cathedral times The Weekly Newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip, Serving Atlanta and the World
June 26, 2016
YELLOWSTONE MUSINGS—DEEP TIME By the Rev. Dr. Bill Harkins Priest Associate The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightning’s lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. — Psalm 77 Vicky and I recently returned from visiting our son Justin and daughter-in-law Michelle in Montana, where they have lived for several years. Our journey from Billings to Yellowstone took us into the Beartooth Mountains by way of the eponymous highway, a spectacular drive. The Beartooth are composed of Precambrian and metamorphic rocks, dated at approximately 4 billion years old. Expansive plateaus are found at altitudes in excess of 12,000 feet. With miles of alpine meadows where no meadows should be—a lovely plateau atop a mountain range—one begins to sense that the normal “rules” of geology don’t apply here. The Beartooth have over 300 lakes and waterfalls. Winters are severe with heavy snow and incessant winds. Among my favorite places in the Beartooth is Clay Butte. A short trail run to the Butte and one finds oneself on an ancient sea floor at 12,000 feet, surrounded by fields of alpine flowers. Marine fossils are plentiful. Prior to the wrinkling of the earth’s crust, the entire Rocky Mountain region was below sea level. This Late Cretaceous seaway extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. The uplift of the crust slowly pushed this seaway up and out of the western interior. Never again has the Rocky Mountain region been invaded by marine waters. The Yellowstone trail half-marathon, which I joined Justin and Michelle in running, was held in the Gallatin National Forest. John McPhee has said of Yellowstone that, according to plate tectonic theory, it should not exist. “Geologists have come to believe that in a deep geophysical sense it is not Yellowstone that is moving … the great heat that has expressed itself in so many ways on the topographic surface of the modern park derives from a mantle far below the hull of North America. They believe that as North America slides over this fixed locus of thermal energy the rising heat is so intense that it penetrates the plate. The geologic term for such a place is a ‘hot spot.’”
I will cry aloud to God; I will cry aloud, and he will hear me. From this week’s lectionary Psalm 77:1
After our sojourn on the trails, I awoke that night to a clear sky, and the glorious Milky Way spinning above us, even as the ground we were on, however, imperceptibly (much of Yellowstone is in an ancient volcanic caldera) moved beneath us. Deep Time above and below; I was reminded of the psalmist, who wrote of things often unseen, assumed to be fixed, but nevertheless in motion, wonderfully, miraculously alive. I delight in this as suggestive of God’s ongoing participation in Creation. As Teilhard de Chardin has written, “By means of all created things, without exception, the Divine penetrates us, and molds us. We imagined it as distant and inaccessible, when in fact we live steeped in its burning layers.” 1 Last month, NASA scientists reported the creation of key DNA components in a laboratory experiment that simulated the space environment. Together, these findings suggest that life’s building blocks were concocted in space and blended into the material that formed Earth and its siblings. Writing in the New York Times, Ray Jayawardhana said that our very “cosmic selves” are the stuff of Deep Time, just as is the geology of the Beartooth Mountains in Montana. “Tell me a story,” wrote Robert Penn Warren, “Make it a story of great distances, and starlight. The name of the story will be Time, but you must not pronounce its name. Tell me a story of deep delight.” 1
“Annals of the Former World,” John McPhee, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York (1999), pp. 389-390
SPIR ITUALIT Y
2016 CH APTER Rob Adams (Junior Warden), Mary Bondurant (Executive Committee At-Large), Josh Borden, Kate Brewer, Matt Caine, Mary Caroline Cravens (Senior Warden), Joan Gilbert, Austin Hall (Secretary), Jason Hultgren, Lindsey Hardegree, Wade Hooper, Eric Mininberg, Doug O’Bryan (Treasurer), Brad Reeves, Julie Rief, Ruth Russ, Susan Troutman, George Watson, Anne Young
