Open Door DecJan Draft

OPEN DOOR December 2014 / January 2015

ILLUMINATION

Come, Let Us Adore Him

THE GIVING TREES

AN INVITATION TO COME and see

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STAFF & VESTRY Phone: 303.831.7115

CLERGY The Very Reverend Peter Eaton Rector and Dean, Ext. 7721 The Reverend Robert Hendrickson Sub-Dean, Ext. 7706

Highlights The Mystery & Meaning Of Christ Among Us

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Illumination

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The Reverend Elizabeth Marie Melchionna, Canon, Ext. 7731 The Reverend Jadon Hartsuff Canon, Ext. 7732 The Reverend Charles LaFond Canon Steward, Ext. 7711 The Reverend Elizabeth Costello Curate, Ext. 7704

SENIOR STAFF

Oh, Come let us adore him

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Giving Trees

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An invitation to come and see

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Called to COmmon Mission

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Kim McPherson Director of Religious Education Ext. 7729 Mike Orr Director of Communications Ext. 7730 Stephen Tappe Organist and Director of Music Ext. 7726 Tara Williams Director of Finance and Administration Ext. 7720

VESTRY Larry Kueter, Senior Warden Tim Dunbar, Junior Warden Mary Ellen Williams, Treasurer David Abbott, Clerk Class of 2017 David Abbott, Tamra d’Estrée, Jack Denman, Mike McCall Class of 2016 David Ball, Jen Courtney-Keyse, Suni Devitt, Amanda Montague Class of 2015 Susan Chenier, Ned Rule, Mary Laird Stewart, John Van Camp

From the Dean: HUMAN AND DIVINE Every Sunday we declare our belief in Jesus Christ, who is at once “true God from true God” and yet who “was made man.”

In Jesus, divinity and humanity were joined in such a way that both found a true home and yet neither was diminished.

And so God was able to be human and to share our human life, and our human life was restored in its potential to live in God’s divine life.

For Christians, the birth of Jesus, the one who is both fully divine and fully human, changed everything.

There is a sense in which the Incarnation – the act in which God takes on our human life – is now the lens through which we see everything.

The Scriptures, for example, are also both human and divine. They are the products of human minds and hands—for those who wrote the books of the Bible were real people—yet the Scriptures mediate divine life and truth. They “contain all things necessary for our salvation.”

Likewise, the Church is both human and divine. It is a human society, and its organization is in human hands.

But the Church is much more than a human organization: it is a living organism, charged with divine life because the Holy Spirit gives life to the Church. “For behold,” Jesus said to his disciples, “the kingdom of God is among you.” So the Church is quite plainly the ongoing living of Jesus in the world for the sake of the salvation of the world. We, the Church, exist so that God may be present in human life, transforming our world more and more into the likeness of the Kingdom of Heaven. It may be a slow process, this salvation of the world, but this is our calling.

By extension, of course, the Sacraments are both human and divine. They are acts carried out by human beings, but they are also clear and identifiable moments in which our physicality becomes the bearer of divine life and divine possibility. The water and oil of Baptism, the bread and wine of Communion, the vows of a devoted couple, the confession of a penitent sinner, the vows of a hopeful ordinand. By partaking in these sacramental acts, we deepen and define our vocation as those who have the capacity to be “God-bearers.”

And so we realize that we, too, and all human beings, who are made in the image and likeness of God, also contain within ourselves the seeds of what is truly human and what is truly divine. Just as it takes the eyes of faith to see the human-divine reality in the Scriptures, the Church, the Sacraments, and of all creation around us, so it takes some work in each of us to allow both the human and the divine to grow in us in the way God intended for us when we were created.

All of us struggle to enable our humanity to find its maturity, just as we struggle to live the divine life to which our baptism summons us.

The coming of Jesus calls us back to this great eternal pilgrimage. The co-operation of God and the Virgin Mary—itself a great uniting of the human and the divine—bridges the once-impossible chasm, making possible again our union with God. The Mother of God contains within herself the One whom even the heavens cannot confine, and the gates of heaven are open, never again to be closed.

This mystery of God becoming a human being and thereby revealing to us our true nature, and the true nature of our life, now enfolds us in this Advent and Christmas season. For the Holy Spirit will come upon us, and the power of the Most High will overshadow us, and we shall become the home of God on earth.

Services and Events Advent Lessons & Carols

Sunday, November 30, 3:00 pm.

Begin your observance of Advent with this service of candlelight, lessons, and music, emphasizing the Advent themes of waiting and watching for the coming of Christ. Nursery available. Reception will follow in Dagwell Hall.

Christmas Lessons & Carols

Saturday, December 20 and Sunday, December 21, both at 3:00 pm.

The coming of the Christ Child is told through a series of nine lessons and carols with the Saint John’s Cathedral Choir. The Nursery will be open for those with small children. The services are followed by cider and cookie receptions in Dagwell Hall.

Christmas Eve Family Worship

Wednesday, December 24, 1:00, 3:00, & 5:00 pm.

Christmas Eve Family Eucharists are especially suitable for children and their families, and include children building the Cathedral Crèche. Saint Nicolas and Saint Cecilia Choirs will sing at 3:00 & 5:00 pm. Nursery will be provided for all services.

Christmas Eve Festival Eucharists

Wednesday, December 24, 8:00 & 11:00 pm.

The Cathedral Choirs will be accompanied by brass at these festive Eucharists. Nursery will be provided for the 8:00 pm service. Eggnog reception follows the 11:00 pm service in Dagwell Hall.

Christmas Day Service

Thursday, December 25, 10:00 am.

Celebrate Christmas at this festive Eucharist and rejoice as we sing favorite carols together.

The Holy Name of our Savior Jesus Christ – New’s Year’s Day Thursday, January 1, 10:00 am.

The Feast of the Epiphany

Sunday, January 4, 8:00, 9:00, 11:15 am, & 6:00 pm the Wilderness.

The Baptism of our Lord

Sunday, January 11. Baptisms at 9:00 and 11:15 am.

Annual Meeting of the Parish

Sunday, January 18. Eucharist service at 9:00 am in the Cathedral, followed by the Annual Meeting in Dagwell Hall. 11:15 am Eucharist service in the Cathedral as usual.

Evensong with Concert Prelude

Sunday, January 18, 2:30 pm. Choral Evensong in the English Cathedral tradition.

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Important Feast Days in December and January During Advent, our chief focus is on preparation for Christmas, and there is not much to distract us.

After Christmas, the season of Epiphany points us to a season of the revelation of Jesus to the world.

However, there are some major feasts in addition to Christmas and Epiphany that occur during this time.

Services on these days are at the usual times.

Saturday, December 6 Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas was a famous bishop of the early Church who is now associated chiefly with ministry to children and young people.

Monday, December 8 The Conception of the Mother of God

This is one of the great feasts of the Virgin Mary, and focusses us on Mary as we prepare for Christmas.

