July 2019 - s3.amazonaws.com · As Blaise Pascal wrote, "The last proceeding of reason is to...

Stephen’s Window July 2019

Dear Parish Family and Friends, Summer is here in all its overheated glory, and I hope that you have a chance to make the most of it! For many, vacations loom large – the beach, the moun-tains, or travels to places far and wide. Wherever you find yourself, perhaps you will find a moment or two for a bit of quiet time, an opportunity to relax without the responsibilities of work or caring for others. Reading makes a wonderful pastime, and our busy lives often allow too little of it. I have recently found that I can enjoy even snippets of time by picking up an anthology of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons. I have just finished Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, and have just recently discovered that Walt Kelly’s Pogo comics have now been issued in a whole series of very nice books, so I am looking forward to relaxing with some old favorites in the first two volumes (1951 and 1952). You may not be old enough to remember Pogo, but this little possum and his band of other unlikely char-acters (among them, Beauregard the Bloodhound, Al-bert the Alligator, a turtle named Churchy LaFemme, Howland Owl, the corncob pipe-smoking Miz Beaver, and, lest we forget, Miss mam'selle Hepzibah, a beau-tiful anthropomorphic female skunk) were a fixture in nearly every newspaper from the early ’50 to the mid ‘70s. I have wonderful memories of sitting in my fa-ther’s lap while he read the comics to me, roaring with laughter at Pogo. In a more serious vein, I am also reading the fascinat-ing story of NASA’s Apollo program in a book called One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon by Charles Fishman. This is a book that can rekindle your fascination with an extraordi-nary episode in American history, and restore your faith in our ability as a nation to solve seemingly in-tractable problems by inventing solutions that no one

had ever imagined before. I have also ordered a new book, just being released as I write this, called The Gone Dead: A Novel by Channelle Benz, and am look-ing forward to seeing how it unfolds. It is billed as, “An electrifying first novel from ‘a riveting new voice in American fiction’ (George Saunders): A young woman returns to her childhood home in the American South and uncovers secrets about her father's life and death.” And this from Elle Magazine: “Transports readers to the mucky Mississippi delta, where rising humidity and a few probing questions unearth a long-buried crime.... An examination of racial justice and history— and whose versions are accepted as truth.” We shall see. What will your time be like this summer? Will you try to stay busy, accomplishing as much as you can, or will some moments of quiet open your awareness to God’s ever-faithful presence, waiting just for you?

59. For Quiet Confidence O God of peace, who hast taught us that in re-turning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 832)

Keep the faith. Share the joy. See you in church. Faithfully,

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church 82 Kimberly Drive, Durham, NC 27707

From the Rector

July 2019

2 Stephen’s Window July 2019

From the Priest-in-Residence Dear Friends,

I have loved the month of June since I was a child. It not only brought the thrill of summer vacation and the feeling of elation at the freedom of long unscheduled days in the freshness of June’s spring-like weather, but it also brought my birthday! For almost the last four decades, it has also brought Father’s Day – and frequently, two liturgical feasts growing increasingly important to me, Pentecost and Trini-ty Sunday. June is such a full month!

This year was no exception. Betsy and I not only got to spend most of June at Em-erald Isle, but we enjoyed more than a week of that time with our grandchil-dren; and we had a memo-rable beach neighborhood party to celebrate my triple silver jubilee birthday!

In addition, I was privileged to preach five times in June – one of my favorite things to do! Two of the sermons were with you at St. Stephen’s, one was at St. Francis by the Sea, and two were at St. Paul’s, Beaufort. One of the times at St. Paul’s was at their Celebration of New Ministry, when the Bishop officially installed Tammy Lee as their new rector. Tammy was my Associate at the Chapel of the Cross for 22 years, and it was a special delight to participate in that joy-ful occasion. The other time to preach there was on Trinity Sunday, according to the Book of Common Prayer, one of the seven principal feasts of the liturgical year. Over the years, it has become one of my favorite Sundays, and I would like to share with you a few thoughts from that ser-mon, as a way to share with you the joy of this last month.

… Many analogies have been used throughout history, which do not explain the Trinity, but which make some at-tempt to point us to its elusive reality. Perhaps the most famous analogy is that attributed to St. Patrick of the sham-rock, three leaves joined in one stem. Another is that of water, ice, and vapor, three different things, but one sub-stance. John Wesley said, "Tell me how it is that in this room there are three candles and but one light, and I will explain to you the mode of the divine existence."

Tertullian used the horticultural explanation of "Root, Tree, and Fruit, in one plant." The Cappadocian St. Greg-ory of Nanzianzus spoke in the fourth century of, "The sun, its ray, and its light." Augustine used a psychological mod-el of "amans, id quod amatur, amor," or "the one loving, the one loved, the love itself."

