CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
JUNE 2017 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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Rewinding Babel
Sunday, June 4, is Pentecost. It’s a weird day, when strange things happen. It’s a day with which our Pentecostal brothers and sisters are very comfortable, but which we Episcopalians find discomfiting. In order fully to understand Pentecost, we have to travel much further back in history THE VERY REV. BARKLEY than the time of Jesus. THOMPSON We must travel, in fact, to pre-recorded history, to a time just after Noah’s Great Flood, a time (we are told in Genesis) when all the people of the earth spoke the same language. People were connected, and communicated with one another, but in their affinity for each other they forgot— or willfully ignored—the God who created them in love. At a place called Babel, they decided to build a tower that would reach to the heavens and block out God, in order to demonstrate their own selfsufficiency. So God knocked them from their tower and bewitched their tongues. God gave them different languages, so they could no longer understand one another, and God scattered them across the earth. Thus began a human predicament. Because we are detached from the God who made us in love, we are detached from one another. Because we often lack an ability to connect, to understand—which is both a lack of language and a lack of empathy—we take the path of least resistance. We keep our heads down. We avert our eyes. We seek anonymity, even in crowded places. We pursue what we need for our own ends and get out as quick as we can. Heck, we do all these things even in the church! But on that day of the first Christian Pentecost, something different happens.
BABEL, page 2
An array of Mexican pastries and hot chocolate, both made in-house, at the brunch buffet at nearby Xochi.
Breaking bread after church
Several new restaurants near the Cathedral have opened this past spring, offering parishioners a bevy of walk-to culinary diversions to sample after Sunday services, Summer Place programming, or The Well. One block north of the Cathedral is the new Pearl Restaurant & Bar at the Sam Houston Hotel, 1117 Prairie St. Located within the revamped 1924 landmark building, the
restaurant’s menu by chef Chris Loftis features Gulf Coast dishes at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Young diners can find simple fare in the sides (like macaroni and cheese). Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Info at pearlrestauranthouston.com or call 832-200-8800. Mars Bakery, Moku (Poke) Bar, and Arte Pizzeria opened up this spring at the
RESTAURANTS, page 6
New Hines Center Executive Director named The Board of Directors for the Bishop John E. Hines Center for Spirituality & Prayer is pleased to announce that Monica GrinagePrince became the Hines Center Executive Director on May 22. Prior to her appointment, Monica served as team leader for the International Facility Management Association, managing and facilitating global events and conferences. Most recently, she traveled from Houston to facilitate a conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Monica’s colleagues speak of her in glowing terms, saying, “Monica is excellent working with volunteers, board members, and managing communications and speakers.” Monica grew up in Lansing, Michigan, going to her mother’s choir practice at church, where she says the sacred music settled into her consciousness and informed her spirituality and faith. She attended college at Tennessee State University in Nashville. Of her new role, Monica says, “I am grateful and honored for the
HINES DIRECTOR, page 8
MONICA GRINAGE-PRINCE