ivinGiMeSthe St. Cyprian’s newsletter

October–November 2010

INSIDE

Dear friends, neighbors, and members of Saint Cyprian’s,

The past few months have been really busy on the corner of Turk and Lyon, as our doors and hearts have been wide open to strangers and friends. Check out our weekly calendar and you’ll find we are welcoming people into our space nearly every day of the week. We are not just inviting people more and more to utilize our physical facility; we are also connecting regularly with our neighborhood, by attending Neighborhood Association meetings, participating in block parties, and learning more about the institutions and organi-zations that surround us.

As we meet new people, we are also rekindling relationships with old friends. The niece of longtime congregant Willie Faye Sides came up to our table at the recent Sunday Streets event, grateful to see Kira busily and beautifully painting children’s faces. Lisa Dewberry, now a congregant at Trinity, Menlo Park, shared with me stories from the dynamic history of St. Cyprian’s. And a god-daugh-ter of our community’s beloved Dee Gomillion called the cathedral from southern California recently to share stories of her connection to St. Cyprian’s and her current street ministry. A few weeks ago, the Reverend Ida Louise Johnson shared with me some of the inspir-ing poetry of St. Cyprian’s heroic pastor Father E. A. McLaughlin. Here’s one of the many poems that caught my attention, reminding us what Jesus was always about:

God’s Timeless Intervention

It was not enough to give the worldA Virgin Birth, nor a wise, godly TeacherA Friend who cared more for peopleThan some cared for themselves.

Neither was it enough to perform miraclesTo heal the sick, give sight to the blind,Feed the hungry, cure lepersAnd restore life.

It was not enough to befriend the friendless,To forgive sins, to comfort the lonely,It was not enough to dieHumiliated on a cross.

Divine authority, dominion and majestyDemanded of Itself much more than these:To be God Incarnate-loved, trusted, worshipped-There had to be a resurrection.

This is what Jesus was, and ever is, about.

If Jesus was about resurrection, so are we. A contemporary author whose writings on faith I find particularly significant is Nora Gallagher. Here’s something she said a few years ago in a sermon about resurrection:

“When I think about the resurrection now, I not only wonder about what happened to Jesus. I ponder what happened to his disciples. Something happened to them, too. They went into hiding after the crucifixion, but after the resurrection appearances they walked back out into the world. They became braver and stronger; they visited strangers, and healed the sick. It was not just what they saw when they saw Jesus, or how they saw it, but what was set free in them.

What if: If there is some kind of life after death, what if it’s not a life exclusively for the dead? What if it’s a life available to us all, something the living can participate in, too.”

I believe St. Cyprian’s is together becoming braver and stronger. We are seeking together to practice resurrection. With all this talk of

• Exploring partnership

with St. Paulus

• Stewardship

• Design Lab

• Contemplative prayer

• A new dean at Grace

• Sunday Streets

• Calendar

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resurrection, one wonders whether we are in the midst of Easter instead of Ordinary Time. We are about to enter a time of remembrance: All Saints Day is coming up in early November, when we remember all those many saints throughout history who have practiced resur-rection in their lifetimes —visiting strangers, caring for the sick, and becoming brave and strong. May we, together with the many saints of St. Cyprian’s past, present, and future, give thanks for the Spirit’s movement in our community both inside and outside our doors today.

See you in church and in the neighborhood!

Peace, The Reverend Will Scott Cathedral Missioner Grace Cathedral

EXPLORING PARTNERSHIP WITH ST. PAULUSSt. Cyprian’s is exploring partnership and collaboration with a variety of organizations and groups. Join us for these two events with St. Paulus Lutheran Church, a historic San Fran-cisco faith community with a passion for mission who lost their building 15 years ago in a devastating fire.

Mission Night

Wednesday, October 20, 6-8 p.m., followed by choir practice with Dustin Manuel

Shared Worship at St. Cyprian’s

Sunday, October 24, 10:10 a.m.

