The CATHEDRAL TIMES The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · October 25, 2020
HOLY WORSHIP FOR THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS On the Feast of All Saints, November 1, we celebrate the communion of saints, the communion we share in Christ with the living and dead. In our morning services, we welcome the newest saints in the church, the newly baptized; and in the afternoon, we remember those saints who have died. In this way, we not only celebrate the mystery of the communion of saints, but we accompany one another, with Christ, from the beginning to the end of our Christian pilgrimage on earth. Accompany us on Sunday, November 1! Worship with us throughout the day! In addition to our online services of Holy Communion (8:45 and 11:15 a.m.) and our in-person Koinonia services (7:45, 8:45, and 11:15 a.m. in English; 1 p.m. in Spanish), we will gather again online at 4 p.m. for a Choral Evensong for All Faithful Departed. In that service, we will commend to God our deceased loved ones, praying by name for those members, friends, and family of the Cathedral who have died in the last year. We pray that you will find great comfort through these shared prayers and the transcendent beauty of music that reveals the hope, peace, and surpassing joy of heaven. Then that evening, the 32nd Homeless Requiem will take place online at 7 p.m. We have not streamed this service online in the past out of respect for the privacy of all who grieve lives lost in the past year, people who died without housing. But because we must remember those who have died, and because we need to do so online this year, we are blessed with more faces and voices from across Atlanta than ever before, coming together to honor the most vulnerable among us. We are grateful this year for preacher Rebecca “Bec” Cranford of The Gateway Center. Bec is a visible and loving presence on the streets and in the shelters of Atlanta, and has been for years. We are grateful to the Atlanta Homeward Choir, led by Donal Noonan, lending their gift of music to this year’s service. We are grateful to participants from Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, City of Refuge, Church of the Common Ground, Crossroads, Georgia Works, Feet On The Street Ministries, PCCI, Remerge, The Boyce L. Ansley School, and so many others sharing their voices and faces on this sacred occasion. There is a lot we are missing this year! We are missing the Voices of Hope Choir from Lee Arrendale State Prison, we are missing all our partners who provide services in the atrium each year, we are missing a meal together, and blessing bags, and pumpkins, and piano music, and banners, and crosses, and candles, and clapping and sighing and laughing and crying and all that comes with being physically present with one another. But we cannot miss this opportunity to remember all who have died without housing in the past year. And we cannot miss the opportunity to pray for all who continue to serve the most vulnerable among us. So we come together remembering and praying, hoping that we would be transformed as we remember lives lost and lives still living. So join us next Sunday, November 1, online and in person, for the Feast of All Saints. Worship with us, pray with us, and remember with us all the saints on this earthly journey.