All of these analogies can point us to the mystery of the Trinity, but reason itself cannot grasp it. As Blaise Pascal wrote, "The last proceeding of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it." Reason can lead us to the mystery of God, but it is only love which can respond to it.

The reality of God as Trinity is a proclamation of love. It is a glimpse into the very nature, the very life of God. The love of the Father overflows into the Son and the dynamic love between them is the Spirit.

God is so holy, so pure, so infinite that we must say that God is one. Yet God's oneness is so alive, so dynamic, so giving, that we cannot say that God is merely one; but ra-ther God is like a river, overflowing its banks, bringing life wherever it touches. The very essence of God is community, a divine community of love. Although God is One, God is not solitary, alone, isolated. Rather God is a relationship of Three Persons, each of whom love, and receive love from, and abide in, the love of the other.

Meister Eckhart, the renowned German mystic, wrote: "When God laughs at the soul and the soul laughs back at God, the persons of the Trinity are begotten. To speak in hyperbole, when the Father laughs to the Son, and the Son laughs back to the Father, that laughter gives pleasure, that pleasure gives joy, that joy gives love, and love gives the persons [of the Trinity] of which the Holy Spirit is one..."

Faithfully,

Parish News

Lay Pastoral Care If you have a prayer request for a loved one or yourself and would like to be included in the Prayer Network’s daily prayers, please contact Holly Latty-Mann, Martina Gardner-Woods, Claire ([email protected]) or the Church Office. For prayers in the Sunday service’s Intercessions (Prayers of the People), please contact Claire, Father Bob or the Church Office. To request a Eucharistic visit or other needs for yourself or loved one, please contact Claire or Father Bob.

The church office will be closed Thursday, July 4 and Fri-day, July 5 in observance of Independence Day.

During our break, the St. Stephen’s Stitcher’s will be mak-ing scarves for the 2019 high school graduates. If you grad-uated this year, please email Bobbie Nielsen at [email protected] to let us know the color you want for your scarf.

Sunday, July 7, the 60th Anniversary of the First Service at St. Stephen’s will be commemorated. There will be only one celebration of Holy Eucharist that day, at 9:30 a.m. in the Nave.

Congratulations are in order for Angelica Galavis, who recently graduated summa cum laude from Jordan High School! She will be attending The University of North Carolina Wilmington in the fall.

mailto:[email protected]



Christian Education and Programming

Dear Family and Friends of the Children and Youth Pro-gram,

I am writing this piece for the newsletter as I sit and relax after a long day of programming at Kanuga. I have spent the morning and afternoon listening to youth leaders and clergy as they lead workshops on how to help. Although the amount of information can be overwhelming, moments like these afford me the opportunity to reflect on what I have learned and what we have discussed.

As I enjoy a rocking chair on the porch overlooking the gor-geous lake, I am thinking about what it means to help. Over the course of the last programming year, we have focused Sunday School lessons on our theme of loving God and loving our neighbors. When I was intro-

duced to today's topic of '#helping', I thought specifically about acts of service and not about a general practice of helping youth. I now find myself thinking about what it means to help youth, families, and community members, not only our less financially fortunate neighbors.

In fact, I've been thinking about how loving our neighbors begins in our own pews and youth activity room. The first challenge for me is to ask, "How can I help?" I intend to come back from Youth Week ready to ask our children this question and really listen to their responses. I would like to carve out time to specifically sit down and just listen to our youth because they know what they most need from me and from the youth program in general. Furthermore, I need to ask families, "How can I help?" With my focus on serving children, I often forget that it takes a village to raise a child and if parents and siblings are not being supported, it be-comes all the more challenging to serve the children. If you need help, please ask! I'm here for you and if I have not been, challenge me to do better.

Each and every year, I come back from Kanuga energized and ready to try something new and different. In this case, I have been forced to consider if I am missing some of the basics. It seems obvious to ask for help, but not as obvious to ask how you can help. I plan to spend some of the rest of my time here in quiet reflection, specifically, thinking through the basics. What am I missing and what could-and should-I be doing differently. Thanks for your patience. I'm getting there...slowly but surely. Yours faithfully,

Stephanie

Youth Activities

Former rector, the Rev. Sam Mason was unable to attend St. Stephen’s 60th Anniversary party, but sent the following note:

Thank you very much for the invitation to the 60th Anniversary Celebration at St. Stephen’s. I wish I could attend, but prior obligations made it impossible. I hope all is well with you and all the good folks at St. Stephen’s.

Faithfully, Sam+

A Note from The Rev. Sam Mason

To the St. Stephen’s family:

The summer season not only gives us a chance to plan, but it also provides a moment to attend to some things that may not get as much attention during the program year. Over the past three years, the children’s activity bags have been a welcome addition to our 10:30 service. The bags have been well loved, but that also means that the number of bags has been slowly dwindling due to damage. Most of the remain-ing bags are also in some state of disrepair. It’s time for a refresh!

