM THE RECTOR: MISSING SINGING

Hymns have a unique way of touching lives and faith. After a few years as rector of Trinity Church, Michigan City, Indiana, I realized that Easter hymns were becoming associated in my heart with parishioners I had buried. As years passed, few Easter hymns didn’t remind me of people who had died. I never sing “The strife is o’er” without thinking of Marion Sprague. She was the first person in that congregation I called on. She had been an English teacher for many years at the local high school, the kind of person who helped others be their best. She loved the parish in which she had grown up. She made me promise not to sprinkle her coffin with holy water or cense it, and I kept my promise. But her coffin received handfuls of dirt at the grave. “Alleluia! sing to Jesus” and “For all the saints” I try never to let myself sing when I’m celebrant at the Eucharist. The words and the associations with those that have gone before can overwhelm me in a flash.

For the last few days, my mind has drifted to the words of “Christ is made the sure foundation.” The English words are a translation of a nine-verse Latin hymn that both The Hymnal 1940 Companion (1951, page 247) and The Hymnal 1982 Companion (1994, 518) state may date from the sixth century. It’s about the heavenly Jerusalem. Four verses are used for “Christ is made the sure foundation” and five, including the doxology, for “Blessed city, heavenly Salem.” The English translation of the nine verses was made first by John Mason Neale (1818-1866), a priest of the Church of England, “considerably altered in many lines” (1940 Companion, 246).

We sing “Blessed city, heavenly Salem” on the first Sunday in October when altar flowers are in memory of the departed rectors of the parish, to the traditional plainsong associated with this text, Urbs beata. The Hymnal Companion 1940 credits the Reverend Canon Charles Winfred Douglas (1867–1944) as the arranger for all of the plainsong tunes in that hymnal (page 423). He was the musical editor of the church’s New Hymnal 1916 and The Hymnal 1940. Episcopalians sing plainsong because of the remarkable gifts and pastoral musicianship of Canon Douglas.

At the Solemn Mass on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord on February 2, we sing “Christ is made the sure foundation” as we process from stational prayers at the Shrine of our Lady to prayers at the Rood. We also sing this hymn on August 6 for the Feast of the Transfiguration at the preparation of the gifts—but not this year! John Mason Neale died on August 6, 1866. The church calendar appoints August 7 as the day to gives thanks for his life and ministry. It seems right to use one of his most well-known texts on the feast of the Lord that is celebrated on the day he died.

I have been very thankful for the way people have conducted themselves when we are open for prayer and worship. They have been respectful of others and the church. I remain optimistic about the future. I hope we will be singing again in church before the end of fall. —Stephen Gerth

ASSUMPTION APPEAL PROPROSAL IN PROCESS . . . As our consultants prepared the proposals for equipment to live-stream and record our services, they decided they wanted to speak on site with Dr. David Hurd about questions they have about music and worship in this building. That meeting will take place on Sunday afternoon, August 23. I hope the board will be able to approve a proposal very soon. —S.G.

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Ana, Bill, Tacy, Mary, Eric, Larry, Margaret, Samantha, Michael, Emily, Shalim, John, Marilouise, Ken, May, Willard, Alexandra, Takeem, and Abraham; for Simon and Nicholas, religious; for Gene, Gaylord, Louis, priests; and Charles, bishop; for the members of the armed forces on active duty, especially Isabelle; for all health-care workers; for all those who work for the common good; for all those who are ill with COVID-19; for all the members and friends of this parish; and for the repose of the souls of Martha Rose Insúa, and all those who have died of COVID-19 . . . . GRANT THEM PEACE: August 23: 1918 Charles Ambrose Coburn; 1920 Cornelia Colgate Hatfield; 1929 Harold Brown McCleave.

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

AROUND THE PARISH . . . On Monday, August 17, we sent to the parish community an e-mail announcing the Parish Choir’s latest online vocal offering, Thomas Tallis’s “O Nata Lux.” The video has been archived on the parish’s YouTube page and can be viewed and heard, by following this link. We are grateful to Dr. David Hurd and the members of the choir for giving so generously of their time and talent in order to produce these videos. They have been a great comfort in a difficult time. There are considerable technical difficulties involved in conducting and singing choral pieces when none of the members of the choir are in the same room. None of this has been easy and we have been impressed by seamless editing. Thank you Dr. Hurd, Chris Howatt, and editors Charlotte Mundy, Sharon Harms, and Levy Lorenzo . . . Clothing Ministry: On Wednesday, August 19, Marie Rosseels, José Vidal, and Brother Damien Joseph SSF hosted our third Drop-by on Forty-seventh Street. Marie, José, and Brother Damien were able to welcome and assist around forty-five guests from the neighborhood, as well as a few passersby, providing toiletry items and articles of clothing, especially socks, underwear, T-shirts, and pants. The porch at the Forty-seventh Street entrance is proving to be useful for distribution while maintaining social distance. If you would like to volunteer for this ministry or make a donation of cash or items to distribute, please contact Brother Damien, Brother Thomas, or Father Jay Smith . . . Parishioner Larry Hamil, who lives in western Pennsylvania, has been undergoing a series of grueling treatments in recent weeks at a clinic, near Pittsburgh. His spirits are good and his sense of humor is intact. Please keep him in your prayers.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, August 23, Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Mass 11:00 AM. The church opens at 10:00 AM and closes at 12:30 PM. The celebrant and preacher is Father Jay Smith . . . Monday through Saturday, the church opens at 11:00 AM and closes at 2:00 PM. Mass is celebrated daily at 12:10 PM. Monday, August 24, is the feast of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, Mass at 12:10 PM. Please see the Calendar of the Week for the rest of this week’s commemorations.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday is Mass II as found in the Liber Usualis (“Usual Book”), a comprehensive anthology of medieval Roman plainsong compiled in the nineteenth century by the monks of the Abbey of Saint Peter, Solesmes, France. Like several of the other numbered Masses of the Gregorian Missal, Mass II is a collection of chants for the Ordinary of the Mass which likely were originally independent pieces brought together and associated with one another by later custom. This particular combination was traditionally sung on solemn feasts. The Gloria in excelsis is dated thirteenth century, the Sanctus may be slightly older, and the Agnus Dei is dated tenth century. These three chants, all of which are in Mode 1, will be sung by the cantor as the setting of the Mass on Sunday.

