News from the Congregation January 8, 2021

Jan 8

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra and Tim Dwyer

‘Open Space with the Vicar’; ‘Epiphany, God is with us’; | CCC - Coat Drive; Jennifer Allen’s Ordination; Inauguration Eve Vigil on Cathedral Steps | 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 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

To profane means to treat the sacred with contempt. What happened on Wednesday afternoon was the profanation, not just of the Capitol building, but also of the ideal that every person has a sacred dignity worthy of equal respect.  In the aftermath of these shocking events, on Wednesday evening, we gathered together before Bible study and after Compline to share our perspectives and our feelings. On Thursday evening, we had a special Open Space with the Vicar to continue this conversation.

 Each night, I was asked, "What can we do now?"

Let's start here. I remind you that when we were each baptized, we personally affirmed that we would "strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being."  Our collective conversations these past two nights have done this exact thing. They have been vulnerable, honest, challenging, and respectful.  This is the spiritual practice we need in these difficult times. To learn to treat our fellow Congregation members as sacred and worthy of respect.

To that end, starting tomorrow afternoon, Open Space with the Vicar will occur three times each week: Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM, Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM, and Friday afternoons at 12:15 PM. You can find details below.  These will be continued opportunities for deep conversation, honest vulnerability, community building, and pastoral support. 

I look forward to seeing you there.

Marsha and Tim

Our Junior Warden reflects on Epiphany:

In the summer of 1988, I was fortunate enough to attend a friend’s wedding in Northern Italy. It was my first time at a wedding outside of the US, and it was fun to see some of the ways the traditions differed from the wedding celebrations I was familiar with in America. For example, at one point during the reception, the best man walked around the restaurant with the groom’s tie, a hat, and a pair of scissors. He “sold” snippets of the tie to attendees and gathered the cash in his hat to give to the couple. At another point, we were instructed to look under our plates and discovered that everyone had a small card instructing each of us to do some small thing for the bride and groom in the coming year (“take them to lunch on Mardi Gras,” “send flowers on the first day of Spring…”). My card directed me to bring them a three kings cake on the day of the “Re Magi.” In those pre-internet days, arranging an international cake delivery in Italian proved beyond my capabilities, but I did call them on the Feast of the Epiphany that year to let them know I had not forgotten my obligation.

My youth did not feature a particularly rigorous religious education, and I confess that I’ve never felt like I had a very firm grasp on the Feast of the Epiphany. I guess it doesn’t help that the Magi are only mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, and with little of the detail we view today as part of the story. It seems that they did indeed bring three gifts, but we’re not actually told how many Magi there were. Were they kings from Arabia, India, and Persia, or were they Zoroastrian priest-astrologers from the East? Or did the Magi get promoted a few centuries later to better align with the Psalms (72:11: “May all kings fall down before him”). Or, as some have speculated, were the Magi symbolic representatives of the three continents known at that time (Africa, Asia, Europe)? And who gave them those interesting names (Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar)?

Add into the festal mix some of the other observances connected to the day – Orthodox Christmas Eve, Ireland’s “Women’s Christmas,” the wedding of Cana, and the “Twelfth Day of Christmas” (Twelve drummers drumming? Really?) – and I am pulling my hair out.

During my years in the Cathedral community, I have been on a spiritual journey. I have learned, instead of being bothered by the narrative messiness of holidays like Epiphany, to appreciate the variety of ways that our observations of Christian holidays have evolved and been interpreted around the world to incorporate aspects of different cultures and traditions. I realized that I’ve even put my own personal stamp on Three Kings Day: in the 32 years since my friends’ wedding, I have reached out to them every year on “our Re Magi day.” Despite the geographical distance, our friendship has endured and grown (I still have that snippet of the groom’s tie).

I have also had another little epiphany: that I should worry less about trying to reconcile the murky “historical” aspects and contradictions of our faith (not an easy thing for a historian to do!) and instead try to focus on what I think God is trying to reveal to us. At Epiphany – “revelation from above” – it is that God is with us and among us, here and now. Even in the tough times. Even this past Wednesday as our nation endured yet another collective trauma. It was comforting to remember that, even as I struggle so often to understand his purpose, He is with us.

CONNECT

Saturday, December 12 | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm EST Ordination of Jennifer Allen
Jennifer Allen, formerly Saint Saviour's seminarian, will be ordained a priest on Saturday January 9. All are invited to attend digitally.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Vigil on the Eve of the Inauguration
Cathedral Steps
Concludes with a brief service at 5:00 PM, culminating with a ringing of the Cathedral Bells at 5:30 PM with Houses of Worship around the nation.

GIVE
This Holiday Season, the Congregation and Cathedral are providing several ways to give back to our community.

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 10, 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 6 under the heading: Noah and the Flood, 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.

12:30 PM - Adult Formation — SOME GLOW: Howard Thurman, Religious Experience, and the Future of America
Please Listen to: The Inward Journey: Meister Eckhart - From Ashon God Hid Nothing. The transcribed version is available as a pdf, here.

This week, we will take a look at the influence of 14th Century German mystic Meister Eckhart on Thurman's mystical imagination. By thinking, specifically, about notions of 'being' and the 'Godhead', we will make sense of how and why Eckhart's mysticism might have been a boon to Thurman's own preoccupations with, and critiques of, Christianity in the West.

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. This Wednesday will again focus on Romans 1:1.

Wednesdays | 8:30 PM - Congregation Compline

Fridays | 12:00 PM - Midday Prayer and Meditation
The Angelus and 10 minutes of silent meditation. Stay afterwards to connect with the Vicar and others in the parish.

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 January 21)
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.

Steven Lee; Marsha Ra and Tim Dwyer