CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
OCTOBER 2014 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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God is in the midst of the city In January 2001, I traveled with a group of fellow seminarians to a colonia on the outskirts of Matamoros, Mexico. The colonia is a slum built on the site of a former landfill. “Houses” in the colonia are one-room shacks built with tar paper and pallet wood discarded by the factoTHE VERY REV. ries that line the border. BARKLEY There is no plumbing, THOMPSON and waste water from outdoor latrines flows in an open ditch alongside homes. Children play with pieces of garbage as if they were toys. We seminarians were eventually directed to a structure in the central “town square.” It was a simple, one room meeting hall, except, unlike the dwellings, it was well-constructed with new plywood. Inside, there were sturdy benches for sitting and an altar with a hand-carved cross standing upon it. The floor was swept clean, and children’s drawings were tacked to the interior walls. The love our hosts had for this building was evident by the care with which they tended it and the broad smiles on their faces. This was the church, and its location in the center of their shantytown reminded the residents that, no matter what, God was in the midst of their city. The church was indeed central in every way, not merely geographically. In a world otherwise bereft of comfort, these good folk took comfort as the Body of Christ gathered together in the church for worship and prayer. The people of the colonia defined their lives by their church home. Where there had been no community, they found community there. They gave their time, their resources, and their hearts to it.
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Creating community through books For almost 32 years, the Cathedral Bookstore has provided Christian formation material and books, as well as hosted literary events and reading groups for parishioners and the downtown community. Started in 1983 by then-dean Pittman McGehee and Canon John Logan, the bookstore was spearheaded under the supervision of Cynthia Pyle, or as the store’s current
manager Kathy Jackson refers to her, “the heart of the bookstore.” After twenty years as manager, Pyle handed the reins over to Jackson in 2004, although she still stays active as a volunteer when she can. On her first day back at work after the summer break, Jackson sits behind the counter quietly working away. “I’ve always got things
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Cathedral Bookstore manager Kathy Jackson arranges a display of featured titles, many of which supplement the Cathedral’s ongoing educational offerings and special events.
Hagerty to talk science, spirituality Does science have room for God? National Public Radio religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty thinks so. That is, she says, “if you see God in the breathtaking THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUALITY complexity of our brains, as the architect of our bodies and our minds who October 17–18 planted the question, ‘Is there more?’” Later this month, Hagerty will join The Rev. Dr. Henry Strobel of Palmer Memorial Church and Rice University professor Jeffrey Kripal in an exploration of the boundaries between the interior life and the world around us. Strobel is a member of the medical faculty of
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BARBARA BRADLEY HAGERTY