News from the Congregation February 26, 2021
‘Living and Dying in Isolation' | Sunday Soup Kitchen Volunteers Needed, Cathedral Blood Drive, Absalom Jones Youth Gathering, Harlem Inter-Parish Council Lent Services, Private Baptisms on Easter Eve | Sunday Programs (9:30 am Vicar’s Open Space, 10 am Genesis Bible Study, 11 am Worship Service, 11:45 Vicar and Friends, 12 pm Coffee Half-Hour, 12:30 pm Adult Formation-Liturgical Year |Weekday Programs (M-S Morning and Evening Prayer; Wednesday: 6:30 pm YESS Bible Study, 8:30 pm Compline; EfM Class, Friday: Midday Prayer and Meditation, Vicar’s Open Space).
Canon Lee
I can do no better this week than to recommend our Senior Warden's moving reflection on isolation. I also commend to your careful attention the many opportunities for service and formation available in this season. I continue to pray that you have a holy Lent.
Marsha and Bob
Our Senior Warden on Isolation:
It is now almost a full year that we have been living in relative isolation—no Eucharist, no movies, no restaurant dining, no friends over for dinner. As we approach the anniversary of the lockdown, I think I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. It is over two weeks since I received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. My sister, who is 82 and lives in my building, has also received both doses. During these long months we have not seen each other face to face. At last on Wednesday, I visited her in her apartment. We took off our masks and she made tea. It was absolutely lovely and a prelude of what is to come: normal life! I really believe this.
My sister confessed that she has been very depressed, having crying jags, feeling her frailty. Like me she has projects and friends on ZOOM, but it hasn’t been enough to keep the demons away. I realize that I have been lucky. After the first few months when I thought I might go crazy, I somehow got used to the rhythm of this isolated life, and depression hasn’t settled over me.
Yet in my solitude, my mind has turned often to Charlie, a man I met in 1952 when I was about 10 years old—a man who lived alone and who took his own life. Charlie lived in a one room house at the end of an unpaved gravelly road near Indian Lake in northern Michigan. Our family vacationed in a rustic cabin a few yards from Charlie’s little house. Like Charlie, we got our water from a pump; we used an outhouse; our lamps were kerosene. Every year we drove up from Detroit and enjoyed the simple life. My father fished every day in Indian Lake. We shot beer cans with a 22 caliber rifle, we swam, we picked berries, we took road trips around the Upper Peninsula. For us it was a fun change of pace. For Charlie, this was his life 12 months of the year. He was very friendly. He told us where we could find the best raspberries for picking; he took us out on the lake to show us where there were cranberry bogs. I remember him clearly-- a large man of about 80, wearing overalls and waders, getting out of his boat to collect as many cranberries as he could to put up for winter. He was a widower and his children lived in Minnesota. He lived alone with a little black cocker spaniel named Mitzi. One year we returned for our vacation and Mitzi was gone. Charlie had given her to his son when his family visited that summer. In the middle of the following winter we learned that Charlie had committed suicide. I have always thought it was his total isolation in the harsh Michigan winter that drove him to decide to leave this world. The memory of Charlie haunts me—his total isolation and obvious depression as he aged completely alone.
If everyone I knew suddenly disappeared--if there was no ZOOM, no Internet, no telephone--could I live the life of a hermit? As my body inevitably failed would I be able to sense God’s presence if I never saw another human being? I confess that I cannot imagine surviving without you, my community and my friends, without praying every morning and crying and laughing with you. Should I question my own faith if it depends on being surrounded by a community of friends? How do the truly isolated like Charlie survive these difficult, lonely days? Some of them don’t.
Someday soon, perhaps by the end of the summer or early fall, I am confident that we will see one another face to face, pray and share the Eucharist, enjoy a cup of coffee and a cookie together, and weep a little for the sheer joy of being together again. When I look back on this period of my life I hope that I will continue to be filled with gratitude that we were able to survive these terrible days virtually, together!
NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE
Sunday, March 14, 2021 | 1:00PM - 2:00PM - Absalom Jones Youth Gathering
All 6th-12th grade youth in the Episcopal Diocese of New York are invited! We will be discussing the life and work of Absalom Jones, the first priest of African descent in the Episcopal Church. How can we continue his work of helping people in need? Ms. Carla Burns from the diocesan Anti-Racism and Reparations Committees will be our special guest. Ms. Burns is also an ex-officio member of the diocesan Black Presence Project coordinating team.
