Thank You

What a fabulous weekend last weekend was! It could not have happened without the generous and tireless efforts of so many. In particular, we would like to thank:

Stan Baker, Maureen Rees, Gretchen Galbraith, and the 50th Anniversary Committee: Buffy Caflisch, Ann Guillot, Tom Rees, and Pamela Van de Graaf. Their thoughtful planning, camaraderie, communication, ticket sales and fundraising, set-up and cleanup, and coordination of housing guests were done with grace and good cheer.

The Flower Guild, along with their friends and family who put together the beautiful arrangements in the Nave and the Parish Hall and helped with decorations in the Parish Hall.

Karl Fandrich, John Montross, Peter Frechette, Bill Wheeler, Kenzo An and Adam Skiff for their behind-the-scenes support.

Former clergy, deacons, musicians, and panelists who traveled to be with us for the weekend and thoughtfully participated in events.

Those who collaborated on the fantastic memory room.

Cecile and Matthew Woodbury and members of the welcome committee who coordinated a festive coffee hour after Sunday's worship service.

Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown for participating in all three days of the celebration.

All who contributed, participated, and celebrated this special milestone in St. Paul's history.

Let's Pretend Caterers, who did a wonderful job at catering Saturday's reception.

You can read Cathedral Square CEO Kim Fitzgerald's reflections on the weekend here.

This Week in the Adult Forum

Adult forum this week examines the Church Year and the various cycles that make up the seasons thereof, as well as the ways we mark life, time, and space together as the Body of Christ. This week allows for more discussion.

There will also be a fun activity and maybe even a surprise for those in attendance.

This Sunday: Help Feed our Neighbors Camped in Battery Park

Join us this Sunday as we gather to provide a sack meal for our neighbors living in tents across Battery Street. We are requesting donations of food appropriate for an individual sack lunch meal, and volunteers to work together to prepare the meals.

Rather than have people sign up for specific items, we are going to take our chances and see what happens when we leave it to the Holy Spirit!

After both 9:00 and 11:00 services this Sunday (Nov 19), we will make sandwiches and/or pack up bags for distribution after or during the 1 p.m. vigil.

From the list below, if you feel so called, please bring food to share that is already individually wrapped or can be used to either make sandwiches. We will make 30 sack lunches. Don't feel that you have to provide 30 of anything! Just bring what you can.

• Good bread
• Peanut butter/jelly
• Sliced meat/cheese for sandwiches
• Apples or fruit
• Cookies (individually wrapped)
• Protein bars
• Anything appropriate / individually wrapped / not easily damaged 

We will provide paper bags and sandwich bags.

Looking forward to all of us working together to feed our neighbors!

Coming Up at St. Paul's

Sunday, November 19: Two services this Sunday! Holy Eucharist, 9 a.m. in person and 11 a.m. in person and live streamed. Help pack and distribute food to our neighbors camped on Battery Street after both services. Adult forum and church school are ON this week!

Tuesday, November 21 - Friday, November 24: Happy Thanksgiving! Cathedral office closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Sunday, November 26: Single worship service at 10 a.m. in person and live streamed, followed by retirement celebration for Mark Howe at Hotel Vermont. There will be no Church School and no Adult Forum this Sunday.

Friday, December 1: Cathedral Arts presents Crossroads, a piano concert performed by Michael Arnowitt. 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $25, and are available via Seven Days.

Friday, December 1 - Saturday, December 2: Wreath Pickup at the Cathedral.

Sunday, December 3: The First Sunday of Advent, Holy Eucharist at 9 a.m. in person and 11 a.m. in person and live streamed. United Thank Offering Ingathering. David Neiweem's first Sunday with us. Please join us downstairs after worship for multi-generational advent wreath making on this Sunday. There will be no Adult Forum.

Saturday, December 9: Susan McMillan ordained at the Cathedral, 11:00 a.m.

2024 Stewardship Update

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their pledge to our 2024 campaign. We have received 88 pledges totaling $247,375, which is 82% of our goal of $300,000.

It's not too late to pledge! Dollars pledged to our 2024 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.

Wreath Project Elves Needed!

