Prayer Shawl Ministry

Christian Meditation

Reel Spirit - Well for the Journey

Led by the Rev. Ben Smith and Kathy Schnurr, reel spirit is sponsored by Well for the Journey, Inc., a non-profit ecumenical organization offering spiritual nourishment for daily living.  Participants gather on the evening of the first Sunday of the month at the Charles Theater and stay after each movie for a free discussion. No registration is required. To learn which movie has been selected, call The Well office (410-377-9520) or check the website, not more than one week in advance.  

Reflections from the Mission Trip to Honduras

On Sunday, August 7th, Emily Bomgardner, Sarah Bomgardner, Sophia Springer and the Rev. Sara Shisler, preach on their experiences in Honduras working with Villanueva. To listen to their sermon please click here. Below is an excepert from Rev.Sara, Emily and Sophia.  

"The experience that I'd like to share was one that really hit home for me. My mom, as many of you know is Caroline Bomgardner. And one of the main reasons she loves coming to the Cathedral is the presence of the holy spirit she feels when everyone is standing together singing. Many times she is moved to tears. My family and I have always chalked it up to "oh that's just mom..." and I never really understood how a bunch of people singing was so moving. I mean, it's pretty loud, and kinda cool, but nothing to cry over. But as I stood in church on our last Sunday in Honduras, and attempted to sing some hymn in Spanish, in a room about the size of a classroom, with people I hadn't even known for a week, tears rolled down my face as I thought of my mom, and the overwhelming joy I felt in my heart for these people and this amazing experience they had shared with me."  -- Emily Bomgardner

"What Honduras taught me is that you don't need anything but yourself and a little faith and to keep your eyes on Jesus to get out of the boat and start walking.  It is when Peter takes his eyes of Jesus and starts to focus on the storm that surrounds him that he begins to sink.  Yet even in that moment when Peter has lost his focus on God,  Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches Peter.  Now before when I heard this story and I imagined Jesus reaching out and catching Peter's arm, I might have imagined an angry or frustrated Jesus,  scolding Peter for his little faith  and his failure to keep his focus on Jesus- who is the source of Peter's ability to walk on the water.  Now, when I hear this story, I imagine Jesus as a smiling, joyous, laughing Jesus; a sun kissed, eyes sparkling, Wes Wubenhourst kind of Jesus who grabs a young teen Peter by the arm and says, *click click *  Hey! You of little faith! Why did you doubt?" You have all the little faith you need! You have mustard seed faith! Faith to move mountains and take the first step out of the boat faith. Why did you doubt?" For he knows, this Jesus, that a little faith and one-step out, can change your life." 

- The Rev. Sara Shisler  

Sunday School & Youth Registrations

Notes from the Canon for Music and Worship

From ERICA's New Executive Director Betty Symington     

 - Betty Symington

On July 26, my second day in the office as ERICA's new Director, we received a phone call from an asylee from the Central African Republic, a single mother of two facing an unexpectedly short deadline to file for her green card.  The circumstances, as usual, were complicated, the need immediate, and the financial hurdle insurmountable without ERICA's help.  Ms. D. came to the Cathedral the next day with an impressive set of personal documents.  She had a well thought out plan, but more importantly, she felt a strong sense of connection and hope.  While thinking and praying for guidance in her efforts to meet the high costs associated with applying for a green card, which can total $1500 or more for fees, legal advice and medical examinations and vaccinations, Ms. D noticed something stamped onto the bottom end of her well worn French-English dictionary.  It was the ERICA stamp!  She remembered coming to ERICA's Boutique in the fall of 2007 at the recommendation of a Social Services caseworker.  She needed some clothing appropriate for job interviews.  She met Peter Kirchgraber, my predecessor, who encouraged her to avail herself of other ERICA services if the need ever arose and gave her a French-English dictionary to take home.  Four years later that dictionary and that smudged but legible stamp have returned her to ERICA.  A small favor for which to give great thanks.  We have been able to provide an interest free loan to cover Ms. D.'s current immigration expenses and help her launch a new beginning in her life. 

Ms. D's story is uplifting in its own right and a compelling example of how ERICA seeks to fulfill its mission.  It has also been my introduction to the ERICA and Cathedral community and my orientation to a small but important part of the process of refugee and asylee resettlement in Baltimore.  I come to this new job with a sense that it was meant to be, that many things have fallen into place.  I have had the good fortune to travel, study and work abroad, to work in education and public service, and to raise a healthy family in the Baltimore area.  I have learned that I thrive when engaged in projects and purposes that connect me to individuals, to my physical community and to the world at large.  This is how I feel spiritually nourished and how I get the energy to give the most of myself.  It is not always possible to find one endeavor that combines all three levels of connection, but I believe I have found it in ERICA.  Ms. D. and I are both embarking on a new phase in our lives, and we talked about this kind of blessing, our shared excitement and the role that the work of ERICA can play in the personal growth of everyone involved in the program. 

