CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
AUGUST 2014 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY CARE LINE | 713-826-5332
Dynamite “Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the THE VERY REV. sleeping god may wake BARKLEY someday and take ofTHOMPSON fense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.” In this famous quote from Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard is talking about God and about us, and she’s asking whether we truly believe the things we claim in church. Her quote reminds me of a word study from my days in seminary, and this week I pulled my Greeklanguage New Testament from the shelf. The Gospel of Mark focuses on the way Jesus heals the sick, exorcises demons, and influences nature. We most often call these acts “miracles,” because the word used to describe them in the Latin translation of the New Testament is miraculum. The sense of this word is “marvel” or “wonder,” and it is a fair depiction of the crowds’ reaction to Jesus’ mighty deeds. However, the original Greek word most often used to describe Jesus’ acts is dynamis, the same term from which we derive the word “dynamite.” What a different connotation that offers! Dynamite is explosive. It can blast open the most stubborn stone. It can create a new avenue where once there was immovable rock. This grants us a deeper understanding
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Decisions made with God in mind In the common language of the Episcopal Church, discernment is often associated with the process of determining whether to become a clergy person, but the process can and should be applied to our everyday lives, according to Dean Barkley Thompson. Thompson points to Genesis 3 as a quintessential lesson in why discernment is important. In the story, the serpent convinces Eve to disobey God and eat from the tree of knowledge. Eve then brings the apple to Adam, who eats it as well, and both are banished from the Garden of Eden.
“The truth that I glean from Genesis 3 is that Adam and Eve enter into a decision-making process on the most important decision of their lives, and they leave God out of the conversation,” Thompson said. “They make this decision that harms them irreparably, until the coming of Jesus. They consciously and willfully leave God out of the process. “The truth of that story is our truth too,” Thompson added. “Too often, we make the most important decisions of our lives and we leave God out of the process. Discernment is
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Canon Genevieve Razim tested “Bible on Tap,” an off-campus Bible study, over six weeks this summer as part of the Vision Action Plan initiative for Welcome and Evangelism. This particular program will launch on September 8.
Vision Action Plan begins to bear fruit At the Cathedral’s 175th anniversary celebration on March 2, Dean Thompson launched Christ Church’s Vision Action Plan, “A Future Filled with Hope.” The plan was the result of a six-month visioning process involving hundreds of Cathedral parishioners. Since March, Cathedral staff and lay leaders have been hard at work furthering the initiatives of the Vision Action Plan. As we enter
a new program year, parishioners will begin to see the fruit of this work. Here is an update on each initiative.
Pastoral Care: Nurturing a Culture of Vulnerability The Pastoral Care Initiative seeks to create and train a team of lay pastoral caregivers as well as build a pastoral care database
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Our Cathedral Family We celebrate with
EE new members PJ Joneson; Mark, Lizzie, and Kathryn Sweigart; and Graeme Marston. EE members John Dagley and Kari Gonzales, who were married at the Cathedral on June 18. EE members Mark and Lizzie Sweigart upon the birth of Natasha Markova Sweigart on May 12. EE members Aaron and Lindsey Wolf upon the birth of Ellen Clara Wolf on May 23. EE members Justin and Christina DiLauro upon the birth of Jesse Lewis DiLauro on July 8.
We extend heartfelt sympathy to
EE the family of member Stephen Moylan Dolen, who died June 16 in Houston. He was the husband of member Roxanne Dolen. EE the family of Betty Jackson, who died June 20 in New Jersey. She was the mother of member Andre Jackson.
The flowers on the Cathedral Altar
EE on August 3 are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Steve Pieringer and Walter Heffler by the Pieringer family. EE on August 10 are given to the glory of God in thanksgiving for the life and work of James Reed Cox. EE on August 17 are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Kathy’s mother, Pauline Douglas, by Kathy Welch and John Unger. EE on August 24 are given to the glory of God in thanksgiving for Dorothy Viktorin and in loving memory of Joe Viktorin and Nancy Viktorin. EE on August 31 are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of Ellen and Jim Thrift by their granddaughter, Donna K. Donelson.
The flowers in the Floor Vases
EE on July 27 were given to the glory of God in loving memory of Dora Risley Harris and Joseph Harris Scott, grandmother and mother of Emily Scott Shepherd, on this anniversary of their birth. EE on August 17 are given to the glory of God in loving memory of Wyatt and Lyman Paden and Margaret and David Flowers by Lyman and Jennifer Paden, Caroline, and Alexander. EE on August 24 are given to the glory of God and in loving memory of her parents and grandparents by Vicki Cawley. THE BULLETIN
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The “Resurrection Morning” window, installed behind the Cathedral’s altar following the 1938 fire, was not fully illuminated until the purchase and demolition of an adjacent parking structure in 1988.
