Welcome to CALVARY EPISCOPAL CHURCH Santa Cruz, California
Founder’s Day & Day of Lament for Racial Injustice June 21, 2020 Livestream Service Holy Eucharist, Rite II, 10:30am
Today we celebrate the 156th anniversary of the laying of Calvary's Cornerstone on June 29, 1864, and honor the visionary and courageous pioneers who established our "little red church" in downtown Santa Cruz. As our inaugural service at Calvary became a requiem mass following the death of President Lincoln, race and racial injustice have long been a part of our community’s awareness and shared history. The blending of this year’s Day of Lament, shared across the Episcopal Church, with this year’s Founder’s Day is an opportunity to remember both the highs and the lows of our story.
We at Calvary honor our baptismal covenant to “respect the dignity of every human being.” We celebrate the wonderful diversity of the human family, and strive to include a place for everyone at God’s table. Whether you’re young or old, rich or poor; married, partnered, or single; housed or homeless; gay, straight, trans, or questioning; native, documented, or undocumented – whoever you are (and just as you are), there is a place for you here. Come, the table is prepared.
Prelude My Lord, what a morning Calvary Choir Elliott Nguyen, baritone Archive recording
Litany of Thanksgiving for a Church
Celebrant: Let us thank God whom we worship here in the beauty of holiness.
Eternal God, the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, much less the walls of temples made with hands. Graciously receive our thanks for this place, and accept the work of our hands, offered to your honor and glory.
For the Church universal, of which these visible buildings are the symbol, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For your presence whenever two or three have gathered together in your Name, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For this place where we may be still and know that you are God, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For making us your children by adoption and grace, and refreshing us day by day with the bread of life. People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For the knowledge of your will and the grace to perform it, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For the fulfilling of our desires and petitions as you see best for us, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For the pardon of our sins, which restores us to the company of your faithful people, People: We thank you, Lord. Celebrant: For the blessing of our vows and the crowning of our years with your goodness, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For the faith of those who have gone before us and for our encouragement by their perseverance, People: We thank you, Lord.
Celebrant: For the fellowship of all your Saints, People: We thank you, Lord.
After a brief silence, the Celebrant concludes with the following Doxology
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; For everything in heaven and on earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; And you are exalted as head over all. Amen.
The Word of God
Opening Acclamation
Celebrant: Blessed be the one, holy, and living God. People: Glory to God forever and ever.
Collect for Purity
Celebrant: Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song of Praise I, the Lord of sea and sky WLP 812 Sung by all
-2-
Words: Daniel L. Schutte Music: Daniel L. Schutte
Collect for Today
Celebrant: God be with you People: And also with you Celebrant: Let us pray
Almighty God, to whose glory we celebrate the dedication of this house of prayer: We give you thanks for the fellowship of those who have worshiped in this place. We recognize and lament those parts of our history that have contributed to racial inequality and perpetuated the institutional racism of our faith and society. We pray that all who seek you here may find you, may find welcome, acceptance, and equity in and from our community, and may be filled with your joy and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Lesson: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27b-30
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, ‘But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Have regard to your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there”, that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays towards this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling-place; heed and forgive.
Lector: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. People: Thanks be to God.
-3- Psalm 84 Sung by all, please stand
The Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 3:1-11, 16-17
And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Lector: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. People: Thanks be to God.
-4- Sequence Hymn Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen LEVAS 175 Sung by all; please stand
Words: Traditional Music: Negro Spiritual
The Gospel: Matthew 7:13-14, 24-25
Celebrant: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.
‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
Celebrant: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Christ. -5- The Homily The Rev. Dr. Austin Leininger
Nicene Creed Said by all; please stand
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was incarnate from the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Prayers of the People Today’s prayers and the Litany that follows are an adaptation from those written by the Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music for this time of lamenting and responding to racial injustice.
Please remain standing as you are able.
