FROM THE VICAR: INTRO TO PATRISTICS

This Sunday at Adult Formation we begin a new series, Intro to Patristics, which will run over the next four Sundays. In Fr. Sammy’s class that just concluded, we saw how Anglo-Catholicism evolved out of the Oxford Movement in the early nineteenth century led by high church Anglicans at Oxford University who were very much grounded in Patristics, the study of the early Church. Intro to Patristics will continue to follow this thread by focusing on this period of Church writings that was formative for the Oxford Movement and remains fundamental for Anglo-Catholic teaching, preaching, and formation.

FROM DR. HURD: FEAST DAY ORGAN RECITALS

The main organ at Saint Mary’s, Aeolian-Skinner Opus 891, dates from 1932 with additions in 1942 and 2002. It is a world-famous instrument largely due to its high rear-galley installation and the resultingly rich musical voice it has given to the dynamic worship life of Saint Mary’s. Its tonal refinement (in contrast with its strikingly unfinished appearance), and its thrilling engagement of the church’s generous acoustics, have been brought to life by the remarkable musicians, too many to name, who have performed a remarkably wide range of music on it through the years in liturgy, in recital, and on recordings.

FROM THE RECTOR: INVITATION TO A TOWN HALL MEETING THIS SUNDAY

My friend Fr. Andrew Rumsey (now Bishop of Saint Alban’s in England) wrote a lovely book called Parish: An Anglican Theology of Place. In the introduction, he explains what a parish actually is: “In Graeco-Roman society, paroikia (the Greek word from which we get “parish”) described the community of people either living physically beyond the city boundaries (literally ‘those beside the house’) or as non-citizens within the walls. They were those who lived nearby, but didn’t belong.”

FRIENDS OF SAINT MARY’S

If you read The Angelus, you probably already consider yourself a friend of Saint Mary’s. Well, now you can make that friendship official! The Friends of Saint Mary’s program launched today, and we invite you to sign up.

Who might be a Friend of Saint Mary’s?

FROM DR. DAVID HURD: ON OUR MUSIC PROGRAM AS WE BEGIN THE CHOIR SEASON

With the arrival of the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels on September 29, the 2026–2027 choir season has begun. For many years, the choir of Saint Mary’s has been an octet of professional musicians and has offered the choral settings of the Mass ordinary, motets, and the designated Gregorian chants at Solemn Masses from early fall through the observance of Corpus Christi on the second Sunday following Pentecost in the spring.

FROM THE CURATE: ON TRUSTING GOD

A little over two weeks ago, I took a drive up to the Hudson Valley. Our cohort of five was to spend the last three days before our ordination to the priesthood together, praying with the brothers at Holy Cross Monastery. That first evening, our retreat leader Canon Masud Ibn Syedullah handed us the words to Frances Ridley Havergal’s 1874 consecration hymn: “Take my life and let it be.”

FROM THE VICAR: WHO ARE WE AS SAINT MARY’S?

Last Eastertide at Adult Formation, as part of our Year of Service, we looked to St. Catherine of Siena as a guide. Loving God through the love of our neighbor was a theme that we found to be pervasive throughout her writings and helped us think about service theologically. Another motif that comes up often for Catherine is the importance of knowing ourselves.

FROM THE RECTOR: ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11

In 1971, German artist Fritz Koenig cast the monumental bronze sculpture that would come to be called “the Sphere.” It stood between the twin towers of the World Trade Center from 1972 until the September 11 attacks, twenty-five years ago today. Originally dedicated to “world peace through trade,” the 20-ton artifact was the largest bronze figure sculpted in the modern era.

FROM KATHLEEN SCHMIDT, OUR NEW SEMINARIAN INTERN: ON RELATIONSHIPS

My name is Kathleen Schmidt and I am a second-year seminarian at the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, a postulant for priesthood sponsored by the Diocese of Colorado, and it is an honor and joy to come among you, to worship God, and to learn and be formed as the Spirit wills.

