From the Rector

Dear Friends,

Although this issue focuses on issues of faith and daily life, I want to devote this space this month to informing you about what is happening with the staff vacancy for campus ministry. With Stephen Stanley's departure, this has been a time to reassess our directions in campus ministry and to re-articulate the role of the Associate for Campus Ministry.

Since this summer, a Fresh Look Committee has been having conversations with present and former students and with faculty and parishioners associated with our campus ministry as part of this reassessment. By the October 16 vestry meeting, they hope to have submitted a final job description that reflects their conversations and findings, which can then be used as a basis from which to call a new associate.

The preliminary draft of that job description includes the following information: The associate will represent the rector and lead the parish in the work of campus and young adult ministry. Specifically, he/she will:

• Extend the liturgical and sacramental life of the parish to facilitate the greatest and broadest possible campus access
• Provide pastoral care and nurturing of UNC students, faculty, and staff
• Stimulate discussion and articulation of theological, moral, intellectual, aesthetic, and professional issues confronting students, faculty, and staff and the world in which they live
• Lead the intentional development of Christian leadership skills among participants in the Episcopal Campus Ministry and
• Direct through information and leadership the avenues of service available on campus, in the community, and to the larger world.

By the time you are reading this, I will have formed a search/discernment committee of students, faculty, and other parishioners to assist me in calling a new Associate for Campus Ministry. In the meantime, we have an excellent group of student leaders in place, co-led by Sarah Taylor and Ben Garren. The other clergy and I will be assisting them both programmatically and personally to sustain our vital and dynamic campus ministry.

By our location and history, campus ministry occupies a significant place in the life of the Chapel of the Cross. The present student, parishioner, and clergy leadership will continue our high level commitment and involvement. I am confident that by God's grace we will call another campus minister to help lead us into the challenges of the future.

- Stephen

Vestry Actions—September 25, 2003

At its September meeting, the vestry:

• Approved the nomination of Ele Ross to the Personnel Committee
• Approved the recommendations of the Social Ministry Committee for disbursal from the Discretionary Outreach line item of $500 to Meals on Wheels, $100 to Orange Alamance Prison Ministry, and $500 to Habitat for Humanity-UNC Partnership
• Elected Terry Eason and Joe Ferrell to three-year terms as delegates to Annual Convention and elected Peter DeSaix as first alternate, Syd Alexander as second alternate, Bunnie Collura as third alternate, Paul Carew as fourth alternate, Bob Chase as fifth alternate, and Suzanne Sauter as sixth alternate to the 2004 Annual Convention
• In recognition of Stephen Stanley's 13 years of service to the parish and in gratitude for his contributions to the parish, approved the recommendations of the rector and the wardens, with the concurrence of the finance committee, that his salary (including housing) and benefits be continued through the month of October, that at the end of September he be given a payment equal to one month's additional housing and salary, and that he take with him his laptop computer and the vestments made specifically for him
• Received a report from the Chapel Organ Committee and requested that the Finance Committee, with the help of the Chapel Organ Committee, study the issue and present a recommendation for a financing plan for the proposed new organ for the chapel at the October vestry meeting
• Approved the 2004 budget process, the schedule for this process, the budget subcommittees, and line item assignments.

Annual Giving Campaign

Terry Johnston, Committee Co-chair

This is the time of year when our parish asks each member to make a thoughtful stewardship commitment in terms of time, talent, and money to share with the Church. I ran into the wonderful head chaplain at work recently at Murdoch Center in Butner, where 600 severely retarded people live and, on a regular basis, worship at a cheery chapel built with private funds. Having annual giving on my mind I got around to asking him if he 'passed the plate' during services. He told me they did, that he had started it with the fund drive for the new chapel years ago and continued it because of the obvious joy that giving provides the folks living there. He shared with me that the original training for the residents to prepare them for what to do when the plate passes focusing on ensuring that they did not take money out. Earning money is a very real part of life at Murdoch, and the residents like their money and the things it can purchase. Lo and behold, the chaplain quickly found out that the training was backwards; many residents wanted to give all of the money they had every week because they understood that it was giving back to God and would be used to benefit others. He said giving always picks up when they announce that the Salvation Army or other such groups will be receiving the money given that day. One resident who can communicate verbally makes it a point to tell him every Wednesday and every Sunday, “I put my dollar in the plate”. She probably makes 15 to 20 dollars a week.

