From the Deacon

I spoke with a parishioner the other day. They were struggling with how to counter the fear and uncertainty that had creeped into their home after the election. And their strategy is an antidote available to all of us. 

Acts of kindness ~ randomly delivered to the people in their lives. They’ve baked cookies and delivered flowers. In the face of fear and sadness, they are choosing love and kindness. Every day. 

Random. Beautiful. Faithful. 

And courageous. Maya Angelou told us, "it takes courage to be kind." It takes courage to be fearful and grieving and to take a deep breath and choose to be kind to whoever God puts in front of you today. 

The psychologist and Auschwitz survivor, Dr. Edie Eger wrote:

“Heroism is a mind-set or an accumulation of our personal and social habits... To be a hero requires making an active attempt to address injustice or create positive change in the world. To be a hero requires great moral courage.”

We each have this superpower. No matter where you find yourself today, you have the innate superpower to be kind. Kindness cultivates love.

And this person I spoke to? They have seen their deeds brighten the lives of the recipients. I only disagree when they claim what they are doing is ‘something small.’ These are not gestures of kindness. They are the incarnation of love Jesus asks of us. 

Go on. Be a superhero today. No cape required.

The Rev. Deacon Susan McMillan

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who helped support November's fantastic Cathedral Arts concerts!

Thank you to Maureen Rees and Chris Sears for creating the beautiful arrangement last week, and to the flower guild for moving all the greenery to other parts of the Cathedral to make space for the flowers.

United Thank Offering Ingathering This Sunday

The United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through UTO, individuals are invited to embrace and deepen a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude. UTO encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings, and to distribute the 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Traditionally Thanksgiving has been a time when we remember UTO at St. Paul's. On Sunday, November 24 we ask that you bring your (filled) blue UTO boxes to church so that we can make them part of our offering. UTO funds many Episcopal Church outreach initiatives, including one here at our Cathedral some years ago when we needed a new sound system. 

If you would like to make a donation to the United Thank Offering online this year, you can do so using the link here, and entering the amount on the UTO line. 

This Week in Adult Forum: Christ the King and the American Civil Religion 

This week’s adult forum pursues the dual topics of the American Civil Religion (those rituals and traditions that inform our citizenship in the United States), and the notion of Christ as Monarch. How do these concepts coexist? Where do they clash?

Come find out this Sunday after worship and a snack. Questions and discussion are encouraged.

Wreath Project Begins This Week

The Wreath Project starts this Saturday! 

Thank you to those of you who have collected pine cones and brought them to the Cathedral for this year's Wreath Project! 

At this point, we have plenty of white pine, but are in need of any other type of cones, especially spruce. Small nuts and seed pods are always useful and add variety to each arrangement. 

This project is truly a church wide effort. We greatly appreciate your providing us with the materials to create these magnificent wreaths.

Barrie Montross

A reminder that volunteers are sought to store wreaths and install plastic flooring at 11 a.m. this Saturday.

Dossals and Banners and Lighting (Oh My!)

Join the dossal crew after worship this Sunday, November 24. With Christmas approaching, it will be time for a change in the dossal in the chancel. The great dossal will be brought down and rolled up for storage.  At the same time the cross may be removed from the chancel wall AND the O Antiphon banners will be put in place under the direction of Judith McManis. 

While we have the big ladder out - we can replace the back row of ceiling lights in the chancel. This banner and light changing will require at least a couple people who have good balance and are willing to climb to the top of the 16 foot step ladder. It is very sturdy and safe and there are usually a number of people available to steady the base of the ladder.  

Please consider helping. The camaraderie is great and you learn some things about the Cathedral and its people.

Announcements will be made during the service as a reminder.

2025 Stewardship Campaign

Thank you to everyone who pledged to our 2025 stewardship campaign! We have currently received over $263,000 from 81 pledgers.

It is not too late to pledge! The dollars pledged to our 2025 campaign will be used to fund our operating budget - salaries, utilities, outreach programs, and much more. Donating to St. Paul's Annual Giving campaign enables us to accurately budget each year.

If you did not receive one in the mail, pledge packets are available on the Narthex table, or pledges can also be made online using the link here. If you would like a pledge packet mailed to you, please reach out to Jennifer in the Cathedral office (admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org, or 802-864-0471). 

Housing Sought for Couple in Need

Do you have an extra bedroom? Want to learn a little Spanish? Or just want some company around the house?

You may have seen our friends Kim and Luis at the Cathedral. They have slept in their car in our parking lot, joined us for worship, and sat in at Adult Forum. For a few weeks, they had housing but we are looking again for a room for them. They are working with HomeShareVT but haven't found a match yet. Kim and Luis are volunteering during the day and Kim is about to start a job but housing is almost non-existent. They don't need much space and are good roommates. Kim's English is better every day and Luis is a pro at Google Translate while he works on his second language. And Luis loves to cook!

Please contact Deacon Susan if you are interested. No obligation if you are just 'home-share-curious'!

