Proper 8 - June 30, 2019
1 Kings 19:15-16,19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1,13-25
Luke 9:51-62
8:00AM
Preacher: Deacon Terrance
Celebrant: Rev. Keith
10:00AM
Ushers: Carol Mohan & William Patterson
Lector: TBD
Eucharist Minister: Pete Cabbiness
Preacher: Deacon Terrance
Celebrant: Rev. Keith
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Food Bank
2nd-4th Wednesdays @ 2:30PM
The Cottage Shop
[Closed Wednesday during Summer]
1st-3rd Sat. @ 9:00AM-1:00PM
Choir Rehearsal
[On Summer Break from Rehearsals]
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Youth Group Event
Saturday, June 29 - 12:30PM
Fireside Room
Men's Group
Saturday, July 6 - 7:30AM
Yosemite Falls Cafe
Buildings and Grounds
Saturday, July 6 - 9:00AM
Conference Room
The Dean's Fireside Chat
Sunday, July 7 - 9:00AM
Fireside Room
Preservation Society
Sunday, July 7 - 11:30AM
Conference Room
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Starting Sunday, July 7th and continuing through the end of August (except on July 28th), Dean Ryan will be host “Fireside Chats” 9:00am -9:45am in the Cathedral’s Fireside Room.
Each of the seven weeks, the assembled group are invited to bring/grab a cup of coffee or tea and will listen together to an episode of Presiding Bishop Curry’s new podcast The Way of Love. Each episode is about 20 minutes.
Following the podcast listening session, Dean will convene a conversation about the episode with the group. This is intended to be an informal, yet engaging gathering—participation is highly encouraged. Come for the coffee (or tea), stay for the conversation!
The Way of Love: with Bishop Michael Curry offers more ways individuals can engage with the Way of Love Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life, The Episcopal Church’s intentional commitment to a set of practices as a way to follow Jesus. Audiences will listen to stories of people from around the Church as they put the Way of Love Practices of Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest, into action.
During the months of July and August, participants are encouraged, but not required, to learn about “The Way of Love” by visiting the
website.
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The next gathering of the St. James Youth Group will be Saturday June 29, 12:30PM at St. James. The group will gather in the Fireside Room. All Junior High and High School youth are welcome--and we encourage you to invite your friends.
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We’re just getting started!
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Photo of some of our youth at the March Bowling Event with Kourinthia Burton.
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Who Are We?
We’re glad you asked! We’re youth Junior High and High School age who meet once a month for activities and team building. Starting in the fall we’re hoping to meet more often and incorporate a Bible study element and increase our meetings to twice a month. Our first activity was in March where a group of 6 youth and three adults (plus our Dean!) bowled a few games at Bulldog Bowling at Fresno State. We had a great time telling jokes, eating yummy pizza, and even working on our bowling technique.
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For April we met at St. James and played a few outdoor games, including a competitive game of egg toss. Keeping with the theme we ate delicious Me-N-Ed’s pizza and prayed the afternoon office. It was so exciting to share our beautiful parish hall with our youth. Five youth showed up for our April event ready to jump in and have fun!
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We encourage our youth to take an active part in shaping the youth group. When Emily Cabbiness was asked to write about the youth group she had some wonderful things to say:“My favorite part of youth group is getting to spend time with my friends. Also enjoying doing a fun activity. I really like mini-golf! And of course I enjoy the yummy food.
“What I want in a youth group is: new friendships with different people, learning about how to take responsibility for my actions, trust for one another. Plus learn to work as a team and do fun activities. It’s always great when we do something and have a chance to win a prize or just learn something new.”
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May took us to Blackbeard’s for mini-golf. This event took us to double the number of youth with twelve youth picking up clubs. Pizza, hot from the oven, finished off our afternoon. Despite the rainy days of late May we were able to enjoy the sun. The twelve youth split into three groups each with an adult “chaperone” who helped keep track of points, or in Kourinthia’s case, keep track of turns. Pete and Kathy Cabbiness have graciously taken up sponsorship of the group and play an active role in planning activities.
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MILO E. ROWELL:
The Man Who Drafted a Nation
by Kourinthia Burton
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St. James has been home to many formative members of the local Fresno community and beyond. As a community minded church who placed an emphasis on education and civic involvement Fresno was perhaps the perfect place for a man like Milo E. Rowell to call home.
