Whether we have contracted Covid-19 or a variant of it, we are still going to need to heal from it. It has affected all of us. With the fear of infection which keeps us away from family, church and social activities, the death of a loved one and our mourning, the inability to visit our loved ones in the hospital or adult care facilities, homeschooling to the detriment of our children, worrying about finances, rapidly inclining rates of crippling anxiety, depression, and suicide, this is a time of physical, emotional and religious turmoil. Everything has changed.

I have called this unprecedented time of “covidic captivity” because that is the way it seems to be playing out. Our friends who are trained in various forms of mental health counseling say that we are all grieving over our loss of known freedom of living—as if we have been jailed. There are instances of parole only to be taken away by a new contagious outbreak or a fear of one. The link we had with each other is again broken. I don’t think any one of us is thriving as much as we did before the pandemic. Separation from each other in various degrees has diminished our capacity to live into our life in Christ. And that is why we need each other more than ever. We can’t do it alone.

Straight to the point, and said with love—we need to admit that we are all wounded and need healing of mind, body and spirit. Every one of us. To that end, and in coordination with staff, support groups, individual caregivers and other parishioners, the Cathedral Pastoral Care Council is focused on ensuring our congregation responds in love with compassion and care to those in need during difficult times and joyful times—the loss of a loved one, the birth of a baby, physical illness, emotional setback, periods of isolation or vocational transition. Here are some pastoral care ministries the cathedral offers: trained Eucharistic Visitors take Communion to those unable to attend services in person; licensed Lay Pastoral Care Ministers visit parishioners at home, in the hospital, adult facilities or hospice, providing companionship and observing appropriate boundaries in listening and responding with help as felt needed; clergy visitations in hospitals, rehab centers and hospice; pre-op prayer and follow-up for surgeries; counseling and referrals for specific professional help; 24-7 emergency response from a member of the clergy (904-472-1926).

One of our recent ministries, responding to increased isolation due to the very contagious Covid omicron variant, is offering Communion outside a parishioner's home. We arrange a time to visit you as requested and place the consecrated bread and wine on a table outside your door. The Eucharistic Visitor (EV) leads the initial prayers and you conclude the service. The EV can stay socially distanced or leave as desired by the parishioner. Please call the Cathedral (904-356-5507) if you would like to receive Communion this way or in your home.

Please let us know how we can be helpful. We are all in this together.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Gee Alexander

Associate Priest for Pastoral Care

We will hold our Parish Annual Meeting, Sunday, February 6, immediately following the 10 a.m. service in Taliaferro Hall. Nominees for the Vestry and Convention 2023 Delegates are listed in the Nominee Booklet (link below). This year the meeting will be held both in-person and on Zoom. We will keep the meeting time to one hour, so plan to join us! You will hear from your Sr. Warden, Jr. Warden, Finance Committee Chair, Director of Operations, and Dean about what we've accomplished and what we hope to accomplish.

In addition, we will celebrate two staff retirements: Marie Tarver (35 years) and Judy Maurer (19 years). Both of these beautiful women will be present, so please consider joining us in person to honor and applaud them. If you would like to contribute to a purse to be given to each woman, please Give Here and write "Retirement gift for ____" in the memo. Checks may also be sent to the church.

The Election will be held from January 31 through February 3 through an online voting platform (as we did last year). For those who prefer not to vote online, please call the Cathedral Office (904) 356-5507 and Kitty will record your votes. The election results will be announced at the end of the Annual Parish Meeting.

We invite you to get to know the candidates. Sunday, January 23 and Sunday, January 30 at 9 a.m. and immediately after the10 a.m. service, candidates will be in the back of the church. So stop and say hello, find out what they love about St. John's Cathedral and how they envision serving here. If you are unable to attend services, please read about them in the Nominee Booklet.

St. John's Cathedral offers many ways to get involved. Take a class. Join a Bible study or book discussion. See the complete list of offerings here.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see content as we add it!

Volunteers are welcome to come pack backpacks on January 26 at 9:30 a.m. at St. John's Cathedral. Contact: Joan Burchell burchelli@aol.com

Our Guild is made up of the Flower Guild and the Altar Guild. Together, we ready our beautiful spaces for all types of services.  No matter what time you are able to give, there is an opportunity for you! Preparing our Cathedral for worship is a gift you can give to everyone attending or watching.

If you are interested in getting started or have questions please contact:

Faye Wisner fwisner@comcast.net