Lenten Wednesdays Worship with the Harlem InterParish Council - Wednesdays at 7PM
March 3 The Rev. Matthew Paul Buccheri/St. Edwards
March 10 The Rev. Patrick Williams/St. Martin’s
March 17 The Rev. Terence Lee/St. Philip’s
March 24 The Rev. Mary Foulke/St. Mary’s
BAPTISM ON EASTER EVE Saturday, April 3, 2021
The Cathedral Chapter has decided to offer adult and infant baptisms on Easter Eve, the Saturday before Easter Sunday. Due to the pandemic, these will be private in-person baptisms, not open to the public. Anyone interested in having themselves or their babies baptized should contact the Vicar's assistant, Hope Chang. The Cathedral clergy will conduct baptism preparation classes during Lent.
GIVE/SERVE
CCC - Volunteer Opportunity at Sunday Soup Kitchen
Every Sunday from 8:30 am to about 11:00 am, Cathedral Community Cares needs 3 Congregation volunteers to help with preparing and distributing food. Please CLICK HERE to access the new volunteer sign-up page. Or click on “Volunteer" in the main navigation menu of www.saintsaviour.org. Shifts are open through the end of April. Thank you to all the volunteers from St. Saviour who have generously given of their time week after week!
CCC - February Clothes Drive
CCC requests warm hats, gloves, and coats for their Clothing Closet clients. The Clothing Closet accepts gently used, freshly laundered clothes. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, clothes MUST be laundered before donating. Drop-off Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
THIS SUNDAY, Feb 26, 2021
9:30 AM - Open Space with the Vicar
Join Vicar Lee and others for 30 minutes of conversation, community, and pastoral support. Come and go as you please!
10:00 AM - In the Beginning: A Study of Genesis
Join the Vicar for a study of the first book of the Bible. Discover Genesis, not as a collection of ancient mythological stories, but as the Word of God addressing our fundamental and deepest needs. This Sunday will focus on: Genesis 8 “Re-emergence and Re-imagination, Part II”
11:00 AM - Congregation Watch Party for Cathedral Worship Service
Watch the Cathedral worship service on Zoom with other members of the Congregation. As a way to maintain a prayerful atmosphere, we will be turning off Zoom chat for the duration of the service.
You can also watch the Cathedral Worship Service
On Facebook: http://facebook.com/StJohnDivineNYC
On the Cathedral website: http://www.stjohndivine.org
11:45 PM - Vicar and Friends
Join the Vicar and occasional guests right after the service for a brief time to say hello and check in with other members of the congregation.
12:00 PM - Digital Coffee Half-Hour
Join us at this week’s Digital Coffee Hour to meet members of the congregation.
WEEKLY CATHEDRAL CONGREGATION PROGRAMS
Monday-Saturday | 8:30 AM Morning Prayer | 5:30 PM Evening Prayer
Wednesdays | 6:30 PM - YESS Bible Study
Join the Young Episcopalians of Saint Saviour as the read through the book of Exodus. No preparation needed.
Wednesdays | 7:00 PM - Open Space with the Vicar (cancelled Mar 3)
Join Vicar Lee and others for 30 minutes of conversation, community, and pastoral support. Come and go as you please!
Wednesdays | 7:30 PM - Wednesday Bible Study (cancelled Mar 3)
Join the Vicar for a study of Paul's Letter to the Romans. The source of so many changed lives and pivotal moments throughout Christian history, Paul's greatest epistle invites us to transformation in our own lives and time.
Wednesdays | 8:30 PM - Congregation Compline
Thursdays | 6:30 PM - Education for Ministry
Education for Ministry is designed for lay people who want to delve more deeply but are not necessarily interested in ordination; EfM classes provide a more formal study of scriptures and the history of the faith. Current Topic: “Living into the Journey with God”
Fridays | 12:00 PM - Midday Prayer and Meditation
The Angelus and 10 minutes of silent meditation.
Fridays | 12:15 PM - Open Space with the Vicar
Join Vicar Lee and others for 30 minutes of conversation, community, and pastoral support. Come and go as you please!