May 2020 Bulletin by Christ Church Cathedral

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas

MAY 2020 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG

AFTER-HOURS EMERGENCY CARE LINE | 713-826-5332

Reminded of the meaning of life In our contemporary world, distractions abound that allow us to ignore questions of ultimate meaning and purpose. Our material abundance, including the endless string of gadgets that supersede one another every year; our access to infinite information that prevents us from any idle moments in which to ponder and dream; our freedom of movement, both physical and virtual, which enables us THE VERY REV. to experience new places BARKLEY whenever the usual gets THOMPSON stale all provide means by which to elude the deep questions of existence. Or, perhaps more accurately, all these things grant us the pretense that the ultimate answer to life’s ultimate question…is us. We tacitly believe that we are the center of the universe; everything revolves around our wants and needs. Prior generations didn’t have this luxury. As Robert Nicholson recently pointed out in The Wall Street Journal, “Our ancestors’ lives were guaranteed to be short and painful. The lucky ones survived birth. The luckier ones made it past childhood. We now float in an anomalous world of air conditioning, 911 call centers, acetaminophen, and pocket-size computers containing nearly the sum of human knowledge. We reduced nature to ‘the shackled form of a conquered monster,’ as Joseph Conrad once put it, and took control of our fate.” That is, until now. The past 45 days have reminded us of our contingency and fragility. A virus has emerged against which we have no natural or pharmacological defense. In our efforts to stave it off, we have cloistered ourselves in our homes,

The Cathedral Good Neighbor program launches Jody Gillit considers her position as the Minister for Pastoral Care at Christ Church Cathedral both a job and a vocation. Although relatively new to the role — as she started last July — Gillit is more than meeting the challenge of creating community in the face of the mandated social isolation of COVID-19. While she first prioritized connecting with older parishioners, Gillit soon realized that she needed to broaden her scope.

“It wasn’t just an issue for those 75 years and older,” Gillit says. Because there are only five lay chaplains and more than 3,000 members, Gillit knew she needed to make the system for reaching out more manageable. Thus the “Cathedral Good Neighbor” program was created. Step one was working with the church’s online database, creating groups of 25 households

NEIGHBOR, page 8

Callaham to depart

MEANING OF LIFE, page 3 THE REV. ARTHUR A. CALLAHAM

After six years of dedicated service as Canon Vicar, Art Callaham has announced that he has accepted the position of Chaplain at Episcopal High School here in Houston. A beloved vicar, Callaham’s tenure at the Cathedral ends May 31, after which he and his family will take some well-deserved vacation prior to the commencement of his new role at Episcopal High School in mid-summer. “Art has played a leading role in shaping our Cathedral to be a community of embrace. It would be hard to imagine the past six years without Art’s presence and good care,” says Dean Thompson. As chaplain, Callaham steps into an

VICARS, page 6