Serving,
Caring, Growing and Giving
Cathedral clergy work on local
Habitat for Humanity Project on January
27th - “Clergy Build Day”
Opportunities to get involved and meet others:
God has given us many gifts. We have been called by
Christ to be good stewards, leaders, and managers so
our whole ministry enterprise can thrive to the Glory
of God. Most of the positions and opportunities do not
involve being elected or appointed. Those interested
simply come and participate. For those positions that
do call for election or appointment, please make contact
with the person responsible for each activity. Ministry
opportunities include the following:
Acolytes are lay persons, including youth, who assist during worship services. Among other duties, acolytes carry the cross and torches, receive the offering, and help prepare the altar. The ministry of acolytes allows our youth to serve as worship leaders each Sunday and at Diocesan services throughout the year. Additional volunteers are needed to work with the acolytes Sunday morning beginning at 9:30 to prepare for worship.
Contact Person(s)
Richard Fisher –
Reginald Paige
Greg Hanson (training and supervision)
Cathedral Artists offer their art as an expression of who we are as people of God. They honor God’s gifts of color and light, thought and emotion, creativity and passion, in sharing their art with all of us. A May art show is held each year.
Contact Person
Dolores Howard
The Altar Guild prepares the Altar and the worship space including arranging the flowers, polishing and cleaning Communion vessels, ensuring that the altar hangings are the appropriate color, caring for the fine linens used in the service, decorating for special worship services, etc. The Guild welcomes persons interested in becoming trained for its work.
Contact Person
A Bible Study takes place every Sunday from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. in the Reception Room. The text studied is one of the appointed lessons for the following Sunday and is normally led by the clergyperson assigned to preach. All are welcome to come on any given Sunday.
Caring Connections at the Cathedral, formerly known under the name Pastoral Care, represent a variety of ministries offered by clergy and laity. As we care for one another in the name of Christ, we celebrate with members and friends who are celebrating (e.g., birthday; marriage; birth of a child), support those who are in crisis or transition (e.g., health concern; move to a new home), and mourn with those who are bereaved.
In response to our experience of God’s generous, self-giving love, we share that love by reaching out to fellow parishioners, friends and guests in times of celebration, transition or crisis. When we know of a parishioner, guest or friend who is ill, hospitalized or is experiencing some other need, we remember him/her in prayer and assist in tangible ways as we are able. If a parishioner is homebound or confined to a health care facility and is unable to attend Sunday services, we make every effort to keep him/her connected to our Community of Faith. Some of the ways we reach out to one another include:
Caring Connections: Greeting Cards are a way to remind parishioners of how unique and special each person is to God and to this community. Lay persons and/or clergy send cards to those who are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, birth of a child or some other joyous event as well as to those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, are ill, are going through a divorce or some other difficult crisis.
Caring Connections: Healing Group is a group of lay parishioners who meet regularly to study and discuss the ministry of healing and to have the laying on of hands for healing. On Sundays they are available to offer the laying on of hands and prayers for healing in our Chapel during the time of communion.
Contact Person
Ms. Jilda Aliotta
Caring Connections: Lay Eucharistic Ministers are trained and licensed by the Diocese to take the consecrated bread on Sundays to parishioners who are unable to attend Sunday worship because they are homebound or confined to a healthcare facility. Lay Eucharistic Ministers, or LEMs as they usually are called, generally take communion to these persons at least once every six weeks. After those attending service have received communion, but prior to our post-communion prayer, the deacon gives some consecrated wafers to the LEM while saying a prayer “sending” that person to take the wafers to the person who is scheduled to be visited on that day. The LEMs process out with our clergy and other worship leaders, further symbolizing that they are being sent out on behalf of the congregation to the person who is to receive communion. This allows those persons who are unable to be with us on Sundays to share with us in the Eucharistic meal. Lay Eucharistic Ministers meet quarterly (February, May, August, November); usually on a Sunday from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Contact Person
Canon St. Louis – (860) 527-7231 ext. 111 or email astlouis@cccathedral.org.