Obviously, the severely disabled individuals who live at Murdoch as wards of the State can teach us a great deal about giving back to God what God has provided, about caring, and about love for one another. Their daily world in their little village is so different from ours, but their example can be used for our 'training' of what to do when the plate passes.

By Mid-October you should have received your annual pledge card in the mail. About 50 parishioners have already volunteered to get together and make sure that all parishioners get a phone call on either October 21 or 22 to encourage them to return the pledge card and the time and talent survey. Please take time to answer your telephone early those evenings and share your thoughts about the Chapel of the Cross, or any needs for a prayer or assistance that you may have with your fellow parishioner. And please consider prayerfully your pledge of money, time, and talent for the coming year.

Reflections on the Chapel of the Cross

Elizabeth Bluhm

One gray Sunday morning in December 1995, I woke up in my small bed-sit in West London with only 20 minutes until church started. The problem was that I did not have a church to go to. It had been hard to find a regular church, and Sunday mornings still brought a pang of loneliness. I picked up the A to Zed book of London, and chose the nearest church on the map.

After the service, black coffee was sold for 25 pence a cup, with some stale pastries. I stood by myself next to the coffee table, wearing an old shabby brown coat from a charity shop, washed in the bathtub. But within a few minutes, the young minister and several parishioners said hello to me, and everyone started to tell stories about former bed-sitting apartments when they cooked over a single burner. After almost six months spent looking for a church, I immediately felt I had found someplace I was welcome. I was a new college graduate on a Watson Fellowship and, while I could be assured that each day would bring something surprising, I was never sure of finding anything familiar and stable.

I doubt that I was the only nomadic twenty-something who was comforted upon walking into a church far from home. It is both exhilarating and wrenching to leave home and establish a new life somewhere. There are generally several stops between high school and where one finally puts down roots, including a small college town, work in a big city, graduate school at another university, and moving because of a spouse's career or family. It is easy to see what solace the church offers young adults caught up in this whirlwind. It is harder to know what contribution people in their twenties and thirties can offer to the church.

Joining a church at age 23 or 25, we are like the young Americans described in Robert Frost's short poem, “The Gift Outright.” Preoccupied by distant dreams and concerns, we do not sink our teeth into the place at hand. Just as Frost says, “the land was ours before we were the land's;” we have already been offered a place in the church. It was ours from the first day we set foot in the church, or perhaps even before that. Christ extends solace and forgiveness to everybody, even when our lives are in flux. The church community extends welcoming arms to newcomers. It is our hesitancy, at this age, which makes us hold back from joining in wholeheartedly, not knowing if we will stay for one year or a lifetime.

At age 30, I still don't know in which direction life will go next. I don't clearly know how to be involved in church stewardship in the meantime. But I have been encouraged by being a part of the Chapel of the Cross, and other Episcopal churches before this. I have loved hearing a group pray together to “do all such good works as Thou hast prepared for us to walk in.” I have admired how the Chapel of the Cross seizes opportunities to help adult Christians sort through social issues like war, and figure out how to incorporate Christ's teachings into our real lives. I think that,at this age, stewardship can involve contributing to everything that makes the church an arm of outreach to other people wandering through life and looking for comfort and shelter. That may be singing in the choir, talking to strangers at coffee hour, performing community service, or countless other acts that add up to the life of the church.

Connecting Our Faith and Daily Life

Tammy Lee

“If you seek me you will find me if you search for me with all your heart,” wrote the Psalmist describing in his words God's desire to be found. Some say that “God is nearer to us than the air we breathe.” Yet, our experience suggests otherwise. We hear 'seek' and that means exerting a strenuous effort for something lost. If we have 'found' we wonder how long the discovery will carry meaning in a world of transient and exponential suffering of which our own is only a fragment, or at best we return to a baseline of what Freud called “ordinary unhappiness” or Kierkegaard “the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.” That is the bad news as it were.

After 25 years of both intentional seeking and random being found, it appears to me that God is much more about the infiltration of the ordinary…absorbing that mundane unhappiness and the anxiety at midday and transforming it into something workable and life-giving. The kingdom is not something we seek only…it is something that has already been found in the person of Jesus Christ come among us as one of us. The ever present continuing mystery of the incarnation suggests that our work in the spiritual country is to find God where we least expect God…”among,” as Brother Lawrence suggested hundreds of years ago, “the pots and pans.”

What follows are some suggestions of how you might do that.

#1 What was your primary emotion yesterday? Where did this feeling come from? Where did it take you? Where did you take it? Can you see the prompting of God, the calling of God in that emotion, passion, or feeling?

