Bill Dunford, a Cathedral parishioner and board member of Downtown Ecumenical Services, expresses his gratitude for the donations of children’s clothing from St. John’s members. He writes:

It was as quiet as the moment of consecration at a typical 10:30 Sunday service at the Cathedral.   Miriam, the Hispanic volunteer who translates for the Spanish speaking customers at DESC, had requested a moment of prayer from those in dire need in the crowded waiting room.

It was only 10 a.m., 90 minutes after the office opened, and the clothing distribution had to end. The clothing supply was getting low and already almost 60 families had been served.

The following day, steady streams of people in need were back in line. Distribution of clothing continued through to the usual closing time of noon.

DESC – Downtown Ecumenical Service Center – has been a fixture in downtown Jacksonville for more than 30 years.  The homeless and the needy of Jacksonville are well aware of this resource. With the required ID, they are eligible to receive services every three months.

DESC also has a partnership with the Sulzbacher Center.  Sulzbacher’s clients are served by written referral, and clothing donated to Sulzbacher is given to DESC. Services at DESC include help with clothing, rent or mortgage payments and even medical help. Already this year, DESC has experienced a 17 percent increase over the previous year in the number of families needing food, and a 23 percent increase in the number of families needing clothing. DESC has distributed almost 84,000 clothing items already this year.

Partnerships enable DESC to fulfill its mission of responding to the needs of our brothers and sisters, including children.  In addition to Sulzbacher, DESC partners with Presbyterian Social Ministries and Dignity U Wear.   St. John’s Cathedral has been a close partner from the beginning of DESC’s existence.   And recently, with Dean Kate’s blessing, the Cathedral has spearheaded a drive for children’s clothing.  Vast numbers of families need school and church clothing for their children, on an ongoing basis.  We continue to need your help to reach our goal of providing clothing to all of Jacksonville’s children in need.  A box is located in Taliaferro Hall for your donations.

As DESC volunteers, we hear the words, “Thank you so much. God bless you!” These words are directed not to us, but to you.  They are echoed by all of us volunteers, the staff and our long-time director, Mary Spuhler.

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Puppies and turtles and chickens, oh my! We blessed countless furry, feathery and scaly family members in honor of St. Francis of Assisi during our outdoor 9 a.m. service of Holy Eucharist. What a beautiful day!

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St. John’s Cathedral was the host site for a phenomenal Acolyte Festival on Saturday, October 6, 2012. Over 220 people enjoyed a beautiful Holy Eucharist, workshops and a fun Acolyte Olympics.

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We had a great day showcasing our ministires and kicking off the new school year. Many thanks to all our ministry leaders, Kirk Altman, Michelle Cronin, Marissa Lingaitis and Stacey Lowery for their part in making it a wonderful day.

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Mallory seemed pretty happy to be with us at St. John's.

Mallory is 8 years old. She, her mom and her baby brother, Elijah, stayed overnight all last week at the Cathedral as part of the Family Promise Program.

After dinner on the first night Mallory was here, she visited our sanctuary. “Oh my gosh!” she said. “This is a castle!” She loved the fountain in Burwell Court. She made herself right at home in our kitchen and in Taliaferro Hall, helping our volunteers make salad for dinner, set the table and clean up afterwards.

She was a wonderful guest.

Isaac, another one of our guests, is 9 years old. He dreams of singing in the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus. Last Friday evening, he took in the concert at St. John’s by the River City Men’s Chorus. His eyes were wide with amazement as he listened. The next day, on a trip to the Museum of Science and History, he sat down to jam on one of the city’s colorful outdoor pianos just outside the entryway, and drew an appreciative crowd. “I taught myself how to play the piano,” he told me.

Isaac enjoyed visiting M.O.S.H. and the Fountain of Friendship on Saturday.

Isaac’s dad is blind, and his mom, who was recently in an accident, had to be hospitalized during our Family Promise week. Isaac is so responsible about helping them. He was also eager to help in the kitchen. He was delighted when 9-year-old Mitchell Donahoo from our parish came for dinner one night with his family. And he became fast friends with members of our youth group who provided supper on Wednesday night.

He was a wonderful guest.

Alyssa is 3 years old. She and her mom are new to the Family Promise program. The corner of the cathedral she liked the best she called “The Little Room,” a.k.a. the nursery. There she could play with toys and cuddle dollies. She loved dancing on the stage in Taliaferro Hall and making art and Play-Doh sculptures.  She ate every bit of broccoli anyone served her.

Smiling Alyssa

She was a wonderful guest.