Caring Connections: Home Devotions are devotions that are mailed every month to parishioners, family members, friends, or others unable to be with us on Sundays. A group prepares the mailings, prays for the recipients, and makes the recipients aware of the prayers for them. Mailings include daily devotions that offer hope, love and strength at a time when they may be most needed.
Caring Connections: Prayer Lists: To get a name added to the Prayer List, please call the Cathedral Office. We will need to receive the name of the referral source, his/her relationship to the person whose name is being placed on the prayer list, his/her understanding of the precipitating concern, and whether s/he knows if the person whose name is being placed on the prayer list wants a call or visit by the clergy or Lay Eucharistic Ministers (LEMs). If the person wants a pastoral visit, we will need to know their location. We also may need help to ensure an accurate pronunciation of the individual’s name.
Contact Person(s)
Canon St. Louis – (860) 527-7231 ext. 111 or email astlouis@cccathedral.org.
Debby Van Camp – (860 527-7231 ext. 100 or mail dvancamp@cccathedral.org.
The referral source is responsible for ensuring that the person whose name is being placed on the prayer list is willing to have his/her name read aloud in the worship service.
Caring Connections: Recovery Care Team – as a way to minister to parishioners who are ill and/or recovering at home after being hospitalized, we’ve formed a Recovery Care Team (RCT). Members of the team will contact you to see how you are doing, offer to provide a simple meal, and send you a get-well card and Sunday bulletins until you are able to return to church. RCT members are Bev Clark, Sue Dalrymple (coordinator), and Kathryn Deane. Canon St. Louis will serve as the staff representative.
The Cathedral Choirs provide musical leadership September to June. They sing at the 10 a.m. service and at special services and events, such as Choral Evensong. Their repertoire includes music from many centuries, including medieval plainsong and music of contemporary sacred composers.
Events during the year include special music with instrumentalists at Christmas Eve and Easter Day, Music Appreciation Sunday in the Spring, a Choir Banquet for choir members and their families at the end of May, and Choir Camp for the choristers in August at Incarnation Camp in Ivoryton, CT. The Choirs sponsor various fundraising events throughout the year for the Choir Camp Fund. All the choirs are associated with the Royal School of Church Music.
Choristers for the Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs are grades 3-12, and adults form the Men’s and Women’s Choirs. Children or adults interested in joining the choirs should contact Canon Barry. He will explain the choir program and give a voice check. The choir program is challenging, but also very rewarding, and we are always looking to recruit new members.
Contact Person
Canon Precenter Kevin Jones– (860) 527.7231 ext.
112 or email kjones@cccathedral.org
Our Choirs include a Young Persons’ Choir, associated with the Royal School of Music, which provides excellent musical and liturgical training for children beginning in grade 3.
Coffee Hour is an extension of the Sunday Morning worship and is coordinated by the Hospitality Committee. It is a time to be together to share and exchange greetings with each other and to welcome visitors and prospective new members with our parish life.
Interested persons may sign up to host a Sunday coffee hour or contribute to a Diocesan reception or for a special celebration such as Harvest Sunday or Pentecost. To host on a given Sunday during the program year, you are invited to bring coffee cake, bagels, crackers, cheese, donuts, fresh fruit, etc. to serve between 40-60 people. To make your Sunday a bit easier, you can sign up with a friend and co-host a Sunday. The Cathedral supplies the coffee and cold beverages. Please bring in your Coffee Hour food offerings directly to the Auditorium by 9:30 a.m. on the morning you are hosting. Heather Jordan-Greaves and others from the Hospitality Committee will be in the Auditorium before the service to help with setup.
The Hospitality Committee also hosts and coordinates special events and receptions throughout the year, including Deanery confirmations and ordinations.
Contact person
Heather Jordan-Greaves
The Communications Committee meets throughout the year to coordinate overall communications efforts, both internal and external, of the Cathedral. It also seeks to raise the visibility of the Cathedral and its programs in the community while fostering relationships with civic, business and media leaders.
Contact Person
Dean Pendleton – (860) 527-7231 ext. 107 or email
mpendleton@cccathedral.org.
Cathedral Crafters is a group that meets every other Monday to put their craft skills to work as well as learn new ones. The group makes Chrismons for the newly baptized and knits prayer shawls. The crafters are often invited to join local craft fairs. Proceeds for sales go towards various outreach efforts within and beyond the Cathedral.
