FROM FATHER SAMMY WOOD: SABBATH & LEISURE

We’ve been in New York for more than three years now, and I love it—the electricity of walking out into Times Square every morning; the overall energy of the whole city; the amazing food, art, entertainment, and opportunities.

But I do still miss places I’ve lived in before. A huge part of my heart will always be in Boston, the first city this small-town Mississippi boy ever called home for an extended period of time. And in addition to missing wonderful friends and our parish in Nashville, I miss one thing in particular from our time down south: I miss my front porch. 

Renee and I started living our best #PorchLife back in the pandemic spring, when most days, as the sun went over the yardarm, we’d head porch-ward with cold drinks and our Celtic Prayer Book. We’d been yearning for years to build a habit of prayer together, and I looked forward every day to that time when the sun went down, to our simple rhythm of prayer. I loved that porch.

Reflecting on it at the time, I happened upon this piece from Front Porch Republic trumpeting a front-porch “renaissance”— 

The front porch has been a locus of American culture precisely because of the way it forms our “attitude of mind” and “condition of the soul.” The front porch is the place where we step out into “the whole of creation” and participate in the waltz of life: from plants to animals to humans, from the created to the social . . . The front porch is the pillar of our communal presence and a doorway into the joys of filial love and comfort. It is on the front porch that we meet and greet our friends and family and become acquainted with new friends and neighbors. The front porch gives shape to the love and happiness that comes with such a life. Flowers adorn the front porch and turn it into a mini-Eden, inviting, welcoming, and serene. The bird feeder invites nature to our window, to become part of our life instead of distant from it. Yes, the front porch offers a microcosm of “the whole of creation” and our place in it.

New Yorkers, at least in midtown, don’t typically do porches, and while I increasingly question the very idea of an “American Dream” that article assumes, and I say a hearty tsk to the author for calling Bauhaus architecture “repellent and repulsive” (I happen to love it), something about that piece resonates with me. Our porch became for us a place of reflection. A place of prayer. A place of leisure.

That’s where the “attitude of mind” and “condition of the soul” lines come from—from Leisure, the Basis of Culture, a 1948 manifesto by Joseph Pieper, the German Catholic philosopher and professor. The very meaning of the word “leisure” eludes us today. We know it has something to do with free time, but in a culture like ours—a culture of “total work,” Pieper calls it—industry too often bleeds into leisure time (thence, I suppose, the leisure suit). We work hard, and we play hard, leaving little time for the leisure that’s foundational to culture. The Greeks understood the value of leisure. So did medieval Europeans. In fact, Pieper says we wouldn’t even have religion without leisure, without time for contemplation on the nature of God. He counsels us to recover something of “leisure as ‘non-activity’—an inner absence of preoccupation, a calm, an ability to let things go, to be quiet.” He touts the “serenity of ‘not-being-able-to-grasp,’ of the recognition of the mysterious character of the world.” And he says “leisure is the condition of considering things in a celebrating spirit—the inner joyfulness of the person who is celebrating belongs to the very core of what we mean by leisure.” (Read Maria Popova’s thoughts on Pieper).

Our time on that Nashville porch created just the slightest space in my life for the pressure of work to lift and for the light of leisure to creep in, and that made me hungrier for a deeper theological understanding of my longing for it, which then led me to John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. Comer, a church planter turned Anglican, is writing about Sabbath and using the concept of “hurry” to do it—quoting Dallas Willard: “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.” Or Corrie Ten Boom: “If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy.” Or in Comer’s own words: “Hurry is a form of violence on the soul.” 

Sabbath is one tool to eliminate hurry from life, to re-order our priorities around our truest identity—we are hidden in Christ with God (Col. 3.3). It is not (I repeat, not) a “rest to store up energy” so we’re more productive on day Sabbath+1. It is much more than an afternoon off. It’s more mystical than that. Here’s how Lauren Winner describes it (quoting Nan Fink) in Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline:

Time as we know it does not exist for these twenty-four hours, and the worries of the week soon fall away. A feeling of joy appears. The smallest object, a leaf or a spoon, shimmers in a soft light, and the heart opens. Shabbat is a meditation of unbelievable beauty.

Or Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in my favorite of this genre of books, The Sabbath:

The seventh day is a mine where spirit’s precious metal can be found with which to construct the palace in time, a dimension in which the human is at home with the divine; a dimension in which man aspires to approach the likeness of the divine.

