Our 2023 stewardship campaign ingathering took place on All Saints Day. As I write this, we are over halfway to our financial goal, and pledges can be sent in until the end of the year. As I think about the need for financial and other resources for our Cathedral in the coming year, I’ve been experiencing a mix of emotions: hope, worry, and a sense of paradox. These feeling have been heightened by a couple of conversations with members of our community in the last week. Both people had excellent, even compelling, ideas for new Cathedral programming or ministries. I was excited by these ideas, but also found myself feeling overwhelmed, because we have so little ability to add any more to our plate, without some change or growth the underlying structures that foster new energy.

Paradoxes: We made it through the pandemic well in so many ways, and we’re back to worshipping in person with communion and live-streaming as well. We have added more new attendees in the last year than in any year since I became a Cathedral participant (1999). The paradox is: we are growing in new, unexpected, and wonderful ways, yet our support system is bare bones.  I’ve always felt that the Cathedral - both our building and staff - appear bigger and richer than we are. We are, in fact, operating from a place of no excess. We have one full time priest (Dean Greta); me - as your deacon - who is bi-vocational and only at the Cathedral one day a week and Sundays; a Music Director; a half time (skilled and talented) Cathedral Administrator; and the rest of our small staff is very part-time. We do the best we can with this staff, but it is a challenge to meet the needs of a growing congregation. Another paradox: thanks to our Financial Administrator, and good work over the years on the part of the Vestry and Trustees, we are in solid financial shape and have clarity about where our money lies and how it is used. This clarity has allowed us to build a budget for next year that meets our short term financial obligations without leaving room to grow, to dream, or to fund our vision for our future. The last paradox I will mention is our wonderful and unique Cathedral building. The nave, flooded with light, featuring stunning sun and shadow patterns, and breathtaking acoustics for music, will be 50 years old next year, and requires continual financial resources to keep it from crumbling. Our remarkable Cathedral structure fools people: it looks solid and impressive, but it is in need of continual crucial repairs, ADA accommodations, and maintenance to stop leaks and flooding each time it rains.

Worry: In my time as Cathedral Deacon, I have served with seven Deans or Interim Deans/Rectors. Each of them has brought tremendous gifts and dedication to our Cathedral family, each of them falling in love with us in some way. Each of them came to realize there was not enough time in a day (or week, month, or year) to accomplish all the tasks that are part of their complex job. The Cathedral Dean is our priest, our leader, our pastor, and also - out of necessity - our building superintendent, part-time sexton, financial planner, shepherd, and a great deal more. By supporting our Dean with adequate resources, we are also supporting our community. Sustaining the Dean furthers the leadership vision she brings to us, a vision which will keep us fresh and vital. There are two - among many - things we could fund, either one of which would be helpful: a part-time clergy position, or a part-time sexton. Both of these depend entirely on pledges, requiring an increase in what comes in from pledges, an increase that is already built into our giving goal for this year. Either of these would bring needed support to our congregation, our Cathedral, our staff, our community, and our Dean.

Hope: First, my hope lies with all of you for your enthusiasm and generosity. I carry deep gratitude for your financial support in the past, and for the many pledges already received, many of which have been significantly increased. My hope is also rooted in many of the things I’ve outlined above: our vital congregation; new participants (including young adults and families); our valiant and talented staff; our music and education programs; our moving liturgies; our many leadership groups that make things run as well as they do; our Cathedral building - a profoundly soulful worship space; our community; our social activism; and, of course, God’s love. My hope is that we find ways to continue to sustain all these essential ministries and functions. Another hope is that - if we meet our pledge goal for 2023 - we will have enough to initiate one of the two positions I mentioned. Pledging this year is not about excess, or even abundance (though God’s love and nurture is always abundant), it is about sufficiency. My profound hope in this pledge season is that the amount we all give - out of our love, loyalty, and engagement - to our Cathedral community, allows us to sustain what we have, and also to grow in new and essential ways. It is profoundly heartening to learn how many of you have increased your pledges, not only to reflect rises in the cost of living, and to support new and emerging needs. Thank you!

With deep thanks for your commitment, generosity, and for carrying God’s love to our faith community, to the city around us, and to the world!

Gratefully -

Deacon Stan

Thank you to John Montross, Gerry Viens and Jim Sears, who took down the welcome banner and constructed the wreath shelter last week.

Thanks to members of the St. Paul's vestry and executive team who spent all day Saturday, November 12 together in deep discussion. As a reminder, the 2022 vestry is: Tom Rees, Marley Skiff, Peter Jones, Alice Winn, Suki Rubin, Buffy Caflisch, Barrie Montross, Maureen Ramos, Kenzo An, Macaulay Onuigbo, and Keith Pillsbury. Thank you for your service to St. Paul's!