Contact Person
Beverly Clark
Counters are responsible for counting offerings collected during worship services. The counting takes place during the week. Volunteers who can donate time during office hours are welcome to help the bookkeeper count and record the collection.
Contact Person
Rose Fichera-Eagen
Giving Flowers for our altars is one way to give thanks for God’s blessings and to remember loved ones. They are arranged each week by volunteers and members of the Altar Guild. The cost of giving flowers is $25 for one or two persons being remembered or for each thanksgiving; $50 for three to four persons; and $75 for more than four persons. The easiest way to give is to fill out a form found in the booklet rack in the back of the Cathedral and send it to Muriel Spooner, 224 Monroe Street, Hartford, CT 06114. You will be mailed a confirmation letter. Please indicate clearly the names for memorials or thanksgivings for which you will be making your donation and the Sunday you choose for each designation. Please note: Payment is due to Mrs. Spooner by the Wednesday preceding the Sunday the flowers will be given.
There is no permanent endowment fund for flowers at the Cathedral. We will continue to educate the Cathedral community about the need to contribute each Sunday for the flowers that beautify the altars.
Contact Person
Muriel Spooner
The Cathedral has several Free Bed Funds at Hartford Hospital that are available to members and their family and friends who are uninsured and have current or anticipated expenses at Hartford Hospital or the Institute of Living. The Dean can nominate a person
to receive Free Bed Funds to cover hospital costs, emergency room costs, clinic charges, outpatient surgery and Life Star costs. The Fund does not cover ambulance charges, physician charges, or nursing or home health care.
Contact Persons
Dean Pendleton – (860) 527-7231 ext. 107 or email
mpendleton@cccathedral.org.
Rose Fichera-Eagen
Friends of Christ Church Cathedral is an organization committed to increase interest in the liturgical, outreach, and cultural ministries of Christ Church Cathedral within the Diocese of Connecticut, the city of Hartford, the capital region of the state of Connecticut, and throughout the United States. Friends are encouraged to support the Cathedral financially through giving to our music, outreach, and exterior renovation programs. Within the Diocese of Connecticut, the activities of Friends raise the awareness of the Cathedral’s mission and ministry in ways in which the people of the Diocese will come to know and appreciate Christ Church as their Cathedral.
Contact Person
Ruth Mitman, President
The Gift Shop sells merchandise and books on Sunday mornings and at many diocesan events. The Gift Shop is grateful for its many volunteers who work in the store on a regular basis and always welcomes more volunteers as well as new ideas for unique items to sell. Seasonal help to clean and replace inventory is always welcome.
Contact Person
Margaret Romanik
Greeters offer a ministry of hospitality by welcoming and identifying newcomers during worship services. They also assist newcomers and visitors find their way to coffee hour and the Dean’s Forum, introducing them to friends and clergy, and distributing welcome materials. Additional volunteers may help expand the ministry to the 8:00 a.m. service.
Contact Person
Lucy Groening
Library volunteers help maintain the Cathedral library and make its offerings known to the parish. The library is located on the second floor of the Cathedral next to the Canon Vicar’s office. Parishioners may borrow books through a sign-out process. The Library is open on Sunday mornings and during the week by request through the Cathedral office. Volunteers are always welcome to help care for the books and keep the collection organized.
Contact Person
Canon St. Louis – (860) 527-7231 ext. 111 or email
astlouis@cccathedral.org.
Lunch…Plus! offers midday concerts and lunch on the first Thursday of the month from October to May. Cathedral volunteers help serve lunch.
Contact Person
Canon Precenter Kevin Jones– (860) 527-7231 ext.
112 or email kjones@cccathedral.org.
The Memorial Fund was established to receive donations in memory of loved ones and friends who have died. Donations to this fund are appropriate, in lieu of flowers, at the time of burial from the Cathedral or another parish. The Memorial Fund is used for special projects and needs at the Cathedral, but is meant particularly for the Altar Guild to maintain and purchase vestments, Eucharistic vessels and other liturgical objects used to enhance the beauty of worship.
