The CATHEDRAL TIMES

YOUTH SUNDAY!

Senior Charlie Long preached this year’s Youth Sunday sermon; these are excerpts from it. Read or watch the whole sermon at cathedral ATL .org.

… The majority of the times that I see God in my life may seem unconventional or downright confusing, but I’ll do my best to explain it. You see, I’ve always seen myself as a clumsy person and I have a funny story to back that up.

So, at the end of the last school year, as the day was ending and everyone was racing home, I quite literally RAN face first into a door at school and broke my nose. As if that weren’t bad enough, the rest of my class saw it happen and I became the butt end of every joke for the rest of the week. Everyone was offering to open doors for me so I didn’t run into one again, and repeatedly asked how I actually managed to slam my face into a door. You’d think I would’ve caught myself before impact, right? I thought so too!

I like to tell this story not only because it always gets a good laugh out of anyone who’s within earshot, but also because it was a time that I saw God in my life. Even through the embarrassment, I saw God in the friends and family who know me well enough to know that I’d rather laugh and joke about it than get lots of sympathy and throw myself a pity party.

I’ve always believed in the saying that “laughter is the best medicine” and sharing happy moments with those I care about kept my spirits high. To this, I felt God’s love even when I managed to break my own nose and reap the consequences that come with having family and friends that think they’re worthy of stand-up comedy. But it’s not all bad, I’m proud to say that from that day on, both doors of the eighth floor stairwell on the north end of my school building were permanently unlocked.

…The book of Acts reminds me that even in the most challenging moments, we are all members of God’s offspring. There is no distinguishing or qualifying characteristic that sets us apart from the love of God, which gives me the strength I need in hard moments to remember that God’s love is always greater.

What I’m trying to say is that I see God in the little things that keep my life interesting. While it’s not always as extreme as breaking my nose or getting a milkshake thrown in my face, any simple gesture or overlooked interaction often resonates with me more than others. In these simpler moments where I now voluntarily put on the itchy necktie, I’m proud to be preaching from this pulpit knowing that in big and little moments, God is always with me. I’m excited for the next adventures in my life that reveal God’s work in me and the world around me, each day, each moment.

To end, I’d like to leave you with a few words in prayer:

Dear God, thank you so much for your steady encouragement in this place I know I can always call home. Thank you for the lessons I have learned and friends I have made that I know I’ll carry with me forever. I ask that you would continue to guide and lead me in this next chapter of my life and those of us here today wherever their next years should take them. I pray that you will continue to provide us the strength we need, both in times of darkness and in joy, remembering that your grace bounds above all Earthly desires. I lift up all of these blessings unto you, Amen.

This SUNDAY

MAY 21, 2023 · The Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day, Year A Acts 1:6-14

8:45 A.M., 11:15 A.M., AND 4 P.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 Very Rev. Sam Candler

8:45 A.M. AND 11:15 A.M HOLY EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL

Celebrant: The Rev. Canon George Maxwell

Preacher: The Very Rev. Sam Candler

8:45 a.m. Cathedral Singers / 11:15 a.m. Cathedral Schola: Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), God is gone up Peter Philips (1560/1561-1628), Ascendit Deus

11:15 A.M. LA SANTA EUCARISTÍA, MIKELL CHAPEL

Officiant and Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval

4 P.M. CHORAL EVENSONG, CATHEDRAL

Officiant and Preacher: The Rev. Canon George Maxwell

Cathedral Choir:

Richard Shephard 1949-2021), Preces & Responses

Herbert Howells (1892-1983), York Minster

Patrick Gowers (1936-2014), Viri Galilaei

Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), God is gone up

SUNDAY AFTERNOON RECITALS

CAROLINE ROBINSON, ORGAN

The Cathedral of St. Philip SUNDAY, MAY 21— 3:15 P.M. IN-PERSON AND ONLINE AT CATHEDRALATL.ORG/RECITALS

DO YOU SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE?

Readers are needed for Pentecost Sunday services on May 28 at 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Anyone who can read and speak in a language other than English is invited to join the reading of the Gospel. You do not have to be an expert, you do not have to find your own translation, and you do not have to read alone! If you are interested, please contact Hillary Jones, 404-365-1038 or hjones@cathedralATL.org

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Toccata in E Major, BWV 566

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), “Alleluias sereins d’une âme qui désire le ciel” from L’Ascension

Leo Sowerby (1895-1968), “Fast and Sinister” from Symphony for Organ in G

Gustav Holst (1874-1934), arr. Jonathan Scott, “Jupiter” from The Planets

ADULT Education

THIS SUNDAY, MAY 21

Old Fashioned Sunday School

Child Hall, 10:10 a.m.

Who am I?

We have been talking about how we know what we know. This week is the last in the series. Canon Maxwell will focus on the question of how we know who we are. We’ll start by asking the question, “Who am I?” And, then we’ll explore what our answers reveal to us about God. As always, you will find a light heart and warm welcome.

Living Faith

Chapter Room (319), 10:10 a.m.

Discovering Spiritual Growth in the Twelve Steps

Most of us have heard of the Twelve Steps so many people have used to live a life of recovery. Many of us may even be familiar with certain steps. Some of us have incorporated all Twelve Steps into our daily lives. The truth is, all of us can benefit from the spiritual growth the Twelve Steps offer, because all of us struggle with various forms of dependency and addiction. Richard Rohr says, “I believe Jesus and the Twelve Steps of A. A. are saying the same thing but with different vocabulary.” Come explore that vocabulary with Canons Holder, Mitchener, and Zappa and discover the freedom of Jesus and the Twelve Steps.

Young Professionals “Coffee & Conversation Cards”

Walthour Library, 10:10 a.m.

On Sunday mornings during the formation hour, the Young Professionals’ Group will gather in Walthour Library using conversation cards to inspire Christian discussions on scripture, faith and life.

Body and Soul: Men's Health and Spirituality with the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith Walthour Library and on Zoom, 1 p.m. ‘Men Living Large via Grief and Loss.’ That’s the theme in his second guest appearance at Body and Soul, where the Rev. Thee Smith will share his personal experience of suffering sorrow: sorrow as a spiritual pathway to the kind of maturity that one Catholic theologian, Fr. Richard Rohr, calls “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life” (2011) and another, the late Eugene Bianchi, called “Elder Wisdom: Crafting Your Own Elderhood” (1994).

An associate priest at the Cathedral and Professor Emiritus at Emory University, the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith’s academic and teaching specialties include philosophy of religion, African American religious studies, Christian theology, and religion and violence. He is the author of Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America, and co-editor of Curing Violence: Essays on René Girard.

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. Please contact the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith, tsmith@cathedralATL.org, for more information.