FROM THE VICAR: ON WEEKDAY SUNG MASSES

In 387, St. Augustine of Hippo decides that it is time for him to be baptized and moves to Milan, where he will be baptized at the Easter Vigil by St. Ambrose. In his classic work, Confessions, which was written about ten years later, Augustine describes the days immediately following his baptism as being filled with a “wonderful sweetness” as he meditates on Our Lord’s design for salvation.

FROM PARISH ARCHIVIST MARY ROBISON: SUMMERING AT SAINT MARY’S 100+ YEARS AGO

It’s warm in the pews in the summertime here at Saint Mary’s! The ice cream social last week was fun to help us endure the heat after worship and, in our early years, the church offered beach time for parishioners through its summer homes on Long Island and in Keyport, New Jersey.

FROM THE RECTOR: HOLIDAY

As I scrolled through Instagram recently, my algorithm took me to a clip from the program BBC Sounds, a conversation between historians Alice Loxton and Ben Henderson about the origin of the word “holiday.” Of course, no self-respecting Saint Marian needs me to explain it comes from the Old English hāligdæg, combining hālig (“holy”) and dæg (“day”), and since at least the tenth century it’s signified a religious festival or a sacred day set apart for worship and rest.

FROM FATHER STEPHEN MORRIS: ON VENERATING RELICS OF THE SAINTS

The Rev. Dr. Sarah Coakley, professor emeritus at Cambridge University, recently asked: “When we venerate the Cross or the relics of the saints—especially the martyrs, those killed for their public preaching or acts of faith—are we assenting to ongoing injustice, violence, or abuse? No—that would be negligence or cowardice. Are we passively accepting the misuse of power? No—that would be masochism.”

FROM FATHER JAY SMITH: THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE

For thirty-six years, in two separate parishes, I preached, presided, and officiated a lot, and so, it must be said, I also talked a lot. For several reasons, I’ve not been doing much of any of that lately. My life is different now. The rhythm has changed, which means my habits have had to change as well. I’m learning to pray without being in charge.

FROM THE VICAR: ON THE PROTEVANGELIUM OF JAMES

The feast of the Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary falls on this Sunday and so won’t be officially commemorated this year. All Sundays are feasts of Our Lord, and only a limited number of feasts can take precedence of a Sunday. Nevertheless, St. Anne and St. Joachim, Mary’s parents, will be highlighted among the saints in the Prayers of the People.

FROM THE CURATE: ON HER PATH TO SAINT MARY’S

Last week, while unpacking, I found myself rereading Ten Decades of Praise by Sister Mary Hilary, CSM. Published in 1965, the book is “the story of the Community of Saint Mary the Virgin in its first century,” as its subtitle purports. They were founded in 1865 in New York City, when Bishop Horatio Potter received the professions of five women. Today, the Benedictine nuns are the oldest extant religious order founded in the Episcopal Church.

FROM FATHER MORRIS: ON SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

St. Mary Magdalen is a favorite saint among Anglicans. She is said to have been among the first missionaries to arrive in Britain. Both Oxford and Cambridge Universities commemorate her with their ancient and very prestigious (and rich!) Magdalene Colleges.

FROM THE RECTOR: ON GROWTH AND STAFFING

Saint Mary’s is growing. 

The past few years, we have seen more people praying here on Sundays and throughout the week as we have expanded our liturgical schedule, our formation offerings, and our slate of parish activities. And parish growth presents at once a blessing and a challenge.

FROM FATHER SPENCER CANTRELL: ON THE SODALITY OF MARY

I’ve been a member of the Sodality of Mary, Mother of Priests since Assumption 2020. Even for me, with a number of years of distance, the mention of the year “2020” brings to the fore some interesting feelings and memories to put it mildly. But among them are some good ones of my entrance into this dispersed community of diocesan priests.

FROM THE RECTOR: ON READING AND COMMONPLACE BOOKS

A commonplace book should be as unique as a person’s fingerprint—no two ever alike. Part journal, part vision board, part book report, part top-5 lists, these are simply personal notebooks you keep to copy out any ideas or phrases you find interesting or inspiring, maybe tape in a cigar band from your son’s high school graduation, or press a maple leaf from a visit to the Russian Icon Museum in Clinton, MA, in October 2010.