Lunchtime Meditation, there is a weekly lunchtime meditation in the Cathedral every Tuesday. This is unguided, ecumenical, and is available as an opportunity to just sit as a group in silent contemplation/meditation within the sacred space of the sanctuary. The group connect briefly in front of the church around 12:30 p.m. and head in to begin by 12:35 p.m., sitting for 30 minutes.
Contact Persons:
Dave Ames,
Larry Malick
The New Member Ministry Committee welcomes and incorporates new members into the Cathedral community. Formerly the Evangelism Committee, the changed name acknowledges that the call to share the Good News of Jesus Christ is a task shared by many areas of our common life: education, worship, music, pastoral care and outreach. The Committee hosts Newcomer brunches and works with others to invite and welcome new members. Volunteers are welcome to join the committee and especially to begin planning for outreach to persons moving to downtown Hartford.
Contact Person:
Lucy Groening
The Outreach Committee coordinates the many outreach projects at the Cathedral, including the housing of the MANNA feeding program of Center City Churches and our own Church Street Eats feeding program on Sundays. Cathedral kitchens are used seven days a week to prepare food for the hungry. There are many opportunities to serve in all the programs. On the second Tuesday of every month, Cathedral volunteers (adults and youth) work as a team to purchase food, prepare and serve the evening meal. Volunteers are always needed and welcomed.
Contact Person:
Rose Fichera-Eagen
Church Street Eats Every Sunday morning volunteers are needed to make
sandwiches and serve at the Church Street Eats
feeding program in our dining room. Volunteers
can contribute after either the 8:00 or 10:00 a.m. service. The Cathedral congregation and many other congregations
provide gift bags every 6-8 weeks. There is always
a need for toiletry items.
Contact Person:
Rose Fichera-Eagen
Each week canned goods and other non-perishable food items are donated and presented at the altar to be given to the local MANNA food pantry.
Each spring we participate in the Walk Against Hunger that collectively raises more than $250,000 to combat hunger in Greater Hartford.
The Advent Angel Tree displayed in the Auditorium before Christmas invites the giving of gifts for children at Betances and Maria Sanchez schools in Hartford.
Used books and magazines can be donated in the downstairs dining room to benefit the guests of the Church Street Eats program and the prison ministry we contribute to on a regular basis.
Contact Person
Rose Fichera-Eagen
The Cathedral Prayer Group generally meets in the Cathedral from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. We celebrate the Eucharist, listen to a reflection, participate in intercessory prayer and engage in a 15-20 minute period of silence. The purpose of the prayer group is to encourage participants to develop a closer relationship with God by providing time for prayer, personal reflection, and discernment of our individual covenants with God and each other. Each person will enter into his/her own discernment process but can ask the group for their support in fulfilling his/her covenant with God and one another.
Contact Persons
Kathy Franklin
Canon St. Louis
The St. Barnabas Guild is an international and ecumenical organization of nurses and those in related fields. Meetings, usually the third or fourth Saturday afternoon at the Cathedral, include worship, education, fellowship and service. The Guild provides scholarships locally and nationally for nursing students and individuals in allied health fields.
Contact Persons
Rose Fichera-Eagen
The Rev. Linda Spiers, Chaplain
The Scholarship Committee distributes awards each year to graduating high school seniors who have been involved in the life of the Cathedral for a minimum of two consecutive years. Participation in the life of the Cathedral can include attending worship services, attending Church School, participating in Youth Group activities, singing in the Choir, serving as an acolyte, or regular participation in other Cathedral activities. Each graduating senior is eligible for an award of at least $250. Past scholarships awards for undergraduate or trade school education have ranged from $2000 to $3000 depending on the number of applicants during a given year. A total of approximately $30,000 is awarded each year.
Contact Person
John E. Robinson
Stewardship for the Cathedral organizes our life and leadership so that we can be good stewards of all the gifts that God has bestowed on us.