Over the summer, we will be revitalizing the entire chil-dren’s welcome area, including the bags. Our plans include:

New table with a thinner profile and racks for the activity bags

Fitted table covering and runner that includes a welcome message

New bags featuring the St. Stephen’s logo Some new items, including some age-

appropriate liturgical aids (most of the existing items will also continue to be used)

We hope to have all these materials in place in time for Start-up Sunday on September 8, so we will be placing our order in early August. If you would like to assist with this effort, donations would be most appreciated. Please contact me ([email protected]) if you are interested. Checks can be made out to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church with “Children’s Welcome Table” in the memo line.

We have other efforts in the works for our new program year, which will be outlined in the August and September newsletters.

In the meantime, enjoy your summer!

Faithfully,

Jeremy



It has been a busy few months for Housing for New Hope and St. Stephen’s team of volunteers! Housing for New Hope staff and volunteers worked feverishly for the past several months to complete renovations on Holloway Place (formerly Dove House) near downtown Durham. Holloway Place will provide housing for 6 low income, single women and a house manager. Many thanks to all of you who donated food and beverages, or volunteered your time to complete land-scaping, build furniture, or help stage the house!

On Tuesday, June 11, Housing for New Hope held its 27th annual breakfast and fundraiser (netting over $48,000!), with St. Stephens hosting one of the tables. Of particular interest to our parish, Fr. Bob Kaynor was recognized as board member emeritus. He is the first board member in the history of the organization to receive this honor. Fr. Bob captivated the audience with his passionate description of the work he has done with Housing for New Hope, the relationships he has developed over many years, and how deeply this work has touched his life. And we enjoyed hearing many across the organization speak so fondly of their relationships with Fr. Bob and the important contributions he and St. Stephen’s have made to Housing for New Hope. After the breakfast we were able to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony and tour the completed Hollow Place, including the manager’s suite furnished by a gift from St. Stephens! This beautiful house is now ready become a home, thanks to the efforts of

so many caring people. What a blessing!

If you are interested to know more about the work of Housing for New Hope, or wish to donate your time or financial resources to assist their work, please contact me. 919-624-3654 or [email protected].

Faithfully, Kim Deloatch

Outreach to Housing for New Hope

Pictures of the Manager’s Suite which was furnished by a gift from St. Stephen’s.



St. Stephen’s Church 60th Anniversary Party

On Saturday, June 8, we hosted a wonderful party to celebrate the past 60 years of St. Stephen’s. The party was held in the parish hall as the threat of bad weather prevented us from setting up outside. Around 100 people attended and enjoyed wonderful food, great music from the Jim Ketch Quartet, and a wonderful party atmosphere. People of all ages were there; from founding members to our youngest members of the congregation. Many thanks to the team of ladies who organized the event: Liz Jones, Emmy Renquist, Angelica Kendall, Kara Keedy and Jen Brewer.

Christian Keedy, Jen Brewer, Mick Brewer, Jason Jones, Liz Jones,

and Robert Renquist

Albert Gard, Ted Griffin, Carolyn Gard, and Ack Thompson

Nolan Renquist, Henry Jones, Robert Renquist, and Michael Brewer

Laura Virkler and Tom Kenan Lizzie Almasy, Maya Almasy, and Emmy Renquist

Father Bob and Sue Kaynor

Mick Brewer Susan Griffin, Lucy Petruccelli, and Cindi Easterling

Debbie Breuer, Marlene Morrison, and Matt Breuer


Music Notes

Bach Feast Day

There are three postludes which I have played year after year. At the Christmas Eve service it is a piece by Pachel-bel based on the chorale Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich hier (From Heaven Above to Earth I Come), on Easter Sun-day it is the Toccata from Widor’s 5th organ symphony, and on Trinity Sunday it is Bach’s “St. Anne” or “Trinity” fugue. This year I wasn’t able to play the Widor Toccata because of the partial tear in my right achilles tendon, but, thanks to the help of a wonderful physical therapist, I was able to play the “St. Anne” fugue on Trinity Sunday. At the suggestion of our Parish Administrator, Catherine Oakley, the music notes which I wrote for Trinity Sunday appear in this newsletter.

In preparing the notes I discovered that in the Episcopal Church July 28 is a feast day for three composers, Bach, Handel, and Henry Purcell, and that for Lutherans it is a feast day for Bach, Handel, and Heinrich Schutz. July 28, 1750 is the date of Bach’s death. This year July 28 is a Sunday and Father Bob has agreed that we should observe the feast day at the 10:30 service. All music that Sunday will be by Bach.

In the accompanying picture you see the statue of Bach which stands in front of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig where Bach was employed during the last 27 years of his life. A detail worth noting is the symbol for the Trinity above the entrance to the church.

Here are the notes from Trinity Sun-day.

