The Parable of the Rich Fool

Thinking back over my time as an ordained minister, the world that has been my context has been filled with division, strife, wars and rumors of wars, famine, drought, fires (both physical and political), and…you know…a pandemic (remember fights in grocery stores over toilet paper in 2020, or mask mandates at school board meetings in 2021???).

It has given me lots of space to ponder the words that each of these communities (who found themselves in the fellowship of these new followers of Jesus), post-resurrection, needed to hear.

To wonder about what the world they lived in might have been like when these stories were shared about our Lord, what angst did the people of God bring with them into the homes where they gathered to remember Jesus and partake in the holy Eucharist, as it was being gifted to them?

Did they worry about what the world would look like for their children and grandchildren?
Did they worry about their neighbor who just lost their spouse, or farm, or child?
Did they carry with them occupations around their aging parents and fighting in the streets?

The answer, in almost all cases, is yes. Yes, because the world they lived in was not much different from the one we find ourselves in today.

Strife, hunger, poverty, addiction, greed…they are human realities that every generation, every culture, every religious group has dealt with, for as long as we have history to share their story with us.

But these, my friends, are, what I believe, get at the heart of this week’s gospel lesson on the Rich Fool from Luke.

It would be tempting to throw biblical stones at wealth, but having wealth is not in and of itself what is happening to pollute the heart…greed is, right?

Jesus teaches his audience that sharing the abundance of their harvest would have been more aligned with kingdom values than storing it up in warehouses.

And here at CCC, we have much and we share much, so what might God be inviting us to do new (and continue doing) with our abundance? What might God be inviting you to do, be, or change, in your own circles of influence?

– The Rev. Canon Jodi Baron

THIS SUNDAY: Vestry Quarterly Check-in

SUNDAY, JULY 31, AT 9AM, 11:30AM, AND 2:15PM

As part of our leadership’s renewed commitment to transparency and collaboration, we invite you to join our Vestry for a quarterly update after each service. We’ll share highlights of our work together over the past three months and make plenty of time for your questions, comments, and feedback. We’ll meet in-person in the Parish Hall.

Thank you, Collin Miller!

On Sunday we say farewell to CCC Organ Scholar Collin Miller. Collin has served as CCC’s Junior Organ Scholar since 2019, has been accepted to Yale University to pursue a Master of Musical Arts degree. In addition, Collin has accepted a position at Rye Presbyterian Church (Rye, New York). Warmest congratulations to Collin on these achievements! Please join us in extending our gratitude to Collin in celebration of all that he was brought to this place since 2019.

CCC at the Indiana Statehouse

This week CCC and our neighbors from Roberts Park UMC were present at the Indiana Statehouse as the legislature convenes for their special session. Members of our clergy were on hand to offer pastoral care to Hoosiers at the statehouse as they advocate for reproductive rights. Bishop Jennifer offered the opening prayer to the Bans Off Indiana Rally in partnership with the ACLU of Indiana and other multi-faith leaders, and Dean Gray testified in the Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, asking the legislature to take no further action on Senate Bill 1.

CCC IN THE NEWS

Benefit Concert: Send Alejandro Reyna to Aspen Music Festival

FRIDAY, AUG. 5, AT 7PM

Alejandro Reyna, a member of the Cathedral’s Coro Latinoamericano, has been accepted into Seraphic Fire’s Professional Choral Institute at the Aspen Music Festival. This benefit concert will help raise funds to cover tuition, housing, and travel expenses.

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Backpack Blessing Next Sunday

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, AT 10AM & 1PM

We wish all of our students a happy and healthy start to the school year and will offer a backpack blessing during our 10 a.m. & 1 p.m. services. Students of all ages are welcome to participate so that we may joyfully send you off into the new school year!

Children’s Formation Discussion
SUNDAY, AUG. 7, AT 11:15AM and 2:15PM

After two years of pandemic adjustments, we’re excited to push the reset button on Children’s Formation programming. Bring your prayers, hopes and ideas. Our children need support in scripture lessons, service projects, parish traditions, worship time activities and pageants. If you could offer a one-time program or a more regular commitment, our children need you!