Dear friends,

It has been a busy last few months! Cathedral Day, two ordinations, two O Antiphon services, a few funerals, a wedding, and many more on the horizon! None of our cathedral liturgies would be possible without our talented and passionate liturgical ministers, and so I am grateful for everyone's hard work at pitching in to make our worship possible.

This last week or so, I've been engrossed in news from Lambeth. If that's not something you follow or are aware of, you might check out this one-page document from TEC's website that summarizes the goals of the Lambeth Conference. Not surprisingly, when you gather Christians from different backgrounds and locations, even Anglican Christians, there is going to be some disagreement. And there has been plenty of disagreement at this year's Lambeth. There have also been many moments of beauty, of witness to God's love, of opening up and listening. And that has maybe changed some hearts...with God's help.

What I am reminded of in seeing the news from Lambeth, and the work and witness of the bishops, is how precious the gift of communication is. Each encounter we have with another person grants us a gift to share each other's stories. It is in these encounters of sharing and listening and communicating that our bonds of humanity are strengthened. We share so much in common with our fellow humans, as Bishop Curry loves to remind us (have you heard his On Being podcast with Russell Moore?). The things that are different between us are so very small in number compared to the vast majority of similarities that humans have in common with each other.

I am grateful for the work and witness that we have as Christians among each other. Our moments of encounter offer us those sacred opportunities to share our stories, and to hear others' stories. Our work as liturgical ministers forms us to be the Body of Christ in the world, to serve each other, regardless of those few differences that might exist between us. We are strengthened when we come together as fellow human beings in need of love and forgiveness and strength. The Eucharist forms us for that every week, reminding us that God is our strength, and that we are already forgiven.

May God continue to strengthen us in love, and in those moments when we fall short, knowing that we are already forgiven, may God give us the strength to get back up and try again. We are truly blessed.

You are invited! The next Liturgical Minister Training will be on Saturday morning, September 24 from 9am-noon in the nave. This training will only be offered in person. All current liturgical ministers, and those interested in liturgical ministries, are asked to attend one of these liturgical minister trainings at least once every three years. We offer them twice a year, once in Eastertide, and again in September after Labor Day.

All current Liturgical Ministers are invited to attend the plenary, and then also one of the two breakouts either before or after the plenary depending on the ministry(ies) you're involved in. The goal is that everyone active in Liturgical Ministries attend one of these trainings at least every three years, so if you haven't attended one in a while, please join us! The training won't be offered again until after Easter next year. Please contact me if you have any questions. There is no need to sign up ahead of time...just show up. There will be coffee!

We have begun to work on the September-December liturgical ministry schedule. All liturgical ministers were emailed on July 21 and July 28 requesting your unavailable dates before the schedule is completed. If you have not yet updated your Ministry Scheduler Pro (MSP) profile with your unavailable dates, please do so no later than Sunday, August 7 so that you are not scheduled on your unavailable dates. Click here to log in to MSP to input your unavailable dates.

Thank you, and if you have any questions about scheduling, please speak to your ministry leader, or email Michael Seewer.

Please read the below updates for the ministries you are involved in. Any questions? Please speak to your ministry leader or to Michael Seewer!

In recent weeks, Senior Warden Emily Meeks has been working with Sacristan Michael Seewer and Communications Director Greg Bloch to improve awareness of and signage directing people to the two all-gender restrooms on the fifth floor of Cathedral House. So far, we have added a blurb to the 9am and 11am service leaflets informing people of this information. We also want to make sure that all volunteers are aware of the location of these restrooms so that you can direct people to them if they ask!

If someone asks for the location of the all-gender restrooms, we are hoping you can either take them there, or explain to them how to get there!

As you may have read in recent cathedral newsletters, the Sunday Evening Contemplative Eucharist is getting a reboot as of this Sunday, August 7. The Sunday Evening Contemplative Eucharist, which occurs every Sunday at 7pm in Thomsen Chapel, is a long-standing service of Saint Mark's and is quite different from our Sunday morning Eucharistic liturgies. This service engages meditative music and moments of silence, framed by readings and prayers, and the holy meal of the Eucharist.

As part of this rebooted liturgy, we are hoping to find existing chalice bearers who might be willing to serve chalice once or twice in a four-month period. Even if the 7pm service isn't a service you regularly attend, you are welcome to assist by occasionally serving chalice at this service. Currently we only have one active chalice bearer for this liturgy, and so the presider is serving both the bread and the chalice at most services. Having a chalice bearer at every Sunday evening service would be a welcomed addition to correspond with the updated liturgy.

If you have questions, or might be interested in supporting this ministry, please email Michael Seewer, or one of the priests!

Saint Mark's will offer another Taizé Prayer liturgy on Tuesday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the nave. All are welcome! The first two Taizé Prayer services earlier this year (April 5 and June 7) were well received, and we hope to continue offering Taizé Prayer services in the new year approximately once every three months.

Another Taizé service will be on Tuesday, November 8 at 7pm in the nave. The Taizé ministry committee is considering additional services in the new year...stay tuned!

If you are interested in assisting with the leadership of our Taizé Prayer services, either musically or otherwise, please let me know! Send me an email at [email protected], or come talk to me. You do not have to have Taizé experience or be a professional musician. Or speak to the other members of the Taizé ministry committee: Hannah Hochkeppel, Natalie Willis, Jane Carter, or Arthur Lee. Thank you!

A few weeks ago, I received a lovely note from Canon Michael Kleinschmidt on behalf of the American Guild of Organists. I wanted to share a part of that note with everyone:

I echo Michael's and the AGO's gratitude for everyone, both behind the scenes and in the liturgy as well, who helped make the July O Antiphons services possible. As odd as it was to have an Advent service in July, it all came together beautifully and God was glorified!

Mark your calendars for the next four Worship and Prayer Committee Meetings! These meetings occur on Zoom and allow the Saint Mark's community to discuss and discern the worship and prayer life at Saint Mark's together, and with clergy and Saint Mark's staff present.

Meetings are currently meeting on Zoom from 1:30-3pm on the Sundays noted. If the time or location changes, communication will be shared informing of the updates.

All are invited and welcome to attend these meetings! To attend, please email me to let me know you'd like to join. I'll add you to the list of recipients, and you will receive an agenda in the days prior to each meeting. We often discuss an article, in addition to reflecting on recent liturgies at Saint Mark's. All of that is communicated in the email sent to those interested in the days prior to each meeting.

If you have any questions, let me or Dean Thomason know. We hope to see you at one of the upcoming meetings!