Trinity Cathedral
The Carillon for October 2015
The Carillon is the monthly
newsletter of Trinity Episcopal
Cathedral
Dean’s Desk
Page 2
Canon’s Corner
Page 3
Sara Calkins, Editor
www.trinitysj.org
Opportunities & Outreach
Keeping Up With Henry
Internet Insights
The Carillon
Celebrations!
Pages 5 & 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 1
The Carillon
October 2015
Trinity
Episcopal Cathedral
“A place at God’s table for everyone”
Diocese of El Camino Reál
The Right Reverend Mary Gray-Reeves, Bishop
Trinity Cathedral Staff
The Very Rev. David Bird, Ph.D.
Dean and Rector
Mr. Michael Joyce
Music Director
Ms. Heike Merino
Cathedral Administrator
Mr. John Davis
Sexton
Volunteer Staff
The Rev. Canon Randolf J. Rice, J.D.
Canon Residentiary
The Rev. Canon Lance Beizer, J.D.
Canon Vicar
The Rev. Lee Barford, Ph.D.
Deacon
Mr. Paul Archambeault
Treasurer
Graciela Velazquez
Coordinator for Latino Ministries
The Rev. Penelope Duckworth, M.F.A.
Mr. Stuart Johnson
Artists in Residence
Professor Brent Walters
Scholar in Residence
Dean’s Desk
On September 15, 2015 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors presented
Trinity Cathedral of the Diocese of El Camino Real with a commendation recognizing the cathedral’s contribution to downtown San José.
Founded in 1863, Trinity Parish has long been recognized for its ministry to the city
of San José. Peter Williams Cassey, The Episcopal Church’s first clergyperson of color west of the Mississippi, was ordained a deacon at Trinity in 1866, and together
with his family founded St Philip’s School. This was the first secondary school for
children who because of their ethnic background were not permitted to attend San
José public schools.
A future rector of Trinity parish, the Rev. Bart Murdoch was a leading figure in the
founding of Good Samaritan Hospital, InnVision, and Shires House, an apartment
building with ninety-nine units for seniors on a limited income.
Trinity was designated by Bishop Shannon Mallory as the cathedral of the Diocese
of El Camino Reál, following a pattern in Anglicanism, which began in the nineteenth century, of designating historic downtown parish churches as the seat of
the bishop in newly created dioceses. The then dean, the Very Rev. William Power
Clancey, launched the first Spanish language service at Trinity, which in turn led to
the founding of a parish mission, Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. This mission was
so successful that it was accepted into the diocese as a separate parish in 2003.
Records filed with the Diocese of El Camino Real show that overall Sunday attendance from 1988 and 1991 was substantial, with 791 in 1988 the lowest. Though the
(Continued on page 4)
Trinity Cathedral
Established 1861
81 N 2nd Street, San Jose CA 95113-1205
24-hour phone 408 293-7953 Fax 408 293-4993 E-mail: trinicat@pacbell.net Web site: www.trinitysj.org
The Carillon
Submissions to The Carillon may be sent via e-mail to the office or to editor, Sara Calkins, at calkins3@ix.netcom.com.
Please indicate “For the Carillon” in the subject line.
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Canon’s Corner
One of the most interesting of
literary devices is irony. And we
shall see much of it in the fact
that the object of this month’s
offering from Holy Women, Holy
Men is William Tyndale. Born in
1495, and therefore a young
scholar when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the church
door, Tyndale was a man obsessed with ensuring that
the Bible be available to all to read in their everyday language. One of the central precepts of the Reformation
was that all believers are priests. At the core of that doctrine is the recognition that if we are to be our own
priests we must have access to scripture. I have heard
people of a certain age, whose background was in the
Roman Catholic Church, say that not only were they not
encouraged to read the Bible; they were actually discouraged from reading it. What a tragedy! For, however
you approach studying scripture—to use the scholar’s
term, whatever your hermeneutic—first you have to actually read it. Now, I don’t know how familiar you may
be with the various ways of reading the Bible. This may
be old hat to you, but I think it is worth reminding us all
of the ways in common use, since, if nothing else, it
helps us to understand one another better.
In Tyndale’s time there were really only two traditional
ways to read the Bible—as pure history or direction as to
how we are to live our lives—or as allegory, where everything stands for something else, a way in which even
today we all tend to read the Songs of Songs. Although,
during the Renaissance, questions about how the Bible
was assembled, and also, of course, about the scientific
worldview within it, began to be raised, by and large it
was a period known today as pre-critical—that is to say,
before the methodology of Biblical criticism was introduced. In that period, most Biblical stories were accepted as accurate reports of what actually occurred.