Thank you to Andy Comeau, who helped install security cameras for us last weekend.

This Sunday, November 20 we will be making advent wreaths downstairs in the Parish Hall at 10:00 a.m. between the services.

Email or text WP Chair Penny Pillsbury (802 734-9349) if you can help with any of the above. You’ll make me very happy!! 

Mark your calendars! Unless otherwise noted, Sunday morning worship takes place at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. Please check back weekly for updates.

Multigenerational Advent Wreath Making: Sunday, November 20, 10:00 a.m.

Cathedral Office Closed: Thursday, November 24 and Friday November 25 in celebration of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

No Church School: Sunday, November 27.

Wreath Pick up at the Cathedral: December 2 and 3, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Cathedral Arts Presents MMU High School Choirs: Tuesday, December 6 at noon.

O Antiphons Choir Rehearsal: Saturday, December 10, 10:00 a.m.

The O Antiphons of Advent: Sunday, December 11, 5:00 p.m.

Decorating of the Nave: Sunday, December 18, 12:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Christmas Eve Festal Holy Eucharist with the Telling of the Christmas Story: Saturday, December 24, 4:00 p.m.

Christmas Eve Choral Music and Carols, and Festal Holy Eucharist: Saturday, December 24, 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Christmas Day Holy Eucharist: Sunday, December 25, 10:00 a.m. (single service). This will be David Neiweem's last service with us.

Lessons and Carols: January 1, 10:00 a.m. (single service). This will be Mark Howe's first service back with us.

Feast of the Epiphany Worship, Stripping of the Altar, Potluck Chili Supper: Friday, January 6, 5:00 p.m.

Second Sunday Supper: Sunday, January 8, 5:00 p.m.

Annual Meeting, Holy Eucharist, Potluck Brunch: Sunday, January 22, 10:00 a.m. (single service)

If you would like to make a donation to the United Thank Offering online this year, you can do so using the link here, and entering the amount on the UTO line.

Tuesday, December 6 at noon at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul

This is a free concert. Donations to Cathedral Arts are always gratefully accepted.

The audience is asked to remain masked at all times while in the Cathedral.

Program:

Tshotsholoza, Traditional South African Freedom Song, arr. Jeffrey Ames

Misty Mountains Cold, Glenn Yarbrough and Rankin & Bass, arr. Noah Wang

The Mermaid, Traditional Sea Chantey, arr. Michael Levi

One Voice, Ruth Moody

I Will Be Earth, Gwyneth Walker

City Called Heaven, Traditional Gospel, arr. Josephine Poelinitz

Fair Phyllis I Saw, John Farmer

Jolene, Dolly Parton, arr. Gitika Partington

Traditionally, the Magnificat, the Song of Mary, is sung or said at daily Evening Prayer. During the last week before Christmas, there are a special group of prayers called antiphons that you can use with the Magnificat if you pray Evening Prayer. 

These are called the O Antiphons, because they all begin with "O".  Traditionally, each of the seven antiphons are sung from December 17 through 23 pointing towards Christmas Eve on December 24. Each of the seven antiphons highlights a title of the Messiah:  O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel.

You probably already know these antiphons in a different form. The hymn O come, O come, Emmanuel is based on the O Antiphons. In fact, the next time you're near a hymnal, look it up (it's hymn 56) and you'll see the dates in parentheses next to the words!

Thank you to everyone who pledged to the Cathedral's stewardship campaign so far. To date we have received 91 pledges totaling $255,864, which is 86% of our goal!

It's not too late to contribute! Consider what you can give - the dollars pledged to our 2023 campaign will be used to fund our operating budget - salaries, utilities, outreach programs, and much more. Donating to St. Paul's Annual Giving campaign enables us to accurately budget each year and to sustain our programming.

Pledges can be made online using the link here. If you would like a pledge packet mailed to you, please reach out to Jennifer Sumner in the Cathedral office (admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org, or 802-864-0471). You can also pick up a packet in the rear of the church.

We're introducing a new eNews segment this week called "Recipe of the Week!" Check the eNews weekly for seasonal recipes from our publication Out of Vermont Kitchens.

Recipe of the Week: Shelburne Farms Cheddar Cheese Soup

Excerpted from the introduction of the 1990 edition of Out of Vermont Kitchens:

St. Paul's Cathedral published our first cookbook, Out of Vermont Kitchens, in 1939. The world and the small corner of it that is Vermont were very much different then, and yet some things stay the same. The values that first book represents - fresh ingredients cooked with pleasure and creativity for family and friends - are with us still today.