Milo E. Rowell was born in Fresno Ca on July 25, 1903. He married Jeanette Sessions on July 29, 1924 at the New Church in San Francisco. The wedding was reported on in the Oakland Tribune. Jeanette wore an imported crepe dress, heavy in embroidery, and colored only by a pink satin sash. The whole church was decorated in gladiolus and greenery, whilst the bride carried a bouquet of orchids and lilies of the valley. It was by all accounts a small ceremony attended only by a close group of intimate friends and family. The reception, or wedding breakfast as it was called, served only 50 people and was hosted at the home of the Sessions.
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At the time of his marriage Milo had just finished his undergraduate studies at Stanford and, at age 21, was on his way to Harvard at the end of August. However, he wouldn’t finish his law education at Harvard, instead he would transfer back to Stanford and complete his education two years later. Rowell returned to Fresno and opened a law firm in 1926 at the age of 23. It was at this time he took up residence at the Rowell Building in Downtown Fresno. He joined the law firm Barber & Kellas, sharing his offices in the Rowell Building with the firm.
Milo would only work with the firm Barber, Kellas & Rowell for three years when, in 1929 at the age of 26, he moved to Los Angeles to serve as Assistant U.S. Attorney. While serving in this capacity Rowell tried many different cases including prohibition violations. It is worth note that Chester Rowell, who built the Rowell Building and published a popular newspaper, initially opposed prohibition before changing his stance to maintain political clout. Milo would continue on in this position until the outbreak of war in Europe.
When America entered the war in 1942 Milo was 39 years old and had been serving as an Assistant US Attorney in Los Angeles for 13 years.The following year Milo entered the US Army where he studied Occupation Administration. From there he went on to command troops in the Philippines during the remaining years of WWII, serving on the front lines there. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Military Merit Medal of the Philippine Government for his actions. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Lt. Col. Rowell moved to Tokyo to join the Occupation Authority there. Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur he served as Chief of Judicial Affairs.
While serving as Chief of Judicial Affairs Rowell worked with Brig. Gen. Courtney Whitney to prepare a draft constitution for the Diet of Japan to approve. To properly form a new constitutional government that would functionally operate in Japan, Rowell studied the former Meiji governmental system in Japan. Rowell was part of the Steering Commission which was tasked with creating the GHQ draft.
The Commission faced several issues when it came to drafting a new constitution. Firstly, the Japanese national identity was inextricably linked to the existence of the monarchy. Neither the Emperor nor Japan could exist independently. The people of Japan revered their Emperor, and his uncommon political action in announcing surrender and accepting the Potsdam Declaration, earned him the respect of both the Japanese people and the Allies. Secondly, the Imperial Constitution was framed in such a way that it allowed for a political system of any type to form in Japan with the Emperor serving as a priest and intermediary of the people. The only issue the Allies had with this arrangement was the ambiguous divinity of the emperor and the previous abuses of that position by the military branch of the government. Thirdly, because America was already mindful of the conflict developing between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R the Commission was concerned with leaving a place for Communism or political decent to take hold of Japan.
To solve these issues the Emperor, again acting politically which was uncommon for the emperor, renounced his divinity in a statement developed with the aid of the American Occupational Authority. His next step towards peace making came in the form of his acceptance of popular sovereignty. With these steps in place the American and Japanese drafters of the constitution, Rowell included, could begin the work of creating a new form of Constitutional Monarchy for the Japanese people. They turned to the British Monarchy as a model and began to work diligently towards this goal.
The idea of popular sovereignty, or perhaps more accurately, the sovereignty of the people, initially came from Japanese intellectuals working with the Occupational Authority. The final draft of the post war constitution leaned heavily on their proposed articles and expanded on them in a way that would further clarify the limitations of the Emperor and any Regents that may then be appointed. The final step taken to assure peace, beyond the maintaining of the monarchy in general, was Article 9 of the constitution. Article 9 renounced war, and prohibited the formation of an army, navy, or air force. Thus the symbolic head of the Japanese government, the head priest of its people, stood for pacifism instead of militarism.
