WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 6:45–8:15 P.M., in person in Bloedel Hall and online via Zoom. Optional community dinner at 6 p.m. ($6/child; $8/adult; $25/max. family).
Join Dean Thomason, Canon Daugherty, and participants from July’s pilgrimage from Saint Mark’s as they share a bit of their experience and spiritual gleanings while also inviting everyone present to share experiences of sacred travel and why this is an important spiritual practice for all people. A preview of a potential pilgrimage to Ireland will also be shared. All are welcome.
Canon Daugherty's slides from her presentation may be seen here (pdf).
A complete video may be seen below:
The slide show played before the presentation:
Steve played a brief excerpt from remarks by Phil Cousineau to the group prior to the pilgrimage. His complete presentation may be seen here:
The Queen, Colonialism, and the Anglican Communion: Connections, Heritage, and Hope in a New Era
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 6:45 p.m.–8:15 p.m., in person in Bloedel Hall and online via Zoom. Optional community dinner at 6 p.m. ($6/child; $8/adult; $25/max. family).
Join Cathedral clergy and canons for a reflection and conversation on our experience of Queen Elizabeth’s recent death and funeral, the connections we share as Anglican Christians, the challenges of colonial realities of the British Empire, and what we see unfolding in the global arena of 21st Century geopolitical landscapes.
Dean Thomason has written a reflection on the meaning of Queen Elizabeth's legacy, which may be read below.
UPDATE: A complete video is now available:
A REFLECTION FROM DEAN THOMASON
A Queen and the Project of Democracy
Dear friends,
In the days since Queen Elizabeth died, I have received several inquiries about what we at Saint Mark’s Cathedral planned to do. Some had an expressed need for formal ritual to honor this woman of remarkable grace and fidelity to her role; others found it troubling that a monarch who epitomized the colonialist structures of a fading empire would be regarded at all. I will admit being a bit amused by the machinations other cathedrals and churches undertook to have special services, watch parties, and the like.
For our part, we split the difference: we commended her in our prayers on Sunday morning September 11, while the Compline Choir devoted parts of the service of compline that evening to special intentions for the Queen. It felt like a Via Media approach worthy of our Anglican heritage.
I am no royalist, but I fervently believe we pray for those who have died, as we did for Elizabeth, using her full name, Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor, as we did for her husband Philip last year. Her name was read alongside others’ names—in our baptismal and resurrection theology, no one person is more important than others. We buried my sister-in-law on September 8, the same day Elizabeth died, and I was preparing for a parishioner’s funeral at Saint Mark’s two days later. These others were no less important to observe than a queen’s.
But the energy given this particular queen’s death amidst the pomp and circumstance of royal customs surrounding her funeral provides an opportunity to reflect on what is really involved for us as we gaze upon the ritual from a distance—from a country that fought a war to separate ourselves from this imperial throne. We can have it both ways (independent yet with bonds of affection), but we should give considerable thought to what it is in this moment that draws us into this queen’s orbit.
Rowan Williams offers a fine reflection on the ways her life and work as monarch were sacramental, grace-filled and faithfully exercised. The invitation is to see not just Queen Elizabeth’s life in that light, but how we might see ours alongside such an invocation of the Spirit to speak into our lives as faithful enterprise.
Serge Schmemann wrote an opinion piece in the September 11 issue of the New York Times: “To function in an otherwise normal democracy, a hereditary monarchy requires that the citizenry accept a bit of fiction — namely that one family, standing above politics, can represent the nation and its values.” What is it about royalty that captures our imagination, and why?
And Hari Kunzru wrote in the same issue: “the British elite have always understood that the monarchy is a screen onto which the people project their own fantasies.” What does that mean for us as Americans?
There are 56 countries in the British Commonwealth; 14 of those are constitutional monarchies (including Canada) who will now replace their queen’s image from their currency with their new king’s. There is already talk about which of those nations may choose this time of transition to reflect on what has been, and how they may orient to a different polity. I pray that work is guided primarily by principles of justice for all their citizens. To be sure, we have work to do in this regard as well.
None of us choose the family into which we are born. Elizabeth was born wealthy, and when called upon to serve as queen, she did so with courage and commitment to her people. She did not seek the throne. I believe history will account for her effort as one of faithful devotion in which she sacrificed her ego in the cause of service to her society. And perhaps that is the image worthy of emulation—servant to the larger project of democracy, just society, and the common good. May we have the grace and courage to be such servants here and now.
Blessings and peace,
The Very Reverend Steven L. Thomason
Dean and Rector
New purple bags with color-coded tags (pink for toddlers, blue for preschoolers, yellow for elementary ages) filled with items to connect kids to worship are ready for this Sunday, September 11!
Pick them up in the narthex and return them there when you leave. Each contains age-appropriate materials such as a clipboard with a children’s lectionary-based bulletin, a finger labyrinth for older children, a lacing lamb for younger ones, and Montessori hand kites with ribbons in liturgical colors for responding to the music.
Steve and Kathy Thomason's first Sunday at Saint Mark's, Seattle, was September 2, 2012. The community of Saint Mark's Seattle recognizes with joy and gratitude ten years of their presence in this place, and of Steve's leadership of the cathedral community.
Everyone is invited to add their voice to the community's expression of thanks by leaving a comment of any length, at the bottom of this post.
Your email address will not be shown. If this is your first time leaving a message on saintmarks.org, your comment will be held temporarily for moderation.
One of the first cathedral offerings to be suspended in March of 2020 was the treasured community supper, offered most Wednesdays for several years as part of the regular Wednesday night suite of offerings. Now at last we are able to gather for this shared meal once again, created by the team led by Chef Marc Aubertin.
Wednesday evening offerings begin with in-person Evening Prayer in Thomsen Chapel at 6 p.m. Dinner is served in Bloedel Hall from 6 to 6:30 p.m. (Health regulations require that food service ends promptly at 6:30.) A faith formation offering or other community activity usually follows at 6:45. For the first dinner, on Wednesday, September 14, there will be no Cathedral Commons offering—they begin one week later with Dean Thomason's presentation on embodied spirituality on September 21 (see bel0w). But the dinner will have all its usual energy provided by the kids of the Choir School, whose rehearsals are immediately before or after the meal. The cost of the meal, payable in cash at the door or electronically, is now: Child/$6, Adult/$8, Family max/$25.
