VOLUME 2, ISSUE 26
July 22, 2020
8th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12)
Psalm 67, 71
Joshua 24:1-15
Acts 28:23-31
Mark 2:23-28
SUN. JULY 26TH - 10:00AM
Officiants: Deacon Terrance Goodpasture & Cathedral/Diocese Staff Clergy
Preacher: Reverend Teri Van Huss
SUNDAY WORSHIP
SUNDAYS @ 10:00AM

SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR
SUNDAYS @ 11:00AM

GOSPEL OF MARK BIBLE STUDY
THURSDAYS @ 6:00PM

ALL ON-CAMPUS ACTIVITIES
ARE SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY

EDUCATION SERIES:
RACISM AND WHITE PRIVILEGE
WEDNESDAYS IN JULY
5:30PM | ZOOM
The Reverend Angela Lerena & The Reverend Nelson Poveda
Following the ordination of Reverend Angela and Reverend Nelson to the priesthood, members of the Cathedral Congregation of St. James gathered outside the Cathedral to greet the new priests. Click on the image below, to view a video of the "Drive-In" Post-Ordination Celebration.
OFFERING: DISCRETIONARY FUND

In ordinations past, the passing of the plates is a time to help the newly ordained setup their discretionary fund to be used for their ministry. Since this ordination is online, we encourage you to give and label as: Ordination discretionary. All money collected will be split between them for their discretionary fund.
CARDS FOR REV. ANGELA & REV. NELSON

If you would like to send cards to Rev. Angela and/or Rev. Nelson please send them to the Cathedral: 4147 E Dakota AVE, Fresno, CA 93726
WATCH THE ORDINATION SERVICE

The full ordination service is available on the Cathedral's YouTube Channel and can viewed anytime by click on the image below.
FAREWELL TO THE FISHERS
Janie and Gary relocate to Texas
This week we say goodbye to two long-time members of the St. James family, Janie and Gary Fisher. The Fishers are moving to San Antonio, Texas, to be close to their daughter and her family.

Janie’s parents, Alice and David Hartman, were active members of St. James from the time it was downtown. In this church, Janie was baptized and confirmed, and she and Gary were married.

After their marriage, the Fishers moved to Modesto where they were active members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, serving on the vestry and teaching Sunday School. Returning to Fresno, Janie and Gary remained faithful Episcopalians. Janie served on the vestry at Holy Family, and was active in outreach activities. In memory of Janie’s parents, the Fishers donated the covered gateway at Campo Santo, and the Corky Normart stained glass window at Holy Family. At St. James Cathedral, Janie volunteered at the Cottage Shop and served on the Cathedral Chapter.
Janie's lifetime support of St. James will be missed. We wish Janie and Gary many blessings in their new home. While we cannot say a proper good-bye to the Fishers because of COVID-19, we would like to thank Janie and Gary for their dedicated commitment to and support of St. James and Holy Family throughout these years.

We invite you to send cards and notes sharing your love and prayers. You can send cards to their new home:

Jane and Gary Fisher
11603 Bolero Circle
San Antonio, Texas 78230
WEAVING GOD’S PROMISES: 
Sunday School to Launch in September!
It is with great hope, anticipation, preparation, and prayer that we announce St. James Cathedral Sunday School for school-aged children kicks off Sunday, September 13th at 9:15AM on Zoom.

During the digital church period, St. James Sunday School is open to the entire Diocese. The first session, September 13th, is designed for the whole family to participate.

Registration is required and will open Saturday, August 1st and will be available on the St. James website. Registered students/families will receive the Zoom link and login information. We invite you to check out the St. James Children’s Ministry web page for more about our ministry with children and our curriculum Weaving God’s Promises.  

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE NEEDED

Teacher recruitment period is now! If you feel called to the ministry of the spiritual formation of children, please send an email to teach@stjamesfresno.org. Teachers can be members of any Episcopal congregation in the Diocese, but we definitely need members of the Cathedral Congregation for both the digital Sunday School experience and when we return to public worship.

Prior to the first session, Dean Ryan and the Sunday School Committee will host via ZOOM an Orientation and Training session for all interested teachers. No prior teaching or Sunday School experience is required—all that is required is a willing and committed heart to educating the next generation of the Church. In addition to the Orientation and Training session, teachers will be required to take an online training module called Safeguarding God's Children--an in-depth educational and training program for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse in everyday life and in ministry.

BASIC INFORMATION

Classes are Sundays at 9:15AM on ZOOM. Registration for Sunday School opens August 1st. Please visit St. James website for link to registration. The first session is Sunday, September 13th and the whole family is invited to participate. 

CURRICULUM

Weaving God’s Promises is a comprehensive, three-year Christian education curriculum for children developed and written exclusively for the Episcopal Church. Weaving God’s Promises' 30-minute lesson plans are accessed online. There will be a “take-home” paper, Threads, that will be emailed to every family after each lesson. Threads allows families to continue the conversation and theme throughout the week.

BASIC SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON FORMAT

  1. Gathering and Greeting
  2. Sunday School Prayer
  3. Sunday School Song
  4. About the Scripture Story
  5. Telling the Story
  6. Activity Related to the Story
  7. Weaving Our Faith: Conversation about the story
  8. Closing Prayer

TEACHER COVENANT OF COMMITMENT (Developed by Sunday School Committee)
With God’s Help I Covenant 

  • To practice the spiritual disciplines of scripture reading and prayer.
  • Worship on Sundays and be an active member of the St. James community or other church in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.
  • Be prepared: Read the curriculum and plan my lessons.
  • Grow in my faith and understanding of my work through educational opportunities as offered.  
  • Practice inclusive hospitality as Jesus teaches us the love of God is the love of neighbor.
SUMMER EDUCATION SERIES
The current education series of the Cathedral is a wonderful opportunity to gather with others from the Diocese for the important work of racial reconciliation.

