News from the Congregation November 18, 2022

Nov 18

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra & Joan Adams

‘‘‘Kyoko Toyama, Credit Union, Cuba’ ; ‘God’s Mercy Endures Forever’ ” | Dates to Remember| Sunday Programs: 10:30am Worship Service In-Person and Online, 11:30am All Are Welcome Coffee Hour, 4:00pm Evensong 4:30pm Wine & Cheese| Weekday Programs: Wed Bible Study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Returns Nov. 30), M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom)

Canon Lee

At Diocesan Convention this past weekend, Bishop Dietsche awarded the Bishop's Cross to Kyoko Toyama, a long-time member of the Congregation. This is a wonderful acknowledgment of all the hard work Kyoko has done for the Congregation and several other communities. You can read the award citation here. Congratulations, Kyoko!

Also at Diocesan Convention, we learned that the National Credit Union Administration has issued a charter to the New York Episcopal Federal Credit Union (NYEFCU). After almost 20 years of work by faithful laypersons and clergy, the Credit Union is now official. At its meeting this past Tuesday, the Vestry agreed to allow the Credit Union to provide a "branch office" using the Congregation's Room 118 in Cathedral House for limited hours during the work week. We hope that many clients of Cathedral Community Cares will avail themselves of the Credit Union's financial services. This is a powerful example of local outreach and mission.

In terms of global mission, Bishop Griselda has recently shared that the current situation in Cuba is the worst she has seen in her 40 years there. One of the most critical issues facing communities across the country is a tremendous shortage of food - especially meat. For perspective, when available, 1lb of pork costs about 10% of a monthly salary. A box of 2 dozen eggs costs 20% of a monthly salary.

This past week, the Vestry voted to make a contribution to the Proyecto Feliz Navidad Cuba 2022. Details are below. I hope you will also consider making a contribution to help our brothers and sisters in Cuba celebrate Christmas.

A Message from the Wardens

Marsha Ra writes on Thanksgiving

“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good;
God’s mercy endures forever” (psalm 136)

In this season of Thanksgiving, let us consider gratitude. Let us look into our hearts and find the many reasons we are thankful. Let us name the One we believe is responsible for the untold blessings of our lives. Let us also consider those things for which we find it very difficult to give thanks.

Like you, I have many dear friends who have no faith at all, who believe this world, this universe, even their very lives, are simply the result of physical processes. These processes, they say, have no mind of a loving God behind them at all. They just happen. Yet, they tell me, they are thankful for their lives and their loved ones. They all sit around the Thanksgiving table and, like us believers, list the things for which they are grateful. Why do I question their gratitude? If there is no one in particular to thank for all of the wonders and joys of our lives, is gratitude really what non-believers are describing? Perhaps. But is it possible that gratitude in those who say they have no faith is actually an inkling of a faith they don’t yet recognize? For us Christians (and Jews and Muslims) we know quite specifically who we are thanking. The mind behind all these amazing processes from chemical reactions to black holes, to novae, to DNA, to the laughter of a baby and the beauty of a new leaf--that mind for us is God. Specifically it is the Word of God who was made flesh so that we could see and touch Him. “Be still and know that I am God”-- Jesus made these words concrete. Thank you!

Now here is a mystery: we give thanks for all the good things we encounter: the birth of a healthy new baby; the joy of falling in love; the surprise of any kind of good news. My child was accepted at Harvard with a full scholarship; I was promoted at work; I completed a project and it turned out well. I discovered an author whose work I really enjoy. That biopsy turned out to be benign. The choir at church sang something amazing and I was moved to tears. Thank you, God, for all of this! But what of the difficulties? What of the terrible things that happen? What of war and pain? What of watching a friend, a husband, even a child suffer and die? Surely we aren’t meant to give thanks for any of this.

I once heard a sermon by a famous Chasidic rabbi, Menachem Schneerson, about the necessity of learning to thank God for everything, for the good but also for the terrible. He was very compelling, but it was hard to agree. I heard a similar sermon from an Evangelical minister whose daughter had her leg amputated who publically thanked God for this. Again…hard to understand. I didn’t doubt the sincerity of Rabbi Schneerson or the Evangelical minister, but I couldn’t embrace this position and don’t think I ever will. Yet, yet, yet. We do not have to accept war and cruelty, but we have to at least accept mortality--the fact that life doesn’t go on forever. As Christians we say that we believe that death is not the end. But it is certainly the end of life as we experience it. Death separates us from our loved ones, our friends. We may be reunited in some way in the future, but we do not want to give up the comfort and joy of being together in the here and now.

