News from the Congregation January 29, 2021
‘A Mirror or the Cross’?; ‘Meet the Vestry Candidates’; | CCC - Hats and Gloves Needed; Sunday Soup Kitchen Volunteers Needed, Valentine’s Day Cards for Seniors, Saint Saviour’s Annual Meeting | 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 -Meet the Vestry Candidates, 12:30 pm Adult Formation on Howard Thurman) |Weekday Programs (M-S Morning and Evening Prayer; Wednesday: Vicar’s Open Space, Bible Study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Compline Service, Thursday: EfM Class, Friday: Midday Prayer and Meditation, Vicar’s Open Space).
Canon Lee
There is an old clergy joke:
What is the difference between a Methodist pastor, a Roman Catholic priest, and an Episcopal priest?
The Methodist pastor has a picture of Jesus in the office.
The Roman Catholic priest has a picture of the Virgin Mary.
The Episcopal priest has a full-length mirror.
In his Metamorphoses, the Roman poet Ovid tells the story of the hunter Narcissus. Worn out by the heat and tired from the chase, Narcissus finds a spring of cool water and drinks deeply. He catches sight of a bewitching image:
dumque bibit, visae correptus imagine formae
spem sine corpore amat, corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.
The poet Allen Mandelbaum translates this passage:
he drinks, but he is stricken by the sight
he sees—the image in the pool. He dreams
upon a love that’s bodiless: now he
believes that what is but a shade must be
a body.
Narcissus falls in love with his reflection, which Ovid describes as a spem sine corpore, literally, “a hope without substance."
At the center of our faith, however, is a hope with substance. At the center of our faith is the cross.
Not a reflection. Not a mirror.
Every time we officiate at the Daily Office, welcome newcomers on Zoom, pray for each other on Slack, teach a Bible study class, make sandwiches in the Cathedral gym, preach a sermon, volunteer at the Crafts Fair, check in on one another over the telephone, we have a choice:
A mirror or the cross?
To be a member of the Congregation of Saint Saviour is to choose the cross. It is to heed Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s famous quote:
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.
Bonhoeffer chose to live, and die, as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. He rejected a safe academic position in New York City and returned to Nazi Germany in the summer of 1939. This moment marks the beginning of a modern-day Passion story. The account of his final days before his hanging at the concentration camp in Flossenbürg is unbearably moving. Bonhoeffer paid the full price of discipleship. He chose the cross.
Of course, we are not all called to martyrdom. I doubt whether I could make a similar choice. You may have the same doubts about your own moral steadfastness. But that does not let us off the hook. You and I, and Bonhoeffer, are disciples of the same Lord.
Thankfully, even the smallest step moves us forward on the Way. As Bonhoeffer notes, something as simple as how we read Scripture in public worship, gives us a chance to choose the cross, not a mirror:
It will make all the difference between right and wrong reading of Scriptures if I do not identify myself with God but quite simply serve God. Otherwise I will become rhetorical, emotional, sentimental, or coercive and imperative; that is, I will be directing the listeners’ attention to myself instead of to the Word.
Marsha and Tim
The Congregation annual meeting takes place on Sunday, February 7. This coming Sunday, the nominees who are standing for wardens and vestry will be present to take your questions at the coffee hour after the 11:00 a.m. service. We are looking forward to seeing you there
CONNECT
The Annual Meeting of the Saint Saviour's Vestry will be Sunday, February 7, 2021 at 11:45 am. Click here for more information.
City Event: Covid-19 Town Hall Join our neighbors at Community Board 9 for a town hall about COVID-19 vaccinations hosted by CB9's SGL/LGBTQ+ Task Force and health experts from Black and POC communities. For more information about this important public health event, please click here.
GIVE/SERVE
Valentine’s Day Outreach for Local Seniors: Spread Valentine's Day love to our senior neighbors at Amsterdam House. For information about how to pitch in, please click here.
CCC - Volunteer Opportunity Our friends at CCC are requesting 3 Congregation volunteers for this Sunday 1/31 from 8:30am to 11:00am to help with food preparation and distribution. Please arrive no later than 8:30am to help with set-up. Everyone will be masked and as distanced as possible. The food prep will be inside, but food bag distribution will be outdoors on the driveway, so dress in layers! They also need volunteers for Sunday 2/7/21. To volunteer, please email Kevin de l'Aigle.
CCC - January 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, Jan 31, 2020
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 7 under the heading: "The Ethics of New Beginnings."
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.
12:30 PM - Adult Formation — SOME GLOW: Howard Thurman, Religious Experience, and the Future of America
WEEKLY CATHEDRAL CONGREGATION PROGRAMS
Monday-Saturday | 8:30 AM Morning Prayer | 5:30 PM Evening Prayer
Wednesdays | 7:00 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!
Wednesdays | 7:30 PM - Wednesday Bible Study
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
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!
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”
Thursdays | 6:00 PM - YESS Bible Study (Returns February )
The Young Episcopalians of Saint Saviour continue their Bible study of the Gospel of Matthew.
Reminder: you can find a directory of weekly programs with links to each program’s Zoom by clicking here.