VOLUME 2, ISSUE 18
May 20, 2020
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Psalm 66 & 67
Exodus 3:1-12
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 10:17-24
SUN. MAY 24TH - 10:00AM
Officiants: Deacon Tom Hampson, Cathedral/Diocese Staff Clergy
Preacher: Dean Ryan Newman
SUNDAY WORSHIP
SUNDAYS @ 10:00AM

SUNDAY COFFEE HOUR
SUNDAYS @ 11:00AM
ALL ON-CAMPUS ACTIVITIES
ARE SUSPENDED UNTIL MAY 24

FOOD BANK: PRODUCE MARKET
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 @ 2:30PM - 4:30PM
Cathedral Patio/Parking Lot

BINGO NIGHT
FRIDAY, MAY 29 @ 6:00PM - 7:30PM
FRIDAY, MAY 29TH AT 6PM
Mark your calendars, Friday, May 29th, at 6:00PM until 7:30PM, St. James will host a Cathedral Bingo Night on Zoom. The event is for the young and the young-at-heart. All are welcome! There will be prizes for each Bingo round.

To join the fun, use this link to access the fun and fellowship on the 29th of May.

When you login into the Zoom Room for Bingo Night, we will share a link with you that will allow you to digitally access your Bingo card(s). If the little ones need their Bingo Card(s) printed out--there is an option to print a card. After each round, we will be able to clear and reset your cards. All you will need to do each round is check-off your numbers and enjoy the fellowship of the gathered group.
PRODUCE MARKET
Wednesday, May 20th
On May 20, from 2:30PM to 4:30PM on the patio, the St. James Food Pantry will host a produce market, sponsored by the Central California Food Bank.

To be safer, we are discouraging pedestrian pick up - if you have a car, please park and stay inside - a volunteer will deliver food to the trunk of your car! Pedestrian pick up allowed following social distancing and wearing a mask.
PHOTOS NEEDED FOR PENTECOST SERVICE
Wear red, take a photo, and share it with us!
The Cathedral is looking ahead to Pentecost. We would love your participation in our May 31st Pentecost service. This year for Pentecost, as we did in Holy Week, we are asking the Cathedral community to submit pictures.

What we're looking for:

  • A picture of you and your family, including your pets, wearing red. Pictures can taken indoors and/or outdoors and should be taken in a well lit area. 

  • Props: A candle or some other festive decoration is welcomed addition, but not necessary. 

In order to allow the photos to be included in the service video, we are asking for all submissions be turned in by 9:00PM on Tuesday, May 26th. To submit photos, click on the button below.
HOMECOMING: RETURNING TO THE CHURCH
A call to be thoughtful and meticulous
This article appeared in last week's Friday Reflection of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. If you do not get the weekly Friday Reflection of the Diocese, we strongly encourage you to sign-up .
Do you remember Enid Strict?

She was the “Church Lady” played by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live. Enid was tough on her guests, especially when it came to their sins—many ripped from the headlines of the day. Christianity and culture have had a complicated relationship. Still, people like Enid remind the Church that we can be our own worst enemy, especially when we exist in ivory towers secluded from the realities of society.

This past weekend Saturday Night Live again portrayed the Church. This time, SNL did a hilarious sketch about the “Zoom Church Experience.” It was funny because it was true—almost too real for those of us organizing and leading digital worship and meetings on Zoom. The pastor of Mount Methuselah Baptist Church struggles to preach over the “noise” of his congregants’ everyday lives zooming along in the digital world. Eventually, the pastor, so tired of the outside noise, says to his congregation, “The Lord wants everybody to click on that little microphone with the red line through it and where it says ‘mute’ hit ‘yes.’ Amen?!”
Hitting “mute” on the world is probably one of the gravest sins the Church can do, especially during this pandemic. However, we see it happen every day. Parts of our country and some of our most visible leaders are eagerly pushing for a “return to normal life.” A hurried return could and would mean more people become ill, and some will die as a direct result of the frantic pace to resume “normal life.”

It is one thing to see politicians and business leaders pushing for a speedy return. However, it is another thing to see “so-called” Christian leaders recklessly risking others’ lives by holding public services through the pandemic under the ruse of religious freedom. They might be a minority in the Christian narrative, but some faith leaders are demanding for their churches to be open, many who are denying the science behind the virus and its transmission. Throughout the country, there are churches even suing their state for the right to reopen their churches.

“God is commanding us not to give up the habit of meeting together,” said one pastor. He and I must be hearing different Gods! When we press “mute” on God’s call to love and care for others, people suffer, people die, and God’s heart breaks for all of humanity.

In the coming weeks, we expect to begin seeing an easing of gathering restrictions. States, including California, will allow churches to resume services in their sanctuaries under specific guidelines. Our natural reaction might be to rush over to the Church and jump head-first into the baptismal font (metaphorically, of course). We run the risk of saying: Let the people stampede into the pews, allow the choir to sing out an hour-long anthem, and most certainly feed us communion because we are starving for the bread of life. However, a hurried return will endanger lives, young and old, and could even lead to the death of the Church.