Bach’s Way With Numbers

The service today includes two pieces by J. S. Bach (1685-1750). During Communion you will hear the C major Prel-ude and Fugue from Book I of The Well-Tempered Cla-vier. Then during the Postlude will come the Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552, better known as the “St. Anne” Fugue or the “Trinity” Fugue. For Trinity Sunday there can be no better choice of Postlude. Both pieces display Bach’s keen interest in numbers.

Bach’s Numbers: 14, 27, 41.

Bach completed Book I of the WTC (a standard abbrevia-tion for The Well-Tempered Clavier) in 1722. Twenty years later would come Book II. Each Book consists of 24 Prel-ude-Fugue pairs, one in each of the 24 major and minor keys. In each Book the pieces are ordered chromatically. First comes a Prelude and Fugue in C major, followed by a Prelude and Fugue in C minor. After that the sequence of keys is C-sharp major, C-sharp minor, D major, …, B mi-nor.

Book I of the WTC created a revolution in the history of Western music. In 1722 composers did not write keyboard music in all 24 major or minor keys, The methods of tuning keyboard instruments didn’t allow it. Among the hundreds of keyboard pieces by Handel (1685-1759) and Franҫois Couperin (1668-1733) you will not find a single piece in the key of E-flat minor. By 1722, however, Bach had dis-covered a method of tuning, similar to what is currently used in tuning pianos, which made Book I of the WTC pos-sible.

The Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846, which you hear today, is the first of the 48 Preludes and Fugues which make up the two Books of the WTC. Bach wanted this Fugue to bear his signature and he accomplished this by using his numbers 14, 27, and 41.

The number 14 comes from the letters in Bach: B is the 2nd letter of the alphabet, A the 1st, C the 3rd, and H the 8th. The sum 2 + 1 + 3 + 8 is 14. The number 27 comes from Bach’s initials. In the German alphabet known to Bach J is the 9th letter and S is the 18th letter. Thus, 27 = 9 + 18 is the number which comes from Bach’s initials, J and S. Fi-nally, 41 = 14 + 27 represents “J. S. Bach."

In the C major Fugue which you hear today the fugue sub-ject, shown below, consists of 14 notes and the number of measures in the piece is 27. Moreover, Bach makes some-thing special happen at the 14th measure. That measure is the middle measure of the piece; 13 measures precede it, 13 measures follow. The measure begins with the final chord of a cadence which brings the first half of the fugue to a close. It then immediately continues with a passage in which statements of the fugue subject rapidly pile on top of one another (something known as stretto) until, just three measures later, we find fragments of the fugue subject in all four parts, an amazing display of contrapuntal skill.

The numbers 14, 27, and 41 can be found in many of Bach’s works. We will look at just two examples before going on to the number-rich St. Anne Fugue.

Bach’s playful use of numbers can be found in the chorale-prelude Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot (These are the holy Ten Commandments), BWV 679. It is a light hearted gigue-like fughetta whose fugue subject is shown below. The fugue subject is two and a half measures long and there are four beats per measure, all heard clearly when played. So, one hears 10 beats with each appearance of the fugue subject. And how often does the fugue subject appear in the piece? You guessed it: 10 times. But now take another look at the fugue subject. The first note is a G. How many times does that note occur in the fugue subject? It occurs 14 times.


Another striking example is provided by the “death bed chorale.” Shortly before Bach died he revised the chorale-prelude Vor deinen Thron tret hermit, BWV 668. Here is an English translation of the first verse of the chorale.

Before Thy throne I now appear O Lord, bow down Thy gracious ear To me, and cast not from Thy face Thy sinful child that sues for grace.

In this piece phrases of the chorale melody appear in the soprano supported by three part counterpoint. The phrases of the chorale melody are separated by contrapuntal inter-ludes. The first phrase of the chorale melody has 14 notes. The total number of notes in the chorale melody is 41.

Even as he was dying Bach engaged in his number games. Why? Just for fun? Perhaps not.

Bach’s Trinity Fugue

The opening seven notes of today’s postlude will immedi-ately bring to mind the melody of our recessional hymn, “O God, our help in ages past," which uses the hymn tune St. Anne. For this reason the postlude is often called the “St. Anne Fugue.” It has also come to be called the Trinity Fugue. In what follows you will learn why it deserves that name and why some people view the piece as a true repre-sentation of the Trinity.

It seems to be abundantly clear that Bach had the Trinity in mind when he wrote the fugue. Why else would Bach have worked so many 3’s into the piece? It is, first of all, a TRI-PLE fugue which is written in the key of E-flat major, which has THREE FLATS in its key signature. Then, there is the matter of its placement. It is the concluding piece in an important collection of Bach’s organ music called Cla-vier-Übung III. The collection contains 27 pieces and 27 is of course, the product of three 3’s.

