FROM FATHER WOOD: SUMMER’S END

I’m just returning from vacation this week, and I owe a hearty “thanks!” to the staff and our amazing volunteers for all their faithful work that allowed me to take some time away. My family has had a wonderful summer, and I’m deeply grateful Saint Mary’s is the kind of parish that encourages her priests to seek restorative time away. Now it’s hard to believe summer’s almost over!

But may I make one confession? I love almost everything about the end of summer. I’d describe myself as an “anticipator”—for instance, I dig Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day, a run-up more than a pay-off—so I love anticipating all that crisp air and fall foliage out there in front of us in time. For whatever reason, God made me such that this is my favorite time of year. I’ve always loved the “back-to-school” season—shopping for supplies, getting the syllabus, buying books, first day of classes. I look forward to an annual clergy retreat every fall on Mount Desert Island in Maine (that’s my signal for when it’s time to grow the beard back, by the way). I like kickoffs, both the program year kind and the football kind; I love Halloween and standard time; I’m a connoisseur of apple cider donuts and fire pits, woodpiles and winter gear. Don’t get me wrong—summer’s great, but I love summer’s end even more, and turning the calendar to the ninth month as we do next week always makes my heart beat a little faster.

Summer’s end means things will ramp up in the coming weeks around here at Saint Mary’s, as well. Here are a few dates to save on your calendars:

• Our first “Saint Mary’s Town Hall” will convene in Saint Joseph’s Hall after the 11:00 AM Mass on Sunday, September 21.

• That’s also the first day of “C.S. Lewis and the Enchantment of Hope.” Join us at the adult formation hour (9:45-10:45 AM) starting September 21 to welcome Prof. James Como to lead this class over five consecutive Sundays.

• Michaelmas is September 29, so join us for a High Mass at 6:00 PM and at a reception to follow.

• And our “Fall Kickoff Sunday” is October 5—the full choir returns, we’ll celebrate with a big Coffee Hour after Solemn Mass, and the Blessing of the Animals is at 2:00 PM before Evensong & Benediction returns at 4:00 PM from its summer hiatus.

We’re looking forward to an amazing program year together, and as we do each year to prepare, Saint Mary’s invites us to pray a Novena to Holy Cross Day. As you know, a novena (from the Latin novem, “nine”) is simply a period of nine days of devotion, by which it is hoped to obtain some special grace. Saint Mary’s is using the nine days leading to Holy Cross Day as an occasion to pray as a community for the upcoming program year, especially that we will all be formed more deeply as followers of Jesus by participating in all aspects of parish life this year. Beginning Saturday, September 6, and culminating on September 14 (although Sunday is technically the date of Holy Cross Day, we transfer it to Monday and formally commemorate it at Mass on September 15 this year), I am asking our whole parish family to join me in praying these prayers (click here for the Novena), and there will be a relic of the True Cross available for veneration and devotion in the Mercy Chapel throughout the morning of Sunday, September 14.

Summer’s end is always an opportunity to refocus our hearts and minds on what really matters to us. Many of us have been away for all or part of the summer, taking time for the rest and recreation New Yorkers so desperately need, so fall can be a homecoming of sorts. I was reminded of that this week when I read a Substack post from Rich Villodas, pastor of Queens’ New Life Fellowship Church. He said:

In the gospel of Luke, the prodigal son doesn’t return home because of a renewed love for his father. He comes back home simply to survive because he ran out of money and is starving. And his father is perfectly fine with that!

Just come home. God just wants you home.

Summer was wonderful. But I’m starving for God and Saint Mary’s, and I’m definitely glad to be home.

One last thing—and this may be for stronger hearts than mine. If you like John Prine, as I do, you probably know his “Summer’s End.” It’s a beautiful song, and he made it into a devastating video. I leave it to you to decide which might be more your speed. Or maybe you’re more of a Foo Fighters or Tame Impala fan? Whatever the case may be, as the temps get cooler and the days get shorter, know my heart for you grows warmer and my love for our parish church grows ever longer. No place I’d rather be this summer’s end than here with you. Come be part of what God is doing at Saint Mary’s in 2025-26.

