THE PARISH VISITOR. From the Canon s Corner...p. 3. Inn at the Shelter...p. 4 Nativity Youth Camp update...p. 5 When did it happen to you?...p.

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1 THE PARISH VISITOR From the Canon s Corner...p. 3 Inn at the Shelter...p. 4 Nativity Youth Camp update...p. 5 When did it happen to you?...p. 7

2 Reflection on a sermon preached at the Chrism Mass, Tuesday March 22, 2016 The Very Rev. Tony Pompa Matthew 28:18-20 We stole away because we wanted FOR THE LOVE of GOD, to be on pilgrimage, we cared not where. Esther DeWaal writes, These are the words of three Irishmen who landed in Cornwall in the sixth century, explaining to King Alfred of Wexford upon their landing in his Kingdom. 7 days these men spent drifting across the Irish sea in a boat (coracle), a small hallowed out shell made of hides, with few provisions and without oars. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, followers of Christ in the 5th through 7th century set off on these wondrously vulnerable journeys to discover a deep and new connection with God. This type of journey is known as Peregrinatio which can only be translated as a form of wandering pilgrimage, those who took on such risky wandering (called Peregrini) would be met with both admiration and astonishment by those who they met along the way. Their great wanderings marked again by a vulnerable openness to the blowings of the Spirit and with no other motivation other than to discover deeper THE LOVE OF GOD created an age of peregrinatio that would lead to the dramatic spread of Christian monasticism throughout the British Isles and Europe. It is of significant interest to me that the spread of the Gospel message was so impactful in this period of time because of followers of Christ who were willing to be vulnerable, risking much, leaving the security of home, getting into a very small boat, and heading across dangerous seas because they believed FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, that their journey would lead them to a deeper union or homecoming with Christ. The Gospel imperative we know as the Great Commission found in Matthew s gospel is read as a post resurrection story and as marching orders in some way for the Church. This commissioning to go out and make disciples is an essential part of our Christian story. I wonder if the experience of our ancient forebears in Celtic lands may lend itself to our finding Christ and thus spreading the message of Christ in this way. Be vulnerable. Being vulnerable means coming to terms with our own brokenness. Coming to honesty about our anxiety and fear. Being honest about how we sometimes don t have all the answers or recognizing we can t fix everything or let others know we are uncertain or feel unworthy. Truth is we all feel that way sometimes. I think sharing our vulnerabilities leads us into a deeper place within ourselves where we just might discover God there waiting for us.

3 It was a busy Lent here at Nativity. And if you walk downstairs to the Sunday school classrooms, you will see just how busy the Sunday School has been. The walls and tables are covered with art work created during Sunday School as a result of lessons that taught the children about the need to look beyond ourselves, beyond the walls of Nativity, even beyond our community to the greater world. Their art work can be seen in the photos below. As a Lenten program, our Sunday School became involved in Heifer International which taught the children a discipline of giving and helping people in other nations. Each week the Sunday School lessons included scripture and a segment about the importance for all countries to be sustainable in order to flourish and survive. The students added to their art work based on these lessons. I looked forward to seeing what they would add to the scenery each week. It gives me hope for our Church and the world knowing our children are learning to care for others. They learned that in many countries the people do not live in sturdy homes or have access to clean, running water. They discovered that communities exist in which there are not enough animals to provide food and support to the residents. Our children and teachers set a high goal of raising enough money to purchase an entire ark. The gift of an ark includes two of each animal to allow communities to establish and sustain herds. The gift of animals can change an entire village community by providing milk, fur, honey, eggs, as well as animals used for heavy work. Whether or not the children reach their goal of filling an ark, they learned a valuable lesson of sustainability and the Biblical perspective of caring for other people. Our children used this Lenten season to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our children discovered that regardless of our age, we can all make a difference in the world. If you have not donated to this cause, please consider sending a donation to the Cathedral marked for the Heifer Project. Our youth will be collecting donations through the first week in April. Please support our children who have learned how to care for the least and those on the margins. But most importantly, please extend your thanks to the teachers who spend tireless hours teaching our children what living the Christian life is about. Canon Michelle

