The CATHEDRAL TIMES The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · August 9, 2020
PLAYING MUSIC IN A DIFFERENT KEY By the Very Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral This first week in August, in the year 2020, I have so many things to say to you, the Cathedral parish and community; and yet I have so few things to say. The only two things to say, really, are: I love you. And I miss you. A few nights ago, I had a dream that represents my bewilderment in this time. I was at a piano playing a lovely piano piece, a piece which has always been, and always should be, in the key of F major. In my dream, the piano piece had no name; it was simply supposed to be played and heard in the key of F major. But the fiendish part of the dream is that I was having to play the piece in the key of B major. (Musicians among you may realize the difference between those two keys; the devil’s triad!) It was awful. It was not making any sense to me, and I was having an incredibly difficult time of it. Parts of the piece worked, and I could recognize some sort of general structure of the piece; but, to me, there was little musical about it. To me, there was no music. I understand that dream to represent how badly I am dealing with this pandemic isolation and social quarantine. There have been some measures that have worked. I am thankful for some dear moments, even peaceful moments, with family and friends. But, as for the structures of life, and the responsibilities of vocation and service, I am playing the piece in a key that is unknown to me, and incredibly difficult. Ordinarily, in this first week of August, many of us are gearing up for another school year, re-arranging our households, and fortifying them – perhaps taking a last vacation trip. At the Cathedral, we would be excitedly planning our Homecoming Sunday, preparing to pack the parish hall again! This year, obviously, almost every one of those routines has been dramatically re-arranged. Still, there are some things worth saying. I do have a couple of notes to play. Here they are. First of all, I really miss you. I miss seeing you, and hearing you, at church, in the hallways and classrooms and parking lots and streets. I miss seeing you in the neighborhood, at meetings, at cultural events like concerts and art exhibits, at sporting events. I am missing a critical part of our common humanity, which is our social character. Yes, I have enjoyed some beautiful times with my closer family members and some friends, during this quarantine and social distance. But I miss the social gatherings with strangers, where we gain so much knowledge without realizing it: at restaurants, for instance, with people I don’t even know but from whom I learn something. That is often the kind of social community that church provides: an experience of being with people we do not know, but with whom we share something in common. We support each other that way. In situations like that, we learn to love. The Cathedral Parish of St. Philip is still not conducting “in-person” worship services on Sundays. We are restricted by several directives and guidelines (governmental, ecclesiastical, public health) about how we can resume Sunday “in-person” worship. Schools that are re-opening are doing so with stringent conditions, such as signing waivers and pledges, taking temperatures and wearing masks, managing where people can walk and sit, limiting numbers of people, and being willing and able to enforce those requirements. The Cathedral may find a way to gather on Sundays, in the midst of those conditions, but we are not able to, yet. I miss that Sunday experience tremendously. I believe that we all still need it, even if we have also managed well with Sunday “online” worship. We need true group time, open time simply to see and to hear and to notice each other. Those are the occasions in which love grows in us. In particular, we need time to be with each other without having to write it down or record it. I sense that continued on back page...
This SUNDAY
AUGUST 9, 2020 · The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 14, Year A
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 · Psalm 105, 1-6, 16-22, 45b · Romans 10:5-15 · Matthew 14:22-33
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 Rev. Canon George Maxwell Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Thee Smith Cathedral Singers octet: Percy Whitlock (1903-1946), Folk Tune, (from Five Short Pieces) Hymn 608, “Eternal Father, strong to save” Melita Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b (Anglican chant: George Thalben-Ball) Hymn 636, “How firm a foundation” Foundation Percy Whitlock, Be still, my soul “Commit thou all that grieves thee” (Herzlich tut mich verlangen) Hymn 699, “Jesus, Lover of my soul” Aberystwyth Claude Murphree (1906-1958), Toccata on “How firm a foundation”
PRAYER List FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING: IMMEDIATE NEEDS Sharon Crews • Dan Elson • Charlotte Roland • DeeDee Watkins
LONG TERM PRAYERS R. Huntley Allen • T. Mayo Atkins • Edgar and Judith Beach • Perry Benton • Virginia Bicksler • Mindy Boggs • Bernice Burton • Heather Clark • Terry Dornbush • Sarah duBignon • Deborah Ellington • Randy
Farmer • Jenny Ham • Roger Hendler • Katie Hughey • Louise Kan • Chris Kopecky • Lisa Krysiak • Michelle Leiter • Elaine Lyon • Carol McDonald • Rebecca McDonough • Glenn Miller • Ashley Minear • Royce Mitchell • 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 • Faye Van Winkle
FAMILY AND FRIENDS Eileen Abeyesundere • Bettina Bass • Bill Bazemore • David Bond • Lynn Chandler • Andrew Clark • Charles
“Skipper” Cook • Marie Corrigan • Connor Butler Crennan • Carleton Fuller • Anthony Johnson • Vivian Johnson • Stephen Jones • Bernard A. Kan • Susan Kuzia • David Lee • Pete Livezey • Maggie Maddux • Pat
Martin • Michelle Maxwell • Bonnie Shields McCormack • David Mickle • Steven Norman • Maggie Rogers •
Frank Roth • James Sands • Milton Shiver • Tina Susco • Yvonne Tate • Pierson Thames • Jeffrey Thomas •
Janiece Townshend • Roger Traylor • Sarah Tunney • Angel Antonio Vega • Ron M. Wallace • Whit A. Wright • Patricia Young • Hollis Youngner
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED Joyce Goodwin • Paren Nash Hardison • Etta Willis • Gerald G. Woodruff, Jr.
