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Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Members of St. Cyprian's,
This week, I've been thinking about knowledge. How do we know what we know? Who decides what information is important? What's the difference between data and wisdom? How is researching and reporting different than being an active participant? Just after college I spent five months in an intentional community in Urbana, Illinois, called "The School for Designing a Society." My time there was often disorienting & confusing. Six months later, I stepped on to the Virginia Theological Seminary campus where everything seemed to become highly predictable and organized. Both experiences were immensely valuable. All of us in our lives have times when things are somewhat chaotic, and other times when they are stable. Perhaps the greatest challenge is holding the tension, and learning to appreciate the gifts that come from both a structured and predictable reality, and one that is more fluid, mysterious, and a bit wild. To live predominantly in only one of those places is perhaps too easy, limiting our comprehension of Divine love.
As I thought about knowledge, two things came to mind. One word: metis - practical, experiential, local knowledge. What might the metis be that St. Cyprian's members have to share? What metis, do our surrounding neighbors have to share with us? How can we learn to pay attention, and slow down enough to really be present to the perspectives of those that may be very different from us? When I think of metis, I think of my grandfather who never graduated from high school, rode the rails during the Depression, found odd jobs all over the West Coast and some how many years later managed to retire from a relatively comfortable government job. Papa knew how to fix things with duct tape and navigate a complex and changing world. Somehow he found balance and made a life between structure and chaos.
The other thing that has been floating around in my mind recently is this poem by Sufi saint Jalaluddin Rumi:
You've seen a herd of goats
Going down to the water.
The lame and dreamy goat
brings up the rear.
There are worried faces about that one,
but ah, now they're laughing, because look,
as they return,
that goat is the leader!
There are many different kinds of knowing.
The lame goat's kind is a branch
that traces back to the roots of Presence.
Learn from the lame goat,
and lead the herd Home.
May St. Cyprian's always be a community that recognizes and appreciates that "there are many different ways of knowing."
See you soon at Turk & Lyon.
Peace,
Will
St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church
415-987-3029
turkandlyon@gmail.com
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We are fixing the wall & tower
May long time congregants and friends of
St. Cyprian's have received a letter from Will & our Senior Warden, Bruno Peguesesharing important information about a significant repair we are undertaking this summer. All are invited to learn more at a special presentation by our Building Committee & our building envelope/water proofing specialist after church this
Sunday, July 17th from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Building Committee member Tommie Collie
will introduce Rob Crum our consultant.
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Read Kelsey's weekly post. Kelsey, our Beatitudes Society Fellow, reports back on her meeting with NOPA Little Ones.
Next Sunday, July 24th Kelsey Schleusener will preach and we will have an opportunity to celebrate her time with us this summer, giving thanks for her hard work, commitment and energy. Her time with us has flown by, and she has accomplished so much in just a few weeks. Luckily, Kelsey's a local, attending seminary just across the Bay Bridge in Berkeley, hopefully she may continue to connect with our life at
St. Cyprian's in the months ahead.
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This Sunday, July 17 St. Cyprian's will celebrate the Feast of Mary Magdalene (transferred from July 22). Our music will be led by Lisa Sangita Moskow, Sarah Thompson will be our guest preacher.
Sarah Thompson is from Elkhart, Indiana and has just graduated with an M.Div degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. She attended Spelman College, graduating in 2006 with majors in International Studies and Comparative Women's Studies, and a minor in Spanish. She was the President of the Spelman Student Government Association and co-founder of the Atlanta University Center Peace Coalition.
She volunteers with Christian Peacemaker Teams, Black Feminist Health Collective, and Mennonite World Conference. This summer she is a Beatitudes Society fellow in Oakland, at Pace e Bene. Her work there has included the contextualization of Pace e Bene's main curriculum, Engage. In August, she will begin a service assignment in Jerusalem, with Sabeel, a Christian ecumenical liberation theology center.
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A Greener Frame of Mind @ Cyprian's by Michael Helquist St. Cyprian's is developing a greener frame of mind. This week we made a commitment to more recycling by replacing one black trash bin for a blue recyclable bin. We also added a green compost bin. These are small steps in a larger effort to transition our building and grounds to more environmentally-friendly and sustainable practices. A larger undertaking is upgrading the church's lighting system. Friends and neighbors of St. Cyprian's conducted an energy audit of the building's light fixtures and drafted a detailed plan for replacing all the old fluorescent tubes with units that are more energy-efficient and flexible for use (something better than "on-off."). Finding the funds to finance the upgrade is another matter, but the lighting is positioned high on our to-do list. And then there's the upcoming fun event to green our sidewalks, replenish the aquifer, and divert runoff into plants and permeable surfaces -- the Green L(a)unch of our Turk and Lyon sidewalk landscaping project on Saturday, July 23, 10am to 4pm. Expect a day of live music, awesome lunch, eco door prizes, and a chance to either get in the dirt or cheer the progress of the gardeners. Kids activities too. We're fortunate to partner with so many great neighbors, friends, and community organizations, including MFLA Studios/Marta Fry Landscape Associates for landscape design, The Wigg Party for volunteer cooks, musicians and gardening tools, and Yerba Buena Acupuncture for donating free sessions as door prizes. A greener frame of mind: we think it's the imperative of our times.