4 On March 31, just nine days from when I am writing this, our season for the Inn at the Shelter will end for not only the Cathedral, but also the Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering season as well. Twelve other churches in Bethlehem have served this season as emergency sheltering for men and women. This grassroots ministry could not have been possible if were not for the people of this parish and others to welcome, feed and house the poorest of this City. There are too many for me to thank and it has been through your generosity that this shared ministry has succeeded the way that it has, but I do thank you all. When we look at the numbers this year, to date we have served 139 men at various times this season, and this number will likely grow over the last two nights of the season. We have averaged nearly 40 guests per night this season. Assuming things remain about the same, over 18 weeks we will have provided for nearly 720 shelter nights. The Cathedral has consistently been first or second in the number of guests that we serve. This I can attribute to a number of reasons. The first reason is our hospitality. We know many of our guests by sight, can welcome them by name, and we show them respect. I thank all those that have worked at the front table and those that have come just to mingle with our guests for the effort to make our guests feel welcome as soon as they walk in. We ve also created a very safe space for these men. I made a bold call to the men of this parish to increase the number of overnight volunteers from two to three. This may not sound like much, but there are sites that struggle to get two. These men have done a tremendous job of maintaining a presence and to watch out for our guests safety. Food has been prepared and served by the highest number of volunteers that participate during the night. There are typically five to ten cooking, serving, and cleaning up every week. And they are always able to set aside a few plates for those guest that work and come in late. Those men very much appreciate not having to worry about missing a meal while trying to work their way out of homelessness. Finally, through coordinated effort of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, the City of Bethlehem and County of Northampton, we have brought in case workers, health professionals and other service providers to not only the Cathedral, but other sites. We ve been successful in finding several of our guests subsidized housing so that they can establish some stability in their lives. And it has been through these efforts that local government agencies have started to step up their activities to hopefully someday eliminate homelessness. Again, there are too many of you to thank for your faithful efforts this season. I have been blessed by the response of this community and am humbled by it. Dn. Rodney Conn United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of the Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering we can nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. These prayers of thanksgiving start with recognition of our many daily blessings. Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. United Thank Offering is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings, and to distribute the UTO monies to support mission and ministry throughout the Episcopal Church and the world. We will have our annual UTO ingathering April 23 rd and 24 th Please pick up a Blue Box in the back of the church and begin a tradition of being thankful.

5 Many congregations around the diocese have participated in a Lenten Study crafted to invite us into the spirit of pilgrimage: To grow closer to God, To grow closer to one another, To be open to where God s spirit may be stirring and leading us as a diocese. The reflections and conversations were themed; Hunger, Vulnerability, Openings, Clarity, and Arrival. At a meeting in Lehighton, PA on Saturday March 19 th, leaders from around the diocese shared their parishes experiences of some of the richness that has come from these conversations and prayerful reflections. Some congregations have been moved to become pilgrims by visiting other parishes in the diocese physically. One parish integrated the experience into their Godly Play (children s curriculum). Another parish shared the richness of deepened relationships and discovery of ministries by being vulnerable enough to take risks and enter into new ministry opportunities. During the season of Pentecost representatives from our congregations will meet regionally with the Bishop and other Pilgrimage leaders. This will be an interactive conversation to share learnings and discoveries along the pilgrim route and to tease out common values and shared hopes for ourselves, our congregations, and our diocese. Continue to pray for our diocese as we walk this path. May we continue to grow closer to God, grow closer to one another, and be open to where God s spirit may be stirring and leading us. One of the most precious gifts in life is our children. They are the future of our country and our Church. Nativity strives to form our youth through weekly Sunday School and through one of the best resources offered in the diocese Nativity Youth Camp (NYC). At NYC, our children learn the importance of community, relationships, and God. NYC is one of the best programs available to help shape and form children in a loving way with other Christian parents. At NYC there is no peer pressure, no school pressure, no pressure of sports teams, just the opportunity for your children to learn the importance of fellowship and being part of a Christ centered community. Now is the time to register for camp! Camp dates are Saturday June 18 - June 25. The theme for camp this year is Seeds and Sowing: Tending the Gardens Within. For those who are not familiar with the camp program, any child who has completed second grade may attend. NYC is a weeklong overnight camp at Camp Lackawanna held annually in June. The Cathedral has hosted camp in various forms for over 100 years. At camp we foster relationships and build trust. We explore faith through bible study and Christian formation. We look for God in one another and the space around us. Camp includes some of the following games and activities: swimming, kickball, softball, arts & crafts, campfires, skits, and songs. Camper and counselor accommodations are same gender cabins with electricity, bunk beds with mattresses, and screened windows. Meals are lovingly prepared by adult staffers in the lodge. Our youth learn that community includes people of all ages to whom they can turn, trust and who will in turn guide and direct them. Nativity Youth Camp is a place for your child to grow and develop into the person God created them to become. And camp is absolutely free to Nativity members. Please complete your registration and return it to any of the following: Our new camp directors Brian & Marie Mauro, Nativity Office, or Canon Michelle Moyer. We look forward to a grace filled week and as always, are in awe of the transformation that takes place in our youth as a result of this experience.

