FROM MARYJANE BOLAND: CONTINUING OUR COMMITMENT TO SAINT MARY’S

People give to Saint Mary’s in different ways. We make an annual stewardship pledge that we pay weekly or monthly. We respond to appeals—to buy flowers for the altar, to buy toiletries and underwear for Neighbors in Need, to buy security cameras for the narthex. We slip a few dollars into the collection plate or a shrine. We also give by doing. We bring lightly-used coats and clothing for Neighbors in Need or volunteer to staff a drop-by afternoon. We walk or contribute to the Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk team. We respond to periodic calls to polish brass and decorate the church for a holiday. We visit Saint Joseph’s Hall and welcome newcomers and visitors. We attend Sunday morning formation classes or evening bible study.

I am one of those people. With Clark Mitchell and Father Matt, I lead our AIDS Walk team, this year the number two fundraiser of all teams walking. With Father Sammy and fellow parishioners Steven Heffner, Allen Reddick and Mark Risinger, I serve on the stewardship committee. I’m an usher and altar server, and I launder church linens, including the 24-foot-long high altar fair linen. I do this because I love Saint Mary’s, and I want to see it flourishing long after I’m gone.

In my will, there are provisions for my husband and children and for the future of Saint Mary’s. My late husband’s ashes are interred in the Mercy Chapel, and Father Jay married me and my beloved second husband here at the high altar. When I’m gone, my bequest will continue my commitment.

Sixty years ago, Father Vern Jones, who died this summer in California at age 97 and had attended General Seminary for two degrees, preached at Saint Mary’s at the invitation of Father Garfield. He was a regular contributor to the efforts of our AIDS Walk team. Sixty years after his time in New York, Father Jones’s legacy provides for Saint Mary’s. The bequest of Sara L. Cooke in 1892 enabled us to erect our present church. Years before Ms. Cooke’s bequest, John Jacob Astor had given the land for our first church building. Saint Mary’s flourishes because of gifts like these.

My bequest will not look like these, but it will be as important. Every single legacy for Saint Mary’s helps us to keep our doors open and our ministries alive. The Book of Common Prayer offers direction about wills (p. 445): “… all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.”

If you are able, please join me in making Saint Mary’s a beneficiary. And then please inform either Father Sammy or me, so that we may make you an official member of the Saint Mary’s Legacy Society, some of whose members you can see here. We hope you’ll join this group of faithful Saint Marians—and those who came before us—in planning for the future of our beloved parish in whatever way you can. — MJB

PARISH PRAYERS

We pray for the people and clergy of our sister parish, the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, and for the Church in Wales, in the Anglican cycle of prayer.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Grady, Chris, Chuck, Nick, Dolores, Violet, Tod, Peter, Tim, Phoebe, Peter, Pat, Allen, Vanessa, Melvin, Vicki, Helen, Brendon, Nadia, Christian, Carol, Giovanna, Mary, Priya, Ronald, Jose, Ben, Russell, Robert, Sandy, Marty, Lexi, Georgia, Desarae, David, Claudia, Nettie, Chrissy, Tony, Rick, Jan, Carlos, Liduvina, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; Victoria, Suzanne Elizabeth, and Laura Katherine, religious; Lind, deacon; and, Jay and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially Alan, and for those whose year’s mind is on October 26: Vivian Lureo (1918), Harriet Bullock Purdy (1937), Mattie Cornell Lewis (1945), Raymond Leggett (1965), Harold Jacocks (1967), Olive Middleton (1974), and Dorothea Waters Moran (1987).

AROUND THE PARISH

Nicaea at 1700 — This Sunday, October 26, at Adult Formation, Fr. Sammy Wood begins his five-part series on the Nicene Creed in honor of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. A playlist for the series has been posted on Spotify. More details about the class and our 2025-26 formation program can be found here. Adult Formation takes place on Sundays at 9:45 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall.

Rosary Guild — The Rosary Guild meets this Sunday, October 26, after the 11:00 AM Mass, to pray the rosary. All are welcome.

All Saints’ Day with Organ Recital and E&B — This year, All Saint’s Day will be transferred to Sunday, November 2. In addition to the Rite I Mass at 9:00 AM, and Solemn Mass at 11:00 AM, Bruce Neswick will offer an organ recital at 3:30 PM, which will be followed by Evensong & Benediction at 4:00 PM. Click here for more details about the 2025-2026 feast day recitals.

All Souls’ Day and Requiem Masses — All Souls’ Day will be transferred to Monday, November 3. In addition to the usual 12:10 PM Mass that day, there will be a High Mass offered at 6:00 PM. On the five weekdays that follow All Souls’ Day, our annual Requiem Masses will be celebrated according to the following schedule based on the last name of the person making the request: Tuesday (A-E), Wednesday (F-K), Thursday (L-N), Friday (O-Q), and Saturday (R-Z).

Annual Requiem Mass for the Guild of All Souls — The Annual Requiem Mass of the Guild of All Souls will take place on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 11:00 AM at the Church of the Resurrection on 119 East 74th Street. The sermon will be offered by Fr. Martin Yost, Rector, St. Paul’s, Troy, New York, and Resurrection’s Professional Choir will support the liturgy.

