CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
DECEMBER 2012 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
Bouncing back
Special needs children and their families gather in the Jones Basement on the first Sunday of the month for Rhythms of Grace, an ecumenical service and playtime.
Finding that special grace In 2010, the Cathedral had an established special needs program, but the director of family ministry, Lisa Puccio, recognized that the Cathedral (and even the city of Houston) lacked a Eucharistic service for special needs children and their families. That October, Rhythms of Grace was born, modeled after the program of the same name from Connecticut. The ecumenical service is held on the first Sunday of every month at 1 p.m. in the Jones Basement. Originally, the plan was for three churches in Houston to offer the service, but the Cathedral’s is the only one that has flourished, due to the commitment of Puccio, the Rev. Jimmy Grace and Martha Lewis, the special needs program coordinator. Grace, whose son James has autism, vol-
unteered to lead the Eucharist, and with one other family committed to the service, the Cathedral pressed on. “It was probably January or February before we had a critical mass of four or five families,” Puccio said. “There have been very few months when there hasn’t been someone new come. We average about 30 people.” A typical Rhythms of Grace service starts with a group activity that gets the children involved physically, followed by a short story time where families sit on the floor in a semicircle. Then, there is another group activity before the Eucharist. Group leaders work to keep all of the children engaged while also ignoring distractions for the most part, and music is constantly
RHYTHMS, inside
End-of-year guidelines for gifts to the Cathedral We are grateful for all gifts given to the Cathedral, but we realize that end-of-year giving has distinct advantages; so we are reminding you of deadlines that will keep all of us in good stead with the IRS. Postmarks are imperative to the Internal Revenue Service to claim a 2012 tax deduction. The Cathedral must receive all cash, checks and credit card
gifts on or before December 31. In order to demonstrate legal compliance, envelope dates will be used to verify any contributions arriving in early January. If you choose to provide gifts of stock and securities to the Cathedral, it is important to initiate these transactions by mid-December to make certain they are
END-OF-YEAR, inside
A client with a job, a bank account and an apartment got in a financial bind. Confused about how he got there, he returned to COMPASS for some advice, with his bank statement in hand. He lost track of small debit-card purchases, spent more than he had and was charged unexpected fees. He was overdrawn — and then CYNTHIA BRANNON some. Distressed at his mistake, he shook his head. “I messed up. I messed up, Mrs. Brannon.” So we talked. I got out a highlighter and a calculator, and we had an impromptu banking lesson. We talked at length, until the only thing left to say was that, yes, this was a set-back, but one he would surely survive. I checked my voicemail the next day, and there he was again: “Thank you, Mrs. Brannon. I messed up. But it’s not going to bring me down. You reminded me of who I was.” COMPASS aims to direct homeless clients toward employment and independence. Along with job counseling, we offer bus fare, ID, toiletries, reading glasses, voicemail and county medical cards. Each of these can be vital to the goal of getting a job. But, if the only thing we ever do is remind our clients who they are, isn’t this still critically important work? COMPASS clients have dreams. They want to overcome the obstacles of poverty, a derailed education, incarceration, addiction and poor mental health. Yet, despite these obstacles, or perhaps because of them, every day we witness in them remarkable dignity, strength, humor, optimism, gratitude and resilience. Time and again, we witness their resilience. They bounce back. Dreams can be achieved if we’re resilient and if we know who we are. This Christmas, COMPASS believes in dreams. Cynthia Brannon is the executive director of COMPASS.