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September 13, 2024

From the Deacon

To welcome is to greet in a ‘glad, polite, or friendly way’. We have a handful of folks who do this really well at the door and many of us do this after the service too.

To radically welcome is more of a commitment. When we radically welcome, we accept that someone’s presence changes us. ‘Radical’ means we do not expect someone to simply melt into our ways but we let ourselves be changed. New music, new ways, new foods, new traditions.

Radical is opening our doors AND our hearts. This might include small changes that make us feel a little uncomfortable now and then. A little uncomfortable isn’t so bad, is it?

Let’s talk pronouns. Most of us have encountered the idea that some folks do not identify in a binary (male/female) fashion regarding gender. They are gender non-conforming. One way we can show our respect for another is by simply using the pronouns they prefer. I prefer she/her/hers. Some prefer he/him/his. Others are comfortable with they/them/theirs or ze/hir/hirs. Yes, it can be confusing to use new words or old words in new ways but, before 2020, how often had you used the term ‘social distancing’?

We are going to make the smallest of changes to be more welcoming to people who identify as transgender or non-binary. On our name tags, IF you would like, write your pronouns under your name. (There will be a sharpie at the back table!) If you don’t have a name tag (or want a new one), there is a sign-up sheet on the table at church with a column where you can include your pronouns. No pressure. Go ahead and change your email and zoom signature too.

One last note to ponder… research has shown that trans and non-binary kids who live in a community where their preferred pronouns and their gender identities are not respected are 3-10 times more likely to suffer depression (and worse). Small gestures can be radical AND life affirming. Want to give it a try?

Rev Deacon Susan McMillan (she/her/hers)

Cathedral Church of St. Paul News & Events

Thank You

Many thanks to the team who showed up last Friday to move chairs in preparation for Discipleship Sunday.

Thank you to Gerry Davis for taking photographs at our Discipleship Sunday worship service.

Many thanks to all the ministry leaders for making invitations to the congregation last Sunday. We feel so much gratitude for everyone's work on the Cathedral's behalf!

Thank you to Deacons Susan McMillan and Stan Baker for pulling together the crew from St. Paul's at this year's Burlington pride parade.

Community Agency Liaisons to be Commissioned This Sunday

We hope you will join us this Sunday at church, when we commission our team of Community Agency Liaisons. We hope to celebrate and recognize the impact of volunteer service and harness the power of many individuals coming together to make change. In gathering, we have the power to tackle society's challenges, help build stronger communities, and be a force that transforms the world.

Many thanks to Annegret Schmitt-Johnson and Keith Pillsbury for volunteering to act as liaisons to Spectrum; Katherine Verman and Shannon Williamson and Abbey Miller who have volunteered to be the liaisons to JUMP, thanks to Adam Skiff and Kit Roberts who have volunteered to be the liaisons to the Elmwood Community Shelter, thanks to Sylvia Knight and Bob Wright who will be championing the cause of Migrant Justice, thanks to Susan Simmons, Mary Christiaanse, and Anne Clark for liaising with Feeding Champlain Valley, and thanks to Al Belluche and Ann Giombetti for partnering with COTS.

Community Agency Liaisons are tasked with: 1) building relations with the agency by visiting the site(s) and getting to know the leaders as well as the people they serve; 2) bringing the needs of that organization to the Cathedral to spur concrete, hands-on involvement on the part of adults, families, youth, and children of this faith community; and, 3) meeting as a group with the Dean and Deacons at least twice a year to check in, share, learn, and plan.

Church School Begins This Sunday

Children Ages Four to Eighth Grade Welcome

St. Paul's is the home of a vibrant church family that treasures children of all ages. Opportunities abound for engagement in education, fellowship, service, and fun.

For the month of September, all children ages four through eighth grade are invited to join Children's Formation Coordinator Katie Gonyaw in her classroom (downstairs) after the conclusion of the 10 o'clock worship service. Beginning at the end of September, we are pleased to welcome Ashley Bolger and Nickie Morris as our new middle school classroom teachers. The middle school group - kids in fifth through eighth grade - will begin meeting in a separate space downstairs once they get rolling.

All children are welcome to participate, regardless if they are with us weekly, monthly, or periodically! If you have any questions, please contact Katie Gonyaw to learn more.