#2 Walk outside. Search the world around you for something that inspires you…a stone, a leaf, a front door. Examine it carefully and note the details that in passing you might have simply missed. How might you have missed what God has been saying all the time? How might you be more aware of God's presence?

#3 Think of the person that you love most. What is it that you love about them? What makes them unique? Give God thanks for that person and offer in some concrete way your gratitude for them.

#4 Think about the person you like least. Why do you dislike them? Do you share anything in common? Is it possible to find things to accept or like about them? What do you suppose God sees in that person?

#5 Read Brother Lawrence's book Practicing the Presence of God.

#6 Listen to the Third movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Pope Pius XII did as he was receiving the last rites of the church. What do you hear? Try the fourth movement of the fifth symphony.

#7 Read the daily newspaper as if it were your job to report on what God is doing in this world instead of what God is not doing.

#8 Pray the following prayer every morning before you begin your day and see what happens as a consequence…“God be in my head and in my understanding. God be in my eyes and in my looking. God be in my mouth and in my speaking, God be in my heart and in my thinking. God be at my end and at my departing.”

#9 Read TS Eliot's The Four Quartets choosing a line to carry with you throughout the day as a form of meditation.

#10 Get some form of exercise bearing in mind that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” even if some parts are not working perfectly.

If these are helpful use them. Disregard anything that isn't in keeping with your spirit. Create your own opportunity. I look forward to hearing what you heard or saw or experienced of the God who abides in the every-day.

Resident Aliens—A Book Review

Lee A. Thomas

Who knew? It is less important than we thought whether conservative Christians or liberal Christians have the right answers, because both have been asking the wrong questions (pp. 36ff.).

At the time of its publication in 1989 (Abingdon Press), this accessible (172 pages) but robust book was heralded as a distinctive contribution to the literature of Christian thought and practice, and its insights remain not only timely—14 years later, many seem to have been prescient. In a seminary curriculum, it would fall in the department of practical theology, but its target audience is clearly thoughtful laypersons and clergy in the field who work to inspire and lead them (and to be led by them—this is important).

Both authors are North Carolina-based scholars, one of them also still engaged in parish ministry: Hauerwas is the renowned professor of theological ethics at the Divinity School at Duke University, and Willimon, a celebrated preacher and teacher and longtime pastor, is dean of Duke University Chapel and professor of the practice of Christian ministry in the Divinity School.

They begin with the hilarious recounting of a band of youthful renegades in 1963 (including, apparently, one of the authors), who slip out of a church youth group meeting in order to patronize a Greenville, South Carolina, movie theatre which has defied traditional “blue laws” by opening its doors on a Sunday. In “this last pocket of resistance to secularity in the Western world,” the authors now reflect, this signal event represents “no more free passes for the church, no more free rides…All sorts of Christians are waking up and realizing that it is no longer 'our world'—if it ever was.” (pp. 15-17).

The authors make the case that the church has struggled across nearly two millennia to accommodate its faith to the values of secular societies with “an adapted and domesticated gospel.” Symbolically, they lay this accommodation at the door of the Emperor Constantine who, with the Edict of Milan (A.D. 313), definitively set the stage for states which claim, as such, to believe in something more than their need to exist and to perpetuate themselves, specifically (for us) Christianity. The task became “making the faith credible to the powers-that-be so that Christians might now have a share in those powers.” (p. 22). Likewise symbolically, the defiance of 1963 “blue law” traditions ended that era, and ushered in an age of opportunity, in which the church can, if it will, concern itself primarily with that which is true, rather than that which is expedient.

Hauerwas and Willimon draw a sharp distinction between most ethical systems, which presuppose individualism, and Christian ethics, where ethical decisions are coherent only in the context of the confessing community (pp. 79ff.). This community is composed of “resident aliens, an adventurous colony in a society of unbelief” (p. 49), but it is a colony characterized by movement, rather than entrenchment (pp. 51ff.). Change, and arguments, and taking stock (and second-guessing?), are all part of the journey. If we appropriate Jesus' ethics on that journey, our focus will be eschatological—on the end of history, “…but 'end' in the sense of the purpose, the goal, the result.” (pp. 61-62).

Throughout the book, engaging and powerful ideas are presented in support of the title's argument: for example, that a reason for Christians to have children is in order to pass on the story of the faith (and that a reason not to do so is because the church is ultimately renewed through baptism of new disciples, not by procreation), (pp. 59-60); that the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) are not a proscription for Christian behavior, but a description of God (pp. 83ff.); an extended treatise on “Learning to Enjoy Truth Telling” (Ch. 6); and a riveting examination of the error, deaths, and marks of the church in the account of Ananias and Sapphira (pp. 130ff., account in Acts 5).

