The CATHEDRAL TIMES
WILL THEY KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE?
By Keith Dumke, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
Ten years ago, as I exited a local retailer, a woman stopped me because she noticed the t-shirt I was wearing. The shirt was one of the many Christian t-shirts that I have from years of attending youth retreats, mission trips, pilgrimages, and events. She said: “Thanks, I really needed to see the message on your shirt today. It reminds me that love wins, and that God is good. See, you were out here witnessing today, and you didn’t even realize it!” I suppose that made me an evangelist unaware!
I recall thanking her for her kind words and being happy that I had impacted her day in a good way. And I recall being proud that I was a Christian, without feeling the need to explain or justify this part of my life.
I sometimes fear that in the same circumstance, I may react differently today. I might feel the need to clarify exactly what “kind” of Christian I am. I might want to make sure that I am not branded as judgmental, intolerant, discriminatory, unforgiving, or even downright hateful. I don’t like feeling this way. Yet I know that throughout history, much damage has been perpetrated in the name of Christianity. I also know that in recent times, many truth- and love-seeking Christians have desperately sought to right those historical wrongs through accountability and reconciliation.
How do we witness to Christ’s love in an era where some have used the image of God so wrongly? How do we share God’s message in a world that continues to grapple with diverse challenges, societal unrest, and seemingly endless global crises?
First, we recognize that God is within us. Then, we seek to see that same God in ALL those we meet. Then, we begin our work of love in this world.
Jesus came to transform us. God entered this world in human form to remind us that we are created in God’s image – and that God is loving (above all), transformative, restorative, and creative – and that means we are capable of all these same qualities.
We must believe that they WILL know that we are Christians by our love! They will recognize us by our simple, yet meaningful, acts of kindness, charity, forgiveness, faith, hope, and LOVE!
Love is grounded in action.
Last week, we sent a group of our own youth into our city to do God’s work. This group of young people did remarkable acts and they, too, may have been evangelists unaware, just as I had been a decade ago. They scrubbed bathrooms and floorboards for a faith community consisting primarily of people living with mental illness. One of our teens offered their arm to an older woman struggling down a sloped driveway. They worked in a community garden, they cut grass, cleaned up debris, and completed mundane office tasks. They unloaded heavy cartons of food onto shelves, and packed grocery bags with food to distribute to those who rely on us to sustain them.
We must continue to believe that even simple acts of love and kindness have a ripple effect and may inspire others to act in the same way.
Conversely, if we grow frustrated by those who use Christianity as an excuse to treat others poorly, and if we remain idle or silent as this occurs, this may reinforce negative stereotypes about Christianity. We must make sure that our love shines even more brightly in the world today.
Thomas Merton put it best: “The fact remains that our task is to seek and find Christ in our world as it is, and not as it might be. The fact that the world is other than it might be does not alter the truth that Christ is present in it and that God’s plan has been neither frustrated nor changed.”
We must keep doing good works and proclaiming that our Christian love reigns supreme. We must have faith that they will indeed know we are Christians by our love, or maybe even by our t-shirts.
This SUNDAY
JULY 30, 2023 · The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 12, Year A
1 Kings 3:5-12
• Psalm 119:129-136
8:45 AND 11:15 A.M.: IN-PERSON AND ONLINE
• Romans 8:26-39
• Matthew 13:31-33,44-52
CATHEDRALATL.ORG / THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. PHILIP APP / FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE
7:45 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, MIKELL CHAPEL
Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Canon Cathy Zappa
8:45 A.M. AND 11:15 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL
Celebrant: The Rev. Canon Julia Mitchener
Preacher: The Rev. Canon Cathy Zappa
Cathedral Choir (Sopranos and Altos): Steven Rickards (b. 1955), Little Lamb Michael Sitton (b. 1958), Tantum ergo sacramentum
11:15 A.M. LA SANTA EUCARISTÍA, MIKELL CHAPEL
Officiant and Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval
Adult EDUCATION
THIS SUNDAY, JULY 30
Living Faith: Discovering Spiritual Growth with the Enneagram Room 239, 10:10 a.m.
The Enneagram is an insightful, spiritual personality-typing system that offers another lens into Christian teachings and is a helpful resource for spiritual growth.
Join Canons Holder, Mitchener, and Zappa as we explore what it means to live out our faith through conversation with scripture and tradition, contemporary books, and, most important, one another. All are welcome!
Enjoy Biblical Greek Room 239 and on Zoom, 1:15 p.m.
This newcomer-friendly class is open to beginners, while including long-term members who enjoy exchanging tips, best learning practices, and coaching points on how to translate the Greek New Testament.