A rush back “into the normal” would require the Church to press mute on the world beyond our sanctuary walls. It would be a brazen and careless homecoming and a grave sin committed by the Church. I know under these circumstances that Ms. Enid Strict would not agree with an expedited return to the confines of the Church.

In our upcoming homecoming, whenever it may be, we are called to be thoughtful, meticulous, and ever mindful to care for those among us, especially those who are most vulnerable. Like the processional Cross entering the sanctuary, we are called to enter our houses of worship with steady, slow, and reverent steps. Like the most beautiful anthem at Christmas, our first note is not the crescendo; instead, we are called to be a community that gradually grows into the new normal following the pandemic.

We will return, we will sing, and we will be fed. We will be the community that once again gathers together for worship. Right now, the Church, more than ever, needs to suspend the urge to rely on Chronos (our timetable) and to entrust our future to Kairos (God’s timetable).

Amen?!
STEERING COMMITTEE FORMED
Group tasked with laying the foundation for new Sunday School
Recently, the Cathedral Chapter formed a Sunday School Steering Committee. The group is co-facilitated by Chapter Members Denice Leslie and Carol Mohan. Members of the Steering Committee are: Karen Boone, Linda Brown, Kourinthia Burton, Jane Fisher, Erin Newman, Richard Jennings, and Catherine McGeary. The group will report regularly to Chapter and will work closely with Dean Ryan and Stan Boone (Senior Warden). Your Sunday School Steering Committee is busy bees making plans for ZOOMING family fun and learning online together as we enter the sweet summertime season.

The goal is to launch the St. James Sunday School program with the start of the 2020-21 academic year. In the meantime, the Steering Committee will be planing for the school year and offering some digital gatherings throughout the summer.
During the month of May the St. James Youth group will be meeting weekly on Wednesdays at 6PM. All youth ages 10-18 are welcome to join. The group will be discussing how the week has gone, plan future activities, and choose a movie for our end of the month movie night on Netflix Party!
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".
DIGITAL ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE WEEK
Every Monday at 6:00PM a new episode of "Five Good Minutes" premiers on St. James' YouTube Channel and Facebook page and past episodes are available onboth broadcast platforms.

"Five Good Minutes" is a production of the Dean, Deacons, and Cathedral Administrator. As the "five" say, "In each episode, our goal is for the five of us, to share at least five of the most important newsworthy items in the life of the Cathedral. . . and we do this all...in 'Five Good Minutes' (or so)."
FORWARD DAY BY DAY
Copies available that can be mailed
If part of your Sunday routine was picking up a copy of Forward Day by Day at the Cathedral, that, too, has changed in the era of COVID-19. The good news is that St. James received its 25 copies of the May-June-July issue, and have most of these remaining. If you would like a copy, please email Kourinthia at admin@stjamesfresno.org; be sure to include your address. Kourinthia will be happy to mail one to you as long as supplies last.

You can also access the daily devotions at the Forward Day-by-Day app on your smartphone, or on the website at https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/.
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.
USE GREEN TRANSPORTATION
How do you get from place to place? Make a plan for how you can reduce your footprint. Does your city/town have public transportation? Are there places where you can walk or bike instead of drive? Are there places you can carpool?

School, work, church, and small group meetings are great places to carpool. Make a commitment and plan to improve your carbon footprint.
Spanish Immersion at ECCO
Come join us for a week of Spanish learning! 
Join us for a week of learning to speak Spanish! You will have time to learn, bring home materials to keep learning, and enjoy many activities among colleagues and friends.

Prices include take home materials, week long materials, lodging, all meals, and activities! Registration is due by June 10th. We need 25 people minimum to join us! If the program is canceled due to lack of participant registrations, all costs will be refunded. However, if a participant cancels after the registration cut off date, costs cannot be refunded. Registrations are due - June 10th
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE
The next meeting will be in June (Date and Time TBA) and will held in a Zoom Conference. Call in option: (669) 900-6833 and enter the meeting ID 738-270-106.
PRESERVATION COMMITTEE
The next meeting will be will be in June (Date and Time TBA) and will held in a Zoom Conference. Please note the date and time change. 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.
BIBLE STUDY- THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Look for more information in the coming weeks.
They are words the Rev. John Witvliet, an expert on Christian worship, never thought he would hear himself say. “Based on the science that we are learning about this week, we are urging and I am personally urging extreme caution,” said Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a Wednesday (May 13) interview.
In 2017, St. James’ Episcopal Church in Lewisburg, West Virginia, led a coalition of community partners in forming a plan to create a mobile health unit – a 16-foot box trailer outfitted with a small exam room – that health agencies could take around the county, especially to support their work with people suffering from opioid addiction.
Life has been disrupted, including at American schools, most of which have closed their buildings and shifted to distance learning until further notice. Amid loss, fear and turmoil, “people are really wrestling with the question of ‘where is God in all of this,’” the Rev. Dan Heischman, executive director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, recently told the Episcopal News Service. “It’s a very important time to be able to have someone who’s comfortable and…is nurtured in the questions, the discussions about God.”
With churches unable to meet in person for services and other gatherings, the Zoom videoconferencing app has been a lifeline. And just as many congregations had finally gotten the hang of it, it went down in the U.S. for several hours at the worst possible time: Sunday morning.
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.