Our wreaths are being delivered this Saturday, November 18 before noon. We need some schleppers to carry the wreaths into the left side of the garden shed -new space!

With five or six people, this chore can be accomplished in less than 30 minutes. Dress for the weather, whatever it is. Please let me know if you can help with this and show up by 11:45 or a bit earlier.

THERE'S MORE: We need several more "coners" during Wreath Week (Nov 26-Dec 2). You can get in touch with Barrie Montross who is willing to tutor you in our special St. Paul's wreath look. She'll train you ahead of time. Just ask. The start time on 11/26 will change due to Mark and Sarah's farewell party (sniff!) TBA.

Food Elves Needed to bring lunch at noon, to hungry wreath workers, on Monday 11/27 through Saturday 12/2 . Hearty soups and casseroles, breads (with or without gluten) are much appreciated. We also could use a jug or two of cider and snacks. Let me know if 

know if you could help on this part of the Project. The workers will praise you to the skies. 

After the 11 a.m. coffee hour on November 19, I need a crew of about five sturdy folks who can help me put down the plastic flooring to protect our carpet from the balsam needles and pitch. It isn't a job for one old gal.

Finally, we could still use more clean cones of all sorts and sizes! Drop them off in the Cathedral office at your convenience.

Email or text me (802-734-9349) if you can help with this approaching Wreath Project tasks. You will make us very happy

Penny Pillsbury and team, Deb Altemus, Shannon Williamson, Buffy Caflisch, Ann Guillot 

Cathedral Office to Close Thanksgiving Week

The Cathedral office will be closed Monday, November 20 - Friday, November 24 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

You're Invited: Celebrate Mark Howe's Retirement

On Sunday, November 26 we will gather in one service at 10:00 a.m. Following worship, in lieu of a traditional coffee hour, we invite everyone to head across Cherry street to the Hotel Vermont to celebrate Mark Howe's 24 years at the Cathedral.

All are welcome - you do not need to RSVP to attend. There will be refreshments and a cash bar. We hope you can join us!

Also, through the end of the year, we are accepting donations in Mark's honor to benefit the music programs at the Cathedral. You can give on line or drop your notated checks in the plate on any Sunday.

Cathedral Arts Presents Crossroads, Michael Arnowitt, piano

Pianist, composer, and event organizer Michael Arnowitt is one of the most creative musicians of today. His imaginative musical landscapes, extraordinary sense of touch at the piano, and warm onstage personality have delighted audiences in concert halls around the world. He lives in the USA and Canada and has given piano performances in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Korea.

His life and music are the subject of a documentary film, Beyond 88 Keys (2004). The documentary, filmed in both the USA and Europe, contains footage of concert performances, educational talks, and interviews.

Program

J.S. Bach - My Favorite Fugues - Four selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2

Claude Debussy - Étude no. 3, Pour les quartes (1915)

Victoria Poleva - Ischia Island (2019) and Sonata no. 2 “quasi una fantasia” (2011)

Arthur Lourié - Mazurka op. 7 no. 1 (1912), Intermezzo (1928) and Marche from Quatre pièces (1927)

Arnold Schoenberg - Piano Piece op. 11 no. 1 and Six Small Piano Pieces op. 19

Gustav Mahler - Andante comodo, first movement from Symphony no. 9, transcribed for piano by Iain Farrington

Friday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m. General Admission tickets are $25 for all adults and $15 for students. Tickets may be purchased online through Seven Days.

Make an Offering for Each Blessing With United Thank Offering

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, December 3 at both services 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. 

Multigenerational Advent Wreath Making December 3

Sunday, December 3 is the first Sunday of Advent, and we will be making advent wreaths downstairs in the Parish Hall at 10:00 a.m. between the services. 

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. We hope you will join us!

David Neiweem Named Interim Director of Music

We are thrilled to welcome David Neiweem to the Cathedral as Interim Music Director at St. Paul's while we conduct a search for a permanent replacement for Mark Howe's position.

David recently filled in at the Cathedral for Mark during his sabbatical, and is a well-known fixture of the local music scene, having taught at the University of Vermont from 1982 to 2022. He is also the artistic director of the Aurora Chamber singers. With his extensive experience and musicianship, we are grateful to David for spending the next several months with us.