PRAYER List
FOR THOSE WITH IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Ronald and Clara Peters • The Priestley Family • Mary Mac Sirockman
FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING:
LONG TERM PRAYERS: R. Huntley Allen • Randy Allen • Lucy Baker • Lizzie Bicksler • Virginia Bicksler • Ed Black • Miguel Boaz-Contreras • The Bryant Family • Don Cameron • Connie Chapman • Geraldine Charles • Lawrence Cowart • The Crossley Family • Terry Dornbush • Deborah Ellington • Paul Fekete • Joyce Egan Ferris • Phoebe Forio • Susan Frierson • Tom Frolik • Aidan
Gray • Ken Griffiths • Elizabeth Groseth • D. Louis Gruver, Jr. • Suzanne Haerther • Jenny Ham • Karen Howard • Jane Jones • Lisa
Krysiak • Harry Lamon • Liza Lanier • Sally Llewellyn • Jill Mahaffey • Tommy Mason • Lee Moran • Susan Myers • Jim Myrick •
Charlie Neal • Marian Palmore • Al Plummer • Rubye and Wayne Reid • Lorraine Reynolds • Barbara and Joel Rice • Bob Riggins •
Agnes Elizabeth Robertson • Betty Roper • Peter Sanders • Louis "Skip" Schueddig • Gail Morgan Timmis • Tommy Truesdale •
Connie Vaughan • Ron Wallace • Jonathan Wright
FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Josephine Rose Adams • Elizabeth Alexander • Cinforosa Gómez Alonzo • Alison and Jeffrey Armor •
Kaneez Khanum Bashir • Shaista Bashir • Bettina Bass • Ray and Pat Bell • Jason Brady • Chet Brewer • Catherine Brinton • Calvin Burgart • Lila Jo Callaway • Bob Carreras • Lois Chapman • Mika Chorey • Anna Clifford • Marie Corrigan • Ava Corroon • Apryl
Roberts Cox • Bob Crawford • Judy Crosby • Angela DeRuvo • Freddie DeSantiago • Redell DuBose • Megan Dyer • Ron Dyer •
Kenneth Farr • Harry Fifield • Peter Foster • John Gerding • McKee Hamilton • Don Harp III • Gayle Higley • Jay Horton • Beth Ingle • Cami Jackson • Patty and Shannon Jafolis • The congregation of St. James' Episcopal Church (Eureka Springs, AR) • The Kelly Family • Robin Kemp • Tim Kirkbride • Herb Larrabee • Rachel Laurin • Pete Livezey • Cakers Long • Carolyn R. Lusk • Lauren Makhlouf • Sarah Louise Maples • Susan Mendivil • Elaine Metcalf • Denise Mims • Betsy Moore • Sharon Morgan • Linus Nickel •
Linda Pace • Ginny Quinn • Todd Reid • Einar Sagstuen • James Sands • Skip Saunders • Patricia Schooley • Stacey Schuitema •
Austin Scott and family • Don Smith • Philip Gregory Smith • Michael and Kathryn Snider • Christy Strum • Harry F. Sutcliffe •
John and Cleary Tanner • Pierson Thames • Donnie and Ann Waller • Cheryl Waybright • Jason Wilke • Naomi Wolf • Jennifer Wright • Whit A. Wright • Marjorie Young • Hollis Youngner
FOR THOSE WHO WERE BORN:
Frederick Van Dyke Coleman, son of Mary and Chris Coleman
The CATHEDRAL of 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. Salmoon Bashir, Curate for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations
The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval, Deacon for Hispanic Ministries and Pastoral Care
The Rev. Theophus “Thee” Smith, Ph.D., Priest Associate
Ward Bondurant, Senior Warden
Melody Palmore, Junior Warden
CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: FOR THE SUNDAY, AUGUST 6 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 26 FOR THE SUNDAY, AUGUST 13 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2 TO RECEIVE THE TIMES BY EMAIL: CONTACT LIZ AULL, LAULL@CATHEDRALATL.ORG.
TO SUBMIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT REQUEST: CONTACT SARA CRAIG-GOODELL, SCRAIGGOODELL@CATHEDRALATL.ORG.
404-365-1000 | cathedral ATL .org
pastoral care emergency line: 404-365-1003
cathedralatl
BACK TO SCHOOL FOR THE CATHEDRAL SCHOLARS!
Thirteen young men and women have been chosen as this year’s class of Cathedral Scholars. The Cathedral Scholars Committee has identified an incredible group of students with limited financial means who will attend undergraduate and graduate schools and receive an average grant of $7,000 from the Cathedral—often the difference between attending and not attending college. These deserving students were selected through a process including an application, cover letter, letter of recommendation, and transcript. Parishioners have committed $61,000 of our $81,000 annual goal to build this program, and we are actively raising money to support the scholarships. To learn more, visit cathedralATL.org/scholars. To donate, visit cathedralATL.org/FundAScholar.
MUSIC
ORGAN DEMONSTRATION
On Sunday, August 6, between the 8:45 and 11:15 services, Organist/ Artist-in-Residence Jack Mitchener will give a demonstration of the great Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ in the Nave. His talk will include an explanation of the mechanisms of the instrument, a brief explanation of how it works, and some aural examples! Please meet by the organ in the Quire area at 10:10 a.m. for an inside look at this amazing piece of musical technology.
SPIRITUALITY
SPIRITUALITY CONFERENCE:
DIGNITY AND THE AUTHENTIC LIFE
Beth-Sarah Wright, Ph.D.
October 21, 2023
9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The culminating question in the Baptismal Covenant asks, “Will you strive for peace and justice and respect the dignity of every human being?” As core to the authentic Christian life, this question challenges us to look again and see the dignity in our neighbors and in our own lives. Dr. Wright will use the DIGNITY Lens, a seven-pronged transformative set of strategies inspired by this question to advocate for and address any barriers to authenticity in our communities and in our lives.
Beth-Sarah is the author of seven books. Her most recent book, The DIGNITY Lens Workbook: Implementing the Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community is a companion to her book DIGNITY: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community. DIGNITY is a comprehensive lens through which to view and solve for insidious barriers to authenticity and narrow the gap between who we say we are and who we are in reality. For Wright, stories are the currency for dignity. More books and information can be found at her website, bethsarahwright.com.
Learn more and register at cathedralATL.org/spirituality.