Note: One beloved element of the Wednesday community meal that will sadly not be resuming are Jim Green's delicious salads. For several years he personally made the salad for the dinner each week. Jim died last May, and the UW Department of Anthropology recently published this moving remembrance.
It is my great delight to announce that Luke Abdow has accepted the call to serve as Program Director for the Seattle Service Corps and as staff support for the vibrant 20s & 30s ministry group.
Luke is a native of Massachusetts and served as a fellow in an Episcopal Service Corps program in Boston for two years, 2016 to 2018. Prior to that he served in the Fulbright Scholars program as an English teacher in Senegal, and he has experience as a community organizer, a food service worker, and a chef and baker. He comes to Saint Mark’s from nearby North Bend, where he is the Food Services Director and Head Chef at Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center. He was a researcher and co-author of the Racial Justice Audit of the Episcopal Church, which is part of the broader church-wide initiative, Becoming Beloved Community: The Episcopal Church’s Long Term Strategic Commitment to Racial Healing, Reconciliation, and Justice. He is a 2014 graduate of Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies and Community Health. He will begin his role at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in early October.
Mr. Abdow’s call is the culmination of a robust search process in which an extraordinary committee of gifted leaders of Saint Mark’s diligently worked with an excellent pool of applicants, prayerfully discerning unanimous support for Luke’s call. I am very grateful to committee members Scott Hulet, Fraser Reach, Hannah Hochkeppel and Lynette Hatscher, and to Canon Barrie for guiding the process. I hope you will join me in thanking them for their good work, and please join me in welcoming Luke to the Saint Mark’s community. I am,
A Conversation Among Faith Leaders Witnessing to Peace and Justice in Israel-Palestine
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1–4 P.M., in person in Bloedel Hall or online via Zoom. Free, but registration required for either option.
The Mideast Focus Ministry of Saint Mark's Cathedral, the Bishop’s Committee for Justice & Peace in the Holy Land, and Kairos Puget Sound Coalition present this symposium, which brings together prominent voices from different religious backgrounds to ask where the struggle to achieve justice and peace in the Israel-Palestine goes from here. Participants will include:
Rev. Naim Ateek – Founder, Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
Rev. Richard K. Toll – Founding Exec. Director, Friends of Sabeel North America
Rev. Don Wagner, former National Program Director, Friends of Sabeel N.A.
Jonathan Kuttab, Executive Director, Friends of Sabeel North America
Mark Braverman, Ph.D. - Executive Director, Kairos U.S.A.
Alice Rothchild, M.D. – Jewish writer and social activist for peace
OPENING PLENARY: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2022, 6:30–8 P.M., online via Zoom ONLY
(Note: This presentation will NOT be offered in person in Bloedel, as previously announced.)
The Radix Project is an opportunity to gather in small groups, share their stories, reflect on Holy Scripture and sacred art, and pray for one another with intention. The project was created to provide a way to connect in a setting that fosters trust, so that our relationships with God and one another are strengthened. This fall, the theme for Radix 8, Creation, Community, and Connection, will draw from scriptures that invite us to consider how creation itself may inform our relationship to God and each other. All are welcome and encouraged to join the opening Plenary Presentation with Dean Thomason and the Radix Project team, whether or not you plan to participate in the small groups.
SMALL GROUPS MEET: ONCE A WEEK STARTING THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 18, THROUGH THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 23. (Sunday groups conclude on October 30.)
Deadline to register for a small group: Tuesday, September 13, 2022. Click here to download the participant packet (pdf),containing guidelines, scripture selections, discussion questions, and accompanying visual art. Learn more about Radix groups and see video and materials from previous iterations here. Questions? Email radix@saintmarks.org
A complete video of the opening plenary may now be seen below:
The Needs and Hopes of Families with Children and What Happens After the 20s/30s Group?
The Children and Families Committee has a survey for parents, grandparents, and caregivers about faith formation and community building for kids and their adults. We'd love to learn what you are hoping for! Find the survey here:
What might be next for those who are moving on from the 20s/30s Group at Saint Mark's? The cathedral leadership is eager to hear what you need and what you'd like. Here's the link:
This year's annual Stewardship campaign will occur in October as usual, but as a "prelude" to Stewardship season the members of the Stewardship Committee, led by Junior Warden for Stewardship Chris Rigos, invite all to participate in a five-week conversation about gratitude.
Each week, a broad question to stimulate mindfulness of and reflection on gratitude will be posted. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus towards you.” —let's explore this mindset together. The Stewardship Committee believes that a heightened awareness is the best way to thoughtfully begin our formal stewardship season in October. Everyone in the community is invited to write replies to each week's prompt.
The members of the Stewardship Committee—Greg Simon, Amanda Davis, Wayne Duncan, Deborah Person, Canon Eliacín Rosario-Cruz, and Junior Warden for Stewardship Chris Rigos—are looking forward to these conversations, and thank you for your willingness to be part of this exercise. If you have any questions, please write Chris Rigos at: crigos33@gmail.com
WEEK 5—GRATITUDE FOR THE CATHEDRAL
For the last several weeks, the Stewardship Ministry has invited everyone to reflect on what gratitude or thankfulness means to you and how you experience it. We talked about how you express gratitude to yourself or others, and how you nurture that sense of wellbeing and goodwill. These abstract conversations are almost over, and we now focus hearts and minds on the here and now—Saint Mark’s formal Stewardship campaign for the year 2023 will begin on Sunday, October 2. Soon you will receive a package of Stewardship materials in the mail, and you will hear reflections from parishioners in person and on video throughout the month of October.
So, our final question involves how your developing sense of gratitude applies to this beloved spiritual home, Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. For what are you grateful, here at Saint Mark’s? Do you experience that feeling towards the clergy, staff, preaching, liturgy, or music? Ministries of restorative justice, creation care, or intergenerational connections? The sense of community, or particular community members? Perhaps it is the core beliefs and ethos of this place. If you have been attending Saint Mark's for some time, have these feeling changed over time? Remember: “wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.”