THE NEWS FROM ST. CYPRIAN’S...

STEWARDSHIPThanks to the generous support of St. Cyprian’s members, friends, and visitors, I am glad to report that as of September 1, we are tracking to our budget for year to date. Contribu-tions are a little behind what we expected, but expenses are down also. Overall, our fund balances are in good shape head-ing into the year’s end. —Kevin Johnson

PREPARATION FOR CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYERThis six-week class begins Wednesday, October 20, meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Grounded in a Catholic upbringing, Patricia Preble is a lay practitioner and neighbor of St. Cyprian’s who will be sharing some of the many exercises and prayers she has unearthed through the course of a 25-year study in comparative religion, beginning with instruction from the Traditional Native Ameri-can Elders Circle of Turtle Island (America) and encom-passing Tai Chi, Qi Gung, Zen Vipassana, Centering Prayer, Sufism, Buddhism, and the Christian Monastic tradition, including prayers from the Desert Fathers and Mothers of the first century after Jesus.

This class will use readings from St. Theresa of Avila’s Interior

Castle; chapters 28 through 31 of the Way of Perfection; and Intimacy with God, an Introduction to Centering Prayer by Father Thomas Keating.

CONGREGATION AND NEIGHBORS TO MEET FOR DESIGN LABTo emphasize its openness to the community—and to get a needed new coat of paint—St. Cyprian’s will host a Design Lab on the evening of October 28th. Participants will take a look at St. Cyprian’s role in the neighborhood and then decide how the exterior of the building can best reflect our message and mission. What color scheme suggests openness to the community? What colors best fit our community? How can we improve our curb appeal with better sidewalks and land-scaping? Be part of the Design Lab.

St. Cyprian’s Design Lab

Thursday, October 28, 6:30–8:30 p.m.Refreshments served

NEW MEMBERSWe are grateful for those who have joined our community in the past year. We have welcomed Jarie Bolander, Margaret Bencsik, Dale Danley, Tiffany Davis, Michael Helquist, Jennifer Wolfe, and Jonas Wolfe.

A painting by Father E.A. McLaughlin

NEW DEAN FOR GRACE CATHEDRALOn November 6, Grace Cathedral will celebrate the installa-tion of the Reverend Canon Dr. Jane Alison Shaw as its eighth dean, at choral evensong, 6:30 p.m. Members of St. Cyprian’s are cordially invited to attend.

HEALING AND RECONCILIATIONWe call your attention to two ways to get involved in diocese-wide conversations about reconciliation processes.

The Racial Reconciliation Task Force of the Diocese of California presents a lecture on slavery in the early days of the state of California: November 13, 10 a.m., Saint Mary the Virgin in San Francisco. For more information about the task force, e-mail rrtf@diocal.org.

A series of lectures on the Healing of Memories is being pre-sented by Fr. Michael Lapsley and the Afro-Anglican Commis-sion of the diocese. These lectures will begin 2011’s Healing the Diocesan Family process with Father Lapsley.

November 18: Church of the Epiphany in San Carlos, 6–8 p.m. November 19: Church of Our Savior in Oakland, 6–8 p.m. November 20: Church of Our Savior in Mill Valley, 9–11 a.m.

Designer and editor: Jennifer Wolfe • jpaigewolfe@gmail.com

Contributing writer: Michael Helquist

Cover photo: Nathan Frankel

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Vigil for Slain BicyclistMembers of St. Cyprian’s congregation joined North Panhandle neighbors and ad-vocates for safer city streets in a vigil for Nils Yannick Linke, a 22-year-old German visitor who was killed on Masonic Avenue two blocks from St. Cyprian’s while rid-ing his bicycle August 13. More than 100 people gathered at the corner of Masonic and Turk streets on the evening of August 25 to honor Linke’s life and his passing.

