The CATHEDRAL TIMES The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · July 24, 2022
GOD'S EMPATHY AND OURS By the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith, Associate Priest
Consider with me just one, current and compelling example of Christian spirituality operating in ‘sync’ (synchrony) or correspondence with current events. Similar opportunities occur, of course, all year long and every year across the millennia. But I highlight here a particular case. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:22-23). That kind of ‘groaning’ of the created world, along with our ‘inward groaning’ as carriers of the Holy Spirit, was described by the apostle Paul centuries ago. But it is astonishingly contemporary with our time as well. Moreover I’m suggesting here that this deep groaning verifies our collective experience in church and society. For we are undergoing in our shared experience of the world a kind of birth experience featuring “labor pains” and “sighs too deep for words,” as the apostle goes on to say. Likewise the Spirit helps us . . . [for] that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows . . . the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27). Thus the apostle highlights the intercessory nature of the church as the ‘body of Christ’ in the world today. Whether we do so consciously or not, he suggests, we are co-suffering the world’s travail because we are especially attuned to the ways that God in Christ endows the world: as a creative domain that allows for both human freedom and human failure, but in which divine love intercedes triumphantly over death and destruction, while providing us with spiritual sustenance and support to sustain and participate in intercessory processes. It is from that perspective that last Sunday I preached on texts related to women’s issues in our contemporary context. Empathy with ‘women’s work,’ women’s aspirations, and women’s choices is one theme that attaches to this past Sunday’s gospel reading: the story of Jesus visiting and mediating a conflict between two sisters, his friends Martha and Mary. In preaching I felt inspired to reflect on that gospel in the context of our ongoing culture wars that threaten to escalate into a ‘cold civil war.’ Without explicit referral, I addressed our nation’s recent supreme court decision on abortion rights. By contrast I also shared a counterweight and suggested remedy for our culture wars: a view of global developments that Jeremy Rifkin calls (in his engaging book and recommended YouTube videos with that title), The Empathic Civilization. An empathic civilization, as I employed the concept, understands women’s work, women’s aspirations, and women’s choices in a holistic perspective that seeks to integrate and balance both progressive and traditional view, roles, and imperatives. Across millennia women have been relegated to roles that serve others: serving others with their bodies as slaves, servants, or second-class citizens in contexts that are domestic or familial, reproductive, and institutional. Balancing their freedom in those roles, with other ethical and civilizational needs and imperatives, may be a complicated or daunting task. But it is an integrative task that our faith tradition commends to us through scripture, church history, and contemporary issues. The quest to find an empathic balance is ours to continue. We cannot shirk from it without failing to be beloved community, to be questing for the kingdom of God, and to be participating with secular societies and other faiths in the pro-human emergence of empathic civilizations. Here we have a key opportunity to seek the mind of the Spirit and act on our discernment as the body of Christ in the world today.
This SUNDAY
JULY 24, 2022 · The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 12, Year C Genesis 18:20-32 · Psalm 138 · Colossians 2:6-15 · Luke 11:1-13
8:45 A.M. AND 11:15 A.M.: IN-PERSON AND ONLINE CATHEDRALATL.ORG / THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. PHILIP APP / FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE
7:45 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, MIKELL CHAPEL Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Brandon Duke
8:45 AND 11:15 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL Celebrant: The Rev. Canon Julia Mitchener Preacher: The Rev. Brandon Duke Cantoris: Flor Peeters (1903-1986), Aria, Op. 51 Hymn 360, “Only-begotten, Word of God eternal” Rouen Hymn 376, “Joyful, joyful, we adore thee” Hymn to Joy Psalm 138 at 11:15, Simplified Anglican chant S-415: melody, Jerome Meachen Hymn 635, “If thou but trust in God to guide thee” Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Geistliches Lied – Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren Hymn 411, “O bless the Lord, my soul!” St. Thomas (Williams) Robert Powell (b. 1932), S-129, Sanctus & Benedictus Hymn 314, stanza 1 “Humbly I adore thee” Adoro te devote Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), O for a closer walk with thee Hymn 711, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” Seek ye first Hymn 414, “God, my King, thy might confessing” Stuttgart Gustav Holst (1874-1934), arr. Jonathan Scott, “Jupiter” from The Planets
11:15 A.M. SERVICIO DE KOINONIA, CON LA SANTA EUCARISTÍA , MIKELL CHAPEL Officiant and Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval
Adult EDUCATION SUMMER BIBLE STUDY: EAT YOUR WORD All are welcome to the Eat Your Word Bible study, which meets on Wednesdays at 12 p.m., in room 239 and by Zoom. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 — July 27 Cathedral member Dianne Otwell leads this devotional, prayerful approach to studying Psalm 23, in conversation with a book of the same title, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by W. Philip Keller. Though it is not necessary to read the book to participate, it is a good read and supplement to the study. The book is available at the Cathedral Book Store and on their website, cathedralbookstore.org.