This day has been transferred from Sunday.

Friday, December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron of the Americas, and this is a significant feast especially for our Latin American community, including our Latino Episcopalian sisters and brothers.

Thursday, January 1 The Most Holy Name of Jesus

The Christian faith has always put a deep emphasis on the name of Jesus, its place in our prayer, and its power to strengthen the believer, especially in hard times. The Eucharist today is at 10:00 am in the Cathedral. There are no other services today.

Monday, January 19 The Confession of Saint Peter

This day celebrates Peter’s declaration of faith in Jesus, and begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Monday, January 26 The Conversion of Saint Paul

This feast recalls Saint Paul’s great conversion on the Damascus Road, and brings the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity to a close.

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by Father Jadon Hartsuff “In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’”

Luke 2:8-14

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he seasons and feasts of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany that take up December and the first part of January focus our attention on the Incarnation—the mystery and meaning of Christ among us. First, we wait and prepare in pregnant anticipation . . . with the hope of the prophets, the urgency of John the Baptizer, and the vulnerability and expectancy of Mary the Birth-Giver of God. And then we celebrate with the range of emotions greeting Jesus’ arrival more than two thousand years ago: from terrified shepherds and exulting choirs of angels to adoring Magi, and a jealous earthly king. The mystery of the Incarnation transcends time and place and brings the heartbeat of God into the very midst of us as we, like the young mother, marvel and ponder the events in our hearts.

But what does this singular miracle mean in the everyday here-and-now? As his heart beats, what new life does Jesus bring into your world? For so many of us, Jesus is either in a manger or on a cross — and seldom, if ever, anywhere else. And yet these moments frame a life that mirrors ours more than not.

A life of hunger and feasting. A life of love and betrayal.

A life of solitude and community. And a life spent navigating the complexities of all these extremes.

God’s incarnated life in Jesus tells us that God wanted

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to be not only in humanity’s midst, but in the midst of our individual human lives. More than theoretical or historical assent, the Incarnation beckons us to find Jesus’ heartbeat among and within us.

As you ponder this for yourself this season, we invite you into a posture of reflection and preparation before the celebrations begin. We invite you to make space for God to come into your life through Jesus — not primarily as an intellectual or spiritual experience, but as a physical, human experience. Where is Jesus in your life and in the life you make and share with others? If you can not find him in your life very often, what do you think is getting in the way?

Though we are called to be Christ’s body in the world through action, often we find Christ among and within us through inaction - that is through silence, prayer, and contemplation. Often it takes physical or mental stillness to separate ourselves from what otherwise distracts us as we seek to re-member with Christ. We need both holy action and holy inaction in order to live lives fully animated by God. This Advent, as you prepare to receive the gift of God among us, give yourself the gift of knowing Christ within you. You could come to our Advent Quiet Nights to learn or re-engage various prayer practices, or write in a prayer journal, or simply make some time each day for holy silence. However you do it, let these seasons of the Incarnation draw you into both the mystery and the reality that God was and is truly among us.

Advent Quiet Evenings Wednesdays, December 3, 10, & 17

In Advent 2014, all are invited to Cathedral Nite to explore a new prayer practice. For three consecutive Wednesdays: December 3, 10, and 17, we will focus on the role of silence in the Christian life, and those practices that can be carried out in quietness. These evenings are meant to help give us space to be attentive to our relationship with God as we await Christ’s birth at Christmas.

The timing of our Wednesday evenings will remain the same: 5:30 Eucharist; 6:15 Dinner; 7:00 Formation; 8:30 Compline and Benediction, but will feel decidedly quieter. At dinner, we will be invited to share a meal together in silence, while listening to meditations on the theme of Advent. There will be Advent images for children to color at their seats.

On each of the three Wednesdays, there will be two sessions of formation, each with three options. In the first session, we can practice meditation, craft an Anglican rosary, or learn about praying with icons. In the second session, we can practice yoga, watch the film “Into Great Silence,” or practice prayer using art materials. The repetition of these practices is meant to enable us to go deeply into a new practice or to sample a variety of opportunities for ways that we might pray.

Join us as we anticipate the Incarnation of God in the birth of Jesus, quietly!

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ILLUMINATION

by Mother Elizabeth Marie Melchionna

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ow do we respond to God and to our community in this season of Advent and Christmas? How do we receive the reality of God humbling Godself to be made “in human likeness”?

Art helps me to meditate on the mysteries of the Incarnation, of God self-emptying to be born in Jesus Christ. This year the artwork from The Saint John’s Bible has been central in my devotions, and the frontispiece to Saint Luke’s Gospel has served as my focal point. A lithographic print of this page of the Bible hangs in the hallway of the parish; you might have passed it on your way to coffee hour and adult formation. Take a moment to notice the image—the way the sunlight catches the gold in the print. What might God be saying to you in this image?

My eye is drawn to a brilliant shaft of light, of gold leaf, that bifurcates the painting and then draws my gaze to the manger. Faces surround the manger: an older man with a beard, perhaps a shepherd, a young man with a child, a boy, and a woman draped in blue, whom I presume to be Mary. They all look into the light. There is no cute baby in this painting. There is no baby at all. And the golden light that emanates from the manger illumines the faces of those who look upon it. Turning our faces toward the light of Christ means that we are changed, that we can reflect back that divine light to others.

Words invoking light also illumine the page: “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,” and “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” The words of the angels to the shepherds in the field also illuminate the page: “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Luke 2:14). The words are familiar—too familiar. They no longer convey for me the

cosmic significance of the Incarnation. But the image does.

In the foreground there is not a dairy cow, but the distinctive, black outline of a bull, nearly identical to those found in the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, from 18,000 BCE. It looks to me that the bull is bowing to the manger. In a radical way, the birth of Christ changes the cosmic order, bending linear time back on itself. On either side of the divine golden column of light what I imagine are angels flank the column, forming a cross. The work of Christ on the cross is prefigured even at his birth. Dozens of shooting stars, or maybe comets, fill the background as if the cosmos is rejoicing, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

The frontispiece of Luke’s Gospel, this image of Christ’s birth, suggests that we do not encounter the divine in isolation, but rather that we know and are transformed by Christ in communion with both our natural, physical world, and our human family.

This season, take a moment to pause and explore how The Saint John’s Bible images can inspire new questions, new exploration, and new discoveries for you. Also, consider joining Seeing the Word, a formation group that teaches the practice of divine seeing, which uses the sense of sight and the illuminations of The Saint John’s Bible in conjunction with the handwritten words of Scripture to encounter God. Seeing the Word is offered twice a week throughout the year: on Wednesday evenings at Cathedral Nite and on many Sunday evenings after The Wilderness.

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Spiritual Practices in Advent Advent is a time of intentional preparation for the celebration of the birth of the Son of God, and in the midst of everything else that most of us have to do, it can be quite a challenge to do this. But here are some tips.

