FROM THE RECTOR: RECENT COMMEMORATIONS

The 1949 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting in San Francisco, approved the publication of a series of Prayer Book Studies by the Standing Liturgical Commission. Committees of members and scholars were formed. The first two, on Baptism and Confirmation, were published in one thin paperback volume in 1950. The series concluded in 1989 with Prayer Book Studies 30: Supplemental Liturgical Texts. All but three of the first series are available online here, a website maintained by The Society of Archbishop Justus.

Among them, Prayer Book Studies IX: The Calendar (1957) is my favorite for a couple of reasons. First, it started the process of the American Church rethinking the place of historic saints and martyrs. Since the Reformation, only New Testament saints were included in the calendar, the one exception being All Saint’s Day, November 1. Unlike the studies of the calendar that were to follow, this first study had four appendices that help readers understand the commission’s work. The third appendix is “Notes on Certain Rejected Commemorations.”

Prayer Book Studies after the Second Vatican Council reflect an ecumenical spirit almost absent in earlier studies. The adjective “Romish,” instead of “Roman Catholic,” is used freely in Prayer Book Studies IX. My late stepfather’s college dictionary from 1949 says about this word, “chiefly used disparagingly” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary [1949], 735).

Comments were made on these rejected commemorations: Valentine (February 14), George (April 23), St. John the Evangelist before the Latin Gate (May 6), Anne (July 26), Beheading of John the Baptist (August 29), Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8), Cecilia (November 22), Catherine (November 25), and Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (December 8). One of two recent commemorations in our parish calendar, that were rejected for inclusion in the calendar in 1957, was included when The Calendar and the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for the Lesser Feasts and Fasts and for Special Occasions (New York: Church Pension Fund, 1963), was published for study.

Let’s start with one that has not been included: “Beheading of St. John Baptist (Aug. 29), a major feast of the Western Church, appears as early as the [eighth century] Gelasian Sacramentary. It is included in all the Anglican Calendars. Of this festival, there is certainly an historical basis, both in the Gospels and in the Jewish historian Josephus. The Commission questions its appropriateness in a Christian Calendar, however, since there is no evidence that the Baptist’s martyrdom was due to his faith in Christ. The only feast of the Baptist that is relevant to the Christian faith is that of his Nativity on June 24” (Prayer Book Studies IX, 126-27).

I wonder why this hardness of heart was applied to John. He isn’t a prophet of the Hebrew Scriptures. He was the voice crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” (Mark 1:3). As Jesus, Peter, James, and John descend the mountain of Transfiguration, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” Jesus responds, “I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him” (Mark 9:11–13; Matthew 17:10–13). The beheading of John is told in Mark (6:14–29), Matthew (14:1–12), and in Luke (9:7–9). Just after the beginning of John’s gospel, we read, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John” (1:6). This commemoration has long been celebrated at Saint Mary’s.

By contrast, let’s look at what happened to Mary’s mother: “Anne (July 26), listed in all Anglican Calendars and also included in the list proposed for the American Book of 1928, is known as the name of the mother of our Lord’s mother only from apocryphal and utterly legendary sources. Of course, our Lord’s mother had a mother, too, and she was doubtless a good woman. But the fact is that we know nothing about her at all, and cannot be certain of the authenticity of her name. The fact that many churches and religious guilds and societies are named for her does not create a history out of a vacuum” (page 126).

By the time the first collection of collects and lessons for new commemorations was published in 1963, July 26 became a commemoration of “The Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The traditional names were omitted. It’s a deal I can live with. I do like our collect for the day:

Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the heavenly family of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen (Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2006, 321).

Back to John. It’s not just John’s birth that matters for Christianity. He was the prophet who proclaimed the Christ: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! . . . I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel . . . And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34). —Stephen Gerth

ASSUMPTION APPEAL PROPOSAL FOR NEW VIDEO EQUIPMENT STILL IN PROCESS . . . Dr. David Hurd and I had a very good meeting with our consultants on Sunday afternoon, August 23. One of the consultants has been involved this week with the production of the opera Tosca at a drive-in theater in Kingston, New York—truly a prior commitment. We expect the proposal soon. —S.G.

YOUR PRAYERS ARE ASKED FOR Carmen, Jennifer, Larry, Meghann, Ana, Bill, Tacy, Janet, Mary, Shalim, Eric, Margaret, Samantha, Emily, John, Marilouise, Ken, May, Willard, Alexandra, Takeem, and Ethelyn; for Barbara Jean, religious; for Gaylord and 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 the members and friends of this parish; and for the repose of the soul of Nicholas Krasno . . . GRANT THEM PEACE: August 30: 1914 William deHertburse Washington; 1915 James Robert Adams.