MUSIC The 32 Sonatas of Beethoven In celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s recent 250th birthday—and as a fundraiser for the Cathedral Choir's 2024 pilgrimage to England—pianist (and Cathedral Coordinator for Music) Timothy Gunter is performing all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in a series of eight recitals which began in 2019. The next recital of the series will be this Saturday, July 23, from 2–3:30 p.m. The piano sonatas of Beethoven have been regarded for more than a century as one of the hallmarks of the piano repertoire. The old saying among pianists for generations has been that if you can play all of the Beethoven piano sonatas, you should be able to play anything. Program: Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 14, No. 2 Sonata No. 11 in B-flat Major, Op. 22 Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49, No. 1
Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49. No. 2 Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 “Waldstein”
PRAYER List FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING: IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Angelica Banos • James Hawkins • Brenda Pruitt • Debbie Ragen LONG TERM PRAYERS: R. Huntley Allen • Penny Barnett • Virginia Bicksler • Jeff Bonnell • Laura Cape • Heather Clark • Lawrence
Cowart • Paula Cowart • Sharon Crews • The Crossley Family • Marg Denny • Terry Dornbush • Sarah duBignon • Deborah Ellington • Ruth Fuqua • Libby Gilmore • Charles Hicks, Jr. • Karen Howard • Jane Jones • Louise Kan • Jane Knight • Lisa Krysiak • Bonnie Lamberth • Marion Losnick • Jill Mahaffey • Tommy Mason • Carol McDonald • Glenn Miller • Susan Myers • Jim Myrick • Charlie Neal • Marian Palmore • Gene Paradise • Ginna Pope • Rubye and Wayne Reid • Lorraine Reynolds • Agnes Elizabeth Robertson • Nora Robillard • Betty Roper • Peter and Kay Sanders • Louis "Skip" Schueddig • Julie Sutton • Rose Mary Thompson • Anne France Tremege • Frank Troutman III • Tommy Truesdale • Ron Wallace • Faye Van Winkle
FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Nathaniel Adams • Bettina Bass • Amy Bradley • Lisa Bradshaw • Barton Brown • Lila Jo Callaway • Marjorie Childs • Vaughn Clapp • Marie Corrigan • Ava Corroon • Bob Crawford • Judy Crosby • Barbara Beam Denison • Easton Matthew Dyas • Dan Elson • Nan Fishburn • Jack Flanigan • Jackson Francis • Carleton Fuller • Al Gardner • Theresa Gent • Mark Goodwin • Ken Griffiths • Vicky Haard • Janet Haldeman • Don Harp III • Vivian Hartz • Martha Heinze • Cathy Hendler • Eboni and Everton Heron • Gayle Higley • Eric Hilkman • William Hudson • Beth Ingle • Cadel Ingraham • Tom Jones • Robin Kemp • Rita Lewis • Pete Livezey • Lauren Makhlouf • Gail Marie • Pat Martin • Christopher McCullough • Jan McPherson • Ruth Ann Metcalf • Elaine Metcalf • Montserrat Miller • The Mills Family • Betsy Moore • Malcolm A. Moore • Linus Nickel • Bess O'Connor • Bill Poole • Betty Preston • Carter Randall • Bobbie Rowe • Einar Sagstuen • James Sands • Gary Schiff • Paige Seifried • Betty Shelton • Denise Siers • Don Smith • Kathryn Snider • Lauren Stice • Yvonne Tate • Pierson Thames • Bryson Thomas • Cheryl Waybright • Evelyn Williams • Harris Wilson • Bill Woodring • Whit A. Wright • Hollis Youngner
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Richard Hare • Theresa Paine
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. Canon Julia B. Mitchener, Canon for Mission The Rev. Catherine Zappa, Canon for Liturgy and Pastoral Care The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval, Deacon for Hispanic Ministries The Rev. Theophus “Thee” Smith, Ph.D., Priest Associate Ward Bondurant, Senior Warden Samuel T. Wilmoth, Junior Warden
CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: FOR THE SUNDAY, JULY 31 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 20. FOR THE SUNDAY, AUGUST 7 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 27. TO RECEIVE THE TIMES BY EMAIL, CONTACT LIZ AULL, LAULL@CATHEDRALATL.ORG. TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT REQUEST, CONTACT SARA CRAIGGOODELL, SCRAIGGOODELL@CATHEDRALATL.ORG. 404-365-1000 | cathedralATL.org pastoral care emergency line: 404-365-1003
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STEWARDSHIP: Spotlight WHY I GIVE: ANNE WILLINGHAM I was brought up in the Baptist Church by Christian parents. At an early age I was taught that everything I had was from God and that He asked that I give back to Him only 10%. That isn’t even a decent tip in today’s world! When I married, I joined the Episcopal Church because my husband was active in the Episcopal Church and I believed that the wife should follow the husband. I asked him about what we should do about tithing, and he said we couldn’t afford it. I said I didn’t think we could afford not to. He checked with his uncle, Bishop Claiborne. His uncle said, yes, that 10% was something to aim toward. I said, “Why don’t we just jump right in and try giving 10% for six months.” If at the end of six months we were worse off financially, then we would stop. At the end of six months, we were actually doing the same—if not a little better. We sent all of our six children to private schools, any college they chose, and some received graduate degrees. We took nice trips—not as often as some, but enough that I have many lovely memories now that I am alone. Tithing gave us a healthy perspective of money. We never had an argument about money—we argued about other things, but never about money! I think tithing also helped our children to have a healthy attitude toward money. Now that I am alone, I continue to tithe. Like the widow in I Kings 17:8–16 who fed Elijah from her little bit of meal and a little oil and it never ran out, I am depending on my Lord to keep my little bit of “meal and oil” from running out. I have wondered through the years if our tithing had made an impression on our children. One of our sons told us the other day that he had helped with the estate of a friend who had been very wealthy and had not given consistently to the Lord. At his friend's death, there was very little left, and our son thought of his dad, and how little money he had made—and yet, what he had left has been enough to keep me comfortable. The Lord will bless your efforts in ways one cannot imagine—may I suggest you try it and see how God will honor your efforts!