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A little bit of prayer. A little bit of prayer is better than no prayer at all, and we can find some time each day, perhaps with an Advent calendar, to focus on placing ourselves in God’s way. The Prayer Book has lots of resources for busy people, and you will also find good help on the tract rack outside Dagwell Hall.

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A mid-week service. There are at least three services here every day from Monday to Friday, and many find these brief, quiet services a tremendous help in their spiritual lives.

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A retreat. For those who can get away for a day or two (or more), a quiet day or a retreat is an excellent spiritual practice for renewal. We are fortunate in Colorado to have a large number of excellent retreat centers nearby, and you can explore online.

But if you would like, the clergy can also make recommendations, and help you find a suitable place and plan a helpful retreat.

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Make your confession.

The sacrament of reconciliation embodies the reconciliation that we celebrate at Christmas as heaven and earth are reconciled in Jesus’ nativity. Those who use this sacrament find it an invaluable spiritual practice, and often after taking some time to find the courage to begin, use this rite on a regular basis for the rest of their lives. See one of the clergy if you would like to talk about this.

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Helping others, even for an hour. At this time of the year, many agencies need help, and often you can help without much preparation or training.

There are families who always take their children to help out at an agency at this time of the year so that their children learn to give, as well as receive.

But whatever you do, do something, do it intentionally, and know why you are doing it. Make sure that your actions and your faith have a connection that you can articulate, even if only to yourself.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas

In preparation for Christmas, many Christians find the discipline of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be helpful. The service is in The Book of Common Prayer on page 446.

If you would like to understand more about this sacrament and how it may benefit you in your spiritual life, please speak with one of the clergy. If you would like to make your confession, a priest is always available after the daily 5:30 pm Eucharist, or you may call to make an appointment.

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Music and the Ineffable

by Stephen Tappe, Organist and Director of Music

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ords are vital but often insufficient. This is particularly so when we try to describe or express the indefinable.

Have you ever been at a loss for words, dumbfounded, tongue-tied, or rendered speechless? When language is inadequate, we tend to add supportive expression in other forms. We might point or draw invisible pictures with our hands and arms or use facial expressions to convey what words alone cannot. We will take a photograph or draw a picture because the beauty or gravity of the subject is beyond characterization or naming.

Sometimes, in communicating positively with others, we take further action. Often, when speech is not enough, we give gifts—we demonstrate what we mean. By giving, we show a depth of significance when words fall short. What is conveyed is something more capacious than speech alone.

For Christians, God’s gift of Christ in Jesus of Nazareth is the ultimate gift. Where the written law of the commandments falls short, this gift of God’s love incarnate conveys a truth implicit in the Ten Commandments, but this gift reaches beyond those words to illuminate the infinite magnanimity of God. This mystery of the Incarnation defies description. Much has been said and written about God’s gift of Christ in Jesus of Nazareth. But why have there been so many words about something we cannot fully comprehend through language alone? I suppose we are trying— using words—to understand it the best way we know how. We must do this. But mysteries can never be fully grasped using words alone.

So how do we talk about mystery? How do we say the unsayable? In Christian community, how do we converse about the ineffable? It is the dilemma of religion. The Church finds itself either creating symbols or studiously avoiding any expression: symbols to embody something of unspeakable mystery, and critical scrutiny that must try to explain it. The struggle for the balance of these extremes is woven into the history of the Church. At one end of the continuum, religious practice can lack

stable grounding. Marianne Moore once suggested that “expanded explanation tends to spoil the lion’s leap.” In the Church’s periods of despair about explaining God’s leonine leaps, anxious spirits crave a new language.

Enter music—a language for bearing mystery.

In Loving God With One’s Mind, F. Thomas Trotter discusses the capacity of religious music: Music alone survives this dilemma. Of all the ways of speaking in religion, music exists in time and not space. It exists at the intersections of profoundly empirical, physical, and intellectual ways of dealing with events. Its forms are expressive and not didactic. Its capacity for the creative occasion of celebration is modulated by the entire range of human emotion. Its most contemporary forms are coherent with its entire history. It is amenable to the private as well as the public expression of response to events. In its choral forms, it is capable of the disciplined authority of a community speaking together. In short, music is the context of the widest possible theological expression.

Church music is engaged in serious theological work. It renders ecstatic words naturally compromised by and destined to mundanity. How else can the theology of a period survive as it does in its religious music? We still sing hymns from the third century. Plainchant and polyphony are with us even now. The Reformation lives in its hymns, as does the evangelical revival of the 18th century in Wesley and Watts. How funny to think that the medium most dependent on time is perhaps the most timeless medium.

Music is a symbol of timelessness. It helps us to express our thanks for the gifts of a timeless God. Some, like myself, believe it sacramental in its ability to reveal an inward and spiritual grace. Music does not prove, but it helps us to know. I invite you to express your gratitude for and know the ineffable mystery of the incarnate Jesus this Christmastide through the timeless gift of music.

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Come, Let Us Adore Him

by Father Robert Hendrickson

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ince the beginning of Christian worship — indeed since believers began to lift their prayers heavenward — we have sought to create beautiful spaces of worship that honor God, spaces that invite and allow us to adore the Holy. Because of its visionary founders, builders, and leaders, we can say at Saint John’s today that we worship together “in the beauty of holiness.”

We learn to adore Christ in spaces like the Cathedral.

In the great Christmastide hymn, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the third verse commands the angels: Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above; Glory to God, glory in the highest.

The imperative “sing” is softened with the refrain’s unforgettable invitation to all of us: O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

In many churches and cathedrals, above or even carved into the Altar, one can see an image of Mary holding the infant Jesus. Images like these remind us that when we come to the Altar, we are entering the mystery of Christ coming among us. We are reminded to come and adore him.

As we approach our private celebrations of Christmas at home or with friends, we anticipate the joy of finding particular gifts for those we love. Our hearts jump at these surprises because to give is to love, and to love makes our hearts leap. Recently Saint John’s has been surprised with astonishing gifts of beauty.

I believe these gifts reflect the longing of present-

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day parishioners to build on the work of the founders more than a century ago—founders who hoped the Cathedral would continue to speak of the glory of God, of our adoring Christ. These gifts are tangible answers to the question recently put to us at our Dream Together gathering: “What kind of ancestors do we want to be?”

We have received gifts for new vestments, a new thurible, and The Saint John’s Bible. We have received gifts to refinish the wood floors around the high altar, refurbish the altar apse entryway off the parking lot, and update the Welcome Center. These are generous, thoughtful gifts from parishioners with a deep love for Saint John’s.

When we receive gifts like these, I am reminded of the costly oil Mary purchased to wash the feet of Jesus.

We bring all that we have, the “cream of our hearts,” to lay at the foot of the throne of grace. And we are changed. We are always changed by what we adore.

