Once again, welcome to everyone on this 2014 edition of Friends & Family Sunday, and the Dedication of the Chapel on the Commons. What an absolutely gorgeous day with a distinct feel of fall for our BBQ chicken luncheon following the service under the tent.
The Chapel on the Commons is the second major piece of the Commons at St. Cyprian’s. We have already installed almost 3,000 square feet on pavers with a labyrinth embedded in the design. We have just completed the Chapel on the Commons for outdoor services, weddings, baptism, and blessings of all kinds. Actually, yesterday was the Feast of St. Francis and today would have been the occasion for the Blessing of the Animals, but we decided on Friends & Family instead. Still to come as part of the Commons is a trellis gate at the entrance off Martin Luther King Avenue, a Prayer Wall between the large cedar tree at the east end on the Commons and the south side of the church, and then completing the landscaping. We are pleased at the progress we have made and grateful to all of you who have contributed to making this possible.
The Chapel on the Commons is the second major piece of the Commons at St. Cyprian’s. We have already installed almost 3,000 square feet on pavers with a labyrinth embedded in the design. We have just completed the Chapel on the Commons for outdoor services, weddings, baptism, and blessings of all kinds. Actually, yesterday was the Feast of St. Francis and today would have been the occasion for the Blessing of the Animals, but we decided on Friends & Family instead. Still to come as part of the Commons is a trellis gate at the entrance off Martin Luther King Avenue, a Prayer Wall between the large cedar tree at the east end on the Commons and the south side of the church, and then completing the landscaping. We are pleased at the progress we have made and grateful to all of you who have contributed to making this possible.
In the name of the God of all Creation,
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
Once Once again, welcome to everyone on this 2014 edition of Friends & Family Sunday, and the Dedication of the Chapel on the Commons. What an absolutely gorgeous day with a distinct feel of fall for our BBQ chicken luncheon following the service under the tent.
The Chapel on the Commons is the second major piece of the Commons at St. Cyprian’s. We have already installed almost 3,000 square feet on pavers with a labyrinth embedded in the design. We have just completed the Chapel on the Commons for outdoor services, weddings, baptism, and blessings of all kinds. Actually, yesterday was the Feast of St. Francis and today would have been the occasion for the Blessing of the Animals, but we decided on Friends & Family instead. Still to come as part of the Commons is a trellis gate at the entrance off Martin Luther King Avenue, a Prayer Wall between the large cedar tree at the east end on the Commons and the south side of the church, and then completing the landscaping. We are pleased at the progress we have made and grateful to all of you who have contributed to making this possible.
In this morning’s reading from the Book of Exodus we hear the Ten Commandments. This is the culmination of the epic saga that began when Abram had a vision or dream that sounded to him like a divine voice from an un-named God that told him to take Sarai, his wife, and leave the security of his home in the Ur of the Chaldeans and travel to a far off and unknown place where he would become the ancestor of a people numbering greater than the stars in the sky. Abram was obedient to the voice, and set out in hope. But he must have felt horribly frustrated when Sarai could not have a child. Then, three angels visited Abram and Sarai and announced that she would have a son in her old age and she laughed at the prospect. Isaac was born to Sarai, whose name became Sarah, and Abram’s name changed to Abraham.
This is the beginning of the long story of the generations of Abraham … Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Joseph … the great grandson of Abraham … was a dreamer who was hated by his brothers. He was sold as a slave to a caravan going to Egypt, only to rise to power and rescue his family when a famine besieged the land of the Israelites. At that time the Egyptians were pleased to host the Israelites … indeed, Joseph had saved them from the famine as well. But then another Egyptian Pharaoh rose to power who was threatened by the growing population of Israelites and so he oppressed them. Moses … an Israelite born in Egypt was raised in the Pharaoh’s home, but then banished to the wilderness for killing a guard. In the wilderness he encountered God in a burning bush, and this God now had a name “I AM. I AM WHO I AM.” And this God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in the Exodus. They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and that brings us to today’s reading, and the Ten Commandments … a covenant with a God who now has a name … even if it cannot be spoken.
This is a story of a journey through time and space … a journey of family and community. It is a story of hope and frustration, of trust and betrayal, and of the testing of faith. Yet, there are some scholars who say it never happened … that Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses are all fictitious folk characters. But does that mean the story is not true? Just because it didn’t happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I believe the story is true, even if it isn’t factual. And, I think a version of this story has happened in our midst, and in the history of this church of St. Cyprian’s.
The history of St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church says that in the 1890’s a Mrs. Julia Jackson … a Black woman who had come to St. Augustine from the Bahamas … wanted a place for people of color to worship in the Episcopal Church tradition. There is just one short sentence describing the beginning of this community of faith. But what is the real story that is behind those few words? No doubt Mrs. Jackson’s ancestors were from Africa, and no doubt that in the generations before Mrs. Jackson those ancestors came across the Atlantic in slave ships. And what prompted Mrs. Jackson to leave the Bahamas to come to Florida? Did she or her family have a reasonable choice in the matter, or was it out of absolute necessity, or possibly by force? And what does that sentence say about the culture of St. Augustine … and the South in general … in the late 1800’s? A culture where a person of color had to start their own church because they were not welcome to worship with white people.