Since the German academicians of the 19th Century introduced the methodology of science into Biblical criticism, however, questions about authorship, and context—what the Christian communities that produced the
scriptures were like—have opened up entirely new ways
of understanding the books of the Bible. There are those
folks today who resist the use of those forms of criticism
and analysis, people who read the Bible as if God actually
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dictated it, the human hand needed only to transcribe
that dictation. Every word to them is true and need only
be understood in commonsense ways.
Of course, some of those who accept the words of scripture in a literal manner are more sophisticated, recognizing that the Bible was originally written in languages other than English and also copied many times by scribes,
and that therefore there must surely be mistakes passed
down in either translation or transcription. These interpreters deal with those possibilities by insisting that
whatever the final result of translation and transcription
may be, it is surely what God intends, and that therefore
the final version is not less accurate, but more perfectly
inerrant than the previous manuscripts.
There are those who even today believe that God himself wrote the King James Version. What is truly sad
about the rejection of scholarship is that it has actually
resulted in deaths. The end of Mark’s Gospel has for a
long time generated controversy because it ends differently than do the others. There are, however, a couple of
additions that have made their way into some of the
manuscripts, resulting in its ending being more like those
in the other Gospels. Unfortunately, not only were these
additions not in the earliest manuscripts we have; they
are written in a style and vocabulary quite different from
the language of the rest of Mark’s Gospel. Therefore
scholars are fairly uniform in their belief that they were
added by scribes somewhat later. Nevertheless, they
appear in the King James Version, which was produced
well before the scholarship that resulted in that belief.
One of the things that was added was the assertion that
one can, if one truly believes, handle poisonous snakes, a
practice that is found in some rural Southern churches,
and that has in fact resulted in deaths. Others have reinterpreted or reconfigured Biblical details so as to make
them work out in a literal way. There was a book a few
years ago, for example, that explained the incredibly
long reported ages of the patriarchs, like Methuselah for
example, by supposing that the Earth spun more rapidly
on its axis in the early days of its existence, thereby giving more years of life to people who lived then.
The Episcopal Church has always insisted that however
one approaches interpretation, both tradition and reason have to play a part and are thus important bulwarks
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Dean’s Desk, continued
(Continued from page 2)
parish subsequently fell on hard times and was closed on
Guadalupe Day, 2011, there was no interruption of Spanish language services on Trinity’s premises. The Guadalupe
congregación of Trinity parish is an integral part of the
cathedral’s ongoing ministry.
The commendation from the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, presented by Supervisor Cindy Chavez, herself a resident of downtown, recognized several facets of Trinity’s
ministry. Trinity houses four weekly 12 step programs plus
additional counselling and scout programs. Volunteers
cook and take meals twice monthly to two shelters. Trinity
houses the office for “Hope with Sudan” and has a significant number of “Lost Boys” and their families among the
parishioners. On September 26 at the suggestion of local
Council Member Peralez’ staff, we plan to introduce a program begun in South Africa called “The Street Store,” a
deliberately interactive program where people who have
good quality clothing will bring it to Trinity and people in
need of clothing come and select what they need.
For two years we have been a distribution center for Second Harvest Food Bank. We serve roughly 150 registered
persons in need on a given week from approximately 150
caseloads of food weighing a total of over 3,000 lbs. Finally, Episcopal Senior Communities’ Senior Resources, in
partnership with Trinity Cathedral, has launched a program to help frail and elderly seniors with basic self-care
and hygiene incontinence product assistance. The program has been running only four months and has already
distributed over $4,000 worth of self-care products to 58
seniors. This program collaborates with 6 case management agencies county wide and fills a much needed gap by
allowing those impacted to age at home with dignity.
- David
Canon’s Corner, continued
(Continued from page 3)
against interpretations that are too simplistic or idiosyncratic. Hence there is some irony in Tyndale’s name being
placed on our calendar, for it is associated with one of the
most conservative of Christian publishing houses, with
some of the most simplistic and idiosyncratic books on its list—namely the Left
Behind series, presenting Christianity
from the perspective of those who believe in the rapture—a notion not even in
the wildest of Christian minds until the
19th Century.