Susan McMillan to be Ordained

On Saturday, December 9 at 11 a.m., Susan McMillan will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons by Bishop Shannon at the Cathedral.

All are welcome to attend this celebration of Susan's ministry.

The service will also be live streamed via the Cathedral's YouTube channel.

Diocesan Convention Recap

The business portion of the 2023 Diocesan Convention took place on Thursday, November 9. Clergy and lay delegates from parishes around the diocese gathered to pray, debate, and vote.

The diocese passed a balanced $1.47 million budget, adjusted the composition of a key governing body and signaled its desire to remain in relationship with other members of the Anglican Communion, even those who hold punitive attitudes toward queer people, during the business session of its annual convention held November 9 on Zoom.

Here's a brief recap of what happened:

Resolutions

The following resolutions were passed by the convention:

• Revise Canons to Amend Certain 2022 Canon Amendments, as amended.
• Adoption of the FY2024 Integrated Budget for the Diocese of Vermont
• Establishing Recommendations on Cost of Living Increase and Employee Health Insurance Premiums
• Establishing Minimum Clergy Compensation for 2024
• Working for Equity, Support, and Protection of All LGBTQIA+ Anglicans, as amended.
• Appealing to Vermont Elected Officials to End Gun Violence
• Promoting Pesticide Reduction
• Supporting the Vermont Declaration of Inclusion

Nominations

The following nominees were elected:

• Brookhaven Learning and Treatment Center Trustees:
• Commission on Finance: The Rev. Melanie Combs, Rebecca Boucher
• General Convention Alternate Deputies (clergy): The Rev. Earl Kooperkamp, the Rev. Canon Walter Brownridge, the Rev. Amy Spagna, the Rev. Jennie Anderson
• General Convention Alternate Deputies (lay): Lisa Leopold
• Provincial Synod Deputy: Nanci Gordon
• Rock Point Commons Board of Directors: Elizabeth Ferries
• Rock Point School Board of Trustees: Monica Brady-Myerov, Sayeed Hammond, Robin Lloyd-Miller, Mo Reilly, Lorrie Smith
• Standing Committee (clergy): The Rev. Rachel Field
• Standing Committee (lay): Nanci Gordon (4-year term), Judith Rogers (2-year term), Catherine Merrihew (1-year term)
• Trustees of the Diocese: The Rev. David Fredrickson, David Bullock, Lindsey Huddle, Noma Anderson (term expiring in 2025)

Courtesy Resolutions

The 2023 Courtesy resolutions recognize and honor:

• The Philadelphia 11
• The Memory of the Rev. Jane N. Garrett
• Bishop Shannon MacVean-Brown’s Convention Sermon and Address
• The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings and her Mission Leadership Report
• The Rev. Walter Brownridge
• The “Divine Abundance & Inquiry: A Faithful Path” Planning Team
• The Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija
• The Rev. Kathleen Moore
• Those Affected by July 2023 Flooding in Vermont
• The 50th Anniversary of the Consecration of the “New” Cathedral Church of St. Paul Building
• Presiding Bishop Michael Curry for His Call to “Stop the killing.”

Bishop Tom Ely's Cancer Journey

We enjoyed seeing clergy past and present at the Cathedral last weekend, particularly former Bishop of Vermont Tom Ely, who was diagnosed with has been receiving treatment for cancer.

If you would like to follow him on his journey navigating this health challenge, you can read journal entries on his CaringBride page here.

We offer prayers for Bishop Ely and his family.

The Philadelphia Eleven: Film, Discussion, Refreshments

Almost 50 years ago a small group of brave, spirit-filled women faced down the patriarchal traditions and institutional inertia of the Episcopal Church. Their determination to be ordained opened the priesthood to full inclusion - for them and for those who followed. This film chronicles the events leading up to their 'irregular' ordination and its aftermath, while placing events in the context of larger societal changes. Come and be inspired by their faith-filled and courageous actions. Afterwards stay to engage in meaningful conversations.

Sunday, December 10 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets available here.

St. Paul's Church Parish Hall

749 Hartford Ave.

White River Junction, VT

Contact: Jane Carroll, 603-322-3213, [email protected]