May 30, 2021: St. John's Cathedral News

WEEKLY UPDATE

Deans' Note

May 30, 2021

The unofficial opening of summer, Memorial Day, this year makes us remember where we all were a year ago. Few of us probably thought as we entered last summer in the midst of Covid that it would be a year later before we would start to emerge into a world where we would finally meet one another person to person and even begin to shed our masks. We look forward to a better summer this year.

We also celebrate Trinity Sunday - that day the Church teaches us that relationships are at the very heart of God's nature. We know a God who is disclosed to us in creation, and who in the person of Jesus is "unmasked" before us as God in the flesh, without any barrier to our relationship with him and in response, as St. Paul reminds us: "All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit'' (II Corinthians 3:18). The work of the Spirit is to transform us so we reflect on Jesus. And the Spirit does that work not just as individuals, but in community.

And yet, after a year of being together primarily digitally, physical presence may be a little unnerving. Taking off our masks is more intimate than we are used to. In fact, some of us may be anxious, or fearful, or even experiencing the effects of the trauma of the last year. The healing power of the Spirit is with us. To help us through this transition time, we give thanks to our sister Martha Watson, a trained and licensed therapist, who will lead a conversation over Zoom on Wednesday, June 9 at 7 pm (read more in this edition of the update).

St. John's Writers' Group will take us another step into meeting the Spirit in community at a retreat morning in person on Saturday, June 5. They will invite us all to reflect on the pandemic -- what we've lost and what we've gained and what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives personally and communally. Come ready to listen, speak, be silent, and write about your own reflections (Read more in this edition also).

Our God is a Trinity of persons who invites us into a relationship of growing abundant life. Take a step into that new life as we emerge into becoming something new, something unknown in our lives, in our world, and as God's people at St. John's.

Cathedral Life

Indoor Worship

Sundays at 9am

In-Person & Facebook Live

All vaccinated people are welcome to attend indoor worship. Please make a reservation if you plan to attend. Seating is limited and socially distant. Also, masks are required.

We ask that you get vaccinated against covid-19 before you attend public in-person worship.

If you are not vaccinated we invite you to watch our service online at 9 am via Facebook Live.

Christian Education

In-person & Online

Sunday, May 30, 2021, at 10:30 am

Join us for Chrisitan Education in-person or online. This Sunday's reading is John 3: 12-17, you can get a head start and start gathering any questions you have. We look forward to hearing them this Sunday starting at 10:30 am.

Writing and the Pandemic

An Invitation from St John’s Cathedral

Saturday, June 5, 2021

10 am - 12:30 pm

Writers Guild Spring Retreat Announcement | St. John's Cathedral

It has been over a year since we encountered the COVID-19 pandemic. We have sheltered in place, masked up, remained at home, worked, and prayed from home. We have heard cries for justice and have marched and have grieved for those we have lost. Many of us learned to zoom for worship, for work, for school, and for almost everything. Our worlds became quieter and slower and for many of us, solitude was a part of our everyday life. As we prepare for a post-pandemic world, with the City of Los Angeles reopening and as we prepare for changes we wish for and worry about. The Writers Group of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral invites you to a quiet morning of writing and reflection.

On Saturday, June 5th the group will host a socially distanced retreat to pray, write, and discuss the effects of the past year. The gathering will be indoors. A temperature check and mask are required.

If you are fully vaccinated and wearing a mask, you are invited to join us:

When: Saturday, June 5, 2021

10:00 am to 12:30 pm

Where: St John’s Episcopal Cathedral

514 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Adult Vacation Bible School Summer 2021

The Man God Exalted: Reading David in II Samuel

June 13 - July 25 (In-person & Onlne via Zoom)

Sundays at 10:30 am

David is one of the most complex and enigmatic figures in the whole Bible. He emerges from obscurity to become the leader the Old Testament looks to as the inspiration for the Psalms, the greatest king of Israel, and the New Testament claims as the ancestor of Jesus. Yet this favorite of God, is also a murderer, adulterer, and power-hungry warrior. Join us this summer as we explore this story of intrigue, betrayal, passion, pathos, tragedy, and grace.

Over several Sundays at 10:30 am, we will read Second Samuel, focusing on key scenes, prose, and poetry that have intrigued artists, writers, musicians, and religious thinkers across the generations. What light can history and archeology shed on what we know about David? Readings from this biblical book are part of our lectionary this summer, and our preachers will be invited to engage these texts during the Sunday sermons. We will also be joined by guest presenters to be announced. This class will be conducted in a hybrid format, both in-person and live over Zoom.

June 20, 2021

Guest Presenter

Robert Alter, Ph.D

Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley. Hebrew literature, modern and biblical.

Living In The New Normal w/Martha Watson

Dealing with Covid Anxiety As Everything Begins to Open Up Again

June 9, 2021, at 7 pm on Zoom

For the last 15 months, most of us have experienced disbelief, shock, nervousness, and sadness because our lives have been changed due to the COVID-19 virus. Many have

been vaccinated but still feel uncertain as to how to move about or navigate with family, friends, and in the community. Let's start talking about how we see ourselves living in the new normal.

Wednesday, June 9th at 7 pm you are invited to participate in a

conversation regarding the meaning of the last 15 months and how you see yourself moving forward. This will be a confidential ZOOM meeting. It will not be recorded for viewing in the future. The facilitator is Martha M. Watson, a member of this parish.