The CATHEDRAL TIMES The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · May 31, 2020
WHEN WILL WE OPEN? By the Very Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral Yes, I know. I know we are eager to return to something like the daily routines and habits we knew, say, before Lent 2020 began on February 26! And we are eager to be able to attend church freely and safely on Sundays and weekdays! Believe me, I am eager, too. I do not need to rehearse with you what this pandemic isolation and quarantine has been like. Now, as Pentecost 2020 dawns upon us, it is apparent that many of us have begun our own processes of reengaging. We are wary, yes. We are careful and apprehensive. We are being safe. But many of us have enlarged our circle, having dinners with extended family members, and socializing with closer friends who share our habits. We are driving around and traveling. I believe that slow and careful re-engagement is good. Yes, there may well be more pop-ups of Covid-19. But my sense is that most of our country can better handle those cases at this point. It is good to carefully re-engage. So, our inevitable question and challenge is this: when can we return to worship in the Cathedral? Every leader among us –whether religious or secular—has an opinion! And, there will be lots of ways to re-engage. Well, here at the Cathedral, we will gravitate to the safer and more careful ways. No matter what the authorities among us allow, or even urge, my own counsel has been to take it easy. Even when the time comes that we can permit parishioners to worship inside the Cathedral, I know that many parishioners will simply not want to jump back into close contact. There are at least two reasons to be slow and careful about re-engaging in-person worship at the Cathedral. The first (obviously, I hope), is safety and the common good. The Cathedral of St. Philip stands for safety and wellness! Some of you know that the word “salvation” comes from the word “salve,” which means “be well!” (It is why healing ointment is called “salve.”) Well, the Cathedral stands for salvation and being well! There are lots of ways to work for salvation in the world, and “Social Distance For The Common Good” is still helping people be well, helping people with salvation. The second reason to be slow and careful about re-engaging in-person worship is that our church is already open! We have not been closed since March 15. We have just been experiencing spiritual communion and mission in a different way. No one needs to tell us to open back up! We, each of us, have been bringing in the kingdom of God, and serving Christ, in our own ways, wherever we are. Indeed, our mission has never been simply to go to church on Sundays. Our mission has been to restore all people to God and each other, and to seek and serve Christ in all persons, wherever we are! Our classical and traditional and liturgical “in-person worship” has always been about enabling that mission. We are fortunate, at the Cathedral of St. Philip, that our online worship services have been quite gladly and heartily received. I find myself praying online with you every Sunday – not just watching church! We are seeing and hearing each other –not just the clergy, but so many faithful parishioners! And I have heard from so many who have truly been encouraged and blessed by our offerings. I am so glad! It is not the same as inperson worship; I know that. But we are doing well. We are communicating the gospel, we are preaching the good news, we are teaching Christ, we are praying and even singing, and we are serving others, in ways that build up the Body of Christ. Even if there was some process by which we could re-engage in-person worship at the Cathedral with all sorts of restrictions and conditions – say, with masks on, or with pews marked off so that we used only 50% of our continued on back page...
This SUNDAY
MAY 31, 2020 · The Day of Pentecost: Whitsunday, Year A
Acts 2:1-21 · Psalm 104:25-35, 37b · 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 · John 20:19-23
WORSHIP WITH THE CATHEDRAL ONLINE AT CATHEDRALATL.ORG/STREAM, ON THE CATHEDRAL APP, AND ON THE CATHEDRAL FACEBOOK PAGE.
8:45 A.M. AND 11:15 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST Celebrant: The Very Rev. Sam Candler Preacher: The Rev. Canon George Maxwell
4 P.M. CHORAL EVENSONG RECORDED MAY 20, 2018 Officiant: The Very Rev. Sam Candler Gerre Hancock, Preces and Responses Herbert Howells, Gloucester Service Roland Martin, “Whitsunday” from Such Glorious Gifts Herbert Howells, Te Deum (Collegium Regale)
ADULT EDUCATION / 10:10 AM VIA ZOOM This Sunday in Old Fashioned Sunday School, Canon George Maxwell will explore the mysteries of Pentecost in a presentation titled “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” // Scott Russell, Kathy Loomis, Jeff Cunningham, and Michelle Perkins lead Parenting Unscripted. Contact the Rev. Nate Huddleston for more information.
PRAYER List FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING: IMMEDIATE NEEDS Mindy Boggs • Leonard A. Cobb • Sally Davis • Tim Gunter • Louis Gruver, Jr. • James Marion Smith
LONG TERM PRAYERS R. Huntley Allen • T. Mayo and Pat Atkins • Warren Barnes • Edgar and Judith Beach • Perry Benton •
Virginia Bicksler • Josh Borden, Jr. • Kat Bowling • Corey Cashion • Heather Clark • Marie Corrigan • Terry
Dornbush • Sarah duBignon • Deborah Ellington • Randy Farmer • William Ham • Katie Hughey • Louise Kan • John Kelleher • Chris Kopecky • Lisa Krysiak • Rose Leon • Elaine Lyon • Patricia Madison • Carol
McDonald • Glenn Miller • Ashley Minear • Royce Mitchell • Mary Chase Mize • Henri Muller and Family • Susan Myers • Charlie Neal • Linus Nickel • Marion Palmore • Garry Pryor • Rowland Radford • Rubye
and Wayne Reid • Tommy Ripley • Agnes Elizabeth Robertson • Louis “Skip” Schueddig • Julie Thompson • Tommy Truesdale • Lowell Palmer Weicker, Jr. • Faye Van Winkle • Karen Young
FAMILY AND FRIENDS Eileen Abeyesundere • Marion Altieri • Karyn Bacon • Bettina Bass • Tom Bingham • David Bond • Lynn
Chandler • Andrew Clark • Carleton Fuller • Bruce Gillies • Tom Ingegneri • Stephen Jones • Bernard A. Kan • Pete Livezey • Joyce Lyford • Pat Martin • Michelle Maxwell • Bonnie Shields McCormack • Bob McGill • David Mickle • Steven Norman • Sally Taylor Rogers • Frank Roth • James Sands • Lillian Sandoval • Patricia
Schooley • Milton Shiver • Tina Susco • Yvonne Tate • Pierson Thames • Jeffrey Thomas • Janiece Townshend • Roger Traylor • Ron M. Wallace • Whit A. Wright • Patricia Young • Hollis Youngner
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED Ann Discavage • Robert Discavage • Merlin Oehrke
This letter is part of a series of fictional letters by Canon George Maxwell intended for Episcopalians young and old who wonder what it means to be faithful in the world today.