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE . . . Yolanda Goldyng Travieso died on August 28, 2019. Her son, Guillermo, is a neighbor and a faithful friend of Saint Mary’s, who often worships with us. Please keep Yolanda, Guillermo, and all who mourn in your prayers . . . Nicholas Krasno, a former member of Saint Mary’s, died on August 15. After leaving Saint Mary’s, Nicholas was a member of Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue. He later became a Roman Catholic. Nicholas was a native of Reading, England, and studied law at the University of Oxford. He came to New York in 1987. He was for eleven years a senior executive at Moody’s Investors Service. In 2003, he founded his own consultancy practice, Krasno Financial Advisory. While at Saint Mary’s, Nicholas researched and wrote a detailed guide to the art and architecture of the parish. The guide has been enormously helpful to many in the parish and beyond ever since. We remain grateful to him for this great gift to Saint Mary’s. Nicholas’s funeral Mass was celebrated at the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer on Monday, August 24. Please keep Nicholas, his family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

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 . . . Clothing Ministry: On Wednesday, August 26, Brother Damien Joseph SSF, Brother Desmond Alban SSF and Father Jay Smith hosted our fourth Drop-by on Forty-seventh Street. They were able to welcome and assist around twenty-five 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 . . . Father Stephen Gerth will be away from the parish on vacation from Friday, September 4, until Thursday, September 10. Father Jay Smith and the friars will be in residence. Father Smith may be reached at 212-869-5830 x 16 . . . Mother Alison Turner, an assisting priest at Saint Mary’s, will be accompanying Saint Thomas Choir School as it moves to Incarnation Camp for September and October.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S . . . Sunday, August 30, Thirteenth 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 Stephen Gerth . . . 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 for this week’s commemorations.

MUSIC AT SAINT MARY’S . . . The settings for the Mass on Sunday morning at 11:00 AM are from Music for the Lord’s Supper by McNeil Robinson (1943–2015). Robinson was an internationally celebrated organist, composer, improvisateur, and teacher. He headed the organ department at the Manhattan School of Music for many years in addition to serving religious institutions. In 1965 while still a student at The Juilliard School he began long and well-remembered associations with the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and with Park Avenue Synagogue. While he remained organist at Park Avenue Synagogue until retiring in 2012, he left Saint Mary’s in 1982 and subsequently served at Park Avenue Christian Church and at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church before failing health necessitated his retirement. Robinson’s reputation as a virtuoso organist, improviser, and composer became established during his years at Saint Mary’s. Music for the Lord’s Supper, a setting for Rite II Eucharist for unison voices and organ, was published in 1979. Its Kyrie and widely sung Lord’s Prayer are found in The Hymnal 1982. At Mass on Sunday the cantor will sing the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei from this setting. These movements are composed in a conventional style with a fine economy of melodic grace and harmonic interest.

The cantor at Sunday’s Mass is soprano Elaine Lachica. During the Communion Elaine will sing the aria O Liberty, thou choicest treasure by George Frederick Handel (1685–1759). This aria is from Handel’s three-act oratorio Judas Maccabaeus, composed in 1747 to honor Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, upon his return from the Battle of Culloden. The oratorio’s libretto is by Thomas Morell and is based on the First Book of Maccabees. It recounts events from the period 170–160 BCE when the Judean religious practice was threatened under the rule of the Seleucid Empire. The aria O Liberty, sung by an Israelite woman, is the fifteenth of twenty-six pieces in Part 1 of the oratorio. Oratorios are generally large-scaled musical works based upon narrative librettos and are scored for voices in various configurations and orchestral ensemble. They are differentiated from operas mainly in that oratorios are usually on biblical rather than secular narratives and are intended for concert performance without staging or costumes. Handel composed oratorios and operas with equal fluency, with music which, on its own terms, would be hard to classify in either category as opposed to the other. —David Hurd

FROM THE FRIARY . . . Brother Thomas SSF preached the homily at the 12:10 PM Mass on Tuesday, August 25, the feast of Saint Louis, King of France. Louis IX, who died in 1270, is believed to have been a Secular or Third-Order Franciscan. Brother Thomas’s homily may be found on the website of the Society of Saint Francis . . . Brother James Nathaniel SSF, who lives at San Damiano Friary in San Francisco recently posted an essay, “A Guide to Voter Guides,” on the Society’s website. The essay includes links to the voter guides of many churches, including that of the Episcopal Church . . . On Saturday evening, October 3, after Evening Prayer, exact time to be announced, the brothers will commemorate the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is October 4, with the traditional Franciscan Transitus liturgy. “Transitus” in this context signifies the “passing from death to eternal life.” We will announce more complete details next month.

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 . . . Online at the New-York Historical Society, History at Home: The Women’s Hour. From the museum website, “In August 1920, one last state was needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, and it all came down to Tennessee. Last year, [on April 10, 2019], author and journalist Elaine Weiss joined us for a program at New-York Historical to uncover the climactic fight to make a woman’s right to vote the law of the land, with the help of key figures such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass. Listen to an audio recording of the presentation and learn about the dramatic conclusion of the decades-long fight for women’s suffrage.” The audio link can be accessed here.

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.

-           Facemasks 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.

-           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.

-           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 collection taken by ushers.

-           A donations basket will be placed at the head of the center aisle, near the Communion area.

-           There will be no communal 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