E-pistle, 2008-24
Dear Folks ~
1. Today we celebrate our 49th Eucharistic Festival. Bishop Jacobus will preside. Father Barry Whenal will preach. Folks from all around the diocese and beyond will be in attendance.
As Cathedral members, perhaps you’ve been involved in setting-up, or will be during, or will be part of the clean-up crew. Perhaps you’ve been involved in the past and aren’t this year. Perhaps this is your first year to be involved. (Terry and I have attended at least a half-dozen Eucharistic Festivals in years past, and everything seemed to “go off like clock work” from the outside looking in. This is our first year here on the inside, and we plan to be at one or another of the serving tables – serving food and greeting visitors.)
Involved or not, we hope you’ll attend: “The Festival begins at
2. This past Monday, Sr. Columba celebrated the 44th anniversary of her Life Profession as a Sister of the Holy Nativity! Prayers, congratulations, and love to Sister; and heartfelt thanks to the gospel witness she has given in her life as woman religious these many years!
Sister’s anniversary reminded me that Labor Day weekend 1963 is when I went to the Roman seminary in Milwaukee as a high school freshman (they started us young back then!). That’s 45 years ago! I was ordained a priest 32 years ago, and have been a priest in the Episcopal Church for 3½ years. We all take different paths in our journey through life. Some paths seem more direct than others – but we know that the Lord is with us, and we trust that He is guiding us to wherever He wants us. Thanks be to God!
3. We were contacted this week by daughter Lynn Swensen that her mother Dorothy Peters passed away. I understand that Dorothy and her deceased husband Burt were “a very active family here for many years.” A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, September 20th at
4. As we get deeper and deeper into election campaigning, may I appeal to you to establish the Cathedral block a “Politics Free Zone”? By all means, pray for the candidates of your choice (silently). And do encourage one another to vote in November. But please: no talk of politics at coffee hour, no campaign buttons, etc. Meanwhile, there are some fine Prayers for National life in our Book of Common Prayer, pages 820-823. Prayer? I highly recommend it.
5. During the next few months, you’ll hear some new terms replacing older familiar terms used in reference to the Chapter and life here at the Cathedral. Because “words have meanings,” these new terms signal a new way of looking at things. Prompted by a pamphlet from Forward Movement Publications available through our Diocesan Office, the pamphlet is titled “The Calling of Vestry as Servants of the People of God.”
Quoting from the first two sentences of the pamphlet’s opening paragraph: “Many of us old-timers in the church remember the days when many vestry persons were selected either to represent a family or factional interest or to guard the parish checkbook. Since money and personal power seemed at stake, parish politics and these elections often proved bitter and divisive.” (Although the members of our Reorganization Committee and Chapter have both read this pamphlet, no one has commented to me on past elections – other than all seem to welcome the ideas put forth in the pamphlet.)
The pamphlet suggests new terms to replace old terms – and the new terms suggest a significant change in mindset:
o To no longer “elect” Chapter members or Wardens, but to “call” them to service.
o To no longer “nominate” candidates, but to “discern” with those prompted to serve.
o To no longer “vote” at the Annual Meeting, but to “affirm” and “ratify” those discerned to be “called.”
The Reorganization Committee and Chapter are working on the details of this revisioning in terms of our Constitution and By-Laws in consultation with the Diocesan Office and ultimately the Bishop.
Do know that between now and the November 11th Chapter Meeting, you are free to suggest folks – or you can suggest yourself – for Chapter service. I, as Acting Dean, am expected to suggest one person for Senior Warden and one for Junior Warden of my choosing; you are free to suggest others. Nominations will, however, close at the end of the November 11th Chapter Meeting, and there will be no nominations from the floor at the Annual Meeting.
All suggested folks will be invited to an “orientation and discernment” meeting to be held between the November 11th and December 9th Chapter meetings. At the “orientation and discernment” meeting:
o We will turn to scripture for guidance.
o Discuss the nature of ministry as described in our Holy Baptism.
o Present our Chapter’s organizational chart.
o Share dreams and visions for
o Discuss the role of the Chapter in leadership, including being collegial and promoting a positive point of view.
o Time commitment and minimum expec-tations will be discussed, as well as the expectation that members engage in ministry and serve as liaisons (“go to” folks) to specific areas of parish ministry.
On this basis, after questions and discussion, we will turn to prayer to discover who feels called by the Holy Spirit to seek, in serving, what’s best for St. Paul’s Cathedral. That will determine our slate; and the names of those who, within this group process, “discern” themselves “called” will be presented to the Chapter on December 9th. (There are other steps and details, but this is intended only to be a thumbnail description of the process we propose for this year.)
Quoting again from the Forward pamphlet: “The result of this process over the years has been to transform the nature of the vestry (chapter), and indeed, the parish. . . . Gone are the highly politicized elections of the past. Gone is the expectation that vestry members represent any special interest group. Gone is almost all conversation in vestry meetings about money. Here, is the idea that we Christians, helping others to do the Lord’s work in love.”
It’s a pleasure working with the Reorgani-zation Committee and Chapter on this visioning process. Kindly keep them, our parish, and the diocese we serve in your prayers.
More information will follow as time goes on.
Blessings,
~ Fr. Brian