The Altar Flowers are given this week to the glory of God. The Sanctuary Candle is given this week to the glory of God. In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer we pray for all campus ministries. We pray for COPA (Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action), for their member churches and organizations, for their staff and leadership team, and for the campaigns they organize to improve Santa Cruz and our local region. And we pray for our deanery prayer partner church, All Saints’ Church, Carmel. In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma); and The Most Rev’d Stephen Than Myint Oo, Archbishop of Myanmar and Bishop of Yangon.
Intercessor: As we continue to shelter in place for the foreseeable future, and as we participate in the struggles of the world around us, let us lift our hearts and our voices to God, bearing the truth of our hearts, minds, and souls to the one who is with us whether alone or in community, gathered virtually, or together in person.
God of Love and relationship, we pray for your Church throughout the world, for the Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church, for Michael, our Presiding Bishop, Lucinda, our Bishop, for Calvary, and for all who call on God’s name by every name by which God is known. Equip us with compassion and love, to carry out your work of reconciliation in the world.
God of love and relationship: People: Hear our prayers for the church. Silence — please add your own prayers for God’s Church
Intercessor: God of freedom, we pray for our nation, and all the nations of the world: For peace and unity across barriers of language, color, and creed; for elected and appointed leaders, that they would serve the common good. Inspire all people with courage to speak out against hatred, to actively resist evil. Unite the human family in bonds of love.
-6- God of freedom, People: Hear our prayers for the world. Silence — please add your prayers for the nations of the world
Intercessor: God of justice, we pray for your creation, entrusted to our care, abused by our indifference, torn and confused by this pandemic and by the injustices we perpetrate against each other. For those who have suffered because of COVID-19, because of war, strife, hatred, prejudice, or poverty, or because of any condition of impairment or peril caused by human or natural cause. Stir up in us a thirst for justice that protects the earth, its resources, its inhabitants of every kind, and your people of every race and nation, that we may leave to our children’s children the legacy of peace, beauty and abundance that you have given us and want for us.
God of justice, People: Hear our prayers for the earth. Silence — please add your prayer for peace and harmony on earth
Intercessor: God of peace, we pray for our Santa Cruz community: for all who struggle to keep businesses running, for all who work in service and risk their own health and safety for the health, safety, and welfare of others; for those sheltering in their homes and those without homes in which to shelter, and for our Calvary family whom we miss and long to embrace again. Kindle in every heart a desire for equality, respect, and opportunity for all. Give us courage to strive for justice and peace among all people, beginning here at home
God of peace and compassion People: Keep watch over us and grant us your care. Silence — please add your prayers for our local community
Intercessor: God of mercy, we pray for all in any kind of need or trouble: For our small business owners in our Calvary family, for those seeking employment and those waiting for employment to begin, for those feeling cut off and alienated, For those whose lives are closely linked with ours, and those connected to us as part of the human family. For refugees and prisoners; for the sick and suffering, the lonely and despairing; for those facing violence; for all held down by prejudice or injustice. And for those on our Calvary prayer list: Isabella & Daniella Salido, Carol Carter, Genie Sperow, Virginia Sajan, Reba Zumberg, Robin Bruckner, Albert Simi, Cindy Walker, Alta Ifland, Anna Nickel, P.J. Machado Sylvestro, Elizabeth Rible, Katherine Crawford, Carolyn Miller, Liz McCollough, Bill Lenyk, Donna Jacobs, Vi Gray, Inga Sundet, Tami, Sarisa Helburg, the Keilen family, Jessica, David, and Elena Peterson-Frankel; and Pam Stevens and Ed Horsley who are in the process for Holy Orders. Awaken in us compassion and humility of spirit, as we seek and serve Christ in all persons
God of mercy People: Hear our prayers for all who are in need. Silence — please add your prayers for those in need of our prayers
Intercessor God of eternal life, we pray for those who have died: For the faithful in every generation who have worked for justice; for prophets who called us to racial reconciliation; for martyrs who died because of hatred; for those in our own generation who have died from COVID-19, from racial violence, or any other cause; and for all the communion of saints, that they may find themselves eternally in your loving embrace. Make us faithful to your call to proclaim your Good News, by word and example, and bring us at last into the glorious company of the saints in light
God of eternal life People: Be our assurance and our hope in the life to come. Silence — please add your prayers for those (and the families of those) who have died
Intercessor: God of all good things, we pray also for the thanksgivings of our lives and hearts—that give us hope, peace, blessing, grace, and fill us with love, courage, and resolve during these otherwise difficult times. Inspire in our hearts an awareness and a gratitude for all the blessings we enjoy.
