FROM CHRIS EDLING: THE STILL POINT OF THE TURNING CITY, A YEAR AT SAINT MARY THE VIRGIN

“I want to make this happen.” This is what Fr. Sammy said when, one year ago, I introduced myself at coffee hour and asked to join Saint Mary’s as a seminarian intern. 

It was not a small ask. As a seminarian, I’d not only be leaning on Fr. Sammy’s time as a supervisor, meeting with him several times each month. I was also asking for a kind of vocational adoption (or fostering, at least) by the Saint Mary’s family, who’d collectively take me in and nurture my clerical growth. Moreover, I was asking on short notice, so if the answer was no, it would have been understandable.

But Fr. Sammy, and all of you—the Saint Mary’s family—made it happen. And I couldn’t be more grateful. Thanks to each and every member of the Board, for agreeing to take me on. Thanks to Fr. Matt, Fr. Jay, Fr. Pete, and of course Fr. Sammy, gifted priests who’ve always made time for me and mentor me still. Thanks to Dr. David Hurd, who taught me to chant and paid me a casual compliment I continue to carry in my soul’s pocket. Thanks to all who trained me for ushering, lay eucharistic ministry, and altar service, whose level of instruction was matched only by patience with my clumsiness in the sacristy. Thanks to Marcos and other sextons, from whom I wish I could take a seminary class about building stewardship. Thanks to everyone at Neighbors in Need, a Marian program that enacts God’s love. Thanks to Alden, my fellow seminarian, whom I admire so much; who is, and will continue to be, a gift to our Church. Thanks to the many parishioners with whom I’ve been fortunate to learn and worship.

When Fr. Matt and I corresponded about this Angelus article, he suggested I write about an aspect of Saint Mary's that I’ve found meaningful. The historical reputation of the parish is, of course, its magisterial liturgy—the smells and bells of high-church Anglo-Catholicism—and I’d be remiss not to credit Smoky Mary’s as the place I learned the subdeacon’s intricate choreography and how to swing a thurible.

What’s most meaningful to me about Saint Mary’s, though, is how it bodies forth silence and prayer, particularly in a time and place where these things feel increasingly absent. Any day of the week, anyone can walk into Saint Mary’s to pray or quietly commune—can practice, as Martin Thornton and Fr. Sammy teach, Anglicanism’s threefold regula of Daily Office, Eucharist, and Personal Devotion—a few short steps from the glistening chaos of Times Square. In this way, Saint Mary’s is a still point of our turning city (to paraphrase T.S. Eliot). For showing me how a big, beautiful church can foster stillness, and for making my time at Saint Mary’s happen: thank you, all. — CE

Mr. Chris Edling is an MDiv student at The General Theological Seminary and a postulant for holy orders in the Diocese of New York. For the past year, he’s been an intern at Saint Mary the Virgin. His field education will continue next year at Saint Margaret’s Episcopal Church in the South Bronx.

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 the Province of South East Asia, in the Anglican cycle of prayer.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Bob, Tyisha, Randall, Sarah, Luis, Phoebe, Peter, Pat, Allen, Vanessa, Melvin, Vicki, Bella, Valdez, Helen, Fanny, Brendon, Nadia, Christian, Carol, Giovanna, Mary, Yuri, Priya, Wally, Christine, Ronald, Jose, Ben, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sandy, Marty, Lexi, Georgia, Desarae, David, Claudia, Nettie, Chrissy, Tony, Rick, Jan, June, Carlos, Liduvina, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; Suzanne Elizabeth and Laura Katherine, religious; Lind, deacon; and Brad, Jay, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially Donald, and Cindy, priest, and for those whose year’s mind is on August 24: Annie Hoover Allen (1898), Mabel Lenora Heyny (1959), and John Bradley (1966).

AROUND THE PARISH

Rosary Guild this Sunday . . . Join the rosary guild this Sunday, August 24, after Solemn Mass, to pray the rosary. The guild meets on the fourth Sunday of each month.

Donations for Altar Flowers . . . Altar flower donations are available for many Sundays and feast days this fall, including Sundays, September 14, 21, and 28; October 5, 12, and 19; November 2 (All Saints’ Sunday), 9, 16, and 23 (Christ the King). 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.

Sung Masses for Our Lady in September . . . The 12:10 PM Masses on Monday, September 8, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Wednesday, September 24, Our Lady of Walsingham, will be offered as Sung Masses in the Lady Chapel.

Cookie donations needed for September . . . During the summer months, we 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 with a Sunday in September.