Assisi Pilgrimage — Fr. Matt and Br. Thomas, SSF, are leading a pilgrimage to Assisi for Saint Marians and brothers from the Society of Saint Francis. Please keep them in your prayers!

Fleece be with you — Winter is coming! Join a group of crafters at 10:00AM on Saturday, November 8 to knit and crochet cold weather accessories for our Neighbors in Need program. Coffee, snacks, and patterns will be provided. Some yarn will be available, but BYO hooks and needles. For more information or to RSVP, contact Grace Mudd.

Thursday Bible Study — Thursday evening Bible study in 2025-2026 will be based on the Sunday lectionary for the upcoming Sunday and generally will be led by the preacher for that day. We will meet over Zoom at 6:00 PM. If interested, please email Fr. Wood for the link.

Saint Marians about Town — Two museum trips are planned for this fall. On Sunday, October 26, after Solemn Mass and the rosary, we will visit the exhibit To the Holy Sepulcher at the Frick. On Sunday, November 30, after Solemn Mass, we will see Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Medieval Art & Life at the Morgan Library. Please contact Father Wood to RSVP for either visit or with any questions.

Grant Writer Needed — From time to time, Saint Mary’s becomes aware of grant opportunities, and we are seeking a volunteer to research these opportunities and write persuasive proposals. Key skills include strong research, writing, organizational, communication, and project management abilities, as well as a deep understanding of our parish mission. If you are able to help, please contact Chris Howatt in the parish office.

Interested in being Confirmed? — Please contact Fr. Sammy Wood if you are interested in receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation or being received into the Episcopal Church (for those already confirmed in another Christian denomination). Confirmation class begins in early 2026 and will prepare candidates to be confirmed at Bp. Allen Shin’s visit on Pentecost.

Altar Flowers — November 16 is still available for a flower donation. The suggested donation is $250. Please contact Chris Howatt (chowatt@stmvnyc.org or 212/869-5830, ext. 10) to reserve a date and to have the dedication for your flower donation appear in the bulletin.

Neighbors in Need — As it grows colder, the needs of our visitors change. Our first priority now is warm jackets and coats. Our additional priority needs are practical shoes (no dress shoes or high heels), jeans and cords, and sweaters and tops. Thanks to a generous gift, at our October drop-by we were able to provide new jeans for every visitor. Thanks to your donations we are also able to purchase toiletries and underwear, especially thermals. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information or send an email to neighbors@stmvnyc.org.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

PIPES: David Hurd — Saint Mary’s organist and music director, Dr. David Hurd, will be honored with a concert at Trinity Church on November 4 at 6:00 PM. “Trinity organists past and present—Bruce Neswick, Alex Leonardi, and Alcée Chriss III—team with Trinity Choir to spotlight the artistry of another former Trinity organist: the incomparable David Hurd. A leading composer and organist in Episcopal church music for decades, Hurd will direct his own choral works, which blend spiritual depth and bold harmonies.”

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT HIGH MASS ON THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The setting of the Mass this morning is by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). Mendelssohn blossomed early as a conductor, composer and pianist. His initial music studies in Berlin were followed by travel in England, Scotland, Italy and France before his 1833 appointment as music director in Düsseldorf. Two years later he became conductor of the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig where, together with Schumann and others, he founded the Leipzig Conservatorium in 1842. His 1829 Leipzig performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion decisively stimulated the nineteenth century rediscovery of the Bach’s music. Mendelssohn’s contributions as a composer span 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. Mendelssohn’s Die Deutsche Liturgie (1846) for eight-voice double choir includes Kyrie (not sung this morning), Gloria (Ehre sei Gott), and his previously composed Sanctus (Heilig, 1844). Agnus Dei (Lamm Gottes) is an adaptation of Mendelssohn’s eight-voice motet In der Passionszeit (Herr, gedenke nicht), from Sechs Sprüche, Op 79/4, 1844). It is sung today as adapted by James Kennerley.

Today’s Communion Motet is also by Felix Mendelssohn and is one of his choral settings of psalms. Mendelssohn’s Jauchzet dem Herrn, a German setting of Psalm 100, begins and ends in economical four-voice choral texture. The slower middle section, however, is marked Soli and expands out to eight parts.

The organ Prelude and Postlude today are Felix Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in C minor. Composed in 1837 (Prelude) and 1834 (Fugue), this pairing is the first of three Preludes and Fugues dedicated to his friend Thomas Attwood (1765–1838), the London organist and composer, and former student of Mozart. The Prelude is marked Vivace and has a stern, assertive nature. One wonders if Mendelssohn drew inspiration from Bach’s similarly muscular Prelude, BWV 546, in the same key. Mendelssohn’s fugue is marked Con moto and, despite its dark key, it maintains the rhythmic character of a Gigue.

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We are very grateful to all those who make such donations and continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

Saint Mary’s is a vibrant Anglo-Catholic witness in the heart of NYC. With our identity in Christ and a preference for the poor, we are an inclusive, diverse community called to love God and each other for the life of the world.

This edition of The Angelus was written and edited by Father Matt Jacobson, except as noted. Father Matt is also responsible for formatting it on the parish website and distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt, parish administrator, and parish volunteer, Clint Best. If you have an idea for an article that you would like to publish in an upcoming issue of The Angelus, Father Matt would be happy to discuss it with you.