Sundays and Beyond at Saint Mark’s Cathedral Sunday, July 31- Pentecost 7 Friends, Who can remember the last time we had an ordination of a priest of our own here at Saint Mark’s? I can’t. I have been present at many ordinations here including my own but they were Diocesan events making clergy for other parishes. Now, God willing and the people consenting, we are anticipating Bishop Greg and all the priests we can collect laying hands on Irene Tanabe on August 18 at 7 pm in the nave to make her a priest – our priest for at least a year. That is worthy of a giant celebration for Irene and her family, for the Diocese and for all of us at Saint Mark’s. Irene has been a deacon among us since July 1. She told me that she believes that her life as a public defender was diaconal ministry and I agree. All of us serving justice and striving to improve the lot of fellow humans and the environment are working as deacons, those who serve the world. That is part of our baptismal calling. All the baptized are also priests in that we are bearers and mediators of the mystery that is God. What will be different about Irene’s priesthood then? Dare I compare a person’s progress toward ordination with the making of a reduction sauce? That is a boiled down, concentrated form of larger quantity of good juice. In the ordained what was given at Baptism is still present in a concentrated form and Irene’s priestly ordination will be the culmination of intensifying of her original priesthood so that it will dominate her other gifts and enrich us. Speaking of gifts, our new priest is a gift to us from the diocese. St Peter’s raised her, the Multicultural Commission nourished her and she comes to us as part of the Curacy of Color program that was funded in part by tickets to Black Nativity from the nights sponsored by the diocese and which many of us attended. Half her salary is gift for Saint Mark’s. Remember that when you hear the lessons this Sunday. Isaiah will tell us that the grace, mercy and abundance of God are ours or the asking. In Matthew’s Gospel we will hear more about abundance although the disciples thought they were suffering from scarcity. They worried about the hunger needs of the crowd who followed Jesus. He told them to share what they had available. You know how far God stretched their supplies. When the stewardship campaign begins we might want to think about what God can do with what we offer being aware that Jesus did ask his disciple to come up with contributions rather than giving them abundance out of nothing. They gave him ALL that they could find and he made it enough for their needs. Blessings, Pat+ The Rev. Patricia Taylor Pastoral Care Associate
Vestry Corner:
An update from the Parish Profile Committee - Learn about the videography project in the back of the nave on Sunday, July 31 and forums coming up! On the back cover.
Summer Sunday School: The Great Water Party! Locations vary by week watch for signage at the Cathedral entry and in Childcare. This summer we’re focusing on the Great Water Party with hands-on exploration of Baptism, the Eucharist, and our church -wide Wine into Water project. A few weeks ago, we kicked of our Mile of Pennies service project. We will have to collect 84,480 pennies to cover a mile! (We’ll take larger coins and bills, too!). No Summer Sunday School on August 7. We’ll resume on August 14.
Habitat for Humanity Saturday, August 6– Rainier Vista Next Saturday (August 6th) a crew of St. Mark's volunteers will be helping Seattle Habitat build homes in Rainier Vista in southeast Seattle. Sign up today at the Habitat table in the coffee corner. Sign up by calling Gordon Miller (425.427.8172) or Mary Mullen (206.789.0303).
Art in the Nave: Icons in Transformation August 13—October 12 Cathedral Nave A dramatic 120 piece exhibit of acclaimed Russian-Swedish expressionist Ludmila Pawlowska. Exhibit includes her own paintings and sculpture, as well as traditional icons from Russia. Learn more at www.saintmarks.org Volunteers needed for many different projects! Contact Heather Hodsdon at hhodsdon@ecww.org