Younger Adults Day-Before-Thanksgiving Dinner with Dismas House

On Wednesday, November 27, the younger adults of the parish will prepare and share dinner with the men at Dismas House, located at 96 Buell St. in Burlington. There are 10 people in the house (including two who do not eat pork, and two vegetarians). Unfortunately, children are not able to be a part of this gathering.

If you are a Younger Adult, and would like to be a part of the ministry of preparation, hospitality, or both, please email Bobby for the particulars. 

Thanksgiving Pies for Pods

Kit Roberts and Adam Skiff, St. Pauls' liaisons to the Elmwood Pod Community, have arranged a great way for us to help out our neighbors living at the Elmwood Pods. To round out the Thanksgiving celebration that the staff is preparing for residents, we will be contributing eight (dessert) pies ~ thus, Pies for Pods! 

If you'd like to help with this, please email sumac1961@gmail.com and let us know what kind of pie you will bring. Pies must be dropped off in disposable tins at the Cathedral Wednesday Nov 27 between 9 a.m. and noon. Thank you!

Cathedral Hours Thanksgiving Week

The Cathedral office will be open Tuesday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week, but we will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dedication of a Zimbelstern in Honor of Mark Howe

On Sunday, December 1 after worship, we will dedicate the organ's newest feature, the zimbelstern, to former Music Director and Canon Precentor Mark Howe.

If you look closely at the middle of the organ casing in the sanctuary, you can now see a golden star. The star is part of the zimbelstern, a special-effects organ stop that creates a tinkling sound by rotating a star or wheel with small bells attached. The name translates to "cymbal star" in German.

We dedicate the zimbelstern on Advent 1 to mark a new beginning. The dedication will include prayers and requests for grace to hear God's purpose in the instrument, and honor and love for the years that Mark played and cared for the organ at St. Paul's.

Multigenerational Advent Wreath Making

Sunday, December 1 is the first Sunday of Advent, and we will be making advent wreaths downstairs in the Parish Hall at 11 a.m. after worship. 

There will be greens, candles and rings for children and adults who would like them. If you have an advent wreath ring from past years, please bring it with you. 

This event functions as the Adult Forum this week. We hope you'll join us.

St. Paul's Morning Prayer to Explore the Apocrypha

Did you know that every weekday morning, a faithful group of parishioners and friends gather on Zoom and in the Cathedral to pray Morning Prayer together, to support one another, and to pray for the needs of our community, diocese, state, and world?

The service of Morning Prayer has a lectionary (a system of assigned readings) that we use every day. That lectionary, which spans across two years, includes the bulk of scripture available to us in both the Old and New Testaments. It doesn't, however, include the scripture available to us in what is known as the Apocryphal or Deuterocanonical Books. These ancient texts were originally part of the oral and written traditions prior to the full separation of Christianity from Judaism and are included in the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. They did not, however, "make the cut" to be included in the Bible as we know it today.

Seven of these books - Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom of Solomon, 1st and 2nd Maccabees, and the Greek additions to Daniel and Esther - are considered canonical by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. The Protestant church (which includes the Episcopal church) and modern Rabbinic Judaism consider the books to be Apocryphal, or of doubtful authorship or authenticity. For Protestants and Jews they are to be considered useful for personal faith but not to be used for corporate worship.

We thought it would be interesting and fun (and sometimes boring - the Wisdom of Solomon goes on and on...) to read the Apocryphal books as our first lesson in Morning Prayer beginning in Advent and continuing all the way through to the end, which will take nearly two years. To that end, we have created a lectionary from the Apocrypha that we will use to ensure that we read every bit of it! We've also included some information about each book, using the Harper Collins Study Bible copyright 2006 as our guide.

You are always welcome to join us M-F at 8:30 for Morning Prayer. The Zoom link is on the front of our web page! We will publish the schedule for reading the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books next week.

Support COTS Efforts to End Homelessness in our Community

Last Sunday Jonathan Farrell, COTS Executive Director, participated in our service and gave over dozen folks an update on COTS (formally known as Committee on Temporary Shelter). We all learned a lot about the specifics of what one local organization is doing to address homelessness in our community.  

One of the ways that our church community can support COTS is being a volunteer at the annual December Phonathon Fundraiser from Monday, Dec 2 to Thursday, Dec 5 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. each night.  

Visit COTS website for details and a link to sign up to make calls.

For those new to phonathons, a bit nervous about making calls, or just want some fun camaradery, we will host a Calling Party at St Paul’s on Wednesday Dec 4th from 5:30-8:00 p.m. We will supply pizza and drinks, and parking will be free. Please bring a charged laptop and cellphone and any charging cords as needed.

If you are coming to St Paul’s Calling Party on Wednesday December 4, at 5:30 please RSVP by December 3 to Al Belluche at albelluche@gmail.com and include any special dietary needs. Also sign up on the COTS Website as that is how you will receive your call list and instructions. We will have people able to assist you with the technology as needed.