6 The Vestry met on Monday, March 21, The Annual Meeting and elections will be held Sunday April 24, 2016 at 9:00AM in Sayre Hall. The 321 Contact Service is cancelled for that day. THERE WILL BE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND CHILD CARE! We will have an open agenda with a short report on vestry s next focused project, beginning to develop a campus plan that reflects and enables our mission. Mark your calendars! We will be looking for you. The new chiller will be installed April 15th. Thanks to Lee Snyder for working so hard for making this happen and for working with the insurance company in making our claim. The Vestry unanimously voted to give the Thanksgiving offering to the Sunday school s Heifer Project mission. They are very close to meeting their goal of purchasing an ark. Remember to return your Ark boxes on April 3rd! The Vestry will meet again Tuesday, April 19, 2016 April 3 April 10 April 17 April 24 Mission Abraham update & Spiritual Practice for Adults Rev. Dr. Deborah Appler: "Creation Care: A Biblical Mandate" Rev. Dr. Deborah Appler: "Creation Care: A Biblical Mandate" Annual Parish Meeting Transfers In Michael, Karen and Hope Licciardello from Episcopal Church of the Advent Spartansburg, SC April 3 Acts 5:27-32 Revelation 1:4-8 John 20:19-31 Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150 April 10 Acts 9:1-6, (7-20) Revelation 5:11-14 John 21:1-19 Psalm 30 April 17 Acts 9:36-43 Revelation 7:9-17 John 10:22-30 Psalm 23 April 24 Acts 11:1-18 Revelation 21:1-6 John 13:31-35 Psalm 148

7 WHEN DID IT HAPPEN? I am not sure when it started for me. I got this idea that we were supposed to help people. Was it when I was a 37 year old woman being confirmed for the first time in the Episcopal tradition? I affirmed my faith in Christ and breathed in the holy spirit which told me I matter in this world. It could have been when I travelled to my husband s home in Kenya. He grew up in a solidly middle class neighborhood by Kenyan standards. He had a nice house which used to have an open courtyard in the back. When I visited, the windows all had bars on them and the open courtyard had been blocked off with sheet metal. They padlocked the inside of the doors at night for safety. Break ins had become a regular thing since he had left for college in America and his middle class neighborhood was no more. The neighborhood we passed by on our way to the airport was called Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. It is made up of tin shacks with dirt floors for miles and miles. There is no running water and modern toilets have only been built since My husband was one of the lucky ones. Maybe it happened in high school for me. I found myself living a comfortable existence in a comfortable home in a comfortable country(america). When I was in 10th grade, my grandparents took me on a trip to India with them. This was definitely outside my comfort zone! I was the outsider now; the one who didn t belong, couldn t blend in, found the food so spicy! We went to hospitals for the blind and saw people who had lost their sight due to lack of nutrition or basic medical help. We went to leper colonies where people recovered from having their noses chewed off by rats, and to orphanages where children had been left because parents couldn t care for them. I played tag in my bare feet with the children. We giggled and laughed, hugged and loved. Could it have happened earlier? Could it have been at my own baptism when I was invited to begin a relationship not only with my parents who held me but with God and creation? Could it have been the waters of baptism that taught me to help others? To love others as I myself am Loved. When did it happen for you? Please join us on May 1st at the Adult Forum as we discuss Nativity s interest and involvement with Refugee Resettlement in the Lehigh Valley. Join our conversation with Episcopal Migration Ministries and Lutheran Immigration Resettlement Services. We can do a little or a lot, from co-sponsoring a family to collecting materials. **Proposed families have already begun their process with the United Nations and been declared refugees. **Refugees are people (women, children and elderly, for example) who are unable to return to their homes due to fear of prosecution. **They have been registered at refugee camps and go through an average 2 year screening process before they are allowed to come to the United States.** The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe, Bishop Provisional The Very Rev. Anthony R. Pompa, Dean and Rector tpompa@nativitycathedral.org The Rev. Canon Michelle Moyer, canonmichelle@nativitycathedral.org Richard Guyer, Sr. Warden RichardGuyer837@gmail.com Kris Warner, Jr. Warden kristinaww@yahoo.com