Nevertheless, Tyndale himself holds a
very special place in the history of postReformation Christianity. And thus another irony. First there was his singleminded determination to place the scriptures into the hands of everyone, not just
Church-sanctioned theologians, culminating in the production of what has
clearly been the most important religious
book of our language—the much-loved,
if sometimes inaccurate, King James Bible. Second, his efforts fostered the disThe Carillon
semination of scripture—and thus of literacy—so that we
may now have a personal encounter with the word of
God, and thus with Jesus Christ himself. Tyndale himself
was a very determined man, though it is said that he was
personally also quite a genial one, who deserved far
better than his fate, which was to be
strangled at the stake and then burned—
which leads us to the greatest irony of all:
that his name should even be on our calendar. He was, it seems, hunted and
killed through the efforts of Henry VIII,
the king ultimately responsible for the
formation of the church in which we ourselves worship. We give thanks for the
life and work of this worthy man. May we
be as diligent as he in what we see as
God’s purpose for our own lives.
—Lance
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Opportunities & Outreach
Support Trinity Cathedral
Help Trinity raise money by shopping at amazonsmile.com. It is the same as the Amazon you know,
except now 0.5% of your purchase goes towards Trinity
Cathedral. Just use the link provided and start supporting
Trinity. http://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-1156841. Thank
you!
Commendation
Submitted by Jean Libby: The commendation by Supervisor Chavez on Sept. 15 was very helpful, I believe, in
keeping current projects aloft.
The history project that Rev. David talked about in his
sermon for the Guadalupe congregation, is welcome in
community archives as well as our own. Here are her
remarks on Facebook, along with the link to the group
picture she posted.
I am pleased to present a commendation to Trinity
Episcopal Church and Canterbury Bridge, SJSU
Campus Ministries. Founded in 1861, the Trinity
Episcopal Parish is the oldest church building in
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San Jose in continuous use. In 1866, the church
established St. Philip’s School in San Jose
(recognized as the first Black secondary school in
the western US), which served students of color
who were denied access to California public
schools. In 1989, Trinity Episcopal Church became
the Cathedral of the Diocese of El Camino Real,
with 45 congregations. Iglesia Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe Episcopal congregation was formed in
1995 to serve the Hispanic community.
On April 18, 2015, Canterbury Bridge Episcopal
Ministries at San Jose State University sponsored a
campus symposium, “Standing Witness”, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 13th
amendment, which abolished slavery in the United
States. I was honored to attend the symposium,
which very meaningfully explored issues of legal
racism in California and traced the advances and
struggles in civil rights and liberties of California
pioneers of color.
For these reasons and more, I am thrilled to present this commendation to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and Canterbury Bridge, San Jose State University Campus Episcopal Ministries.
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Opportunities & Outreach, continued
Blessing of the Animals
We will have the blessing of the animals on Sunday,
October 4 at 9:30am in the parking lot. If you're planning to bring your live animal friends, make sure you
have carriers, leashes, cages, etc as appropriate.
Lunch for People Who are Homeless
For the first lunch of September, an experienced group
of 7 volunteers gathered on Saturday morning to cook
and serve one of our favorite dishes, pasta with chicken
and spinach, to the clients at Cecil White Center and Julian St. Inn. Along with the main dish is served garlic
bread and green salad, milk, ice cream sundaes, and an
assortment of pies and fruit.
A big thank you also goes to Rick Hawes, who donated
the lettuce and veggies for the salad, several containers
of juice, a big bag of oranges, apples, and bananas, and a
couple of delicious cheese cakes.
At Cecil White Center, Karen organized the servers, with
Karen serving the pasta, Susan serving the salad, and Davison giving out generous portions of garlic bread. Ben
and Jennifer worked the dessert counter, giving out
cheese cake, slices of pie and cake, and the ice cream
sundaes. All the while, Rick handed out slices of sweet,
juicy watermelon and arranged the other fruit for the
lunchers to take and eat.
A big thank you goes to Lucky supermarket, at the corner
of Saratoga and Pruneridge Avenues in Santa Clara, and
especially managers, Andrew and Reuben, and bakers,
Bertha, Ernie, Amina, and Sandy for their continuing support. They donated loaves of hot and fresh French bread
for our garlic bread and many mouth-watering cakes and
pastries. Finally, another thank you goes to Ben for arranging, picking up, and delivering the baked goods.