Rowell himself commented on the liberal and important statement of popular sovereignty in his December 6, 1945 report. According to Rowell, and many of his American colleagues, popular sovereignty was implicit in the Potsdam Declaration even if it wasn’t explicit. The post war constitution was approved and ratified by the Diet in 1946 and implemented in 1947. Rowell’s contributions were important in keeping the constitution in line with its intended end goal as well as disseminating the information to the Occupational Government under the command of Gen. MacArthur. As Emperor Hirohito served as intermediary for his people, so too did Rowell serve in a similar capacity on behalf of the Allies.Twenty years later, in 1965, Rowell donated his papers to the University of Tokyo where they still serve as one of the key legislative history sources in Japanese constitutional law. When his term of service concluded after the ratification of the post war constitution, Rowell returned to his home in Fresno, Ca.
Beyond his contributions to the Japanese post-war government, Milo was also a major contributor to the Fresno community. In May 1972 the San Joaquin Valley Health Consortium, Inc. was founded by community members under the guidance of Rowell, who was 70 at the time. The Consortium sought to provide the Fresno community with quality medical education. Today the Consortium is known as the San Joaquin Valley Public Health Consortium and still seeks to provide guidance to local health care providers throughout the San Joaquin Valley and the surrounding mountain communities. In this way Rowell contributed to the future well-being and safety of his own people. This commitment to health education also inspired his lasting legacy.
On Friday October 2, 1981 the Milo E. Rowell Medical Education Building of the UCSF Fresno-Central San Joaquin Valley Medical Education Program was dedicated. The building stands adjacent (on the east side) to the VA Medical Center on Clinton Ave. The building was sponsored in part by his wife Agnes and was dedicated almost four years to the day of his death in 1977.
Milo’s contributions to society are lasting, fundamental, and inspiring. Rowell was too old to be drafted when WWII began but still felt called to serve in some capacity. His care of people, and his gifts in law and management, helped secure a lasting peace with Japan. Milo’s compassion and active servitude is in keeping with the Episcopal mission of Loving, Liberating, and Life-giving. Not only is Milo one of Fresno beloved sons he is one of St. James beloved sons. His legacy of service is one many can look to for inspiration to this day.
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Coming this July
. . . the long-awaited . . . the long overdue . . . new St. James website. The new site seeks to capture the vibrancy of the Cathedral's life and mission. We hope it will reflect "who we are" and "who we are called to be!"
The new site is easy to navigate and designed for both visitors and members of the Cathedral Congregation. Most importantly, the new site is designed to work with web-browsers and mobile-devices.
A special email announcement will be sent when the site is ready to be launched.
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THE ART OF TRUDE McDERMOTT
by Emily Niblick
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If you have visited the restrooms in the Cathedral building recently, you probably noticed that they have been brightened by new paint and beautiful works of art on the walls. This has all been made possible by a generous contribution from our own Elaine Lynn for the red walls in the ladies’ and blue in the men’s’ rooms. Thank you Elaine!
Elaine also contributed artwork by her friend Trude McDermott. Trude’s works are well known, as she has shown her creations at various venues both in Fresno and nationally. The art works on our walls are samples of a series which Trudie began in 1992.
Her technique is interesting. “My materials range from oil on canvas to pastel on paper, to xerox ink and pastel on mylar,” Trude stated in an email to us. “Each medium has its own expressive quality rendering the subject in new and revelatory ways of seeing.”
All of her work begins with a photograph. For instance, the work on mylar began with a 35 millimeter color print which was enlarged into a black and white xerox copy. From there the work emerged as she worked with soft pastels.
The Williams Gallery of Art website
explains Trude’s work this way: Trude returned to school in the 1970’s after working and raising a family. “At this time, modernist practices of art were being heavily questioned by the movements of conceptualism, pop art, feminist, and performance art. Opposition to the modernist taboos against narrative, representation, and historical allusion became in the 1970’s a new framework for art practice. The use of photographic elements as a means of painterly expression was freely used by many artists at this time. Influenced by these trends, the camera has become the compositional tool of choice for structuring her work, allowing her to record what she sees, and then return to the studio to integrate the images she captures into her painting and mixed media prints.”
I’m sure that you will stop and take a closer look the next time you visit. Again, our many thanks to Elaine and Trude.
