News from the Congregation April 17, 2020
COVID Aid from South Korea’s Anglican Community; ‘Unconditional Soup;’ Sunday Programming (Worship and Coffee Half-Hour), Reading Group, Compline, Morning and Evening Prayers, Zoom Links
Canon Lee
Something to raise your spirits: Below, you will see a photo of a blessing held at the Cathedral Church of the Anglican Diocese of Dae Jeon in South Korea for Covid-19 emergency aid to our own Cathedral in New York. The Archbishop of South Korea, the Most Rev. Moses Yoo, presided.
Our own Suffragan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Allen Shin, helped arrange for this remarkable donation, which includes 5,000 masks collected by the South Korean priests during Holy Week. The donation also includes 3,000 hand sanitizers and 3,000 protective gowns produced by a local factory.
Once the donations arrive, we will be working with our partners at Mt. Sinai to distribute these supplies to where they are needed most.
This donation is a wonderful example of what can happen because of the deep bonds, formed across national boundaries, that exist within our global Anglican Communion, and a reminder of how the concrete actions of generous love translate into every language.
The Rev. Canon Steven Lee
Canon Pastor and Vicar
THIS SUNDAY, APRIL 19
10:00 AM - Digital Sunday School Materials Emailed
Both Jennifer Allen and Donna Devlin will be sending out materials for our children's programs. Please contact them if you would like to receive their packets.
11:00 AM - Online Cathedral Worship Service
Visit the Cathedral website: http://www.stjohndivine.org or the Cathedral Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/StJohnDivineNYC to view the livestream of this Sunday's worship service.
12:00 PM - Digital Congregation Coffee "Half-Hour" by Zoom
This week the digital coffee "half-hour" is hosted by the Young Episcopalians of Saint Saviour. Link:
https://zoom.us/j/2123167483
(Bible Study and Adult Formation return next Sunday.)
WEEK OF APRIL 19
CATHEDRAL CONGREGATION PROGRAMS
Tuesday, April 21 | 7:30 PM - Congregation Reading Group hosted on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/2123167483
Wednesday, April 22 | 8:30 PM - Congregation Compline on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/2123167483
Monday - Friday: The Cathedral offers Online Morning Prayer at 8:30 AM and Online Evening Prayer at 5:30 PM at this link:
https://zoom.us/j/5577413337
Marsha and Tim
From the Junior Warden, Tim:
When a devastating series of famines gripped Ireland in the first half of the 19th century, the response from government, churches, and charities rarely met the need. Though there were many examples of true generosity during that calamity, the help sometimes came with strings attached. Some Protestant missionaries set up soup kitchens in hard-hit areas and offered food to starving Roman Catholics in exchange for their accepting religious instruction, sometimes even to the point of conversion. In reality, “souperism,” as it became known, was a rare phenomenon, but it had a lasting effect on the popular memory of the Famine. It blemished the memory of relief work by many Protestants who gave aid without conditions and without proselytizing. To “take the soup” became a colloquial description of shameful compromise in the face of desperation.
Today though, in our incredibly diverse city, the soup is flowing unconditionally. From hospital staff and first-responders to supermarket employees and postal workers, we see so many examples of selfless generosity and courage it is almost too much to comprehend. Many members of our own Congregation have pitched in, in ways both big and small, to help those in need, often at risk to their own health.
And how heartening it was to learn of Dean Daniel’s offer to Mt. Sinai, our hospital neighbor, to use the Cathedral space as overflow during the darkest hours of the pandemic. The offer was not conditioned upon the hospital adhering to our religious principles, nor did it require that any church leaders be the recipients of flattery or praise. He simply asked the question: “how can we help?”
Amidst all of the profound sadness and dislocation of this time, let us vow not to forget these wonderful examples of the Holy Spirit acting through us.
From the Senior Warden, Marsha:
So it’s been a month. The vestry, the clergy and the staff of the cathedral have been working hard figuring out how to do be a virtual church. Members have been reaching out and calling other members to see how they are doing. Through ZOOM we have been praying and meeting and checking in on each other. Virtual Bible study on Sunday, a virtual Liturgy of the Word, virtual coffee hour and a fascinating class on the Daily Office offered by Canon Malloy—all this makes for a full Sunday observance. Holy Week has come and gone with wonderful services and sermons but sadly no foot washing this year, no stripping the altar, no Maundy Thursday vigil; no reverencing the cross on Good Friday; no Easter Vigil and no Eucharist for a full month now. Easter Sunday the service was lovely and we were able to see our choir for the first time in a month. Some of us actually wept as their faces came on the screen. Yet we are not together. A friend has lost her son to Covid19 and we can’t hug her. There have been other losses that we may not know about. Our virtual meetings and prayers are much much better than nothing, but we yearn to be together again.
The Vestry spent much time and energy over these four weeks taking care of the business side of doing church. While we had implemented a method of making contributions electronically through Realm, we had not implemented anything that allowed us to pay bills electronically. Thanks to the work of the Finance Committee, the Treasurer and Hope Chang, we are now able to both accept contributions and pay our bills without anyone having to go into the office and write checks. You will hear more from our Stewardship co-chairs next week about how to give online.
While a growing group of members are comfortably praying daily together on ZOOM, a book group is also meeting. Still I am personally concerned about the members who have not connected in this way. I also wonder for those that do connect if what we are offering is enough. Are there some projects that we can take on when so many of us are in isolation? Do you have any ideas of things the Congregation of Saint Saviour can do that are practical and that help us keep a sense of community while helping others in this difficult time for our City and our Country? If you do, please email wardens@saintsaviour.org and let us know.
God Bless you all! See you soon in the land of ZOOM.
Tim and Marsha