As we launch into our formal Stewardship campaign, continue to reflect on the ideas shared here. As we bring this series to a close, we thank you for your thoughts and prayers, and we end with our final question: Where are you on your gratitude journey with Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral?
Please offer a response of any length in the comments at the bottom of this page, or send an email to stewardship@saintmarks.org. (Note that the first time you leave a comment, it will be held in moderation before appearing.) Thank you for participating in this conversation.
WEEK 4—SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Every week the presenting clergy member at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral invites us by saying: “Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.” On Sunday, September 11, Dean Steve Thomason continued this blessing by asking us in his sermon on Sunday morning: “Where are you on your spiritual journey?”
1 Corinthians 13:11 reminds us that we are born with a developing sense of self, our world, and our place in that world. When we become adults, we “put an end to childish ways.” The same observation may apply to our developing sense of gratitude or thankfulness. In our youth, perhaps we are grateful in a purely transactional way—for an unexpected gift, a fine report card, or a dream job. Sometimes our praise and prayers of gratitude are only for the “positive” or “pleasant” things, and we nurture, perhaps unconsciously, the belief that our prayers are being answered because of our “good” behavior.
So, where are you on your spiritual journey with gratitude? Are you prayerful for the events that benefit your life and family? Are you able to give thanks for positive things that happen to others but not to you? Are justice advances in far-off places part of your gratitude list, or progress in protecting our endangered creation, or nourishing meals provided to those who are experiencing hunger?
Where are you on your spiritual journey with gratitude?
WEEK 3—DAILY PRACTICE
The Saint Mark’s Stewardship Committee continues its five-part Gratitude Conversations with a question from community member Greg Simon:
In my day job, I reply to a lot of emails—200 or more most weeks. I’ve noticed that nearly every one of my responses begins with “Thanks.” And I really do mean that. Setting aside all of the marketing spam, the messages I respond to really do deserve my gratitude. Often, someone is telling me something that I need or want to know. Or someone is telling me they’ve finished doing something that I asked for or just hoped for.
I did have the thought that I could just automate the first word of every email response. It would be simple to have every reply start with “Thanks.” In my email software, that’s under “Options>Mail>Replies and Forwards>Preface Comments With”. Starting every reply with an automated “Thanks” would look exactly the same to the person receiving my message. But it wouldn’t be the same for me. And gratitude really isn’t a transaction. While it is important for people I correspond with to feel thanked, it’s much more important for me to feel thankful.
So I still type out those letters T-H-A-N-K-S every time. Those six keystrokes add a few seconds for me to feel gratitude and consider what I’m grateful for. I hope my gratitude will grow to be ever-present – but never automatic.
What things do you do every day to cultivate gratitude? How do you make gratitude ever-present but not automatic?
WEEK 2—EXPERIENCE
The Saint Mark’s Stewardship Committee continues its five-part Gratitude Conversations with a focus how we experience gratitude and what we do with that experience.
Franciscan Father Richard Rohr talked in May 2020 about our need for a new vision when he wrote:
G. K. Chesterton spoke of the “mystical minimum” which he defined as gratitude. When we stand in the immense abundance of the True Self, there is no time or space for being hurt. We are always secure, at rest, and foundationally grateful. The grateful response for what is given—seeing the cup half full—requires seeing with a completely different set of eyes than the eyes that always see the cup as half empty. I don’t think it is an oversimplification to say that people basically live either in an overall attitude of gratitude or an overall attitude of resentment. The mystical minimum is gratitude. Everything that is given—that we are breathing today—is pure gift. None of us have earned it. None of us have a right to it. All we can do is kneel and kiss the ground—somewhere, anywhere, everywhere.
Several questions immediately rush into our consciousness. Does Rohr’s view or that of G.K. Chesterton resonate with you? How does a sense of thankfulness come upon you? Does it come to you slowly and quietly, or with a burst of speed, clarity, and whistles and bells?
What you do when gratitude fills your heart, mind, or soul? Do you rest quietly, “kiss the ground,” or rush to “go tell it on the mountain?”
WEEK 1—DEFINITIONS
The Saint Mark’s Stewardship Committee continues its five-part Gratitude Conversations with a focus on the broad importance of gratitude and its meaning to each of us.
In his 1984 book Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness, Brother David Steindl-Rast writes: “All prayer is essentially an act of gratitude. Even the prayer of petition that boils up from some agonizing personal need includes, if it is authentic, a stated belief that ‘God’s will be done’—an expression of our utter dependence on God’s mercy.” Another author states that “gratitude is the ultimate spiritual practice.”
But what is gratitude? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers a definition for gratitude as “a strong feeling of appreciation to someone or something for what the person has done to help you.” Researchers writing in a 2019 article published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology propose that “gratitude stems from the recognition that something good happened to you, accompanied by an appraisal that someone, whether another individual or an impersonal source, such as nature or a divine entity, was responsible for it.”
So, what does gratitude mean to you? How it is different in different contexts?
All are welcome to a back-to-school gathering on Friday evening, September 3—to reconnect in person, have some fun together, and celebrate the amazing kids of our community. Bring a blanket and your own picnic dinner. The cathedral will provide fresh fruit, chips, and water/lemonade for everyone along with a variety of fun activities. There will also be a Lunchbox Dessert Dash (featuring cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and bars) to benefit the Seattle Service Corps and the youth of Saint Mark's. Bring your backpacks, bookbags, and briefcases to receive a blessing! Contact Canon Barriewith questions.
As you may have seen in the news in recent days, the CDC has promulgated new guidelines related to COVID precautions and interventions. More importantly for us locally, King County public health officials have observed a dramatic decrease in infection rates and have reduced the risk level to LOW. That change, along with the trending infection rate of less than 200 new cases daily per 100,000 population, means that Saint Mark’s Cathedral will once again make mask-wearing optional, effective today for ministry groups and for worship beginning Sunday, August 21, 2022.
Please note: we will retain the “masked and distanced” section in the south pews and transept for any who want to continue those precautions. We do so, mindful still, that there are some for whom such safeguards are important measures for their comfort in worship. We want all to feel welcome. Of course, you’re welcome to mask and sit wherever you like. For ministry groups, I hope you will extend the courtesy of asking one another your comfort level and be guided by a consensus that takes everyone’s needs into account. I know you will be gracious and gentle with one another.
