FROM MR. ALDEN FOSSETT: PHOTOGRAPHS AS SEMIPERMEABLE MEMBRANES

When I was a child, my grandfather Herbert’s photographs hung on the walls of my family’s apartment. Yet I didn’t start believing in photography as a medium until I learned more about what well-composed photographs can do. Here is one example. In 1942, Dorothea Lange was hired by the War Relocation Authority to document the forced removal and incarceration (euphemistically referred to as “evacuation and relocation”) of Japanese American citizens and Japanese resident aliens living in California after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. In looking at Lange’s photographs of internment camps like Manzanar and at the way that internees documented their time in these camps, I encountered a truth that unsettled the simple history that I was taught about my home state of California. I discovered that these pictures contained more than just evidence of and protest against the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of people. In them was also a profound question for anyone with the sense to perceive it: whose memories live in you, and what kind of memories are they? (Interested in learning more about the legacy of interment for Japanese-American families today? I recommend the project The Camps America Built by Haruka Sakaguchi.)

When I picked up a camera for myself, I was surprised to find that asking this question about representation and remembrance led me to God. Sometimes, the memories living in me were truthful. Other times, they weren’t. In every case, asking this question also became a prayer that forgotten stories might be remembered and told again.

Ultimately, the medium of photography enables both maker and viewer to ask exigent questions about who is and isn’t visible. It invites us to reckon with the meaning of sight.

What might photography have to offer you? Join us at the opening reception for Semipermeable membrane in the gallery at Saint Joseph’s Hall at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 28, as we consider this question together. This show gathers the work of seven artists to ask how photographs might be like semipermeable membranes: porous boundaries through which we may pass to see everything anew. The title is inspired by a sermon Father Jay preached in November. Our world needs new vision and photography demands it; our world needs prayer and photography demands it. The show will stay up in Saint Joseph’s Hall until the first weekend in May.

Mr. Alden Fossett has been serving as a seminarian intern at Saint Mary's since the fall. He is in his middler year at Yale Divinity School/Berkeley Divinity School, where he is preparing for ordination to the priesthood. In his sending diocese of Massachusetts, he is focused on the work of racial justice, reconciliation, and reparations. Alden grew up in Los Angeles, California.

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 Donald, Harris, Rick, Ronald, Ricardo, Jose, Karen, Kate, Behnam, Duke, Russell, Duncan, Robert, Sally, Sandy, Audy, Sheila, Orham, Ruth Ann, Henry, Giovanna, Lexi, Vicki, Georgia, Desarae, David, Steve, Beverly, Claudia, Maddie, Nettie, Chrissy, Molly, Tony, Sharon, Rick, Rolf, Adair, Jan, June, Carlos, Pat, Liduvina, Quincy, Leroy, Margaret, and Robert; Suzanne Elisabeth, Eleanor, Barbara Jean, Curtis, Laura Katherine, and Keith, religious; Lind, deacon; and Robby, Jay, and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died, for Sam and Daniel, and for those whose year’s mind is on March 23: Mary Cornelia Anderson (1881) and James William Dennis, Jr. (2015).

AROUND THE PARISH

An Anglo-Catholic Tale of Two Cities . . . Saint Mary’s will co-host a seminar with our sister parish in London, All Saints’ Margaret Street, as part of their Zoom Theology series, on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 11:00 AM New York time. Father Peter Anthony, the vicar of ASMS, and Father Sammy will speak about characters from the colorful histories of our two parishes. What can these histories tell us about the future of Anglo-Catholic parishes like All Saints’ and Saint Mary’s, and what do our parishes’ witness and traditions have to contribute to the life of the Church in our two cities? Click here to log in and find out!

Saint Dominic’s Rosary Guild this Sunday! . . . The rosary guild will meet in the Lady Chapel this Sunday after Solemn Mass to pray the rosary. All are welcome.

The Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . The Feast of the Annunciation is this Tuesday, March 25. The 12:10 PM Mass in the Lady Chapel will be a Sung Mass. In the evening, we begin at 5:30 PM with an organ recital by Mr. Ralph Holtzhauser from Saint Columba Cathedral Parish in Youngstown, OH. Solemn Mass follows at 6:00 PM. Our guest preacher at Solemn Mass will be Father Jonathan Jameson, the associate rector at Saint John’s Church in Savannah, GA.

