Fifth Sunday in Lent

Psalm 51:1-13

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-33

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Officiants: The Reverend Terrance Goodpasture and Cathedral/Diocese Staff Clergy

Preacher: The Reverend Nancy Key

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Sisters and brothers:

I am pleased to announce the Kourinthia Burton, who is a member of our Saint James Cathedral family, will be returning to us on Easter Sunday and will serve as our seminarian in the immediate future. Kourinthia recently completed her internship at Saint Paul's and has been given permission by Bishop Rice to begin seminary studies at CDSP this fall. Kourinthia will be taking the non-traditional track, which involves low residency and a distance-learning program. While I do not know what ministerial roles she will take on just yet, I can tell you I am pleased to have her as a part of our ministry team.

When you see Kourinthia around our campus please make sure to warmly welcome her home.

Faithfully in Christ,

Dean Sam+

“I have a name!” Perhaps that is what the Heifer in the photo with this article is announcing to us. On Sunday, March 14, our Diocesan Sunday School’s children selected a name for the Heifer they are currently raising funds to subscribe through Heifer Project International. The children had to select their preference from among such names as Daisy, Harpo, Baby Cow, Frieda, Brownie, Ripjaw and many more. The final name is Ripjaw!

Their goal is to raise $500 to purchase “Ripjaw.” To accomplish their goal, they have raised to date $160.33 in their Lenten offering collection boxes. Wow! Our children remind us that we CAN make a significant difference in the future of a poor subsistence family farmer with a gift of life and hope! I suspect whoever receives our Heifer may well name it “Esperanza”—Hope!

You too can help give Hope! Through Sunday, May 16, the congregations of the San Joaquin Diocese are invited to donate to the Diocesan Sunday School’s Lenten Mission project. The goal is to subscribe either a share in every animal HPI provides or to fully subscribe an Ark full of one of each type of animal.

Remember, the goal for subscribing a share in one of each kind of animal is $500, and the amount to fully subscribe and fill an Ark is $5,000. A fully subscribed Ark will change the lives of 8 family farmers with the receipt of one of HPI critters. To date the Cathedral parish of St. James has contributed $150.

Let’s join together to give the gift of life, of hope, human dignity and the provision required toward self-sufficiency in Christ’s name. As we journey toward the cross, let’s not shy away from what it means for our neighbors to starve while we live with the consequences of over- abundance.

Join us for six interfaith conversations every Monday, as we consider what it means to "Bear Witness" to Fresno's history of racism and redlining.

Date: Every Monday, February 15 - March 22, 2021

Time: 4 p.m. PST

Location: Zoom

Registration on Eventbrite is coming. All sessions are free and will be recorded. For more information, visit their homepage.

Guest Scholars:

Malik Simba, PhD, Professor Emeritus of History and Africana Studies, Fresno State University

Nathan Hensley, PhD, Associate Professor of English, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Uziel Jimenez, Antiracist Educator, Co-founder Fresno Ethnic Studies Coalition

Each of our three guest scholars has made an important contribution to the study of racism and redlining in Fresno. Speaking from different vantage points, life experiences, and scholarly pursuits, they ask what it means to bear witness, and who gets to tell their story.

Representatives from four faith traditions and respondents take a deep dive into Eddie S. Glaude Jr.'s best-selling book, Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.

Our three guest scholars return for a powerful discussion with four interfaith speakers on lessons learned and the urgent questions we must ask in order to call forth a new America in our communities.

Contact Dean Sam if you are interested in working with him on the Buildings and Grounds Team. There is much to be done, and you can make a difference. You can reach him at 415-758-1904.

The Fresno Bee has published this linked article: Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: Double masks, variants, second vaccine doses & more.

Vaccine clinic locations are still being added by the county. Watch for more details on our website, Facebook page, and in upcoming Midweek Missives. Visit the link below for Fresno County's COVID-19 response page for testing and vaccinations.

Thank you for your generosity to the Cathedral and to all who call St. James home. Your pledges are needed to make the good work happen here. It isn't too late. Pledge now below.

St. James offers Sunday worship each Sunday at 10:00AM on our YouTube Channel, Facebook Page, and Website. Archives of these services are available.

Starting this Sunday, we will once again begin offering digital service programs. Visit the St. James website to download the program. If possible, for our creation care work, please do not print the program.

To help us improve our digital church experience, please evaluate your experience of our "live stream service," by taking a moment to complete a short survey following Sunday's service.

Coffee, tea, chocolate, and bananas are now commonly available through fair trade organizations. These co-ops ensure that products are produced sustainably and the farmers/laborers growing them are treated and paid fairly. Sure, you may pay a little more, but your purchase speaks volumes to those who take advantage of poor laborers and small foreign farmers. Go to www.equalexchange.org or www.greenamerica.org for more information and to order.

To participate, log into the Cathedral Coffee Hour on Zoom. The meeting password is "james4147". You can also join the conversation by phone. Call (669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID 821-8772-3828. You will be prompted to enter the phone password "492292".

The clergy of St. James remain deeply committed to offering pastoral care and support to members of the Cathedral Congregation especially during this difficult time. If a pastoral need arises for you or someone you know in the congregation, and you want to contact the clergy, please either email us at clergy@stjamesfresno.org or call the Cathedral office at (559) 439-5011 and select option 5 to leave a message for the clergy.

The surge in COVID-19 cases at the start of the pandemic a year ago hit the New York City area hard, with emergency rooms filled to capacity and the death toll rising. Among the city’s dead were at least 15 members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, a large congregation of African American and Black immigrant families in the Bronx.

Now, in the name of our loving, liberating, and life-giving God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. It was a year ago that we gathered for our first time virtually, as we were beginning to realize the reality of a global pandemic and beginning to experience what that would mean for us, for the people of our country and the people of all the countries...

Washington National Cathedral announced March 10 it had chosen Jon Meacham as its first canon historian, a role that is part of a cathedral initiative that will turn part of a long-vacant building into the new College of Faith and Culture.

The 2018 royal wedding is looking a bit less royal this week, after Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle about their decision to quit the British royal family’s inner circle and move to the United States with their son, Archie.

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.