We are thrilled to announce that Constance and Dain Perry are hosting a conversation on racism and white privilege. Our conversation is framed by the book, "Waking Up White" by Debby Irving. It is available on Amazon, Kindle, and Audio Book.

Each Wednesday in July at 5:30PM on Zoom. Runtime for each session is scheduled for one hour.  Registration is required. Participation in each session is encouraged; but if you are unable to attend a certain session due to a scheduling conflict, please do signup and participate in those sessions you are able to attend. The link to signup is below.

In the summer of 2001 Dain joined filmmaker Katrina Browne and eight other cousins filming a documentary movie, Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North, about their ancestors, the DeWolf family of Bristol RI, the foremost slave-traders in American history. While following the route of the Triangle Slave Trade, from Bristol to Ghana to Cuba, they explored the impact of slavery on America and its ongoing legacy of racism. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, was aired on the PBS series Point of View (POV) in 2008, won the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film in 2009, and in July 2009 was nominated for an Emmy Award for historical research.

Constance and Dain both retired early to allow time to travel the country screening the film before civic, school, college and church groups and facilitating conversations on racism and racial reconciliation. Over the years they have conducted over 225 screenings, in 30 states and 115 cities, before over 17,000 people. They are both active in the Episcopal Church and have served on a number of committees and boards.

Constance is currently on the Board of Episcopal Relief and Development. Dain has served on the vestry at their church, Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston. They were married in 2006, live in Charlestown, MA, and have an adult son.

In January 2020, Constance and Dain were the leaders of the Diocese of San Joaquin Clergy Conference at ECCO. During the gathering, the clergy viewed Traces of the Trade and engaged in extensive conversation and training pertaining to racial reconciliation.

The schedule of reading is as follows:

  • July 1st: Ground rules/norms & Section 1
  • July 8th: Sections 2 & 3
  • July 15th: Sections 4 & 5
  • July 22nd: Sections 6 & 7
  • July 29th: Sections 8 & 9
As a reminder, 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.
SERMON BY DEACON TERRANCE
Preached on Sunday, July 19
Last Sunday, June 19, Deacon Terrance preached on what it means to be friends to one another and how we are called to carry each other before the presence of the Christ, where our sins are forgiven and we are truly healed.
During the month of July the St. James Youth group will be meeting weekly on Tuesdays at 6PM. All youth ages 10-18 are welcome to join. This coming Tuesday the group will be continuing our examination of the Bible and what it means to be "Called by God"

Movie Night is this Saturday, July 25. We will be watching "Ralph Breaks the Internet" at 6PM.

If you're interested in joining, email Kourinthia at sjyouth@stjamesfresno.org
THE BOOK OF MARK
Bible Study with Emily Niblick
According to most biblical scholars today, when the authors of the gospels attributed to Matthew and Luke (and maybe John) sat down to put pen to paper they most likely had two sources to help them. One was a mysterious document that scholars have named “Q” (for quelle), now lost, and the other was the Gospel of Mark.

Although there is debate concerning the date, most feel that the Gospel of Mark was written by the companion of Paul’s named Mark, before the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple by Roman troops in the year 70 CE. If so, it is the only Gospel written before that calamitous event and impacts our reading of Mark. Somewhat short, Mark’s Gospel is the story of Jesus, from wandering preacher and healer in Galilee to Savior on the cross in Jerusalem.

Please join us via ZOOM Thursday nights at 6:00 PM starting July 2nd. For more information, and help using ZOOM just email me at emilyeniblick@gmail.com
DIGITAL COFFEE HOUR
Following the conclusion of the 10AM service join us on Zoom
Every Sunday, following the 10:00AM service at approximately 11:00AM (maybe a little bit before), St. James hosts a "Digital Coffee Hour" on Zoom. We invite you to grab a cup of coffee or tea and join us for the conversation. We invite you to grab a cup of coffee or tea or your favorite drink and join us for the conversation.

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".
WORSHIP

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

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.
SERVICE SURVEY

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.
Research How your Community Regulates Waste
Each city or town has their own trash, recycling, and compost system. What is the system where you live? Regulations change frequently so take some time today to update yourself. Here are some questions for you to find the answers:
  • Does my town/city have recycling curbside pick up or do I take it to the recycling center?
  • What can I throw in the recycling bin? Do I throw plastics, paper, glass, and aluminum together or do I separate them?
  • Does my city/town have a curbside composting program?
  • Can I compost in my own backyard?
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE
Date and time of the next meeting is TBA and will held in a Zoom Conference. Call in option: (669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID 738-270-106.
PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
Date and time of the next meeting is TBA and will held in a Zoom Conference. Call in option: (669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID 378-306-618.
MEN'S GROUP
Postponed until further notice. Thank you for your understanding.
Forced to flee a devastating civil war in their native country and endure the limbo of refugee camps, a group of South Sudanese Anglicans has found a home in the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. With the help of the diocese and a local nonprofit, they are putting down roots in the Syracuse area, connecting with their neighbors and breathing new life into the diocese.
In early 2019, as an editorial committee began working on a new Lakota translation of the Book of Common Prayer, two of its members died “right off the bat.” They were Indigenous elders whose language fluency had uniquely qualified them for the task, the Ven. Paul Sneve, who coordinates the project funded by a United Thank Offering grant in 2018, told Episcopal News Service in May.

Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, an Episcopalian who made his religion a prominent aspect of his campaign in this year’s Democratic presidential primary, spoke to The Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies via Zoom on July 15 about living his faith as a public leader, answering deputies’ questions about everything from his military service to his two rescue dogs.
The international leadership of the worldwide Anglican Communion has today rejected claims made by a protestant group in Egypt over the status of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria.
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.