News from the Congregation March 5, 2021
‘Living a Bible-Centered Life;’ ‘Meeting Jesus at 9:00 am’ | Sunday Soup Kitchen Volunteers Needed, OPUS Lecture: “Climate Change and Sacred Ecology,” Absalom Jones Youth Gathering, Harlem Inter-Parish Council Lent Services, Private Baptisms on Easter Eve, Online Yoga at Cathedral | 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, 7:00 pm Vicar’s Open Space, 7:30 pm - Bible Study - Paul’s Letter to the Romans, 8:30 pm Compline; Thursday: 6:30 pm EfM Class, Friday: Midday Prayer and Meditation, 12:15 pm Vicar’s Open Space).
Canon Lee
Last July, we began our study of Genesis. This Sunday, God willing, we will finish discussing chapter 8. This is, I grant you, a very slow pace. But not unprecedented. Thomas Goodwin, a 17th-century Puritan, wrote a commentary on the Letter to the Ephesians that is one thousand pages long. His commentary only covers chapter 1 and half of chapter 2 of that epistle.
Now, Anglicans were theological opponents of the Puritans. As Anglicans, confronted with an interminable 17th-century Puritan Bible study, we might feel like the historian Thomas Macaulay, who described the Puritan sensibility in these famous words: “the Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.”
However, after 9 months, there are still 30 of you coming faithfully each Sunday. Our journey has not been so painful. We have discovered in Scripture “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). It turns out the Bible is more enjoyable than its reputation.
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Last month, I shared the literary critic Erich Auerbach’s description of the difference between the Bible and Homer: “The Scripture stories do not, like Homer's, court our favor, they do not flatter us that they may please us and enchant us—they seek to subject us, and if we refuse to be subjected we are rebels.” Subjecting one’s life to Scripture sounds like something a joyless Puritan would do. If the choice were between the Bible or a rebellious and liberating freedom, I would agree. I would choose freedom. But that is not the choice. John Maynard Keynes once described the dilemma this way: Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. In other words, we all have a controlling narrative in our lives. The choice is what story we choose to live by: a narrative we “create" for ourselves or a narrative handed down to us.
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Often, in Bible study, people argue that the Bible is written as a way to justify hierarchical power relations. That is not all the Bible does, but this style of interpretation, using a hermeneutic of suspicion, is reasonable. Church history is full of examples of people using the Bible to justify sinful behavior. What happens, however, when we apply this same hermeneutic of suspicion to the narrative we create for our own lives? What happens when we put our own narratives under similar scrutiny? We discover the stories we tell about our own lives are full of justifications for our sins. We discover we are no better than the authors of the Bible. If we hold the authors of the Bible to account, are we willing to hold ourselves to account as well?
Here is a good Lenten question for us to ponder. Which story, really, do we want to live by? A self-centered narrative of our own creation, or the God-centered narrative of the Bible?
Marsha and Bob
Our Senior Warden on Meeting Jesus in the Early Service
It was 9:00 a.m. and we were just starting the morning service. In those days (not so long ago), the 9:00 a.m. Eucharist service was celebrated in the choir area. Extra chairs were set up below the choir stairs. Bob Deming and I were the ushers that Sunday. Jesus appeared in the guise of an older Black man in scruffy clothes using a cane. I showed him to a seat at the bottom of the stairs because he had difficulty walking. At the peace I gave him my hand and also asked him if he would like the priest to come to him and give him a blessing or the Eucharist. “Both!” he said. He wanted “everything!” And so Dean Kowalski came to him with the bread and wine and also blessed him. When the service ended Jesus came to me and said: “You don’t know what you are doing!” I thought I had done something wrong, but he said, “I came in and you didn’t know me but you greeted me warmly. You saw to it that I received Communion and a blessing. You don’t know what you are doing!” It was not a criticism but a message that he wanted me to hear, that I had done a good thing and that he was thankful for it. He told me that he had lost everything and was coming to the Cathedral for a meal at the soup kitchen. His father had always told him to go into the sanctuary when things were going poorly, so he had decided to come to pray before he got in line for breakfast. After he left I was shaken and deeply moved. For once I had done the right thing. With Bob, who is always gracious, I had welcomed a stranger who appeared a bit disreputable and seen to his needs. I was and still am convinced that this old man was Jesus or an angel in disguise, reminding me that it was possible to make a difference in someone’s life in a very small way—and that it mattered.
A woman who leads a discussion group I belong to recently asked the members to talk about their legacies, what they will leave when they are gone. The answers that people gave were very dissatisfying to me. For the most part the other women were concerned about whether their children would want their stuff. I have no children and I have no stuff of much value. Does this mean I have no legacy? But I do have what we all have—the ability to affect other people for good and for ill. I sense that we are part of a wonderful web of life that lives through time and that each of us changes the other, even just a little bit. When you, my friends, share some insight during Bible study you change the rest of us. When those who have ears to hear, they are changed and can pass that change on. When you do an act of kindness you have changed the recipient of that act. That, to me, is the most important legacy of all. And I am convinced that the affect persists in the living web of human life. Of course I am not a Pollyanna, and I know that this ability to affect one another also applies to being cruel or simply careless. Scientists tell us that victims of great cruelty (slavery, war, the Holocaust) can actually pass the trauma onto their children. Where I have hurt people, where I have been selfish or uncaring, I can only ask for God’s forgiveness.
The women in the discussion group didn’t know what I was talking about, but I am sure YOU do!
Wednesday March 10 | 1PM - 2:30PM - OPUS Lecture: “Climate Change and Sacred Ecology,” with Fr. Jeffery Golliher
We are delighted to invite you to an OPUS (Older People Up To Something) virtual event. One of our former canons at the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine, Rev. Canon Jeffery Golliher, PhD has agreed to speak with us about “Climate Change & Sacred Ecology.” It will be a real treat to learn more about this very timely topic from someone whose life, teachings and writings in this area have been his focus for years. Please click here to learn more about this exciting event from OPUS!
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 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
NEWS FROM THE CATHEDRAL
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.
Body and Soul: Yoga from the Cathedral 6:00-7:00 pm Every 2nd and 4th Monday
On the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month, let the Cathedral help you align, ground, and recalibrate from the comfort of your home. Join Mia Michelson-Bartlett, for 60 minutes of gentle yoga and mindfulness meditation presented virtually from inside the building's monumental architecture. This practice uses movement and breath to quiet the mind and connect with something beyond ourselves. It is friendly for everyone from beginners to advanced yogis, and variations will be presented so that each participant can practice comfortably from home without specialized props.
Saint Saviour members can use coupon code YOGA21 during the checkout process to receive 50% off tickets for the virtual program. Upcoming dates are 3/8 and 3/22. Click here to register.
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, and, beginning this week, staffing Saint Saviour's own CCC table where clients can pick up winter wear, Bibles, and toiletries. Please CLICK HERE to access the new volunteer sign-up page on St Saviour's website. 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, March 7, 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 III”
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 - The Liturgical Year
Why do we celebrate Easter in the Spring? Was Jesus really born in December? What’s the difference between Lent and Advent? Canon Pat Malloy unpacks how the Christian calendar was developed and to what end.
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 they read through the book of Exodus. No preparation needed.
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
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!