While the last chapter focuses more directly on the work and priorities of ordained persons, it also summarizes the desirably alien status of Christians in a democratic, self-determining society, and makes a compelling argument toward understanding and putting on “the whole armor of God.”

Copies of Resident Aliens are available in the parish library, at the Gothic Bookshop in the Bryan Center on the Duke University campus, and at the Southpoint location of Barnes and Noble.

Altar Guild Service

Sandy Gerow, Altar Guild Chair

My first venture into cooking a holiday dinner for lots of family was Thanksgiving in our new house. We finally had enough room and furniture to unpack wedding presents and I was determined to have everything absolutely perfect: the silver polished, candles lighted, tablecloth spotless. Ignoring the fact that I'd never cooked a turkey, much less tried to have mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, and all the trimmings ready at the same time, I dived in, determined I could do it. It happened, but not without the help of my mother, mother-in-law, and several other family members (in a very small kitchen)!

Many years later, I have a lot more holiday and party gatherings under my belt but I still enjoy getting out the 'good' silver and china, using the linen tablecloth that has to be ironed instead of easy-care cotton, and arranging flowers. There's a pleasure in doing special things for family and friends, and the tasks of polishing, cleaning, and cooking provide wonderful 'thinking' time. There is also a lot of satisfaction in putting extra effort into making guests feel their company is anticipated with joy.

Altar Guild work is much the same but with the added joy of preparing for a feast with the most wonderful guests possible. The silver must be polished, the linens ironed, and the flowers arranged. The companionship of other members enriches the time spent cleaning and carefully setting the table.

In her booklet Expressing Our Faith through Altar Guild Ministry, Hobey Hinchman recalls the time when her rector told the Altar Guild members at her church to consider four questions about Altar Guild service:

• Do you look forward to the time you serve on the Altar Guild?
• Is your life richer from being on the Altar Guild?
• Do you know Jesus better?
• Do you linger a little bit when your duty is over and just spend time with the other people who are on the same journey you are on, enriching and building your life with Christ?

These are questions I try to ask myself about activities in my daily life. When I can choose the people I spend time with and the things I do, it's easier to make the answer an enthusiastic “yes.” On the job or when I was in the middle of raising a family, it is more of a challenge. The co-worker who always seems to be going in a different direction or the effort required to mesh everyone's schedule and still carve out a bit of time for myself make it hard to feel my life is richer for the experience!

I'm learning, however, that trying to find the “yes” times in the parts of my life -- where I have less choice in my companions or my schedule -- helps. I have to work hard to see how my life is enriched by working with a difficult person, but that is a spiritual discipline I need. If I linger a bit to get to know him, I begin to see things from his point of view.

Hinchman's booklet includes a quote that helps put everything into perspective:

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, the service was joy.
-- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

Keeping the Holidays as Holy Days

Dana Campbell

The joy of brightening other lives,
bearing each others' burdens,
easing other's loads and
supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts
becomes for us the magic of Christmas.

W. C. Jones

The days are shorter this time of year and life seems to take on a much faster pace. Slowing down hardly seems an option and remembering the true reason we celebrate Christmas can be difficult to keep at the front of our minds.

How do we muddle through this holiday season? How do we keep in the forefront of our thoughts that Christ is the reason?

Like many families, we struggle with the constant reminders of department store Christmas trappings that appear even before Halloween decorations are packed away. And like other children, our 3½-year-old Drew is becoming more aware of presents and Santa Claus. It is our job to gently guide him back to remembering Jesus.

With such a long commercial 'Christmastime,' our family tries to delay our celebration of the season until Advent. Drew has an advent calendar that uses the nativity scene to count down the days until Christmas. He enjoys taking out one figure each day from the numbered pockets and putting the angels and the animals, shepherds and wise men in their places, saving Baby Jesus for the 24th. We also found a sturdy wooden nativity set that he could play with—he arranges the figures and talks about who they are, and Baby Jesus is always leading the parade!

In the midst of shopping, baking, wrapping, and decorating, our family attempts to concentrate on the reason for the holiday. It helps to talk about how much we love the people for whom the goodies and gifts are intended and to talk about Jesus' love for us and for all His children around the world.