All that we do in the Church is for one great purpose — to adore God in Christ. We come together in the liturgy and are formed in its patterns of adoration, self-offering, sharing, mutual feeding, healing, and sacrifice. We receive grace for holy living by adoring and receiving the holy, not to remove us from the world but to reveal to us its beauty. We adore Christ and learn to love that which he adores: those in need around us.

I give thanks for the gifts of generous parishioners who are giving so that Saint John’s will remain a place of beauty, in which we gather to sing with choirs of angels.

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Compline at Saint John’s draws on traditions that are centuries old and welcomes people of all beliefs, or of none, and it joins them to one another. Darkness and quiet greet those who enter the cathedral. Candles offer the only light as peace is found in the midst of busy lives and we are simply welcomed to be, to rest, in the midst of silence and chant, of darkness and candlelight, of incense rising as prayer to the Holy.

WEDNESDAYS AT 8:30 PM AT SAINT JOHN’S CATHEDRAL “I was changed by the experience of Compline this fall. I understood some things more clearly, and some that had always been challenging for me. One of the most powerful images was the incense billowing up in a beautiful cloud, lit so that I could see it as a pillar of smoke. I recalled the story of the People of God needing a way to come close to something as precious as the Ark containing the Ten Commandments. They used incense. When you see it burning, it is a powerful reminder that there is mystery and beauty and wisdom all woven together in this place, in our faith.

The other powerful part for me was Benediction. I haven’t really understood it before, but when I saw the Host, the bread of Heaven, enclosed in the monstrance at the front of the altar, the incense reminding me of God giving us the best ways to live, I realized that Jesus was the one who perfectly lived. It made sense for the incense to be there, helping us come close. And it made perfect sense for Him to be placed in something spectacularly beautiful, not ordinary. And there was just enough darkness, and just enough light.”

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The Giving Trees: Following in the Footsteps of Saint Nicholas

by Mother Liz Costello

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aint Nicholas, or Saint Nikolaos of Myra (modernday Turkey), was a 4th-century bishop, later named a saint. According to tradition, he shared his wealth with poor children, secretly leaving them gifts, such as coins in the shoes left outside for him.

He later became the model for North America’s Santa Claus, whose name evolved from mispronunciations of the Dutch Sinterklaas. While we may associate Santa Claus with a secular holiday, he is modeled after Saint Nicholas, known for his care of poor children and celebrated in the Episcopal Church calendar on December 6.

This Advent, we continue to follow in the footsteps of Saint Nicholas through the Giving Tree. The Giving Tree is our way of caring for poor children and for their families during the holiday season. At the November Day of Service, parishioners created the ornaments for the Giving Tree. When the children were asked how the Giving Tree puts the Christian faith into action, Evangeline Goodesbartschi said, “Jesus loved others and the Giving Tree is a way for us to love others.”

Bailey Dillingham added, “Jesus shared what he had, and giving gifts helps us to share what we have with others.”

To join in following in the steps of Saint Nicholas, we are invited to participate in the annual Giving Tree.

On the first Sunday of Advent, the Giving Trees will go up in the Cathedral, the Welcome Center, and in Dagwell Hall. You are invited to take an ornament home and attach the ornament to the gift when you drop it off. Gifts can be dropped off at the Cathedral on Sundays by placing the gift under the Giving Tree in the Cathedral. During the week, please ask a Welcome Center volunteer where to drop off your gift.

Each ornament indicates a drop-off date and agency.

If you would like to help deliver gifts on December 14, at our next Day of Service, please register online at sjcathedral.org/DayofService. For any additional questions, feel free to contact Mother Liz Costello at Liz@sjcathedral.org.

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Giving Trees Each year, Saint John’s Cathedral collects gifts and cash donations for selected agencies that we support and serve. Please select an ornament tag that describes a gift or gift-card request from the Giving Trees with the drop-off date (some agencies need the gifts sooner than others). The color-coded ornaments signify the agency to receive the gifts. In addition to color-coded ornaments, envelopes will be available on the trees to accept cash donations to help purchase additional gifts (or gifts that do not get selected).

The following agencies are identified by color-coded ornaments on the Giving Trees: Brown ornaments: The Delores Project provides safe, comfortable overnight shelter and services to unaccompanied women who are homeless and have limited resources.

Yellow ornaments: Urban Peak assists young people in overcoming homelessness and other real-life challenges.

Purple ornaments: CHARG Resource Center improves the quality of life for mentally ill persons through advocacy, peer support, and recreation.

Red ornaments: SafeHouse Denver serves victims of domestic violence and their children through both an emergency shelter and a nonresidential Counseling and Advocacy Center.

Green ornaments: EarthLinks provides a work program for people who are homeless and lowincome to learn skills and create earth-friendly products that sustain the people and the planet.

Pink ornaments: Every Monday night the Women’s Homeless Initiative (WHI) here at Saint John’s houses 20 women who are homeless.

Blue ornaments: Family Promise provides shelter, meals, and support services to homeless families in the Denver area.

This year we will partner with a new agency called Family Promise Greater Denver (blue ornaments).

Family Promise provides shelter, meals and supportive services to homeless families in the Denver area.

It also helps families with employment, long-term housing solutions, and meeting life goals to ensure self-sufficiency and a brighter future. It began serving families in 1997 and is part of a national network of 180+ affiliates. Since its founding, Family Promise had aided more than 1,000 families, including 1,900 children. Today, an average of 70% of families leave the program with housing, and 85% of adults secure employment while they’re in the program.

Behind the agencies are people. Your gifts will go directly to the people served by these agencies. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Orange ornaments: Sudanese Community Church is a special congregation hosted by Saint John’s.

White ornaments: Family HomeStead exists to house homeless families and end homelessness for individual families in their program in Metro Denver. It is the only Metro Denver agency to provide both emergency and transitional housing in individual units, as well as supportive case management, exclusively to homeless families with children.

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Saint John’s Cathedral Music & Worship Tuesday, December 9, 12:00 pm – Music at Noon Concert

The Ivy Street Ensemble, comprised of three Colorado Symphony musicians, flutist Cathy Peterson, violinist Erik Peterson, and violist Phillip Stevens, presents a diverse array of classical chamber works from the baroque era to 21st century compositions.

Friday, December 12, 7:30 pm – Kantorei

Kantorei, founded in 1997, is a nationally recognized, all-volunteer, highly auditioned choral ensemble based in Denver. A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten and works by Stephen Paulus, Herbert Howells, and Ola Gjeilo complete the program. Artistic Director Joel Rinsema makes his Saint John’s Cathedral debut. Tickets available at sjcathedral.org/Concerts.

Saturday, December 13, and Sunday, December 14, 7:30 pm – Handel’s Messiah, Part I

Whatever your spiritual tradition or path, we invite you to step away from the hectic preparations for Christmas.

Come spend an evening in the soaring setting of the Cathedral, absorbed in the uplifting music of Handel’s Messiah performed by the Saint John’s Cathedral Choir and Orchestra and soloists. Tickets available online at sjcathedral.org/Concerts and at the door on concert night.

