PITTSFIELD — On a cold February morning last winter, it was a Sunday like no other at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Park Square.
With his face hidden behind an outlandish beaked mask, the priest, the Rev. Jim Dannals, sported a multi-colored shawl woven in the southern climes of El Salvador, its rich hues vying for brilliance with the century-old Tiffany stained glass windows. The choir, led by Jazz Diva Vikki True, rocked and swayed to a red-hot beat, while ushers threw fistfuls of jewel-toned Mardi Gras beads into the congregation. A spirit of Carnival had come to town, and the parish of St. Stephen’s was celebrating its first Jazz Mass, in anticipation of Fat Tuesday and the ensuing reflective days of Lent.
Children and adults who came to experience the festivities sat in wonder at this new take on the Berkshire church-going experience. Under the direction of local percussionist Mark Papas, the high-spirited music blended traditional jazz with spirituals into a vibrant mix that set feet tapping and hands clapping. The imaginative masks and abundant beads worn by both clergy and congregation created a sea of color in the otherwise conventional church surroundings. This was clearly not your typical Sunday service.
Afterwards, with the joyful music still ringing in their ears, the congregation and guests descended to the church hall to feast on a sumptuous spread of food authentic to South Louisiana: red beans and rice, tangy shrimp jambalaya and New Orleans King Cake, with the requisite tiny effigy of the baby Jesus hidden inside, waiting to be found by the lucky recipient.
St. Stephen’s will celebrate its third annual Jazz Mass at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 6 (the Sunday before Ash Wednesday), followed once again by a New Orleans-style Cajun lunch. Originally proposed by Priest-in-Residence the Rev. Gay Rahn, the event has become a much-anticipated offering at this creative, outward-looking parish, attracting large attendances of both regular congregation members, as well as visitors from near and far.
Interim Director of Education Linda Papas explained how the “no-holds-barred†Jazz Mass serves to highlight the opposing dynamics of the season.
“My personal experience of all this color, and life and celebration, and good food and jazz — all this life right before Lent — for me, the image of Lent is bare trees in the dead of winter, so the contrast is dramatic and pretty remarkable, personally and spiritually. Two such different times of year, and they come right up against each other.â€
She described a journey from exuberance to introspection: “To have celebrated Mardi Gras and then to go to that quieter, starker time, is really a wonderful thing.â€
The colorful shawl worn by the priest at the Jazz Mass reflects the very personal connection the church has with Latin America. For the past six years, a group of parishioners led by Don Wendling has traveled south for a week each winter on a mission under the auspices of the Episcopal Relief and Development Organization. After an initial visit to Honduras, the group, which ranges in size from six to 24 individuals, has focused its efforts on the impoverished country of El Salvador. The work they engage in is not for the faint-hearted: It is the hard, physical labor of clearing land and roads, making bricks and helping to build and rebuild homes and lives.
St. Stephen’s is no stranger to stretching the boundaries of its community offerings. This past summer, as part of a countywide festival celebrating the Housatonic River, the church hosted RiverMASS, a collaborative event envisioned and directed by area singer and songwriter JoAnne Spies. To the accompaniment of colorful noisemaking maracas handed out to the children, local performers such as Youth Alive! brought their energy and enthusiasm to the proceedings, and musicians, singers and even a jazz tap dancer joined a choir led by Berkshire Music School Director Tracy Wilson in an afternoon of aquatic celebration.
Accompanied by attendants bearing her flowing, river-like train, performance artist Stefanie Weber premiered “Oshun Exuvia,†inspired by the mythology of a Yoruban water goddess, that was part dance, part living sculpture. Alongside presentations that included a Sufi water dance, Hopi reflections and river-themed poems and songs, prayers and water blessings from religious traditions as diverse as Christianity and Buddhism all added to the inclusive, ecumenical nature of the occasion.
Alongside its weekly services, St. Stephen’s provides myriad opportunities for its congregation and the community at large to come together throughout the year, whether in a Palm Sunday procession from City Hall, a candlelit service of lessons and music, a celebration of Fathers’ Day, concerts by visiting choristers from Connecticut and singers from Estonia or an evening with an Episcopalian comedian.
By far the most creative undertaking to date has been the appointment of Maine-native Jim Day as artist in residence. With a background in theater and art (and a stint working with the Big Apple Circus), Day spends the summer and fall in the costume shop at Shakespeare & Company and the rest of the year presenting an array of programs for young people and adults at St. Stephen’s, that include evening acting classes and after-school arts.
In addition, Day has created sacred artworks for the church, such as banners, icons and a hand-drawn labyrinth on the front walkway. This year, he has designed a double labyrinth in the upstairs auditorium, one for adults and one for use by children. While some churches build a labyrinth of tile, in this instance the one-dimensional pathway — used primarily as a tool for meditation and reflection — is outlined in tape on the wooden floor. The installation will be inaugurated with a special candlelit opening ceremony on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 9). As Linda Papas explained, the labyrinth “is an inward path — not only does it take you to the center of the labyrinth, but it also takes you inward personally.â€
Whether by design or not, St. Stephen’s could be thought of as a kind of St. John North — a scaled-down version of New York City’s famed Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The largest cathedral of its time, spanning the dimensions of two football fields, St. John is still not finished, after more than a century of construction and the recent setback of a severe fire. Built as a “house of prayer for all people,†St. John serves as a beacon to the community through its programs, services and special events. A distinguished Cathedral School trains choristers for its world-renowned children’s choir, while a Medieval Arts Workshop helps foster an appreciation of the crafts associated with the cathedral through activities such as brass rubbings, stone carving, sculpting, stained glass and tapestry weaving. An array of public programs ranges from the Paul Winter Consort’s legendary summer solstice concerts, walks and tours and even Medieval-themed birthday parties!
Artists-in-residence at “Big John†(as the cathedral is affectionately called) include poets, painters, dancers, sculptors, musicians — and a high-wire aerialist. In a connection to the Berkshires, the annual Halloween Extravaganza and Procession of Ghouls at St. John is presented by master puppeteer and artist-in-residence Ralph Lee of the Mettawee River Theatre Company, who brought his latest touring production of a Turkish folk tale to the neighboring Pittsfield lawn of the Berkshire Music School as part of the summer Housatonic River celebrations.
Historically, the Jazz Mass is a broad term that encompasses the inclusion of native or “folk†music (as opposed to traditional liturgical music) into the church service. Popularized in America from the practice of jazz musicians playing at funerals in New Orleans, in a concert setting the format of the Jazz Mass has attracted the attention of renowned Jazz composers such as Dave Brubeck and Mary Lou Williams. Versions have been performed in major concert halls from Los Angeles to London, and the Jazz Mass has become a staple Sunday offering at jazz festivals from Iceland to Australia. As well as being offered weekly in that ancestral home of jazz, New Orleans, the Mass has been celebrated in a Dominican Monastery in Poland and a National Episcopalian conference in Minneapolis, and a Finnish composer’s rendering has even been featured at a concert in South Africa.
The Jazz Mass has taken root across the globe, and St. Stephen’s in Pittsfield has joined the chorus of churches praying to the Jazz Mass beat. If the enthusiastic response of the congregation is any indication, this new tradition will be around for many years to come.
New York writer Sharon Smullen successfully combines her twin passions of motherhood and the arts.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
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