CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
JANUARY 2015 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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Occasions of grace In 1998, with a newly minted master’s degree in theology from the University of Chicago (but before I’d gone to seminary to train for the priesthood), I was asked by my rector to teach a new adult Sunday school class. I pulled out all the stops, teaching about every complex and arVERY REV. cane aspect of theol- THEBARKLEY ogy I could muster. The THOMPSON first week I had twenty students. By week three, the only class attendees were my wife Jill and a fellow named Dale who was too nice to quit. I went to the associate rector to figure out what I was doing wrong. “What are you teaching?” he asked. I explained my syllabus and concluded by claiming, “I’m teaching earth-shattering stuff!” The associate rector looked at me kindly and said, “Barkley, it’s only earth-shattering to you.” It was an important lesson, and one I’ve not forgotten. Pastors want the bombastic sermon, the eloquent article, and the energetic class to be memorable and transform lives. But mostly they aren’t, and they don’t. Rather, when people recall the positive difference I, you, or anyone else has made in their lives, they usually hearken to much more mundane and fleeting things: the handwritten note that arrived on the lonely day; the visit that occurred so soon after receiving a frightening health diagnosis; the smile or hug that reminded them they are loved. These are the things that have lasting impact and change lives for the better. In his book “The Tipping Point,” social theorist Malcolm Gladwell reviews a series of such small things that have had huge consequences in our world, like the stone thrown into the pond whose concentric ripples extend all the way to
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Cathedral sexton Larry Thomas prepares a columbarium niche.
Often it’s the small things that count As a hub for many different ministries in downtown Houston, making sure that things get done around Christ Church Cathedral can sometimes be a daunting task. Even with a large staff there are roles that always need to be filled in the life of the church. Cue the volunteers of the Cathedral, helping to tackle roles big and small to “fulfill needs that the
Cathedral staff cannot fill,” according to volunteer Keith Grey Davis. “I feel that the many tasks I perform at the Cathedral are part of my giving to the greater good,” Davis said. With roles as diverse as Flower Ministry, Welcome Team Member, Worship Bag Crew, and Sunday School Coordinator, the
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Concert to feature old hymns set to new music Jesus says it’s a bad idea to put new wine into old wineskins. That’s good advice. But, have you ever wondered what would happen if you did the opposite? What is the potential of taking something old, something venerable, something timeless and wrapping it in the new? Matthew Smith and Indelible Grace think it’s infinite. The Re:tuned Hymn Movement takes old hymn texts, the ones with a solid connection to the Church of the ages, and sets them to new tunes and instrumentation. In doing so, they are repackaging the wisdom of two millennia of Christian worship for new generations of faithful people. On January 17, Christ Church Cathedral will host Matthew Smith and Indelible Grace, luminaries in the MATTHEW SMITH
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