CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
SEPTEMBER 2023 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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A letter from Paris
Welcome the Rev. Canon Nathaniel Katz
Ninth Dean of Christ Church Cathedral The Rev. Canon Nathaniel Katz and his wife, Shelly, will soon arrive in Houston where he will begin serving as the ninth dean of Christ Church Cathedral. His first Sunday will be September 24 and there will be many opportunities to get to meet him and know him. Nat was called to Christ Church Cathedral Houston from The American Cathedral in Paris (formally known as the Cathedral
Church of the Holy Trinity), one of the oldest English-speaking churches in the “City of Lights” where he has been the Cathedral Canon since September 2020. During his time at The American Cathedral in Paris, Nat was entrusted with leadership and oversight for the American Cathedral’s Children, Youth and Family Ministry, its Mission
WELCOME, page 6
Making room for new beginnings THE REV. CANON KATHY PFISTER
Over the past three years, it has been my pleasure to serve the Cathedral as Canon Vicar, first under Dean Thompson and more recently under Interim Dean Gary Jones. The title “Vicar” means “one who stands in the place of,” “proxy” or “substitute.” For example, in a mission congregation (as opposed to a parish congregation) the Vicar “stands in” for the Bishop, who is ecclesiastically the head of the congregation until it achieves parish status. A vicar at a cathedral “stands in” for the Dean when designated to do so in certain aspects of ministry. As such, the role of vicar can only be designated by the one calling for the “stand in.” Not every cathedral has a canon vicar and in fact many do not. Our dean-elect — the Rev. Nathaniel Katz — will need time to
NEW BEGINNINGS, page 8
THE REV. CANON KATHY ROCK PFISTER
Dear Cathedral Family, What a pleasure it is to write to you for the first time as Dean of Christ Church Cathedral. I am writing from Paris, which will be my home for a few more weeks. Two weeks ago, my wife Shelly and I had our marriage blessed by one of my dearest priest colleagues in the presence of friends and family. Just a few days ago, Shelly and I stood on the sidewalk outside our apartment and watched as all of our worldly posses- THE REV. CANON sions were loaded into a NATHANIEL KATZ shipping container and rolled off to the port of Le Havre. We waved and said, “See you in Houston!” One of my favorite passages in all of scripture comes from the Prophet Isaiah: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19 I have always read this as God’s invitation to pay close attention to my life and the world around me — to always be on the lookout for the new thing that God is leading me into. The implication of the prophet is that we often struggle to perceive what God is up to — either because of God’s subtlety or our inability to pay close enough attention to our lives. It is hard not to perceive a 20-foot shipping container that arrives at your doorstep. Nor is it hard to perceive a 6-foot 6-inch priest stepping into the pulpit for the first time on Sunday morning. Sometimes God’s ways are not so subtle or mysterious. The work we will take on together as partners in ministry will truly begin once the obvious newness settles into something that resembles normalcy. Then we
LETTER FROM THE NEW DEAN, page 2