FRIENDS OF SAINT MARY’S

If you read The Angelus, you probably already consider yourself a friend of Saint Mary’s. Well, now you can make that friendship official! The Friends of Saint Mary’s program launched today, and we invite you to sign up.

Who might be a Friend of Saint Mary’s? Here are a few examples:

• members of another parish who worship here on weekdays

• people who worship with us online

• people who attend Saint Mary’s but are not members

• former parishioners who live and worship elsewhere

• people who wish to sustain Anglo-Catholic traditions

• people of any faith who recognize Saint Mary’s many contributions to our cultural heritage and charitable work for NYC’s most vulnerable

• pledging parishioners who wish to provide a little more financial support

What do Friends give and receive? There are three levels in the program:

• Friends contribute $120 per year ($10/month) and are remembered by name once a month during a noon Mass. They are invited to a special once-a-year video call discussion with our sister parish, All Saints Margaret Street in London.

• Sustainers contribute $600 per year ($50 per month). They receive the benefits of Friends and are also invited to a special reception in the Rectory with members of the Legacy Society after Evensong and Benediction on All Saints’ Day in November.

• Benefactors contribute $1,200 per year ($100 per month), receive the above benefits and are acknowledged in the bulletins for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. They also receive a copy of Saint Mary’s floral calendar, which notes the liturgical commemorations of the year, and a small packet of Saint Mary’s custom-crafted incense.

How do I become a Friend? It’s easy:

• Click here and choose one of the categories of friendship (www.smokymarys.org/friends)

• Call the parish at 1-212-869-5830, ext. 10, to say that you would like to join Friends

• Email the parish at friends@stmvnyc.org to say that you would like to join Friends

• Follow the link on our livestream page when you attend Mass online

For more than 150 years, Saint Mary’s has been sustained by its friends both near and far. As a friend yourself, we hope that you will make it official and add your name to the Friends of Saint Mary’s.

PARISH PRAYERS

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

We pray for those who have asked us for our prayers, for Jonathan, Redemption, Jesus, Maria, Zac, Connie, Nick, Christopher, Katie, Tim, Sara, Mary, Diane, Daisy, Rob, Judy, Laura, Jay, Rita, Courtney, Dennis, Burks, Steven, Blaise, Jon, Jeff, Derick, Phil, Laura, Sue, Emilie, Sharon, Monique, Cassius, Lisa, Ruth Ann, Rosemary, Holly, Becky, Bill, Grady, Violet, Pat, Allen, Giovanna, Ronald, Jose, Ben, Russell, Robert, Sandy, Desarae, David, Tony, Jan, Carlos, Quincy, Leroy, and Margaret; James, Victoria, and Laura Katherine, religious; Lind, deacon; and Tom, Jay, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, especially Francis, and for those whose year’s mind is on October 11: David Abeel Storer (1897), Wallo Gerald Campbell (1931), Alice Louise Brown (1950), Mary Cornish (1960), and Charles Barker (2013).

AROUND THE PARISH

Adult Formation on Sunday — Adult Formation continues this Sunday with our class on Anglo-Catholicism. Please visit the formation page on our website for more details. We meet in St. Joseph’s Hall at 9:45 AM. All are welcome.

Guild Fair this Sunday — This Sunday after Solemn Mass, we will have a Guild Fair during Coffee Hour. There will be representatives to talk about all our guilds and answer questions. Come and explore ways to get more involved with the parish!

Guild of All Souls Lunch — The Guild of All Souls will go out to lunch for a guild meeting after the monthly Requiem Mass on Saturday, October 17. All are welcome at our monthly Requiem Masses, and those interested in learning more about the Guild of All Souls are also encouraged to join us for lunch afterwards on October 17!

Town Hall on October 18 — On Sunday, October 18, we will gather after Solemn Mass for our next Town Hall meeting. We periodically host Town Hall meetings as a way to discuss aspects of our common life together as a parish. Look to next week’s issue of the newsletter for more details.

Class for Newcomers and Confirmation Preparation — Fr. Sammy will be leading a Companions Class, where newcomers and those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation accompany each other in their formation. The class is designed to cover the basics of Christianity and our Anglican tradition. The class will meet on Wednesday evenings starting in November. Please contact Fr. Sammy with any questions and to register.

Newcomers Reception on October 25 — Fr. Sammy and Mrs. Renee Wood will be hosting a newcomers reception in the rectory on Sunday, October 25, after Solemn Mass. All newcomers to the parish are invited, including those who have been attending for a few years but have never attended one of these receptions. Please RSVP to Fr. Wood.

Neighbors in Need: Winter is coming! — It may not feel as if winter is coming, but it is, and we hope to build up our supply of coats and jackets. If you plan to replace your coat this winter, please bring us your old coat now, still in good condition. Our other most needed items are casual clothes: pants and jeans, jackets, tops and shoes—we always need shoes. Men’s clothes are harder to come by than women’s clothes, especially in sizes 32–36. We don’t need professional clothing or children’s clothing. We would also be happy to talk to you about being a volunteer. Please speak to MaryJane Boland or Marie Rosseels for more information or email neighbors@stmvnyc.org. The next Drop-by day will be Friday, October 16.

THIS WEEK’S COMMEMORATIONS AT DAILY MASS

Monday, October 12 — Feria
Federal Holiday Schedule: Mass at 10:00 AM
Tuesday, October 13 — Edward the Confessor, King, 1066
Wednesday, October 14 — Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, Bishop, 1906
The 12:10 PM liturgy will be a Sung Mass.
Thursday, October 15 — Teresa of Avila, Nun and Mystic, 1582
Friday, October 16 — Hugh Latimer, Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of Worcester,
and Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Reformation Martyrs
Saturday, October 17 — Parish Requiem

Click here for detailed monthly calendars.