Younger Adults Advent (Holiday) Party

The Younger Adults of the parish – defined as 18+ (after-high-school) to 40ish – will gather for a festive, catered gathering encompassing Advent and Anticipating Christmas, on Friday, December 6th, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Childcare is provided. Children are invited to dress in their pajamas for a movie night in a separate space in the Cathedral, where they will get pizza. 

Childcare for Younger Adults Advent Party

As you may have seen the Younger Adults of the parish will gather Friday evening, December 6th.

As such, we are in need of faithful St. Paul's parishioners to spend time with our youngest followers of Jesus. Perhaps you miss the times you spent with your own family. Perhaps you want to repay all the kindness you were shown by those who helped to care for your children. Whatever the case, if you have a special place in your heart for children, you are invited to be a part of the team that will spend time with the children of our Young Adults so they can get to know one another without the small (in size) large (in scope) demands for their time.

If you are able to help in this way, please email Bobby for the particulars. Thank you so much in advance. 

Cathedral Arts and Vermont Choral Union Present Handel's Messiah

George Frederic Handel composed Messiah, an English language oratorio that traces the story of Jesus Christ, in 1741.

After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity and eventually became one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral pieces in Western music. The ‘Hallelujah’ chorus is one of the most famous pieces of Baroque choral music and the most widely known section of the work. Though it was originally written for Easter, Handel’s eminently singable Messiah has also become a mainstay of the festive season. 

Join us for two performances at the Cathedral:

Sunday, December 8 at 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

Tickets available from 7Days Ticketing.

Justice Speaks: Liberation Theology at Work

This October, farmworkers launched a Hannaford consumer pledge as part of the Milk with Dignity Campaign.

For five years, Migrant Justice has called on Hannaford to sign on to a program that would protect the rights of workers within their dairy supply chain. But Hannaford has refused to engage with Migrant Justice, in spite of documented human rights abuses within their supply chain. 

As your Parish Liaison to Migrant Justice, I am bringing their request to Hannaford customers in our parish: please show support for farmworkers experiencing harm on dairy farms in Hannaford’s supply chain by pledging to never cross a picket line. We want to show Hannaford that farmworkers are not alone!! Take a minute to show your solidarity with farmworkers and sign the Milk with Dignity consumer pledge today! 

Gustavo Gutierrez (see previous Justice Speaks) taught about God’s special love for the poor as shown in scripture. He saw oppressive poverty as a kind of violence depriving people of life, as a violation of God’s will. Reading his work and being an ally of Migrant Justice, I can see that our salvation, indeed our liberation, is bound up with the liberation of vulnerable people from systems that exploit them and cause their suffering. As Christians we are called to compassion, resistance to oppression, and solidarity with movements like Migrant Justice for deep reform. Emmanuel, God with us. 

I have signed the consumer pledge. Will you join me? Please let me know at sknightinvt73@gmail.com.

Sylvia Knight

(photo: Migrant Justice staff hands request to customer in Middlebury, VT)

Coming up at St. Paul's

• Saturday, November 23: Wreath delivery and installation of plastic sheeting on the floors in the Parish Hall. 11 a.m.

• Sunday, November 24: Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m. United Thank Offering (UTO) ingathering - bring your blue box to church! After worship, help take down the patchwork dossal in the Nave and hang the O Antiphons dossals. No Church School this Sunday.

• Wednesday, November 27: Younger Adults prepare and serve a Day-Before-Thanksgiving dinner at the Dismas House in Burlington.

• Thursday November 28 - Friday, November 29: Cathedral office closed for Thanksgiving.

• Sunday, December 1: The First Sunday of Advent, Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m. Celebrate the dedication of the zimbelstern on the organ in honor of former Music Director and Canon Precentor Mark Howe. Coffee Hour will be upstairs in the Narthex. Multi-generational Advent wreath making in the parish hall following worship. Wreath week begins!

• Wednesday, December 4: COTS phonathon callers meet at the Cathedral, 5:30 p.m.

• Friday, December 6 - Saturday, December 7: Wreath Pickup at the Cathedral.

• Friday, December 6: Younger Adults potluck gathering at the Cathedral, 5 - 7 p.m.

• Sunday, December 8: The Second Sunday of Advent. Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m. Cathedral Arts and Vermont Choral Union present two performances of Handel's Messiah at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. This is a ticketed event.

• Tuesday, December 10: Cathedral Arts presents Peter Berton on the organ performing merry music for Advent and Christmastide, noon. This is a free concert.

• Sunday, December 15: The Third Sunday of Advent. Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m. O Antiphons, 5 p.m.

• Sunday, December 22: The Fourth Sunday of Advent, Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m. Decorating of the Nave, 11:30 a.m.

• Tuesday, December 24: Christmas Eve, Holy Eucharist and Christmas Pageant, 4 p.m. Holy Eucharist, 10 p.m.

• Wednesday, December 25: Christmas Day, Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m.