The CATHEDRAL TIMES
The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · July 21, 2024
A LAMP UNTO OUR FEET
by Dan Murphy, Director of Communications
When I was 17, two friends and I took a day trip to northwest Georgia. There are caves there. We were headed to one particular cave, with an entrance in the middle of the woods, not three feet wide. We were going on an adventure underground.
It was my first time in a cave like this, and it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. In fact, I still couldn’t see much: first a huge room, earth and rock all around. Darkness, but for the sliver of light from the entrance behind us. Then a small passageway, on to a smaller room. My friend, the leader among us, a Boy Scout who had made this trek before, told us to turn off our headlamps. It was pitch black.
I quipped that it would take a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. “There is no adjusting to this,” he said. “Our eyes can’t adjust on their own, this far from daylight.” Lamps back on, deeper we went. More passageways, some so narrow we had to take our backpacks off and push them ahead of us. Eventually, we reached an underground stream, which led us deeper in. More rooms to explore. More darkness.
And then, in the depths of the cave, our third friend’s headlamp went out. As we started to search for the replacement batteries, my lamp started to dim too. We rushed to change both sets with what little light we had. In our haste, we fumbled over the baggy and dropped all the extra batteries in the mud. We felt the darkness creeping in. All we could see was what our leader friend was looking at, the only one with a lamp. Everywhere else it was total black. To one side, a slippery rock down. To the other, the muddy path out. Maybe. But for what teenage boy bravado we had left, we were scared.
First, we blamed. “Why didn’t you put fresh batteries in the lamps before we got here?” “How could you possibly drop them at a time like this?” “What do you mean, you think you can get us back out?”
Then, we panicked. What if we didn’t get back out? What if we were stuck in this mess forever?
Then, we followed the light. Our leader friend had checked his map, cleared his head, and started walking from where we came. He was cautious but surefooted. “It’s going to take some time, but I’ll light your way.”
Room by room, passage by passage. Walking, sliding, and crawling. First one, then a passed backpack. A steady lamp showing just a few steps at a time. And then, through that final passage and into the big room, we could see for ourselves: a sliver of daylight in the rock. Up and out we crawled.
We can’t get out of the darkness alone.
The first letter of John tells us that “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 5-7).
There is plenty of darkness for us to get out of these days, from the mundane to the seemingly impossible to overcome, from inner struggles of who am I to public clashes of which side are you on. Each of those struggles is harder if I do it alone.
Alone, I’m scared. Alone, I panic. Alone, I blame. “If only I knew the right answer.” “If only my family would act differently.” “If only the people on the other side of the aisle would think like me.”
How, then, do we turn ourselves toward the light?
Perhaps, we work to follow the Great Commandment, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. And then, we follow the second one, to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Together, we can find peace. Together, we can know love. Together, we can see the way to the light of the Kingdom of God.
It helps to remember who has the lamp.
This SUNDAY
JULY 21, 2024 · The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 11, Year B Jeremiah 23:1-6 • Psalm 23 • Ephesians 2:11-22 • Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
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. Dr. Thee Smith
8:45 AND 11:15 A.M. HOLY EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL
Celebrant: The Rev. Salmoon Bashir
Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Thee Smith
Please pray for our choir on their pilgrimage as they serve as choir-in-residence at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and York Minster from July 15—July 28. We invite you to sing joyfully during our services and to “praise God with all your skill!” (Psalm 47:7)
11:15 A.M. LA SANTA EUCARISTÍA, MIKELL CHAPEL
Officiant and Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval
BUY YOUR TICKETS FOR THE JESSYE NORMAN SCHOOL OF THE ARTS SUMMER SHOWCASE!
Sunday, July 28
3 p.m., Child Hall
The Jessye Norman School of the Arts - Eastside Atlanta (JNSA2) is an after school and summer enrichment program designed to develop and nurture the artistic and creative talents of student artists.
The Mission of JNSA2 is to develop student artists to become creative, caring, visionary, responsible citizens through the transformative power of the arts.
Our summer showcase performance at the Cathedral of St. Philip on July 28 at 3 p.m. will allow our budding artists to share the hard work and talent they have developed over the 3-week summer camp enrichment program.
JSNA2, a new ministry in the Diocese of Atlanta, is in partnership with the Jessye Norman School of the Arts in Augusta, and the Holy Cross and Holy Trinity Parishes in Decatur.
Find tickets at cathedralATL.org/jessyenorman.