Friday, December 19, 7:30 pm – St. Martin’s Chamber Choir

St. Martin’s Chamber Choir interprets a collection of Christmas works commissioned and first performed at Cambridge colleges. Tickets available at sjcathedral.org/Concerts.

Saturday, December 20 and Sunday, December 21, 3:00 pm – Christmas Lessons and Carols

We need your festive voices! Sing along with your neighbor in these joyous Christmas carols. These services will also feature music by Peter Warlock, John Taverner, Healey Willan, and Gerald Finzi.

Tuesday, January 13, 12:00 pm – Music at Noon Concert

Barbara Hamilton, violist, and Andrew Cooperstock, pianist. This program highlights diary excerpts from Ms. Hamilton’s great grandmother Bella, when she was in hiding in Utrecht and Amsterdam during World War II. “Testament: The Diary of Bella Berliner,” features music by Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and Shostakovich.

Sunday, January 18, 3:00 pm – Evensong

Get the New Year started off in the right direction through quiet reflection. A 25 minute organ prelude by Denise Lanning precedes Evensong at 3:00 pm.

Friday, January 30, 7:30 pm – Raymond Nagem, Organist

Raymond Nagem, one of the leading organists of his generation, is Associate Organist of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York and C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at The Juilliard School. He will perform Mozart, Fantasia in F minor, Duruflé, Prélude, Adagio, et Choral varié sur le Veni Creator, and Messiaen, La Nativité du Seigneur. A rising star in the organ community, Nagem brings a kaleidoscopic sense of color and a virtuosic flair to these works, perfectly suited to the Cathedral’s famed Kimball organ. Freewill offering.

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Unto Us a Child is Born

by Mother Liz Costello

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s we wait with Mary and Joseph for the arrival of the infant Jesus, we are reminded that the church has its origins in welcoming a Child. As Christians, we share the call to welcome children into the church. For some of us, it was a prayer said over us when we vowed a lifetime of commitment: “Bestow on them, if it is your will, the gift and heritage of children.” For others it was the vow we made at the baptism of a child in our midst. The priest asked, “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?” and we responded, “We will!” We have all promised to welcome children into the church.

One way The Episcopal Church has given thanks for and welcomed children is through the pastoral office, “A Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child” (BCP, 439). This rite is rooted in the Jewish practice of a mother giving thanks at the Temple forty days after childbirth (Leviticus 12)—a rite that, as a faithful Jew, Mary observes (Luke 2:22–38). Although the rite has changed over time, its survival down to the present speaks to its ongoing importance.

Thomas Cranmer—chief architect of first prayer book in the reformed Church of England—preserved the rite in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer under the guise of “The Order of Purification of Women,” itself rooted in the Sarum rite. (The Sarum rite, or more accurately called, the use of Salisbury, is a version of the Roman rite used in Salisbury England. It is the Prayer Book that Cranmer used to translate the 1549 Book of Common Prayer into the vernacular). At that time, the function of this rite was to reincorporate women into the congregation following childbirth. The 1552 Book of Common Prayer renamed the rite “The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth, Commonly Called the Churching of Women.” Subsequent prayer books opted for the shorter title, “The Churching of Women.” Revisions of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer changed it to “A Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child.” Such title changes are indicative of shifts in the theology, function, and pastoral focus of the rite, though a coherent theme throughout is how the church welcomes parents and children into the community of the faithful. The current iteration

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includes special prayers and blessings that express thanks for a birth or adoption. The rite can be part of Sunday worship, the Daily Office, or expressed in the privacy of the family home or a hospital room.

In recognition of the complexity of more modern pastoral-care concerns related to the bearing, birth, and loss of children, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) created additional supplemental liturgical materials. Compiled in the book, Enriching Our Worship 5: Liturgies and Prayers Related to Childbearing, Childbirth, and Loss, the SCLM included prayers for private devotion and public worship. Prayers for private devotion include prayers for adoption (including prayers for the birth mother and adoptive child), child loss, infertility, and more.

Additional liturgical services range from a blessing of a pregnant woman to a rite for mourning the loss of a pregnancy.

If you would like for a priest to offer specials prayers or arrange a pastoral liturgy, please do not hesitate to contact any priest on staff.

Sunday, January 18, 2015 10:15 am in Dagwell Hall All members are cordially invited to attend the 154th Annual Meeting of Saint John’s Cathedral and Election of Vestry Members.

Vestry ballots are sent to members on December 8. If you do not receive a ballot and are a member of Saint John’s Cathedral, please contact MikeO@sjcathedral.org. Please return your ballot by 5:00 pm (MST) on Friday, January 16, 2015. If, however, you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to cast your vote by proxy, please fill out the proxy form located on your ballot.

All children will be cared for during the Annual Meeting by Youth Groups and Leaders. All will gather in Saint Francis Chapel following the 9:00 am service for a “Taste of Cathedral Camp!”

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e are pleased to introduce Matthew Henderson, the new Welcome and Integration Coordinator for Cathedral Life at Saint John’s. He holds a master’s degree in tourism management from Colorado State University and has worked as a project manager for a sustainable initiatives program in Pennsylvania and in Arizona as a project coordinator for a Master Bike Plan for the Grand Canyon. He enjoys Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts form, training four times a week, and loves his Golden Retriever Max. His presence at Saint John’s will be integral to the Cathedral-wide effort to strengthen relationships through a robust welcome ministry. Matthew is committed to helping connect new and longtime members alike with the vast array of opportunities to volunteer and serve, and to support the formation of existing and future volunteer teams.

New and creative small-group formation is at the heart of Matthew’s ministry at Saint John’s. He listens to ideas and hopes expressed by parishioners, communicating them regularly to clergy staff for further development and implementation—as events, celebrations, or programs. Additionally, Matthew is building strong connections with members of the congregation by organizing requests to join emerging ministries and to organize new events.

One of Matthew’s major roles is coordinating the Welcome Center operations and our volunteer receptionists. By developing relationships with this dedicated cadre of volunteers, Matthew is forming an even stronger team that seamlessly guides visitors and parishioners alike to the appropriate clergy, staff, and event locations.

Matthew wears many hats in his position, and his creativity and engaging personality are tremendous assets as he coordinates events for the 2015 program year. He is eager to bring the congregation of Saint John’s Cathedral together in new and meaningful ways.

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An Invitation to Come and See

by Father Charles LaFond

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ome and see this star… this child…this church: An invitation to glory.

What was it like in Bethlehem that night?

Who was the first person to sense that something beyond normal was happening behind the inn, in that rough stable? Did the baby glow as in Renaissance paintings? Did the Star of Bethlehem hang directly over the stable just as the illustrations in my childhood storybook showed? Did Mary look beatific? Of course she did. She was beatific and exhausted and in pain.

What of Joseph? Was his expression that of a proud father in the maternity ward or of a man caught in a supernaturally charged maelstrom, unsure of any peaceful outcome?

