Beloved,

Fireworks, cookouts, family gatherings, parties. These are the many ways we, as a people, celebrate the Fourth of July, the day set aside in our calendar year to remember the fight for independence from British rule and the founding of a new nation, a nation predicated on the idea that all [people] were created equal and equally deserve a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As a nation, however, we have never lived up to that ideal. Instead, we seem to thrive on the idea that all people are not created equal, and some do not, therefore, have the right to life, liberty and happiness in the same way that other people do. We've built structures to support such inequality, and have passed laws to support such inequality, and have killed in the name of such inequality. And through all of this, we have claimed God to be on our side; that, under God, there would be liberty and justice for all.

As a nation, we have never realized our ideal. We have never realized the true meaning of freedom. Indeed, we have corrupted freedom to our own ends, using it to disparage and discriminate, to own and enslave, tear down and imprison. Jesus taught us another way. A way to true freedom. Not just in giving and supporting, though that is important, but in freeing others. Every miracle Jesus performed freed someone from a burden that enslaved them. Everything that Jesus taught, pointed us toward freeing ourselves and others from the things that enslave us - money, power, greed, selfishness. Living the Way of Jesus is a movement toward absolute freedom, paving the way and making room for absolute love.

Two quotes and a speech stand out for me this Independence Day.

"No one is free until we all are free" - The Revd Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The function of freedom is to free someone else" - Toni Morrison, author

And this speech, delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852 to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society - "What to the Slave is the 4th of July". You can read the full text here, hear an edited version delivered by James Earl Jones here, and listen to some of his descendants, all young BIPOC persons, read and comment on portions of it here.

It is sometimes hard to hold onto hope in these times we live in. But faith tells us that love always wins. There may be dark times, but the light is never completely snuffed out, it is always there, somewhere, shining the way toward love. As followers of the way, we are to be that light. To shine into the chaos of this world. To live our lives, teach our children, show the world another way.

Two more quotes to end this rambling:

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" - The Revd Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world, and you have to do it all the time." - Angela Davis

Beloved, you are so beautiful. I love you, and God adores you.

Greta+

For about seventeen years a dedicated and changing crew has promoted the CCSP parking lot as the easiest in-and-out spot for access to the July 3^rd Burlington waterfront fireworks. Over the ensuing years, it has become not only the premier parking spot, but also somewhat of a tradition for many families.  

Reservations are accepted from congregation members for whom we try to give prime parking – please send an email to Maureen (maureensrees@gmail.com) to reserve spaces, and make your online contribution via the Cathedral website. Two years ago, we parked 50 cars at $20 per car and, with a few kind additional donations, we were, for the first time, able to provide over $1,100 to our Outreach Ministries. We would love to have you join us.

Sacred Ground is a film- and readings-based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.

The 11-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.

Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community, The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society. This series is open to all, and especially designed to help white people talk with other white people. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope and love.

Limited space is still available. You are invited to be part of a Sacred Ground circle here at the Cathedral this fall. The group will meet on Wednesday evenings (dates below) from Sept - Jan. The Circle will be led by two facilitators with space for 10 participants. If you are interested, please contact the Dean by e-mail or phone (802-860-0480). The group will meet in-person at the Cathedral from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. on Sept 7, 14, 28; Oct 12, 26; Nov. 9, 16, 30; Dec. 14; Jan 11, 18. We ask that you commit, as best you can, to attending all sessions. You can read more about Sacred Ground here.

We are so looking forward to sharing a meal and fellowship together at the Cathedral!

On Sunday, July 10 we will gather in the Parish Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. in fellowship for a potluck meal. Bring a contribution to share, your own plates and flatware, and let's reconnect with old friends and make new ones.

There is no need to sign up. Please plan to enter the building from the lower entrance. To cut down on chores, we're asking that each person/family bring their own cups, plates, and flatware, though Cathedral dishes will be available if you are not able (or forget) to do so.

If you are not able to make it this month, mark your calendar for future suppers: August 14, October 9, and November 13, and stay tuned for more details!

Gracious God, we thank you for the witness of Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with compassion for the shame and suffering of enslaved peoples….Help us, like her, to strive for your justice. (from the appointed collect of the day)

Born in Connecticut to Roxanna Foote Beecher and Lyman Beecher, five-year old Harriet and her eleven siblings moved to Cincinnati after the death of their mother. There, Lyman Beecher, a congregationalist minister became President of Lane Seminary, a place which later became important in the Abolitionist movement. In Cincinnati, Harriet “gained first-hand knowledge of fugitive slaves and about life in the South through friends and from her contact with the Underground Railroad.” Also, while in Cincinnati, Harriet met Calvin Ellis Stowe, a professor at the seminary; she and Calvin married and had seven children of their own. Harriet “read to her children two hours each evening and she also made time to write, “partially to bolster the meager family income.” (Harriet Beecher Stowe | Christian History | Christianity Today). In 1850 her husband became a professor at Bowdoin and moved the family to Brunswick, Maine. After the death of her father, Harriet moved back to Connecticut, and she joined the Episcopal Church – which was the faith tradition of her mother and her mother’s family.

