February, 2020
In this edition:
Commissioning Rev. Barb Novak
Reel Theology Concludes
Sunday Forum
Fat Sunday Brunch
Observing a Holy Lent
Outreach Matters!
Altar Guild Baskets
Hope for Creation conference
Evangelism
Upcoming Parish Events
This Sunday: Commissioning Rev. Barb Novak

Tomorrow, February 16, we'll bless and commission The Rev. Barbara Novak, long-serving deacon at the Cathedral, who will spend Lent on an extended mission trip to Nepal and the ministries supported by the Stephen R. Novak Foundation. Join us at the 10:30 service!
Reel Theology
Welcoming the Stranger

Reel Theology concludes this week! We enjoy films together on the topic of WELCOMING THE STRANGER, with pizza and salad at 5:30 PM and film screening beginning at 6 PM. We look forward to fellowship and conversation about our final, family-friendly selection!
  • February 19: Toy Story (1995). This Pixar classic is our traditional family-friendly choice! Meet (again) Woody, a cowboy doll, and Buzz Lightyear, a spaceman toy, and enjoy the story as they compete for love and attention amongst other toys in a boy’s room. (1 hour 21 minutes; G)

Help us plan appropriately for dinner— email the office with the date(s) you’ll attend and the number of persons attending, or sign up in the Great Hall.
Sunday Forum
The Book of Common Prayer

Through the end of Epiphany, we continue to learn more about the history, shape, and future of the Book of Common Prayer as part of our year-long series exploring the beliefs, practices, and resources of our Episcopal and Anglican heritage as we walk in the Way of Love: Faith, Hope, and Love. We’re excited to explore the richness of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, our church’s primary resource for public worship as well as a rich resource for private devotion.

Prayer is the way we grapple with God, asking in hope that God’s kingdom would come, God’s will be done. Our hope is that focusing on the Book of Common Prayer will allow us to hear our liturgy anew and see how this book is living document. In the process, we hope to understand a bit better how it has shaped the Anglican tradition of which we’re a part.

Join us Sundays at 9:15 in the Guild Rooms for coffee, conversation, and Christian formation. Please join us!

  • February 16: Liturgy of the Table. This week will focus on the second part of the Eucharistic Rite. We will explore a range of Eucharistic Prayers. We will crack open the words we pray every week so that we might hear them as though for the first time.
  • February 23: Conclusions, looking forward. In the concluding session, we will look at other Episcopal liturgies as well as what the future holds for the Book of Common Prayer.
Fat Sunday Brunch

Join us immediately following the 10:30am service on February 23, as we celebrate the end of winter (we hope) and enjoy goodies before entering the penitential season of Lent; live jazz, games for children, vegan & gluten-free options, free will offering; prepared by the Cathedral Life Committee and friends
Observing a Holy Lent

  • Ash Wednesday services with Imposition of Ashes and Eucharist—February 26 at 7am, 10am, noon, 7pm
  • Sunday forum in Lent will continue the theme of Faith, Hope, and Love with a study on the Lord's Prayer. Join us at 9:15 am in the Guild Rooms, March 1-April 5, for coffee and conversation.
  • One Cathedral, One Book is back! Groups of about 8 parishioners meet weekly at the church and in homes to discuss Anthony Bloom's classic Beginning to Pray. Groups will begin meeting the week of March 1 and run through the week of March 29, for about 90 minutes each session. You, your family, or a group of friends have the opportunity to host a group! You could open your home to a group, or you could convene a group at a public location, or even at St John’s. Select the meeting time that works for you! The Faith Formation committee will provide facilitation materials and support. If you are interested in volunteering, or exploring the idea of volunteering, please contact the church office. If you'd like to participate in a group, sign-ups will be available on the bulletin boards outside the Great Hall.
  • Wednesday soup suppers will happen at the church each Wednesday in Lent, beginning March 4, at 6 pm. Come celebrate the Eucharist and share fellowship with others over a potluck soup supper. For more information, contact Karen Byrne.
  • Stations of the Cross will be prayed on Fridays at 5:30 pm in the sanctuary.

You can find more information about opportunities and invitations into a Holy Lent at the church!
Outreach Matters!

Upcoming Coffee Hour Speaker: Susan Heistuman from Family Promise will be in the Great Hall after the 10:30 service on Sunday, March 1 - just 2 weeks away! It is St. John’s turn in late March/early April to host families through the Family Promise Bridges program. Come listen to a 15 minute presentation and find out more about this fantastic organization!

Upcoming Outreach Opportunity: SNAP’s next Long Term Care Ombudsman training is coming up next week. Are you interested? SNAP is in need of volunteers who can visit long term care facilities and make sure residents are enjoying a high quality of life. This volunteer driven program depends on the commitment of people who care about seniors. SNAP has great staff involvement and ongoing support for volunteers who are placed at a facility close to their home.

