Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Members of St. Cyprian's,    

Recently I was talking with some friends about some of the childhood influences that shaped our generation.  (We're either Generation X or Y, depending on where you think someone born around 1979 fits.)  Two major childhood influences for me were the album "Free to Be... You and Me" and Sesame Street.  So when I go on and on at St. Cyprian's about the importance of neighborhood connectedness or celebrating the breadth of diversity among us (age, race, sexuality, & politics) you'll know where it comes from --- in addition to the gospel.  

"Free to Be... You and Me" came out originally in 1972 --- but I discovered it in 1984 in a pile of records my Mom had saved from her graduate school days where she studied early childhood development. I played the album over and over again. My favorite song was "It's All Right To Cry"sung by Rosey Grier. Matt doesn't find that surprising, as I don't have a hard time today crying at a sad movie or song.  The entire album seeks to cultivate respect for diversity, individuality, and creativity. "Free to Be... You and Me" promotes what we church folks call unconditional love. Not long ago Marlo Thomas, who had the original idea for the album, posted an article about how the message of "Free to Be... You and Me" has yet to be fully realized.  You can read Marlo's article here.

Sesame Street, of course, continues to be a tremendous influence on children and global culture despite the occasional threats to defund PBS. As a child growing up in a small Virginia town, Sesame Street painted an enthralling picture of a friendly, diverse, eclectic, adventurous urban neighborhood where people (and Muppets) help each other learn, imagine, share, and deal with challenges. One of the songs that I think about at St. Cyprian's all the time is "People In Your Neighborhood."  Many versions of the song exist.  You can read about some of them here and watch many on YouTube. The many reworkings of "People In Your Neighborhood" remind us that there's always a new person to meet in our neighborhoods around St. Cyprian's.

The more we at St. Cyprian's deepen our care for one another and honor our differences, the more we have something significant to offer those around us. That same care is something we can and are sharing with our diverse neighborhood and they are sharing with us. My hunch is that we at St. Cyprian's all have very different childhood influences.  In fact some of our current members were born in homes without electricity--let alone a television set. I hope on Sunday mornings, and in other ways, we'll find time to share those differences of experience. "Sesame Street" and "Free to Be... You and Me" were revolutionary when they first were produced and now are embedded in our contemporary culture. What are those things that today's children will take for granted?  What influences their dreams and hopes for the future? How might we at St. Cyprian's be more of a resource, helpful presence, collaborator and ally for those who are raising children in our own neighborhood? In the coming weeks you'll read more in this weekly e-news about ways St. Cyprian's is exploring how Godly Play (what some call a Montessori-style approach to the traditional Sunday school) might provide meaningful programming on Sunday mornings for children ages 4-10.

Peace,

Will

St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church

415-987-3029

turkandlyon@gmail.com

Read Kelsey's second weekly post as she seeks to "squeeze the guts out of this experience" on our  Sips: Stories from St. Cyprian's blog. Kelsey, our Beatitudes Society Fellow, shares what she's been up to and how you can help with her projects.

getting the place in shape 

Diocesan's Building Audit Guides Our Efforts

In November 2009 as the Diocese recommended we hired a contractor to inspect our 50-year old building top-to-bottom, inside-out. A fifteen page audit with dozens of photos resulted. Imagine how you feel when your doctor sees how much you haven't been taking care of yourself in all the right ways. But St. Cyprian's rectified the wood decay issues on the south side, protected the building against termites, and strengthened the foundation. We'll be announcing more projects in the weeks ahead.

Last year the Church Pension Group advised us on the Episcopal Safety Program for our building. Another list of must-do projects. We've done really well here too: new first aid kits throughout the building, increased electrical circuit capacity, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, and, we imagine, more emergency lighting and exit signs than any other church in the city! Cyprian's has been especially vigilant to follow ESP's advice on getting rid of clutter. Did we have clutter! This last Saturday, Bruno Peguese, Dale Danley and Michael Helquist loaded up one more truck load to take to the special District 5 clean-up day sponsored by the city. Bruno and Dale traveled just five blocks and dropped everything off at the special collection site. Thanks Recology and D5 organizers!

Gentle Flow Yoga with Peter Wong

Thursdays  6-7:15  p.m.

This class will incorporate slow sun salutations, soft movements and openings while concentrating on awareness of mind, body and breath.  This calm and gentle yoga practice will culminate in restorative poses to bring students into a meditative state. The sessions are perfect for seniors and beginners of yoga. Peter Wong is a certified yoga teacher who fell in love with the practice of yoga as his spiritual awakening began. For more information: http://peterwongyoga.com/ The classes are donation-based; the rate is $10-$15 per class. Students can pay more or less depending on what they can afford.  No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.

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