We are trying to involve Drew more and more in the spirit of giving. We recently had an exchange that made Drew realize that not all children had toys. After this information sank in, he decided that we should give some of his Christmas toys to kids who might not have very many. One opportunity we will have is the toy donation during the Christmas pageant.

What is our plan for church during this time of year? How do we keep the holidays 'holy days?'

To help keep our focus, we make a commitment to church-centered activities of the season. Our church offers many programs to keep our spirits buoyed this time of year. The making of the Advent Wreaths and the ornaments for the Jesse Tree are always well received. There is the Christmas pageant as well as the Children's pageant in the Chapel. There will be Christmas caroling this year and the annual Christmas Poetry Gathering. Additionally, Gretchen Jordan will be offering an Adult Education class entitled “Unplugging the Christmas Tree” and Karen Kingsolver is offering “Staying Close to God.” Both of those offerings will be wonderful ways to reconnect to the church during this hectic season.

Please share good ideas that your family uses to keep Christ at the center of our Christmas with others in our parish. May the joys of Christ's season be yours.

Reflections on a Retail Christmas

A Conversation with Reg Carver

Throughout the Church, much lament is heard during the weeks before Christmas of a pervasive retail-driven “commercialism,” which is seen by the faithful as obscuring, even usurping, authentic celebration of Christ's birth. There is no question that the line between opportunity and opportunism can be a thin one at this time of year, and appeals to greed and pretension, rather than to generosity and gratitude, are unquestionably crass and objectionable to “…all who seek the Truth” (BCP, p. 392) in preparing for this holy season.

How, then, does the person of faith, whose chosen profession or temporary occupation involves retail sales, sustain a sense of Advent hope and Christmas joy amid the decidedly secular activities of meeting sales goals, calming last-minute shoppers, and processing returns? How is one's own spirituality affected or expressed in this context? The management, staff, and proprietors of area retail establishments are well represented in the Chapel of the Cross parish directory, and only a few of these have been at it longer than parishioner Reg Carver, who this year will mark his 38th Christmas in this field.

Remembering a short, but powerful, exchange with Reg on the morning of last Christmas Eve near the elegant store he manages at The Streets at Southpoint, I asked him recently to elaborate on his thoughts and insights as he prepares for the season.

“For one thing, I try to remember the original Christmas gift: Jesus Christ. Sure, retail people forget that all the time, like anybody else, but when I look across a counter or give advice, I have to believe that the person is in my working life just then for a reason, and that I can make a difference by the way I listen, and answer, and serve.

“Long before Thanksgiving, retailers get ready mentally for what's to come the day after, but preparing spiritually is just as important, for me. I'm not in this by accident; I chose this career, and I have to give it my all. Sometimes there's a lot of stress, but this is how I support myself, and how I give to the church and through the church to a lot of things I care about…I can't separate that from my faith. I try my best to live my faith, not by selling it, but by trying to be an example of it, there with the Christmas shoppers.”

Reg observed that in the weeks before Christmas, customers are both receptive and responsive to acts of kindness and consideration in ways that are less apparent at other times of the year. He noted that part-timers and retail retirees often want to return year after year, less for hope of the moderate financial consideration involved than for a sense of excitement in being part of the
process.

In the earlier memorable conversation last Christmas Eve morning, I asked Reg, a regular (whenever possible) at the 11:15 service on Sundays and a constant at the Christ Mass and other feasts and fasts, how he deals with retail 'burnout' after he closes the store on December 24th. His reply was instructive: “It's just the opposite. I know that I've held my head high, done my best to live out my faith in my work, and when I get to church that night, I get to start my celebration of Christmas, when some are ending theirs.” As an Episcopalian, he says, “That's when it all comes together.”

Lee A. Thomas

Advent Quiet Day

Mark the date: The Spiritual Life Committee is sponsoring an Advent Quiet day on Saturday, December 6. Stephen Elkins-Williams will lead the retreat, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will include teachings, prayers, and meditations, with much of the day being spent in silence, an opportunity to reflect on the season. We will close with Holy Eucharist.

As in the past, the event will be held at Camp New Hope, offering a serene 'woodsy' setting with a large fireplace, in a rustic but cozy cabin. Please bring warm clothing and other 'creature comforts' especially if you wish to spend some time outdoors roaming or meditating by the lake or in the woods. We will provide lunch; a $6 donation is requested to cover its cost.

Please call the parish office to sign up and to obtain directions to Camp New Hope. For more information, contact Tammy Lee in the parish office, or Trenna Corey.