What if we were standing there in the darkness in the street? What if we could see this child was God, in a baffling disguise? What if we, like the Little Drummer Boy, could see the miracle unfolding before us?

Indeed, what do we do now that we have seen God? What is our response to a God who welcomes us to a table for a meal we call the “Eucharist?” What happens whenever we want our friends and family— even people we meet on the street—to “come and see” the thing that is changing our lives?

When the pottery studio was installed in my home, I was so radiant that people asked me what was different. “Did you change your hair?” they would say, “Something about you is different!” No. I have very

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little hair left to change, I replied, and then I would declare the truth: I have a wonderful new pottery studio and have begun cooking again! Then I would do what God did that night in the chilly desert around Bethlehem. I would invite. “Come and see my pottery studio!” I would say. “Come and have dinner with me and we can make a bowl on the wheel between the roast and dessert!”

As the invitatory star hung over the newborn Christchild, bright and heavy in the distance, shepherds and kings alike made their way through wilderness, responding to God’s invitation to Come and See a New Thing. That star was one of the most dramatic and enduring invitations God has ever issued to humanity.

So shepherds and kings would come and see this baby, guided by the invitation of a star. Years later, others would then come and see the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Still others would come and see the trial, screaming their verdicts. Some would come and see the empty tomb. Others would come and see the first martyrs tortured and burned, while still others would come and see the great 12th-century cathedrals towering over simple villages, rising from the landscape for pilgrims to walk, and walk, and walk toward so they too might come and see Jesus and the martyrs and the prophets. All of them lifted up in art and liturgy, music and beauty, color and drama—the Cirque de Soleil of their day—a startling kaleidoscope in glass and stone.

In its day, our own Cathedral was named for the wilderness in which it sat, on flat land and on the

Year End Giving to the Mission of the Cathedral in 2014 Some people find that at the end of the year they would like to give a special gift to the mission of the Cathedral. For some it is celebration of having … well… lived another great year! For others there was a year-end bonus to share and for still others it simply makes sense to give a little extra money away simply because they can – and enjoy doing so. Some want to make a gift of stock. And for some, using a planned giving tool such as a charitable remainder trust makes it possible to make a large gift while also benefiting from the tax and living advantages of various planned gift mechanisms. edge of treacherous mountains under bright stars. And still today, though the “wilderness” has morphed from the physical threats of deserts, gunslingers and coyotes to more modern threats like overwork, overspending, addictions, anxieties, and debt; we remain a church in a high chilly desert, a church of many wildernesses, all of us still longing for a star to take us to the Prince of Peace.

After a hosted conversation with the clergy and staff, the Invitation Committee, led by Heidi and Bryant Harris, will begin to plan The “Come and See” Campaign—a congregation-wide to turn our faces outward toward the city, actively invite those we know to “come and see” a place where they will meet God in community and liturgy, formation and conversation.

Beginning in January everyone in the congregation may participate in training on how to have good, effective conversations. These would be conversations with family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, people on the street even—conversations about coming to see our church and our beautiful congregation. At the same time, the many ministries of the Chapter and the “Come and See” organizers will be designing a welcome-and-integration process for those who, after they come and see, decide to stay.

The Cathedral gratefully receives year-end gifts including stock over and above your 2014 completed pledges. Some whose income is based on annual sales have been conservative about their 2014 pledge and have been waiting to make a year-end gift when they had a better picture of their financial situation. We have had to tighten the belt of the budget significantly this year, and it is our hope that $200,000 in various additional gifts and special contributions will assist the mission and ministry of the Cathedral.

If you have money you would like to give to fund more fully the mission and ministry of the Cathedral at the year-end (before December 31, 2014), or if you would like to honor a loved one, celebrate an event, or give thanks for a blessing, please contact the Canon Steward, Father Charles LaFond, for assistance at Charles@ sjcathedral.org.

We are excited for the many opportunities for relationship building on the horizon at Saint John’s this spring. We look forward to exploring how Saint John’s can grow in our capacity to be a welcoming and open place for all to discover how God might be speaking into our lives and calling us to a relationship where he is fully known and shared.

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Called to common mission

Right here on Washington Street

by Dr. Darrel D. Colson, President of Wartburg College

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would venture to say that most Episcopal laypeople do not know much about Called to Common Mission. Most, I wager, were like me: unaware of its development, uninvolved in the debates surrounding its adoption, and unconcerned about its implications.

I am, though, an Episcopal layman for whom CCM has had an enormous impact; it has changed my whole life. Because the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American and The Episcopal Church chose to “receive with thanksgiving the gift of unity which is already given in Christ,”1 the Board of Regents governing Wartburg College modified the school’s By-Laws, allowing a member of your Communion—our Anglican Communion—to serve as president.

As our two Communions—Lutheran and Episcopal— have lived into this concord, I have lived into it as well, not losing my identity as an Episcopalian, but developing a profound love for our Lutheran brothers and sisters—for their style of worship, their wealth of music, and their pervasive acknowledgement in even the smallest of ways for the blessings of God’s grace. I shall always miss kneelers and incense—especially the incense—but I am a happy immigrant to the Lutheran world.

Deep in the core of each of the two Communions is the commitment to use our talents and our skills to improve the world around us. In the words of Called to Common Mission, “Both our traditions affirm that justification leads and must lead to ‘good works’; authentic faith issues in love.”2 That common commitment to “good works” has inspired the collaboration embodied in the Kimberly Apartments. Wartburg’s mission is to challenge and nurture young people for lives of leadership and service as a spirited expression of their faith and

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learning. Pursuing that mission, we seek any and all ways to engage our students in the wider world. We encourage them to explore the workplace in their quest to uncover their potential and discern their calling. We urge them to serve the less fortunate, to study and to grasp the realities that bind those brothers and sisters, and then to discover and invent ways to release them from those bonds.

When we at Wartburg came to know Saint John’s Cathedral, we realized that your mission not only comports with ours, but it can advance ours. Needing better housing for students who had long used Denver as an urban laboratory for developing their capacity to lead and to serve, we realized that your congregation, committed to putting your faith into action “by ministering to the needs of the sick, the bereaved, the poor, the homeless, and those most in need in our community,”3 would make the perfect partner.

So, although our “Wartburg West” students are separated from our main campus by 1,000 miles, they can still experience challenge and receive nurture from a community seeking familiar goals. Living on your campus, worshipping in your midst, performing and working amongst you, our students dwell in a community where leadership and service are prized, where they can benefit from the call to common mission.

As I am a welcome sojourner in the Lutheran world, so have you made my students welcome sojourners in the Episcopal world, and for that I am deeply grateful.

Called To Common Mission, Paragraph 27.

Called to Common Mission, Paragraph 5.