CLERGY A ND SENIOR STA FF The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler Dean Dale Adelmann, Ph.D. Canon for Music The Rev. George M. Maxwell, Jr. Vicar The Rev. C. Wallace Marsh IV Canon for Worship and Parish Life Mary Hunter Rouse Canon for Education The Rev. Catherine Zappa Canon for Spirituality and Mission The Rev. John William Harkins III, Ph.D. Priest Associate The Rev. Todd D. Smelser Canon Associate for Pastoral Care The Rev. Theophus “Thee” Smith, Ph.D. Priest Associate The Rev. Carolynne G. Williams Canon Associate for Pastoral and Elder Care The Rev. Juan Sandoval Deacon for Hispanic Ministries
In my 56 years, the thing I have done to most improve my life has been to answer the call to a regular meditative centering prayer practice. This practice is like regular exercise—once you experience the benefits, you wonder how and why you ever settled for so much less. Sharing this practice with my wife is a great blessing. I like to start my day with a variation of the morning office in the Book of Common Prayer. Over the years I’ve memorized favorite collects, and I enjoy the baptismal prayer, because I want an inquiring and discerning heart, and I treasure the gift of joy and wonder in all God’s works. At work, I hear the Angelus Bells ring at noon. I find checking in with my breathing and my Lord at midday, after a morning of swearing and scurrying, makes this religion business come alive for me. Finally, I’ve tried memorizing a psalm a week. This project has fizzled out twice, but left me with a working body of about a dozen psalms. You can’t go wrong with trusty #23, and praying it repeatedly is helping me believe that it is true. —Will Traynor
WORSHIP SCHEDULE
MUSIC
Sunday, June 26, 2016 / Pentecost 6: Proper 8C
Sunday, June 26, 2016 / Pentecost 6: Proper 8C
Liturgy of the Word Lesson: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 Epistle: Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Gospel: Luke 9:51-62
7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Mikell Chapel Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Bill Harkins
8:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Cathedral Celebrant: Canon Carolynne Williams Preacher: Canon George Maxwell 9 a.m.
Holy Eucharist, Mikell Chapel Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Bill Harkins
11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Cathedral Celebrant: Canon George Maxwell Preacher: Canon Todd Smelser
11:15 a.m. La Santa Eucaristía, Mikell Chapel Celebrant: The Rev. Dr. Bill Harkins Preacher: Deacon Juan Sandoval
8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist / Cathedral Choir (Sopranos and Altos) David Willcocks, Psalm 150 Gabriel Fauré, Ave verum corpus
CHILDREN
The Nurturing Center is open for children four and younger from 8:30 a.m. through the end of the 11:15 a.m. service each week.
MEMBERSHIP NEW MEMBERS John and Sandi Cowart, and their children Winston, Caroline, and Libby, from Winter Park, Florida Returning Member McCauley Massie, from Dallas, Texas Wedding Margaret Hyman and Nathaniel Bohon, married June 11, 2016
WOR SHIP SUPPORT
In this summer series, open to all, some of the lights of our Cathedral community teach about saints, historical and contemporary, who have inspired them by the way they lived out the Beatitudes and their faith. This class meets at 10:10 a.m., Sundays in Child Hall. This Sunday, June 26, Ward Bondurant will discuss Atticus Finch. Podcasts of previous classes and the full schedule are available at stphilipscathedral.org/learn.
LOOKING FOR A WAY TO GET INVOLVED AT THE CATHEDR AL? Join the Altar Guild and share your talents to the glory of God. The Altar Guild is recruiting volunteers for Sunday services in the Cathedral and Mikell Chapel, and for weekday services in St. Mary’s Chapel. We need you and your willingness to serve! Our volunteer ministry cares for the altar, vestments, vessels, and linens used during worship services. Altar Guild members work in teams to prepare the sanctuary for services, assist the clergy, and clean up afterwards. We ask that you serve one service per month, about two hours, plus help with additional special services during the year. No experience is necessary! We welcome new members (old, young, female, and male) and provide an in-depth orientation, a training program, and mentoring. For more information, contact Nancy Rizor, rizorr@bellsouth.net or 404-606-3011, or Mary Mercer, mmercer02@comcast.net or 404-394-5077. Nancy leads the Cathedral and Mikell Chapel volunteers, and Mary leads the St. Mary’s Chapel volunteers.
