We begin in gratitude.

Since the last time I wrote a Dean’s greeting, our St. James cathedral community has been invited into a rather profound ecclesiastical whiplash – from the mountaintop experience of Jesus’ transfiguration in last Sunday morning’s Gospel; to an astonishing evening with a cathedral full of friends and guests as we celebrated the beginning of a new chapter as Cathedral congregation and Dean; to yesterday’s observance of the beginning of Lent, marked by penitence, prayer and ashes; to the upcoming first Sunday in Lent, where we will seek, once again, to draw nearer to God through prayer, fasting, and acts of self-dedication. To be faithful to all aspects of our common life this week has required great spiritual flexibility - and a bit of grace.

For as much as I tried to enter into Ash Wednesday’s penitential and sober ethos, I could not quite set aside the afterglow of our transcendent, joyful, and inspiring celebration from last Sunday’s Evensong & Installation. And while I would normally use this week’s E-news greeting to invite us into the observance of a Holy Lent, I simply cannot get there until I have expressed my deepest gratitude for the great gifts showered upon me and for the deep hospitality offered to the wider community by the faithful leaders of this congregation. Look to next week’s E-News for photos from the event, and for the recipe to the critically acclaimed ”Dean’s Delight” mocktail (alcohol-free cocktail) crafted for the event by parishioner Kim Moreland.

I am also filled with gratitude this week for the arrival of two new members of our cathedral staff, Mr. Beau Surratt, our new full-time associate for administration, and Ms. Tamarra Newbern, who is our new part-time associate for communications. You can read more about them further on in this newsletter, and I know that you will join me in warmly welcoming them to our cathedral staff.

And so, as I look forward to our journeying together through this season of Lent, delving into our relationships to God and one another, I pray for God to bring forth in me “a new and contrite heart.” But I also recognize God will be working with a heart that at the moment is overflowing with joy and gratitude! Getting to penitence may be a stretch, but with God- all things are possible!

I hope that you will plan to join us this Sunday, and for this holy season of Lent.

Peace,

Lisa+

First Sunday in Lent

Sunday, March 9, 2025

2 a.m. - Spring Forward Time Change

8 a.m. - Spoken Eucharist (St. Andrew’s Chapel)

9 a.m. - Family Eucharist

10 a.m. - Children’s Sunday School and Youth Group

10 a.m. - Adult Forum (Kyle’s Place)

11 a.m. - Choral Eucharist (Live-Streamed)

12:15 p.m. - Coffee Hour (Kyle’s Place)

For those who are unable to be present, the 11 a.m. Eucharist will be live-streamed on our streaming webpage or YouTube.

Sundays at 10 a.m. in Kyle’s Place

Art as a Devotional Discipline

This Lent, join us for a series of clergy and guest speakers guiding our exploration of how the arts can form and move our faith lives. We will be examining different kinds of artistic expressions, including iconography, stained glass, poetry, hymnody and more. Contact Steven Balke to learn more.

Mar. 9 - Introduction to Art as Devotional Discipline

Mar. 16 - Ms. Anne Searle Bent, author of Art and the Experience of the Divine

Mar. 23 - Dr. Matthew J. Milliner, author of Mother of the Lamb: The Story of a Global Icon

Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in Meeting Rm. 1

The Disciple’s Way

Join us this Lenten season for a devotional book study. Newly published for this Lent, The Disciple’s Way is a series of daily reflections by current leaders of The Episcopal Church to guide our exploration of being a disciple of Jesus in the world today.

The book can be purchased here and St. James has copies available to borrow. Please contact Steven Balke for more information.

Mar. 12 - Getting started

Mar. 17 - Learning and Praying

Inspired by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s January 21 post-inauguration sermon pleading for mercy for immigrants and those in the LGBTQ+ community, the St. James Cathedral Chapter unanimously voted to support two organizations focused on these populations in Chicago.

Diocese of Chicago Sanctuary Committee

The Sanctuary Committee, created by Diocesan Convention in 2019 and formalized in 2024, connects with other local and national sanctuary communities and institutions, immigrant rights groups and coalitions, and engages in educating, organizing, advocacy and direct action to ensure the safety and security of the undocumented community. The committee assists in equipping congregations, clergy, and lay leaders to engage in this work based on their local contexts, capacity, and discernment and implementing the work called for by convention resolutions.

Our 2025 Lenten Appeal will not only support the work of the Sanctuary Committee, but also the Asylum Seekers Emergency Fund, established to help meet the immediate needs of the newest Chicagoans and help put them on a path to independence.