The architecture of the piece reveals more 3’s. As men-tioned above, the piece is a triple fugue; that is, it is in three sections—we will call them A, B, and C—each a fugue with its own fugue subject or theme. We will call the fugue subject of A the St. Anne theme because of its resemblance to the opening of the hymn tune St. Anne. The St. Anne theme appears in both B and C, even though these fugues have their own fugue subjects. It is what binds the three fugues into one fugue. It appears 12 times in A, 6 times in B, and 9 times in C. It therefore appears 12 + 6 + 9 = 27 times , and, in case you forgot, 27 is the product of three 3’s!

In planning the three sections of the fugue Bach strove to create a structure which was both symmetric and “divinely

proportioned.” Bach achieved symmetry by making A and C have the same length: both are five-voice fugues with pedal which are 36 measures long, while B is a four voice fugue for manuals only which is 45 measures long. The numbers 36 and 45 are significant in this context because they are multiples of 9 and 9 is the sum of three 3’s. Note also that the sum of 36 and 45 is 81, the square of 9. The numbers 36 = 4 x 9 and 45 = 5 x 9 are not only consecutive multiple of 9, but they are consecutive “triangular num-bers,” and triangles have 3 sides.

Triangular Numbers, A Digression

In this picture you see pool balls at the beginning of a game of pool. They form a triangular array which has 5 rows. If you have played pool, you know that there are 15 pool balls; 7 “solids” which bear the numbers 1, 2, …, 7, the black 8 ball, and 7 “stripes,” bearing the numbers 9, 10, …, 15. But,

if you haven’t played pool and did not know that there were 15 pool balls, you could determine their number by count-ing. A systematic way to do that would be to count them by rows. In the top row there is just 1 pool ball, in the 2nd row 2 balls,.., in the 5th row 5 balls. Thus, there are 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15 pool balls. The number 15 is the 5th triangular number, which we denote by T(5).

In the second picture you see pool balls racked for a variant of the usual game of pool. They form a triangular array with 3 rows. Counting by rows we see that there are 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 = T(3) pool balls. In general, the numbers of objects in a triangular array with n rows is T(n) = 1 + 2 + 3 + …+ n, the sum of the first n integers. T(n), the nth triangular number, can be computed by a well known formula:

T(n) = n(n + 1)/2. By setting n equal to 8 and 9 we get T(8) = (8 x 9)/2 = 4 x 9 = 36 and T(9) = (9 x 10)/2 = 9 x 5 = 45. Thus, the numbers 36 and 45 are not only consecutive multiples of 9, but they are consecutive triangular numbers.

Approximations of the Golden Mean

The golden mean is the number (1 + square root of 5)/2 = 1.61803398… Bach might have called the number the “divine proportion.” It is an irrational number, which is to

Music Notes Contined


say, it cannot be expressed as the quotient of integers. However, we can get a good approximation to the golden mean by dividing the total number of measures in the fugue by the total number of measures in A and C: (36 + 45 + 36)/(36 + 36) = 117/72 = 13/8 = 1.625. The ratio 13/8 is, in fact, an “optimal” approximation to the golden mean: to get a quotient of integers which approxi-mates the golden mean more closely you need larger num-bers in numerator and denominator. (The fraction 1618/ 1000 = 1.618 is a better approximation of the golden mean, but look at the size of the numerator and denominator.)

The fraction 13/8 is interesting because 8 and 13 are con-secutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...in which each term after the 2nd is the sum of the preceding two terms. One of the interesting properties of the Fibonacci numbers is the following: when you divide each term by its predecessor, the resulting sequence of numbers, 1/1, 2/1, 3/2, 5/3, 8/5, 13/8, 21/13,…converges to the golden mean and the terms of the sequence alternately under and overestimate the golden mean: 1/1 = 1, 2/1 = 2, 3/2 = 1.5, 5/3 = 1.666…, 8/5 = 1.6, 13/ 8 = 1.625, 21/13 = 1.6153… The upshot of all this is that by choosing 36, 45, and 36 to be the number of measures in A, B, and C, Bach created a fugue which was not only symmetric, but “divinely propor-tioned.”

Does the St. Anne Fugue yield only one approximation to the golden mean? Shouldn’t there be 3?

Indeed there are! That comes about because of what hap-pens at the 23rd measure of B, which is the middle measure not only of B, but of the entire piece. This is the measure where Bach brings in a rhythmically altered version of the St. Anne theme. That makes it natural to consider the two halves of the fugue. If one divides the number of measures in the first [or second] half of the piece by the number of measures in A [or in C] , the reduced ratio is again 13/8 = 1.625. In other words, the two halves of the St. Anne Fugue are also “divinely proportioned.”

