From the Dean

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am delighted that so many of you have accepted the invitation to join me for the Trinity Bible Challenge, a one-year pilgrimage through Holy Scripture. We begin Monday, Oct. 8. If you have not signed up, or you want to recruit a companion for your pilgrimage, it’s not too late. You may register online. The Bible Challenge is open to all: friends, neighbors, coworkers – whether or not they attend Trinity. Even if they aren’t in the Cleveland area, they can subscribe online and participate remotely. [Read more...]

By Mary Lee Talbot
Reposted from The Chautauquan Daily

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.
Ba da, Ba da, Ba da, Ba da … Feelin’ groovy.

The Very Rev. Tracey Lind led the congregation in singing the first verse from Simon and Garfunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” at the beginning of the Friday morning Devotional Hour. [Read more...]

By Mary Lee Talbot
Reposted from The Chautauquan Daily

“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters? Is it my family of origin, choice or God? Jesus’ response affirms all three,” said the Very Rev. Tracey Lind at the Wednesday morning 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour.

“Family Values” was the title of her sermon, and her texts were Mark 3:31-35 and Acts 10:44-48. [Read more...]

By Mary Lee Talbot
Reposted from The Chautauquan Daily

“Love Your Enemies” was the title of the Very Rev. Tracey Lind’s sermon at the 9:15 a.m. Devotional Hour on Tuesday morning. “You have just heard some of Jesus’ more challenging words,” she said in reference to the scripture reading Luke 6:27-36. “This radical teaching is a commentary on our own lives.” [Read more...]

By Mary Lee Talbot
Reposted from The Chautauquan Daily

“We are trapped in the scarcity myth,” said the Very Rev. Tracey Lind at the 9:15 a.m. Monday Devotional Hour. “We have bought into the falsity of scarcity when God has provided enough for us not only to survive, but thrive.”

Her texts were 2 Kings 4:42-44 and John 6:1-14, and her title was “Busting the Myth of Scarcity.” [Read more...]

By Mary Lee Talbot
Reposted from The Chautauquan Daily

“God appeared to us as a baby to take God’s message of peace and justice all over the world,” said the Very Rev. Tracey Lind at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday Service of Worship and Sermon. “A few Christmases ago, a friend sent me a letter with a button attached to it. The button shows a baby crawling on all fours. I keep it at my personal altar with an icon of the face of Jesus, a cross, a dreidel and a rock in the shape of a heart. This baby was the human vessel of love who grew up to proclaim the reign of God. He was executed, rose again and lives on in the witness of the lives of the faithful.” [Read more...]

By the Very Rev. Tracey Lind

In sixth grade, I received my first summer reading list. As I stared at the big pile of books on my nightstand, I wondered how would I ever finish them all. But I did, and to this day some of those books are still among my favorites. And ever since, I plan my summer reading list throughout the year. For many years, I’ve shared it with my congregation and anybody else who’s interested. This year is no exception, except that it’s overly ambitious. As always, it’s a combination of fiction and non-fiction, secular and religious, new releases and old favorites. So here goes. As it’s already July, I’m part-way through my list, but who knows what I will have read by the end of the summer.

P.S. For convenience sake, some of the descriptions come from Amazon.com and are noted in quotations.

Fiction:

Blue Nights – Joan Didion
I love Joan Didion. I first read her masterpiece Play it as it Lays in college for a class entitled [Read more...]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:52 — 13.7MB)

By the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean
Sermon given on the Sixth Sunday of Easter & Mother’s Day  May 13, 2012

Here at Trinity Cathedral, we celebrate family in all shapes and sizes. Some of these families, including mine, have been a topic of national conversation this past week as President Obama indicated his evolving support for same-sex marriage in the wake of North Carolina’s passage of a referendum that will prohibit gay marriage and civil unions.

In our reading from The Acts of the Apostles, we hear the ending of a remarkable account about conversion and inclusion that might inform this national conversation. Let me tell you the rest of the story. [Read more...]

By the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean
Sermon given on the Last Sunday in Epiphany  Feb. 19, 2012

The poet Mary Oliver once wrote: “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”  In her poem “Sometimes,” she elaborated on this thought. “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”[i]

The scripture readings appointed for this last Sunday in Epiphany are about paying attention. In 2nd Kings, Elisha pays attention as Elijah ascends to God, thus receiving the promise of inheriting a double share of his mentor’s spirit. The text tells us that, Elisha “kept watching.” The word “watch” means to pay attention to what you see. As Paul writes in his second letter to the church in Corinth the Gospel of Jesus Christ is unveiled to those who pay attention to what they see and are willing to believe. [Read more...]

By the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean

Today is the 195^th annual meeting of Trinity Cathedral. That means that in five years, Trinity will be 200 years old. Some of you might be thinking: didn’t we just celebrate our centennial a few years ago? The answer is yes: in 2007, we celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the consecration of this magnificent edifice and its dedication as a cathedral. However, in 1816 in the home of Phineas Shepherd, a group of early settlers established Trinity Parish, thus making our church the oldest congregation in Cleveland.

Trinity Cathedral has a proud, dignified and faithful history, and that tradition continues. We strive to realize the promise of our architecture: a piazza, a commons, a sacred public space where God’s people gather to pray, grow, and serve. We are a church where parents bring their children, children bring their parents, and people of all ages invite their friends. In worship, music, art, education, community programs and civic leadership, we seek to proclaim God’s justice, love and mercy for all creation.

I’m not going to review the accomplishments of this past year. You can read about them in our annual report. Rather, I want to spend this time reflecting about what kind of community Jesus is calling Trinity Cathedral to be and what are some of the challenges in getting there.

[Read more...]

By the Very Rev. Tracey Lind

10 RH = Christmas. Like many great ideas, necessity was the mother of this invention. It was 2008, the stock market had plummeted, and everyone was feeling strapped and not wanting Christmas to be too costly. So we came up with some simple rules for family gift giving – every present had to be under $10, recycled or homemade. Once the rules were communicated and agreed upon, everybody went to work.

[Read more...]

November 19, 2011

Dear Friends:

Today the Diocese of New York elected the Rev. Canon Andrew Dietsche as its bishop coadjutor on the third ballot. While I was disappointed not to be chosen by the people of that diocese, Emily and I will both treasure the time we spent with them during the election process.

In this season of Thanksgiving, we are more mindful than ever of the great blessing that all of you at Trinity are to us.  Thank you for your support, prayers, and generosity during the past months. Now our ministry together at Trinity Cathedral and in northeast Ohio will continue, and for that I am profoundly grateful.

Faithfully,

The Very Rev. Tracey Lind
Dean