Responses to General Convention

In response to those parishioners who have asked for resources on issues in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, members of our parish clergy have suggested exploring the following websites. Many of them can be accessed from links on our parish website, www.thechapelofthecross.org .

• www.episdionc.com
  Website for the Diocese of North Carolina
• www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/
  Website for the Episcopal News Service
• www.ecusa.anglican.org
  Official website for the Episcopal Church in the USA
• www.anglicancommunion.org
  Website for the Anglican Communion
• www.anglicansonline.org
  An independent website on worldwide Anglican news
• www.AmericanAnglican.org
  Website for the American Anglican Council

These websites offer a wide variety of opinions.

Pastoral letters from the Presiding Bishop and our Diocesan Bishops are available on these websites. In addition, “A Schism Averted?”, an article by Harvey Cox from the Wall Street Journal of August 12, and an emailed “Open Letter to the Episcopal Church” from Carl Ficarrotta, former member of the Chapel of the Cross and currently professor of philosophy at the Air Force Academy may be useful. A copy of the letter may be obtained by emailing Carl at Carl.Ficarrotta@usaf.af.mil or by requesting it at info@thechapelofthecross.org.

Johnson Intern Program

Chris Taylor, Johnson Intern

Dear fellow parishioners,

I am writing this brief article to give you, beloved reader, a slightly better idea of the daily activities of a Johnson Intern. To accomplish this task in such small space is far from simple, so I will limit myself to the more major aspects of life as an Intern, as well as to a few poorly crafted attempts at levity.

The placement component of our Intern year is the most time-intensive; my Mondays through Thursdays are spent at People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. Here I work toward mobilizing North Carolina's faith community in order to pass a moratorium on — you guessed it — capital punishment in North Carolina. My efforts will be chiefly directed at key N.C. House districts and the organizations, mainly churches and grassroots associations, within those districts.

At home, we continue our discussion of significant topics. These considerations range from standard moral issues like abortion and pacifism to less frequented matters such as moral responsibility in local agriculture and business, as well as a whole host of other wide-ranging topics, the value of goodness and utility, why Martin Scorsese is the greatest director of all time, the place of reason in a life of faith, degrees of truth, why modern music can't hold a candle to the great rock-and-rollers of the 60s and 70s, and (quite frequently) why my sense of humor consistently fails to meet any acceptable standard of quality.

Other than discussion, we meet together for more experiential forms of worship: we engage in contemplative prayer, we go bowling, we plan community service projects, I humiliate myself while cooking, we help lead Sunday school or youth group, we read books, and we watch movies. Throughout all this, and despite our continued confusion about the nature of community, our sense of solidarity strengthens every day. The house at 504A Oak Avenue is no longer merely a place where five strangers happen to come together to live for a year; it is a place where colleagues learn and grow closer to one another, where friendships are forged in the fires of argument, of intimate prayer, and of faithful service to a world in perpetual and dire need of love, justice, and redemption. That's the goal, anyway.

An opportunity for you to read my befuddled prose may again present itself. Nevertheless, I want to take this opportunity, right now — on behalf of Tim, Marsha, Sarah, Katie and myself — to thank the Chapel of the Cross, its members, its staff, and its clergy for making this year possible for us: five unworthy and scarcely grateful young adults with nothing figured out and little to offer in return. Especially to Mary Agnes Rawlings, upon whose shoulders rests the burden of our activities and agenda, the five of us send our heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

Until next time, avid readers, I remain, your friend and fellow traveler on the road to that heavenly city,

Chris Taylor

Johnson Intern

Bridging the Divide Conference

November 14 — 16

The Triangle welcomes a group of nationally and internationally recognized speakers to the Bridging the Divide: Towards a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine Conference on November 14 — 15. The conference is presented by the Coalition for Peace with Justice and the Friends of Sabeel and cosponsored by Chapel of the Cross, other area churches, institutions and organizations. The conference will be held at the United Church of Chapel on Airport Road. It begins on Friday, November 14 with an opening panel presentation by the leadership. Friday afternoon and Saturday workshop topics include Rebuilding Homes, Amnesty International, Lobbying, Environmental Issues: Wall, Water & Waste, Peacemaking Skills, Courage to Refuse, Non-Violent Resistance to the Occupation. Among the leaders are Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel, Palestinian American, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2002-2003; Rev. Naim Ateek, Anglican priest, Palestinian-Israeli visiting theologian at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary and noted author; Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Brian Corrie; Dr. Jeff Halper, Israeli anthropologist and professor at Jerusalem University; Rev. Phillip Jones, Executive Director of the Church of the Brethren, Washington, Rev. Stephen Sizer, international authority on Christian Zionism from England and media correspondents from the International Center for Media Studies, Amman, Jordan. A brochure with registration form is available on the tracks in the dining room. This conference is open to the public.