Looking back: Pieces of property Each month in 2014, The Bulletin will look back at moments from the rich history of Christ Church Cathedral over its 175 years. BY GEORGE HAWKINS
Much of Christ Church Cathedral’s lore touches upon the Great Fire of 1938. A furniture store and warehouse, owned by the Waddell family, caught fire and burned, taking with it the altar of the church and much of its northern end, relenting only through a heroic firemen’s effort to save the rood screen. The area was subsequently rebuilt, with a new altar and a beautiful window. Unfortunately, the Waddell property was rebuilt with a multi-storied parking garage that blocked the light from illuminating the new window. A desire to expand, fueled perhaps in some small way by occasional parking issues, moved church leaders to seek to purchase the garage property, which took nearly 70 years from the year of the Great Fire to accomplish. The pursuit of that expansion is metaphoric of Christ Church Cathedral’s renaissance. The expansion of the Cathedral’s campus was waged in a slow, incremental way. As early as 1955, wise and visionary folks began to acquire property across San Jacinto that mainly served as a parking lot. With one holdout, a 50-foot-wide swath that reached across the lot to Caroline Street to the far side, land was slowly added to the footprint of the church’s property. Meanwhile, on the church side of the block, the Waddell family was cautioned by its eldest member to hang on to the property, which became a cash cow as a
parking garage. Eventually heirs died off. When the last one died, Christ Church Cathedral leaders successfully wooed the next generation into selling the property, and subsequently, the parking garage was razed. Protective plywood sheathing was placed over the altar window as machinery and gravity took down the 30-yearold concrete structure. In November 1988, Dean Pittman McGehee and Subdean John Logan were told by construction engineers that the protective covering of the window was no longer necessary. The plywood was removed, and for the first time in nearly half a century, the window was seen in its glory with the sun shining through. For years little light had reached the window, and few were around who had seen it fully illuminated since its installation in 1938. Since the “great reveal,” the window has not been shaded, and we are the richer for it. The last piece of the property, what was called the Candy Stripe building, was an office building owned by the Jewish Federation, which had given Allright Parking a 99-year lease. It sat on the corner of San Jacinto and Prairie. In 1988, after years of patient appeals, approaches, and finally a present-value versus future-income offer, the building was acquired, making room for the eventual McGehee building and swelling the campus to fill the entire block. Plans were already afoot to bring the Diocesan offices back to the Cathedral and provide for outreach efforts to serve the downtown community and those in need. Almost all of the pieces had been acquired, and what was to become the campus we know today became less a vision and more of a reality.
Cloister Gallery to honor director Endowment ensures Cathedral’s legacy Jeanne Roth at exhibit reception The Christ Church Cathedral Endowment During the month of August, the Cloister Gallery will once again host the City ArtWorks Teachers’ Exhibition, featuring original drawings, paintings, and assemblage by the program’s instructors. City ArtWorks is a local arts-education organization that offers CLOISTER GALLERY after-school art classes for OPENING RECEPTION more than 3,000 elementary Friday, August 1 and middle school students 6–8 p.m. each year. The artwork in the exhibition is available for sale, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the City ArtWorks scholarship program. At the exhibit’s opening reception on Friday, JEANNE ROTH August 1, City ArtWorks and the Cloister Gallery will honor Jeanne Roth, recognizing her dedication and work as curator of the gallery and celebrating her long-standing support of City ArtWorks. The reception is from 6–8 p.m. Jeanne Roth has directed the Cloister Gallery since its inception in the 1980s, originally as the church’s Coordinator of Lay Ministry under Dean Pittman McGehee and later as a volunteer following her retirement in 2001. She became involved with City ArtWorks in its early years (then called Creative Alternatives) and served on the organization’s board for more than a decade. In the 1990s, Roth and her friend April Gauss created the annual exhibition to showcase the work of students and teachers.