The cantor at Sunday’s Mass is countertenor, Jonathan May, a regular member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s. During the Communion he will sing “O rest in the Lord,” from the oratorio Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). Mendelssohn was certainly a prodigy of his day, distinguishing himself as a conductor, composer, pianist, organist, and musical visionary. He is largely credited with reintroducing the music of J. S. Bach to the early nineteenth-century musical world. His contributions as a composer form a significant bridge from classical to romantic style and generously include the categories of orchestral, choral, stage, chamber, piano, vocal, and organ works. His music is said to have set the canons of mid-Victorian musical taste. His oratorio Elijah, Handelian in inspiration, was completed and first performed in 1846. The expressively lyric aria “O rest in the Lord” is the thirty-first of the oratorio’s forty-two movements.

Readers of this newsletter will be interested to know that Jonathan performs regularly with ensembles such as Early Music New York, Trident Ensemble, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and 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 also 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’ 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

FROM THE FRIARY . . . Brother Desmond Alban SSF has had a complicated, and rather busy, week. Readers of the newsletter will know that Brother Desmond’s mother, Ruth Goddman, died in Bristol, UK, last week. He has been in frequent contact with his sister and brother in recent days. He tells us that his mother’s funeral will take place at Saint Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, on Tuesday September 1 at 2.30 PM BST (9:30 AM EDT). Though the size of the congregation will necessarily be limited because of COVID-19 restrictions, there will be a quartet to sing chosen hymns and the service will be live-streamed. Desmond has also managed to make a good deal of progress on the furnishing and organization of the apartment on the fifth floor of the Parish House. He now has improved Wi-fi and a new desk. All this will help him to take care of provincial business from this new office space in New York. Brother Desmond has posted the homily he preached here on the feast of Saint Clare of Assisi on August 11. The homily is entitled “The Mirror of Gospel Life” and can be found on the website of the Society of Saint Francis by following this link . . . Brother Thomas SSF has made good progress this week on a grant proposal that we will submit to a family foundation, seeking help for our Clothing Ministry. Such applications come with many complications, but we are receiving much assistance from a local bank that manages the foundation’s fund . . . Brother Damien Joseph SSF will be teaching a series on Franciscan spirituality and theology here at Saint Mary’s early in the New Year, exact topic to be determined. Please stay tuned for more about that series and about the rest of the fall and winter adult-education offerings. We hope to be able to announce those plans in next week’s newsletter.

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.

THE FLOWER MARKET HAS REOPENED . . . We now welcome donations for flowers for the high altar. The suggested donation for those arrangements is $250.00. Please be in touch with Chris Howatt by email if you would like to make a donation.

AT THE MUSEUMS . . . The enormous loss of life around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic is a tragedy with no end in sight. The sick, the dying, those who mourn, the vulnerable, those who care for the sick and the dying, and those who seek treatments and a cure must be our primary concern. Still, the social, economic, artistic, and cultural effects of the pandemic are immeasurable and also deserve our attention and concern. We here in Times Square cannot help but be aware that the Broadway theaters have been dark for months now. This is a loss to all those who love to go to the theater, but it is also a disaster for the many theater artists who live and work in our neighborhood and in our city. Such losses are taking place around the world. A huge and long-planned exhibition of the work of the painter Rafael to mark the 500th anniversary of that artist’s death opened at a museum in Rome in March only to close three days later because of the pandemic. Here in New York, an exhibition, “The Book of Ruth: Medieval to Modern,” at the Morgan Library, scheduled to last until October 2020 has also been postponed, if not cancelled altogether, because of the pandemic. Still, the Morgan has archived a well-illustrated presentation given at the library on March 10, 2020. The video lasts about an hour and is well worth watching, as it describes the enduring power of this short, but beautiful, biblical book. From the library website, “The Book of Ruth: Medieval to Modern is an exhibition that juxtaposes the new with the old. It presents the Joanna S. Rose Illuminated Book of Ruth, designed and illuminated by New York artist Barbara Wolff between 2015 and 2017, alongside twelve medieval manuscripts illustrating the book of Ruth dating from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Roger Wieck, Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, and artist and illuminator Barbara Wolff, discussed both Wolff's contemporary work and the ancient historic traditions in this archived presentation.

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 Mercy Chapel and Saint Joseph’s Chapel are closed.

-           The Lady Chapel is open, but all chairs, kneelers, candles, hymnals, and Prayer Books have been removed.

-           Face masks must be worn in the church at all times, except when receiving 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.

-           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.

-           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 and white 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 prayer books and hymnals have been removed from the church. Mass bulletins will be provided, but will be removed from the church after each service.

-           All electric fans have been removed from the church. There will be no hand-held fans available at the door.

-           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.

-           There will be no congregational singing.

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

-           There will be no coffee hour.

-           These guidelines are to ensure the health and safety of all

Please follow the directions of the ushers and the members of the clergy. 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