CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
MAY 2016 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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Taking Note of the Numbers Mirroring A choir without its sheet music would fall silent, which is why the Cathedral’s music library volunteer, Charlotte Jones, plays such an instrumental role in what parishioners hear each week at services. An alto, Jones pairs her visible participation in the Cathedral Choir with order-restoring tasks behind the scenes, including a bit of detective work when any music goes missing. She makes sure the choristers have – and return – all the music selected for services in support of the Lectionary by Canon for Music Robert Simpson. She might also catalog new music into the collection’s database and figure out where to file it in the music library, located on the second floor of the Latham Building. “Charlotte makes all the music performed possible,” As part of her music library volunteering, chorister Charlotte Jones makes Simpson says. He estimates the sure singers have the correct music — and correct copy of it. collection includes more than Such a mind-boggling count doesn’t seem a thousand pieces of music, each comprised of six to nine pages and duplicated for use by to faze Jones, whose background is in math the Cathedral Choir of 60 members (includ- and science, not library science. She enjoys ing paid staff singers) and the Parish Choir of tending to the collection: “Music is my happy NUMBERS, page 5 20 members.
New Leadership at The Beacon
REBECCA LANDES
THE REV. JIM MORGAN
The Beacon Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Rebecca “Becky” Landes has been selected as chief executive officer of The Beacon. An active participant in the Houston nonprofit community for more than 25 years, Landes most recently served at Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) as vice president of program services. There, she oversaw a $9 million budget for an organization that serves more than 31,000 clients annually. She also served for several
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In early April, I was fortunate to spend several days learning with and from the Franciscan contemplative and spiritual writer, Richard Rohr. The conversations were riveting, and topics ranged from the spiritual practice of contemplation to the cosmic Christ. Sooner or later, THE VERY REV. our discussions always BARKLEY THOMPSON came back around to the questions: “What is the role of the church? How does the church transform lives?” These recurring questions led Richard Rohr to bring up the relationship of a new mother to her baby child. Pediatricians tell us that when a mother nurses her child, two important things occur: one hormonal and the other psychological. Hormonally, oxytocin is released in the mother’s milk and in the mother’s own brain. This is the same swooning hormone released when we fall in love, and the result for the mother and nursing child is similar. Both find themselves awash in feelings of security, acceptance, and mutual love for one another. Psychologically, the nursing baby experiences reality for the first time as reflected in the face of her mother. The child’s very first impression of the world into which she has been born is encompassed by who she sees gazing down upon her. Psychology Today writer Mark Matousek says, “You learn the world from your mother’s face. The mother’s eyes, especially, are a child’s refuge, the mirror where children confirm their existence. From the doting reflection of its mother’s eyes, a baby draws its earliest, wordless lessons about connection, care, and love.” Mirroring in infancy and early
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