Summer Reading . . . Dr. James Como will teach the first block of Adult Formation in the fall, a five-week class on C.S. Lewis. We begin on September 21, though 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.

Neighbors in Need . . . Thanks to generous cash donations, we are able to purchase toiletries and underwear for our guests. Our clothing room depends on your gifts of lightly-used clothing. Right now, our biggest needs are shoes (sneakers, sandals and other practical shoes, but not high heels), jeans and khakis. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

Installation and Institution of the new Dean of the Cathedral . . . Join the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine to celebrate the installation of the 12th Dean, the Very Reverend Winnie Varghese, on Saturday, September 27, at 10:30 AM. You can read here about the dean elect’s vision for the Cathedral.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT SOLEMN MASS ON THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Sunday’s organ voluntaries conclude a series, begun three weeks ago, of the eight “Little” Preludes and Fugues, traditionally attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). These pieces are now widely believed to have been composed by one of his pupils, possibly Johann Tobias Krebs (1690–1762), or his son Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–1780). Of these eight preludes and fugues, four are in major keys of C, F, G and B-flat, and the remaining four are in their relative minors of A, D, E, and G. The standard ordering of these eight pieces begins with BWV 553 in C Major and progresses up the scale to BWV 560 in B-flat. This week’s prelude will be BWV 558 in G minor, and the postlude will be BWV 560 in the relative major key of B-flat. BWV 558, for the prelude, begins with a clear harmonic plan, almost suggestive of a chaconne, simply and directly stated. Its accompanying fugue has a charmingly delicate quality. BWV 560, the last of the collection and played for the postlude, is probably the most extraverted of the eight preludes and fugues. Its prelude includes a distinctive pedal solo, and its fugue is angular and emphatic.

The name of Healey Willan (1880–1968) is well known to Episcopalians because of his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena, composed in 1928, which appeared in The Hymnal 1940 and was retained in The Hymnal 1982. This setting, which we will sing on Sunday, has been sung widely throughout the Episcopal Church, as well as in other denominations, for decades. Willan’s career and reputation, however, went far beyond composing this well-worn liturgical setting. He composed more than eight hundred works including operas, symphonies and other music for orchestra and band, chamber music, and music for piano and organ, in addition to a great quantity of choral music. His liturgical music includes fourteen choral Masses, occasional motets, canticles, and hymn settings. Willan was born in England and began his career as an organist in London parish churches. He joined the faculty at Toronto University in 1914, later becoming Professor of Music there. In 1921 he was named organist at Toronto’s Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, a position he retained until his death. Said to have described himself as “English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption,” Willan was a champion of historic liturgical chant and the aesthetic of Renaissance church music. He incorporated these influences and mingled them with an appreciation of the rich harmonic palette of the late nineteenth-century masters. Through his compositions and choral direction, he significantly set the standard for North American Anglo-Catholic church music in his time. In 1956 Willan became the first non-English church musician to be awarded the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus.D. Cantuar.

The cantor at Mass will be tenor, Christopher Howatt, Parish Administrator at Saint Mary’s, and long-time member of the parish choir. During the distribution of Communion, he will sing A Simple Song from Mass (1971) by Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990). Bernstein, a giant of American twentieth-century musical life, called the piece “Hymn and Psalm: A Simple Song.” The text consists of verses taken from a number of psalms, which have been adapted and woven together by the composer in collaboration with Stephen Schwartz (b.1948).

Christopher Howatt has been a member of the Choir at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin since 2008 and stepped into the role of Parish Administrator more recently. An actively performing singer in the realms of musical theatre and cabaret, he was a member of the Associate Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera for two seasons. He has been heard on recordings as diverse as Jessye Norman’s Christmas CD In the Spirit, to singing backup for The Pet Shop Boys on their cover of the Village People’s “Go West.” As an accompanist and music director he has worked with such talents as David Hyde Pierce, Howard McGillin, Tyne Daly, Rita Moreno, Brad Oscar and Cady Huffman and others. He has served as musical supervisor for productions of Sylvia, Lend Me a Tenor and Inspecting Carol at George Street Playhouse as well as musical director for their world premiere production of Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are, written and directed by the late theatrical legend Arthur Laurents. For several years he displayed both pianistic and vocal talents as music director/arranger and performer with the two-time MAC Award nominated vocal group Boulevard East. Most recently he stepped out from behind the piano in his debut as a solo cabaret artist in a sold-out run of his show “Hear My Song,” at Don’t Tell Mama. He is currently working on a sequel and hopes to be returning to the cabaret stage soon.

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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.