Green L(a)unch Party & Workday Saturday, July 23 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Read all about this project & join in the fun, visit www.greenturkandlyon.blogspot.com Image by Duncan Ramsay |
SUMMER CONCERTS @ Cyprian's July 22, 23, 30 & August 6 
full details: http://liveatcyprians.blogspot.com 
Western Classical Melds with North India Raga
for a Friday Night
Lisa Sangita Moskow & Lawrence Ball
A co-production of Lisa Sangita Moskow & Cyprian's
Friday, July 22, 8pm
Tickets at Door Only
$15 general / $13 students w ID, seniors
Lisa Sangita Moskow brings her personal global quest for musical expression to Cyprian's in this special performance. Lisa plays the sarod, a multi-stringed lute from North India. She trained with North Indian maestro Ali Akbar Kahn for 15 years to refine her use of the sarod and combine it with vocals. At Cyprian's, Moskow teams with pianist Lawrence Ball whose music bridges classical composition with electronic and computer-generated expressions. Ball collaborates with Pete Townsend and The Who. Moskow and Ball have performed at several Planet Tree Festivals in London, the last one begin at Pete Townshend's studio. A live recording of the duo performing Kali Spirit is available here, anda few selections of Ball's music is available here. 
Americana Mash-Up with Great Alt-Country Songwriting Maurice Tan, Jenn Courtney & 77 El Deora Saturday, July 23, 8 pm $13 advance at BrownPaperTickets / $15 door See " Getting to Cyprian's" for bus & bike transport and car parking Sweet, smart, neo-noir, honky-tonk - 77 El Deora evokes a string of accolades with original Maruice Tani songs and old favorites with Steve Kallai's fiddle, Mike Anderson's acoustic bass, Christopher Fisher working the drums and the sultry, strong, velvety singing of Jenn Courtney. SF Live Arts concert in July at Cyprian's will get you swaying and tapping. Dancing in the aisles encouraged. 
Live at the Columbarium: CD Release Concert & Celebration Tango No. 9 Saturday, July 30, 8pm A SF Live Arts Performance $13 advance through BrownPaperTickets / $15 door See "Getting to Cyprian's" for bus & bike transport and car parking "Critically acclaimed Tango No. 9 is back with their 4th album, recorded live at the Chapel of the Chimes. It features Astor Piazzolla's rarely recorded, austere compositions like "Coral," "Novitango," and "El Gordo Triste," demonstrating the cooler side to the fiery image of tango, while losing none of its rhythmic excitement. Tango No. 9 commingles traditional tango elements with classical counterpoint, wild jazz improvisation with modern tango, from Piazzolla to Kurt Weill, creating tango Nuevo with a unique American twist. "Heat and cool. Departures and arrivals. Life and death. Tango No. 9 's new CD, "Live at the Columbarium," expresses them all." 
San Francisco Jug Band Festival Benefit for St. Cyprian's
Saturday, August 6, 2011, 8pm
Co-Produced by California Jug Band Association & Cyprian's
Tickets at Door Only
$15 general / $12 students w ID & seniors Music upstairs, great food & party downstairs
Cyprian's is thrilled to partner with Bebo White and the California Jug Band Association to produce the return to San Francisco of the Jug Band Festival on August 6th. This special benefit celebration will help Cyprian's bring more music and programs to the community and better equip our space as the newest venue in town.
You don't want to miss Devine's Jug Band, The Amazing Dr. Zarcon's Breathing Machine, and The How Long Jug Band.
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Volunteers Wanted Music-loving, stay-up-late types who will help strike the set and lock up the building after performances at Cyprian's. Get two free tickets to any concert you cover. Hours: 10:30 to midnight, sometimes earlier. Contact: michael.helquist@gmail.com.
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Weekly E-Mail Archives
In January St. Cyprian's began sending weekly e-newsletters. You can find an archive of all these messages here. Forward messages and invite friends, neighbors, and distant congregants to join our list. |
| Saint Cyprian's Episcopal Church has been a member of the San Francisco community for over 87 years. We are a passionate group of seekers, thinkers, dreamers, doubters and believers from many walks of life. We hope you can come join us on Sundays and throughout the week as we together seek to be a people of faith, action & community. |
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