Liturgical ministers will continue to show proof of vaccination and boosters since they move about in the space and interact with many persons. Of course, vaccination remains an important element of caring for ourselves, and others. I hope you will get your next booster when they become available this fall. Be assured I will do so as well.
These changes mark a shift in approach to the virus as an endemic reality with which we must learn to live over the longer term. Having just returned from Britain, where similar adjustments were made weeks earlier, I can tell you we can do this and remain a vibrant worshipping community and a beacon of hope for all who yearn for the good news we have to share. We will remain nimble, flexing in our precautions as needed, always guided by our public health officials and the data with which informed decisions can be made. But for now, let’s celebrate this as a welcome relief and an opportunity to gather as we press on faithfully. I look forward to seeing your beautiful smiles once again!
SUNDAY EVENINGS, JUNE 19 through SEPTEMBER 4, 2:30–6:30 P.M., Bloedel Hall. Volunteer Appreciation Dinner: Sunday, September 11.
Tent City 3 arrives in the cathedral parking lot June 4, and the cathedral's TC3 meals team has been coordinating the details of their stay. The residents have decided that they would like to share Sunday dinners with us indoors in Bloedel Hall! We are thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down and share dinner with them.
At this time all the volunteer slots are filled -- check out the updates below to see how the meals are going! Please contact co-coordinators Chris Rigos crigos33@gmail.com or Maris Olsen maris.olsen@gmail.com with any questions. Thanks to all!
FINAL UPDATE! (SEPTEMBER 9):
Sunday, September 4, 2022 was our final summer dinner for our friends in Tent City 3! Our cooks and volunteers made a wonderful final dinner, and we thank Emily Meeks, Stuart Meeks, Kristen Kelly, Lynne Cobb, Connor Harrison, Scott Hulet, Mandi Mogg, Maris Olsen, and Deborah Person. Our great menu included home-made chicken pot pies, rice, salad, cake and ice cream.
This marked the conclusion of this summer’s meals with Tent City, and we thank all of our friends and supporters. Our twelve dinners seemed to go by quickly, but with many blessings for all. I am grateful for your passion and commitment. We broke some new ground with our neighbors and strengthened our own bonds of fellowship and community. Thank you all!
As Dale Evans and Roy Rogers sang in the 1950’s, “Happy Trails to you - until we meet again.”
—Chris Rigos, Maris Olsen, Deborah Person
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UPDATE (SEPTEMBER 2):
ur great thanks to our crew on Sunday, August 28! Volunteers Emily Austin, Barbara Erickson, Emily Meeks, Deborah Person, Victoria Szydlowski, and Janet Young served a fine meal and helped out on a hot summer night. The menu included baked lemon chicken and rice, salad, watermelon, and (our specialty) ice cream sundaes. We had our usual fun as we coasted into our 11th Sunday night dinner. You may see all the details in the four photos!
Our dinners continue for one final night on September 4. Please do not forget our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on September 11 at 6 p.m. And, please know that on Sunday, September 18, we are again starting up our preparation and serving of dinners to the men at the Saint Martin de Porres Shelter down on the waterfront after a long 30-month hiatus. (We still need volunteers for September 18! Write to Christo get involved.)
Thank you all for making this summer a great launching for a continued Saint Marks Community meals program!
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UPDATE (AUGUST 26):
Our many thanks to volunteers Brook Brayman, Scott Hulet, Joel Bendickson, Cherie Bradshaw, Jen Younggren, and Sandy Piscatello for our 10th Sunday night dinner to our Tent City guests. Our fine menu included beef stroganoff, Caesar salad, rolls, butter, lemonade, and ice cream Sundays. The photos below show all the fun!
At 15 years old, Joel helped us on our intergenerational ministry goals! Next summer we will make more plans for family involvement. We will have two more Sunday dinners this 2022 summer for our guests before they leave our parking lot with our prayers and best wishes. It has been great to watch this new ministry move from dreams to actuality. Thanks be to God!
On September 11 the ministry coordinating team will be hosting the Volunteer Appreciation dinner for all those who helped or will be helping. Please RSVP to Chris Rigos if you plan to attend the dinner on September 11; all who participated in any way are welcome!
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UPDATE (AUGUST 19):
Our many thanks to volunteers Brook Brayman, Katherine Adams, Debra Waddell, Barbara Zito, and Sandy Piscatello for our ninth Sunday night dinner to our Tent City guests. Their fine menu included beef tortilla pie, pink lemonade, and ice cream Sundays. Everyone enjoyed the meal, the conversation, and the camaraderie on a beautiful Sunday night. We will have three more Sunday dinners for our guests before they leave our parking lot with our prayers and best wishes.
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UPDATE (AUGUST 12):
Our great thanks to our crew on Sunday, August 7! Volunteers Deborah Person, Nathan Clark, Debra Waddell, Ashley Hedeen, Kathy Sodergren, Jen Younggren, Emily Arnold, and Janet Young served a fine meal and helped out on a hot summer night. The menu included baked chicken with BBQ sauce, cornbread, watermelon, and (our specialty) ice cream sundaes. We had our usual fun as we coasted into our 8th Sunday night dinner. You may see all the details in the three photos below!
Our dinners continue for four more Sundays. Our team is making plans for a great roll out next 2023 summer. We are hoping for new and continued volunteers, an improved scheduling system, budding cooks, some accommodation for families eager to join in. Our most prized possession is our dedicated volunteers who have made this summer something new. We have learned more about our guests and each other, as we have taken turns folding napkins, cleaning tables, serving in line, and chatting on every topic possible. Thank you!
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UPDATE (AUGUST 5):
On Sunday night, July 31 the Tent City Meals ministry enjoyed sharing their 7th Sunday night dinner with our Tent City guests. Our fine chefs and volunteers Christopher Breunig, Courtney Van Stolk, Janelle Walhout, Keiko Maruyama, and Mark Stumpf made the evening a hit by serving chicken teriyaki stir fry with rice, braised vegetables, and (as always) ice cream sundaes.