Fund is a permanent fund set up in the 1950s by Dean Milton Richardson (later bishop of the Diocese of Texas) to provide ongoing support for the Cathedral. It is a separate nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to benefit the Cathedral and its ministries by providing financial stability for ongoing operations, as well as funding for long-term capital projects and other programs. It is a way that each of us can ensure that what we love about our Cathedral will continue long after we are gone. The Endowment was originally funded by five vestry members with a total of about $55,000. Currently, the Endowment is valued at over $20 million, thanks to the generosity of past and present Cathedral members. The Endowment is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of nine parishioners who are elected by the vestry for staggered three-year terms. The Trustees oversee the investment of Endowment funds by professional securities specialists and the disbursement of these
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Rally Day reinvented as festive event to start program year In more recent years, the Rally Day ministry fair centered largely on recruiting parishioners for council service and for other ministry leadership and involvement. While such efforts are worthy and necessary to support all that happens at the Cathedral, the event RALLY DAY needed revving up. It was Sunday, August 24 subsequently redesigned 10–11 a.m. as a mini-festival, generating the type of energy and excitement worthy of kicking off a robust program year. This year, Rally Day will take place on Sunday, August 24, during the 10 o’clock hour in Reynolds Hall. The June issue of The Bulletin hinted at the festival theme with the clue, “It may have a barker that is not a dog.” The answer is a circus, and our theme is “Rally Under the Big Top: Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth.” Reynolds Hall will be decorated accordingly, and live circus characters such as Polka Dot the Clown (with her balloon creations) and Whitney the Fortune Teller will be among the mix of entertainment. More than 30 ministries will be on hand with engaging activities, helpful information about all that’s going on at the Cathedral, and tasty treats. For instance, swing by the
Community Life table to find out more about the always-fabulous Annual Parish Retreat at Camp Allen and to expand your church social circle by signing up for a Foyers dinner and fellowship group. Additionally, you can register children for Sunday School at the Children’s Ministry
table, and program-year information for youth and parents will be available at the Youth Ministry table. Hear ye, hear ye. It’s time to Rally Under the Big Top. As the circus barker says, “Come one, come all. Welcome to the greatest show on earth.”
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THE BULLETIN
High School Mission Trip, Music Summer Sundays, Noche Familiar, Bingo Night
IN PICTURES
Below left: High-school youth distribute meals while on a mission trip to Boston in June. Below right: The missioners pose with Flat Andy at St. Luke’s / San Lucas Episcopal Church in Chelsea, Mass., which operates a food pantry for the less fortunate.
Above: Chase Jordan, a professional vibraphonist and music educator, leads a session at Music Summer Sundays, a sacred music class for children held over six weeks this summer.
Above: The 20s & 30s were expert bingo players on July 10, winning two of ten games at a social outing to the SPJST Lodge in the Heights. Left: Noche Familiar (Family Night) was a huge success, drawing 65 people on July 11 for fellowship, food, activities, and teaching for all ages. THE BULLETIN
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Giving thanks
The Cathedral community has been blessed with faithful leadership. As Canon Jim McGill has taken his sabbatical and as the clergy team partnering with the community has grown to include a curate, Eileen O’Brien, and Canon Simón Bautista, this summer has been a time of transition for our Spanish-speaking community. In this time of change, it seems appropriate to express our particular gratitude to the Rev. Abdías Ávalos. This summer, he has made an extraordinary contribution to the life of our community by taking on an expanded liturgical role as a frequent celebrant and preacher. We give thanks for the ministry and leadership of the Rev. Abdías Ávalos among us.
Damos gracias La comunidad de la Catedral ha sido bendecida con liderazgo fiel. Mientras Canónigo Jim McGill ha tomado su sabático y el equipo de clérigos asociados con la comunidad ha crecido para incluir una diácona, Eileen O’Brien, y Canónigo Simón Bautista, este verano ha sido una época de transición para nuestra comunidad de habla española. En este tiempo de cambio, es apropiado expresar nuestra gratitud especial al Rvdo. Abdías Ávalos. Este verano, ha hecho una contribución extraordinaria a la vida de nuestra comunidad, tomando un papel litúrgico ampliado como celebrante y predicador frecuente. Damos gracias por el ministerio y el liderazgo del Rvdo. Abdías Ávalos entre nosotros.
ACTION, from cover
of parishioners who have particular skills they want to share with fellow parishioners in need. We have hired a pastoral care coordinator, Kristy Elmore, to work alongside Canon Pastor Glenice Como. Thus far, we have studied various pastoral care models, databases, and leadership training programs. The target date for training the new lay pastoral care team is February 2015. Two components from the initiative are currently in place: the after-hours pastoral care line (713-826-5332) and meal service for our shut-in members. The Mourners Path (a long-term spiritual grief support program) will also be established.
