Family Ministries

For many years, the Cathedral Service League was one of the central women’s service organizations active in Cathedral life.  The Cathedral Service League’s legacy is a trust established to support young adults preparing for study and vocational preparation after high school.  

Today, the Cathedral Service League Trust awards grants on an annual basis for eligible graduating high school seniors who will be pursuing postsecondary education on a full-time basis during the upcoming academic year.  Grant amounts vary based on the number of applicants in a given year, and each applicant is eligible to receive only one grant.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet several requirements in order to be eligible for a grant award from the Cathedral Service League Trust.  An applicant must be:

• A baptized Christian (copy of baptismal certificate required)

• A high school graduate (copy of diploma required)

• An incoming student pursuing postsecondary education full-time in the upcoming academic year (copy of acceptance letter required)

• An active member in good standing at the Cathedral of the Incarnation

Application Deadlines

Applications are due by June 30, 2026.  Applications must include the application form, required documentation, and essay in order to be eligible for consideration.  Notifications of grant awards will be made in July  2026. Click the link to download the application.

Applications can be mailed to:

Cathedral of the Incarnation

Attn: Cathedral Service League Trust Grants

36 Cathedral Avenue

Garden City, NY 11530

Greetings, dear Families!

Last Sunday, we heard Fr. Mark (the co-vicar at Incarnation Chapel) sit with our kids to open up Luke’s Gospel of two discouraged disciples meeting Christ on the road to Emmaus. Fr. Mark spoke about hope and anticipation, hope and disappointment—but mostly, for our littlest Christians, hope. It is hope that endures.

Announcements:

Alas, we had to cancel Eric Morgan’s beloved—and now annual—Tree Tour of the Cathedral Close due to inclement weather. We’ll reschedule soon! This coming Sunday, Communion Class will continue with Chancellor Charlie Janoff in Mercer Chapel. Rev. Brian Barry will lead Dean’s Forum, reflecting on our new friend, Gaia, who will appear in the Cathedral this Sunday. Children’s classes will be held as usual. Please do reach out to me to sign your children up for the EarthWatch Sleepover on May 29–30. We hear it will be out of this world! For older youth, your next gathering will be at Walker House with Mother Kate on May 3 at 12:30pm. That’s at 59 3rd Street, in case you’re new to the program. I’ll send a separate email, but please know that we are looking for two youth delegates for the November Convention Friday, November 15 – Saturday November 16. I would love to speak with anyone who might be interested in this exciting opportunity to work with my very energetic and brilliant colleague, Chelsy DeHart (Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Diocese), planning liturgy and engaging with diocesan leadership at this important gathering. I’d also love to talk with any youth who’d like to participate more in our family 9:15 service. If you’d like to read into a mic and be a lector or intercessor, help with announcements, bring up the elements, or even think through some new opportunities, please let me know! I look forward to seeing you and your families this weekend.

Family Musings:

• When have you noticed Christ walking beside you, in your discouragement? • How have you encountered hope amidst disappointment? • Have you ever realized something important only after it had already happened—like understanding a story in a new way later on?

Eastertide Blessings, Deacon Lisa Ldebenedittis@incarnationgc.org

Greetings, dear Families!

The Second Sunday of Easter is traditionally called “Low Sunday” to reflect a “somewhat less intense celebration.” Interestingly, in the Roman Catholic Church, it was traditionally called “Quasimodo Sunday,” with the word Quasimodo from the classical Latin “half-formed” or “newly born.” It is known by this name because of the Latin Introit for the day: Quasi modo géniti infántes, allelúia: rationábile, sine dolo lac concupíscite, allelúia, allelúia, allelúia. (As newborn babes, alleluia: desire the rational milk without guile, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.)

So much Latin!

In the Episcopal Church, we commonly refer to this Octave of Easter by the name Low Sunday. It is a quieter celebration than Easter, when we encountered fire, baptisms, confirmations, eggs (lots of eggs!), and larger-than-life rabbits -- and even a unicorn. All of these celebratory moments gathered us together in joy, each one a reflection -- however playful—of the most meaningful of all: the risen Christ.

Last Sunday, the Dean reminded us that Easter may be celebrated on one day, but we hold it in our hearts for fifty. The season of Eastertide begins on Easter Sunday and concludes on Pentecost Sunday. It is a joyful liturgical season that celebrates the Resurrection, extending from the Easter octave through the Ascension (40th day) until the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Announcement: Please remember that on this upcoming Low Sunday, we will not have Fellowship in Faith or Dean’s Forum. I look forward to seeing you and your families next weekend.

Family Musings: • How will you and your family welcome the risen Christ into your homes throughout this season of Eastertide? What small rituals or images might help extend the joy of a single day into a living season? • What might Resurrection look like throughout the year? • How will we resurrect the Alleluia that we so joyfully “buried” in the Bishop’s office?

Eastertide Blessings, Deacon Lisa

Dear Families,

Lenten greetings to you, as we draw close to Holy Week.

Last Sunday, we continued our journey with Jesus’ healing ministry, reflecting on the quiet and powerful ways love becomes visible in acts of care. Again and again, we are reminded that healing is not only something Jesus did, but something that continues to unfold through attentive presence, kindness, and compassion. As Fr. Dan reminded us, even amongst the pets in our life!

This Sunday at the 9:15 Mass, we arrive at Palm Sunday, walking with Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. The story shifts in tone here — from teaching and healing into the deep mystery of Holy Week. We will join the crowd with palms in hand, singing and moving together, even as we begin to sense that the road ahead will not be an easy one.