Three Fugues, Yet One Fugue

All these numbers and the superabundance of 3’s are only part of the story. A lesser composer could write a triple fugue using the same numbers, and the result might be a mere curiosity (or worse), rather than an artistic and spiritu-al treasure. What is more significant is that Bach created a unified work which synthesizes three very different fugue styles. Fugue A, whose fugue subject is the St. Anne theme (shown in a below), is a stile antico fugue, written in the the sixteenth century vocal style of Palestrina. It has a dense five-part texture; it is massive and majestic. Albert Schweitzer identifies A with God the Father. Fugue B, whose fugue subject consists of running eighth notes (shown in b below), is a spielfuge written in what Bach would have called “modern” instrumental counterpoint. For Schweitzer, B represents God the Son; the minor harmonies

which occur he identifies with the Crucifixion. Then C, the concluding fugue, is a dance fugue based on a subject in gigue meter (see c below). In its swirling, dancing counter-point Bach seems to celebrate and revel in the wonder of creation. For Schweitzer, C represents God the Holy Spirit. He finds in C the roaring of Pentecostal wind. Thus, we have a fugue which embodies three fugues with three different fugue subjects and written in three different fugue styles, all bound together by the St. Anne theme into one coherent and majestic piece of music. To mimic the language of the Athanasian Creed, A is fugue, B is fugue, and C is fugue. And yet, there are not three fugues, but one fugue.

When the Borromeo String Quartet performed at Duke sev-eral years ago, their program began with the St. Anne Fugue as arranged for string quartet by Nick. (Transcribing five-part counterpoint for four string instruments is a non-trivial undertaking.) Program notes written by Susan Halpern included this paragraph.

“Steglich describes the Fugue as appearing “with a glance now no longer turned toward earth, but upward as if toward heaven. [to] see the Trinity glorified.” Keller concurs, and feels the fugue can only be understood in terms of its sym-bolism: “there are three fugues with three subjects and yet they are one, like the three persons of the Godhead. Here, in its expression of the ineffable, music has achieved some-thing for which the plastic arts and poetry of all periods have striven in vain: a real representation of the Trinity through the medium of art.”

Counting the Beats, Another Triangular Number

I have no idea whether Bach knew that the crucial numbers 36 and 45 were triangular numbers. But, it is interesting that the number of beats in the St. Anne Fugue is another triangular number. So, let’s count the beats. In A there are 36 measures with 4 beats per measure for a total of 36 x 4 = 144 beats. The same is true of C. In B, the middle section of the fugue, there are 45 measures with 2 beats per meas-ure for a total of 45 x 2 = 90 beats. So, in the entire piece are are 144 + 90 + 144 = 378 beats. There would seem to be nothing special about the number 378. But it turns out to be a triangular number and not just any old triangular num-ber. It is the 27th triangular number, and, just in case you forgot, 27 is the product of three 3’s. To verify this we can use our formula for triangular numbers. T(27) = (27 x

Music Notes Continued


28)/2. = 27 x 14 = 378, quite a coincidence! But what is even more astounding is that the number of beats in the St. Anne Fugue is equal to 27 x 14, the product of the Bach numbers 14 and 27.

Borromeo Leipzig Triangles

Because 36 and 45 are triangular numbers, one could take a score for the St. Anne Fugue, cut the measures from the score and then reassemble them to form three triangular arrays. That, in essence, is what happens in a YouTube vid-eo in which the Borromeo String Quartet performs Nick’s transcription of the St. Anne Fugue.

In the video you see pictures which Nick took in Leipzig and the surrounding area. The opening frame, for example, shows the symbol for the Trinity above the entrance to the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where Bach was Cantor for the last 27 years of his life. (There’s that number 27 again!) Later you see Bach’s grave inside the church, the coffee house where many of his secular works were first per-formed (including the “Coffee” Cantata), etc.

As the fugue is played, you see each measure of Nick’s score at the moment it is played. Once played, the measure magically reduces in size and takes its place in one of the three triangular arrays. Also, while the Fugue is played, the beats, represented by pictures of the Trinity symbol above the entrance to the church, appear in a triangular array with 27 rows.

In the top picture on the left you see in the final frame the three triangular arrays made up of the measures of the piece, plus the triangular array gener-ated by the beats. In the next picture you see a frame where the C section is being played. In this frame you see the magnifi-cent Hildebrandt or-gan in Naumberg which was tested by Bach and the organ builder Gottfried Sil-bermann in 1746.

To watch and listen to this YouTube performance you can pull up Safari and type in: borromeo kitchen leipzig trian-gles st. anne fugue YouTube.

-J. Kitchen

Music Notes Continued Sexton Report

I am pleased to announce that the new roses are blooming forth as roses are supposed to. It seems they like the securi-ty of being completely surrounded by a deer fence!

The cooler, damp weather during the second week in June allowed for application of the second round of lawn fertiliz-er. Normally this would be down closer to Memorial Day, but the weather was too hot and dry.

All of the window trim and painted doors on all three build-ings have a new coat of paint. This had not been done in many years. Some areas were badly in need of paint.

