New - Friday Midday Prayer and Meditation; God’s Rescue; #VoteFaithfully; Sunday Programs ( 9:45 am - Vicar Visit, 10 am - Genesis Bible Study, 11 am - Worship Service, 12 am - Coffee Half-Hour, 12:30 pm - ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ Book Discussion Session II) Weekday Programs (Morning and Evening Prayer, YESS Bible Study, Midweek Reflection - What is Church?, Compline)

Canon Lee

This week, for spiritual nourishment, I can do no better than to commend to you the beautiful reflection written below by Timothy Dwyer, our Junior Warden. In terms of programming, I was so pleased by the first session of our new Wednesday evening reflection and discussion program, and I look forward to seeing some of you next Friday, October 2, as we begin a new midday prayer and meditation service. Details below. See you in (Zoom) church!

The Rev. Canon Steven Lee
Canon Pastor and Vicar

Marsha and Tim

From the Junior Warden, Timothy Dwyer:

We learned this week that the number of Americans who have died of Covid in the last seven months exceeds the combined total of Americans killed in our nation’s last five wars. By the end of the year, we may be close to the toll of American blood spilled in the Second World War.

My grandmother sent three sons into combat during that war, and another two into the Korean conflict. A touching picture was taken in 1942 of her family saying goodbye to the oldest boy, Bill, as he prepared to join the North African campaign (he’s kneeling on the right; that’s my dad looking so unhappy on the lower left). I can’t imagine saying goodbye to a child knowing that they are heading into such danger. How do you release them from that last hug knowing they may never return?

As I anxiously anticipate my children’s return to their school campuses after months of online learning, I find myself thinking constantly about the danger and risk inherent in this step. We could still keep them home and learning on-line. Am I being ridiculous? After all, the NY transmission rate is low, and children seem to be – for the most part – at lower risk of serious illness than adults. The schools are absolutely dripping with hand sanitizer, and I’ve forgotten what some of my neighbors look like without a mask. On the other hand, we are facing an enemy that we cannot hear or see, one that strikes perhaps more arbitrarily and stealthily than any fascist weapon ever did. Some children have in fact become very ill from Covid-related illness, others have spread it to older family members. My girls share close quarters with their 88 year-old grandmother, an aunt, and their dads.

Round and round in my head my thoughts circle. I certainly don’t want to add more paranoia and anxiety to the mental-emotional train wreck that is 2020, and I don’t want them to be forever terrified of taking (reasonable) risks. But I also don’t want them to be blasé about such an awful crisis.

What is the right thing to do?

As is typical of me, my mind turns to dark humor. I am reminded of the joke about the very religious man perched on his roof during a bad flood. He turns down rescue first from a passing boat and then from a helicopter because he is certain that God will save him. When he shortly thereafter arrives in heaven, he asks Saint Peter why he wasn’t saved, and Peter replies: “Well, we sent a boat and a helicopter….”

To help us through this pandemic God has sent us scientists and health care workers, teachers and delivery truck drivers, postal workers and grocery store employees. But in their midst, we also have the defiantly-ignorant and the angry, those who don’t care about their neighbors and see masks as an imposition, and those who see other peoples’ misfortune as opportunities for profit. In our news media, the angry and ignorant often seem to drown out the heroes. If God sent them, too, someone will have to explain to me why.
When I was young, I had the somewhat conventional “wish list” approach to prayer: “Please make grandpa get better. Please can I have a dog. Please don’t let you-know-who win the election.” As the world has become increasingly complex and confounding, my prayers have evolved. It’s a result of realizing how little I really understand, how I don’t often really know what I need, and how tough it can be to recognize the boats and the helicopters sent to save us:

“Please help me to know your will, and give me the strength and courage to walk in your way.”

Marsha and Tim

THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

(To access each program on Zoom, click the link in the title.)

9:45 AM - Visiting with the Vicar
Join the Vicar fifteen minutes before Bible study to say hello and check in with other members of the congregation.

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, we continue our study of Genesis 3, under the heading: "Equals, Not Complements."

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

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 - Fall Book Discussion: How to Be An Antiracist
The Congregation is participating in the Diocesan-sponsored discussion of Ibram X. Kendi's highly-acclaimed book How to Be an Antiracist. Here is the diocesan program's official website, which includes an exhortation from Bishop Dietsche, details on where to purchase the book, how the programming will work, discussion questions, and a host of other related resources.

WEEKLY CATHEDRAL CONGREGATION PROGRAMS

Tuesdays | 6:30 PM - YESS Bible Study
The Young Episcopalians of Saint Saviour continue their Bible study of the Gospel of Matthew.

Wednesday | 7:30 PM - Midweek Reflection and Discussion
This fall, join the Vicar on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 8:15 PM for a time of reflection and discussion about what the Church is and how it can provide us with spiritual resilience in these difficult times.

Wednesdays | 8:30 PM - Congregation Compline

Friday | 12:15 PM - Midday Prayer and Meditation
Join the Vicar for a simple 15-minute prayer and meditation service on Fridays starting October 2. Stay afterwards to connect with the Vicar and others in the parish.

Reminder: you can find a directory of weekly programs with links to each program’s Zoom by clicking here.

VOTE FAITHFULLY

“Voting and participation in our government is a way of participating in our common life and that is a Christian obligation.” - Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

The 2020 general election is now less than forty days away, which means that it is time to make a plan to #VoteFaithfully. In New York we have three ways that we can vote in this important election.

Vote by mail, and apply for an absentee ballot today by clicking here. This is a safe and easy way to vote from your home, but it is important to ensure you are following the instructions so your vote is counted!
Vote early in person from Saturday October 24 to Sunday November 1 at one of the early voting locations in our community. Click here to find locations and hours. This will allow you to skip long lines and crowds on Election Day.
Vote in person on Election Day at your polling location, which you can look up here.

We have an obligation through our Baptismal Covenant to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” So, however you vote, make a plan to do so now and #VoteFaithfully!