Community Life: Reaching the Neighborhoods The Neighborhoods Initiative seeks to increase Cathedral identity and participation by providing fellowship, study, and prayer opportunities to parishioners of all ages where they live. With the launch of our “Pray for a Neighbor” pilot project in a single zip-code in mid-June, the Neighborhood initiative began to take shape. Throughout the rest of the summer, we will be gathering follow-up information to help guide plans for new and continuing activities for the fall. Pay close
attention to the September and October Bulletin for events coming to your area, including the traditional fall home gatherings.
Welcome and Evangelism: Reaching Out to Downtown This initiative seeks to draw and connect downtown residents to the Cathedral community. Accomplishments and efforts include the hire of Genevieve Razim for the new position of Canon for Welcome and Evangelism. In addition, a focus group was held June 24 consisting of Cathedral members who are downtown residents. Also this summer, a new off-campus Bible study, “Bible on Tap,” was tested over six weeks at OKRA Charity Saloon, and the official launch is set for September 8. On September 1, we will launch a campaign to reach out to concierges in downtown residential buildings. Weekday Cathedral tours now follow the noon service and have averaged 20 or more tourists and curious locals each week.
Outreach: Expanding the Beacon’s Mission In April, The Beacon expanded from four to five operational weekdays. Now it provides lunch, laundry service, showers, and case management Thursday through Monday,
with hours expanded on these days from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beginning in July, case management was made available for clients Monday through Friday. The Beacon is now able to assist many more people in need, and we need many more volunteers. To help, please contact Jonathan Holland at 713-220-9769.
Worship: A New and Ancient Liturgy In January, Dean Thompson will commission a task force to plan a new worship service that will be contemplative, thoughtful, and rooted in ancient Christian tradition. This will be an evening service, and it may include a weekly parish meal. The target launch date for the new worship service is fall 2015.
Spirituality Center: Our Entire Lives in Connection with God The Spirituality Center will provide yoga, centering prayer, a labyrinth, art, and other spiritual practices for our parishioners and the downtown community. A potential site for the center has been identified adjacent to the Cathedral campus. An architect is preparing conceptual plans for the center, and the firm Firestarter is assisting with the development of a strategic plan. The Spirituality Center is slated to open in 2015. PAGE 5
THE BULLETIN
DYNAMITE, from cover
Serving Houston’s homeless is a year-round mission The hot summer season is in full swing, and The Beacon needs additional volunteers in the Day Center to serve food, work in the laundry, and help with client services. Many of our regular volunteers are on vacation, and with our expanded hours, we are in dire need of additional help. It takes a minimum of 15 volunteers each shift to open our doors. Come alone or bring a group of friends or co-workers. A shift at The Beacon is a great way to serve Houston’s most needy.
DISCERNMENT, from cover
of Jesus and the purpose behind his actions. Jesus doesn’t intend primarily to marvel us. He intends to blast open our understanding of what God is up to and our expectations of what is possible in a world in which God reigns. That’s also Annie Dillard’s point. We at Christ Church are at the cusp of a new program year. We are at that moment when summer ends and we reengage the life of God’s church. This program year at the Cathedral, we will focus on what God is up to in our lives. As you’ll read in this issue of The Bulletin, our Vision Action Plan will take some major steps forward, as we augment our pastoral care ministry, increase opportunities for fellowship both at the Cathedral and in the various neighborhoods in which we live, plan an alternative worship service, and get ready to launch our Spirituality Center. Of course, we’ll also enjoy a wealth of formation, Christian education, and outreach offerings for parishioners of all ages. Don’t just wonder what God may have in store for you. Be prepared for dynamite! Be open to the possibility that God may blast apart your expectations and God may open entirely new avenues on your faith journey. This fall, perhaps our ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares, for God may be drawing us out to where we can never return the same.