MONTHLY LITURGIES AND GATHERINGS

Parish Requiem — We offer a monthly Requiem Mass in the Mercy Chapel as part of our chapter of the Guild of All Souls. This Mass is typically celebrated on the third Saturday of the month unless a major feast falls on that day. All are welcome. Our next parish Requiem Mass will be on Saturday, October 17, at 12:10 PM.

Mass and Fellowship with Saint Stephen’s Young Adults — Mass is offered every Wednesday at 6:00 PM in the Lady Chapel. The Saint Stephen’s Guild of young adults attends on the third Wednesday of each month, followed by fellowship. Join them next on October 21.

Rosary Guild — Our Rosary Guild meets in the Lady Chapel after Solemn Mass (and a brief stop at Coffee Hour) on the fourth Sunday of the month to pray the rosary. All are welcome, including those who are curious, but have never prayed the rosary before! The Rosary Guild next meets on Sunday, October 25.

Evensong & Benediction — During the program year, we offer Evensong & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in lieu of Evening Prayer at 4:00 PM on the first Sunday of the month. E&B will next be offered on Sunday, November 1.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

2026 Hobart Lecture with Rowan Williams — On Wednesday, October 14, the Right Reverend Dr. Rowan Williams will offer the 2026 Hobart Lecture at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. His lecture begins at 7:00 PM and is titled: “Twenty-Five Years after 9/11: Strangers, Neighbors, and the Work of Solidarity.” Registration is required. The talk will also be livestreamed.

Nightwatch at the Cathedral — Nightwatch is an evening spent in the world’s largest Gothic Cathedral immersed in a faith-based program to deepen your spiritual connection with God. This one-night pilgrimage is for students aged 12–18. Prices are $150 per person or $130 for groups of 15 or more. If cost is an issue, or if you’d like more information, please contact nightwatch@stjohndivine.org. Click here to learn more. 2026–2027 dates (all Fridays): October 30, February 5, and April 9.

CONCERTS AND EVENTS

2026–2027 Concerts and Performances — A schedule of the 2026–2027 concerts and performances at Saint Mary’s has been posted to our website, which will be updated throughout the year as new events are added. This coming week, there are concerts by both Miller Theatre (Stile Antico) and the New York Repertory Orchestra.

ABOUT THE MUSIC ON THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Jean Adam Guilain is the composer of Sunday’s organ voluntaries. His dates are not certain, his nationality was actually German, and his original name was Johann Adam Wilhelm Freinsberg. However, he came to Paris sometime before 1702 and probably soon became a student of Louis Marchand (1669–1732). In 1706 he published his two-volume Pièces d’orgue pour le Magnificat sur les huit tons différents de l'église (Organ pieces for the Magnificat on the eight church tones). Only the first of these two volumes is extant. It contains a suite of seven pieces for each of the first four church modes. The lost volume undoubtedly contained pieces of very similar character for tones five through eight. Guilain’s suites were intended to be played at Vespers, their movements in alternation with chanted verses of the canticle. Despite his German origin, Guilain’s organ suites are idiomatically very French. Typical of organ suites of his time, each movement is designated by a description of the character of the piece, indicating the organ stops intended to be used. Thus, in the course of such a suite, one hears the characteristic timbres of the instrument in stylized segments. The first three movements of Guilain’s suite on the second tone are played for the prelude on Sunday, and the sixth movement is the postlude.

Tomás Luís de Victoria (c.1548–1611), the composer of this Sunday’s Mass ordinary, knew and may have been instructed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594) who was maestro di cappella of the Seminario Romano in Rome at the time Victoria was studying at the nearby Jesuit Collegio Germanico. During his years in Rome, Victoria held several positions as singer, organist and choral master, and published many of his compositions. He was ordained priest in 1575. There are twenty authenticated Mass settings of Victoria in addition to two Requiems. Although the Missa Dominicalis, Sunday’s Mass setting, has long been attributed to Victoria, it is considered spurious by some scholars who recognized elements in the music which appear uncharacteristic of Victoria’s style. However, no alternative authorship has been determined. Missa Dominicalis is an alternatim setting, that is, phrases of text are sung in segments which alternate chant with polyphonic writing. In this case, the polyphonic segments are in four voices and are rigorous in their use of chant phrases as cantus firmus. The cantus firmus for the Kyrie (not sung this morning) and the Gloria is Mass XI, Orbis Factor, the plainsong designated for Sundays throughout the year. The cantus firmus for the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei is Mass XVIII, the plainsong designated for Weekdays in Advent and Lent, and at Masses of the Dead.

The Communion Motet, Ego sum pastor bonus, by Costanzo Porta (c.1529–1601), is a setting for six voices of verses from the tenth chapter of the Gospel according to John. The text of Porta’s motet occurs in the Roman cycle of antiphons attached to the Magnificat at vesper on the third Sunday of Easter, and as the Communio at Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. As an Italian renaissance composer, Porta is generally classified with the Venetian School, of which the Dutch-born Adrian Willaert (c.1490–1562), Porta’s probable teacher, is considered the principal founder. Porta and his fellow Venetian composers were significant in bridging the established polyphonic compositional practice of his time to the newer emerging poly-choral art. Their music embodied stylistic developments which anticipated Baroque musical conventions to come. That said, Porta’s bright setting of Ego sum pastor bonus is in a conventional polyphonic style.