Dean Thomason: Racial Violence and God’s Call to a “New Normal”

by on May 30, 2020 with 4 Comments

Dear friends,

Our hearts singe once more with the excruciating pain of seeing a police officer in Minnesota use an established torture technique to subdue a black man under suspicion of an alleged crime. Other police officers were complicit in their participation. George Floyd died at their hands.

There has been much talk in recent weeks of constitutional rights, but Mr. Floyd was not afforded his in this moment which has catalyzed outrage and terror. Yes, terror, for there are fellow citizens of this nation who must live in fear of such heinous and deadly acts being perpetrated on them, too, and their sons and brothers. They live in terror because this is not an isolated event. This nation’s deep roots of racism have given rise to more than four centuries of such terror. It is no wonder that terror intermingled with grief from a pandemic has stirred the masses into a riotous furor.

“A riot is the language of the unheard.” So said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who used his prophetic voice to call this nation to repent of its sin of racism, in 1968. That quote has become a soundbite in recent days, as it did four years ago in Baltimore, and eight years ago in Ferguson, and… and… and…

But in that same speech Dr. King went on to ask America — which is to say, he went on to ask you and me: “What is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor [sic] has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”

The prophet’s voice singes our ears and our hearts a half century later, and his words are sadly as true now as they were then. Dr. King rejected violence as a means for societal change, and yet he understood the violent protests of the oppressed in relation to the violence and terror that racism has inflicted on a people for centuries.

Let’s be honest: we all want justice… for ourselves at least, but maybe not so much when it disturbs the status quo to which we have become accustomed. That is human nature, I suppose, but it comes with a heavy price for some as we organize our common life by a deeper logic that insists on inequity: insider/outsider; rich/poor; powerful/oppressed. Barak Obama reflected this week in the wake of George Floyd’s death that “it's natural to wish for life ‘to just get back to normal’ as a pandemic and economic crisis upend everything around us. But we have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ — whether it's while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park.”

My friends, God is calling us to create a new normal in which justice will take a shape that extends well beyond a neighborhood in Minneapolis, and well beyond cries for retributive justice to be meted out. Yes, a police officer has been charged with murder; other police officers have been fired. We pray this day for the riots to revert to non-violent protest. And we pray that those voices may be heard, by us, by our leaders, and by all in this nation as we struggle to find a new way, a different way of being part of that “inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

God’s relentless call to us is about working for a new creation in which the even deeper logic is abundant life for all. A “new normal,” if you will. As we renew our Baptismal Covenant tomorrow on the occasion of Pentecost, may we form the words on our lips and on our hearts: “I will, with God’s help.”

Your Brother in Christ,

The Very Reverend Steven L. Thomason

Dean and Rector

Women Clergy at Saint Mark’s Panel Discussion Video

by on May 26, 2020 with No Comments

On Sunday, May 24, The Rev. Canon Jennifer King Daugherty moderated a panel discussion with three women priests who served at Saint Mark's, Seattle, in three different decades: The Rev. Carla Berkedal Pryne, the first woman priest at Saint Mark's, who served in the 1980s, The Rev. Kate Kinney, who served in the 1990s, and The Rev. Sue Reid, who served in the 2000s.

Heritage Sunday Slide Show

by on May 24, 2020 with No Comments

Thank you to everyone who submitted photographs for the Heritage Sunday Slideshow, shown immediately before the livestreamed liturgy on May 24, 2020.

Please note: The photograph at 5:50 depicting the Saint Mark's Habitat for Humanity Team was not, as the caption says, taken in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It was taken several years earlier at a work site in South Seattle.

Heritage Sunday at Saint Mark’s Cathedral

by on May 2, 2020 with No Comments

SUNDAY, MAY 24

  • DEAN'S FORUM AT 10 A.M., via Zoom

  • SPECIAL LITURGY AT 11 A.M.

  • FESTIVE COFFEE HOUR AT NOON, via Zoom

In 2019 Saint Mark's began what was intended to be an annual tradition: Heritage Sunday, an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for all the generations who have come before us in the community of Saint Mark's, Seattle—from the founders of the parish in the nineteenth century, to those longtime members of the community who still bless us with their experience and wisdom today.

The event will begin with a special Zoom forum in the 10 a.m. hour. Dean Thomason will present a brief slide show of historical details about the cathedral, then a panel of The Reverends Carla Berkedal Pryne, Kate Kinney, and Sue Reid, who served at Saint Mark’s as priests in three different decades, will reflect on their experiences. This forum will be presented simultaneously over Zoom and on Facebook Live—watch your email for more details, or contact info@saintmarks.org.