If in New York it seems particularly difficult to live that kind of life, perhaps summer is a time for us to practice it together. I do want to banish hurry to the outer darkness, but I’m not sure I’m strong enough to do that on my own. So I need the Sabbath. I need a palace in time. I need prayer and quiet and leisure. 

This summer — I hope we’ll all find some.

Consider that an invitation. — SW

This article by Father Wood was adapted from a 2021 blog post.

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 of Nigeria in the Anglican cycle of prayer.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Claudia, Norman, Melvin, Vicki, Bella, MaryJane, Valdez, Helen, Fanny, Brendon, Nadia, Christian, Carol, Ken, Dennis, Mary, Yuri, Penny, Priya, Christopher, Wally, Donald, Ronald, Jose, Behnam, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sandy, Orham, Lexi, Georgia, Desarae, David, Claudia, Nettie, Chrissy, Tony, Sharon, Rick, Jan, June, Carlos, Pat, Liduvina, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; 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 Adair, and Edward, priest, and for those whose year’s mind is on July 6: James Burt (1892), Isaac Buchanan (1893), Robert Arthur Fitzell (1902), Vito Contessa (1933), Daisy Stambaugh (1934), and Sharon Geeta Singh (2014).

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE

Father Edward Abdill was a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church, a member of the New York Theosophical Society, and often worshiped at Saint Mary’s. An author, lecturer, and mentor known for his humor and captivating presentation style, he and his wife, Mary, shared a passion for Scottish dancing, and his composition "Starlight" is performed by dancers around the world. Father Abdill died last month, and the midday Mass on Tuesday, July 8, will be a Sung Mass of Requiem offered in the Lady Chapel for Father Abdill. All are invited.

AROUND THE PARISH

Premiere of Dr. Hurd’s Fantasia at the National Cathedral . . . Dr. David Hurd’s Fantasia for Brass Quintet, Organ and Timpani, commissioned by Washington National Cathedral for their July 4th Independence Day Concert, premiered shortly before we went to press. The concert featured the U.S. Army Band Brass Quintet and Timpani. Matthew Steynor was the organist. The event was streamed on the National Cathedral’s YouTube channel, and we anticipate that there will also be an archived video here.

Summer Reading . . . We are excited to announce that Dr. James Como will teach the first block of Adult Formation in the fall, a five-week class on C.S. Lewis. While we don’t begin until September 21, we thought that some might want to use the summer to work through the reading list. Please click here for the reading list and for more details about the course.

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.

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. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information.

Summer vacations . . . Father Sammy Wood is away from the parish and will return on Tuesday, July 8. Father Matt Jacobson is also away and returns on Thursday, July 10. Father Jay Smith will celebrate the Masses this Sunday.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

Companions of the Community at the Crossing . . . The Companions is a new initiative from the Community at the Crossing for over 35-year-olds to deepen spiritual formation and foster intergeneration exchange. Companions commit to the Community's Rule of Life and, with the guidance of leadership, adapt its five pillars to their daily rhythms. This practice draws inspiration from ancient monastic traditions, especially Benedictine life. The program is structured around the first-year members’ program, which is over a duration of 10 months. The dates for the 2025 - 26 year are September 21, 2025 to May 24, 2026. Click here to learn more or email Sister Hannah Spiers at companions.catc@stjohndivine.org. Father Matt Jacobson is on the advisory board for the Community at the Crossing and is one of the directors of the Companions program. He would also be happy to discuss it with those who are interested.

#OneSingleAct . . . The Episcopal Diocese of New York recently launched #OneSingleAct, an online campaign, co-presented with the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Episcopal Charities, Episcopal Divinity School, and the Interfaith Center of New York. Every day, in the news and our neighborhoods, we encounter examples of cruelty, carelessness, and chaos. But there’s a better way. Our faith calls us to something deeper: a culture shaped by care, connection, and courage. We can bring our values to collaborations with partners of diverse faiths and backgrounds. We all have a chance to shape the culture around us. The #OneSingleAct campaign invites every person to do a single act of care, courage, or connection—big or small—share it online—and invite one other person to do the same. Follow the campaign on Instagram and Facebook. One act. One post. One ripple. Together, we’re building a culture of generosity and hope.

