News from the Congregation January 3, 2020
: Choosing Not to Hate at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
From Canon Lee
Many members of the Cathedral Congregation will remember Dr. Young Kun Kim. He was part of the Cathedral community for generations, and his gentle presence was unforgettable to anyone who had the privilege of meeting him.
His murder in May 2018 shocked our community and much of New York City. Compounding the tragedy of an 87 year-old man being beaten to death was that Dr. Kim's daughter-in-law was at that time pregnant with a baby girl, the granddaughter he would never meet.
I share these sad details only to emphasize the surprise when Dr. Kim's son, Jinsoo, wrote to me and Sub Dean Malloy recently about how he had participated in a restorative justice meeting with his father's killer. This meeting, a first for the Manhattan criminal justice system, was video-taped and will be used for training purposes going forward.
Jinsoo has given me permission to share with you the sentencing statement he wrote as part of this restorative justice process. For those who knew Dr. Kim, the statement is a profoundly moving and fitting legacy to a compassionate man written by his courageous son.
For those of us who follow the Way of Jesus Christ, the statement is also a challenge. Are we willing to follow Christ even here?
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Sentencing Statement by Jinsoo Kim
The Rev. Canon Steven Lee
Canon Pastor and Vicar
CONNECT
Divine Fellowship Epiphany Brunch
Sunday, January 5, 2020
12:30 PM
Chapel of Saint Saviour
Members of the Cathedral Congregation LGBTQ+ community (including allies!) are invited to an Epiphany brunch after the 11 AM service this Sunday in the Chapel of Saint Saviour. (Please feel free to bring something to share or a dessert, or just come and bring your appetite and ideas!)
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Northern Manhattan Inter-Parish Council Epiphany Party
Saturday, January 11, 2020
1:30 PM
Cathedral House
Meet other Episcopalians from churches in Harlem and Northern Manhattan at this annual Epiphany party hosted by the Cathedral Congregation.
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FREE FAMILY ICE SKATING
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Upper Playground of the Cathedral
2:30 PM: Performance by Figure Skating in Harlem
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Open Skate
All are invited for an afternoon of FREE ice-skating and a chance to connect with families in our neighborhood. Visit stjohndivine.org for reservations (required).
EXPLORE
Saturday Morning Meditation
January 4, 2020
10:00 AM
Chapel of Saint Martin
Join members of the Congregation and public for an hour of quiet meditation on Saturday morning in the Chapel of St. Martin.
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Sunday Morning Bible Study: Water and Baptism
January 5 and 12
10:00 AM
Chapel of Saint Martin
Education for Ministry (EfM) graduate, Sheila Evans, will lead the next two Bible Study classes, examining images of water in the Bible and how they relate to Baptism.
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Pathfinders: A Program of Spiritual Exploration for Children is on break this Sunday, January 5. For more information and to register, please contact Donna Devlin, Director of Christian Education.
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Radical Love Live
Sunday, January 26, 2020
7:00 PM
Cathedral Nave
TRAILER (starts at 12:00 minute mark)
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Adult Baptism and Confirmation Class
Sundays, February 2 to March 29
12:45 PM to 2:15 PM
For more information, contact Canon Lee at slee@stjohndivine.org
GIVE
STEP 1: Pledge Online to the 2020 Campaign
http://www.saintsaviour.org/giving
STEP 2: Four ways to Fulfill Your Pledge
Method 1 - Give through Realm (preferred)
Method 2 - Give through Paypal
Method 3 - Give by check
Method 4 - Give with giving envelope***
Contact pastoralcare@stjohndivine.org for help.
***If you wish to fulfill your pledge using a giving envelope, please note that envelope numbers will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. As good stewards of the environment, we are only ordering the minimum number of giving envelopes each year.
SERVE
Raising My Voice: A Harlem Re-Entry Initiative
Pilot Partnership with the Cathedral Congregation,
the J.C. Flowers Foundation, and Circles of Support
January 6, 2020 - March 23, 2020
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#HALTsolitary
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
New York State Capitol
Albany, New York
To join members of the Cathedral Congregation for a trip to the New York State Capitol in Albany to advocate for the end of solitary confinement, please email Elizabeth Howard.
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Global Mission
Presentation on the Current Missionary Context in Cuba
Sunday, January 26, 2020
12:45 PM
Cathedral House Conference Room
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Pilgrimage to England
With Cathedral Choristers and Congregation
August 2021
The Music Department has invited the Cathedral Congregation to participate in a Pilgrimage to England in August 2021. For anyone interested in learning more or in helping to plan the trip, please email Warden Tim Dwyer.
From Marsha and Tim
Have you made any resolutions this year? My sister asked me a few days ago what I hoped to accomplish in 2020, what were my plans, hopes, dreams? I was taken aback when I realized my only real hope at that moment was to live to see 2021! Putting mere survival aside, I have since taken her question more to heart. I’ve been thinking especially about 2020 and our congregation. What is special about us—maybe not unique but certainly special? It is our diversity. The range of age is broad (from a couple of months to 100 years!) We are a rich mix of people of so many races and ethnicities that it is mind-boggling. We are gay and we are straight. We are doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, artists, musicians, retail clerks, financial wizards, limo-drivers, tour guides. We’ve had our share of poets, judges, politicians, social workers, ballet dancers, actors, and housekeepers. Even the spiritual paths that have brought us together are varied – some are “cradle” Episcopalians, the rest converts from every faith and from none. We pray together, study the Bible together, work together, hope, laugh, and mourn together. We don’t always get along perfectly, but we really try. Our clergy nudge us in the right direction, helping us see the blessings before us and encouraging us to bring those blessings to people outside the church. This is a great challenge.
We live in a world which sometimes seems to be overwhelmed with hate and fear of the other, openly expressed, stoked, and used for political gain. The joy we feel at being part of a multi-ethnic community at the Cathedral is not shared by all outside of the walls of our worship space. Fear and hatred of immigrants and people of color is barely hidden in plain sight, and isn’t something that happens only “out there” in parts of the country where there is little diversity. No, hatred also lives with us right here in the New York area, where instances anti-Semitic incidents have gone way up, most recently with the awful attack at a Rabbi’s home in Monsey during Hanukkah celebrations.
The causes of such evil are complex and confounding.
Canon Malloy once noted in a sermon that 90% of the counties in the United States have no Jews living in them, yet we see rabid anti-Semitism expressed by young men from such places. We were recently reminded of the stabbing death of Timothy Caughman, a black man attacked on West 36th Street in March of 2017 by a white man hoping to start a race war. Recent interviews revealed that the perpetrator’s family kept a Barack Obama “Hope” magnet on their refrigerator, his grandfather helped in the desegregation of Louisiana schools, and he had attended Friends School of Baltimore, a Quaker school driven by pacifism and peace.
What part can we play as a Congregation in witnessing to the utter stupidity and evil of such fear and hatred and showing a different way? Let our congregation’s resolution for 2020 be to double and even triple our efforts, individually and communally, to put into action the inspiring words of the Book of Common Prayer:
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Marsha & Tim
JANUARY 3, 2020