This was the beginning of this community of faith. This is our story … even for us who are white and privileged. This is the DNA of this church. This community made a way for itself when there was no way. This building was built by black hands … and at least some white money. The people who have worshipped in this sacred space have known all the trials and tribulations of our spiritual ancestors: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. They have gone through the struggle to be freed from the bondage racial segregation, and they have wandered in the wilderness. Yet, they have also known the joys of family and friends, of community and faith … the joys of a loving God who wants nothing more than for ALL us to live in the fullness of God’s likeness.
St. Cyprian’s has been an anchor in this historic neighborhood of Lincolnville since it was built. One hundred years ago their clergy leader was the Rev. Peter Williams Cassey. Rev. Cassey had started a school for blacks, and Native Americans, and Chinese immigrant children in California at a time when those children were being denied education elsewhere. Rev. Cassey was the first black to be ordained in the Episcopal Church west of the Mississippi … he was ordained a deacon, but he was never ordained to the priesthood. Although he was the clergy in charge of churches in North Carolina and Florida ordaining a black man to the priesthood in the South was just not done in the late 19th and early 20th century. In spite of that limitation, Rev. Cassey led this newly formed congregation for 17 years until his death, and it was transformed from a loose-knit group of worshippers into a tight community of faith that became a cornerstone of this neighborhood.
This is the story of St. Cyprian’s, and it is a story from the past when faith was first becoming a reality. This is the historical and faith context of this community gathered here today. We are celebrating Friends and Family Sunday … and we are celebrating all the friends and family who have preceded us in this place. We applaud their perseverance, and we honor their gifts to this generation by being faithful stewards of their sacred legacy.
St. Cyprian’s today is reclaiming its role as a cornerstone of this neighborhood, and of the greater community of St. Augustine. The Commons at St. Cyprian’s is a tangible and visible sign of the commitment of this congregation to a deep faith that is rooted in its past, and relevant to the world we live in. Through your faithful generosity of financial resources and profound spirit we have come a very long way since this church was divided by schism, leaving but a handful of parishioners to pick up the pieces and rebuild. One of those who was key to the resurrection of this community of faith is Dr. Dorothy Headley Israel, who we will honor today at the dedication of the Chapel on the Commons in her name. But, with all due respect, this isn’t just about you, Deeh. It is about all in this congregation who have contributed their spirit, their time, their talents, and their treasure to the glory of an abiding God to make St. Cyprian’s what it is today.
The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on a mountain top. That God had revealed her name to Moses in the burning bush … “ I AM.” This is the God of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah, of Jacob and Rachel. This is the God who wanted to be in an intimate relationship with the people of God. The epic saga began with Abraham in the Ur of the Chaldeans, and ended on Mount Sinai. Our story of St. Cyprian’s began long before Mrs. Julia Jackson, and will end long after all of us are gone. Yet our story … our sacred history … is one of those ripples of concentric circles of the Abraham – Moses saga. It is a story of living life with a loving and abiding God, in deep, profound and growing faith.
May this congregation, and all of its friends and family, continue to be blessed by this loving and abiding God.
Amen.
The Chapel on the Commons is the second major piece of the Commons at St. Cyprian’s. We have already installed almost 3,000 square feet on pavers with a labyrinth embedded in the design. We have just completed the Chapel on the Commons for outdoor services, weddings, baptism, and blessings of all kinds. Actually, yesterday was the Feast of St. Francis and today would have been the occasion for the Blessing of the Animals, but we decided on Friends & Family instead. Still to come as part of the Commons is a trellis gate at the entrance off Martin Luther King Avenue, a Prayer Wall between the large cedar tree at the east end on the Commons and the south side of the church, and then completing the landscaping. We are pleased at the progress we have made and grateful to all of you who have contributed to making this possible.
In this morning’s reading from the Book of Exodus we hear the Ten Commandments. This is the culmination of the epic saga that began when Abram had a vision or dream that sounded to him like a divine voice from an un-named God that told him to take Sarai, his wife, and leave the security of his home in the Ur of the Chaldeans and travel to a far off and unknown place where he would become the ancestor of a people numbering greater than the stars in the sky. Abram was obedient to the voice, and set out in hope. But he must have felt horribly frustrated when Sarai could not have a child. Then, three angels visited Abram and Sarai and announced that she would have a son in her old age and she laughed at the prospect. Isaac was born to Sarai, whose name became Sarah, and Abram’s name changed to Abraham.