3 Saint John’s Mission Statement & Core Values.

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China Mission Pilgrimage June 8-21, 2015

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n June 2015, our Sub-Dean, Father Robert Hendrickson, will lead a mission-pilgrimage to mainland China in partnership with the Amity Foundation, an organization of Chinese Christians historically affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

We will emphasize Christian service, encouraging participants to bear witness to their faith through their work together with Chinese churches, as we visit Nanjing, staying at Nanjing Seminary, and Beijing, where Father Robert lived for two and a half years.

It is impossible to say how many Christians live in China today, but no one denies the numbers are exploding. The government says 25 million, 18 million Protestants and 6 million Roman Catholics.

Independent appraisals all agree this is a vast underestimate, with conservative figures approaching 60 million. More Christians are in church in China on a Sunday than in all of Europe.

Our hosts, in Nanjing, will introduce us to the range of services they provide from housing for orphans, schools for the differently-abled, sustainable agriculture projects, and the largest Bible printing press in the world. They will also help us understand the complex history of this former imperial capital which also served as the capital during World War II. In Beijing, we will tour ancient cathedrals and vibrant church communities as well as have a chance to visit significant local sights such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven.

Cost per person (all-inclusive: airfare, meals, attractions, local transport, and lodging included): $4,000. For more information, please contact Annie Croner at Annie@sjcathedral.org.

The new converts include peasants in remote rural villages to the sophisticated young members of the middle class in China’s booming cities.

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“WHAT KIND OF ANCESTOR DO YOU WANT TO BE — FOR SAINT JOHN’S CATHEDRAL AND FOR THE CITY OF DENVER?”

by Father Charles LaFond

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he Incarnation of Christ, put as simply as possible, is God with us and among us.

He is the “Word made flesh.” Why the Word? Because worlds are created with words.

Relationships are formed through the words of conversation. The words we speak and write have the potential to transform nearly everything.

Mark your calendars today! The 2015 Dream Together Conference will take place on October 17 and 18!

This year, with the Bishop in his Cathedral among us, and the clergy in their street clothes among the congregation, we assembled for our first annual gathering. It far surpassed every metric we had set. Thus begins an unstoppable conversation.

Members of the Cathedral family huddling around small tables, listening deeply, and speaking too, of impossible and possible dreams alike.

Together solving problems that no one person is smart enough to solve alone. We lent each other the courage to tell the truth, lead where it will and cost what it may. When we planned the day, our hope was that perhaps a dozen people would register for both the morning and afternoon sessions. Seventy-two parishioners signed up for both sessions, revealing a ravenous appetite for open and honest conversation. Partly satisfied in October, our appetite for continued conversation remains healthy.

This is but the beginning! We have begun to plan a training event for 50 people from March 5 to 8. These individuals will be invited to devote three days of their learning the Art of Hosting Meaningful Conversation. This is an emotional-intelligence model used to transform relationships — a marriage, a friendship, a parent-child relationship, a work environment — in institutions. The Art of Hosting is the tool used in the Dream Together gatherings. It is the

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container for effective and leveled conversation.

Central to this intensive three-day training is work around minding our thoughts.

Minding our thoughts is a way to bring about peace— person by person, family by family, team by team, and church by church.

The “minding” work will help us to examine how we relate to each other. “Minding” encourages us to attend to and replenish our reserves of emotional intelligence. How do we relate to our own thoughts?

By minding all these things, we will have a tool capable of changing entire systems, if we wield it well.

One of the most valuable components of this threeday training will be the work we do around what we call “limiting beliefs.” Noticing our limiting beliefs and paying attention to what we think about them can change our lives, the lives of our families and the way we are together as a church. Too often we let our thoughts run rampant in our minds like overcaffeinated children on a sugar-high. Emotional intelligence leads us to see that what happens to us is not as important as what we think about what happens to us.

We often compound problems in our lives by reacting rather than responding. Reacting to events while thoughts spiral up or down, unexamined, intensifies confusion and conflict. Addressing this work headon makes us less reactive and helps us to identify

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reactivity in ourselves and those around us. This is the most important work we will do together as a community.

In church, we pray for peace. I wonder if peace might come if we all simply became peaceful in our thoughts.

This work will help us respond to life and to those we love with deeper awareness and compassion.

When Jesus formed the church, he began with Mary and John—two people, standing together at the cross waiting. We too stand together as members of this church, helping each other to detoxify our responses to adversity and annoyance. And as we stand together, we step ever deeper into the peace about which Jesus was so constantly and relentlessly speaking.

I’ve found Loving What Is: Four Questions to be an indispensable guide to “minding” our thoughts. h t t p : / / w w w. a m a zo n . co m / L ov i n g - W h a t- I s Questions-Change/dp/1400045371

Welcome to Family Ministries at Saint John’s Children come to us full of wonder and joy, and already knowing something about God. Our task is to nourish the seeds of God’s love that have already been sown, and to help our children find ways to strengthen their relationship with God throughout their lives. We do this through the stories of the Bible and our Church, by encouraging their wonder and helping them discover their deep joy, by welcoming them fully into the Saint John’s community and by involving them in all that we do. Our children are full members of Saint John’s Cathedral, and we cherish their presence here.

The goal of our youth program is to help our young people journey into adulthood experiencing the care of this community as they learn how to be the hands of Christ in the world. As they grow up, they also grow into ways of being involved, offering themselves to help others within and beyond this Cathedral and creating a circle of trust for one another.

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No Godly Play classes.

30:

No Sunday School or Youth Groups.

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Family Christmas Eve Services at 1:00, 3:00, & 5:00 pm.

24:

No Godly Play classes.

28:

No Sunday School or Youth Groups.

31:

No Godly Play classes.

4:

No Sunday School or Youth Groups.

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Godly Play and SOWhAT Epiphany Celebration, Saint Francis Chapel at 10:15 am.

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All children will be cared for during the Annual Meeting

by Youth Groups and Leaders, getting a taste of Cathedral Camp! Please gather in Saint Francis Chapel following the 9:00 am service.

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Middle School Fun Night at the Cathedral.

Family Life eNewsletter

If you are new to Saint John’s, or if perhaps just haven’t found your way ‘in’ just yet, please do check the Family Life Newsletter this fall for invitations that we hope will help you to connect! Register to receive this weekly eNewsletter at sjcathedral.org/eNewsletters.

Your Chance to be Involved!

We depend on volunteers to work with our children and youth on Sundays and at other times, and we also need volunteers to help with a variety of projects. If you would like to get involved in any way, please contact Kim McPherson at 303.577.7729. Thank you!

SJC Kids Pledge, Too!

It’s not too late for children to turn in their pledge cards. Parents, please visit sjcathedral.org/Parents for help to talk with your child about this as a spiritual practice, and to decide on the pledge amount.

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Advent is here!

Advent is a time when things change, as we get ready to come close to the mystery of Christmas. The color is purple and is rose on the third Sunday. Each Sunday of Advent (November 30, December 7, 14, & 21), a child will carry the candle to place on the Advent wreath and light it at the 9:00 am service. Please sign up in Children’s Chapel.