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FROM EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE:
Political tensions in Washington over immigration policy fuel Episcopal advocacy, outreach
By David Paulsen
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[Episcopal News Service]
The Episcopal Church is stepping up its advocacy and outreach on immigration issues as political tensions grow in Washington over looming deportation raids, pending plans for humanitarian aid on the border and the treatment of migrant children held in U.S. detention centers.
The federal raids reportedly were scheduled to take place in 10 cities on June 23 but were
postponed at the last minute
. One of the cities said to be targeted is Chicago, where Diocese of Chicago Bishop Jeffrey Lee
issued a statement June 21
expressing solidarity with immigrants living in fear.
“This news of new raids and mass deportations threatens to make these fears real, as families are torn apart and members of our communities and congregations are wrenched away from lives they have labored for years to build,” Lee said. “The threat of these raids makes it difficult not to conclude that our immigration system is failing to operate with common humanity or to embody the highest values of our country or its people.”
Bishop David Reed in West Texas issued a statement on June 20, World Refugee Day, calling on his diocese to support immigration ministries. He asked that Episcopalians set aside political differences to care for all in need, as Jesus taught.
“We can and should, and desperately need to, have informed, respectful debate on our country’s immigration laws and policies. But the time for that is not when a weary, confused, and hungry person stands before you,” Reed said, whether that person is an asylum-seeker or a Border Patrol agent.
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Reed’s diocese, which includes the borderlands from Del Rio, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico, hosted a
“Walk in Love” border tour
in May that featured outreach to both migrants living in tents on the Mexico side of the border and law enforcement officials in the United States.
Arizona Bishop Jennifer Reddall sent a letter June 25 to Arizona’s two U.S. senators and representatives from two of its congregational districts, expressing her opposition to “the holding of migrant children in filthy conditions” and requesting “immediate action.”
Reddall was responding specifically to a New York Times report of
squalid conditions at a border station
in Clint, Texas, where migrant children as young as 7 years old are being held. Conditions reportedly are similar at other border facilities overwhelmed by the influx of migrant families.
“The lack of sanitation, supervision, and humane treatment is appalling, and far from what any citizen should expect of its government,” Reddall said. “All children, regardless of their country of origin, warrant the most basic elements of care: a toothbrush, a bed, a blanket, and an adult to see to their medical, psychological, and social needs.”
“As U.S. religious leaders representing diverse faith perspectives, we are united in our concern for the well-being of vulnerable migrants who cross our borders fleeing from danger and threats to their lives,” the religious leaders said, singling out the cases of six young migrants who have died in U.S. custody since September.
“Our houses of worship and agencies have welcomed, engaged and served many migrant families that have recently arrived in the U.S.,” the statement reads. “These migrants have left their communities to provide safety for their children and protect them from harm. … We urge the Administration to maintain its commitment to international law and defend human rights by implementing safeguards to ensure the safety and health of all of those seeking protection in our land, especially those children who fall under our care.”
The potentially dangerous path followed by many migrant families seeking safety, opportunity and stability in the United States was brought into graphic detail this week by
a photo of a Salvadoran father and his toddler
lying dead in the Rio Grande. The image, captured by a Mexican journalist, has prompted international outcry and evoked comparisons to the
2015 image of a dead Syrian refugee boy
washed up on a beach in Turkey.
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Even before the recent escalation of the political and humanitarian crisis on the border, The Episcopal Church has been outspoken on immigration issues. In July 2018, during General Convention in Austin, Texas, more than a thousand Episcopalians
gathered at a prayer service
outside an immigrant detention center in a nearby city. The spirit of that event, in support of immigrant parents and children who had been separated, carried through to the church’s legislative activity, with General Convention
passing three resolutions related to immigration
. One of the resolutions took a forceful stand against family separation and unjust treatment of immigrant parents and children.
Another resolution emphasized respecting the dignity of immigrants, while the third encouraged Episcopalians to seek ways to offer sanctuary or support to immigrants. Some Episcopal churches have committed to providing physical sanctuary, if needed, for immigrants inside church walls, such as St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, which in March
began housing a Mexico-born man
who faces deportation.
More recently, the Rev. Michael Kinman, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, wrote
a letter June 22 for Pasadena News Now
in which he offered his church as sanctuary to any immigrants who might be targeted by looming federal deportation actions.