Help us prepare for Holy Week and Easter . . . Volunteers are needed to help prepare the church for Holy Week and Easter! On Saturday, April 5, we will veil crosses, statues, and other images around the church, a tradition that dates back to the middle ages and deepens the penitential nature of Lent as we approach Holy Week. We will also begin polishing brass and silver vessels that will be used for palms, flowers, and candles. Many hands make light work and coffee and snacks are provided. We will begin around 10:00 AM, break for Mass and lunch, and finish by mid-afternoon. For more information or to volunteer, contact Grace Mudd.

Adult Formation . . . This Sunday, Father Pete Powell continues his series on the Passion and the Resurrection narratives in the Gospel accounts as we approach Holy Week and Easter. Adult Formation meets on Sundays at 9:45 AM in Saint Joseph’s Hall. This series also will be streamed over Zoom here and recordings of prior classes are available for viewing online: Week 1 and Week 2.

The History of Holy Week over Supper . . . Why was the Last Supper originally commemorated on Tuesday of Holy Week? How did the official response to over-eager pilgrims to Jerusalem shape the way we still venerate the Cross on Good Friday? How did allowing Holy Communion in the evening completely reshape Western Christian experience of Holy Week in the 1950s? For the answer to these and other fascinating questions about the development of Holy Week, join us on Wednesday evenings in Lent for a study group led by Father Stephen Morris.

On Wednesdays in Lent, Father Stephen Morris will lead this study group over supper following the 6:00 PM Mass. Please RSVP to Father Sammy to help plan for supper. Upcoming dates: March 26, April 2 and 9.

The Shape of Lent 2025 . . . We have put together a booklet of the Shape of Lent at Saint Mary’s for us to travel through the season together. An electronic copy can be downloaded here and hard copies are available at the ushers table.

Stations of the Cross . . .  On Fridays in Lent, we offer Stations of the Cross at 6:00 PM. Join us for Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM and then stay to walk Stations of the Cross.

Confessions . . . There is never a bad time to make a confession, though Lent is a particularly appropriate season for sacramental confession. The priest on duty each Saturday hears confessions at 11:00 AM in a confessional near the 46th Street entrance. Confessions are also available by appointment and will be heard after the Good Friday liturgy.

Baptisms at Saint Mary’s . . . The Great Vigil of Easter is a liturgy in which baptism is especially traditional. The Day of Pentecost, which follows seven weeks later, is also a day that is particularly appropriate for baptisms. If you are interested in learning more about baptism for either yourself or for your child, please speak with a member of the clergy.

AIDS Walk 2025 . . . AIDS Walk this year will be on Sunday, May 18. Last year we finished fourth among all teams in terms of fundraising and raised $52,005. Our team is just beginning to form for 2025, but we hope to do even better this year! To join our team or contribute, please visit our team page. If you have any questions, please speak to one of the team captains: MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, and Father Matt.

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.

Would you like to donate the altar flowers? . . . Please call the Parish Office (212-869-5830) or email Chris Howatt for more information, available dates, and to reserve a Sunday or feast day. The customary donation is $250.

THE DIOCESE AND WIDER CHURCH

The Far Side of Revenge - What Can the Church Do When Division Reigns? . . . How might ecumenical engagement be a source of hope for societies on the long and hard road to freedom? How might ecumenical relationships open vistas for the emergence of liberated and reconciled peoples—not only among Christians but among all peoples? Join Dr. Aaron T. Hollander and Sr. Estelle Sogbou, CCN, for a dialogue which will take up these questions and more in interchurch, international, and intercultural perspectives. This discussion on Monday, March 24, at 6:30 PM, is part of the Dialogues on Divinity series at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine and is sponsored by the Community at the Crossing. Click here for more information and to reserve a ticket.

Dante at the Cathedral . . . Please join us for the 31st annual reading of selections from the Inferno. This year's reading will take place in the Cathedral's Crossing and will have some additional multimedia elements. Selected cantos will be read by a wide variety of individuals. We are transitioning this event and look forward to sharing with everyone our new, creative endeavor. Part of the joy of Dante’s Inferno is its ever-changing adaptations, while remaining true to the heart of this epic presentation. Friday, April 11, 2025, 7:00 – 10:00 PM at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Click here for more details and to RSVP.

