FROM THE AIDS WALK TEAM: THE FORTIETH NYC AIDS WALK!

It rained most of last week, and there’s a forecast for days of rain this week, yet Sunday, May 18, the day of the 40th NYC AIDS Walk, was cool, sunny and with a brilliant blue sky that showed us puffy white clouds. We all said a prayer of thanksgiving for the glorious day. Our 19-person Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk team gathered in the Gold Team area of Central Park wearing matching gold tee shirts whose logo was designed by José Vidal. We had breakfast snacks, enjoyed the atmosphere and set out on our four-mile walk in defiance of this disease and in solidarity with people suffering and with each other. The festive atmosphere of the Walk is a contrast to the seriousness of the disease.

In 1986, AIDS Walk New York was created to raise money for GMHC to help people who were dying from AIDS and to lobby the government for research and treatment. That first year, over 4,500 walkers raised $710,000 for GMHC. Today, 40 years later, though treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS exist, not everyone knows about them or has access. We walk for the 132,000 people in New York City who are living with HIV. We walk for the over 1,600 New Yorkers diagnosed with HIV each year. We walk to raise money to fight AIDS, and we walk to increase awareness and to proudly confront the social ills that fuel AIDS, including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and poverty.

For those who like statistics, GMHC serves New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs: 41% live in Manhattan; 24% in Brooklyn; 17% in the Bronx; 16% in Queens, and 1% in Staten Island. In the communities that GMHC serves, over 70% live below the Federal Poverty Line; 29% are Black; 34% are Latino; 36% are over the age of fifty, and 68% are LGBTQ+.

Our team is grateful to the many Saint Marians and friends of Saint Marians who contributed to our success. We are coordinated by Father Matt Jacobson, Clark Mitchell and MaryJane Boland. Our members are Ruth Ann Berkowitz, Steven Eldredge, David Falatok, Andrew Gurr, Tom Knox, David Lapham, Darrell Lester, Charles Morgan, Grace Mudd, Allen Reddick, Michael Reid, Mark Risinger, Mary Robison, Marie Rosseels, Father Jay Smith, Reha Sterbin with Jake and Lilly, and Father Sammy Wood.

As we write this, our Saint Mary’s team has raised almost $55,000, surpassing our 2024 total of $52,005. More than 200 individuals have contributed to our team or through one of our walkers. While the final figures won’t be known for several weeks, we are the #2 fundraiser, and we hope to remain in that spot. It is not too late to contribute here to the team.

—MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell and Matt Jacobson, coordinators

PARISH PRAYERS

We pray for the people and clergy of our sister parish, the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Modesto, Giovanna, Gregory, Mary, Allison, Yuri, Jonathan, Liam, Penny, Priya, Christopher, Wally, Donald, Harris, Rick, Ronald, Jose, Karen, Kate, Behnam, Duke, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sandy, Orham, Ruth Ann, Henry, Lexi, Vicki, Georgia, Desarae, David, Steve, Beverly, Claudia, Maddie, Nettie, Chrissy, Tony, Sharon, Rick, Adair, Jan, June, Carlos, Pat, Liduvina, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; Suzanne Elizabeth and Laura Katherine, religious; Lind, deacon; and Robby, Jay, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially, Carolyn, and for those whose year’s mind is on May 25: Sarah Slokes Powell (1898), Margaret McQuiston (1915), John Schilling (1917), Josephine Smith Pullman (1923), Lillian Clizbee (1967), Lester Morgan (1973), and Frank Smith (1976).

AROUND THE PARISH

Father Danny Bryant: Book Presentation on Friday and Preacher on Sunday . . . On Friday, May 23, at 6:00 PM in the parish hall, Father Danny Bryant will be reading from and signing copies of his book, Unless a Seed Falls to the Ground: Welcoming the Death of the Whiteness Gospel. He will be joined by special musical guest J Lind. All are welcome, admission is free, and wine and snacks will be served. On Sunday, Father Danny Bryant will be our preacher at both Masses. He serves as a priest at Saint Mary of Bethany Parish and a Spiritual Director at The Center for Hope and Healing in Nashville, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and four kids.

Book Presentation by Sister Monica Clare this Sunday . . . On Sunday, May 25, Sister Monica Clare, CSJB, will be at Coffee Hour after the 11:00 AM Solemn Mass to present her newly published book, A Change of Habit. Copies of her book will be available for purchase at the event ($25). There was a recent New York Times article about Sister Monica Clare and her book. Sister Monica Clare was in residence at Saint Mary’s for many years and is a good friend of the parish. Click here to learn more about her order, the Community of Saint John Baptist. 

Young Saint Marians . . . The Young Saint Marians Group will be hosting a BYOV (Bring Your Own Vinyl) Party at the rectory on Tuesday, May 27th (new date), from 6:00-9:00 PM. Feel free to bring snacks, drinks, and of course your favorite tunes! We'll have a record player, but Spotify/Apple Music works just as well. It'll be a fun night of music, conversation, and fellowship, and we can't wait to see you there! Please RSVP via email to youngstmarians@gmail.com.