This Week in Adult Forum: What We Did and What We Will Do

Adult forum reengages this week, at 11:20 a.m., with many exciting things to cover.

First, we will welcome everyone to this forum, especially those who are now able to join us because of the new timing. Second, we will briefly survey some highlights from last year. Next, we will engage in a discussion of things we would like to see covered in the coming year.

We will do all this while living into what the new timing and format feel like. What are the hot topics? Come and see this Sunday at 11:20 a.m. This is a great time to jump right in. All ages of adults are welcome.

Staffing Changes at St. Paul's

Financial Administrator Barbara Comeau will be leaving her position at the Cathedral at the end of this month.

In her years at St. Paul's, Barb has been instrumental in streamlining financial processes at the Cathedral, a gracious host of off-site staff meetings, and a thoughtful contributor to the staff. She will be sorely missed!

Financial responsibilities of the Cathedral will be taken over by Cathedral Administrator Jennifer Sumner. Thank you for your patience as we work to make this transition as seamless as possible.

Cathedral Arts Launches New Website

The Cathedral Arts committee has been hard at work for some time developing a standalone website for Cathedral Arts. This new site helps establish Cathedral Arts as a separate organization, expanding the scope of grant funding available. More importantly, it is a helpful tool for all the information you need to join us for concerts!

Many thanks to the Cathedral Arts committee, especially Kevin Trainor, Court Noyes, and Matthew Woodbury for their hard work on the site. Check it out at www.cathedralarts.org, or you can find it linked via the Cathedral Arts tab on the St. Paul's website.

Cathedral Arts Presents the Burlington Baroque Festival

Don't miss the first annual Burlington Baroque Festival, with five performances over four days featuring Montréal's Juno Award-winning period instrument orchestra ensemble L'Harmonie des Saisons performing with internationally acclaimed vocal soloists, and the Burlington Baroque Festival Singers, all under the direction of Eric Milnes.

All performances take place September 26 - 29 and are hosted at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul. This is a ticketed event.

As this is a multi-event series, ticket prices will vary by event. To learn more and purchase tickets, go to the Burlington Baroque Festival website.

Pride Banner Installation Video

In case you thought installing a banner on the Cathedral building was a simple affair - check out this video, produced by Peter Berton, of the intrepid crew of volunteers getting it done on a windy day!

Champlainopoly© is Coming to Stores Near You This December

Cathedral Arts has launched a fundraising board game to engage the local business community, benefiting Cathedral Arts visibility, programming, infrastructure, and education. Designed over the next three weeks, the game will celebrate the Vermont side of the Champlain Valley with a limited inaugural edition of 1,500 copies.

Would you like to join Meredith Bass, Peter Berton, and Mary Harwood in hoisting a pen or a sample game on our design team? This is quick non-nonsense sales work, ending Sept 23. Click here for a list of prospective "asks" not yet assigned; if you know someone connected with one of these institutions you're a natural! (An additional 40 asks are in progress.)

For further details, contact Peter at pberton@stpaulscathedralvt.org.

Compline Schedule Change

Did you know that St. Paul's offers Compline twice per week, on Thursdays and Sundays at 9 p.m. via Zoom? Consider joining this faithful group for a service of quietness and reflection before rest at the end of the day.

You can join using the link here. All are welcome.

United Thank Offering

Gratitude is a pretty simple concept, but is something that many people find hard to practice. Being grateful requires simply noticing something good in your life and responding with thanks. Noticing more good things, feeling gratitude for them, and thanking the people who made those good things possible builds positivity and happiness in both the grateful person and the thanked people.

Because learning to be grateful requires practice, UTO provides materials and creates opportunities for anyone to begin or deepen a gratitude practice. There are many good things that happen in our lives that we can’t say thank you for, such as a beautiful sunrise or recovery from illness. In these moments, UTO members make a thank offering either online or in a Blue Box as a way of sharing their gratitude.

If you have a UTO Blue Box, this is your reminder to drop a little change into it when you're feeling gratitude. If you don't have a Blue Box - grab one off the Narthex table next time you're in church. We'll have our traditional UTO ingathering in November.

Children's Corner

Church school begins this Sunday! We'll continue to publish the Sunday Paper weekly. To view or download the Sunday Paper for this Sunday, click here.

If you have questions, please contact Katie Gonyaw at kgonyaw@stpaulscathedralvt.org.

