Dear Cathedral Family and Friends,
In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus delivers his “farewell address” to his disciples. In it, he promises that we will never really be separated from him after he returns to the Father. We will know him through following his Way of Love, through prayer, and through sharing in his work of healing and reconciliation. We will “dwell” with him, live and be with him, in the “room” that each of us will find in his Father’s house.
Under usual circumstances, this Sunday would be our time to celebrate and say “farewell” to our graduating seniors. They would come to the rail with their families, and together we would all ask God’s continuing blessing in their lives. We would celebrate with them and look forward with them to the next chapter in their life adventures.
As we are in an unusual time, we will do this differently. During Sunday’s live stream worship, we will recognize these young people and join together in offering prayers for them. You may click on the link in this email to find their names, along with prayers for this time of transition in their lives. Please include them in your personal prayers in the weeks ahead. These are challenging times for our students (and their families), as they journey out into a rapidly changing world. Please let them know that our love and prayers are holding and enfolding them. Our bishop’s office is preparing an online tribute to our graduating young people from across the diocese. Please be on the lookout for this in the days ahead.
This season of family celebrations is assuming new dimensions as our continuing practice of social distancing continues. Of course there is lament for what we had hoped for in this season, but there are also creative new approaches to acknowledging connections and sharing experiences. In some ways, our distance causes us to value each other even more deeply.
Above all, God is calling us to engage our imagination, that mysterious and transformative practice that rises from our deepest connections to each other and to all of creation. As Jesus reminds us this Sunday, God is always with us and more ready to give us more than we can ask or imagine.
Faithfully,
Beverly+