PRAYER List
FOR THOSE WITH IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Liza Bentley • Elizabeth Coil • Sam Muttiah
FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING:
LONG TERM PRAYERS: R. Huntley Allen • Lucy Baker • Emma Duke Bleke • Virginia Bicksler • The Bryant Family • Heather Clark • The Crossley Family • Rita Daly • Jerri Darnell • Terry Dornbush • Joan Duncan • Darrell Dyas • Jill Dyas • Deborah Ellington • Paul Fekete • Joyce Egan Ferris • Phoebe Forio • Tom Frolik • Ken Griffiths • Jenny Ham • Tory Hartness • Gena Inman • Bobby Johnston • Jane Jones • Randi King • Liza Lanier • Olivia Leon • Ralph Lewis • Robert Lewis • Stewart Long, Jr. • Lisa Krysiak • Jill Mahaffey • Tommy Mason • Sally Menning • Graham Mulling • Susan Myers • Jim Myrick • Charlie Neal • Lori Hegwood Owens • Marian Palmore • Nancy Qarmout • Buddy and Sue Redd • Rubye Reid • Lorraine Reynolds • Barbara and Joel Rice • Bob Riggins • Agnes Elizabeth Robertson • Lisa Rowe • Kay Sanders • Nancy Sanders • Louis “Skip” Schueddig • Bill and Julie Sutton • Tommy Truesdale • Ginny Wolf • Jonathan Wright
FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Josephine Rose Adams • Bettina Bass • Ray and Pat Bell • Jason Borland • Scott Bouchillon • Jason Brady • Trip Bray • Paul Brewer • Catherine Brinton • Darnell Brown • Chaz Brownfield • Lila Jo Callaway • Mika Chorey • Anna Clifford • Ava Corroon • Eliza Darland • Dale Deese • Marty Dunn • Veta Durman • William Erb • Sam Fender • Kyle Garcia • Ann George • Melinda Miller Greenough • Kerry Gresham • Ann Blair, Joe, and Lulu Gribbin • Larry Hamilton • Christine Hanson • Judson Harper • Carole Ann Harris • Gayle Higley • Keith Hinze • Sarnia Hayes Hoyt • Jane Hunnicutt • Beth Ingle • William Irwin • Kathy Johnson • Melanie Johnson • Pat Jones • Mary Kyle • Pete Livezey • Hilda Lukwago • Carolyn R. Lusk • Lauren Makhlouf • Lisa Reeves Martin • Delaney McGowan • Elaine Metcalf • Marion Hickman Meythaler • Aaron and Ally Miller • William Morris • Rick Nelson • Fred Neuschel • Linus Nickel • Sterling Pace • Rosemary Palmer • Stephen Pararo • Kimbrooke Pavlich • Ginny Quinn • David Raj • Peggy Reese • Patrick Romett • Jean Rudolph • Einar Sagstuen • Joe Salas • James Sands • Skip Saunders • Patricia Schooley • Mary Sittig • Alan Smith • Don Smith • Christopher Smithers • Michael and Kathryn Snider • Esther Rose Spade • Izzy Straus • Brandon Streets • John and Cleary Tanner • Timothy Tew • Pierson Thames • Leopildo Velita • Pat Volpicella • Suzette Walling • Curt Weaver • Jay Whitten • Christie Woodfin • Karen Woodward • Whit A. Wright • Hollis Youngner
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Laurence Harris • Elizabeth Severence
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 Linda Rosengren
The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval, Deacon for Hispanic Ministries and Pastoral Care
The Rev. Theophus “Thee” Smith, Ph.D., Priest Associate Geoff DeLong, Senior Warden
Melody Palmore, Junior Warden
CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: FOR THE SUNDAY, JULY 28 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 17. FOR THE SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JULY 24.
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
POSTMASTER: Dated Material. Please deliver by July 20, 2024
Adult EDUCATION
ADULT EDUCATION
THIS SUNDAY
Old Fashioned Sunday School: July Speaker Series 10:10 a.m., Child Hall
Join Rick Tyler, David Rocchio, Nicole Baños, and Emmierose Scates this Sunday, July 21 to learn more about one of the parish’s most vital, life changing Outreach ministries: the Cathedral Scholars program. Cathedral Scholars offers significant financial, vocational, social, and spiritual support to individuals from this community and beyond seeking to further their education at a college, university, or trade school. Each of our 18 Scholars has a unique story of hope, hard work, and perseverance to tell. This presentation will include some of these stories as well as information about how you can assist more young people in pursuing their dreams.
Living Faith: Book Study
Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond 10:10 a.m., Room 239
Enjoy Biblical Greek!
1:15 p.m., Room 239 and on Zoom Newcomer classes begin with alphabet and pronunciation practice prior to translation. Led by the Rev. Dr. Thee Smith, tsmith@cathedralATL.org.
WELCOME!
MEET OUR NEWEST STAFF MEMBER!
We are very happy to announce Michele Nichols joins our lay staff this month as the Program Coordinator for Events. She will not only be responsible for maintaining the flow of our busy calendar, but also provide permanent support for Cathedral Giving by Design. A member of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Michele comes to us with a solid public relations background, among many other talents, lining up easily with our virtues of grace, excellence, and hospitality. She and her husband, Douglas, are parents to three young adults. Please welcome Michele to the Cathedral!
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
The Cathedral of St. Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920
404-365-1000
– Dorsey DeLong, Director of Operations & Event Management
CATHEDRAL TIMES
(USPS-093440) is published weekly by
The Cathedral of St. Philip 2744 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30305-2920
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OUTREACH
It’s hot on the streets of Atlanta this summer. Help keep our neighbors hydrated by making a contribution to our partner ministry Crossroads. Bring a case of bottled water and drop it off in the Child Hall breezeway (the double doors that lead outside towards the labyrinth) by August 11 and help keep our neighbors safe!