This program is a great help to the adults who get job counseling, educational direction and respite from financial stress while they move from church to church as participants. And in keeping these families from becoming homeless, Family Promise is an absolute lifesaver to their children.

And these children are an inspiration to us all.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our most recent Family Promise host week at St. John’s Cathedral.  The generosity of our parish was phenomenal. I especially want to thank our cooks: Bill and Pat Chatfield, Jackie Uitti, Tommy and Jennifer Donahoo, Nicole Andrews,  Liesl Gavronsky and the Youth Group, Cathy Guevarra, and Mark and Mary Anderson, Bill Dunford, Bill Fouraker and Donna Meyers-Perry (as well as Nancy Altman, who organized the youth group’s dinner).

Thanks also to those who spent the night in Ingram Lounge:  Martha, Jim and Ryan Cox, Linda Martin, Bill Fouraker, Patricia Young, Mark and Mary Anderson, Bill Dunford and Espia Gatson.  Thanks to Courtney Kreimer for helping gather diapers, paper goods, detergent and many other supplies before our guests arrived. Thanks to our sexton staff for their hard work.

And thanks to everyone who contributed groceries, linens and money to this project.  We will be a Family Promise host church again in a few months and welcome the support of anyone who would like to donate or volunteer.

Theresa Johnson, Cathedral Executive

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Dr. Jim Jamison with patients

Written by Larry Shughart and Linda Crofton

From May 18th to the 25th, eleven parishioners from St. John’s Cathedral (Wendy Anderson, Linda Crofton, Dr. Jim and Ann Dyer, Dr. Harry Griffiths,  Dr. Jim and Pat Jamison, Marvin Kloeppel, Emily Pipas, Larry Shughart and Clare Stern) represented the Diocese of Florida on a Medical Mission to Peru.  Flying to Lima is a long journey with most flights arriving late at night.  On Saturday we rested from our long trip, organized our supplies, and had dinner at a local shopping mall, with a nice view of the beach.   While in Lima, we stayed at a large, beautiful convent which was a walled compound with several chapels, dormitories, and gardens.  The convent was up on a hill, overlooking the beach.  The nuns took good care of us and served local food.  The food in Lima is quite good with all fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat.  On Sunday, we attended the Anglican Cathedral of the Good Shepherd or “Buena Pastor” where we met the Lima based mission team that spent the week with us.   We were hosted by Dr. Townsend Cooper and his wife Dawn from Brunswick, GA who have been in Lima for ten months.  In addition, our local team was comprised of other missionaries from England, college students on internship serving as translators, local nurses, and local priests.

On Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday we set up our medical clinics in a church in the suburbs of Lima.  These suburbs are shanty towns, built on the side of dusty mountains.  The church is under construction and is a mission project of Trinity Church, Plano, TX.   The foundation and walls are up, and the church meets there regularly even without a roof or windows, as it seldom rains in Lima.  The houses in this area do not have city water or sewers.  Trucks deliver water into barrels located at each house, and we had to use outdoor privies as bathrooms.

Our medical clinic was very organized.  As people arrived, they were registered, weighed, measured, and their vitals were recorded.  Larry Shughart organized activities for the children to keep them occupied while their parents filled out the paper work and waited their turn to see the doctor.  While waiting to see a doctor, a local nurse gave lectures on preventative care and the importance of hygiene, diet, and exercise. She had colorful posters in Spanish to drive home her message.  We had three doctor stations, each with a translator, and Dr. Cooper floated among the stations offering his advice and noting which patients would require follow-up care.   After visiting the doctor, the patients took their prescriptions to our mobile pharmacy and received instructions.  Before departing, each patient was prayed for by two or three people including the local priest, local missionaries, and folks from our team.   Special thanks to Linda Crofton for organizing this spiritual healing.

On Wednesday morning, the team visited the Diocesan offices where we toured the seminary, the commercial kitchen, the accounting and legal departments, and the youth ministry.  We were very impressed with the organization and structure of the mission in Peru.  There is a long term vision for the Church in Peru, which includes a well-thought out plan for achieving that vision, with clear accountability and very good records of all donations and expenditures.   Several of the team members are interested in pursuing further dialogue with the Youth Ministry and the Seminary in Peru.   These are both places where we believe the Holy Spirit may be calling St. John’s Cathedral and the Dioceses of Florida to offer support.

Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, and Friday were spent in a second location in another suburb of Lima.  This suburb was about ten years advanced from the first site we visited, and most of the houses had running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, windows, etc.  Some of the streets were paved.   Again, we set up our clinic in the local church, which was a much larger structure that included offices, school rooms, and bathrooms.  The priest at this church was Peruvian, but bi-lingual, having spent a number of years working in California in the hotel industry.