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UPDATE (JULY 29):
We had another fine dinner for our tent City guests on July 24 due to the great work of our volunteers Erin Beary-Andersen, Casey Beary-Andersen, Debra Waddell, Kristine Ekman, Molly Tennis, Allison Narver, and Mark Stumpf. The menu was delicious—meat lasagna, fresh green beans, green salad, fruit salad, and ice cream sundaes!
Co-coordinators Maris Olsen and Chris Rigos are thrilled that we have completed six of our 12 Sunday night dinners with positive feedback from cooks, volunteers, and guests. Thank you all for your help and support. And, the winner is…. Actually, we are all winners, and the photo below show the fun!
NOTE: The Ministry Steering Committee is pleased to announce a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on September 11 (following the departure of Tent City) for the volunteers who have served or will serve at the upcoming six dinners. No Saint Mark’s funds will be used for this “Thank You” to our volunteers. More information will be provided as we get closer to September 11. For any questions, please contact Chris Rigos at crigos33@gmail.com or Maris Olsen at maris.olsen@gmail.com
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UPDATE (JULY 22): Thanks to the volunteers on July 17 for another fine Sunday night for our Tent City guests. Volunteers Keiko Maruyama, Morgan Bawcom-Randall, Adam Oberstadt, Kate Causey, Kathy Albert, Nancy and Andy Valaas, Pamela Bradburn, and Heather Millar all pitched in for a smoothly-run fine dinner. Our menu was chicken Alfredo casserole, green salad, fruit salad, and brownies with ice cream. Yum!
As we reported recently, the remaining 7 weeks of Sunday night dinners are full of volunteers. Because of illness or last-minute conflicts, we may have some room for fill-ins. Co-coordinators Chris Rigos and Maris Olsen will keep those who have expressed interest informed. Email Chris or Maris with any questions.
One volunteer wrote, ”Thank you for organizing this opportunity to serve people in need.” We add our own "Thank You" to all who are making this ministry sustainable, including our dedicated church staff, clergy, and faithful volunteers who have offered endless help!
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UPDATE (JULY 15): Our many thanks for a fine July 10 dinner to our Tent City guests prepared by volunteers Kathy Albert, Laurel Petrik, Erin Beary Anderson, Cinda Madonna, and Emily Austin. Our menu included Tater Tot casserole, coleslaw, brownies, and ice cream. Our weather was fine, and all enjoyed themselves. Below you will see our photos of all the fun!
As we reported a few days ago, we have now filled all volunteer spots for the remaining seven dinners of the summer. Thank you!
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UPDATE (JULY 8):Our thanks to volunteers Allison Narver, Eliacin Rosario-Cruz, Kathy Albert, John Weintraub, and Katherine Adams for a fine July 3 dinner for our tent City guests. You can see the photos below, as we prepared grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, coleslaw, potato salad, and ice cream! Even though the weather was a bit damp, we and our guests enjoyed ourselves.
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UPDATE (JULY 1): The Tent City Meals ministry co-coordinators Chris Rigos and Maris Olsen report that our second dinner on June 26 was a fun, outdoor barbecue at Leffler House with seating under the front yard trees. Our menu included grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad, fresh fruit, a chilled can of seltzer water, and ice cream. Everyone was grateful to our five volunteers Peter Snyder, Cherie Bradshaw, Linzi Stahlecker, Jen Younggren, and Barbara Erickson. A good time was had by all! One volunteer commented that sitting under the trees with a cool drink talking to a young guest was a thrill.
Next week the Steering Committee will open volunteer registration for the final seven Sunday dinners (from July 24 through September 4). We welcome new cooks and volunteers! Volunteers who will have served during the first five weeks are welcome to volunteer again, but we ask that they wait a few days to allow new persons to register. We would love to have you join us, pitch in, and enjoy the fun! Please send any questions to Chris Rigos at crigos33@gmail.com or Maris Olsen at maris.olsen@gmail.com.
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UPDATE (JUNE 24): On June 19 the Cathedral prepared and shared a fine dinner meal with our guests in Tent City 3. Our able chefs Maris Olsen and Deborah Person served sloppy joes, fruit salad, coleslaw, and ice cream to 24 guests. Our volunteers Sandy Piscatello, Kathy Albert, and Ashley Hedeen helped with set up, serving, and clean up, and then sat down to eat with our guests. Reports from our guests were positive, and they are invited back this Sunday night for a barbeque! Dinners will continue for the next ten weeks with volunteer cooks and servers. Check out some photos below! (click to enlarge)
UPDATE (JUNE 10): Tent City 3 has now arrived on the cathedral property, and the organizers of the meals have been delighted with the response to last week's call for volunteers. At list time just a few open spots remain. The total number of volunteer slots for each dinner was limited, because if too many volunteers are present, there may not be enough work for each volunteer to do. However, as this is a new experience for everyone in the context of the pandemic, the limits may be revised according to the lessons learned in the first few dinners. Please stay tuned!
Looking for practical ways to reduce your impact on the environment? Saint Mark’s Creation Care Ministry is hosting Climate Conversations about everyday things in our lives. These monthly conversations will be held on environmentally-friendly Zoom on the second Thursday evening of each month.
Scroll down on this page to find materials, slides, and videos of past conversations in this series.
UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS
MAY 9, 2024: Farms for a Sustainable Future and How to Support Farmers
Join others in our monthly Climate Conversation, when the topic will be Farms for a Sustainable Future and How to Support Farmers. Tyler Morse of Brier Patch Farm will join host, Richard Hartung for this month’s discussion. Farms across the state produce food for those of us who live here as well as for the nation and the world. Farmers are changing their practices to be more eco-friendly, which can save time, money, resources and the environment. We’ll compare traditional practices with modern ones, look at innovative solutions farmers use now to farm better, and consider organic farming. Along with learning about farming practices, we'll also explore how you can support farmers better through what you purchase, where, and how you purchase it.
JUNE 13, 2024: Solar, Wind, and Geothermal Energy, and How to Tap Renewable Energy
While solar panels on roofs get the most attention for renewable energy, there are plenty of other options. Wind and geothermal, and other sustainable sources of energy are being used to provide the quickly-increasing amounts of electricity we need to power everything from lights and ovens to EVs and phones. We’ll discuss the variety of sources of renewable energy, how you can use them, and how to ensure a reliable power supply with storage, microgrids, or other innovative solutions.
