From the Deacon

Young Adults Game Day

Tomorrow, April 13, the Young Adults of St. Paul's (18-after-high-school to 40ish) will gather for an afternoon of tabletop games at the Cathedral.

We will begin the festivities with a special game everyone is invited to play together. Then folks will split into affinity groups related to the various games (and teachers) on hand. All levels of engagement will be represented: from casual card games to gateway board games to narrative-driven roleplaying games.

We will gather in the Parish Hall. Please bring a snack to share if you are able. Childcare will be provided. Saturday, April 13, 2 - 5 p.m.

Seeking Childcare for Young Adults Gathering

As you may have seen, the Young Adults of the parish will gather Saturday afternoon, April 13th. As you may have also seen, we are in need of faithful St. Paul's parishioners to spend time with our youngest followers of Jesus.

Perhaps you miss the times you spent with your own family. Perhaps you want to repay all the kindness you were shown by those who helped to care for your children. Whatever the case, if you have a special place in your heart for children, you are invited to be a part of the team that will spend time with the children of our Young Adults so they can get to know one another without the small (in size) large (in scope) demands for their time.

If you are able to help in this way, please email Bob for the particulars. Thank you so much in advance. 

Welcome Music Director Candidate Eric Milnes

We hope you will join us this Sunday to welcome Eric Milnes, who will be with us as organist and choir director as a finalist in our search for a new Music Director. 

Eric has been professionally engaged in the work of the church for forty-six years. The descendant of five generations of Methodist pastors, Christian Education directors and church musicians, he was baptized in the Methodist Church, confirmed in the Congregational Church, and after work in Presbyterian, Congregational and Lutheran churches, spent the last three decades in Episcopal churches in and around New York City. In 2016 he was awarded the Bishop’s Medal for Distinctive Service to Church Music. 

This Week in the Adult Forum: English Church History

Adult Forum this week delves into our historical roots in the British Isles; especially the Church of England. Come find out why Henry VIII's marriages caused a rift with the bishop of Rome; how the then-reform-minded bishops in the Church of England ran with the opportunity to address the issues they saw with their church; and how that back-and-forth between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism continues.

Please join us this Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Discussion is encouraged. All ages of adults are welcome. 

Cathedral Square Portraits Exhibition

Opening reception this Sunday!

An exhibit of portrait photographs by Paul Van De Graaf and Gerry Davis will be on display in the Nave of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington, during the months of April and May 2024. Cathedral Square was created in 1977 as a mission of the church and an independent nonprofit corporation to develop Cathedral Square Senior Living, the nine-story, solar-panel-topped building just east of the Cathedral, with 108 apartments for older adults. The project to photograph residents at Cathedral Square Senior Living was undertaken as a service to these subjects and to honor the missions of Cathedral Square and the Cathedral.  

Twenty-one residents, including one couple and one staff member, volunteered to participate. Each subject was photographed in color with a modern Sony digital mirrorless camera and in black and white using a Zone VI 4”x5” large format film camera. Each subject received a set of color and B&W prints to share with family and friends in time for the holidays.

An opening reception will be held on April 14 during coffee hour after the 11:00 o’clock service. This project was helped greatly by the support of Kim Aldous at Cathedral Square, Dean Greta Getlein, and the Cathedral Arts Committee. These photographers have teamed together previously on several projects, are good friends, and enjoy their photography and their work together.

Cathedral Arts Presents: Vermont High School Touring Choirs

Choirs from Mount Mansfield Union High School, Rice Memorial High School, and Colchester High School present a collaborative performance led by Choral Directors Caleb Pillsbury, MMUHS Choral Director, and Kevin Ginter, Rice HS Choral Director, featuring selections from Mass in Blue by Will Todd, and a folksong arrangement of Amazing Grace, among others. The performance goes on tour at Worcester Cathedral in Worcester, England, on April 23rd and 27th, 2024.

