VOLUME 2, ISSUE 27
July 29, 2020
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BE THOU MY VISION
St. James Virtual Choir inaugural performance
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During last Sunday's worship service, we had a wonderful surprise--the St. James Cathedral Virtual Choir. In honor of the Feast of St. James the Apostle (July 25th), the patron saint of our Cathedral in the Diocese of San Joaquin, the anthem for Sunday, July 26, offered by our own virtual choir, was a beautiful version of “Be Thou My Vision.”
Our music director, Sherah Moore Burdick, did a masterful job preparing the choir to record their parts. Emma Boone volunteered her time as the video producer and pulled together the various clips into one beautiful offering.
If you missed it, do not worry, the video of the performance is available right now on our
YouTube Channel. It was so nice to see our choir together again, especially in honor of St. James Day! And rumor has it that the choir is already planning their next virtual performance.
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CATHEDRAL BREAKFAST CLUB
Saturday, August 1 | 9:30AM
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Missing the 1st Saturday of every month morning fellowship? Well, we are back, and back with a stronger presence, but not as early and now open to all.
Please join US virtually for the
Cathedral Breakfast Club on Saturday, August 1, at 9:30AM, and each 1st Saturday of the month thereafter. These gatherings are open to ALL!!
It is great time for fellowship so please join us via Zoom. What great way to start your day with fellowship? Bring your breakfast and/or a cup of coffee/juice/tea and catch up on the times we have missed together.
COMPUTE LOGIN INFO
CLICK "JOIN THE CLUB" LINK BELOW OR USE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
Meeting ID: 894 7483 4226
Passcode: james4147
CALL-IN OPTION
(669) 900-6833 US
Meeting ID: 894 7483 4226
Passcode: 230840797
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YOU'LL BE BACK
Priest’s viral ‘Hamilton’ video reminds parishioners, ‘You’ll Be Back’
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[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Lonnie Lacy, rector of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Tifton, Georgia, had been looking forward to seeing “Hamilton” in Atlanta with his daughter for months. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the performance they had tickets for was postponed until next year. So when a recording of the Broadway musical started streaming on Disney+ earlier this month, they watched it together. When King George III started singing “You’ll Be Back” in his flowing robes, Lacy got an idea.
“I thought, ‘You know what? I have a cope that looks just like that,’” he told Episcopal News Service, referring to the cape-like vestment priests sometimes wear for special occasions.
He decided to rewrite the song – in which King George orders the American colonies to stop rebelling, or else – to remind his parishioners that their church will be waiting for them when the pandemic ends. It was the perfect number to use in the annual parish talent show (which, like everything else, has been moved online).
“Every year at the talent show, I try to do something really big and really ridiculous as the closing act. And it’s just become a thing – people know that Lonnie’s going to do something big and stupid,” he said.
“What I have discovered is there is such a hunger to be back together,” Lacy told ENS. The video is “a little humorous word of hope, a promise that God is going to get us through this. There is going to be another side of this, and we will get back together.”
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WEAVING GOD’S PROMISES:
Sunday School to Launch in September!
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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.
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
- Gathering and Greeting
- Sunday School Prayer
- Sunday School Song
- About the Scripture Story
- Telling the Story
- Activity Related to the Story
- Weaving Our Faith: Conversation about the story
- 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.
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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 1July 8th: Sections 2 & 3July 15th: Sections 4 & 5July 22nd: Sections 6 & 7- July 29th: Sections 8 & 9- FINAL CLASS
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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.
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SERMON BY DEACON TERI VAN HUSS
Preached on Sunday, July 26
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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"
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THE BOOK OF MARK
Bible Study with Emily Niblick
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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
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DIGITAL COFFEE HOUR
Following the conclusion of the 10AM service join us on Zoom
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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.
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".
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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.
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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.
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Watch a Documentary on Creation Care and/or Environmental Justice
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Some examples include faith-based films such as
Behold the Earth
and
Renewal
,
as well as other educational films such as
The Story of Stuff
.
Learn something new, and make a commitment to yourself to make a positive change in your life.
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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.
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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.
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With COVID-19 further complicating the already dysfunctional system of processing migrants at the United States’ southern border, the Diocese of West Texas is stepping up to fill an immediate need: housing for migrants who are being released from federal custody with nowhere to go.
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The Rev. Kimberly Jackson remembers the disappointment and devastation that erupted after the execution of Troy Davis nearly 10 years ago in Jackson, Georgia.
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Hundreds of Episcopalians have signed up for a webinar series based on The Episcopal Church’s Becoming Beloved Community framework as the recent nationwide protests over racial injustice drive a surge of interest in the church’s racial reconciliation work.
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A special initiative called “Together in Unity” has been launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, today in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The Archbishop has shared a pastoral message to bishops and spouses of the worldwide Anglican Communion about the impact of COVID-19, encouraging Anglican dioceses and parishes to support one another during this difficult time.
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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.
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