From 10:45 until the start of the 11 a.m. liturgy, the livestream will present a special slideshow of historical images from the 1940s through the 2000s, shared by many members of the community. (Note: If you want to share a photo to be included, please send a copy, with your names on the back, to Erik Donner at edonner@saintmarks.org no later than Monday May 18)

Like last year, the 11 a.m. service will again employ elements of the liturgy that would be familiar to generations past, including music, prayers, vestments, and the order of service itself. Drawing on prayers spanning nearly 500 years of Anglican worship, we will pull out the stops for a special celebration. Former senior wardens serving in three different decades will read the scriptures. Former Dean The Rev. Fred Northup will be guest preacher. Dean Thomason will officiate. Special music will frame the joyful occasion, including a rousing postlude of Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” with organ and percussion.

Following the service, there will be a Zoom gathering to which all are invited as we share stories about our common life at Saint Mark’s through the years. Special guests have been invited—including Pro Christo Award recipients, former senior wardens, and all the living clergy who have served at Saint Mark’s through the years. Join the fête to share some Saint Mark’s time together! Watch your email for the links to participate, and contact info@saintmarks.org with any questions.

The Home Altars of Saint Mark’s

by on April 1, 2020 with No Comments

Earlier this week, the people of Saint Mark's were invited to create home altars to serve as a focal point for their Holy Week observances. Visit this post for details. Below are some of the photographs that members of the community have sent in to the cathedral or shared in the Facebook Group. Click to enlarge!

Making your Home Altar

by on March 30, 2020 with No Comments
We are about to enter a Holy Week like none other any of us have ever experienced. We are all anxious to feel the joy of the Feast of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, but it is a core part of our tradition that we must, with intention, walk through the Holy Week observances of Passion and death in order to reach our Easter celebration.
As has been announced, Saint Mark's Cathedral will be livestreaming services from the cathedral nave throughout Holy Week. In addition, in order that we might all more fully engage with the Holy Week journey, we will all be invited into various activities and practices in our own homes that will integrate with the liturgies offered through the livestream. You may participate in these activities whether you are home alone, with a partner, or with your family.
The first of these is the home altar. In the video below, Dean Steve Thomason, Choir School Director Rebekah Gilmore, and Associate for Spiritual Formation Kelly Moody of Saint Mark's Children's and Families Ministries introduce the idea of a home altar, and show what their families have created.
You will be invited to engage with your home altar in specific ways during the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday observances in particular. As it says in the video, please send in images or other reports on what you have created for yourself.

A Special Video for Choir Members

by on March 26, 2020 with 2 Comments

The music program at Saint Mark's Seattle, somewhat famously, involves seven different choirs (Saint Mark's Singers, Cathedral Choir, Evensong Choir, Compline Choir, Junior Choristers, Senior Choristers, and Schola). During this time when choirs are neither singing for liturgies nor meeting weekly to rehearse, choir members are feeling separation and absence acutely.

Canon Kleinschmidt and Choir School Director Rebekah Gilmore made the following video to recreate the warm-ups which begin all choir rehearsals, when singers prepare our voices and our bodies for the work to come. At Saint Mark's, the children and adult choirs share many of the same warm-up exercises! The exercises included in the video are beloved by 5-year-old junior choristers and 50-year veterans of the Cathedral Choir alike.

Share your Dinner Wednesday night!

by on March 24, 2020 with No Comments
Let’s gather virtually and have fun staying connected! This Wednesday, March 25, on our usual Cathedral Commons night, visit the Saint Mark's Seattle Community Life during the Closure group and post a photo of your dinner table or what you're eating. Some members of the group tried this last Wednesday, and it was so lovely to see everyone! (A few examples are pictured at below.) This Facebook group is "private"—to join in, just follow the link above, or visit our our regular Facebook page and click the blue "Visit Group" button below the main image.
For an extra reminder of Wednesday nights at the cathedral, begin by singing our usual Table Grace, accompanied by this video, featuring Canon Musician Michael Kleinschmidt on the Bloedel Hall piano.
And if you don't use Facebook, email a photo or even just a few words to Communications Director Greg Bloch, and he'll post it here on the Online Community Life page along with a sampling of the reports from the facebook group.

Jo Ann Bailey: Help Medical Workers by Making Fabric Masks

by on March 24, 2020 with No Comments

Community member Jo Ann Bailey, a professional seamstress and teacher of sewing, submitted this report below about making fabric masks for healthcare workers. (Last week on the cathedral's Facebook Group, there was a call from Providence Hospitals for help sewing masks, but they have subsequently engaged manufacturers, including a Mukilteo furniture factory, to produce masks in quantity and are no longer soliciting volunteers. The opportunity described below is a better option!)

A shortage of protective clothing for medical professionals is yet another complication of this current COVID-19 crisis. Fabric face masks from the community are now welcome as hospitals and clinics prepare for an increase in patients. While fabric masks are not to be used in the care of COVID-19 patients, according to the CDC, fabric masks are a crisis response option when other supplies have been exhausted. Fabric masks can also be helpful in other areas of patient care as supplies of PPE are depleted. Prior to disposable masks, fabric masks were standard use for hospitals. These masks can be washed and sterilized repeatedly as needed. They provide needed protection to health care workers as well as patients.

