Throughout the 40 days of Lent, you are invited to practice something new, to give up something old. Use these days to strengthen and refresh your faith, dig deeper, reach higher. Click here to see our menu of offerings and find a way to engage and renew.

This is the first in a series of three lead articles I’m going to be writing covering the three basic areas of music in Anglican liturgy: organ music, choral music, and congregational song. This article will discuss the history and place of organ music in our liturgies.

The organ is one of the most ancient of instruments and has existed in one form or another going all the way back to at least the third century BC in Greece. Organs started making their way into Christian churches and Cathedrals in the early Middle Ages, and by the twelfth century their presence was well established.

One of the earliest direct accounts of organs during this time comes to us from the year 951, when the Bishop of Winchester had an organ built in his cathedral which had four hundred pipes (tiny by today’s standard by huge for the time). This organ included twenty-six pairs of bellows to produce the air, which are said to have taken seventy strong men to operate. According to contemporary accounts this organ could be heard throughout the entire city of Winchester when it was played. Organs continued to expand in size and complexity over the centuries, and by the 1600s the instrument had pretty well reached the full level of development it would see prior to the advent of electricity, which in the nineteenth century opened up brand new frontiers for growth. Even today organs continue to evolve as technology marches forward.

There are several practical reasons why the organ became the favored instrument for Christian worship services. First, in the time before electronic amplification, it was one of the few instruments capable of producing enough volume to fill a large space. Second, and perhaps even more importantly, the organ’s ability to sustain its pitch (unlike say, a piano or harpsichord) provides an exceptionally strong undergirding for accompanying congregational singing. Organs have also remained a favorite instrument of the church due to their unusually large musical range, which allows them to evoke the full spectrum of emotions encountered in the worship experience, from contemplative intimacy to the most awe-inspiring power and grandeur.

Typically, services in the Anglican tradition are bookended with what we call organ “voluntaries.” Most other denominations just refer to these as preludes and postludes, terms which we also sometimes use and are pretty much interchangeable. The use of the term “voluntary” in this context can be traced back to 16th century England, where it had referred to an organ composition written in a free style; a piece designed to capture the character of an improvisation. The usage stuck and eventually came to refer to any music, of whatever style, played before or after a worship service.

Like all the other musical components in worship, organ music is selected to complement the overall tone of the liturgical season and lectionary readings, and to help bring the service together into a unified whole.

We're currently setting up Meet & Greets with SJC's recently-elected convention delegates, who will be voting for our new Bishop in May. Dates and times will be available soon.

Arabic Foods by Eman Ziyadat: This week's offerings: baklava, hummus, papa ganoush, owzi (rice with vegetables and beef), spinach bread, meat pastries, and cheese pastries.

Seniors on a Mission’s Mobile Unit will be on site at St. John's Cathedral on Tuesday, March 22 from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. to help Seniors with their tech issues.

Seniors are invited to bring hand-held devices (cell phones or tablets) for beginner-type assistance. All technology sessions are performed one-on-one and are free to senior adults. Android or Apple

assistance available

A few openings remain, please call the Church Office at (904) 356-5507 to make an appointment.

The St. Johns Cathedral “Lay Weeders,” the group that keeps the Cathedral grounds well-groomed and blooming, is having its spring workday Saturday, March 26, from 8 - 11 a.m. One task this year is to prepare our shrubbery to enable the pest control company (that will be fumigating the Cathedral for termites) to be able to get to the windows and doors that will need to be taped shut.

Shrubs below windows must be trimmed back so workers can access those work areas. Anyone interested in helping with this task and/or other landscaping tasks should email Julia Stark at juliastark@bellsouth.net or phone (904) 563-0349. A lunch will be provided.

WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 10 a.m. to Noon

WHERE: St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville and via Zoom

WHO: All who have participated in a Sacred Ground group or who desire to participate in Beloved Community at this time in our Diocese of Florida.

WHAT: A gathering in which we will become reacquainted with those from your own groups, and meet others who have been in other Sacred Ground groups!

We can tell our stories of how we are changing, and how we are discovering "what's next" for us, as a result of learning through Sacred Ground.

We can talk about some possible actions we might take as a community and diocese

worship together as a beloved community!

Meeting ID: 826 0380 6355

God is the creator of heaven and earth . . . everything we see around us. Our Lord is the greatest artist.

God also created people in His image and likeness, and He has given people the inspiration to create wonderful works of art. God is the source of creativity, and we can look to the Bible to gain a better interpretation of it.

Attend the Art@Noon Salon via Zoom on Wednesday, March 30 at 12 p.m. and explore paintings, sculpture and other visual media that correlate with Bible verses. Join the discussion

See how Scripture and Art complement each other. RSVP HERE

As a day to learn about, pray, and act to support refugees, a special liturgy will be featured during the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services on Sunday, April 3.

As we witness the atrocities in Ukraine, we pray; we donate monies to help provide survival needs and we ask, “What more can we do?” Many ask, “Will Ukrainian refugees be coming to the U.S.?”

According to United States Agency for International Development (USAID), it is not likely at this time that large influxes of Ukrainian refugees will elect to leave Europe where they are closer to the family they have left behind. However, millions of US dollars have been appropriated for humanitarian assistance within Ukraine and to European countries caring for those who have fled the war. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to allow an estimated 30,000 Ukrainians who are temporarily living or studying in the U.S. to stay and work legally for 18 months. TPS does not provide a pathway to U.S. citizenship.

Catholic Charities Refugee Services in Jacksonville has announced that they will be receiving 35 Ukrainians for resettlement. It is not yet known when they will arrive, but the agency is now collecting furniture and household items in preparation. These items can be delivered to the Providence Center (across from our SJC bookstore) at 134 E. Church St. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arrangements to have furniture and large items picked up can be made by e-mailing Courtney Partin at cpartin@ccbjax.org

According to US News and World Report, the U.S. has so far admitted 73,000 Afghans all of whom will eventually move to communities around the U.S. About 40,000 are still housed at seven military bases within the U.S. as they await resettlement.

Catholic Charities in Jacksonville has announced they have nearly completed Phase I of Afghan resettlement for nearly 200 people within 50 families. Only a few families wait in local Airbnb’s until affordable housing can be found. Phase II will begin soon to resettle additional Afghan families.

Lutheran Social Services in Jacksonville expects to resettle 100 Afghans in 2022 along with an additional 275 refugees from other parts of the globe. The two agencies work together to avoid duplication in areas such as employment training and English classes.

Cathedral Family,

We are teaming up with Church of the Good Shepherd and Christ Church Ponte Vedra to support Strides for Pride, a 5K fundraiser for JASMYN. This is a family-friendly event, and there is even a Pooches for Pride contest if you’d like to register your fur baby. We invite you to join us in this wonderful opportunity to show Love at the Core as a Cathedral family!

JASMYN is a nationally recognized, Riverside-based, non-profit providing emergency housing, meals, showers, mental health counseling, peer support, HIV testing, and case management to LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-29.

On Sunday, St. John's Cathedral welcomed Owen Robert Nussbaum and Nathan Thomas Veal into God's family. Both were baptized by Dean Kate amidst family and Deacon Linda Rosengren.