President Donald Trump had
recently announced on Twitter
that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, planned to “begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.”
ICE reportedly would be going after about 2,000 immigrants who had received deportation orders in select cities, including Los Angeles. Kinman condemned those plans and said he had the support of his parish’s wardens and parishioners in offering the church as a place of sanctuary.
“We have always stood for love over fear, reconciliation over division and restoration over retribution,” Kinman wrote. “As such, we call on President Trump, as president of a nation largely populated by immigrants and descendants of immigrants like himself, to stand down these raids.”
Trump said June 22 on Twitter he had put the raids on hold for two weeks, to allow Congress time to reach a “solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!”
With roots in the 1980s sanctuary movement that offered refuge to Central Americans fleeing war, the new sanctuary movement has been growing in recent years in response to rising animosity toward immigrants and the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Most asylum-seekers come from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, typically fleeing violence or persecution. Episcopal churches in the border region are responding to the crisis in a variety of ways.
Churches are considered “sensitive locations” that traditionally are not targeted for immigration enforcement. In one case, at St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, the congregation has for more than two years
provided refuge for a Guatemalan woman
ordered to return home.
The Diocese of the Rio Grande, which includes parts of New Mexico and Texas, has identified asylum-seekers as a key focus for its outreach efforts on the border, particularly in the El Paso, Texas, area. In December, the diocese
hosted a pilgrimage to the city
, welcoming about 30 people representing large urban and suburban congregations, so they could learn firsthand about the circumstances facing asylum-seekers.
“We would like … to join together in fellowship by soliciting, gathering, and delivering critically needed items to the El Paso area where shelters are currently overwhelmed, with refugees being released at times by the hundreds on a daily basis,” the diocese says on a webpage
listing resources for assisting asylum-seekers
.
The diocese also recently began providing bus transportation for some of the asylum-seekers.
“All through this involvement in immigration ministry, we’ve always had the sense that, when the knock came on the door, it was Jesus who was knocking, and it certainly has been our experience that opening the door to the migrants has been letting him into our lives, and it’s been very powerful,” the Rev. Joe Britton, rector of
St. Michael and All Angels Church
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said in an online video about his congregation’s and the diocese’s work.
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The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations, based in Washington, D.C., also offers a
range of resources for Episcopalians
interested in advocating for the church’s positions on these issues.
“The Episcopal Church, through General Convention policy, calls for an immediate end to the inhumane practice of family detention, calls for the immediate release of detained asylum seekers … and upholds the sanctity of the asylum process and urges strong support for the protection of vulnerable individuals,” the agency
says in an online summary
.
In April, The Episcopal Church
signed a letter to Congress
drafted by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition asking lawmakers to prioritize human needs rather than immigration enforcement.
“We believe that our nation’s budget and the decisions made by Congress in the coming weeks should be treated as a moral roadmap toward a world where every child of God is clothed, fed, safe, loved, and free,” the letter said. It was signed by more than 30 interreligious groups and denominations. “As people of faith, our various traditions command us to love our neighbors and welcome guests as we would welcome God.”
On June 25, the House voted to
approve $4.5 billion in humanitarian aid
to ease the crisis on the border, though the bill’s restrictions on how that money can be spent – not to bolster ICE raids on immigrants – are at odds with a parallel bill that the Senate approved on June 26,
The New York Times reported
. The White House has threatened to veto the House’s bill.
David Paulsen is an editor and reporter for the Episcopal News Service.
Article courtesy of Episcopal News Service.
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MEN'S BREAKFAST, JULY 6TH
The next installment of the Men’s Breakfast is scheduled for Saturday, July 6th at 7:30AM at Yosemite Falls Café (across the street from the Cathedral).
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In preparation of the Diocese moving the Diocesan Administrator role from Modesto to Fresno, the Deacons shifted from their previous office (next door to the Bishop) down the hall to a new office and a new setup. The larger office allows for both Deacon Nancy and Deacon Terrance to have their own desk space while allowing for a small meeting table and ample storage for books, supplies, and vestments.
A well-deserved space for our amazing two Deacons!
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If you have any feedback, comments, or questions for the Midweek Missive Editors, please
email us
. Submissions to the Midweek Missive are welcomed and must be submitted to
midweek@stjamesfresno.org
by Tuesday at noon.
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