While there are many online resources about Harriet Beecher Stowe, if you would like to know more about “the special character of her faith as developed by her two different church traditions,” take a look at Professor John Gatta’s piece in the Living Church section of the Archives of the Episcopal Church: The Living Church: Search Results (episcopalarchives.org)

Are you missing your jacket, reading glasses, water bottle, or other small items? The next time you're in church please take a moment to check the coat rack in the South Porch and the credenza behind the reception desk in the office area to see if any of the items there belong to you.

Any items not claimed by Friday, July 15 will be donated.

The Cathedral will be inaccessible by car all day on Saturday, July 9 due to street closures to accommodate the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Over the Edge event that day. Please make a note of it.

Christ's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge, and has had a chapel choir since its foundation in 1505. For this tour of the American East Coast, they will sing a wide range of music: Parry's Songs of Farewell, Howell's Requiem, Finzi's Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice, to name a few, performing a variety of music from both religious and secular traditions. 

Conducted by Professor David Rowland, Director of Music at Christ's College, the choir's raison d'etre has, since its inception, been to sing services in the college chapel. Choral Evensong is sung twice weekly during full term. More generally, the choir makes an important contribution to the life of the college, singing at feasts, weddings, memorial services, and other occasions. Today, as one of Cambridge's finest mixed-voice ensembles, the group also pursues an exciting range of activities outside the college, performing concerts in Cambridge and around the UK, recording CDs, broadcasting, and undertaking international tours each summer. 

Friday, July 22, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at https://sevendaystickets.com/events/104361 or at the door.

The Rev. Sally Webster has faithfully led a mid-week Eucharist at the Cathedral since 2018. She has recently decided to step back from this offering after July of this year. We will be pausing the mid-week service for the month of August while we consider how to best move forward.

Many thanks to Rev. Webster for her love of celebrating the Eucharist, her kindness, and her consistency.

Beginning Sunday, June 26, the weekly Vigil and Witness against racism will begin at 12 noon each Sunday throughout the summer. This is to accommodate our summer service schedule.

We hope you will join us!

Thanks to the generosity of our community, we have a shopping cart full of food to give out when someone in need asks for food.

Much of this food is canned, and it would be helpful to hand out manual (non-electric) can openers along with the canned goods. Can openers go a long way when helping families and organizations open their cans that can hold needed non-perishable foods.

If you have one you can donate, please consider bringing it with you and dropping it in the basket under the Narthex table. Thank you!

Click here to view or download The Sunday Paper for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. The Sunday Paper is a weekly publication for children that includes Scriptural images, and stories that relate the Gospel to the Old Testament, the life of the church, and their own lives.

Our Children's Formation Coordinator Katie Gonyaw will be offering 4 days of Vacation Bible School from August 15th-19th!  

The sessions will take place during the morning hours and children must sign up in advance.   We, of course, could use some volunteers so check your calendars.

We are always seeking volunteers to contribute a snack, to make coffee, or to help set up or clean up. You can volunteer using our online signup here, or let a member of the welcome ministry know.

As long as we can safely do so, it is our plan to continue this important ministry, to welcome newcomers, and stay in touch with everyone who is a part of the St. Paul's family. To learn more, please get in touch with a member of the Welcome Ministry

Penny Pillsbury, Chairperson, Welcome Ministry

Join us this Sunday, July 3 as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 a.m. in person and live streamed on the Cathedral's YouTube channel for those who would like to join us virtually.

Please see the schedule above or visit the Cathedral website for other worship at St. Paul's.

You can view or download the order of worship for the 10:00 a.m. Eucharist on our website.

Morning Prayer, Monday - Friday at 8:30 a.m. on Zoom.

In person Tuesday - Friday at 8:30 a.m.

Thursday Eucharist with the sacrament of healing, Thursdays at 12:15 in person in the chapel.

Compline, Sundays and Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on Zoom. 

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

If you, or someone you know might be interested, please contact JUMP President Katharine Stockman at president@jumpvt.org.

This weekly e-newsletter is circulated on Fridays. Please have your pieces submitted to Jennifer Sumner at admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org by noon on Wednesday. Thank you.