After the service, instead of our usual Fellowship in Faith and Dean’s Forum at Mercer, we will gather in the undercroft for a shared time of making palm crosses together. This is a simple and meaningful way to enter the story with our hands as well as our hearts, shaping the palms we will carry into the week ahead.

Announcements

A reminder for our youth and families that the Diocesan Youth Sleepover has been rescheduled to May 29–30. We look forward to gathering then, with more details to come soon.

As we look ahead, we are preparing for Family Communion Sunday on May 17.

In the weeks leading up to this day, we will offer a series of four Sunday gatherings during the Fellowship in Faith hour for children who are beginning to explore more deeply the meaning of Christ’s body and blood in their lives of faith. These gatherings will be led by Charlie Janoff and are intended as a gentle and prayerful preparation.

The first gathering is for parents, on April 19, as a time to reflect together on how we accompany children in this part of their spiritual journey.

If this feels like the right moment for your child, I invite you to email me by April 15 to express your interest.

Family Musings

I wonder:

• What it might have felt like to walk alongside Jesus as he entered Jerusalem.

• Have you ever been part of a crowd that felt joyful and excited? What was that like?

• What helps you stay close to love, even when a story becomes difficult or uncertain?

Thank you for the many ways you continue to walk this road together — accompanying one another with care, curiosity, and love.

With you as we turn toward Jerusalem,

Deacon Lisa

Lenten greetings to you.

Last Sunday we gathered as one congregation to celebrate Mothering Sunday, sharing in the joy of the Pancake Breakfast and the simple grace of being together across generations. We know that our tradition holds that there is something deeply holy about gathering at table: being nourished not only by food, but by gathering in community. I’m grateful for all of the volunteers who hosted this gathering.

This Sunday at the 9:15 Mass, we continue with our beloved Faces of Easter series. This week, we encounter Jesus as he begins his healing ministry, and Fr. Dan will offer us a beautiful way to imagine Christ’s healing work alive in the healing work of others. As always, the children will be invited to settle onto their prayer rugs and enter the story with wonder and imagination. We look forward to being with you!

During Fellowship in Faith, children will continue their Lenten journey in their classrooms, making space to listen, wonder, and grow in this sacred season. They will explore the theme of "The Greatest Commandment:" Jesus tells us to love God and to love our neighbor. Adults are warmly invited to the Dean’s Forum as we continue our shared Lenten reflections with the Gayle Boss book, Wild Hope. More copies are in the library. Please join us!

Announcements A quick update for all families: the Diocesan Youth Sleepover originally scheduled for March has been postponed to May 29–30. This will allow more time for planning and participation across the diocese, and we look forward to an even fuller gathering in the spring. Kids will have the opportunity to be in sacred space together under the Gaia installation of the Earth that is the centerpiece of our program, “This Fragile Earth, Our Island Home”. More details will be shared as we get closer, and in mid-April I will send out registration forms. Thank you for the many ways you nurture the life of this community and the young people among us, offering the kind of care Jesus described as a hen gathering her chicks under her wings.

With gratitude as we draw nearer to the promise of Easter,

Deacon Lisa

Family Musings

• I wonder what it might feel like to be healed — in body, heart, or spirit.

• When someone is hurting, what are some ways we can show care and kindness?

• Where do you notice small moments of healing or helping in your life this week?

Last Sunday we continued our Lenten journey together through the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. These small but powerful stories remind us of God’s joyful determination to seek out what has been lost. Children often recognize the feeling immediately, and adults tend to recognize it again in quieter ways.

This Sunday the whole parish is invited to celebrate Mothering Sunday with a beautiful Pancake Brunch organized by Diana Campbell and her wonderfully inspired team. Please be sure to RSVP, if you haven’t already, here on Realm . Because of this shared parish celebration, Fellowship in Faith and the Dean’s Forum will take a brief pause while we gather around the table together. Confirmation class with Charlie Janoff and the Adult Formation class with Fr. Mark will carry their stacks of pancakes into their classes as their morning conversations continue.

Mothering Sunday has its origins in the medieval English practice of returning to one’s “mother church” during Lent: the church where one was baptized or first nurtured in faith. Over time it also became a day to give thanks for mothers and all those who offer care, nurture, and encouragement in our lives. If you keep your eyes open in the cathedral, you might even spot a pelican caring for her babies: a symbol Christians once used for nurturing love. In that same spirit, our youngest members continue to find their place beneath the wide wings of the church each week through Fellowship in Faith.

This coming Sunday at the 9:15 Mass, we will continue with Faces of Easter IV: Remembering Christ’s Desert Experience. As the children settle onto their prayer rugs and listen to Fr. Cam share the unfolding story of Jesus’ ministry with them, we will hear about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. As we move closer to Easter, this sacred moment of the story reminds us that even in times of difficulty and testing, Jesus remains grounded in God’s love and truth.

Announcements

All Cathedral youth in 6th grade and older are getting ready for our very cool Youth Sleepover, taking place Friday evening, March 27 through Saturday morning, March 28. More details are coming soon, but here’s a sneak peek. We’ll have some classic favorites — crafts, dinner together, and the Dean’s now-famous Cathedral tower tour — plus some new additions like Hip Hop Musica Divina and a relaxing Yin Yoga wind-down before lights out. There will be plenty to choose from, and you can jump into as much (or as little) as you like.

Thank you for the many ways you continue to show up for this community, with the kind of motherly care that Jesus described as a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. (Matthew 23:37)

With gratitude as we continue walking this Lenten road together,

Deacon Lisa

Family Musings

• I wonder what sounds Jesus might have heard out in the wilderness.

• When you have to choose between something easy and something right, what helps you decide?

• Where have you noticed God’s love in your life this week?