he heard Susan Boyle sing, he saw her as a “human being” for the first time. “You become part of a mob,” he said, and then “you realize that you’ve gone too far.” It was a Pentecost moment.
Dear Anna, Years ago, I was watching a talent show called Britain’s Got Talent when a seemingly unremarkable woman walked onto the stage. She announced that she was going to rock the crowd, but no one believed her. Then, Susan Boyle began to sing. The words of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Misérables seemed to come alive in her voice. By the time she got to the second verse, the crowd was on its feet. Jeers became cheers and the applause continued long after she finished.
Pentecost is a celebration of the miracle of the tongue, the gift of the Spirit that allows the Gospel to be proclaimed. But it is also a celebration of the miracle of the ear, the gift of the Spirit that allows the Gospel to be heard. We might say that Susan Boyle experienced a miracle of the tongue. She found the courage to proclaim her humanity in the face of those who seemed so eager to take it from her. But we experienced a miracle of the ear. We heard her voice and, to our joy, realized that she was one of us after all.
The judges seemed to experience their own conversion. They voted unanimously to move her on to the next round of the competition. One judge confessed to hearing the “biggest wake-up call ever.”
It’s a mysterious thing, really, that what appears to be the weakest link turns out to be the only thing that is holding the human chain together.
They said it was the quality of her voice, or the courage of her performance, or the surprise of her talent. These things are all true, of course. But they don’t explain the tears. They don’t qualify as “wake-up calls.” One of the judges, Simon Cowell, came closer to the truth. He admitted that when
Your affectionate uncle, Ames
The CATHEDRAL off ST. PHILIP
The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, Dean Dale Adelmann, Ph.D., Canon for Music The Rev. Lauren R. Holder, Canon for Community and Education The Rev. George M. Maxwell, Jr., Vicar The Rev. Catherine Zappa, Canon for Liturgy and Pastoral Care The Rev. John William Harkins III, Ph.D., Priest Associate The Rev. Nathan G. Huddleston, Priest Associate for Youth and Young Adult Ministries The Rev. Julia B. Mitchener, Priest Associate for Children’s Ministries The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval, Deacon for Hispanic Ministries The Rev. Theophus “Thee” Smith, Ph.D., Priest Associate The Rev. Carolynne G. Williams, Canon Associate for Pastoral Care and Elder Ministry Del King, Senior Warden Dorsey DeLong, Junior Warden
CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: FOR THE SUNDAY, JUNE 7 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 27. FOR THE SUNDAY, JUNE 14 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3. TO RECEIVE THE TIMES BY EMAIL, CONTACT MELANA DICKSON, MDICKSON@CATHEDRALATL.ORG. TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT REQUEST, CONTACT THE EDITOR, DAN MURPHY, AT DMURPHY@CATHEDRALATL.ORG.
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...continued from front page space, or with online reservations only—I am not sure what all that would accomplish. We would be seeing and experiencing our holy space, for sure. And, more importantly, we would be seeing and experiencing each other! It is, after all, WE who are the Body of Christ. We want to see and experience each other!
POSTMASTER: Dated Material. Please deliver by May 30 2020 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: The Cathedral of St. Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920 404-365-1000
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
But the conditions and restrictions of our in-person re-engagement might well be more discouraging than edifying. With the canons and the chapter of the Cathedral, I am evaluating safe possibilities for all sorts of things – just as each of you are doing for your own lives and households. But the answer, right now, is that I do not know. I do not know when, or how, we will return to in-person worship at the Cathedral of St. Philip. I do know that when we do, I want it to be safe, and I want it to be real. It will not be simply because we can, with conditions that are too awkward and burdensome. And, of course, it will not be because we are making some sort of perceived political statement. It will be because we discern that in-person worship will help build up the Body of Christ and help bring in the kingdom of God. That is our mission. Pray for us!
The Very Rev. Sam Candler Dean of the Cathedral
3 Ways to Shop PRFM: 1.
Shop in person at the market Saturday mornings from 8:30am - 12pm. Be sure to follow social distancing rules:
One Customer at a time please!
2.
Keep 6 Feet Apart While You Wait
Pre-order directly from market vendors and pick up from their tents on Saturdays from 8:30am -12pm.
Use your phone to scan the QR Code for a list of participating vendors. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
3.
Order from vendors at the PRFM online store for curbside pick-up or pick-up at the info booth on Saturdays from 8:30am -12pm. Many of these vendors are not physically present on Saturday mornings. www.localline.ca/prfm
or a combination of all 3!
THRIFT HOUSE IS NOW OPEN Please come back and see us; we have missed you!. We have all our beautiful spring and summer clothing ready for you and our exciting Garden Sale will be on Friday, May 29. We've been saving garden donations since last May—so come grab our charming garden items to make your outdoor space the envy of the neighborhood. See you soon!
1893 PIEDMONT ROAD NE WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
11:30 AM — 2:30 PM