Annual Giving Each year the Stewardship Committee asks our membership to make a financial offering in the form of a pledge. Only when the signed pledge cards are received and totaled can the Cathedral’s leadership adequately plan for the upcoming year. In most years, only about 18% of the Cathedral’s total operating budget is funded by the pledges of our members. Without a more broad-based financial commitment through pledging, we will not be able to offer the kind of pastoral care, spiritual formation, support of worthy outreach ministries and the quality of worship that we have all come to know and appreciate. In 2005, 204 pledges were made for a total of more than $232,000 to support mission and ministry. The average pledge was $1,137. Contact Persons:
Dean Pendleton – (860) 527-7231 ext. 107 or email
pendleton@cccathedral.org
Stephen Deane
Planned Giving is a response to what is called for on pg. 445 of the Book of Common Prayer. The leaders of the Congregation are “directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the wellbeing of their families, and for all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.”
On May 16, 2006 the Cathedral Chapter adopted resolutions that formally establish a Planned Giving Program for the Cathedral and named five members to a committee to oversee the communication and development of the program. The resolution reminds us how Christian stewardship involves the faithful management of all the gifts God has given to humankind – time, talents, the created world and money, including accumulated, inherited and appreciated assets. We can give to the work of the Church through a variety of gift vehicles, in addition to cash, including securities, bequests in wills, charitable remainder trusts and other life income gifts, other trusts, life insurance policies, real estate, and other property.
The Cathedral has been blessed over the years in receiving bequests from our members and friends. This program will help us encourage, receive and administer future gifts in a manner faithful to the loyalty and devotion to God expressed by the donors, and in accord with the policies of this parish. A visible piece of this new program will be to recognize the Legacy Circle of the Friends of the Cathedral as the official society to recognize those members and friends of Christ Church Cathedral who commit to future financial gifts to Christ Church Cathedral.
The Committee includes Robert Mueller as Chair, Susan Reinhart, John E. Robinson, Martha Fine, and Gary Strong. Also working with the Committee are Dean Pendleton, Rose Fichera-Eagen, and Helen Ross.
Contact Persons
Dean Pendleton – (860) 527-7231 ext. 107 or email
mpendleton@cccathedral.org
Robert Mueller
Ushers greet and lead people to their seats for worship, guide the congregation during worship and oversee the collection and offering of gifts at the Eucharist. They direct parishioners and visitors from their seats to the communion rail at the time of receiving communion. Throughout the year ushers serve at ordinations, confirmations, diocesan special services and concerts. We are in the process of training a special core of volunteers to usher for diocesan services, most of which are not on Sundays.
Contact Persons:
Sylvestus & Ann Nelson
The Uyeki Forum, named in memory of the Reverend Lloyd Uyeki, a beloved priest of Japanese heritage, is devoted to fostering an environment that encourages open, honest dialogue about racism, facilitates discernment about our role in opposing racial injustice and provides support for the work of racial reconciliation. The Forum uses an action-contemplation model to promote racial understanding, peace and justice among forum participants, the Cathedral community and Hartford residents. The Uyeki Forum Work Group meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 6-8 p.m.
Contact Persons:
Canon St. Louis – (860) 527-7231 ext. 111 or email
astlouis@cccathedral.org
Tim Cole
Vergers assist the clergy to achieve an orderly and smooth flow of movement throughout the worship service. Vergers serve at the invitation of the Dean. At its core, the ministry of verger is a servant ministry that requires three basic elements for success: gratitude for God’s many gifts, commitment to service and respect and appreciation of the role of clergy, and a thorough working knowledge of Anglican polity, rubrics and liturgy.
Contact Persons:
Dean Pendleton – (860) 527-7231 ext. 107 or email mpendleton@cccathedral.org,
Gilbeean Scott – (860) 527-7231 ext 175 or email gscott@cccathedral.org
Worship leaders include
Lectors, Intercessors and Chalice Bearers who
help lead worship at the Cathedral. Lectors
are lay persons trained in reading
the Scripture lessons and appointed by the Dean to read
the lessons during worship. Chalice Bearers
are appointed by the Dean to help serve the wine at
Communion and are licensed by the Diocese to serve in
this ministry. They also serve as intercessors
at the Prayers of the People. If you are interested
in serving, please contact one of the clergy.
Contact Person:
Debby VanCamp –(860)527-7231 ext 100 or email
dvancamp@cccathedral.org
|