Presiding Bishop at the Cathedral on Sunday, July 13, at 4:00 PM . . . The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine will welcome the Most Reverend Sean W. Rowe, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, as preacher at a special service of Choral Evensong. Following Evensong, Bishop Rowe will also preside at a brief celebration of Holy Eucharist. Offered in partnership with the Diocesan Committee on LGBT Concerns, this service celebrates the shared commitment of the Presiding Bishop and the Diocese of New York to a Church where LGBTQ+ people are fully welcomed, valued, and included. All are warmly invited. This event will take place in person and via livestream. The video will be available on the Cathedral’s YouTube channel.

FROM DR. HURD: ABOUT THE MUSIC AT HIGH MASS ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The organ prelude and postlude on Sunday are three of Four Spiritual Preludes by David Hurd, organist and music director at Saint Mary’s. Four Spiritual Preludes is a suite of pieces modeled broadly on chorale preludes of the baroque era. Each prelude presents a well-known spiritual melody in a unified texture and individual harmonic context. The first prelude of the set, Oh! What a beautiful City, was composed in February 2001 and was the last of the set to be written. It states the spiritual melody above accompaniment in the left hand and pedal. The accompaniment patterns feature triplets and other groups of threes, representing the four sets of three gates referred to in the words of the spiritual. This prelude is intended to have a busy urban flavor with impressions of start-and-stop traffic, and more than a few taxi horns. Go down, Moses is structured over the gradual chromatic descent of the pedal voice for the equivalent of more than two octaves. The spiritual melody is in the uppermost voice, and two additional accompanying voices converse with one another to provide a fluid if not anguished harmonization. Deep River, Sunday’s postlude, is the last of the set. The spiritual melody is conveyed largely by augmented triads and thirds in triplet figures. This suite of preludes was inspired by and is dedicated to distinguished Washington D.C.-based organist and historian Dr. Mickey Thomas Terry.

The musical setting of the Mass is New Plainsong, by David Hurd. This setting was composed in 1978 at the request of the Standing Commission on Church Music of the Episcopal Church as the revision of The Hymnal 1940 was gaining momentum. The Commission desired a setting which would be for the “Contemporary” Eucharistic texts what John Merbecke’s 1550 setting had been for the “Traditional” English words, that is, it would express the liturgical texts with simplicity and naturalness. As such, New Plainsong, like Merbecke’s setting, is chant-like and almost entirely syllabic, that is, only one pitch is sung per syllable. Although modest keyboard accompaniments are provided, New Plainsong’s movements may be sung unaccompanied when desired. Since its first publication in Congregational Music for Eucharist—Church Hymnal Series V in 1980, New Plainsong has been published in The Hymnal 1982 and in the worship resources of several other denominations. A revised edition of New Plainsong issued in 2018 also accommodates more recently revised Roman Catholic liturgical texts.

During communion, Sunday’s cantor, Kirsten Ott, will sing Harry T. Burleigh’s arrangement of the African-American Spiritual Deep River. This spiritual was published in 1876 in the first edition of The Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their Songs by J. B. T. Marsh. Burleigh’s classic arrangement dates from 1917. Burleigh was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and moved to New York City at the age of twenty-six where he continued his formal musical education under the tutelage of Anton Dvořák. Dvořák encouraged Burleigh to compose art song settings of spirituals for voice and piano and, in turn, developed an affection for that quintessentially American music which influenced his own writing. The Hymnal 1982 Companion says of Burleigh, “In 1894 he began a fifty-two year career as soloist at St. George’s Church, New York City, and served in a similar position from 1900 to 1925 at Temple Emanu-El, New York City. The first black American composer to win critical acclaim for composing art sons, he wrote 265 vocal compositions and 187 choral arrangements. He worked as music editor for Ricordi from 1913 until his death.” His hymn tune McKee for “In Christ there is no east or west,” which we will sing as our Post-Communion hymn, was included in The Hymnal 1940 and retained in the present edition.

Kirsten Ott, mezzo-soprano, has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since the fall of 2021. She sings frequently with Libero Canto, an organization which stages both opera and song programs, and she has also produced several of her own recital programs. She has previously sung with local groups such as Vox Vocal Ensemble and the Manhattan Chamber Choir. Before joining the choir at Saint Mary’s, she had sung for many seasons in the choirs of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Chelsea, and the Church of the Epiphany, Yorkville. Kirsten has extensive acting training and has coached both classical and musical theater performers. She studied oboe at Manhattan School of Music and is also a pianist.

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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.