The hills are alive … with the sound of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Cathedral this Saturday from 10 a.m.–noon. Come join Community Conversations: Sing Most Anything and learn about the von Trapp family’s story of leading Austrian-inspired sing weeks, as well as a sing-along of favorites from The Sound of Music. Please RSVP at kccathedral.org/musicevents. This is just another exciting event happening at the Cathedral in October. It’s been a busy month so far, but still to come is our Costume Blessing and Fall Festival on October 29, as well as our month-long outreach Trick-or-Treat so Others Can Eat food drive. We have a busy November coming up as well with our celebration of All Saints’ Sunday, Diocesan Convention, Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans, Choral Evensong, Thanksgiving, and the end of the Pentecost Season and the Church Year.

Before we close out October, however, there are two more Saints’ feast days coming up: St. James of Jerusalem (Oct. 23) and Sts. Simon and Jude (Oct. 28). Named in Matthew’s Gospel and Paul’s letter to the Galatians as the Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, St. James of Jerusalem eventually became the Bishop of Jerusalem. James figured prominently in the Council of Jerusalem as he helped settle disputes about what to do with Gentile converts to the faith. He was eventually placed on the pinnacle of the temple and told to persuade the people to turn away from Christ but, instead, testified for the Lord and was martyred for it. Saints Simon and Jude, two of the twelve disciples, are celebrated for the missionary work they did together. Tradition says they carried the way of Christ to Persia and Armenia and were later martyred together in Beirut. Simon is typically referred to as “the Zealot,” and Jude has long been regarded as the patron of desperate or lost causes. The Epistle of Jude is also attributed to him.

Please continue to pray for one another, for our Cathedral family, for peace in the Middle East, especially Israel and Gaza, for our nation, and the world.

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