Project 5000 Update

Frank Holt, Social Ministry Committee Member

Parishioners of the Chapel of the Cross are making a difference in helping the hungry in our community. Our parish's participation in this collaborative effort with other local churches is coordinated through the Inter-Faith Council (IFC) and is referred to as Project 5000, which is symbolically used to remind people of Jesus's feeding of 5000.

The Chapel of the Cross's goal is to collect at least 400 boxes of food items that the IFC has specifically identified as nutritiously balanced. Each box will provide a two-day emergency supply of food for a family of four. If the Chapel of the Cross exceeds its goal, we would have provided over 9600 meals to individuals who are in dire need of food. So far over 230 boxes have been distributed to parishioners interested in helping, and we have a long way to go to reach our goal.

Boxes, instructions, and a list of specific foods needed are ready for pickup outside the church after each Sunday service from now until November 16. We would like for you to bring your filled boxes back to church the following Sunday, if you can, for immediate delivery to the IFC that afternoon. All boxes need to be returned to the church by November 23.

If you have not picked up a designated Project 5000 box (or boxes) from the church, please consider doing so after Sunday services so you can get involved. The more boxes we collect, the more mouths are fed, and it brings a good feeling knowing that our parish is active in reaching out to help those who are less
fortunate in our own community.

Habitat Partnership Receives Governor's Award

Henry T. Clark, Partnership Committee Member

The Chapel of the Cross-UNC Student Habitat Partnership, along with several other agencies, was given the prestigious North Carolina Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in special ceremonies held in Raleigh on September 9, 2003. Toa Veerasethakul, Co-chairman of the Campus Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, had the honor of receiving the award for the partnership in recognition of the fact that campus chapter members have provided much of the volunteer labor in constructing 16 Habitat homes in Orange County since 1994 and also have sent 10 teams of Habitat construction workers overseas to Honduras and, most recently, to Thailand, during that same period, as well as to various sites in the United States.

The citation from Governor Easley reads: “The Chapel of the Cross-UNC Student Habitat Partnership is hereby awarded the highest designation of appreciation for distinguished volunteer service to the people and the State of North Carolina and is to be granted and extended all honors and courtesies provided by this Office entitled thereunto by this certificate of recognition and appreciation.

[signed] Mike Easley,

Governor”

Festival Eucharist for the Feast of All Saints

November 2, 2003 at 11:15 a.m.

Music will include:

Missaa O quam gloriosum by Tomás Luis de Victoria

“At the round earth's imagined corners” by Lee Hoiby

Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by J.S. Bach

Traditional All Saints Hymns

For a discussion of this Renaissance Mass setting, please see Essays: O how glorious is the kingdom on the music page of the parish website, http://thechapelofthecross.org.

Bach's Lunch

Bach's Lunch recitals in the church resumed on Wednesday, October 1.
Each year a wide range of organ literature is performed in these brief recitals,
exploring the many tonal colors and sonic possibilities of the Kleuker organ.
Beginning at 12:15 p.m. and lasting about a half-hour, these recitals are informal and listeners are invited to bring their lunch.

Caring for God's Creation: What Each of Us Can Do to Save Energy

Linda Rimer, Environmental Stewardship Committee Chair

On Earth Sunday, 2003, the Environmental Stewardship Committee invited parishioners of the Chapel of the Cross to measure their ecological footprint, that is, to measure the impact that each of us has on the earth as we go about our daily lives. For those of you who did not fill out this brief but insightful questionnaire, you can still measure your personal footprint by going to:

http://www.lead.org/leadnet/footprint/intro.htm.

God created the earth and all that is in it and declared it good. God's creation is marked by wondrous complexity, interdependence, and beauty that sustains humans and plants and animals in ways that we do not yet understand completely. God has called us all to the task of stewardship — that is, taking care of the earth respectfully for its own sake and so that present and future generations may live on it and enjoy its fruits. But to date, our track record as environmental stewards has not been good. The rate at which we consume resources and generate waste far exceeds the capacity of the planet to sustain us, absorb our waste, and support the rich diversity that exists in our island home.

Beginning this month in Cross Roads, we will be exploring ways in which each of us can become better stewards of God's creation. This month our focus is on energy.