God of all good things People: We bless you for the blessings of our lives! Silence — please add your prayers of thanksgiving! -7- Concluding Collect Hear our prayers, Holy God. Breathe your Spirit over us and all the earth, that barriers would crumble and divisions cease. Make us more fully your co-healers of the broken world. Unite us with all people in bonds of love, that the whole earth and all its peoples may be at peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Litany of Repentance Celebrant Dear people of God, our history is marred by oppression, by the enslavement of those who differ from us, and by the forces of racism that attack human dignity. The sin of racism is woven into our lives and our cultures, in small and great ways, in things done and things left undone. For many of us it is against our principles and our intentions, yet our very systems were built upon it, and so we continue to perpetuate inequality despite our desires otherwise.
As followers of Christ, we reject racism and the oppression of other human beings. In building Christ’s beloved community, we must strive to love all people, respect all people, and work for the good of all people. We must stand alongside God’s children of every race, language, and culture, and work together as agents of justice, peace, and reconciliation.
In the assurance of our forgiveness, let us kneel before God and humbly confess our sins: our participation, willingly or unwillingly in racism, our privilege based on racism, and our perpetuation of racism by our action, or by our inaction to challenge and change unjust systems.
Silence is then kept for a time, all kneeling.
Celebrant God the Father, you freed your people from slavery in Egypt, yet the legacy of slavery deforms our lives today. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant God the Son, you prayed that all would be united in your love and service, yet the divisions among us rend your body. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant God the Holy Spirit, you inspire us to live peaceably with all, yet the stain of genocide and internment mars our striving for justice. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant As a nation and society, as the Church, and even as individuals, we have harmed one another and the earth through negligence, greed, and self-interest. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have failed to condemn discrimination that leads to unrest. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have decried violence, while overlooking inequity and frustration from which it rises. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have practiced injustice for economic gain and have oppressed others to make a false peace. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have sought comfort in advantage for ourselves at the cost of injustice for others. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have welcomed solace over conflict and ignored the cries of those harmed by our comfort. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have grasped for this world’s goods, and been arrogant toward those who have little. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have not shared the good things we have been given, and blamed the poor for their poverty. People Have mercy on us. -8- Celebrant We have been fearful and distrustful of those who are different from us. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have divided ourselves from others, and refused to listen to or believe their experience. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have been indifferent to the pain and suffering of our sisters and brothers. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have held in contempt those who need our help, and not loved them with our whole hearts. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have been self-satisfied in our privilege, and denied our oppression of others. We have preferred order over justice, and isolation over the struggle for peace. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have quietly held good intentions, and kept silent the message of reconciliation. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant We have failed to act with courage for the sake of love. People Have mercy on us.
Celebrant Lord have mercy. People Christ have mercy.
Celebrant Lord have mercy.
Celebrant May Almighty God have mercy on us, grant us courage and conviction, and strengthen us to love others who are unlike us. May God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity, make us compassionate in our actions and courageous in our works, that we may see Christ’s Beloved Community in our own day. Amen.