To steal a line from the legendary songwriter Roger Ebert dubbed the “singing mailman,” Mr. Prine: “C’mon home.”

See you at church.

~ Fr. Sammy

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 South India, in the Anglican cycle of prayer.

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Tim, Petrina, Bob, Tyisha, 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, Jay and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, and for those whose year’s mind is on August 31: Marie Louise Simpson (1920), Josephine Worth James (1920), and Marion Frances Williams (1940).

AROUND THE PARISH

Holy Cross Day . . . Beginning on Saturday, September 6, and culminating on September 14, the parish will be praying a Novena in preparation for Holy Cross Day (click here for the prayers). There will be a relic of the True Cross available for veneration and devotion in the Mercy Chapel throughout the morning of Sunday, September 14. Holy Cross Day will be commemorated at Mass this year on Monday, September 15.

Michaelmas . . . A quartet of the parish choir returns for High Mass at 6:00 PM on Monday, September 29, the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. A reception follows the evening Mass.

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.

Adult Formation on September 21 . . . Sunday morning Adult Formation returns a little bit ahead of the formal start to the program year. Dr. James Como will teach the first block, a five-week class on C.S. Lewis, beginning on September 21 at 9:45 AM. Please click here for the reading list and for more details.

Donations for Altar Flowers . . . Altar flower donations are available for many Sundays this fall, including September 14, 21, and 28; October 12 and 19; November 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.

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.

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

Rowan Williams at Columbia . . . On Monday, September 8, at 6:00 PM, the Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, will give a lecture on solidarity and the City of God in Columbia University’s Pulitzer Hall lecture room. This event is co-sponsored by the Morningside Institute and the Earl Hall Center for Religious Life at Columbia University. The lecture is open to the public and will also be livestreamed. Click here to RSVP and for more details.

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 TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The musical setting of the Mass on Sunday 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.

The cantor will be soprano, Joy Tamayo. During communion she will sing Cantique by the French composer, conductor, and organist Nadia Boulanger (1887–1997). Boulanger was born into a musical family and was a composition student of Gabriel Fauré at the Paris Conservatoire. When her younger sister, composer Lili Boulanger, died in 1918, Nadia Boulanger effectively ceased composing and dedicated herself to teaching. From 1921, a wide assortment of musicians sought instruction from her at the French Music School in Fontainebleau. She is recognized as one of the foremost teachers of composition and musicianship of the twentieth century. She conducted and strongly championed the music of Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, and her sister Lili. Her Cantique is a setting dating from 1909 of a poem by the Belgian author Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949).

Joy Tamayo was born and raised in the Philippines, prefacing her professional career with a commitment to religious folk music in her barangay. She studied voice at the University of the Philippines and further developed her craftsmanship studying vocal performance at SUNY Potsdam, Crane School of Music. Joy is one half of an_outskirt, a duo with partner Chai Sangco. Through an_outskirt, her work has graced JACK Theatre for Exponential Festival, Livecode.NYC at Governors Island, Wonderville, Pete’s Candy Store, Berlin NYC, and Kyotographie Festival in Japan. She presented a lecture/performance entitled Tagulaylay with elekhlekha at EFA Project Space in NYC. Additionally, she composed music for the short film Sanctuary by Tanika Williams which premiered at BAM Cinema Fest. Joy’s sound design and compositions featured in Jonathan McCrory’s EMMY-nominated film The Roll Call: The Roots to Strange Fruit with the National Black Theatre. Her passion for interdisciplinary artistry allows her to contribute flexibly to her creative community. She has collaborated with Freya Powell for sound installations at Duke University, Education University of Hong Kong, and Parsons, The New School. Through movement and song, she interacts with music to Miro Magloire’s choreography for the New Chamber Ballet. She has participated in lectures on composing for the voice, workshopping performances and readings of new works by student composers at Juilliard, NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Program, and at Brooklyn College. Joy Tamayo currently lives in Brooklyn.

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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.