St. Martin's-A Safe Space for LGBTQ+ People

Located in Chicago’s historic Austin neighborhood, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church was founded in 1878 and is one of the few safe spaces for support and community building among LGBTQ+ people on Chicago’s West Side. St. Martin’s plays a vital role in responding both to the needs of their immediate neighborhood as well as their broader context. St. Martin’s describe themselves as” a small congregation with a huge heart for all of God’s people.”



Our 2025 Lenten Appeal will support direct outreach and our growing partnership with St. Martin’s work for the LGBTQ+ community on Chicago’s West Side.



To Donate

Write “Lenten Appeal” on your check or envelope memo or donate online by visiting SaintJamesCathedral.org/give and choosing “ 2025 Lenten Appeal” under Fund.

Music Mondays in Lent Starting March 10

Starting March 10 through April 14, Stephen Buzard, Canon Director of Music, will be featured in the Sermon of the Day videos on Mondays for a special series called Music Mondays.

Experience his musical insights alongside the daily sermon and deepen your connection to worship through music. Subscribe to the Sermon of the Day newsletter below.

We are delighted to welcome two new members to the Cathedral staff:

Beau Surratt (email) joined the Cathedral staff as Associate for Administration and Executive Assistant to the Dean. He has served congregations in the Diocese of Chicago in administrative, communications, operations, and music roles since 2007. The ministry of building and strengthening the administrative infrastructure needed to support vibrant, growing congregations is one of the passions that Beau brings to his role at St. James. Learn more about Beau.

Tamarra Newbern (email) joined the Cathedral staff as Associate for Communications. Tamarra is a communications professional with expertise in media production, live broadcasting, and marketing. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Illinois Springfield and uses her skills to create engaging digital content and strengthen online presence.

If you would like to know more about being Baptized or Confirmed, either for yourself or your child, we are collecting names of people interested in Baptism and Confirmation classes. If you would like to be formally Received into The Episcopal Church or to Reaffirm your baptismal vows, you are also invited to join us for these classes. Please contact Steven Balke to learn more.

A Sabbatical for Stephen Buzard

From May through July, Canon Director of Music Stephen Buzard will be taking a sabbatical. In May, Stephen plans to visit other choir schools and chorister programs in the United States to study how they are structured. In June, he plans to travel to Europe to study, tour breweries of Belgium on a bicycle, and visit the cities in Germany where Bach lived and worked. In July, Stephen will accompany his fiancée Katie Valchar to Seattle where she will be a summer intern at Amazon.

For the month of May through June 1, the music program will be led by world-renowned church musician Walden Moore. Walden retired as Director of Music of Trinity Church, New Haven, in June of 2024, after forty years of serving the parish. At Trinity, he directed the Choir of Adults and Girls, the Choir of Men and Boys, and the Parish Choir of mixed adult voices in a regular schedule of parish services and appearances both inside and outside the parish. He served as Interim Director of Music at St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, CT for five months following his retirement from Trinity. He continues to serve as Adjunct Lecturer in Organ at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music/School of Music where, since 2007, he has co-taught a course in Liturgical Keyboard Skills with colleague Mark Miller. Walden was also Stephen Buzard’s boss and mentor when he served as Organ Scholar at Trinity while a student at Yale. Walden will be assisted by Jessica McCarthy, who will be in charge of the music program for the summer months through July.

A retreat for all current altar servers as well as anyone who wants to learn more about becoming a member of the Altar Guild or helping serve as an acolyte. This will be a Saturday afternoon of prayer, fellowship, and formation together. Please contact the church office at info@saintjamescathedral.org for more information or to sign-up.

St. James Letter Joins "Mountain of Mail" For Bishop Budde



Washington Bishop Mariann Budde has received more than 20,000 pieces of mail since her post-inauguration sermon Jan. 21 at Washington National Cathedral. St. James Dean Lisa Hackney-James and the entire Cathedral congregation are pleased that our letter is a part of that "mountain of mail."

Restore. Reimagine. Rebuild.

St. James Capital Campaign Prayer

Faithful God, you call us to be living stones in a spiritual temple.

Bless the mission and outreach of this cathedral church.

By the power of your Holy Spirit, enable us confidently to restore its fabric,

trustfully to reimagine our vocation, and boldly to renew our ministries in your name.

Make this place a house in which your love dwells

and in which all your people find welcome.

Grant this, we pray, through the One who leads us ever onwards in your service, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.