News from the Congregation December 2, 2022

Dec 3

Written By Steven Lee; Marsha Ra & Joan Adams

‘‘‘Christmas Passes’ ; ‘Sleepers Awake!’ ” | Eva Suarez Appointed Canon of Community Engagement, Dates to Remember| Sunday Programs: 10:30am Worship Service In-Person and Online, 11:30am All Are Welcome Coffee Hour, 4:00pm Evensong | Weekday Programs: Wed Bible Study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans (returns Dec. 21), M-S Morning and Evening Prayer (Zoom)

Canon Lee

I am so pleased that the Congregation raised $900 for the Episcopal Church of Cuba's Project Feliz Navidad. These funds will provide 3 parishes and mission communities in Cuba a special meal celebration for Christmas. This small gift is a tangible expression of love to our brothers and sisters in Cuba who are suffering so much hardship.

Thank you also for your support of the Cathedral's Giving Tuesday campaign. With the participation of Congregation members, and donors from the wider Cathedral community, the Cathedral raised $32,780, well over the goal of $20,000.

Our ministry here is only possible through your generous donation of time, skills, and financial resources. Your generosity comes out of your deep love for our Cathedral community. So, once again, thank you.

Below are two links for General Admission, non-reserved Passes to the two services on Christmas Eve, the 4pm Lessons & Carols and the 10:30pm Festal Eucharist. Each of these services has a music prelude prior so the start times listed on the events are 3:45pm and 10:00pm, respectively. If you wish to attend both services, you must sign up for tickets to each separately.

Christmas Eve, 3:45pm Prelude, 4pm Service
Lessons and Carols - https://www.stjohndivine.org/calendar/42595/lessons-and-carols

Christmas Eve, 10:00pm Prelude, 10:30pm Service
Festal Eucharist - https://www.stjohndivine.org/calendar/42596/christmas-eve-festal-eucharist

These links will be shared with the general public first thing Monday morning, December 5, so this is your early window to secure passes. After Monday, we expect the remaining inventory of tickets to be claimed very quickly and will not have any held for late requests.

A Message from the Wardens

Marsha Ra - Sleepers Awake!

Once again this Advent we are implored to wake up; to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. We will soon be observing the most remarkable event in the history of humankind, when God came to us in great humility. And we are awaiting his “coming again in Glory.” It is certainly a time to wake up, to stay focused, and to be more aware than ever, so that we can see Christ in the world around us and in one another. Yet, in the broader secular world -- or is it the narrower secular world? -- this is the season of excess--of eating and drinking and spending as much money as possible. There are holiday parties with too much food and drink; shiny catalogues that invite us to spend our last penny on luxury goods—fine wines, fancy lingerie, new cars! Certain toys become “must haves” for our children. Loving parents are seen trampling one another as they rush to pick up that all important toy of the year. Following the ways of the world in this season can lead not only to a dulling of our senses but even to violence. How do we as believing Christians hold onto the message that we must stay awake, while surrounded by temptations to eat, drink and buy? Sleepers awake!

Every organization that depends on tax-deductible contributions goes as crazy as the commercial world this time of year. It is understandable, but perhaps this has gotten out of hand. I counted 45 emails on “giving Tuesday” soliciting gifts with increasing aggressiveness. Then on Wednesday there were just as many messages offering me a last chance to give.

So in this season of waking up, in this avalanche of solicitations, I ask you, my beloved Congregation of Saint Saviour community, to help us build community through stewardship. As members we are responsible for our Congregation’s vitality. The Congregation is our home within the walls of a magnificent Cathedral. I find us to be a very interesting, diverse group of people. That we find God together despite very different backgrounds, ages, gifts and life styles is really a beautiful thing. In this great diversity we learn so much from one another. After the lockdown, we are seeing a slow but steady re-imagining of ourselves. We managed to resurrect the Backpack project this summer collecting funds and providing 60 children with the school supplies they need for the year. Many of you have been volunteering in the soup kitchen on Sunday mornings. You have been offering warm hospitality week after week to visitors from around the world in our revitalized coffee hour. The YESS group (Young Episcopalians of Saint Saviour) have begun to meet again, brainstorming on what mission they will have, how their witness among us will strengthen all of us and hopefully the larger community that surrounds the Cathedral. Confirmation classes will start again shortly.

What else will be possible? What other programs and projects might we take on to strengthen the fabric of our community and to grow spiritually? Whatever we do, we will need “unrighteous mammon” to accomplish even modest goals. As we come to the end of our budget year, we are facing a deficit of about $20,000. If you are able to help us fill that gap, you can do it through REALM. You will be in fact building community through your giving, right here at home at the Cathedral.

So let us take nothing for granted but let us wake up to the marvelous gift we have been given and that we must sustain.

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

CHRISTMAS FLOWERS
To give Christmas flowers in honor or in memory of someone, please use this link by December 16 and select "Christmas Flower Fund" as the designation, so that the gift will appear in the Christmas service bulletin.

Appointment of Rev. Eva Suarez as Canon for Community Engagement at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

Eva currently serves as Associate Rector at St. James' Church on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. where she came as the 2017-2019 Rockwell Fellow. Becoming Associate Rector at the conclusion of her fellowship, she has been responsible for coordinating St. James' pastoral care ministries, and has oversight of St. James’ outreach ministries and parish life activities. Eva is passionate about the ways people can grow in faith through acts of service and opportunities for fellowship, and enjoys helping people discover and nurture their unique spiritual gifts. After studying philosophy and religion at Columbia University, she earned her M.Div from Union Theological Seminary and a Masters in Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work at CUNY Hunter. Originally from Washington, D.C., she lives on the West Side with her husband Robert, a photographer.

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 10 at 12:15 pm – Human Rights Eucharist in St. Martin’s Chapel, Honoring Eleanor Roosevelt
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
4:00 pm - Evensong

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