Christ Church Cathedral An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
“I’m thankful there’s no gorilla in the carport” During this Thanksgiving season, I am reminded that growing up in Arkansas, each Thanksgiving Day my rather large family would gather around my grandparents’ dinner table for a feast of turkey, dressing, dirty rice and more varieties of pie than I could count. Before we could eat, we were required to take The Very Rev. turns around the table Barkley sharing what we were Thompson most thankful for. My grandparents, who vividly remembered the Depression, would offer thanks for health and prosperity. My parents would offer thanks for their children. Normally the children would give thanks for our friends or our favorite toys. But one year, when my younger brother was still small enough to be sitting on the phone book, he piped up and said, “I’m thankful there’s not a gorilla in the carport.” We stared at him. My father considered chastising him for making a mockery of such a solemn family tradition. But then we all realized that it was a good thing that there wasn’t a gorilla in the carport. We were all thankful for that. And so, that, too, became part of the tradition. Now each year someone is sure to give thanks — and we’re working on a thirty year record — that there are still no gorillas in any of our collective carports. (You should know that as soon as I moved to Houston, I called the Zoo to make sure any and all primates are kept securely under lock-and-key.) At first glance, it may seem like a silly family tradition. But not so. Its import is that it reminds us each year of family members gone — all of my grandparents are now deceased — and of a formative time in our family’s life, when children were being raised, family security was
GORILLA, page 8
November 2013 christchurchcathedral.org
Nurturing our littlest members They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the leadership at the Cathedral takes this sentiment to heart. Most Episcopal churches offer a nursery for children, but few can match the facilities and staff of the Cathedral nursery. On a normal Sunday, four nursery caregivers are available to care for children from ages two months up to five years from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nursery supervisor Cassie Morris leads the team of Alma Triumfante, Yolanda Suarez and Maria Castro. All caregivers have been trained in CPR and first aid, and Morris
and Triumfante are also Montessori-trained, working weekdays at two different schools in the Houston area. The nursery room itself provides the children with a welcoming and fully resourced environment for playing as well as learning. Games, toys and snacks are available as well as teaching tools. During the week, the space is used by the Cathedral House Episcopal School. When you visit the nursery, it is clear that the nursery caregivers enjoy working with the
Nursery, page 6
Nursery supervisor Cassie Morris guides the play of a young visitor to the Cathedral nursery.
Author Anne Lamott to visit Cathedral Nov. 13 Bestselling author Anne Lamott will visit Christ Church Cathedral on Wednesday, November 13, to present her new book, Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope, and Repair. Stitches is Lamott’s follow-up to her bestselling Help, Thanks, Wow. Lamott began to write it last year following the shooting rampage at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. In the book, she attempts to explore how we find meaning and peace in these very loud and
Lamott, page 4