This is the beginning of the long story of the generations of Abraham … Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Joseph … the great grandson of Abraham … was a dreamer who was hated by his brothers. He was sold as a slave to a caravan going to Egypt, only to rise to power and rescue his family when a famine besieged the land of the Israelites. At that time the Egyptians were pleased to host the Israelites … indeed, Joseph had saved them from the famine as well. But then another Egyptian Pharaoh rose to power who was threatened by the growing population of Israelites and so he oppressed them. Moses … an Israelite born in Egypt was raised in the Pharaoh’s home, but then banished to the wilderness for killing a guard. In the wilderness he encountered God in a burning bush, and this God now had a name “I AM. I AM WHO I AM.” And this God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in the Exodus. They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and that brings us to today’s reading, and the Ten Commandments … a covenant with a God who now has a name … even if it cannot be spoken.
This is a story of a journey through time and space … a journey of family and community. It is a story of hope and frustration, of trust and betrayal, and of the testing of faith. Yet, there are some scholars who say it never happened … that Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses are all fictitious folk characters. But does that mean the story is not true? Just because it didn’t happen doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I believe the story is true, even if it isn’t factual. And, I think a version of this story has happened in our midst, and in the history of this church of St. Cyprian’s.
The history of St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church says that in the 1890’s a Mrs. Julia Jackson … a Black woman who had come to St. Augustine from the Bahamas … wanted a place for people of color to worship in the Episcopal Church tradition. There is just one short sentence describing the beginning of this community of faith. But what is the real story that is behind those few words? No doubt Mrs. Jackson’s ancestors were from Africa, and no doubt that in the generations before Mrs. Jackson those ancestors came across the Atlantic in slave ships. And what prompted Mrs. Jackson to leave the Bahamas to come to Florida? Did she or her family have a reasonable choice in the matter, or was it out of absolute necessity, or possibly by force? And what does that sentence say about the culture of St. Augustine … and the South in general … in the late 1800’s? A culture where a person of color had to start their own church because they were not welcome to worship with white people.
This was the beginning of this community of faith. This is our story … even for us who are white and privileged. This is the DNA of this church. This community made a way for itself when there was no way. This building was built by black hands … and at least some white money. The people who have worshipped in this sacred space have known all the trials and tribulations of our spiritual ancestors: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. They have gone through the struggle to be freed from the bondage racial segregation, and they have wandered in the wilderness. Yet, they have also known the joys of family and friends, of community and faith … the joys of a loving God who wants nothing more than for ALL us to live in the fullness of God’s likeness.
St. Cyprian’s has been an anchor in this historic neighborhood of Lincolnville since it was built. One hundred years ago their clergy leader was the Rev. Peter Williams Cassey. Rev. Cassey had started a school for blacks, and Native Americans, and Chinese immigrant children in California at a time when those children were being denied education elsewhere. Rev. Cassey was the first black to be ordained in the Episcopal Church west of the Mississippi … he was ordained a deacon, but he was never ordained to the priesthood. Although he was the clergy in charge of churches in North Carolina and Florida ordaining a black man to the priesthood in the South was just not done in the late 19th and early 20th century. In spite of that limitation, Rev. Cassey led this newly formed congregation for 17 years until his death, and it was transformed from a loose-knit group of worshippers into a tight community of faith that became a cornerstone of this neighborhood.
This is the story of St. Cyprian’s, and it is a story from the past when faith was first becoming a reality. This is the historical and faith context of this community gathered here today. We are celebrating Friends and Family Sunday … and we are celebrating all the friends and family who have preceded us in this place. We applaud their perseverance, and we honor their gifts to this generation by being faithful stewards of their sacred legacy.
St. Cyprian’s today is reclaiming its role as a cornerstone of this neighborhood, and of the greater community of St. Augustine. The Commons at St. Cyprian’s is a tangible and visible sign of the commitment of this congregation to a deep faith that is rooted in its past, and relevant to the world we live in. Through your faithful generosity of financial resources and profound spirit we have come a very long way since this church was divided by schism, leaving but a handful of parishioners to pick up the pieces and rebuild. One of those who was key to the resurrection of this community of faith is Dr. Dorothy Headley Israel, who we will honor today at the dedication of the Chapel on the Commons in her name. But, with all due respect, this isn’t just about you, Deeh. It is about all in this congregation who have contributed their spirit, their time, their talents, and their treasure to the glory of an abiding God to make St. Cyprian’s what it is today.
The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on a mountain top. That God had revealed her name to Moses in the burning bush … “ I AM.” This is the God of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah, of Jacob and Rachel. This is the God who wanted to be in an intimate relationship with the people of God. The epic saga began with Abraham in the Ur of the Chaldeans, and ended on Mount Sinai. Our story of St. Cyprian’s began long before Mrs. Julia Jackson, and will end long after all of us are gone. Yet our story … our sacred history … is one of those ripples of concentric circles of the Abraham – Moses saga. It is a story of living life with a loving and abiding God, in deep, profound and growing faith.
May this congregation, and all of its friends and family, continue to be blessed by this loving and abiding God.
Amen.