JULY 11, 2024: Heat! How to Stay Cool, Sustainably, and How to Prepare for Hotter Summers
While the temperatures aboveº in June of 2021 still rank as the hottest days in Seattle, summers before and after have been hotter too. When we want to stay cool, using air conditioners or buying new clothes and gadgets can exacerbate climate change. Join us to learn about trends in temperatures in Seattle summers, what we can do to reduce the impact of higher temperatures on our bodies and homes, and how to stay cool in eco-friendly ways. We’ll also discuss research on innovative solutions such as topping buildings with white roofs, adding green spaces or water to urban areas, and developing materials that make buildings and clothes better able to reflect thermal radiation that can keep us cool without compounding climate change.
AUGUST 8, 2024: How to Cope with Seattle’s Shift from Water Deluges to the now-frequent Droughts
Not long ago, droughts in Western Washington seemed unimaginable. Droughts now seem to happen on a regular basis, though, and water cutbacks have been required. We’ll share some of the science behind these shifts and the outlook for the future. We’ll then look at how we can prepare for drier times in our homes or gardens and how to participate in policy decisions that can help us cope.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2024: How to Reduce the Huge Impact that Homes & Building have on Climate Change
The concrete, windows, lights, heat, furniture, fittings and other parts of our homes or office buildings cause more than 40% of global warming. How we manage these spaces matters. There are plenty of actions we can take and innovations we can use to reduce the climate impact. Learn what it is about your home or office that causes greenhouse gas emissions, then discuss what innovators are doing to come up with new solutions to reduce the climate impacts of buildings and what you can do at home and at work or even when you travel to minimize your impact.
OCTOBER 10, 2024: Plant Trees for Cleaner, Healthier, Cooler Air
Trees provide a multitude of benefits, including reducing climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide, protecting against floods, providing shade that cools urban areas and gardens as well as fields or streams, and enhancing neighborhood ambience. Whether you plant a single tree or help communities plant trees, your efforts can help to care for creation. We’ll discuss why and how to plant trees, what species to select for a warmer future, ways to get free or low-cost trees, and how to participate in local or city tree-planting initiatives.
NOVEMBER 14, 2024: Eat Pizza for the Planet—Making Meals that Reduce Climate Change
Two of the top 10 things people can do to reverse global warming, Project Drawdown found, are reducing food waste and eating a plant-rich diet. Our response is often, ‘Who, me? I don’t waste and I eat right!’ Despite what we think, our diets may not be as climate-friendly as we think. We’ll dig into the details to find out why our food has so much impact and what we can do about it. You can experiment with new dishes, for example, to eat lower-impact meals and reduce waste. If you’re a meat-eater, you can have less impact by doing something other than giving up meat. Learn how to change the way you shop, prepare different meals and use all the food you buy so you can be eco-friendly.
DECEMBER 12, 2024: Reduce Plastic to avoid Gigatons of Carbon Emissions
Plastic is pervasive in our lives. Buying groceries in plastic bags or containers, gadgets and care parts made of plastic, plastic furniture and materials made of plastic and plastic bottles are just a few of the many places we see plastic. Reducing plastic production and usage could avoid 166 million metric tons of plastic by 2050 and avoid more than 5 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions. We’ll start by considering all the places we use plastic, then discuss how to avoid it. We’ll also look at alternatives to plastic, how we can influence others to use less plastic, and new solutions that can replace plastic. Learn how to use less plastic in your everyday life.
Gather around the table at Nurturing Roots for an evening of conversation, food and liturgy with other young adults. Located in Beacon Hill, Nurturing Roots is an urban farm committed to community, self-sufficiency, food empowerment, social justice and education.
Would you like to be part of a new endeavor to provide and/or deliver meals to parishioners with a new baby or who are recovering from illness or surgery? Canon Wendy Claire Barrie is gathering names and contact information from folks who are willing, and she will then let you know specifics (who, what, where) when the need arises. We have two families with new babies right now who would be the first to benefit from this coordinated effort! A homemade meal is wonderful, but so is a Trader Joe's run or a GrubHub gift card.
UPDATE: Community meals are now being organized using the website Mealtrain. Keep an eye on the newsletter for opportunities to help.
If you have questions or know of someone in need, please contact ministry coordinator Tajarii Gray: fortydaysdoulas@gmail.com
The 2022–23 Seattle Service Corps cohort arrives Saturday, August 27, and help is needed to make them feel welcomed and at home. If you would like to help next month as we put the finishing touches on their living space at Leffler House, or if you would like to be part of providing some homey hospitality throughout the year, especially around the holidays, please email Canon Barrie: wbarrie@saintmarks.org
Pantry Pouding
The members of each year's cohort of SSC members are a great blessing to the community in Saint Mark's in so many way, so let's make them feel at home by filling their cupboards when they arrive. Check out the list of pantry staples here—including items from pasta to canned good to coffee and tea—and sign up for one or more on the form. Then drop your item(s) off in the baskets at the back of the nave this Sunday, August 21. (You can also bring them to the cathedral office during the week.) If you have any questions, please email Canon Barrie: wbarrie@saintmarks.org.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2022, 9:30 A.M.–2:30 P.M., in person in Bloedel Hall or online via Zoom
A Saturday gathering led by The Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining
Mary Magdalene has rightly been called “the Apostle to the Apostles” because of her important witness to the life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus. However, few people today truly understand the sheer magnitude of her contribution to the Jesus movement itself. Recent scholarship counts her as one of the shapers of many of the rites and rituals of Christianity thanks to her deep firsthand knowledge of Jesus’ healing ministry. Indeed, she is often called “The Magdala” or “The Tower” by those who understand her to be the lineage-bearer of some of Jesus’s most important teachings on healing, anointing, exorcism, and giving witness.
Fee $35 (for both online and in-person participants). Includes a light lunch and snacks for those participating in person (scholarships available). Pre-registration required.
Participants in previous forums with Dr. Raining said, “She is an engaging teacher, warm, and accessible” and “she shares vital information for personal healing that then translates into community healing.” Contact Canon Barrie at wbarrie@saintmarks.org with any questions.
NOTE: Dr. Raining will also offer a guest sermon at the 9 and 11 a.m. services on Sunday, August 21.
