Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Psalm 104:25-35, 37

Romans 8:22-27

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

YouTube | Facebook | Website

Celebrant/Preacher: The Right Reverend David C. Rice

Assisting: The Very Reverend Samuel Colley-Toothaker

Deacon of the Mass: The Reverend Deacon Terrance Goodpasture

Director of Music: Ms. Sherah Moore-Burdick

Director of Technical Services: The Reverend Nelson Serrano Poveda

YouTube | Facebook | Website

YouTube | Facebook | Website

Fear is a dream killer. It puts people into suspended animation, holding their breath, paralyzed and unable to move forward. For a long-time St. James Cathedral (SJC) has been a fearful place. “What if...” questions have dominated conversations. What if things don’t change? What if we don’t grow? How can we afford this campus? What if we never have enough money? What if we make a mistake and fail at something? Fear is unhealthy in the life of followers of Jesus because Jesus calls us to live a life of faith and fear is the opposite of faith.

My experience has taught me that fear is present in many churches these days. Fear is employed as a tool of those in authority because fear's a cheap way to ensure compliance. "Do this," the priest or the Chapter insists, "or something bad is going to happen to you."

Our job as a faith community is to be people of faith and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling us personally and as a community. St. James Cathedral is working to create a new vision, a new way of being. Simply stated SJC exists to make disciples and one of the ways we do that is through education. The thing is, education is difficult...learning is difficult. It challenges us to change and become the people and the community that God is calling us to be. Honestly, who likes to do that?

Most folks work their entire life to find a place of comfort and safety and for the Jesus follower change challenges us to move out of the place of comfort and safety to follow where Christ leads. If becoming was easy, you'd already know everything you need to know. And if you could do it on your own, you wouldn't need the time or expense to do it with others. You wouldn’t need someone like me, a change agent!

Truly though, when we try to learn something on our own, we often get stuck. Stuck-ness does not happen because of fear, it's because of tension.

We face tension any time we're about to cross a threshold. The tension of this might work vs. this might not work. The tension of if I learn this, will I like who I become? Am I willing to let go of what no longer serves me?

Tension is the hallmark of a great educational experience and frankly, of the Christian journey. The tension of not quite knowing where we are in the process, not being sure of the curriculum, not having a guarantee that it's about to happen.

Effective change agents have the courage to create tension. And followers of Jesus, on their way to becoming who God created them to be, actively seek out this tension, because it works. Living in the tension works, it pushes us over the chasm to the other side.

The ones, people and communities, who leap are transformed. The tension pays off.

St. James Episcopal Cathedral is at the precipice. What has been no longer works. Change has arrived. Do not mistake tension and fear. Join us in becoming who God is calling us to be for new followers of Jesus. Fear not, step out in faith. Take the leap! Be transformed!

Faithfully,

Dean Sam+

I would like to invite you to consider becoming involved with hospitality at St. James. I am a lifelong Episcopalian. Two congregations contributed to my raising: St. Timothy’s, a small mission church in Gridley, CA and Trinity Episcopal Church, the Cathedral for the Diocese of Northern California. What both of these congregations have in common is the extraordinary efforts they made to make people feel welcome. From the homey coffee hour tables of St. Timothy’s to the coordinated newcomer ministry of the Cathedral, I have great models of hospitality. I am excited to build on that foundation with all of you at St. James. I will be looking for volunteers to help with the following:

Coffee Hour: Once restrictions are lifted and we can return to socializing, I will be seeking teams of volunteers to provide refreshments after the 10:00am service.

Events: We will one day return to hosting Cathedral events and Diocesan events on our campus and I will need volunteers to help decorate and to prepare and/or serve food.

Welcoming Newcomers: Beginning in the fall, we will begin a coordinated ministry to newcomers that involves welcoming them on Sunday, sitting with them during the service, taking them to coffee hour and introducing them around, and following up during the week. This program is called “Invite, Welcome and Connect” and some training will be involved should you feel called to this ministry.

You may have noticed that we have been providing a small token on Sundays to those who attend the 10:00 am service. Until we can gather for coffee hour, these takeaways are designed to extend a welcome and some hospitality in the meantime. If you feel called to provide 30–40 items one week, please contact me! Hopefully we will transition to coffee hour soon!

As you can see, there are a number of ways you can get involved in hospitality at St. James, and we need you to do so. If you are interested in participating in some way, please email Denise Grayson, Cathedral Administrator at admin@stjamesfresno.org, and your name will be forwarded on to me.

Why study the Bible?

It is important to remember that we are to study the scriptures to seek and know Jesus as the source of eternal life. The power of understanding what the scriptures say is not for knowledge only but because they testify of Jesus…and they teach more broadly about how God has interacted with all creation since the beginning of time. If you will, scripture is a road map that leads each of us back to our creator.

Join me, will you, on May 19 at 6:45 pm, via ZOOM, for our second gathering. We will continue our journey through the Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Bring your translation of the Bible and pick up a copy of The Path: A Journey Through the Bible, by Melody Wilson Shobe and David Creech.

This study promises to be worth your time! REMEMBER: we will join together for our second night, May 19 at 6:45 via ZOOM. The Zoom meeting ID is 896 1414 2873 and passcode is 368674.

PS: If you cannot afford a copy of the book email me and I will give you a copy.

RSVP to canonanna@diosanjoaquin.org to receive the link.

Erica Bird, Lutheran Campus Ministry Board President, shared a $1,000 Darcy Jensen Scholarship opportunity. Any high school senior or graduate that is going on to some form of higher education in the fall is eligible to apply. Please help us to spread the word of this scholarship to anyone who may be interested.

With continued in-person services, we are in need of ushers, readers, money counters, and weekday office volunteers who can commit to regularly perform this duty.

For readers, this will include an annual training session. If you are interested, please sign up below. We require that you arrive to the service at 9:30 am to allow for rehearsal time. You will be e-mailed the reading ahead of time to practice.

Contact Aaron Schuelke, Junior Warden, if you are interested in working on the Buildings and Grounds Team. There is much to be done, and you can make a difference. You can reach him at jrwarden@stjamesfresno.org.

The CDC recommends everyone 12 years and older should get a COVID-19 vaccination to help protect against COVID-19. Widespread vaccination is a critical tool to help stop the pandemic. Getting your child or teen vaccinated can bring you one step closer to enjoying the activities you miss. Children 12 years and older are able to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

Effective April 8, 2021, all individuals 16+ years and older are eligible to receive the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for those 16 and 17 years of age--those that are 16 and 17 years of age need parental consent before receiving the vaccine.

These clinics are for individuals interested in receiving the vaccine. To schedule an appointment, click on the button below. Bring proof of registration and any required forms (walk-in accepted at certain sites).

For second doses: Don't forget your white vaccination record card.

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

Don’t forget to download the digital service program to your device so you can follow along during the service. 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.

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.

There is no digital coffee hour this week. We will be back!

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.

This week we lift up in our prayers St. Paul's, Bakersfield.

Episcopal leaders are calling for an end to violence and the protection of Colombians’ civil rights after more than two weeks of political protests in the South American country have been met by a deadly national police crackdown.

The Rev. David Chavez has spent nearly all his life breathing in the culture, customs and geography of the United States’ southern border, from his childhood in the 1980s growing up between border communities in Arizona and California, to his current role as the Diocese of Arizona’s missioner for border ministries.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued the following statement on May 13 as fighting continues to escalate in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

A group of bishops, including Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, will hold a virtual memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd on May 25.

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.