The ECM helps make a large urban university into a smaller, more intimate experience through fellowship, friendship, and community. We begin this year with a vertical tour of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Saturday, September 4^th, and a trip to the Jersey Shore (weather permitting) on Saturday, September 18. A Columbia student took the photo below on a vertical tour last semester. Everyone, regardless of tradition, is welcome to ECM services and programs. Please feel free to give ECM a try. We are very aware of how busy Columbia students can get.

Planned Events and Services this semester

• Sunday Service every week from 6:15 to 6:45 pm in St. Paul’s Chapel
• Lunch and 5 minute Noonday Prayer every Wednesday in Earl Hall, Room 101 at 12:30
• Evening Prayer every Wednesday at 5:30 pm in the Guastavino Room, St. Paul’s Chapel
• Vertical Tour of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine during new student orientation on Saturday, Sept 4^th, at 2 pm. Meet inside the cathedral, 112^th and Amsterdam Avenue.
• Jersey Shore trip to Sandy Hook National Seashore, September 18^th
• Fishing trip off the New Jersey coast
• Shooting range trip

We’re happy to announce that an interim Episcopal chaplain has been appointed for Columbia. The Rev. Richard Sloan serves as Stewardship Officer for the Diocese of New York and will be joining us for the remainder of the year. Services will begin this Sunday at 7 PM in St. Paul’s Chapel. We hope to see you all there to welcome Rev. Sloan to campus. After the service, there will be a time for food and fellowship with the campus Lutherans, as usual.

In addition, Rev. Sloan has offered to take those who are interested out to dinner at V&T’s prior to the service. Please let us know if you are interested in joining us so we can expect you.

Our normal Friday dinner will also take place in Lerner 503 at 6 PM. We’ve had a good group of 7-8 people at these Friday dinners, and they’ve served as a nice, informal time to get together, so come out if you can–even if you haven’t been to one yet.

Finally, an update on the search process for a permanent chaplain. A formal search/interview process will begin in January and will be undertaken by a search committee formed by the diocese.

Thanks, and we hope to see you all Friday and/or Sunday. Please show your support for the Episcopal chaplaincy at this important time.

Lauren, Josie and Peter

Title: Friday Night Dinner
Location: 503 Lerner
Description: Come hang out with the Episcopalians and Lutherans and enjoy some good food
Start Date: 2009-11-14
Start Time: 18:00
End Date: 20:00

Hey Episcopalians-

Hope that everyone had a great week. We wanted to remind you all that we will be having Thai Food with the Lutherans tonight at 6:00 in Lerner 503. We encourage everyone to come out as a relaxing way to being their weekend (and have an awesome free dinner). Feel free to bring friends (even if there not Episcopal or Lutheran) – we would love to have everyone!

Sunday services will again be held with the Lutherans – snacks at 8 PM followed by a service at 8:30.

Also, looking forward, the Lutherans are going on a one night retreat October 9th and have invited us to join. Additionally, the NYU chaplain has reached out to our group and has offered to include us in two trips. The first is a Fall Foliage Escape trip planned for Saturday October 17th. That day we roll out of the city in a big rented van and other cars if needed at about 8:15 am and head up the Hudson to Poets Walk which is really beautiful, go to a lunch at a local restaurant and then wind up the day by hitting an orchard for apple picking. The next is in early November up to the Canterbury group at West Point. It usually happens on a Tuesday night and is really interesting. The west point cadets give us a tour and then we hang out with them for dinner and whatever their activity is. It is really eye opening as the cadets are a pretty interesting group of people who have made a very particular choice about their life path. Really interesting conversations usually transpire. Please let us know by the end of the week if you might be interested in these events.

Finally, we want to hear you YOU. We understand the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the lack of chaplain this year, but we are still trying to keep an Episcopal presence on campus alive, and need your input as how to do so. Do you think that these Friday night dinners are a good idea? Is there something specific you want to talk about or a food that you would like to have? Is there an evening that would work better for you? How do you feel about worshiping with the Lutherans? Would you rather us organize group trips to a nearby church so that we can receive communion? Are there any other events that you would like to see us plan? -Lauren, Josie, and Peter

We are going to be having our first weekly Lutheran/Episcopal meeting this Friday at 6:00 in 503 Lerner. Come meet fellow Lutherans/Episcopalians and enjoy a delicious dinner. Questions? Email cucanterbury@columbia.edu

As many of you know, our chaplain, Winnie, left at the end of last year. Unfortunately, the diocese has not yet replaced her with another priest.

Canterbury Club, the SGB recognized Episcopal student group, will be taking over that void. We will be holding weekly meetings Friday nights jointly with the Lutherans. The content of these meetings will alternate between several different activities. They will be held from 6-8 in 503 Lerner and will include dinner and / or snacks. We will also be holding weekly services although, without the presence of a priest, these services will not include communion. Instead, we will hold weekly evening prayer and do our best to bring in guest priests to celebrate the Eucharist monthly.  For reasons beyond our control, the location of these services for the rest of the year is yet to be determined, but this Sunday (the 13th) we will be congregating outside St. Paul’s Chapel at 7 pm for evening prayer followed by dinner with the Lutherans.

Lauren, Josie, and Peter