in with a perspective, but if you are really trying to discern, then you the opposite of that. Discernment is coming to a decision point while need to be honest and open to other perspectives and admit you may not know the right answer.” including God as a conversation partner.” Thompson agrees, adding the idea that conversation is a distinctly If done faithfully, the results of discernment can be dramatic. Thompson describes the feeling of discernment through a memory Episcopal tradition. The Episcopal Faith is often described as standing of his grandfather. When Thompson was young, his grandfather took on a three-legged stool where each leg represents a value that is inherhim into the Spring River in Arkansas and told him to walk upstream. ent to the idea of discernment: scripture, reason, and tradition. True “It was so hard to push against what the river wanted us to do,” discernment, according to Thompson, uses those three values along Thompson said. “The river was flowing and we with experience and conversation to reach a were pushing back against the flow. Then my conclusion about a way forward. “Discernment is coming to a decision point while including God as a conversation partner.” grandfather turned us around and we walked “In our Episcopal tradition, discernment is with the flow and it took no effort at all. The rivdone in community; it is always done in conBarkley Thompson versation with one another and God,” Thomper carried us. That’s what it feels like to discern faithfully. It is like turning and walking with the current. But that’s not son said. “It is crucial for us to acknowledge and embrace that God without its own difficulties. God’s current can take you faster than you speaks through the community. Faithful discernment is done around prefer to go, and you may slip and get bumped over rocks. Sometimes a circle with faithful people who bring their hearts and souls to bear faithful discernment may include some pain. It doesn’t mean every- and are willing to be in true conversation. True discernment requires thing is suddenly easy, but it does mean we are moving with God’s a fair measure of vulnerability. It does not happen when we are overly guarded.” purposes, not against them.” Deily believes that the key is to simply allow time for contemplation In the Cathedral’s Faith and Society Seminar series, participants are taught a discernment process which Thompson has adapted from the and prayer. “There’s not a magic solution,” Deily said. “There is not a formula to Aspen Institute’s Seminar on Leadership, Values, and the Good Society. Participants tackle difficult topics through conversation. Cathe- come to perfect discernment at all times. You just have to listen and dral member and former U.S. Ambassador Linnet Deily is a regular give yourself some time to contemplate and have faith in yourself to make decisions and move forward. And if you find that for whatever participant. “If I’m in a group setting, I think a true discernment comes with a reason that didn’t seem to be the correct path, then you can correct real ability to listen and truly listen with your heart to other perspec- that. There is nothing wrong with admitting that perhaps you were tives rather than approaching it from the standpoint that I know what wrong and then picking up and going forward from there. Few of us the right answer is,” she said. “There is nothing wrong with coming will make perfect decisions all the time.” THE BULLETIN
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS Visit www.christchurchcathedral.org or call 713-222-2593 to learn more about these and other events at the Cathedral. Registration recommended
Registration required
Registration closed
THIS MONTH AUGUST 1
Childcare available (3 mo. to 5 yrs.)
SEPTEMBER 13
UPCOMING FRI
SEPTEMBER 1
MON
Reception for Jeanne Roth 6–8 p.m., Reynolds Hall. Honoring the Cloister Gallery director at the opening of the City ArtWorks teachers’ exhibition.
Labor Day Cathedral and offices closed.
Bridge Night 6–9 p.m., McGehee Conference Room. Bring a dish for the potluck social.
Dean’s Book Club 6:30–8 p.m., McGehee Conference Room. Selection: “The River of Doubt” by Candice Millard.
SEPTEMBER 3
AUGUST 24 SUN Rally Day 10–11 a.m., Reynolds Hall. Ministries festival filled with engaging activities for all ages. AUGUST 27
WED
Vestry Meeting 4:30–6 p.m., Jeffers Conference Room. AUGUST 30 AUGUST 1 FRI Sunday School Registration Opens Visit the Cathedral website or come to Rally Day (Aug. 24) to register children for Christian education classes. AUGUST 3
SUN
Rhythms of Grace 1 p.m., Jones Basement. Worship experience for special needs children and their families. Lesson: Mary and Martha. Outing to “Godspell” 2:30 p.m., A.D. Players. Musical based on the Gospel of Matthew. ($) AUGUST 10
SUN
SAT
Entrenamiento para Ministerios Laicos 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Cathedral. Incluye una Olympiada de Acolitos y actividades para la toda la familia.
WEEKLY SUNDAYS Summer Place 10 a.m., Reynolds Hall. Fellowship hour with refreshments hosted by ministries and councils of the Cathedral. Aug. 3, Community Life; Aug. 10, Vestry; Aug. 17, Welcome & Evangelism. WEDNESDAYS
20s & 30s Brunch 1 p.m., Beaver’s, 2310 Decatur St. ($)
Buscando la Luz 6:30–8 p.m., Bride’s Room. Spanishlanguage discussion group.
AUGUST 23
FRIDAYS
SAT
Sunday School Teacher Training Day 9–11:30 a.m., Jones Building, second floor, fourth-grade classroom.
