News from the Congregation October 25, 2019
‘Getting to Yes!,’ Ways to Support Cathedral Community Cares (CCC), LGBTQ+ Fellowship Organizing Meeting, Newcomers Brunch, Pathfinders - Sunday Bible School, Pledging Online
From Fr. Steven
One guiding principle for our work together in the Cathedral Congregation has been "Saying Yes." Of course, there are caveats, but staying open to the movements of the Holy Spirit (which, like the wind, will "blow where it will") is an important part of being a follower of Jesus.
Which doesn't mean it is always easy or comfortable.
When I first began here as Vicar 19 months ago, I started speaking with two different new members of our Congregation, separately, about ideas they had for evangelism, especially to people who had either been hurt by church and left, the "Dones," or people who never grew up with church at all, the "Nones."
For months, we tossed around ideas--imagine throwing little seeds into the air and hoping some of them would take hold in the soil and grow--but not much happened.
Then, unexpectedly, an idea took hold. Almost immediately, members of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's staff at the national Episcopal Church became excited and offered to get involved. Interest is growing within our own Diocese and across the Cathedral.
In the coming weeks, you will hear more about this new initiative called Radical Love Live. Next week, the Office of Communications of the national Episcopal Church will post a teaser trailer for this new podcast and program. Staff from this office shot the trailer earlier this fall in the Cathedral, and several members of our Cathedral Congregation participated.
Even now, a similar dynamic of "planting little seeds" is happening within our Congregation, around the following issues:
Global Mission
LGBTQ+ Fellowship
Welcoming Newcomers
Sanctuary for Immigrants
Support for the Formerly Incarcerated
New Models for Adult Formation
Not every idea will take hold in the soil, but some will grow into ministries beyond what we can ask or imagine right now. What is required of us is a willingness to say yes; abundant courage, tenacity, and patience; and the firm conviction that the Holy Spirit will show us the way forward.
The Rev. Steven Lee
Vicar
CONNECT
LGBTQ+ Fellowship Organizing Meeting
Sunday, October 27 at 12:30 PM
Cathedral House Conference Room
***
Newcomers Brunch
Sunday, November 24 at 10:00 AM
Cathedral Nave
EXPLORE
Pathfinders: A Program of Spiritual Exploration for Children at the Cathedral
Little Pilgrims and the Next Step will have a combined class at 10:00 AM in the Cathedral. The Great Adventure (7th grade and older) will next meet in November.
For more information and to register, please contact Donna Devlin, Director of Christian Education.
***
Radical Love Live
Teaser Trailer (Coming soon!)
GIVE
PLEDGE ONLINE
http://www.saintsaviour.org/giving
4 WAYS TO FULFILL YOUR
PLEDGE
Method 1 - give online with Realm (preferred)
Give through Realm, our online church management system.
Go to onrealm.org/TheCongregation/Give to give.
(Please email pastoralcare@stjohndivine.org if you haven't received your invitation to create a Realm login.)
Method 2 - give online with Paypal
Go to saintsaviour.org/giving and click on the "Give online with Paypal" button.
Method 3 - give by check*
Arrange with your bank to send a check to the Pastoral Care Office automatically each month.
Method 4 - give by cash or check*
Obtain giving envelopes for the year with a unique giving number from the Pastoral Care Office. Place the envelope in the offering basket each week.
*Make checks out to "The Congregation of Saint Saviour."
The Congregation of Saint Saviour
at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10025
From Marsha and Tim
Coming up this fall, opportunities to support Cathedral Community Cares (CCC)
We all pray for peace and justice, for health and healing. We must also act, and some of those acts required of us are not difficult at all!
When you come to church on Sunday and notice the smell of food wafting up from the undercroft, CCC volunteers are preparing lunch for hundreds of people who come to be fed. The Congregation has been supporting CCC in various ways since its programs began in the 1980’s. In fact, it was members of the worshipping community who started the soup kitchen, a men’s shelter and a clothing closet back then. We continue to be supportive and have upped our game a bit in the last two or three years. Here is how you can help CCC staff support the hundreds of people who turn to them every day:
Clothes Closet Bring gently used and cleaned clothes and drop them off Monday through Friday, normal work hours. If you bring on Sunday, stop by the Security Booth and you will be told where to leave your packages of clothes. Men’s clothes are especially needed. Thomas Perry, the director of CCC told us this week that they have been turning away at least a dozen men each day because they do not have what the men need.
Coat drive As the days grow colder, bring clean coats that you are not using. Again, check with the Security booth and you will be shown where to leave the coats.
Toy Drive Beginning in early November (just two weeks away) we will begin a Christmas toy drive. Bring unwrapped toys for all ages and leave at the Congregation Welcoming Table. Toys will be distributed by CCC in mid December and volunteers will be invited to come to Synod Hall to help distribute. Having done the back-pack distribution this summer your senior warden can attest that the donations are appreciated and the kids delightful!
The Congregation will also provide some financial support to CCC programs through funds raised in our annual Crafts at the Cathedral. More about that program in the coming weeks!
Blessings,
Marsha & Tim
OCTOBER 25, 2019