Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

In these challenging times, it is important to remember the transformative power of gathering together to break bread, share stories, and create a shared vision for the future.

In the next month, there are many opportunities for the Grace Cathedral family to gather in the community.

Every year, on the first Saturday of May, thousands around the globe participate in World Labyrinth Day, a moving meditation for world peace and a celebration of the labyrinth experience. Grace Cathedral is proud to host this year’s gathering. Join us this Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm to walk our indoor and outdoor labyrinths, accompanied by live music, thoughtful conversation, creativity, and community.

This Sunday, May 4, at 1 pm, we will be joined by groundbreaking culinary activist, author, and entrepreneur Miyoko Schinner for a conversation on Breaking Bread and Stewarding Resources. For thirty years, Miyoko has advocated for a food system built on sustainability, equity, and compassion for all creatures. While her work involves extensive innovation, Miyoko’s philosophy remains that people can help heal the planet by gathering together to share food and stories. We will reflect on this as we break bread together over a plant-based meal. An RSVP would be helpful for catering purposes.

This coming Memorial Day weekend, we have an opportunity to gather in the community for the Congregation Retreat at the beautiful Bishop’s Ranch in Sonoma. This weekend promises beautiful blue skies and every form of delight beneath them as we gather for fellowship, food, and fun together. Please register by May 11.

Members of the clergy and lay leaders at Grace Cathedral continue to gather to affirm their commitment to caring for our world, and to consider how to respond to the congregation of Grace Cathedral’s desire to be involved in the work of eco-justice.

Wednesday night, a group of clergy and lay leaders from the Diocese of California and Grace Cathedral gathered to hear from the Executive Directors of California Interfaith Power & Light and San Francisco Baykeeper. Heartfelt thanks go to Amy Quirk for hosting this gathering. In addition to being richly informative, this evening provided us with the opportunity to share our own perspectives on the work of eco-justice. We revealed our early experiences of delight in the natural world, as well as the first moments we realized not all people had the same access to clean water or green spaces. We named our deeply held hopes and fears, our questions, and our desires to act for the sake of our world and our children. We spoke of the words of scripture and the stories of our faith that call us again and again to the care of creation.

What was apparent from our gathering Wednesday is that eco-justice is a guiding focus for the Grace Cathedral community, a focus that will shape much of our justice and formation work in the years to come.

The gathering was also a powerful reminder of how much can be achieved when we meet in community in the seemingly simple act of sharing a meal. We can address the problems we face as our ancestors always have: through gathering in the community to share stories, break bread, and find a common way forward with the faith that God is with us.

In celebration of Earth Month, the cathedral has reinstalled the glorious Earth Window and Sky Steps by Sukey Bryan. Visitors to Grace can ascend a carpet of azure sky shot with threads of icy white cloud and gaze up the green and blue planetary orb encircling the Rose Window.

These works call our attention to the eternal presence of God. God who at the beginning of time placed a dome in the midst of the waters and separated the seas from the dry land is with us now as we seek to protect this paradise.

With God’s help, we can do many things as individuals and in community to care for the planet.

With gratitude

Steph

Steph McNally
Formation Programs Manager for Children, Youth, Families, and Adults