News from the Congregation March 31, 2023

Mar 31

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra & Joan Adams

‘‘Changes at the Cathedral‘’ ; ‘Our Senior Warden Reflects’ ” | Dates to Remember (Holy Week) | Reception and Lenten Mass; Sunday Programs: 10:30am Worship Service In-Person and Online, 11:30am All Are Welcome Coffee Hour, 11:45: Young Adult Bible Study, 4:00pm Evensong with Eva Suarez | Weekday Programs: M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom)

Canon Lee

As the Dean announced last Sunday, upon his recommendation and nomination by the Bishop, the Board of Trustees has elected the Rev. Eva Suarez to be a Canon of the Cathedral. The Bishop will install her this Sunday, April 2 at 4:00 PM during Evensong. After this service, Mother Suarez will become Canon Suarez.

As a Canon of the Cathedral, Mother Suarez will become a member of the Chapter. According to the Cathedral's governing documents, "To the Dean and Chapter are entrusted corporately and collegially the administration and the spiritual and temporal interests of the Cathedral."

As I mentioned last week, there are other changes coming to the Cathedral, including a new staff structure that goes into effect tomorrow. In my new role as Executive Director of Ministry, one of my first tasks will be to take a broader look at our current ministry initiatives.

There are so many ministry opportunities and ideas that come to the Cathedral every day--from Congregation members, community leaders, Cathedral staff, neighbors in Morningside Heights--the temptation is to try to do them all. What is required is discernment and long-term strategic thinking rather than reactivity.

One place to start might be the three ministry priorities that the Bishop Coadjutor-Elect has already articulated, both in his campaign and since his election: Reparations, the Credit Union, and Creation Care.

In the coming years, how might the Cathedral, and the Congregation, participate in ministries that further these goals?

Message from the Congregation

Warden Bob Deming reflects on recent examples of excellent in the life of the Congregation:

Most everything is a work in progress, and that includes life in the Congregation. At the same time, occasionally I like to pause and acknowledge that which is better than ordinary, what might be viewed as special or exemplary.

Vicar Steven Lee was on parental leave these last two months, and it came to conclusion on March 21. The Vestry, the Admin Team and the Wardens were tasked with dealing with issues as they arose during late January, February and the first few weeks of March. I am pleased to say that we kept things running smoothly, and we hardly had to interfere with Steven during his parental leave.

In this last year, Marsha Ra has been the main person behind the Congregation having tables set up after the 10:30 AM Sunday service, with the purpose to provide coffee, tea, hot chocolate, water, and sweet and sometimes savory treats as well as to welcome the stranger in our midst. I feel that this so-called Coffee Ministry has been a rousing success.

By the way, we will not have our customary Coffee Ministry on Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday because of the anticipated larger crowds. We will start up again with the Coffee Ministry on the Sunday after Easter, which is April 16th.

I have worked with many people throughout the Coffee Ministry, but I want to especially thank Mark Garrison, who has been my mainstay partner as we set up and take down on most Sundays.

NEWS FROM THE CATHEDRAL - Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (stjohndivine.org

DATES TO REMEMBER
HOLY WEEK AT THE CATHEDRAL
Palm Sunday
Sunday, April 2 at 10:30 AM Town Building and High Altar
Holy Eucharist with Renewal of Vows and Consecration of Chrism
Tuesday, April 4 at 10:30 AM High Altar
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 PM High Altar
Vigil Watch at the Altar of Repose
Thursday, April 6 at 9:30 PM - Midnight Baptistry
Good Friday Service of the Sacrament
Friday, April 7 at 9:00 AM Baptistry
Good Friday Liturgy of the Word
Friday, April 7 at 12:00 PM High Altar and West Front Steps
Easter Vigil Saturday
April 8 at 7:30 PM Crossing
Easter Sunday
April 9 at 10:30 AM High Altar
Passes at this link
Easter Sunday Evensong
April 9 at 4:00 PM Great Choir

EASTER FLOWERS AND PASSES

Passes for Easter Sunday: https://www.stjohndivine.org/calendar/44782/easter-day-service
To Donate Easter Flowers: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/easterflowerfund or https://www.stjohndivine.org/get-involved/donate/ and select “Easter Flower Fund”

SUPPORTING CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY CARES
Starting on Tuesday, April 4th and continuing through Easter Sunday, the Cathedral will be having a special collection for Cathedral Community Cares (CCC). As you come to the Cathedral for worship and to celebrate Easter, we invite you to also support our neighbors in need. We are seeking the following donations at this time:

men’s and women’s underwear (new and in the package) sizes S-XXL
unisex hoodies sizes S-XXL
men’s jeans sizes 30-38
women’s jeans sizes 8-14
unisex sweatpants sizes M-XXL.

There will also be a QR code available onsite to support CCC financially. Please bring donations inside the Cathedral near the visitor desk.

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
11:45 am -Young Adults Bible Study
4:00 pm - Eva Suarez made Cathedral Canon
5:00 pm - Eva Suarez reception

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