Tuesday, April 16 at noon. This is a free concert. Donations to Cathedral Arts are always gratefully accepted.

Justice Speaks: Pollinators and PFAS

It’s time to speak up for pollinators! Legislation (H.706) to end most uses of neonicotinoid insecticides (or neonics) has passed the VT House with a good majority and is now under discussion in the Senate Agriculture committee. 

Some ninety thousand acres in Vermont are planted with neonic-treated corn seeds every year. The pesticides are persistent in the soil, run off in surface water, and make the pollen and nectar of the corn plant toxic to pollinators, but don’t provide much protection from soil pests. Results: unnecessary costs to farmers, and significant loss of pollinators needed for food production. The VT law would grant some exemptions if needed.

ACTION:: Please write to Senator Robert Starr (rstarr@leg.state.vt.us) and to the committee assistant Linda Leehman (lleehman@leg.state.vt.us) so she can share your message with the whole committee. Urge him to vote the bill favorably out of Senate Agriculture Committee so that it can be passed this year!  

PFAS legislation (S.25) is on its way through the Legislature. This bill seeks to prevent exposure to PFAS (Per- and PolyFluoroalkyl Substances: forever chemicals) in personal care products, clothing and artificial turf.

It passed the Senate last year unanimously, and will be on the House floor for a vote on Wednesday April 10. Then it goes back to the Senate for agreement on changes made in the house. 

ACTION: Please thank Senator Ginny Lyons for all her hard work in shepherding S.25 for over a year. vlyons@leg.state.vt.us 

Write to your senators to urge final passage of S.25.

To find your senators, visit https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/all/2024/Senate

Thank you for helping! Email me if questions: sknightinvt73@gmail.com

Sylvia Knight

Cathedral Arts Presents Brahms and Beethoven: Romani and Scottish Songs

Cathedral Arts is proud to present a performance by Counterpoint Chorus. For their 2024 Spring program, three of Vermont’s finest classical instrumentalists join the singers of Counterpoint for this fascinating crossing of folk traditions and classical music: Johannes Brahms’s passionate Zigeunerlieder, a collection of Ludwig van Beethoven’s settings of Scottish folksongs, and folksong settings by Béla Bartók, plus piano trio movements by Fanny Hensel and Clara Schumann.

Sunday, April 28, 3:00 p.m. Tickets for this performance may be purchased at 7 Days Ticketing.

Support the St. Paul's COTS Walk Team

Please help St Paul’s Cathedral support the mission of the Committee for Temporary Shelter (COTS) to end homelessness by joining us or making a donation to our church’s COTS Walk Team.

This year the COTS Walk is on Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m. The walk is a 3.5-mile trek (a shorter 1-mile route is available) around downtown Burlington that starts from Battery Park and follows the path a person experiencing homelessness might travel to connect with COTS shelter and services. We are participating to support Vermont's largest provider of services for community members who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, or marginally housed.

You are invited to participate by walking with us or donating to our team's fundraising effort. The more people that join, the greater our collective impact will be. To donate, you can write a check made out to COTS, give cash, or visit the St. Paul’s Cathedral team page at this link right now. https://secure2.convio.net/tcots/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1017710&pg=personal&fr_id=1110. To join as a walker, please register using the same link.

The process is fast, easy, and secure. If you would prefer, you can send your contribution to the address listed below.

COTS

PO Box 1616

Burlington, VT 05402

Make all checks payable to COTS.

Feel free to share this fundraiser with any friends you think might be interested in supporting this important cause.

NBC5 Easter Interview with Bishop Shannon

In case you missed it: Local NBC affiliate WPTZ interviewed Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown at Easter to discuss her thoughts on faith, resurrection, and the season.

You can see the interview here.

Recycle Your Eclipse Glasses

Eclipse viewers can be brought to Chittenden Solid Waste District drop-off centers. They will collect them, keeping them out of the landfill and making them available for students and others to use at a later event. You can find locations at www.cswd.net.