From Out of Vermont Kitchens: Recipe of the Week

This week's recipe is a simplified version of a classic Greek casserole dish and a great way to showcase late summer produce.

Mock Moussaka

Excerpted from the introduction of the 1990 edition of Out of Vermont Kitchens:

Let us Let

St. Paul's Cathedral published our first cookbook, Out of Vermont Kitchens, in 1939. The world and the small corner of it that is Vermont were very much different then, and yet some things stay the same. The values that first book represents - fresh ingredients cooked with pleasure and creativity for family and friends - are with us still today.

Vermont itself is a blend of old and new, a study in contrasts. It is still a rural state with many small family dairy farms and sugarbushes, but in recent years an influx of new residents from "down country" has brought us new life and richness with their interest organic gardening, sheep raising, and the production of a variety of cheeses and homecooked products now sold far beyond our borders. While treasuring our wonderful maple syrup and dairy products, we also welcome the addition of a broadened range of produce, herbs and spices to our shelves.

Vermont is a place of distinct seasons and sometimes harsh climate, but always of outstanding beauty. Much of our life continues to involve church suppers, town fairs, country auctions, and rigorous outdoor activity, along with a penchant for self-reliance and the homegrown. Our more recent neighbors have often settled here because they too love these simper pastimes and values. Those of us fortunate enough to live here wouldn't be any other place.

So come into our kitchens. Sit down and browse awhile through our recipe files and well-thumbed favorites. Then join us around the table to share a dish that, in the universal spirit of kitchen creativity, you have made your own.

Join Us For Worship

Join us for our Worship, in person or via our Live Stream on YouTube.

Holy Eucharist, 10 a.m. in person and Live Streamed.

You can view or download the order of worship on our website.

Other Regular Services

All are welcome to join us for our weekday services:

Morning Prayer, Monday - Friday at 8:30 a.m. on Zoom.

Tuesday - Friday at 8:30 a.m. in person

Compline, Sundays and Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on Zoom.

For Our Prayers This Week

We pray for blessings and joy for those who celebrate birthdays this week: Erin Kranichfeld, Marley Skiff, Jody Kebabian.

Let us name before God those for whom we offer our prayers: Keith Pillsbury; Lynne Dapice; Kitty Noyes; Ken's father; Patti's father; Mike Bell; Jane and Zibilla Wolfe; Laurie Donaldson; Gail Ernevad; Barbie Kimberly; Debby Galbraith; Stan Walker; Katie and baby; Aimee Viens; Vaughn Altemus; Tom Ely; Alice Van Buren; Jim and Linda Larson; Gina Hilo; Ben; Alex Versaw; Steve Burns; Barbara; Genevieve; Jaya and Abby Kelly; Fran Carlson, Devin Starlanyl; Karin Davis; Jay Slobodzian; Thomas McGrade; Ashton Christy; Randy and Ruth Booze; Jennifer Jenkins; Michael Fay; Henry Maciejewski; P.J.; John; The Anthony Family in Moscow, Russia; Marie Cole; Kim Martin; Helene; Nancy Johnson; Ella Baskett; Mary Magot; Jean Erno; Jackie; Lillian Robinson; Peter Adams; Elizabeth Webster; Pat Barra; Debbie Altemus; Vaughn Altemus; Naomi Hodgett; Helen McGrath; and Mary Carter. For Ukraine and those fleeing its borders and for the people of Russia, and the ongoing wars in Sudan, Myanmar and Ethiopia. For peace in Jerusalem and between Israel and Palestine. For all victims of gun violence. For all who grieve.

For al

We pray for those who are in the discernment process: Henry Kellogg.

We pray for the repose of the soul of those who have died: Peter Murray.

Quote of the Week

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy,

they are the gardeners who make our souls bloom."

-- Marcel Proust

Lessons for September 15: The Season After Pentecost,

Proper 19

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Community News & Events

2024 Diocesan Convention Registration Open

The 2024 Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont will be held in two parts. An in-person portion will be held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul on November 9 and the business session will be held online on November 14.

Registration for diocesan convention is now open.

Submission Deadline for St. Paul's eNews

This weekly e-newsletter is circulated on Fridays. Please send your submissions to Jennifer Sumner at admin@stpaulscathedralvt.org by noon on Wednesday. Thank you.