The doctors on our team inspired some of the local teenagers that were translating for them to consider careers in medicine through their example of Christ-like love using the skills given to them by God.  Over the course of the week, the three doctors saw 259 patients.  In every interaction, from the volunteers helping with the registration, to the ones measuring height and weight, to the doctors, to the people helping dispense medicines in the pharmacy, to the prayer team, the light of the Holy Spirit was shining through.

Friday afternoon, the team said “good bye” to Lima with a visit to the Inca Market to purchase local crafts and art items, and to visit to a very nice chocolate shop featuring cocoa grown from beans used by the Inca royal families.  Friday night we celebrated our successful mission with a tour of the Huaca Pucllana pyramid and temple ruins in downtown Lima.  Everyone enjoyed a very nice meal at a restaurant with a view of the ruins lit up at night.  Local cuisine includes causa, cerviche, fresh sea food, duck, pork, many vegetarian dishes, and good coffee.  Of course, it was all washed down with the national Peruvian beverage Pisco Sour.

Don’t think that you can’t volunteer for a mission trip.  Pray about it and answer God’s call!  You will benefit from this incredible experience.  Even though we did not speak the same language, we all understood each other as we witnessed daily miracles while working together as the hand of God. The Diocese of Florida has officially named the Anglican Diocese of Peru as an international mission and partner.  There is a lot of exciting growth taking place in Peru. Bishop Godfrey’s vision for outreach includes spiritual growth, evangelism, medical care, education, food, and housing.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and supported us financially on this past trip.  The mission committee for Peru is already in the planning stage for the next trip. Won’t you join us?  Please consider supporting future Peru Mission trips by sending a check to Cathedral and marking it for Peru.

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Dean Kate baptized 2 beautiful women at the 9 a.m. service and Bishop Howard confirmed, received and reaffirmed 35 wonderful people at the 10:30 a.m. service. We celebrated with lots of Birthday Cakes -one for each month! Enjoy the video.

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More than 100 parishioners attended St. John’s annual parish retreat at Camp Weed the first weekend in May. Participants enjoyed games, great food, campfire time, workshops on health & fitness, foot massage, yoga, time in the pool, long walks, and icon writing!

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Some years ago, Stanly and Claudia Gordon chose to lovingly refurbish the nursery area.  Stanly was a well-known and respected architect.  Armed with Stanly’s architectural drawings for two little altars, Stanly and Claudia sought out expert craftsmen to build them so that the tiniest children could experience a meaningful worship service at St. John’s Cathedral.  Claudia’s carefully chosen paint color of Robin’s egg blue would eventually cover the walls and floors.  The altars were created in honor of Claudia’s father, Bion Hall Barnett, Jr., and Dan Packard.  Since that time the altars have been used as part of Godly Play.  Now one anchors the worship space in the Little People’s Chapel.

Marcia Dooley, premiere artist, also swept across the walls of the Little People’s Chapel with her magic paint brush, creating marvelous murals of angels capturing and replacing plummeting stars in heaven’s ceiling, as well as a children’s flower garden complete with smiling sun.  These along with a scene from Noah’s Ark brightened the walls, making the space inviting and appealing to children.

Most recently, the teachers of Little People’s Chapel began teaching a defined curriculum.  Their teachings now parallel what parents hear in “Big People’s Church” every Sunday.   Children gather round their teachers for praise and worship, beginning with songs and questions that lead the children right to the heart of the gospel lesson.

Although all these wonderful things were in place, there was still something missing.  One day someone said, “If only…if only we had little pews, this space would be complete.”  And that was when Harold Robeson, master artist and wood craftsman entered the scene.  “Certainly, I can make little pews,” he said.  “Just need to find some wood.”  And find wood he did!  He eventually located what was left of the cathedral’s great West doors in a storage trailer.  In a matter of weeks, he had transformed old wood into perfect pews, carved and polished to perfection.   The pews arrived at the cathedral in John Flynn’s truck, and Youth Group volunteers, aided by Allen Poucher, took them to their permanent downstairs location in The Little People’s Chapel.

As the transformation continues, there will be freshly painted walls anchored by Marcia Dooley’s murals.  There will be three faux stained glass windows above the worship area, bulletin boards and fresh white curtains to separate the Little People’s Chapel from the kitchen storage area.  How grateful we are to our St. John’s saints who gave so lovingly in so many different ways to make the Little People’s Chapel bright with the light of Christ.

Blessings,

The Rev. Jean Dodd, Deacon for Children and Families

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