Commissioning for the Ministry of Justice and Reconciliation
Celebrant Dear People of God, we stand in the shadow of the prophets crying out for justice and peace. God calls us to be a people of reconciliation, serving a world in need. Courageous women, men, and people of every gender identity have taken the risk of standing up and speaking out for the least and the lowest. This work involves risking ourselves for the sake of God's love, moving beyond ourselves in order to seek and serve Christ and one another. We are all called to the work and ministry of social justice and reconciliation.
Will you persevere in prayer and fellowship?
People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you proclaim the good news of reconciliation in both word and deed? People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you strive to see Christ in all persons, both with whom you agree and disagree? People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you seek to mend what is broken by human sin and greed? People I will, with God’s help.
Celebrant Will you work toward dismantling the sin of abuse of power? People I will, with God’s help.
The Celebrant concludes In the name of God and of God’s Church, I commission you to stand up, speak out and live into the reign of Christ our Savior. Amen.
-9- The Peace
Celebrant: The peace of Christ be always with you. People: And also with you.
Announcements (see last pages)
Birthday Prayer
All: Watch over your children, O Lord, as their days increase; bless and guide them wherever they may be. Strengthen them when they stand; comfort them when discouraged or sorrowful; raise them up if they fall; and in their hearts may your peace, which passes understanding, abide all the days of their lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Travelers
All: O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger; and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Holy Communion
Offertory Anthem How Lovely Is thy Dwelling Place Words: Vs. 1 & 2, The Psalms of David in Meter, 1650 Vs. 3, Francis Rous (1579-1659) Music: Brother James’s Air; arr. Don Michael Dicie (b. 1941)
How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts, to me! My thirsty soul desires and longs within thy courts to be; My weary heart and flesh cry out, O living God, for thee.
Beside thine altars, gracious Lord, the swallows find a nest; How happy they who dwell with thee and praise thee without rest, And happy they whose hearts are set upon the pilgrim’s quest.
Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me. And in God’s house for evermore my dwelling place shall be; And in God’s house for evermore my dwelling place shall be.
The Great Thanksgiving Eucharistic Prayer EOW 1
Celebrant The Lord be with you People And also with you Celebrant Lift up your hearts People We lift them to the Lord Celebrant Let us give thanks to the lord our God People It is right to give God thanks and praise. Celebrant It is truly right, and good and joyful, to give you thanks, all-holy God, source of life and fountain of mercy. Through Jesus Christ our great High Priest, in whom we are built up as living stones of a holy temple, that we might offer before you a sacrifice of praise and prayer which is holy and pleasing in your sight.
Therefore, joining with Angels and Archangels and with the faithful of every generation, we lift our voices with all creation as we sing:
-10- Sanctus Kylan deGhetaldi Sung by all
The people stand or kneel.
Then the Celebrant continues…
Blessed are you, gracious God, creator of the universe and giver of life. You formed us in your own image and called us to dwell in your infinite love. You gave the world into our care that we might be your faithful stewards and show forth your bountiful grace.
But we failed to honor your image in one another and in ourselves; we would not see your goodness in the world around us; and so we violated your creation, abused one another, and rejected your love. Yet you never ceased to care for us, and prepared the way of salvation for all people.
Through Abraham and Sarah you called us into covenant with you. You delivered us from slavery, sustained us in the wilderness, and raised up prophets to renew your promise of salvation. Then, in the fullness of time, you sent your eternal Word, made mortal flesh in Jesus. Born into the human family, and dwelling among us, he revealed your glory. Giving himself freely to death on the cross, he triumphed over evil, opening the way of freedom and life.
On the night before he died for us, Our Savior Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his friends, and said: “Take, eat: This is my Body which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
As supper was ending, Jesus took the cup of wine, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said: “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
-11- Celebrant and People
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
The Celebrant continues
Remembering his death and resurrection, we now present to you from your creation this bread and this wine. By your Holy Spirit may they be for us the Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Grant that we who share these gifts may be filled with the Holy Spirit and live as Christ’s Body in the world. Bring us into the everlasting heritage of your daughters and sons, that with all your saints, past, present, and yet to come, we may praise your Name for ever.
Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to you be honor, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Celebrant: As our Savior Christ has taught us, we now pray, People and Celebrant
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, Now and for ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread The Celebrant breaks the consecrated Bread. A period of silence is kept.
Celebrant All
Music: From New Plainsong; David Hurd (b. 1950)
The Priest invites the people to Communion
The Gifts of God for the People of God. Take them in remembrance the Christ died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith and with thanksgiving. All are welcome at God’s table.
-12- Prayer of Spiritual Communion
In union, O Lord, with your faithful people at every altar of your Church, where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated, I desire to offer to you praise and thanksgiving. I remember your death, Lord Christ; I proclaim your resurrection; I await your coming in glory. Since I cannot receive you today in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood at Calvary’s altar, I beseech you to come spiritually into my heart. Cleanse and strengthen me with your grace, Lord Jesus, and let me never be separated from you. May I live in you, and you in me, in this life and in the life to come. Amen.
Prayer of Thanksgiving Celebrant and People
Most loving God, creator and redeemer, we give you thanks for this foretaste of your glory. Through Christ, and with all your saints, we offer ourselves and our lives to your service. Send us out in the power of your Spirit, to stand with you in your world. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the servant, our friend and brother. Amen.
Blessing Live without fear: your Creator has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Go in peace to follow the good road and may God’s blessing be with you always. Amen.
Closing Hymn
The Dismissal
Celebrant: Let us go forth in the name of the name of God—Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. People: Thanks be to God.
Postlude Spring Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Played by Madeline Cavalieri -13- Today’s Music
We welcome parishioner and violinist, Madeline Cavalieri, to our service this morning. She will be playing in the choir anthem and brings us a wonderful postlude. We are very grateful for her contribution to our online worship today.
Announcements
This Morning’s Lector: Ed Horsley
Today, Father Austin commemorates Calvary's 156th anniversary combined with a Service of Lament for social injustice and racial disparities. The music and homily highlight our need to Learn, Pray, and Act - as Kelsey Davis recently invited us to consider - as we navigate through these troubled times so similar to those days in 1864. Murray and the choir present thoughtfully selected hymns to fit this occasion. Madeline Precht enhances the music program with her violin expertise.
Outreach offering -- - Each month we focus on a Calvary outreach ministry and collect a special offering for that ministry over the course of 4 weeks. Through June 21, we support COPA (Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action). Founded in 2003, COPA’s mission is to develop the leadership skills of ordinary people to engage effectively in public life with power to negotiate with public and private sector leaders to change the economic, social, political and cultural pressures on their community. Calvary is one of 22 member churches, synagogues, public schools, labor organizations, and nonprofits in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. COPA leads community campaigns in the areas of housing, public safety, education, health care, immigration, and economic development. They also assist member organizations, including Calvary, in strategic planning and train leaders for effective community building. To support COPA, make checks payable to Calvary with COPA in the memo line and send the checks to the church office at 532 Center Street in Santa Cruz 95060. For more information about COPA, contact Al Reetz, [email protected] or 831-713-7371. Thanks for your support!
COPA Update: During this time of unrest, COPA members in both the Salinas and Watsonville communities have been asked by city officials and law enforcement agencies to assist in creating a law enforcement oversight plan. COPA’s input is often recognized as crucial because we represent the stories of need and of loss in our communities. Here In Santa Cruz, we have made it a point to meet with our officials in order to provide input as well as support. These meetings may well have helped to influence our Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills who was recently recognized on national TV for helping to organize - along with Mayor Cummings - a peaceful demonstration in downtown Santa Cruz.
This month COPA leaders are also working on COVID-19 related issues. A meeting has been arranged with city officials to discuss topics such as eviction protections, rent repayment plans, and the fiscal challenges the city now faces. Meanwhile, we continue working with other California IAF organizations to secure well deserved income protection for our many undocumented workers.