The program serves residents in Spokane, Ferry, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Whitman counties, a region that includes 27 nursing homes, 71 assisted living facilities and close to 200 adult family homes. The facilities account for over 7,100 long-term care beds.

The next four-day ombudsman training begins Feb. 20 at SNAP’s Mission Support Center, 3102 W. Ft. George Wright Drive. The training will continue on Feb. 21 and 25-26. For more information, or to register, contact Aaron Riley at 509-456-7133 or riley@snapwa.org.
Looking to Spring: Altar Guild Hanging Baskets

Your Altar Guild will offer Hanging Flower Baskets for sale this spring. We will have the 14” hanging mixed floral baskets and also offer fuchsia baskets for $25 each.
 
Orders will be collected March 22, 29 and April 5. Pick up will be Saturday May 2 – in time for Mother’s Day which is Sunday May 10. 
 
Please keep us in mind as you plan your summer garden. More information and order forms will be available in March.
Hope for Creation Conference

Hosted by St. John’s Cathedral, in partnership with the Whitworth Office of Church Engagement and the Creation Care Calling Community, the Hope for Creation Conference is designed to share a vision of hope for creation; spotlight local caretakers of land, water and air; and renew Spokane's leadership on environmental care.

Expo '74 was the first world's fair dedicated to the environment. It brought the topic of creation care to the world stage and helped shape the consciousness of the Spokane community. As we near the 50th anniversary of Expo '74, now is the time to look back at where we've been, consider carefully what is being done, and develop a road map for the future. Spokane was a leader in creation care then, and that leadership should continue.

All are welcome at this event – civic leaders, nonprofit organizations, faith communities, business people and engaged citizens. All points of view are needed, and the dignity of each person will be respected.

The event begins at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 17, and concludes at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Registration is now open!
The Episcopal Church affirms a commitment to evangelism . Through the spiritual practice of evangelism, we seek, name and celebrate Jesus’ loving presence in the stories of all people - then invite everyone to MORE . In support of this work we share resources each month.
 
Evangelism and the Episcopal Church
Evangelism For the 21st Century

by Day Smith Pritchartt
Even the jokes about using the words “Episcopal” and “evangelism” in the same sentence are getting old. Episcopalians have been vowing to “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ” for as long as we’ve had the “new” prayer book, and now, under the leadership of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, there’s a groundswell of energy and interest around evangelism. Re-thinking how to share God’s love in the world is becoming normative for us, as is a fresh examination of that world through the lens of God’s love.

It’s hardly breaking news that our neighborhoods are full of people who wouldn’t darken the door of a traditional church. Perhaps they have sought, but never encountered the living God in a traditional church; perhaps they have come to feel unwelcome in the church of their roots and, by extension, in all established churches. Perhaps they believe the secular script that Christians are judgmental and hypocritical. Perhaps the habit of joining a faith community is more than a generation removed from their experience. Whatever the reason, they aren’t driving around looking for red doors. Yet Episcopalians, riding the groundswell of evangelism, believe that a world who knows God’s love, a world that interprets that love through the person of Jesus Christ, is a better world.

The Episcopal Evangelism Society (EES) has been awarding grants for innovative evangelism to seminarians and others in seminary communities for some time now. We get to meet, listen to and support some of the church’s most innovative practitioners while they are in formation for ministry leadership. Read the rest of the article to learn about some really neat projects. These examples may inspire you to evaluate your existing ministries through the lens of evangelism, and seek opportunities for innovation.
Upcoming Parish Events

February 16: Dr. John Bodinger will present an organ recital at Central Lutheran Church, 512 S. Bernard Street, at 2pm. He will play music of Buxtehude, Bach, Vierne, Coleridge-Taylor, Joplin, and Salomé
 
February 18: Final Reel Theology offering for 2020. Join us for Toy Story, dinner at 5:30, film at 6
 
February 23: Fat Sunday Brunch, in the Great Hall following the 10:30 am service
 
February 23: Yoga in the Cathedral at 3pm; Join instructor Lisa Silvestri Wehr for a one-hour class in the Cathedral; for all experience levels; bring a mat if you have one; free will offering

February 26: Ash Wednesday. Services with Imposition of Ashes and Eucharist at 7am, 10am, noon, 7pm

March 1: Beginning of Sunday Forums in Lent, on the Lord’s Prayer. 9:15 am, in the Guild Rooms

March 1: Outreach speaker at coffee hour

Week of March 1: Small groups for One Cathedral, One Book, begin meeting and discussing Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom

March 4: First Lenten soup supper, at 6 pm
Do you have an item that you’d like to see included in the March edition?
Contact the editor, Katherine Karr-Cornejo, prior to March 12.
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
509-838-4277
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