from the Rev. Canon Lauren Holder
Grace and peace to you on this beautiful day, Wednesday, July 8, in the year 2020. I am Lauren Holder, Canon for Community and Education at the Cathedral of St. Philip, here to deliver this week’s Parish Notices.
I am especially excited today because of an initiative we announced yesterday in partnership with Emmaus House. We’ve been working with a non-profit organization called Rest-In-Peace Medical Debt to determine how much medical debt is located in and around Peoplestown. The grand total? 11.5 million dollars. And while that sounds like a lot, we can retire the entire amount by raising $115,000. No, that’s not fuzzy math! For every dollar given, $100 in debt is forgiven. A $100 donation forgives $10,000 in debt, and a $1,000 donation forgives $100,000 in medical debt… isn’t that amazing? You can read more about this joint effort—and donate!—by checking the Cathedral Times or the Cathedral’s Outreach page.
The Farmers Market is open for online orders now, and will be open for in-person shopping this Saturday from 8:30 to noon. We ask that your bring your mask—and wear it! But please leave your furry friends at home.
The Cathedral Book Store is open Monday through Saturday and offers curbside pick-up. I know they have several copies of the book, Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey, which I’ll be leaning on the next several weeks for our Sunday School class addressing How to Talk to Our Kids About Race. You can join me for that class at either 10:10 a.m. or 8 p.m. from anywhere via Zoom! Check the Cathedral Times for more information.
Also on Sunday, the Rev. Julia Mitchener continues teaching about Freedom in our Old Fashioned Sunday School Class at 10:10 a.m. Come join the conversation about Biblical understandings of freedom, and how these compare and contrast with postmodern American ideas.
Finally, we continue to worship together virtually during this Season of Social Distance for the Common Good. We long to worship with one another in person! Yes! And we long to care for our community, especially the most vulnerable among us, by waiting until it is safe for large groups to gather. You may have noticed the beautiful flowers adorning the altar these past several Sundays. I am so grateful for the Flower Guild’s work to adorn our sacred spaces and enrich our online worship. If you would like to donate for altar flowers to be given in memory or thanksgiving of loved once, please see the Cathedral Times for information on how to do so.
Friends, thank you for all the ways you are connecting with us and connecting with one another. We need each other. We miss you, we love you, we are praying for you, and we look forward to worshipping with you from your living room, kitchen table, or wherever you find yourself this Sunday morning.
Here endeth the Parish Notices for Wednesday, July 8, in the year 2020.