The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

NEWS FROM ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL         

Spokane, WA                                                                  September 14, 2015

 
Notes from the Dean

NEW SEASON, NEW IDEAS

Between the General Convention, the College for Congregational Development and spending some time dealing with the remnants of my mother's possessions it has been a busy, thought-provoking and, at times emotional summer. But now it is time to look ahead at a few things that are in store for us at St. John's.
     On Sunday the 20th we will begin our Sunday seminars with the discussion of the mural in the Guild Rooms.  I have written about this elsewhere, so let this suffice as a reminder.  I would love to see as many of you as can make it at 9:15 in the Great Hall.
     In October the Cathedral will be hosting the Diocesan Convention, which this year will focus on the search for our new bishop.  Betsy Greenman, now retired, but the long-time deployment officer for the Diocese of Olympia, will be with us to describe the process and facilitate discussion as well as the beginnings of the information gathering we will need in order to develop an accurate and compelling profile of our diocese.
     In between those two moments, we are conducting a small but significant fundraising campaign.  Fifteen years ago, Carolyn Terry began work to raise money for windows in the hallway between the Welcome Center and Jewett House, honoring her husband, the late Bishop Jeff Terry, as well as the ministry of women in the diocese of Spokane and beyond. One thing led to another and the project was never brought to completion.
     Recently Kay Rafferty has taken up this effort and under her direction, it is nearing completion. It is not a big project, but it is an important one. We are in many ways the product of the love and labor of those who have gone before.  Such a visible reminder of our heritage is not only a way of linking us to our past; it is also a way of giving us direction for our future, for what is our call if it isn't to proclaim the gospel to this generation as those we have loved, and who loved us, proclaimed that same gospel to a previous one?
     I commend this project to you. I consider it quite special because it is an impressive piece of art, and it is funded not by a grant or single donor, but by all of you--our people.  Donations may be made to the Cathedral; just write "Columbarium Windows" in the memo line.
     Though this summer was not as restful for me as it sometimes is, I am looking forward to the new season at the Cathedral and the opportunities it will bring to gather us again as a community of faith seeking to live into the life God in Christ, and through the Spirit he has given us.

Bill
 
COLUMBARIUM WINDOWS TO HONOR THE WOMEN OF THE CATHEDRAL

The splendid art for the Columbarium windows has been created by Mark Gulsrud, a stained glass artist from Tacoma.  Gulsrud's windows are not only beautiful, but offer a translucency and lightness of color that allow views of the Columbarium and the city, while giving those visiting the Columbarium a sense of privacy.
     Early gifts to the project have covered the new set of double doors honoring Bishop Terry, while the current effort is raising money both in memory and in honor of the many women who have helped form the fabric of our lives together at St John's.
     Gifts may be made with the notation "St John's Columbarium Windows".  Questions will happily be answered by Kay Rafferty, Project Facilitator, 509-838-4277.
 
 Notes from the Curate

  VENTURING OUT

Last Friday, the 11th, I took an opportunity to set up a table at the Gonzaga University Student Activities Fair. This is the first time in a long time (perhaps ever) that St. John's has had a presence at this event, even though it makes a lot of sense considering that you can see our tower quite clearly from the Gonzaga Campus.
     For the event, we procured a new table banner to represent St. John's for this and future events. It is simple and straightforward, getting both our name and our Episcopal identity out into the larger Spokane community.
To the students, I passed out hundreds of little fliers (as seen in the picture) complete with a piece of candy. I find that candy is always a helpful means of both starting a conversation and getting someone to take what you are offering.
     
     Gonzaga presents to us as Episcopalians a great avenue for reaching out. Not only are there Episcopalians attending Gonzaga, but there are many students who come in questioning how their faith fits into the larger Church, and we need to provide for them a space where they can explore those questions in a safe and healthy arena.
     College students will never be a good resource for building our own membership numbers. However, our mere presence at events like this enable students, and people in general, to put a face to the Episcopal Church. This is crucial for the future.
     As we look to the future and what it means to be a Church of the 21st century, it is important that people begin to hear about what the Episcopal Church stands for, and see us actively doing that in the community. We have to be willing to share what it means to be Episcopalian, because we do offer a somewhat unique approach to the Christian faith. We have to be willing to take credit for the good work we do, so that people know that the Episcopal Church is in fact active, rather than holding onto that old adage "the Frozen Chosen." When we do this, we will see an increase in numbers, not just locally but nationally, as the people that we impact move out into the world and seek out other Episcopal churches because of the impact that our Episcopal church has had on their life.

