Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost

Psalm 38

Sirach 51:13-22

1 Corinthians 14:1-12

Matthew 20:1-16

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Officiants: Reverend Marilee Muncey and Cathedral/Diocese Staff Clergy

Preacher: Toni Alvarez

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Congratulations to Joseph Camaquin-Vigil, Paul McGeary, Karen Simmons Gillan and Aaron Stillmaker who were selected by the congregation to be chapter members for 3 year terms starting at the cathedral’s annual meeting in January 2021. Because the chapter is the cathedral's governing body, the constitution and canons require a confirmation vote at the Diocesan of San Joaquin convention on November 14, 2020. Stayed Tuned.

Asked what a saint is, one of our elementary Sunday School students responded, “A Saint is someone who does the work of Jesus when he’s not here.” Now that sounds like people like you! Not just famous “someone’s” like St. Francis or Mother Theresa but someone like you and me. Someone like Sharon McDermott. Our Lord has called Sharon to the ministry of walking beside the hungry through our St. James Food Bank program. The Mission of the Food Bank is:

Sharon embodies this mission in her tireless volunteer service on behalf of those who work so hard and have so little. People in our neighborhood, where unemployment is 40%; representing 180 boxes each week and 540 individuals served. Sharon is looking forward to the day when we can all return to campus and visit the newly renovated space that will house and expand the Food Bank ministry. This long held dream of dedicated space has finally come true because of your financial stewardship! Listen and watch as Sharon shares with us the future of the Food Bank Ministry.

St James is looking to reconstitute the Buildings and Ground Committee for our continued beautification and the long-term maintenance of our cathedral campus. This is an important committee for our cathedral campus and we are looking for people with ideas, thoughts and organizational experience. This re-constituted committee will be asked to assist in areas involving the buildings and grounds of the campus, including: devising a comprehensive campus map, vendor management, security applications and a comprehensive maintenance plan with considerations geared towards environmental and economic considerations.  We need you.

The Bible is full of gardens and beautiful Holy spaces; please help us replicate that beauty on our campus when we return to in-person worship.

Now is our time. We need people to maintain this energy and interest. Help us keep our campus beautiful and ever growing.

If you are interested in this important ministry, please contact the Senior Warden at srwarden@stjamesfresno.org.

The committee will meet via Zoom.

Creator, as I prepare to go into the world, help me to see the sacrament in the wearing of this cloth—let it be "an outward sign of an inward grace"—a tangible and visible way of living love for my neighbors, as I love myself.

Christ, since my lips will be covered, uncover my heart, that people would see my smile in the crinkles around my eyes.

Since my voice may be muffled, help me to speak clearly, not only with my words, but with my actions.

Holy Spirit, As the elastic touches my ears, remind me to listen carefully—and full of care—to all those I meet.

May this simple piece of cloth be shield and banner, and each breath that it holds,

be filled with your love.

In your Name and in that love, I pray.

Amen.

-- The Rev. Dr. Richard Bott, Moderator of the United

Church of Canada

St. James Cathedral has enjoyed a practice and tradition of intentional formation. These formational activities have included educational and biblically-based study series. These are places where different groups of people gather to join in study with one another. Their goal is to learn and deepen their faith in the topics that interest them.

Small groups, while sometimes seemingly similar, are focused on intentionally gathering to share life, and these groups depend on every member continuing to join week to week. Their work is focused first on trust building and mutual support for life inside and outside of Church. Once trust is established, they also incorporate some sort of shared study or time of prayer, depending on the desires and needs of the small group. Small groups are lay led with clergy acting as a resource, but the laity drive the group. Small groups have a covenanted start and end date at which point new people are invited to join, some may choose to exit, and others are invited to start their own small group, and the circle begins again: building trust, sharing life, and shared learning.

Next week, St. James will be launching a test run of a new small group model.

This group was formed out of the regular attenders of the Lenten Study from last spring and has been formed as a project for what could be in the future of St. James. This group will meet until December 16th. This timing is intentional both with Christmas, but also with the arrival of our new Acting Dean. At that point, the clergy and group leaders will evaluate what worked well, what needs improvement and how we might form new groups in January.

If you are interested in the possibility of small groups in the future, please reach out to the clergy at clergy@stjamesfresno.org.

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

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.

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 cold water. Using cold water can save up to 80 percent of the energy required to wash clothes. Choosing a low setting on the washing machine will also help save water.

Switch to e-billing. In the United States, paper products make up the largest percentage of municipal solid waste, and hard copy bills alone generate almost 2 million tons of CO2. Save paper by signing up for e-billing.

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".

Meets the first Saturday of each monthly at 9:30AM on Zoom. These gatherings are open to all. To join via Zoom, click here. There is also a call-in option: (669) 900-6833 - Meeting ID: 894 7483 4226 - Passcode: 230840797.

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.

On Nov. 1, with the most turbulent U.S. election in recent memory two days away and the COVID-19 pandemic causing widespread suffering and death, thousands of Americans tuned in to Washington National Cathedral’s virtual interfaith prayer service...

On a mild but windy morning in Austin, Texas, the weather prompted no complaints from the Rev. David Peters, who was “ambling along” west of downtown. But gusts of up to 30 mph were making it difficult for the priest to describe his 70-mile prayer walk to the reporter who had reached him by phone.

The Rev. Christie Fleming had just officiated a funeral when she saw Sylvester White for the first time. The two were in a cemetery when Fleming, then-vicar of Christ Episcopal Church in Bastrop, Louisiana, noticed White passing time amid the gravestones. “And we started talking, and we stayed connected after that,” Fleming recently told Episcopal News Service.

With the threat of voter intimidation and suppression hanging over the United States general election, which concludes Nov. 3, The Episcopal Church has organized training for clergy and lay chaplains to serve as “poll chaplains” on Election Day.

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.