Let’s take a day trip to Bainbridge! We will take a tour of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church with a break for coffee and conversation. Next, we’ll visit the Japanese Exclusion Memorial to reflect and remember those forced to leave their home for internment camps. We’ll enjoy lunch at the home of John Simmons and Scott Hulet with the option for exploring a trail to the Halls Hill labyrinth, Blakely Harbor, and a historic cemetery.
For those wanting to carpool, we will meet at 7:30 a.m. at Saint Mark’s. RSVP (encouraged but not required) to Emily: emcmeeks@gmail.com
The Intersection Between Environmentalism, Racism, and Privilege
A Program at Town Hall Seattle on May 10, 2022
Reflections by The Rev. Edie Weller
Leah Thomas, author of The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People and Planet (2022), recently spoke with Hannah Wilson, Farm Manager at Yes Farm, leader of the Black Famers Collective and co-chair of the Environmental Justice Commission of the City of Seattle, as part of a program offered by Town Hall Seattle. Their conversation focused on Thomas’ work in the field of environmental justice with direct focus on intersectionality—how to understand and give voice to environmental issues and actions through multiple perspectives of race, gender, physical and cognitive ability, age and other factors. A video of their conversation is available here.
Thomas described her motivation to enter into environmental advocacy because she realized she saw little evidence of contributions to environmental science and sustainability by Black scholars and professionals. This was especially so during the crucial time of protests related to both racial justice and climate change in recent years.
Here are some observations and recommendations from Thomas’ conversation with Wilson:
Education
Environmental science curricula in both predominantly Black and white academic programs need to be more inclusive and deepen their focus on intersectionality around topics of racial & social justice, environmental racism, and climate justice.
Access to environmental education at all levels should be a priority. Social media has a role to play in expanding access to multiple levels/cohorts of people (though this is not necessarily the primary teaching platform).
Hiring
Thomas advocates for increasing staff diversity (in terms of race and other dimensions) across every level of environmental organization, including academic programs. It’s not enough to have an officer for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. More opportunity needs to be given for BIPOC and other non-dominant voices to contribute to analysis, goal setting, community interactions, and overall action.
More established, white-led environmental organizations need to examine and confront their legacy of not hiring diverse staffs.
Funding
Thomas identified the need to broaden the funding of smaller environmental organizations (majority are non-profits), particularly those led by BIPOC staffs. She noted that 8 of the largest and best-known environmental organizations receive about 70% of grants and other funding, while Black-led organizations receive less than 2%. This distribution needs to shift to build capacity for action over a broader base.
Advocacy development:
Thomas and Wilson both advise getting to know local climate and environmental justice organizations and coalitions, as well as the issues most salient to that community or region. This will increase the capacity for advocacy as well as deepen relationships and coalition-building.
Thomas and Wilson both see a connection to disability justice, especially the need to include voices and ideas from those with ability issues who might not have an easy time physically participating in meetings or actions.
Both speakers were very clear that many serious environmental issues face BIPOC and other marginalized communities right now—action is needed to help people live healthy, productive lives now, not only in future (white) generations. The complexity of climate change and its impacts—and other environmental challenges—calls for an intersectional perspective and participation NOW!
White allies need to be aware and intentional in working with diverse communities:
Be aware of bringing a “white savior” attitude (that whites need to help/lead others in defining the critical areas of focus and action)
Recognize that there is always more to learn: be open to what BIPOC and others have to contribute from their own experience and priorities. Do not attempt to speak for communities that you aren’t actually a part of.
LISTEN to others and respect their right to give input into issues of deepest concern to them.
Resources
Black Nature – A poetry anthology of the Black community’s experiences in nature across the last century
Generation Green – Environmental Liberation, for and by Black people
It’s an old game I’d often play with my students to jog them into writing, especially in Spring Quarter as we moved into May. We all get a little restless indoors by this point in the academic year, sitting in a sterile classroom; we start to feel some warmth rising up from the earth and can imagine again a life beyond the rain and cold. So I’d ask: if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? Tell me about it—make me feel it in your words.
My own answer would vary. I dearly love the Gulf of Mexico and the beautiful white beaches of Siesta Key, just as at certain moments I might choose the Left Bank of Paris early in the morning as the bakeries were opening, or even certain quiet streets in the old city of Jerusalem at dusk. But it’s clear to me that my own preference finally lies with the Cascades. So many memories up there—so many hikes and backpack trips with Judy and Kate over the years, and with the hope and expectation of more to come. And of course part of the pleasure is coming to know these places fairly intimately after numerous trips. For me the Cascades are specific: among many other sacred spots I think of Dishpan Gap, just north of Lake Sally Ann on the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT), or Meandering Meadows, still further north by a few miles and a mile below the PCT, or Macalester Pass, a few miles north of Stehekin.
Of course all of these spots are beautiful, but I could have chosen others which are clearly more picturesque. So what is it about these places? It’s certainly that sense of truly being out there—in the mountains, far from roads and cities, far from Starbucks—but it’s also being out there with people whom I love. And so the memories of those places are filled not just with glorious mountains and deep green valleys but with people.
This awareness of mine may well mark a difference from when I first wrote about these mountains in a book called Rapture of the Deep: Reflections of the Wild in Art, Wilderness and the Sacred. Back then, fifteen or twenty years ago, I was focusing on the connection I felt between my experiences on these trips with Judy and Kate and what I knew from my life teaching great literature and from my experience with contemplative and mystical spirituality. All of these, I argued, have something to do with the kind of depth of power we feel in wilderness—in the mountains, the desert, the ocean—as Belden Lane has written about so often. In my Introduction to the book I talk about this literal and metaphorical place into which so many of us are drawn, where we might well feel both fear and wonder. Writing of the ancient Sumerian hero Gilgamesh, I say that (metaphorically) “he has known the rolling waters of the sea, the great silence of the mountains, and in those places has felt something so huge and beautiful that he’s ready to surrender everything to be part of it.”