The failed compressor for the church has been replaced. Of course when Bug Man investigated, there was not an ant to be seen anywhere. According to Burke Raper, if fire ants had been the cause of failure, the repairs may have been covered by insurance.

For some time we have experienced back ups with the kitchen and utility room drain system. Multiple investiga-tions have revealed some sort of blockage in the line just west of the walkway between the Administration and Edu-cation buildings. Sometime in July before the String School takes up residence, Durham Plumbing will excavate the suspicious section and make a simple, we hope, repair.

Three cone flowers and three golden rod hybrids were do-nated and transplanted to the area of the north eastern end of the Parish Hall. It is not the optimal time of year to trans-plant cone flowers; they are hanging on.

The brown van suffered some vandalism in early June. Once repairs are completed, the van should be transferred to El Buen Pastor in downtown Durham forthwith.

On Friday, June 7, Tim Ballou and I along with a couple of my basketball teammates helped to complete the landscap-ing around the new home on Holloway Street for Housing for New Hope. The next day several more of my teammates assembled and arranged furniture throughout the house.

By the time you read this I should have returned from the National Senior Games basketball tournament in Albuquer-que, NM. Several generous soules volunteered to keep SSEC running in my absence. I am grateful.

-Kevin Kelly


Dates to Remember Prayer Requests

For restoration of body and spirit:

and also for friends and family members of St. Stephen’s parishioners:

Akiko, mother of Mari Alton, fr iend of Alice and Jeanne Betsy, step-daughter of Scott Bill, fr iend of Charles Pastor Bill, fr iend of St. Stephen’s Cerue, mother of Paula David, fr iend of Bob Deb, fr iend of Wanda & Sue Don, fr iend of Char les Edwin, brother of Clyde Fagan-Solis family, relatives of Kate Gwendoline, mother of Wendy Iris, mother of Jeanna Jane, niece of Scott Jon, grandson of Scott Kathleen, fr iend of Pr iscilla & Derek Leslie, great-niece of Derek Lyn, mother of Becky Marc, son of Lucy Mary, cousin of Martina Meghan, niece/goddaughter of Nancy Nicholas, fr iend of Sue Owen, step-brother of Tom Peter, fr iend of Pr iscilla & Derek Pieter, fr iend of Wendy Ray, son-in-law of Mary Ann Roy, fr iend of Charles Ruth, fr iend of Ginger and Sally Walt, father of Julie

In the diocesan cycle of prayer:

Week of July 7: Church of the Nativity; St. Ambrose; and St. Augustine’s University Chapel, all in Raleigh

Week of July 14: St. Mark’s; St. Michael’s; and St. Timo-thy’s, all in Raleigh

Week of July 21: St. Thomas’, Reidsville; and Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Ridgeway

Week of July 28: All Saints’, Roanoke Rapids; Church of the Messiah, Rockingham; and Church of the Good Shep-herd, Rocky Mount

Susan Steel 7/3 The Rev. Derek Shows 7/3 Ben Maynor 7/4 Debbie Breuer 7/5 Martina Gardner-Woods 7/7 Spot Vicars 7/8 Christina Galavis 7/8 Charlotte Langford 7/14 Mark Lazenby 7/15 Catherine Cajka 7/15 The Rev. Louane Frey 7/16 Sally Graham 7/16 Ruth Barber 7/17 Bill Aldridge, Jr. 7/19 David Veasey 7/20 Dick Boyd 7/20 Carla Bullock 7/21 Jamie Cajka 7/22 Nancy McCumber 7/25 Susan Griffin 7/26 Benji Paulakonis 7/26 Walter James 7/27 Scott Hughes 7/28 The Rev. Ray Howe 7/28 Wendy Fuller 7/28 Bill King 7/29 Drew Vermillion 7/29

Margaret & Peter Bennett 7/7 Sally & Jack Markham 7/8 Becky & Steven Bonchick 7/10 Jackie & Mike Pollard 7/11 Aimee & Justin Grau 7/13 Blair & Richard Corney 7/15 Cindi & Dick Boyd 7/16 Francheska & Michael Fisher 7/16 Bristol & Brock Winslow 7/17 Gail & Bruce Waters 7/18 Mary Kay & Howie Zwiefel 7/28 Liz & Jason Jones 7/30

Baptisms

Richard Dayton Corney June 9, 2019

Lyla Elizabeth Goad

June 9, 2019

Andy Benji Betty M. Bill Bob Brian Bruce Carol Caroline Carter Mae

Cis Dorothy Ginger Harry JoeAnne Lois Louise Margaret Megan Milton

Nancy Orlando Peter Ron Ruth Scott Susan Tony


Ministers The Fourth Sunday

After Pentecost July 7

The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

July 14

The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

July 21

The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

July 28

St. Stephen’s Anniversary

Service at 9:30 a.m.