Vermont itself is a blend of old and new, a study in contrasts. It is still a rural state with many small family dairy farms and sugarbushes, but in recent years an influx of new residents from "down country" has brought us new life and richness with their interest organic gardening, sheep raising, and the production of a variety of cheeses and homecooked products now sold far beyond our borders. While treasuring our wonderful maple syrup and dairy products, we also welcome the addition of a broadened range of produce, herbs and spices to our shelves.

Vermont is a place of distinct seasons and sometimes harsh climate, but always of outstanding beauty. Much of our life continues to involve church suppers, town fairs, country auctions, and rigorous outdoor activity, along with a penchant for self-reliance and the homegrown. Our more recent neighbors have often settled here because they too love these simper pastimes and values. Those of us fortunate enough to live here wouldn't be any other place.

So come into our kitchens. Sit down and browse awhile through our recipe files and well-thumbed favorites. Then join us around the table to share a dish that, in the universal spirit of kitchen creativity, you have made your own.

Some of you already know about Scene on Radio, a two-time Peabody Award–nominated podcast that dares to ask big, hard questions about who we are—really—and how we got this way. John Biewen, producer and host, is known for the series Seeing White, Men, and The Land That Has Never Been Yet. This week we review Series 5, titled The Repair.

In The Repair, Biewen and co-host Amy Westervelt explore the cultural roots of our current ecological emergency, and the deep changes Western society will need to make to save the Earth and our species. Through interviews with historians and other experts, The Repair traces the evolution of the West’s colonizing, extractive culture, and how we in the rich Global North drove humanity into the ecological ditch. You’ll hear from producers in other countries where climate change hit early and hard. Finally, with help from leading thinkers and activists, Biewen and Westervelt will look at potential solutions—the repair.

You can indicate your interest by emailing the office administrator at admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org.

The St. Paul's Vestry has decided that beginning January 1, 2023, the fee to be committed in the Memorial Garden will increase to $1000.

As you may know, the bulk of this fee goes to cover the engraving of the granite, with any leftover funds directed towards maintenance of the memorial garden. As with many things, costs for stone engraving and landscaping have increased substantially over the past few years, and the Memorial Garden fees have not been raised in more than six years. Those for whom this fee would present a financial hardship are invited to apply for financial assistance through the Cathedral office.

If you would like to be interred in the Memorial Garden, you can pre-pay the fee of $500 through December 31, 2022. To get more information or if you have questions, reach out to Jennifer Sumner in the Cathedral office at admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org.

This Sunday please join us for a multigenerational advent wreath-making activity in the Parish Hall at 10:00 a.m.

Reminder: There will be no Church School next Sunday, November 27.

Thank you to the adults who have volunteered to help out in the classroom! Church school volunteers can have a major impact on the youth in our congregation.

Click here to view or download The Sunday Paper for the Last Sunday After Pentecost. The Sunday Paper is a weekly publication for children that includes Scriptural images, and stories that relate the Gospel to the Old Testament, the life of the church, and their own lives.

The Welcome Ministry: Penny Pillsbury, Sue Simmons, Nadine Carpenter, Debbie Altemus, Shannon Williamson, Richie Amerson, Miriam Burns, David Turner, Nancy Snyder, Cecile Woodbury, Brenda and Bill Kirby. 

Join us this Sunday, November 20 as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist at 9:00 a.m. in person and 11:00 a.m. in person and live streamed on the Cathedral's YouTube channel for those who would like to join us virtually.

Please see the schedule above or visit the Cathedral website for other worship at St. Paul's.

You can view or download the order of worship for the 11:00 a.m. Eucharist on our website.

Morning Prayer, Monday - Friday at 8:30 a.m. on Zoom.

Tuesday - Friday at 8:30 a.m. in person.

Compline, Sundays and Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on Zoom. 

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Diocese of Vermont, in partnership with Backstory Preaching, will offer a six-week online lay preaching course from January 9 to February 16 for people interested in becoming lay preachers. The course will meet weekly for the first five weeks, and daily during the final week, as preachers draft their sermons in real time together.

Ten spaces are available, and participants must consult with their supervising clergyperson before registration. The deadline for registration is November 28. In congregations with no supervising clergy, participants must contact the Rev. Susan Ohlidal prior to registration.

Download a flyer and register online.

This weekly e-newsletter is circulated on Fridays. Please have your pieces submitted to Jennifer Sumner at admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org by noon on Wednesday. Thank you.