I still can feel this desire, and acknowledge that it remains central to my understanding of Christ and my own spiritual longings. But what’s curious is that, even as I look back through this book of mine, what moves me most are those passages where I’m with Judy and Kate. At the beginning of the first chapter, for example, I describe a moment with them on our first backpack trip when we did a loop around Stehekin, making our way to Macalester Pass where we spent a night in our family-sized tent. Kate was eight at the time; early in the morning I was out listening to the howling of wolves to the east of us and in my mind making some connections to those beautiful animals and my daughter. And then I wrote: I remember this moment nine months later as I stand on my front porch and watch my daughter walk down the sidewalk, lunch box in hand, to her carpool. She turns, smiles and waves, then vanishes from my sight.
This was a moment in time that is now more than thirty years ago. It’s long gone, as of course we both—we all—will be long gone in what is really just a blink of an eye. And yet I’m convinced that in some other sense, or in some other understanding of time—Kairos versus Chronos—this moment endures. It’s these tiny threads of love, these connections we have to people and to places. Suddenly I’m aware that it’s not just the magnificent mountains that surround us here beside the Salish Sea that last, but—perhaps even more—it’s the tiny mycorrhizae, those threads that weave all things together beneath the forest floor and, as we now know, that connect those trees into one magnificent community.
Into, I might say, another part of the body of Christ.
And so yes, I do still experience that fear and wonder up there at Dishpan Gap or camped down in Meandering Meadows or up at Macalester Pass; I still feel the sense of adventure setting out down a narrow mountain trail. All that I wrote about decades ago is still true to something in my own spiritual journey. But now, gratefully, gracefully, there’s also this—all those years and memories with friends and family, memories that I see now are their own form of mycorrhizae, spiritual threads woven through time and space connecting us to each other and back to parents and grandparents and forward to the generations still to come. “Fibres of love” Blake calls these connections, and like love, as love, they endure.
We are dust certainly enough, but we are also, as Joni said long ago, star dust.
Longtime Saint Mark's parishioner and former vestry member Doug Thorpe is Professor Emeritus of English at Seattle Pacific University.
UPDATE: The next Women's Compline Choir services will be JULY 30 & AUGUST 6, 2023. SEE DETAILS ABOUT THE 2023 SERVICES HERE.
SUNDAYS, JULY 17 & 24, 2022, 9:30 P.M., in the cathedral nave, broadcast, and livestreamed
In the summer of 2019, the Office of Compline was chanted by an ensemble of women for the first time in the six-decade history of Compline at Saint Mark's Cathedral, Seattle.
(click to enlarge)
These beautifully-sung services were deeply moving to many. In the word of choir director Rebekah Gilmore, "We have many decades—generations worth of women who have wanted to sing Compline at Saint Mark's." And so the decision was made to make the Women's Compline Choir an annual tradition at Saint Mark's each summer. In the summer of 2020, of course, a gathering of the full choir was not possible, and the Women's Compline Choir was represented by just four solo voices. In the summer of 2021, a full complement of singers chanted the office, but the service remained closed to the public. See photos and video from previous year's services below.
At last in 2022, a full choir featuring some of the finest choral singers in the region returned to chant a service open to one and all. As in the past, the services featured special repertoire for women's voices, including world-premiere compositions.
The next Women's Compline Choir services will be offered JULY 30 & AUGUST 6, 2023.
Saint Mark's Cathedral's Curate was ordained to the priesthood in a special ordination liturgy last Wednesday, June 29. The complete liturgy may be seen here (or on youtube). She sends the following note or gratitude to the community:
"I am so grateful for all who attended my ordination, and for all who offered their prayerful support from afar. I could not be more thrilled to be serving my curacy in the midst of this community at Saint Mark’s, and for the Gospel-rooted, life-giving reality I continue to experience here. Thank you!"
Rev. Stahlecker will preside at the 8, 9, and 11 a.m. services this Sunday, July 3. Photos below from Wednesday's service by Kevin Johnson and Troy Stahlecker. Click to enlarge.
Contact Legislators and urge them to guarantee reproductive freedom (via The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations)
JUNE 24, 2022
Dear friends,
Today our nation received the news we’ve been expecting for several weeks now—that a divided Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade and Casey decisions which had for nearly fifty years ensured the constitutional right to reach an informed decision about termination of pregnancy and safe access to act upon those decisions.
As I said in a recent sermon [pdf] addressing the topic of reproductive rights, this is a matter of human dignity, and as such it is a first and foremost pastoral issue, even as it has been politicized. Since preaching that sermon on May 8, 2022, I have heard from several who have shared very tenderly of their life experiences and the difficult decisions they faced as crucial moments. I stand by what I said that day, and I share here once more that the Episcopal Church has, since 1976, unequivocally and repeatedly adopted formal position statements affirming full and equal access to health care for all genders, and that access to decisions surrounding reproductive rights must be reserved to the individual in consultation with their health care providers. [source]
Here is the statementfrom the Episcopal Church shared today:
Since 1976, The Episcopal Church has maintained its “unequivocal opposition to any legislation on the part of the national or state governments which would abridge or deny the right of individuals to reach informed decisions [about the termination of pregnancy] and to act upon them.” We uphold the conscience rights of pregnant women and other pregnant persons to determine whether they want to continue a pregnancy. The Episcopal Church views reproductive rights as “an integral part of a woman’s struggle to assert her dignity and worth as a human being.”
In light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, we reiterate our opposition to any legislative, executive, or judicial action at all levels of government that would restrict or limit a woman’s right to choose, or that would limit the rights of women and other pregnant people to access a safe abortion procedure. For us as Episcopalians, this is a matter of faith. Respecting the dignity of every human being means respecting the rights and freedoms of women to control their own bodies, destinies, and future.
I would refer you to the resource page of the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations for additional information about how to respond in light of this judicial ruling. I would also say I am grateful to live in a state where reproductive rights are ensured by legislative action.
As I said in the sermon on May 8, we will make our way together, even when we won’t agree on every detail of such complicated matters. We do so as people of faith who hold dear the human dignity for all people; we do so as people committed to a way of life that is at its core a pastoral way of being with one another; we do so as people who cast a vision for a more just world, bringing hope into a world which is parched and thirsts for good news. I am willing to work for that, and I trust you are too.
Blessings and peace,
The Very Reverend Steven L. Thomason
Dean and Rector
This awareness of mine may well mark a difference from when I first wrote about these mountains in a book called 