First of all, thanks go to Erin McCauley and her daughter,
Holly, for buying all the groceries. (Thanks in advance to
Lindy Hayes who will do the shopping for the second
lunch in September that will be provided to the San Jose
Family Shelter.) Thank you to Darryl Parker, who was the
head chef this morning, slaving over the hot stove sautéing the chicken and veggies and concocting the delicious
butter and garlic mixture for the garlic bread. Thanks also
go to friends of the parish, Susan Parks and Ben White,
who arrived early to clean and sanitize the counter top.
Thanks go to parishioner Karen Gillette and to returning
volunteers, friend of the parish, Jennifer Shortt, and parishioner Davison Hogan.
Everyone pitched in to help cut up chicken, slice up lots
of spinach, wash the many packages and bunches of veggies, grate carrots, make our super garlicky garlic bread,
and wash the dishes and utensils. With such teamwork,
we were able to quickly finish the prepping and cooking
and transported the food to Cecil White Center in plenty
of time for the 12:30 meal service time.
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The next lunches will be held on October 10 and 17,
2015. At least 10 volunteers are needed for this local
mission activity so if your schedule allows please consider coming and helping. We meet to prepare lunch at
10:15 am in the kitchen of the Parish Hall. No experience
is required, just a desire to help those less fortunate than
ourselves. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board
in the Parish Hall. If you have any questions, please ask
any of the volunteers or Fr. Bird.
- Alan Fong
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Keeping Up With Henry!
San Jose premiere of cantata ALL GOD’S
CHILDREN
The Winchester Orchestra will present the choral cantata
ALL GOD’S CHILDREN, a work with both Latin and English
texts, conducted by the composer, with the choirs of
West Valley College conducted by Lou De La Rosa.
Dates and Times:
Saturday December 5, 2015, 7:30 PM, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, San Jose, CA
Sunday December 6, 2015, 3 PM, West Valley College
Theater, Saratoga, CA
Information: http://www.winchesterorchestra.com
Performance of two Mollicone works with
San Jose Chamber Orchestra
“Postcards,” a program by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Barbara Day Turner, will include two
works by Henry Mollicone: “Andrea’s theme” from the
film THE PREMONITION, with piano solo by HM, and “IN
PARADISO”, a short piece commissioned by the Winchester Orchestra for violin solo with strings.
Soloist will be concertmaster Cynthia Baehr.
Dates and Times:
Saturday November 7, 2015, 8PM
Sunday November 8, 2015, 2:30 PM
Venue: Petit Trianon Theater, San Jose, CA
Information: 408-295-4416 sjco@sbcglobal.net
BEATITUDE MASS at St. Joseph’s Cathedral
BEATITUDE MASS (mass for the homeless) will be performed as part of the “Season of Hope” concert series at
St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Jose, CA. The Choir of Stone
Church, directed by Nancy Wait Kromm (augmented by
members of the San Jose Symphonic Choir), with soloists
Nancy Wait Kromm, soprano, and Leroy Kromm, baritone, and an instrumental ensemble.
The composer will conduct.
Date and time: December 17, 2015, 7:30PM
Venue: St. Joseph’s Cathedral, 80 So. Market St,
San Jose, CA
Information: Free will donations will be accepted, and
the proceeds will go to St. Joseph’s Social Ministry for
their work with those in poverty.
Internet Insights
The fate of animals is of greater importance to me
than the fear of appearing ridiculous;
it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men.
Emile Zola, writer (2 Apr 1840-1902)
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Pets’ reactions to the aspergillum used for sprinkling holy water
Page 7
Celebrations!
Sara Calkins
Leslie Bailey
Ryan Dionne
Sarah Nunes
Patricia Anderson
Jim Nelson
Jack Beasley
Dagm Teklu Aklilu
Micah Dionne
Lee Barford
Dorothy Berry
Mike Joyce
Thomas Estruth
10/2
10/5
10/5
10/6
10/7
10/8
10/11
10/13
10/13
10/14
10/17
10/17
10/18
Dolores Laconico
Peter Gillette
Margo Estruth
Philip Hanasaki
Darryl Parker
Marge Lobbes
Janice Paull
Doreen Volcere
Mary Jo Melia
Daniel Nelson
Steve Franke
10/20
10/24
10/24
10/24
10/24
10/24
10/25
10/27
10/28
10/28
10/30
“O God, our times are in your hand: Look with favor, we pray,
on your servants as they begin another year.
Grant that they may grow in wisdom and grace,
and strengthen their trust in your goodness all the days of their lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Happy Anniversary!
Michelle and Alan Fong
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10/24
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