Novena to the Holy Spirit . . . As a parish, we will be praying a novena (nine days of prayer) to the Holy Spirit from Ascension to Pentecost. Please join us by clicking here for the prayers and to learn more about novenas.

Mass on Memorial Day . . . This coming Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day and we will follow our Federal Holiday Schedule. Daily Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM. The Daily Office is not prayed publicly. The Church will be open from 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM and the parish office will be closed.

Adult Formation . . . Adult Formation continues this Sunday with Father Matt Jacobson’s series on the Acts of the Apostles. Adult Formation meets on Sundays at 9:45 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall. The final class before summer break will be on Sunday, June 1. All are welcome.

Neighbors in Need . . . Donations of casual pants, such as jeans or khakis, are needed, as are sweaters, tops, rain jackets, and other light jackets. Shoes are especially in demand (i.e., sneakers, sandals, and practical shoes, but not high heels). Large sizes, for both men and women, are also helpful. Our next Drop-by Day will be June 20. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information.

Summer cookie donations needed . . . During the summer months, we plan to have lemonade and cookies at Coffee Hour and are looking for cookie donors. Please get in touch with Father Sammy Wood if you are able to help. 

Would you like to donate the altar flowers? . . . Coming up in June, we hope to find donors for Pentecost (June 8) and Trinity Sunday (June 15). Please call the Parish Office (212-869-5830) or email Chris Howatt for more information and to reserve a date for a donation. The customary donation is $250.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

Serve with your neighbors: Episcopal Charities Day of Service . . . On Saturday, June 7, join the Episcopal Charities Day of Service. Roll up your sleeves and serve through hands-on volunteer opportunities across our Diocese. Click here for details about the volunteer opportunities and to register.

Pinkster celebration at the African Burial Ground . . . This year’s Pinkster celebration at the African Burial Ground National Monument will take place on Saturday, June 7, at 12:00 PM at 290 Broadway (just south of 26 Federal Plaza and north of City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan). Pinkster is the Dutch term for Pentecost and an African Pentecost celebration was brought over by the eleven Congolese/Angolans of the Catholic Empire of Congo in 1626 to New York, then called Nieuw Amsterdam. It is the oldest African American holiday in the United States. Click here for an Angelus article written by John Derek Norvell in 2023 about Pinkster to learn more.

Vocations Day . . . On June 14th, the Diocese will host Vocations Day—an intentional gathering to help those who are beginning to discern a call to ordained leadership in the life of the church. Lay people who have not yet formally entered the ordination process are invited to attend and are strongly encouraged to invite their clergy as well. Commission on Ministry members and Bishop Heyd will talk about ministry for lay people and clergy, the expectations of the Commission on Ministry for those seeking ordination, and clear and practical next steps. The gathering will be held at the Cathedral from 9:00 AM through 2:00 PM. Sign up here.

FROM DR. HURD: ABOUT THE MUSIC AT SOLEMN MASS ON THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

The setting of the Mass on Sunday is Communion Service by Leonard Raver (1927–1993). Dr. Raver’s musical life in New York City included serving on the faculties of The General Theological Seminary and the Juilliard School, and at various times as parish musician at All Saints Episcopal Church and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Manhattan’s east side. He was organist of the New York Philharmonic from 1977 until 1990. A native of Wenatchee, Washington, his undergraduate studies were at the University of Puget Sound. Graduate studies brought him first to Syracuse University and finally to Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Dr. Raver was an avid champion of contemporary music and especially of new music which incorporated the organ. In his career as a recitalist, he commissioned or premiered major works by distinguished American composers including Ned Rorem, Daniel Pinkham, Vincent Persichetti, William Albright, Gardiner Reed, and David Diamond. The source of Dr. Raver’s unpublished Communion Service is an undated manuscript which probably originated in the late 1960s while he concurrently taught at General Seminary and directed music at All Saints Church. The text is essentially the Order of Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer 1928, and the scoring is for unaccompanied voices in four parts. The performing edition of this setting sung this week was prepared by David Hurd. Notations were made in this newly created edition to reconcile the music with the customary liturgical texts as we know them. As such, the choir will omit the ritually irregular Amens with which Dr. Raver had ended both his Sanctus and Benedictus. (It is interesting to note that the text of The Book of Common Prayer 1928 did not include Benedictus qui venit but it did end Sanctus with Amen.) The text underlay at the end of Agnus Dei has been altered to resolve another Amen which the standard liturgical text does not include.

Gordon Young (1919–1998) was born in McPherson, Kansas. As a graduate of Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas, he later studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and eventually received a Doctor of Sacred Music degree from Southwestern in 1964. He was a radio organist in Tulsa, a music critic and columnist for daily newspapers in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania as well as a church organist and choirmaster in Philadelphia and Kansas City. For several years, he also taught organ through Wayne State University and directed music at the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit. He is remembered today as a composer of nearly a thousand works of choral and organ music. Young’s setting of Rise up, my love, Song of Songs 2:10-12, is scored for four-part mixed voices, mostly deployed in chordal texture.

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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.