SEPTEMBER 5–7
Bring a friend! SAT
Festival Folklórico 5–8:30 p.m., Reynolds Hall. Celebrating the cultures of Latin America with regional dances and costumes, food, games, music, and more. ($)
WED
FRI–SUN
YES and Happening Camp Allen. Diocesan spiritual retreats for 6–8th and 9–12th graders. ($) SEPTEMBER 7
SUN
First Day of Fall Christian Education 10 a.m. Christian education classes resume for children, youth, and adults. First Day of EYC 4–6 p.m., BYC. Weekly gathering of youth for dinner, games, teaching, movies, and worship. SEPTEMBER 10
WED
20s & 30s Fajita Fiesta 6:30–8 p.m., Mellinger Room. Fajitas, cerveza, Mexican Coke, and fellowship.
SEPTEMBER 24 WED Come to the Table Annual fundraiser and gala dinner in support of The Beacon featuring Houston’s top chefs. Tickets and underwriting opportunities are now available. ($) SEPTEMBER 28
SUN
EMC Kickoff Dinner Save the date for our annual Every Member Canvass dinner and performance. Tickets go on sale in September. ($)
ALL SUMMER Flat Andy returns for more summer adventures visiting Episcopal churches in the U.S. and abroad! Bishop Andy is traveling on sabbatical, and so is Flat Andy. Where will he go? Print out Flat Andy from the Cathedral website and pose for a picture with him at the churches you visit outside Houston. Then send the photo to info@christchurchcathedral.org or post it to the Cathedral’s Facebook page. We’ll collect the pictures in an online gallery so everyone can see the spaces you blessed with your presence.
Men’s Early Morning Study Group (First and third Fridays) 7–8 a.m., Jeffers Conference Room.
Now through August:
COMFORT CALLS
from the Vestry
A Vestry representative will call to ask how we are all doing and to hear your hopes and concerns PAGE 7
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Did you know you can read The Bulletin on our website? If you’d like to go “online-only,” contact Anne Shepard at ashepard@christchurchcathedral.org or call her at 713-590-3301.
New name of Welcome & Evangelism Council reflects broader ministry The Membership & Evangelism (M&E) Council has changed its name to the Welcome & Evangelism (WE) Council to reflect its broader ministry of invitation and welcome to all people, inside and outside the Cathedral. The council seeks to widen the Cathedral’s welcome, to spread the good news, and to facilitate church growth by drawing guests and new members into the life and worship of the Cathedral community. Of course, the ministry of welcome and evangelism is the work of all Cathedral members, and not exclusively the work of the council. You can participate in this God-given work beginning with a few simple actions: wear a nametag on Sundays, greet and extend a hand of hospitality to people whom you do not know, and share with people in your
In the Cloister Gallery: City ArtWorks In August Exhibition by the instructors of City ArtWorks, a nonprofit arts education organization that teaches elementary and middle-school students.
Cathedral Bookstore: Rally Day Stop by the Bookstore on Rally Day, August 24, to pick up books for reading groups and fall classes. The Bookstore will resume regular hours beginning September 7. THE BULLETIN
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LEGACY, from page 3
daily life (either in person or through social media) about the Cathedral and about why you are a part of this vibrant faith community. The WE Council is playing a crucial role in reaching out to downtown (an action plan initiative) by serving as a resource to Canon Genevieve Razim and by supporting and participating in new efforts, such as an off-campus Bible study and a campaign to connect with downtown concierges. Within the council, subcommittees are forming: Welcome Team, Off-Campus Evangelism, On-Campus Evangelism, Hospitality, Social Media Evangelists, and Communications. If you are interested in learning more, or in supporting and participating in these WE Council efforts, please contact Canon Razim at 713-220-9766.
funds to the Cathedral. Currently, about 30 percent of the annual parish budget is provided by the legacy of those who gave for the long-term health of the Cathedral. The Cathedral as we know it today would not exist without the Endowment. It sustained us through lean years, and it provided the foundation for expanding our ministries such as with The Beacon and New Hope Housing. The Endowment provides the Cathedral with the stability to do what God has called us to do, as well as a legacy for future generations
to do great things. All of us who love the Cathedral are encouraged to support the Endowment. No matter the size of one’s net worth, all of us should support the Endowment by joining its Bishop Richardson Society, which is the group of parishioners who have designated the Cathedral as a beneficiary in their wills. It’s easy to do; just contact Minister for Stewardship David Simpson at 713-590-3308. But you don’t have to wait until you die to support the Endowment. Give now in remembrance of others. Give now in honor those who have enriched our lives. Give now in thanks for the many blessings we have received.