For more information about COPA, contact Al or Sonja Reetz, [email protected], 831-713-7371. To support COPA, make checks payable to Calvary with COPA in the memo line and send the checks to the church office at 532 Center Street in Santa Cruz 95060.
Father Austin is on vacation from June 23-July 11. Our services for those weeks will be prerecorded, but will not be posted until the morning of that Sunday’s service. Other weekly gatherings will continue at the regularly scheduled times and will be lay led while Austin is away
Bible Study Tuesdays at 11 am. Please email Father Austin directly ([email protected]) to ask to be included in the Zoom email list and to provide an email address for the invitation!
Thursday Service Thursdays at 11:30 am. Please email Father Austin directly ([email protected]) to ask to be included in the Zoom email list and to provide an email address for the invitation!
The Calvary Film Club is forming again! We can’t, of course, go to a movie together as in months past. But we can watch a movie via streaming services and then meet to discuss it. So let’s give it a try! On Saturday, June 27 at 4:00 p.m. on Zoom, we’ll discuss our first movie selection The Last Black Man in San Francisco, a film inspired by the true-life story of a man who tries to reclaim the Victorian house where his family once lived in the now-gentrified Filmore district. Beautifully filmed in San Francisco, it also explores themes of class, racial stereotypes, and friendship. The film is available to stream free of charge via Kanopy, a movie streaming service offered via the Santa Cruz Public Library. Details are available on the library’s website at https://www.santacruzpl.org/ematerials/ You will need a library card, but if you -14- don’t have one, you can get one online. The film is also available free to subscribers of the Amazon Prime video streaming service. NOTE: If you’re interested in the Calvary Film Club, contact Martha Dexter at [email protected] to be added to the email list to receive continuing notices and Zoom invitations.
Learn, Pray, Act – That’s what The Episcopal Church is calling us all to do as we confront racism in our society and become beloved community. The Adult Education Committee is organizing a book study group to broaden our understanding of the problems of racism. This summer, we’d like to gather a group together via Zoom to discuss How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. If you are interested in participating, please contact Cathy Watson by July 1 at [email protected] to be included in the email list as this gets organized.
OFFICE CLOSURE: The staff has been asked to work from home, and committees are asked to meet via Zoom. If you need pastoral care, or to contact any of the staff, please reach out via email or telephone. Father Austin: text or call 831- 350-1344 or email [email protected]. Please text Nicole: 831-325-9390 or email: [email protected].
SUPPORT: During this time of virtual-church, we have no way to pass the plate other than offering the option to donate online or mail in a check to Calvary. But we still need the support of the worshipping community to make ends meet. Please feel invited to make an offering to our General Fund by clicking the "Donate" button on our website https://calvarysantacruz.org/index.php/donate/ or by mailing a check to the Calvary office: 532 Center Street, S.C., CA 95060.
An update to the COVID-19 Closures: Our Worship Committee met this past Thursday, which included an update on the COVID-19 Closures. I was asked to share that information with the wider parish as an update, so here we go!
Our diocesan clergy and bishop have been meeting weekly to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the recent changes in governmental policy, and how we are maintaining the health and safety of our worshipping communities. With a phased re-entry plan for the diocese, each parish has been asked to form a re-entry team to address each phase, beginning with our current Phase II “sheltering-in-place with fewer restrictions," which Calvary has and which has met twice as of this past Friday. It will meet again on Tuesday. This is not to say that Calvary is ready for re-entry, rather it is a team of people who have been gathered from vestry, worship committee, others who have expertise in areas of health and disease transmission or specific interest in contributing to Calvary’s plan, and me, to help piece together a timeline and a set of procedures that need to be in place once the time comes for us to open our doors again.