Rev. Will Scott commemorated Linke and Melissa Dennison, a young woman killed while crossing Fell Street nearly a year ago. “The tragic loss of these young lives has called on all of us, no matter where we are from or what our mode of transporta-tion, to take greater responsibility for the well-being of others,” he said. Scott then blessed the gathering and the memorial bike left at the site of the collision.

Jarie Bolander, President of the North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association and a member of St. Cyprian’s, extended condolences from everyone in the neigh-borhood. A friend of Linke’s family sang Amazing Grace and a neighbor read a let-ter from Linke’s sister in Germany. She described her younger brother as “a happy person (with) bright blue eyes and a big smile that could lighten the tension or lift the sadness from a room.” San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi recounted the efforts underway to stop the speeding on Masonic Avenue and on other city streets. St. Cyprian’s has also participated in community meetings to determine specific traffic-calming changes for Masonic Avenue.

Their Weekly BreadIn tough economic times, a well-prepared, tasty sandwich can ward off hunger pains and deflect worry about the next meal. Every Friday morning 6 to 10 volunteers gather in the St. Cyprian’s community room to prepare 200 sandwiches for clients of the AIDS Housing Alliance, Canon Kip Senior Center, and the Living Room, a service for homeless seniors. Peanut butter and jelly, homemade hummus and lettuce, apples, and sometimes energy bars fill the bags by the end of the morning. Food supplies are donated by Rainbow Grocery and Buffalo Foods along with the San Francisco Food Bank. The sandwich group is sponsored by the AIDS Housing Alliance, the Q Foundation, and the Met-ropolitan Community Foundation. The core volunteers are often assisted by members of the Lowell High School Transition Class. Lynn Jordan, one of Simply Sandwiches organizers, says donations are always welcome.

Volunteers work on the PB&J crew

for Simply Sandwiches.

Sunday Streets CelebrationThe North Panhandle neighbor-hood and the Western Addition celebrated Sunday Streets on Sep-tember 19 and St. Cyprian’s congre-gation joined the fun. The annual event opens streets for walking, skating, biking, dancing, and live music. Thousands of neighbors and visitors relished the car-free

open spaces and stopped by the skat-ing rink on Golden Gate Avenue and the kids bike rodeo and the earth-

quake “shake shack” on Grove. Kids found St. Cyprian’s table with its new banner—designed by newsletter editor Jennifer Wolfe—at the corner of McAllister and Baker. Pastor Will Scott offered bike decorating tips and was quick with a brush for face painting.

Sunday Streets is a city-sponsored event coordinated by the nonprofit Livable City.

Our own Kira Smith

showed off her painting

skills at Sunday Streets.

Top: Rev. Will Scott delivers a blessing at the vigil

for Nils Yannick Linke, killed while riding his bike

on August 13. Bottom: The ghost bike painted and

decorated by neighbors and visitors in honor of

Linke. Photos by Kirk Moore

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church has been a member of

the San Francisco community for over 80 years.

We are a small, passionate group of

seekers and worshipers from many walks of life.

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church

2097 Turk St.

San Francisco, CA 94115

wor

ship

find

SUNDAYS, 10:10 A.M. • LITURGY AND MUSICWEDNESDAYS, 9 A.M. • MORNING COMMUNION

415.567.1855WWW.SAINTCYPRIANSSF.ORG

MONDAYS Al-Anon, 6:30–7:30 p.m.

TUESDAYS Education for Ministry, 6–9 p.m.

WEDNESDAYS Oct. 20–Nov. 24, 6:30–7:30 p.m.,

Preparation for Contemplative Prayer

FRIDAYS Simply Sandwiches works

downstairs, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

SATURDAYSAlcoholics Anonymous,

10 a.m.–12 p.m.

OCT. 24Shared worship with St. Paulus

at St. Cyp’s 10:10 a.m.

OCT. 28Design Lab, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Help us find a new look!

NOV. 6Installation of Dr. Jane Shaw as Dean

of Grace Cathedral, 6:30 p.m.

On the Calendar