 Fr Nic
 
DAILY STRAWBERRIES ON MY YOGURT?
Kay Rafferty

I had never heard of Dr. Seth Holmes, which is a pity. And I have now corrected my lack.  It isn't that his work has made me healthier at breakfast, but it has made me, sadly, wiser.  Karen Byrne pulled a book from the Cathedral Book Store shelf and pushed it toward me the other day, so I took it home, being the addictive book collector that I am.  The book is Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies, published by University of California Press in 2013.
     Once home, I peeked at first pages. There at the beginning: a credit to the author's parents--Carolyn and Ed Holmes--St. John's parishioners! Where in the world had I been?  I put two and two together and realized that at this moment, Dr. Holmes is walking the Camino de Santiago with his mother Carolyn and is soon to be joined by his father, Ed Holmes. Seth is their son, and he is THIS author.
     I did not read on because of the relationship between author and people I know at St. John's.  I read on because I am mesmerized by a powerful journey and deep revealing of a different side to what has been definitely in the news lately and, surely off and on since Cesar  Chavez shook our grapes--our southern neighbors and our borders.
     Seth Holmes is an anthropologist and physician with a PhD in Medical Anthropology from UC Berkeley and San Francisco, with an MD from UC San Francisco.  He is now Martin Sisters Endowed Chair Assistant Professor of Public Health and Medical Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.
     My review of this phenomenal book is written because Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies is a powerfully and beautifully-written documentary.  It is a compelling narrative of Holmes' five years of research, living with, traveling with, and working with migrant workers.  "Frightening and backbreaking" were words used by one reviewer.
     It leaves no doubt that that one inexpensive strawberry in my bowl places me in despair over the invisible economic hardships, social hierarchies, discrimination and poverty of working conditions that my frequent affordable fruit purchases helps place on the backs of marginalized people.
     We in Washington State figure into this well-hidden (unwitting?) direct line of racism, servitude and impoverishment of our fellow man.  Holmes does not pound on the reader:  He writes beautifully, unfolding truths and complexities.
     I am also aware that nothing in Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies coincides with the way we get the news and the way we read of the "projected intentions" of the southern underground border crossings.  As reporter Tom Philpott reviews in Mother Jones Magazine, 
"Here...we rely on immigrants from the South to feed us, [yet] erect walls and employ militias to keep them out...--a bizarre duality!"

Let us all read Fresh Fruit before we listen to another political speech!  Such an extremely wise, carefully documented book!  Amazing and spell-binding.
 
MUSIC FOR THE COMING YEAR
  Tim Westerhaus

Now that we have welcomed our new Curate, the Rev Nic Mather, and begun the new season with our choir, we are ready for a foretaste of music at St John's in the months ahead.

THE POWER OF BACH
Our first concert is Sunday, October 4, at 3pm, during which we will present the autumnal lushness of Johann Sebastian Bach.  The Cathedral Collegium Orchestra will play the E Major Violin Concerto with David Armstrong, followed by the Cathedral Choir singing Cantata 100, (What God Does is Done Well) and the Kantorei Choir singing Cantata 80 (A Mighty Fortress is Our God).
     St Cecilia's Feast Day (the patron saint of music) is November 22. During the 10:30 Eucharist, which will feature Handel's Organ Concerto in A Major and the choir will sing Handel's "I Will Magnify Thee, O God".
     Advent and Christmas brings our Festival of Lessons and Carols as well as the magnificent Christmas Eve service during which the choir will sing Charpentier's charming and marvelous Messe de Minuit pour Noel.
     During the spring of 2016, we will introduce the mystical work of contemporary composer, Arvo Part, as well as Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs.
     Full details will be revealed in the months ahead!
 
In This Issue
Columbarium Windows
Notes from the Dean & Curate
Daily Strawberries
Power of Bach
 
 St. John's Mission Statement
To be a Christian community whose purpose is to invite people into a life where through liturgy, outreach, hospitality and education we all discover what it means to be beloved children of God.

 

QUESTIONS? Check our website: www.stjohns-cathedral.org.

 
A PRAYER FOR RAIN
from the Amidah prayer, Simchat Torah

Our God and God of our ancestors:
Remember Abraham who flowed to You like water. You rescued him from fire. He passed your test by planting good deeds by every source of water.

For Abraham's sake, do not keep back water.

Remember Isaac, whose birth was foretold when Abraham offered the angels a little water. In the desert Isaac dug and found wells of water.
For Isaac's sake, do not keep back water. 

Remember Jacob, who crossed the Jordan's water. He wrestled with an angel made of fire and water, and therefore you promised to be with him through fire and water.
For Jacob's sake do not keep back water.

Remember Moses, who was drawn in a reed basket out of the Nile's water. He struck the rock and out came water.
For Moses' sake do not hold back water.

Remember Aaron, the High Priest, who, on Yom Kippur, washed himself five times with water, he prayed and was sprinkled with purifying water.
For Aaron's sake do not hold back water.

Remember the twelve tribes whom you brought through the divided water, 
for your peoples sake, do not hold back water.

You are our God who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall, for blessing and not for cursing, for life and not for death.  Amen.
 
FRESH FRUIT, BROKEN BODIES: 

Migrant Farmworkers in the United States, Foreword by Philippe Bourgois, by Seth Holmes


Paperback, 264 pages
ISBN: 9780520275140
June 2013
$27.95.
Available in St John's Books & Gifts.
 
UPCOMING CALENDAR        Check the website for a full listing of times and locations of committeee and other meetings.  www.stjohns-cathedral.org.
  • September 20     Adult Seminar Begins, 9:15am.  Great Hall.
  • October 4             Feast Day of St Francis.  Blessing of the Animals, 10:30 Eucharist.
  • October 4             The Power of Bach concert, with choir, orchestra and organ.  3pm. Requested donation, $15, $5 students.
  • October 11           AGO organ recital with Andrew Unsworth, Mormon Tabernacle organist.  4pm.
  • October  17-19     Diocesan Convention at St John's.
News from St. John's is published on the second Monday of the month.  Contributions are welcome and should be received on the Friday before publication.  The next issue will be published October 12.
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