FROM DR. HURD: ABOUT THE MUSIC AT SOLEMN MASS ON THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT

The organ prelude on Sunday is a setting of Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, BWV 658, one of the eighteen Leipzig Chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The “Great Eighteen” were collected and published in the final decade of Bach’s life and are considered to represent the summit of chorale-based baroque organ composition. In this case, the chorale text, the first phrase of which is interpreted as “I shall not abandon God, for he does not abandon me,” is attributed to Ludwig Helmbold and dated 1563. Its melody, from an anonymous 1557 source, is set by Bach to be played on the organ pedals in the alto register surrounded by a gentle three-voice lace of manual accompaniment. The ending of this chorale prelude is notably prolonged, and with an additional voice added, as if to tone-paint a steadfast desire to remain and not leave. There are four additional four-voice harmonizations of this same chorale melody by Bach, only one of which has its source in one of his cantatas. Bach’s harmonization of Von Gott will ich nicht lassen—cataloged as BWV 418 and about which there is no further source data—is the postlude.

On most occasions, the musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass at Saint Mary’s is the work of a single composer or is derived from a single source. This Sunday, however, the setting is a composite from three different sources.

The Kyrie is from the Missa Brevis of Dieterich Buxtehude (1637–1707). Buxtehude is easily the most important composer of organ works in the generation before Johann Sebastian Bach. His fame as organist of the Marienkirche in Lübeck was amplified by his presentation of the pre-Christmas Abendmusiken. He is known to have composed substantial works, unfortunately now lost, for those legendary annual public concerts at the Marienkirche. Buxtehude’s Missa Brevis, BuxWV 114, is described as in stile antico because, rather than reflecting the emerging musical styles of seventeenth century Germany, it is fashioned after the imitative vocal polyphony of the Italian high renaissance. The vocal writing is in five voices with two soprano parts. Although it would have been appropriate for instruments to double the vocal parts and provide basso continuo, Buxtehude’s Missa Brevis can be rendered effectively a cappella.

In keeping with the norm for a seventeenth century Lutheran Mass, Buxtehude composed only Kyrie and Gloria for his Missa Brevis. The Sanctus this week, therefore, will be from another distinguished German source. Johann Sebastian Bach’s collected chorales include a harmonization titled Heilig in one place and Sanctus in another. This setting bears the classification BWV 325 but lacks definitive and complete text underlay for either the implied Latin or the German texts. At Mass, an adaptation of Bach’s BWV 325 including the traditional Latin Sanctus et Benedictus texts will be sung.

The Agnus Dei setting is from an English source—Thomas Morley’s 1597 treatise A Plain and Easy Introduction to Practical Music—where it was meant to stand as an example of his principles of composition. Morley’s Agnus Dei appears in the treatise as a motet, rather than as a setting for the Mass, due to its slightly variant text. For our purposes, Morley’s liturgically irregular text has been conformed to the traditional liturgical Latin words.

Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) was baptized on Christmas Day 1583 in Oxford, where his father, William Gibbons, was employed as a town musician. He was a chorister at King’s College, Cambridge, between 1596 and 1598, while his elder brother, Edward (1568-1650), was master of the choristers. King James I appointed Orlando Gibbons a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he served as an organist for the last ten years of his life. He was active as a court musician, and served as organist at Westminster Abbey. In his relatively short life, Gibbons composed generously for keyboard, for viols, and for voices in both sacred and secular realms. His sacred works include two service settings, several verse anthems, and several full anthems including Sunday’s Communion motet, Almighty and everlasting God, a setting of the collect formerly attached to the Third Sunday after Epiphany. Although one of the more modest of Gibbons’ compositions for the English service, it is an important early example of the English full anthem and served as a model for the close-following generations of distinguished church music composers that included John Blow and Henry Purcell.

We need your help to keep holding our services. Click below, where you can make one-time or recurring donations to support Saint Mary’s. We are very grateful to all those who make such donations and continue to support Saint Mary’s so generously.

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.