Christ Church Cathedral An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
May 2013 christchurchcathedral.org
We are all ministers
Emily Scott Shepherd (left) was the Cathedral’s May Queen in 1931 and Georgia Letchford won the crown in 2012. A new king and queen will be named from the fifth-grade class on Sunday, May 5, at the annual May Fete celebration.
May Fete is for all generations As surely as Christ Church Cathedral members can expect the temperature to rise in the spring, so can they expect another May Fete. For more than 100 years the Cathedral has celebrated the arrival of spring with a festival for children and a dance around the maypole. During the event on the first Sunday in May, children and adults eat well and play games, and one very special girl and boy are named queen and king. Last year, Georgia Letchford and Jonas Lasater were crowned queen and king, presid-
ing over festivities that included folk music, carnival games and the maypole dance. Coincidentally, Letchford and Lasater also played Mary and Joseph in the prior year’s Christmas pageant. “I was surprised and happy,” Letchford said of learning she was queen. She was honored with a crown of flowers, once again signaling the arrival of spring. “It’s fun and exciting every year. You don’t know who is going to be king and queen and what new things will be at May Fete.”
May Queens, inside
Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits There is a palpable connection between was still central to his ministry, as evidenced faith and food: the crucible of our liturgical by his post-resurrection appearance along the experience Sunday mornings exists Sea of Galilee early one mornwithin the Eucharistic meal itself. Sharing Faith Dinners ing when Jesus prepared a meal As we are nourished by the bread Thursday, May 16 of fish for Peter and the other and wine at the altar, so also are our 6:30–9:30 p.m. disciples. souls sustained and fed. Much of This story of Jesus’ appearJesus’ ministry occurred around food, includ- ance to the disciples reminds us that when ing the feeding of the five thousand and the people gather together for a meal, something Last Supper. Even after his resurrection, food SHARING Faith, back cover
“Who are the ministers of the Church?” Thus asks the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer. What would be your answer to this question? Many would likely offer, “priests.” Some might include bishops and deacons, and a few might add missionaries or some other specialized person to the list. This is how The Very Rev. the Catechism itself reBarkley sponds: “The ministers Thompson of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests and deacons.” The first and therefore primary order of ministers in Christ’s Church is the laity. In other words, we are all ministers. But what does that mean, exactly? The Catechism sheds further light: “What is the ministry of the laity? The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.” In other words, all those baptized into the death and resurrection life of Jesus are commissioned to the work of extending God’s grace into the world. Our participation in God’s grand project is not something in which we passively participate for an hour on a Sunday morning. It is, rather, the essential, driving component of our entire lives. In our homes, at our work, and during our times of recreation, we are ministers. Whenever we open our mouths to speak a word of care and love to one another, we are ministers. We each serve as Christ’s hands and feet. Ours is an awesome and humbling calling! In order to model this reality at Christ Church Cathedral, we are amending the job titles of most lay members of your Cathedral program staff. The program
ministers, inside