OUTREACH
Adult EDUCATION
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING PEOPLESTOWN!
OLD FASHIONED SUNDAY SCHOOL
Thank you, thank you, thank you Cathedral of St. Philip and Emmaus House communities for stepping up big and fast to raise $115,000 in just three weeks! Clearly we are a community eager to make an impact, and forgiving $11.5 million in medical debt will provide a significant impact on the 4,800 households in Peoplestown experiencing medical debt. THANK YOU! If you missed the chance to participate in this community partnership, you can join us in supporting Buckhead Christian Ministry instead! While we raise funds for BCM every August and February, this month’s funds are especially needed in response to COVID-19 and rising unemployment. This is another opportunity to make a significant impact on vulnerable populations in our community. Please be generous!
This Sunday, August 9 at 10:10 a.m. in Old Fashioned Sunday School, Harrison Lance will lead the discussion on Jesus after the resurrection. The story of Jesus has so many memorable parts to it. His first miracle of water to wine, his sermon on the Temple Mount, his crucifixion and resurrection. But one of the most exciting parts of the story rarely gets anything more than a mention. We know what happened between his crucifixion and the resurrection, but what about afterwards? Explore with me the 72 hours after Jesus’s resurrection and the effects this miracle had on the Roman State, the internal politics in the Ancient City of Jerusalem, and what led to the Greatest Manhunt Story very rarely ever told.
CONGREGATIONAL Life RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES Although the Cathedral is not hosting Red Cross blood drives in this season, you can help save lives by giving blood at one of these convenient nearby locations. Schedule your appointment at redcrossblood.org • Buckhead Village District August 5-7, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. • Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church August 5-6, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. • Cathedral of Christ the King August 10, 2-7 p.m.
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, AUGUST 16 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5. FOR THE SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12. 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 human characters need truly informal and non-official and “off-the-record” time. One of my worries in this season, for instance, has been the over-amplification of judgement. It is unsettling to have our opinions and off-hand remarks and declarations and questions raised to permanent levels of judgement. Healthy social time involves the freedom to be “offthe-record,” the freedom to make mistakes, to try out opinions and questions with people who are not our family and closest friends. As I have mentioned before, this is where our social media outlets and even our regular media outlets, fall way short of what humanity needs. If our every random or experimental thought is stored up in a giant database that defines us forever, then very few of us will be healthy and free. Worse, we will have been unable to have open conversations and honest discussions with people who differ from us. Then, we will have missed the occasion of learning to trust others, learning to trust others who are different from us. Trust happens when others give us a break. The best church communities are those where we learn to give each other a break. We often call that action “forgiveness.” And many of us, so many of us, are tired of giving others a break. Yes, we have been patient and kind and forbearing. But, now, without community, we might be forgetting how to forgive. Oh my! Too many words! I have written too many words, when the advice I have often been giving others in the last four months is: Try not to tell others what to do! In the last four months, every single one of us has been forced to do things we do not want to do. We are tired of being directed and told what to do. We long for a new kind of freedom. Thus, my advice to myself and to others: Try not to judge! Try not to tell others what to do! So, I apologize if I have used too many words in this article, or appeared too directive, or somehow taken away your agency and freedom. We all need responsible and safe freedom. There are really just two things I want to say, two notes I want to play. They make sense in any key: I love you, and I miss you.
The Very Rev. Sam Candler Dean of the Cathedral
POSTMASTER: Dated Material. Please deliver by August 8, 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
OUTREACH AUGUST IS BCM FOOD DRIVE MONTH – PLEASE DONATE! August is food drive month at the Cathedral in support of Buckhead Christian Ministry’s client choice pantry. While COVID-19 has caused the temporary pause of pantry operations, BCM’s work to assist the working poor in our community is ongoing and more important than ever. Much of its current focus is delivering housing support as clients cope with layoffs and job losses, but food assistance remains a critical need and BCM’s reserve funding for the eventual reopening of its pantry is extremely important. St. Anne’s Guild coordinates the Cathedral’s semi-annual food drives (in August and February) and cherishes its role as ambassadors for
BCM. In usual times, guild members would be stationed in the Atrium each Sunday in August to receive your monetary contributions. In these unusual pandemic times, where Cathedral services and gatherings are conducted online, St. Anne’s is asking for your monetary support of BCM. In 2019, the Cathedral’s collective support of BCM’s client choice pantry surpassed $10,000 per semi-annual drive. Help us continue this wonderful record - these are extraordinary times producing extraordinary needs. Thank you in advance for your generous support of our neighbors in need! Your support in August can be made easily through the Cathedral’s website at cathedralATL.org/BCM. Also, the Cathedral will gladly accept mailed checks made payable to “The Cathedral of St. Philip,” with “BCM” on the notation line.