News from the Congregation March 10, 2023
‘‘‘’ ; ‘Morning Prayer and Lenten Madness’ ” | Dates to Remember | Sunday Programs: 10:30am Worship Service In-Person and Online, 11:30am All Are Welcome Coffee Hour | Weekday Programs: M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom)
A Message from the Wardens (an ex-warden :)
Marsha Ra gives an update Update on Lent Madness:
We alerted you last week to the game of Lent Madness that some of the regulars at ZOOM Morning Prayer have been playing each morning after we complete the daily office. This game, developed and run by the Forward Movement, is meant to help us consider the lives of Christians whom we call saints as we move through our own Lenten journeys. And learn we do-- all sorts of odd things as we are inspired and sometimes shocked by the lives of faithful believers who came before us. On Monday, for example, we learned that the Ethiopian eunuch who appears in Acts of the Apostles and is baptized by Philip was given the name Simeon Bachos by Irenaeus in the Second Century. Was that really his name? In any case, he doesn’t have to be anonymous anymore. We learned about Blandina, a martyr at the age of 15 in Second Century Lyon and the patron saint of serving girls and those falsely accused of cannibalism. Blandina narrowly won against Bachos and has moved on to the next bracket. We learned that in a future round Johann Sebastian Bach, who won last Friday, will go up against Richard Hooker. Sometimes we are stumped by the choices. How do you choose between Eric Liddell, a Scottish athlete and missionary made famous by the film Chariots of Fire and Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman taken into slavery at the end of the 19th century and sold to an Italian? Josephine found Christianity while a slave in Italy and became a nun. (Josephine won and has moved onto the next bracket. At least Eric has an entertaining film under his belt!)
All are welcome to join us in Morning Prayer Monday through Saturday at 8:30, and to stay and discuss the saintly match-ups Monday through Friday. As we said last week: this has to be the easiest Lenten discipline available.
NEWS FROM THE CATHEDRAL - Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (stjohndivine.org
DATES TO REMEMBER
Feb 22 - Ash Wednesday
Feb 26 - First Sunday in Lent. Adult Baptism and Confirmation class begins.
Mar 29 - The Congregation of Saint Saviour and the Cathedral host the Manhattan North IPC Lenten Service
Young Adults of Saint Saviour Bible Study (Meets once a month)
All members of the Cathedral Community and Congregation in their 20s and 30s are invited to a Bible study hosted by the Young Adults of Saint Saviour. Last month we discussed the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and his call for us to change our hearts.
Immediately after the service, we gather in the nave during coffee hour and walk over to the Chapel of Saint James in the Cathedral.
No preparation or prior Bible study experience is necessary. All young adults are welcome!
NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE Home - Episcopal Diocese of New York (dioceseny.org)
NEWS FROM THE CONGREGATION
The Weekly Sunday Hospitality continues.
Research shows that the more you give the more you get. The more you help, the more invested you become in your church and the more it feeds you. Isn’t that amazing? Do you enjoy the coffee and the treats--the time together every week for conversation and welcoming of visitors? To keep this ministry going we need to expand the number of people involved. If you are on the list of helpers and providers of snacks, THANK YOU! If you haven’t volunteered yet— why not join the team? There is nothing exclusive about it. All are welcome to help out. If you can come once a month or every 6 -8 weeks to set up before the service and clean-up after the coffee hour, please contact Marsha Ra or Sue Sobolewski. Or talk to us on any Sunday. We will get you started on this ministry.
AN INVITATION TO MORNING PRAYER AND LENT MADNESS
For the past three years the attendees at Morning Prayer on ZOOM (ZOOM link: 557 741 3337) have been playing “Lent Madness” during Lent. Lent Madness is a bracket game much like March Madness except instead of basketball teams, 32 saints of the church compete against each other, two by two. It is sponsored by the Forward Movement (https://www.forwardmovement.org). Several writers and clergy in the church provide background information on each saint. Players vote to move their favorite saint to the next bracket. By Holy Week only two saints are left and the final vote results in the awarding of the Golden Halo. It’s fun, it’s educational, and must be the easiest, silliest Lenten discipline around. We learn a lot about saints we think we know and saints we don’t know at all.
Last year our recently arrived priest, Mother Eva Suarez, shepherded the winning saint through the process—Jose Hernandez, a doctor in Venezuela whom none of us in the Morning Prayer group had ever heard of. He actually won against Teresa of Avila--what an upset! If you are interested in playing on your own, go to www.lentmadness.org and sign up for daily emails containing information on the day’s competing saints. You can vote with the larger national group of players. Or you can start coming to the Cathedral’s ZOOM Morning Prayer where, after the office is complete, there will be a lively discussion of the day’s saints and an informal vote.
NEWS FROM THE VESTRY
GIVE/SERVE
Questions about Realm, the Congregation’s Online Hub for Giving, Volunteering, and Reaching Out to One Another
The Admin team would love to hear from you. Whether you need help making the shift to online donations, setting up your account, or just want to know what Realm can do for you, please contact Laura and Bob at this email address: info@saintsaviour.org
THIS SUNDAY
In-Person Worship at the Cathedral
10:00 am - Doors to Cathedral open.
10:30 am - Eucharist Service
11:30 am - All Are Welcome Coffee Hour
You can also watch a Livestream of the Cathedral Worship Service
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/StJohnDivineNYC
On the Cathedral website: http://www.stjohndivine.org
WEEKLY CATHEDRAL CONGREGATION PROGRAMS
Monday-Saturday | 8:30 AM Morning Prayer | 5:30 PM Evening Prayer
Wednesday 7:30 pm Bible Study | Paul’s Letter to the Romans | Congregation Zoom Link (On Hiatus until April)