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist: Rite I



Celebrant — Robert K. Kaynor Stephen Elkins-Williams Stephen Elkins-Williams

Preacher — Robert K. Kaynor Stephen Elkins-Williams Stephen Elkins-Williams

Eucharistic Minister

— Claire Doerschuk Nancy Ciaffone Claire Doerschuk

Reader — Nancy Ciaffone Claire Doerschuk Jack Graham

Intercessor — Ack Thompson Matt Breuer Mary Kay Gobris

Usher(s) — Page Wilson Linda & Chuck

Cushman Louise Pannill

9:30 a.m.

Holy Eucharist, Rite II 10:30 a.m.



Holy Eucharist, Rite II

Celebrant/Officiant

Robert K. Kaynor Stephen Elkins-Williams Stephen Elkins-Williams Stephen Elkins-Williams

Preacher Robert K. Kaynor Robert K. Kaynor Stephen Elkins-Williams Stephen Elkins-Williams

Assisting Priest

Martha Brimm Robert K. Kaynor Martha Brimm Martha Brimm

Anointing Martha Brimm Martha Brimm Derek Shows Derek Shows

Subdeacon (Server)

Lizzie Almasy Kate Fagan-Solis Lizzie Almasy Jeremy Godwin

Eucharistic Ministers

Sue Kaynor Priscilla Shows

Bob Bullock Sue Kaynor

Pat Serafin Priscilla Shows

Bob Bullock Pat Serafin

Acolytes TBD TBD TBD Anna Preston

Lector (1st Lesson)

Bobbie Nielsen Drayton Virkler Katherine Bick Marlene Morrison

Lector (Psalm)

Lucy Petruccelli Frank Goodwin Lori Hawkins Megan Carlson

Lector (Epistle)

TBD TBD TBD Anna Preston

Intercessor John Haywood Michele Hayward George Kennett Jack Watson

Ushers Sally Hunsucker Jackie Pollard

Sumner, Henry, and Drayton Virkler

Dick Boyd Gary Bressler

George Kennett Ian Shearer

Altar Guild Carla Bullock

Nancy Ciaffone Judy White

Mari Shinohara Bobbie Nielsen Nancy Ciaffone

Carla Bullock Margy Pless

Carla Bullock Margy Pless

Greeter(s) Martina Gardner-Woods Martina Gardner-Woods Martina Gardner-Woods Martina Gardner-Woods


Non-Profit Organization US Postage

PAID Durham, NC 27705

Permit No. 59

Return Service Requested

St. Stephen's is a parish within the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, part of the world-wide Anglican Communion.

www.dionc.org

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman Bishop Diocesan

The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple Bishop Suffragan

St. Stephen’s Staff

The Rev. Robert K. Kaynor

Rector [email protected]

The Rev. Stephen J. Elkins-Williams

Priest-in-Residence [email protected]

The Rev. Dr. Derek Shows

Priest Associate

Dr. Joseph Kitchen Music Director and Organist

[email protected]

Dr. Daniel Monek Choir Director

[email protected]

Dr. Jeremy Godwin Director of Christian Education [email protected]

Stephanie Metzen

Youth Director [email protected]

Burke Raper

Business Manager [email protected]

Susan Steel

Membership & Stewardship Coordinator [email protected]

Tamiko Sanders

Preschool Director [email protected]

Catherine Oakley

Parish Administrator [email protected]

Angelica Kendall Parish Secretary

[email protected]

Kevin Kelly Sexton

[email protected]

Clyde Stephens Parish Life and Staff Assistant

The 60th

Vestry and Officers of St. Stephen’s

Drayton Virkler, Senior Warden Michael Brewer, Junior Warden Jim Stewart, Treasurer

Bob Bullock, Assistant Treasurer Lizzie Almasy, Clerk Katherine Bick Sally Bugg

Wendy John Liz Jones Cathy Lavin Ben Maynor Lucy Petruccelli Norm Woods

Library News Summer Reading Recommendations

As presented in the latest edition of online news from the Diocese, the Chartered Committee on Lifelong For-mation has compiled a list of great summer reads (available at the bookstore or the public library) so that, as you take a break to relax and re-charge, you can enrich and renew your soul as well.

1) Living the Way of Love by Mary Bea Sullivan. This book contains forty short, insight-ful daily reflections on following The Way of Love and is a perfect way to begin summer days.

2) The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks. Best-selling writer, Brooks, explores what it takes to lead a meaningful life in a self-centered world.

3) Waking Up White and Finding My-self in the Story of Race by Debby Irving. A thoughtful telling of one woman's journey to understand racism and un-pack her own beliefs and bias, that also offers others an invitation to consider their story.

4) The Universal Christ: How a For-gotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe by Richard Rohr. This inspiring book examines who Je-sus is, what he taught, and how the un-folding work of God continues.

5) Who is My Neighbor? by Amy-Jill Levine and Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. This children's book is a great re-telling of the parable of the Good Samaritan for families.

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http://www.dionc.org












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