Every time we switch on a light, a computer or an air conditioner, we are using energy. Every time we drive our cars or trucks, we are using energy. In almost all cases, that energy is coming from the burning of fossil fuels: coal, oil, or natural gas. The burning of these fuels results in the emissions of air pollution and green house gases that cause problems for us and for our environment, such as: sulfur dioxide (that forms acid rain harming our trees and surface water at high elevations like the Smokey Mountains); nitrous oxide (that combines with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight to create ozone, which creates a sunburn-like effect in our lungs); and carbon dioxide (that contributes to rising temperatures and global climate change). The extraction and processing of fossil fuels also result in discharges of water pollutants and the generation of solid wastes, further degrading our environment.

The less energy we use, the less energy that has to be generated. Here are some ways in which you can reduce your energy consumption. In the process, you will be protecting God's creation. As an added benefit, you will also be saving money for yourself and your family.

• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs; they last 10 times longer and use ¼ the energy
• Use only the energy you need; turn off lights in vacant rooms
• Unplug little plastic transformer boxes; every house is full of little devices to charge cell phones, run battery-operated radios or power television-related equipment; these products consume almost 10% of the electricity in the home — even when they are not doing anything
• Check your computer to make sure it operates in energy saving mode
• Combine your errands in order to reduce the number of miles you drive each day
• Consider car-pooling or using public transportation.

For more ideas on how to protect the earth, click on the following websites.
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/pollenergyenergyefficiency.html and

http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.asp.

Reading with a View to Spirituality

Our fellowship will meet once in the fall, in preparation for Advent, and once in the spring, during Lent. Our meetings are held at 12:30 p.m. in the parish library. Books may be ordered at a discount from Education/Liturgy Resources, 919-693-5547. All are invited to attend, whether regularly or irregularly. Please join us. Bring your book and your lunch. For more information, call Raquel Goldberg.

November 8 - Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila

March 20 - Bread for the Journey by Henri Nouwen

Pilgrimage: An Exploration of Celtic Spirituality in Scotland

From September 23 to October 6, 2004, the Rev. Tammy Lee and Gretchen Jordan will lead a pilgrimage to Iona, Whithorn, and St. Andrews in Scotland. This pilgrimage offers several seminars led by outstanding scholars in the field of Celtic studies. Also included are visits to sites of historic interest as well as tiny historic churches and great cathedrals; in most cases local vicars or deans will be present to share their experience of ministry in a Celtic country. Informal daily prayer and meditation will accompany regular liturgies throughout the trip.

The Celtic islands are filled with stunning natural beauty, and the itinerary is planned so that participants can enjoy much of that beauty. There will also be time devoted to Celtic music, dance, arts, and craftsmanship—and even a chance to learn a bit of the Gaelic and Welsh languages.

Accommodations: We will stay in small hotels; most rooms have private baths. Opportunity to absorb and assimilate experiences is enhanced by the need to relocate only three times during the pilgrimage.

Meals: Restaurants are informal, usually family-run; some meals are gourmet and elegant, others are simple. All meals are health-conscious.

Cost: $2,700 per person double occupancy (add $450 for single occupancy). The cost includes everything (lodging, bus fares, entry fees, food, and tips) except airfare.

Program Leader: Sister Cintra Pemberton, a member of the Episcopal Order of Saint Helena for 25 years, has designed and led many spiritual pilgrimages. She is nationally recognized as conductor of retreats, quiet days, and workshops on Celtic spirituality and is also the author of Soulfaring: Celtic Pilgrimage Then and Now.

More Information? An inquiry meeting will be held on October 30, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. in the parlor. A detailed informational brochure is available in the dining room and parish office. Questions may be addressed to Tammy Lee, tlee@thechapelofthecross.org, and Gretchen Jordan, gjordan@thechapelofthecross.org.

From the Parish Mailbox

Dear Tammy and Carol,

I am pleased to let you know that all the 39 boxes of books you donated arrived safely and they are in our hands. I must say that this is the best donation I have ever seen in my life. I wish you could see our faces. Our academic staff from nursing and education departments as well as all of us here are extremely happy. Our director will send you a formal letter of appreciation this week. Could you please advise me to whom the letter should be addressed?

Meanwhile convey our gratitude to all who made this possible. Regina and I can't wait to come and express our appreciation in mid-October.

I hope hurricane Isabel did not disrupt your activities. I am praying for you.

Hope to see you then in October.

Joseph Ndinoshio

University of Namibia