News from the Congregation December 10, 2021

Dec 10

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra & Bob Deming

‘The One I Learned to Know While Waiting’; ‘‘Advent and Admin’ | Intentional Community at the Cathedral, Adult Baptism and Confirmation Class Preparation, Volunteer at CCC’s Sunday Soup Kitchen | Sunday Programs: 8:30 am Genesis Bible Study (Zoom), 10:30 am Worship Service - In-Person and Online |Weekday Programs: M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom), Wednesday: 7:30 pm Romans Bible Study (Zoom), Thursday: 7:30 pm YESS Bible Study (Zoom)

Canon Lee

Four loosely connected thoughts this week:

First, many thanks to Barbara Trelstad, Justin Dehnert, and Josh Connerty for organizing coffee hour last Sunday. The Congregation will host coffee hour for two more weeks in Advent. We will then take a break to evaluate our efforts.

Second, we are no longer offering Digital Coffee Hour. Many thanks to Timothy Dey for hosting these past few months. But with attendance hovering between 1 attendee or fewer, I have accepted Timothy's suggestion that we end this ministry. During the pandemic, Digital Coffee Hour was a lifeline for our community. I am so grateful to Timothy and to Laura Freseman for all they have done to keep us connected digitally.
Third, if you were in church last Sunday, you received three documents about the Intentional Community project:

After years of preparation and waiting, it is exciting to see the project come to fruition.

Finally, Henri Nouwen writes movingly about Advent during his stay with the Cistercian monks at the Abbey of the Genesee:

What strikes me is that waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting. As the Advent weeks progress, we hear more and more about the beauty and splendor of the One who is to come. The Gospel passages read during Mass all talk about the events before Jesus’ birth and the people ready to receive him. In the other readings Isaiah heaps prophecy on prophecy to strengthen and deepen our hope, and the songs, lessons, commentaries, and antiphons all compete in their attempt to set the stage for the Lord who is to come.

There is a stark beauty about it all. But is this not a preparation that can only lead to an anticlimax? I don’t think so. Advent does not lead to nervous tension stemming from expectation of something spectacular about to happen. On the contrary, it leads to a growing inner stillness and joy allowing me to realize that he for whom I am waiting has already arrived and speaks to me in the silence of my heart. Just as a mother feels the child grow in her and is not surprised on the day of the birth but joyfully receives the one she learned to know during her waiting, so Jesus can be born in my life slowly and steadily and be received as the one I learned to know while waiting.

A Message from the Wardens

Junior Warden Bob Deming on Advent:

We exist in sacred and secular worlds. When one influences the other, even if only in our minds, there can be special interest.

This is the season of Advent, an annual time of quietness and stillness, in anticipation of the birth of Jesus. It is also a time of darkness, as suggested by the winter’s solstice, which will occur on Tuesday December 21st, signifying the longest nighttime during the year.

I associate Advent with the wreath. Our family used to receive a fresh one in late November or early December from our aunt as an early Christmas present. We happily hung it outside our door, which would elicit a joyful response from our neighbors. Our aunt just turned 90: she now is too old to send presents, and anyway we had received from my mother a gift of an artificial wreath that we hang on our door, and it too generates positive words from our neighbors.

My other favorite wreath is the one at the Cathedral because it has the increasing number of lit candles as part of the progression of Advent. There is one lit candle on the wreath for the first Sunday of Advent; two lit candles on the wreath for the second Sunday of Advent; three lit candles on the wreath for the third Sunday of Advent; and four lit candles on the wreath for the fourth Sunday of Advent, which this year will be on December 19th.

Advent calls for patience. In addition to the coming of Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, I also interpret the message generally, as though we are patiently waiting for, in the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “thy kingdom come.”

For me, the new life I am gradually experiencing is being part of the new Congregation administration team. Hope Chang, who was the Victor’s assistant the last three years, left at the beginning of December, and Laura Freseman and I have been assigned many of the administration tasks. This is back-office work, and I am excited to contribute to the everyday life of our Congregation community.

Some of our work will be in Realm, which is the online database that the Congregation uses for contributions and communication. As I was watching a webinar on Realm to better familiarize myself with the software product, I noticed that the brand name has a concept linked to it. REALM stands for REAL Ministries. Our Congregation of Saint Saviour presently uses Realm for Congregation members signing up to volunteer on a Sunday at CCC (Cathedral Community Cares). Maybe in time, we will assist in the creation of another real ministry where Realm will provide some of the support.

NEWS FROM THE CATHEDRAL - Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (stjohndivine.org)

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE Home - Episcopal Diocese of New York (dioceseny.org)

NEWS FROM THE VESTRY

GIVE/SERVE

Questions about Realm
Christopher Clowdus and Neil Reilly invite your questions about Realm, the Congregation's giving database, at this email address: stewardship@saintsaviour.org.

CCC - Volunteer Opportunity at Sunday Soup Kitchen
Join us at CCC's Sunday Soup Kitchen (8:30 am - 11:00 am) to help prepare and distribute food and to staff Saint Saviour's Table. Please CLICK HERE to sign up! Shifts are open through the third week in February. Thank you so much for volunteering!