I have grown old. At this stage of life on earth we make our wills, name health care proxies and give power of attorney to our children or a younger friend. We go through our stuff and try to simplify our belongings so that those who are left behind will have less to deal with. If we are spiritually strong, we spend time considering our lives, what we have done and what we have left undone, as the confession says. We try to come to terms with how we have lived the time we have been given. The hardest part of all is losing our own friends, watching them decline and die at an increasing rate as the years go on. We understand that this is the way physical life works. Without death there would be no life at all because everything would stagnate. So how do we manage the understandable grief at such loss? What I am trying to do is almost in keeping with what the rabbi and the minister proclaimed: I give thanks through the tears. The friend who is dying, what a great person he is! Why was I so privileged to know him? How did she enrich my own life? Look what I learned from her! He was funny and I will always remember his jokes. He sang well, and I will always remember the sound of his voice. The tears at the end are a measure of love, but also of deep gratitude for knowing and loving my many friends who passed on before me.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
God’s mercy endures forever.

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

Dates to Remember

Dec 3 - Special Convention to Elect Bishop Coadjutor at the Cathedral
Dec 4 - Young Adults of Saint Saviour (free!) lunch
Dec 6 - Episcopal Charities 25th Anniversary Tribute Dinner at the Cathedral
Dec 9 & 10 at 7 pm - Cathedral Christmas Concerts
Dec 11 - Early Music New York concert
Dec 12 - Commemoration of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dec 18 - Early Music New York concert
Dec 20 - Vestry Meeting
Dec 21 - Performance of El Nino, an opera-oratorio by John Adams, at the Cathedral
Dec 24 - Lessons and Carols; Christmas Eve service
Dec 25 - Christmas Day service; Early Music New York concert
Dec 31 - New Year's Eve Concert for Peace

HUMANITARIAN RELIEF FOR UKRAINE

Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance) as it provides critical assistance to support people affected by violence in Ukraine. Working through ACT member Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and other local organizations, ACT Alliance is providing emergency assistance such as food, shelter, water and basic supplies to refugees and people displaced within Ukraine. Donations to Episcopal Relief & Development’s Ukraine Crisis Response Fund will help the organization and its partners continue to provide assistance to people displaced by the crisis in Ukraine.

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.

NEWS FROM THE VESTRY

NOMINATIONS FOR VESTRY

Have you ever considered serving on the vestry? What does the vestry do?

Since the Cathedral has a Board of Trustees responsible for many of the things that vestries of parish churches deal with--namely all matters related to the building, land, and staff--our vestry is in the enviable position to deal primarily with issues related to building community and encouraging spiritual growth. The vestry has a special charge to offer welcome to potential new members and visitors alike. The vestry also manages the congregation’s assets—primarily the money collected through our on-going stewardship program and special collections for outreach.

To serve on the vestry:

You must be a baptized Christian and a member in good standing of the Congregation for at least one year prior to the election.
To be a warden you must be a confirmed Episcopalian and you must have served as a member of the vestry in the past.
You must be able to regularly attend vestry meetings. Vestry meetings are held in the evening of the third Tuesday of every month.

To run for the vestry, you must fill out and submit this electronic nomination form. Deadline: December 15, 2022. In January, we will distribute information about the candidates. The election takes place at the annual meeting, which is after the 10:30 AM service on February 5, 2023.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE BYLAWS

At the December vestry meeting, the vestry will vote to adopt the following change to the bylaws. This change was discussed and proposed at the November meeting.

ORIGINAL: "Nominations for any office will be accepted from the floor at the Annual Meeting if seconded by ten per cent (10%) of the voting members present."

PROPOSED CHANGE: "The Nominations Committee shall also post as nominees the names of any other qualified lay voters who have been proposed in writing by not less than ten qualified voters; any such names must be received not less than two Sundays prior to the Annual Meeting and shall be promptly posted. No other nominees shall be considered at the Annual Meeting."

If you have any comments about this change, please contact the wardens, Marsha Ra or Joan Adams, or come to the vestry meeting on December 20, 2022, which will take place on Zoom.

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 plus Ofrenda Lecture
4:00 pm - Evensong
4:45 pm - Wine and cheese social

The Cathedral requires those entering its buildings to wear a mask.

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