I am so thankful for the warm welcome I have received.  Thank you to the ERICA Board, the Search Committee, Board President Kristen Looney and Dean Hayek for offering me this wonderful position and giving me thoughtful guidance already.  I keep repeating this, but I am truly honored and humbled.  Thank you to Jacqui DeSimone and Hadley Mellin who have kept ERICA afloat during the search for a new director and who will keep me afloat these first months as well.  Thank you to Amy Myers who is calmly educating me about Outreach and, especially, to Anne Tabler, Fran Brown and Caroline Bomgardner who respond to my innumerable questions with a smile and a quick solution.  And thank you in advance to Bob Jarvis and Larry and Slim Mack for a refinished floor and the incentive to make our office welcoming and worthy of its place in the old Cathedral library.  

Upcoming ERICA Events  

Urgent ERICA request

School Supplies Drive for Waverly Elementary/Middle and Abbottston Elementary Schools 

Once again our Cathedral community is collecting new school supplies for the supplies cupboards at local schools Waverly Elementary/Middle and Abbottston Elementary. Many students' families cannot afford to provide all that is necessary, and many teachers reach into their own pockets to get their students what they need to be successful in school. Our community can support our schools by purchasing commonly needed items. Look for the red bin outside the Cathedral office to drop off your contributions!  Here is a list of some commonly needed supplies:

Glue sticks

Crayons (boxes of 24)

Composition books

Pocket folders with fasteners

One-inch binders

Blunt-end (children's) scissors

Pencils

Pencil-top and rectangular erasers

Wide-ruled notebook paper

One-subject spiral notebooks

Lined index cards

Ruler

Through your generosity our Cathedral community provided each child at our partner Waverly Elementary/Middle School with a brand new book to kick off Waverly's summer reading campaign. (That's 477 new books raised in three weeks!) Andrew Stiller, Waverly's Community Schools Site Coordinator, shared this update on the program with us:

"With the support of the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Waverly launched its pilot summer reading program. Reading is a fundamental part of every grade's curriculum, but the hard work and progress our students achieve is often lost during the summer vacation. Waverly created this program to work within the Enoch Pratt's pre-existing summer reading program, which provides positive reinforcement for summer readers. Additionally, Waverly opened the school library up during the summer for students to take home even more reading material. To start the summer right, along with the new book, each student took home a bulletin with great resources to support reading, as well as tips and tricks to help students learn at home during the summer. We hope that our students will bring even stronger reading skills into school for the new year! Thank you so much for your support!"    

Baltimore City Mayoral Candidates Forum

Thursday, August 25 at 7:00 PM

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church 

For an opportunity to hear Baltimore's mayoral candidates address issues facing children and youth in our city, including school facilities, youth employment, and growing the city responsibility, join us for this forum sponsored by Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD). (We are a member congregation of BUILD). Carpooling will be arranged from the Cathedral. More details to come. Contact Outreach Coordinator Amy Myers for more information or call 410-467-3750.

Members of our Creation Care team have completed training for this program, which provides FREE, in-home advice on ways your family can reduce its energy costs. The goal of this program, which is a joint project of Baltimore City and the Chesapeake Covenant Community, is to help people in our community identify ways they can make their homes more energy efficient, reduce energy usage, save money, and be good stewards of God's creation.

How the Program works.

• Sign-up to participate in the program (see below for more details on how to sign up)
• Arrange an appointment with Neighbor-to-Neighbor Team members.
• Two trained team members will meet with you in your home to offer advice and education on a range of energy saving projects tailored to your home's particular needs. This may include a room by room assessment or a more limited inspection of your choice of specific rooms, if that is more comfortable for you.
• After the walk-through, team members will discuss with you next steps for putting ideas into action, and participants will receive a detailed list of resources for appropriate and affordable energy saving projects.
• Sign a pledge card with a few action items you would like to implement, and team members will follow-up with you a few months later!

To sign-up for a free consultation, or to get additional information, please sign-up on the bulletin board, or contact one of our trained team members: Paul Beares, Sara Sides, Kristen Ray, or Allison Cappalaere.

--Margo Landon

On every second and fourth Sunday, stop by the marble lobby and buy delicious fair-trade organically-grown coffees and teas.  Your purchase will support three ministries here at home and around the world.  

1 - Pura Vida is a Seattle roaster that invests all profits into its Create Good Foundation, supporting clean water and economic infrastructure projects in coffee growing regions in Latin America and Africa.

2 - Fifteen percent of our wholesale purchase of product is donated by Pura Vida to Episcopal Relief and Development. ERD is working in more than forty countries to support long-term initiatives to address hunger, disease, support economic development and provide disaster response.

 3 - Our profit of $1.40 - $2.90 per item is allocated to the Marian Lyle Family Reunification Loan Fund of ERICA. This unique and special fund allows for interest-free loans to our refugee and asylee clients to bring together family, often after long and painful separations.

For your out-of-town friends and family who can't make it in person, online orders can be made through the Bishop's Blend link on the Cathedral website. We'll receive a 15% rebate for ERICA for every purchase made through the link! 

The Light

Cathedral of the Incarnation