In Advent at the 9:00 am services, children will gather in the Narthex (14th Street entrance to the Cathedral) to join the Procession and witness the lighting of the Advent wreath candle. Then, they will process to Saint Francis Chapel, returning to the Cathedral at the Peace.

Christmas Eve Services: December 24

Christmas Eve Services especially tailored for families with children: 1:00, 3:00 & 5:00 pm. These services are identical, just pick the time that best suits you. The story unfolds as the children literally bring the story to us, all interspersed with hymns. Some children will carry forward the figures to build the Nativity scene and all children will receive a glittering star to give as their gift to the Christ child. The story is told in child-friendly fashion, sprinkled with glitter and Christmas hymns. Children, please bring your baby Jesus from your home to be blessed, too. An activities time for children waiting for the 3:00 and 5:00 pm services will be held in Room 103. The Nursery will be open for the 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, & 8:00 pm services.

Christmas Eve Service Rehearsals

We need children and adult helpers to rehearse and take part!

1:00 pm Service Rehearsal: Monday, December 15 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm 3:00 pm Service Rehearsal: Tuesday, December 16 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm 5:00 pm Service Rehearsal: Thursday, December 18 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm Please sign up on the table outside rooms 101/103, both for children to participate and for parents to help, or contact Kim McPherson at 303.577.7729 or Kim@sjcathedral.org.

Our nursery is a cheerful, safe and welcoming environment for our very youngest members, staffed by professional caregivers as well as volunteers. All are trained to ensure your child’s stay is safe in every way. Please check the website for more information or contact Kim McPherson at kim@sjcathedral.org.

Nursery Sunday Hours

8:30 am - 12:45 pm, ages 0-3 5:30 - 7:30 pm for The Wilderness, any age

Nursery Wednesday Hours 4:00 am - 9:00 pm, all ages

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Sunday Christian Formation

9:00 am- Children’s Chapel (ages 3 & up) Saint Francis Chapel, 2nd floor Children are engaged during the first part of the service (the Liturgy of the Word) in very child-friendly fashion, including lesson, prayers, confession and music. Parents may drop off children or remain in Chapel with them. Chapel goers join their families in the Cathedral in time for Communion, and enter the front of the Cathedral on the East side. Children are invited to come forward at Communion to sit on the carpet and stairs.

10:15 am- Godly Play (Ages 3 - 3rd Grade) In Godly Play, we create a safe and beautiful space where children are deeply respected as they see, hear, and wonder about stories from the Bible or another part of our Episcopal tradition. Using hands-on materials and “wondering questions” to reflect on the story together, children then choose from a variety of materials—story materials, art supplies, building materials, books, silence materials—to make their own creative responses, and to help make the stories truly their own.

Prayers and a feast (snack) round out the session.

• • •

3-4 year olds: Preschool Godly Play, Room 101 K-1st Grades: Godly Play Class, Room 103 2nd-3rd Grades: Godly Play for Older Kids, Room 202

10:15 am - SOWhAT (4th - 5th Grade) Room 204 SOWhAT stands for: Stories, Outreach, Wonder, Arts, & Theology. At this age, children are ready for more…more insight, more activities, and more sophisticated art projects. In this year two, as the Saint John’s Illuminated Bible resides with us, these children will have a rare opportunity to explore what sacred space means, and how our own journeys are illuminated by the arts and our faith. *Note: No Christian Formation classes on November 30, December 28, or January 4.

Wednesdays

4:15 – 5:10 pm, Room 103, for Ages 4 - 9. If you missed Sunday’s class, or if your child is a chorister and would like to come on Wednesdays, this time slot is perfect for you! Our Director of Religious Education, Kim McPherson, shares stories, wonders with the children, and invites them to respond to the stories of our tradition through play, art, and other experiences. *Note: No Wednesday Night Godly Play on November 26, December 24, or December 31.

Acolytes Anyone in 4th-12th grades can be part of the Saint John’s Acolyte team. Training is provided so everyone knows just what to do and feels comfortable doing it. Join this team and experience worship in a new way. Please contact David Barr at DavidLBarr@msn.com for more information.

Parents

Each week, there are take-home papers for you to pick up outside our classrooms. They tell about the story we’ve shared and give families ways to have wondering conversations together. (They are also online at sjcathedral.org/Parents.)

We’re planning some Potluck Suppers for Families. If you would like to host one, please contact Kim McPherson at Kim@ sjcathedral.org or 303.577.7729.

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Middle School

Sundays at 10:15 am Our mission is to help our youth build a community of love and trust. This is a place where teens can engage their faith in relevant ways, find ways to be the hands of Christ in the world, and have fun doing it together! After the 9:00 am service, Middle School Youth (grades 6-8) gather in Room 300 for refreshments, conversation, and activities all built around the theme of creating a ‘rule of life’ for themselves — ways to live the very best life possible. We encourage questions and conversation in a trusting atmosphere, and we offer other extended-time faith-building opportunities too: retreats, mission trips, and Cathedral Camp.

Upcoming Middle School Events: Fun Night. Friday, January 23, 7:00 to 10:00 pm. As we work on our Rule of Life about Rest & Play, we will gather for an evening of fun at Saint John’s. Imagine playing Clue in our amazing building!

Quest in the Springtime. April 10-12, 2015 at Frontier Ranch.

Middle School Mission Trip to Leadville. July 6-10, 2015. Please contact Kim McPherson to let her know that you would like to attend. Space is limited. Further details will be published in the Family Life eNewsletter.

High School

Sundays at 10:15 am Senior Youth (9-12th grades) gather for weekly teaching and conversation with Father Jadon. This is an opportunity for older youth to learn fundamental aspects of Anglican theology in an atmosphere that encourages them to confirm both what they believe and what they struggle with as they encounter the challenges of living as Christian teens. The weekly meetings complement a number of seasonal “away days” that allow for even greater depth of community and spiritual growth.

Upcoming High School Events: Quest in the Springtime. April 10-12, 2015 at Frontier Ranch.

Serving in Worship

Our youth are part of worship, too: ushers, acolytes, readers, and chapel greeters. Contacts to get involved: Acolytes: David Barr, DavidLBarr@msn.com Ushers: Deanna White, Deanna_white1500@hotmail.com Readers: Billy Baker, BillyB@sjcathedral.org Chapel: Kim McPherson, Kim@sjcathedral.org

Confirmation for Youth

Preparation for Confirmation happens during our High School Youth Group meetings on Sundays during the 10:15 am hour, from September through May, with Confirmation at the Easter Vigil, April 4, 2015. Youth who would like to be confirmed should regularly attend youth group for at least the entire school year of their Confirmation. Youth in our diocese may be confirmed at age 15. Please contact Father Jadon at Jadon@sjcathedral.org for more information.

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1350 Washington Street Denver, Colorado 80203 sjcathedral.org

info@sjcathedral.org 303.831.7115