General
Chapter report from the People’s Warden
As the People’s Warden of St. Paul’s Cathedral, I am on the Cathedral’s Chapter (Board of Directors, if you will) which primarily oversees the finances as well as the buildings and grounds of the Cathedral. I also serve on the Endowment and Finance Committees. Yet as the People’s Warden, I envision myself primarily as representing … READ MORE…
Hungry for Lent?
Sisters and Brothers, We live in a community where nearly one in six people are unsure whether they’ll have enough to eat each day. How can that be?What would it look like to love our hungry neighbors as ourselves this Lent? There are no easy answers. Diving deeply into Lent’s holy disciplines of prayer, fasting, … READ MORE…
A Spirit Joyously Loose in the World
I first met Benedict Reid in the ‘70s and was immediately impressed by the abiding sense of peace projected by this deeply spiritual man. An excellent listener, he always saw different ways to approach an issue, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. I was delighted recently to find this Benedictine monk now living … READ MORE…
Bare Ruined Choirs
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. (from Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare.) The recent membership campaign on PBS clearly targeted the 70-something demographic as it aired multiple concerts consisting of folk singers, quartets, and bands from the 1950s and 1960s. Moving from actual films of those musical people half a century ago, … READ MORE…
Ashes to Go: God’s blessing
When I received the email from Chris Harris regarding Ashes to Go I was very hesitant to respond one way or the other. I thought it was a clever idea, but wasn’t quite sure if I agreed with such an unconventional method of giving ashes and I certainly was not sure if I could be … READ MORE…
Ashes to Go: an agent of the Holy Spirit (updated, with video)
On Ash Wednesday, the nine Ashes2Go teams from St Paul’s Cathedral distributed ashes around the city to over 500 people. They prayed with them, and received more than 54 names for the prayer list. And, by sharing a blessing, they were blessed themselves. Here’s a reflection by one of the participants. I loved Ashes to … READ MORE…
Parking this Sunday (half-marathon)
There is a half marathon race this Sunday that will affect the Cathedral. HOWEVER, in contrast to most races, the runners are starting and finishing downtown, and so they will be parking near Petco Park. Therefore, the impact on parking near us should not be nearly as significant as the races that start or end … READ MORE…
Lenten Thoughts
I was not raised in a church tradition that observed Lent. Our small congregation of a fundamentalist sect of the Christian faith in a small town had banned all reference to what its founders considered ‘papist’, including any mention of saints, crucifixes, and church seasons except for Christmas and Easter. The reasoning behind such proscriptions … READ MORE…
A History of Shrove Tuesday and Zydeco Music
In the Christian tradition, the day before Ash Wednesday—which marks the beginning of Lent—is called Shrove Tuesday. The word “shrove” is derived from the verb “to shrive” which means to pronounce absolution after the confession of one’s sins. Other names that are popular to describe the day before Ash Wednesday are “Carnival” (meaning “farewell to … READ MORE…