Phase 1 was the strictest shelter-in-place order from the State and County, which has transitioned into Phase 2 as restrictions have lessened while we still remain sheltering in place. Phase III was not supposed to start until there were ZERO new cases in our county for 14 days, which hasn’t happened. However, with the loosening of restrictions by the Federal Government, our State Government has advised caution while allowing for small groups to begin meeting. Where this has placed our church is in a difficult position since the governmental goals are not the same as our Calvary community goals. Secular goals are aimed at herd immunity, which anticipates spikes in cases during periods of relaxed restrictions, then tightened restrictions while the hospitals treat the increased case load, then repeating the process until there are enough people who have recovered from COVID-19 that new cases are within the load capacity of the local hospitals without the need for tighter restrictions. This plan does not take into account those at greater risk, who it is assumed will remain sheltering in place until such a time as there is a vaccine for the virus—i.e. those ages 60+ and those with respiratory or other immune system issues that makes them of higher risk for infection and potential death. (Calvary’s goal, on the other hand, is for ZERO cases to be transmitted or contacted at Calvary, period.) Finally, Phase IV is when there is a vaccine, effective treatment for those who have contracted COVID-19, and “herd immunity.” This is not a short time off, but it is the time when social restrictions will stop and when Eucharist may again be celebrated in our parishes.
For our diocese, Bishop Lucinda has asked for the parish re-entry plans to be approved by vestry and by the diocese by June 21, which is the earliest any parish in our diocese will be allowed to have up to 25 members present (limited by 25% capacity of the facility), with no one over 60 admitted, with no music, with no Eucharist, with proper social distancing, with masks in place, with no books, with temperature and symptom checks at the door, with disinfections following each service, and with no physical contact. I would note that while other denominations have already begun to meet again, the services that I know of locally have been held by lottery or individual invitation, with only 25 members of the community invited, and with no one ages 60+ admitted.
Calvary’s position (i.e. the position of the Calvary Re-entry Team, with agreement in the Worship Committee, and which Vestry will discuss on the 18th) is community oriented, holistically concerned, and comes from our pastoral concern for our whole community. Since most of our community is over 60, including our music director, most of our Altar Guild, many of our LEMs and lectors, etc., until we can all worship together safely, we will remain in solidarity as a community and continue online worship only. Other smaller gathering opportunities will be discussed as restrictions are eased and as -15- we learn the trajectory of COVID-19 cases in the weeks and months ahead. For now, be reassured that we are all together in this, that God is with us, and that Calvary will weather this storm together pastorally, with love, compassion, mutual support, and with care for our whole community.
Vestry Members
Serving through January
John Blymyer, Jr. Warden 2022 Blaine Brokaw, Sr. Warden 2022 Richard Crane 2023 Allison Gong, Clerk 2023
Terry Hall 2021 Jane Martin 2023 Ola Monaghan 2021 Sarah Peterson 2022 John Vesecky 2023 Susan Whalen 2021
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Parishioners are welcome to give to the office names of family members and loved ones for inclusion in the Prayers of the People. Names will normally be kept on the list for four weeks unless an extension is requested.
Hymns and service music reprinted with permission from RiteSong and OneLicense#A-720403. Missa Lyra is reprinted with permission from the composer.
All scripture passages are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
There are two changes from the BCP in the wording of the Creed as printed in Enriching Our Worship. One is inclusive language, the other reverts to the original form of the Creed, which is acceptable to both the Western and Eastern Church. The Anglican Communion made this change in 1978 at Lambeth Conference, but it was too late for printing in the 1979 BCP.
BCP: Book of Common Prayer; EOW: Enriching our Worship; COE: Church of England
The Rt. Rev. Lucinda Ashby, Bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real The Rev. Dr. Austin Leininger, Rector The Rev. David J. Jones, Rector Emeritus Murray C. Walker, Choirmaster and Director of Music Kylan deGhetaldi, Organist 532 Center Street, Santa Cruz, California 831-423-8787 http://www.calvarysantacruz.org