Seattle area JoAnn Fabrics locations [editor's note: no relation!] are receiving and distributing donated, community-made, masks. For store locations visit  www.joann.com. Patterns and clear, easy to follow, instructions are also available here: https://www.joann.com/make-to-give-response/

A few helpful hints:

  1. Narrow elastic has recently followed toilet paper off the store shelves. The tie-on style of mask will probably be the best for now unless you have ¼” elastic in your stash.
  2. Use 100% cotton, tight weave, fabric. Use on both sides, or line the inside with cotton flannel.
  3. From the patterns and styles available, choose the one that best suits your supplies and skills.

 

Please email or call if you have questions. I would love to hear from you! Email at this link.

—Jo Ann Bailey

Dean’s Letter: One Body, Many Parts

by on March 24, 2020 with 1 Comment

As we approach two weeks since the first public health directives upended our normal routines, with many in the interim faced with job loss, school closures, and the threat of illness coming too close, I am keenly aware that the stress of this disruption and the weight of the burgeoning health care crisis are bearing down on us, collectively and individually. It is difficult in the moment to find an unimpeded path to resolution and a return to normalcy (whatever that may look like). None of us are certain how long this will last, and that naturally enough prompts anxiety. And there is a deep sense of grieving intermingled in it all.

I name all of this, having had personal conversations or email exchanges with literally hundreds of you in recent days—I name all of this as we prepare for a very unusual Holy Week, and I am acutely aware of the fact that we are making our journey to the cross of Good Friday this year like no other year in living memory. But we do so ever-enlightened by the hope of resurrection. We are resurrection people, and we are called to live in a way that does not gloss the harsh realities of life, but rather holds those struggles in the context of resurrected life, trusting that something new is in the works, even if we can’t quite make it out just yet....

Please click here to read the remainder of the Dean's message.

Morning Prayer, 7 a.m. Thursdays

by on March 17, 2020 with No Comments

Note: this post form March 2020 is kept up for historical reasons, and is no longeer accurate. Please check the Worship Schedule page for the most updated information. 

For many years, a devoted congregation has gathered each Thursday morning for a weekday service of Holy Eucharist. Similar to daily Evening Prayer, the Thursday Morning Eucharist will likewise be replaced at this time by a service of Morning Prayer offered each week using the Zoom online teleconferencing platform.

The begins Thursday, March 19, 2020, at 7 a.m., and then every Thursday morning after that until the cathedral reopens. The Sunday morning Eucharist is normally followed by a community breakfast, so this online service will also be followed immediately by a period of time to talk and be together. You can even enjoy your breakfast at that time if you'd like! This is a way of maintaining something like the typical weekly routine for those who have attended this service regularly, something very important for all of us at this time. All are welcome.

You will need a copy of the Book of Common Prayer in order to follow the service. The BCP is available online here. Like Evening Prayer, the flow of the liturgy may be unfamiliar at first, but will quickly become routine after a few weeks.

All you need to join in is a special link. (If you’ve never used Zoom, the instructions here will walk you through how to do this.) UPDATE: The link to participate is now posted publicly. J

A big thank you to Sarah and the entire faithful 7 a.m. Thursday congregation, as well as Cathedral Sacristan Michael Seewer, for making this online offering available to the whole community.

Daily Evening Prayer Online

by on March 16, 2020 with 3 Comments

Daily Evening Prayer is offered each weekday, Monday through Friday, at 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE: This is an outdated page with inaccurate information, kept here for historical reasons. Please find accurate information on the main Daily Office page here.

UPDATE: Beginning Tuesday, August 3, 2021, the service will be offered in person in Thomsen Chapel on Tuesdays only.

Monday and Wednesday–Friday the service will remain online-only via Zoom. 

For many years, Saint Mark's has offered a spoken service of Daily Evening Prayer in Thomsen Chapel most weekdays at 6:30 p.m. (Read more about the history of this service here.)  While the cathedral building is closed, the leaders of this ministry are continuing to offer the service online, using the Zoom teleconferencing platform.

To join, all you is a computer or phone with a camera, and a special link.

To participate in the liturgy, it will be helpful to have a copy of the Book of Common Prayer 1979, and an NRSV Bible. However, both are available online, and the leaders of the service will put the text on the screen to help you follow along.  If you've never attended this liturgy before, the flow of the service can take a little getting used to, but don't let that deter you! After attending a few services it will become routine.

Contact Cathedral Sacristan Michael Seewer at mseewer@saintmarks.org with any additional questions you may have. And heartfelt thanks to the lay leaders of this service, especially Sue Tait, for keeping this important offering alive.

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