PR AYER S For those who are ill or recovering Julia Alston Steve Auerbach Priscilla Beale Rodger Beatty Karen Bellaire Cornelia Bird George Bird John Blair Marcia Block David Boone Josh Borden Joan Brooks Keith Brooks Neal Brown and family Meredith, Adam, and Leo Bugenske Denise Carlson Josie Carlyle Andrew Clark Joann Claypoole David Collins Lawrence Cowart Jackson Culbreth Terry Dornbush Sarah duBignon Kitty Dukehart John Dunn Angela Ellis Mary Elrod Amy Feuss Jessica Flores Mary Ann Frazier Carleton Fuller Carolyn R. Fuller
Susan Gill Rebecca Gorman Peggy Govan Eudelle Lanier Graham Dianne Griner D. Louis Gruver, Jr. Ellen Gunn Stan Haines Jennifer Ham Jane Hannah Caroline Hatcher Patricia Hentz Debanhi Hernandez Richard Hill Connie Hoar Annemarie and Ante Jazic Dorothy Lanier Kenerly Kelly Kolak Lisa Krysiak Margaret Winders Kuhn Tommy Lanier Karen League Jack Lyle Herb Matthews Barbara Massey Janie Mathis Michelle Maxwell Reilly McClain Bonnie Shields McCormack Carol McDonald Lorraine McKnight Jan McPherson Dick Miller Lucius Morton
Julia and William Moye Deloria Musgrove Andy Nelson Stuart Peebles Libby Powell Garry Pryor Ronnie Pryor Jennifer Rankin Jonna Rankine Whitney Kemble Robbins Logan Shannep Michelle Simmons Lara Smith Sitton Bill Smith Lyda Sorgini Joe K. Steele Janiece Townsend Roy Unkefer Roush Vance Ed Vogel Meredith Wallace Chandra Westafer Caroline and John Westerhoff Stephen Williamson Dick Wilson Marion Wilson Lu Worrell Patricia Young Hollis Youngner For those who have died Campbell Collins, Jr.
Join the Cathedral Farmers Market for the 4TH ANNUAL SUNDAY SUPPER, Sunday June 26! Atlanta area chefs will be serving up family-style dishes from farm fresh, local ingredients sourced from our very own farmers and vendors at the market. This event is our annual fundraiser and covers market programs including Wholesome Wave GA Food Stamp Doubling. Tickets and more info at peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com.
POSTMASTER: Dated Material. Please deliver by June 25, 2016 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Cathedral of St Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920 404.365.1000
C ATHEDR AL THRIF T HOUSE Treasure of the Week Beautiful decorative oil painting of a 19th century European landscape, with figures in a small boat on a stream. Frame is gold Louis XV. 36" x 48"
cathedral timeS (USPS-093440) is published weekly by The Cathedral of St Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920 Periodicals Postage Paid at Atlanta, GA
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CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: For the Sunday, July 3 issue, the deadline is Wednesday, June 22. For the Sunday, July 10 issue, the deadline is Wednesday, June 29. Please email announcement requests to the editor, Dan Murphy, at dmurphy@stphilipscathedral. org. Learn more about upcoming events, download sermons, and access contact information at stphilipscathedral.org.
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ATLANTA SUMMER ORGAN FESTIVAL
featuring
BRUCE NESWICK Canon for Music Trinity Cathedral, Portland, Oregon
PEACHTREE ROAD RACE Everyone is invited to the Cathedral to watch the annual Peachtree Road Race on Monday, July 4! If you’re not running, bring your family and friends, and chairs or blankets. Please plan to arrive by 6:30 a.m. when Peachtree Road is closed to vehicles in this area. We will cheer the runners and celebrate with prayer together on the lawn. If you are running in the Peachtree Road Race, please contact Dan Murphy at 404-365-1045 or dmurphy@stphilipscathedral.org so we know to look for you and can cheer you on!
Wednesday, July 6 7:30 p.m. $15 suggested donation at the door
DEAN'S WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY This summer, the Dean's Women's Bible Study will read Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine. Levine is a professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University. She is an engaging teacher and writer (you might have heard/seen her lecturing here in town or in one of the Great Courses series). The book offers fresh studies of parables we have all
heard many times, seeking to show us how to hear these stories “through an imagined set of first-century Jewish ears” (as Jesus’ listeners would have heard them), and how to translate them so that they can be heard still speaking today. All women are invited to join us in this book study, which begins Wednesday, July 6. We meet Wednesdays from 10:45-11:45 a.m. in the Chapter Room. Contact Mary Caroline Cravens, marycarolined@cs.com, with any questions.