The Cathedral Times

The weekly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. Philip · Serving Atlanta and the World · February 2, 2025

I WANT TO TELL YOU ANOTHER STORY

By the Very Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral

Let me tell you another story. (And please read until the end!) The earliest United States observance of something called Groundhog Day dates back to the nineteenth century, maybe in the decades before the founding of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, in 1899. But before there was Groundhog Day, there was another story. It was Candlemas, an ancient Christian celebration of light occurring at the mid-point of winter (a cross-quarter day), around February 2.

The Christian Church exists to witness to these older traditions, and we will do so this Sunday, February 2, at the Cathedral Parish of St. Philip. Join us! Bring candles to be blessed! Bring some light into the world! Our observance will be another way that we give witness to a life that goes beyond what the world offers!

And, another story: Before there were social media posts, before there were knee-jerk reactions to every eerie syllable that one might imagine, the Christian Church has witnessed to the value of long-lasting traditions, the value of that kind of prayer which takes years to practice, the value of wise theology which takes time.

From time to time, eager and earnest parishioners have wanted good preachers to mention this or that in their sermons. Are you going to mention “such-and-such” this week? Sometimes those preachers do; sometimes they don’t. Those of you who attend church over time know that good preachers become good by taking their time, by holding fast to a witness and a message that takes time to form.

We might think that the challenge of how preachers respond to contemporaneous political events is a new phenomenon. No. Good preachers have always considered how they are to preach the distinctive Christian witness to God and the world. Good preachers know that they are not meant simply to mimic whatever loud partisan voice is being shouted that day.

Some church members, sometimes, want it to be otherwise. We say things like, “My particular position on this issue is so dire to me that I want, I need, my minister to comment on it this week!” or even, “If my minister does not say such-and-such this week, then I am leaving the parish.” Sometimes, sadly, they do.

And the person who only occasionally visits church can sometimes hear things, many things besides the sermon, that they do not usually hear! In the Episcopal Church, for instance, we pray most every week something that goes like this: “We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us.” You do not have to pray that; but we pray it in our church most every week.

This is our story. This is part of our language. As the great twentieth-century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, might say, it is part of our grammar. (Paul Holmer called it our “grammar of faith.”) Wittgenstein used the term “language games” to refer to the way various communities use language in their “forms of life.” By “language game,” Wittgenstein did not at all mean something trivial or shallow; he meant the way communities seriously develop our forms of life, our stories.

Those of you who hear me preach, week in and week out, know that I try to witness to a particular message. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. But the story that I preach is from a different world than the one we see blasted to us on social media accounts, or hear in loud television transmissions. I want to tell you another story.

This SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 2, 2025 · The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, Year C Malachi 3:1-4 • Psalm 84 • Hebrews 2:14-18 • Luke 2:22-40

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 Rev. Salmoon Bashir

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

Celebrant: The Very Rev. Sam Candler

Preacher : The Rev. Salmoon Bashir

Cathedral Choir:

Herbert Howells (1892-1983), Nunc dimittis (Gloucester Cathedral) Johannes Eccard (1553-1611), When to the temple Mary went

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

Celebrant: The Rev. Dr. Thee Smith

Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Juan Sandoval

4 P.M. CANDLEMAS PROCESSION AND CHORAL EUCHARIST, CATHEDRAL

Celebrant and Preacher: The Rev. Canon George Maxwell

Cathedral Schola:

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585), Nunc dimittis (Short Service)

Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594), Missa bell’ amfitrit’ altera Johannes Eccard (1553-1611), When to the temple Mary went

COMMUNITY

SUNDAY AFTERNOON RECITALS

BENJI STEGNER, ORGAN

Emmanuel Episcopal Curch Athens, Georgia

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2— 3:15 P.M.

IN-PERSON AND ONLINE AT CATHEDRALATL.ORG/RECITALS

Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941), Adagio and Fugue in F minor

George Walker (1922-2018), Chorale Prelude on “Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier” from Three Pieces for Organ

Thomas H. Kerr (1915-1988), “Reverie” (for Celestes) from Suite Sebastienne

Thomas H. Kerr (1915-1988), “Procession of the Gargoyles” from Suite Sebastienne

David Hurd (b. 1950), Evening Song

Florence Beatrice Price (1887-1953), Variations on a Folksong

Newcomers

Brunch

NEWCOMERS BRUNCH

Sunday, February 9

12:30 p.m. | Gould Room

Are you new to the Cathedral? Or new-ish? It can take a while to navigate this beautifully complex community. Whether you’ve been here one week or eighteen months, please join us after the 11:15 a.m. services for a lovely brunch with parishioners and staff. We are glad you’re here!

Please contact Canon Ashley Carr, ashley.carr@cathedralATL.org, for more information.

WOMEN’S LENTEN RETREAT: WONDERS OF THE WILDERNESS

March 14–16 at St. Mary’s Sewanee

The retreat will be led by Canons Ashley Carr and Julia Mitchener

Join other Cathedral women on the bluff at beautiful St. Mary’s in Sewanee, TN. There will be time for quiet, rest, fellowship, and spiritual exploration as we mine the unexpected treasures that can be found in the rough ground of this wilderness time of Lent.

Single Occupancy $360

Double Occupancy $300/person

(meals included: dinner on Friday–breakfast on Sunday) Contact Jeannie Mahood, jmahood@cathedralATL.org or 404-365-1031, with questions. Registration deadline is February 15.

All women of the Cathedral are welcome.

ADULT Education

ADULT EDUCATION DURING THE WEEK

Early Morning Women's Bible Study

Tuesdays, Room 239, 7 a.m.

All women are welcome to this group led by Canon David Boyd, drop in when you can. Contact Canon Boyd, david.boyd@cathedralATL.org, for more information.

The Dean’s Men’s Bible Study

Tuesdays, Chapter Room, 7–8 a.m.

This group meets every Tuesday morning to read and study scripture, to share faith stories, and to support each other in prayer. Sam Candler, the Dean of the Cathedral, usually leads the group and coffee and biscuits are available. All men are invited, whether Cathedral members or not.

Eat Your Word Bible Study

Wednesdays, Room 239, 12 p.m.

All are welcome to this weekly Bible study, led by the Rev. Salmoon Bashir in Room 239. Please bring your lunch and be ready for a lively conversation!

The Dean’s Women’s Bible Study

Wednesdays, Chapter Room, 10:45–11:45 a.m.

This group meets Wednesday mornings to read and study scripture, to share faith stories, and to support each other in prayer. Dean Candler usually leads the group and coffee is available. All women are invited, whether Cathedral members or not.

The CATHEDRAL of ST. PHILIP

The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler, Dean

Dale Adelmann, Ph.D., Canon for Music

The Rev. Canon David E. Boyd III, Canon for Pastoral Care

The Rev. Canon Ashley Carr, Canon for Parish Life

The Rev. Canon George M. Maxwell, Jr., Vicar

The Rev. Canon Julia B. Mitchener, Canon for Mission

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

Mary Hall Perrin, Junior Warden

CATHEDRAL TIMES SUBMISSION DEADLINES: FOR THE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29. FOR THE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 ISSUE, THE DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5.

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

PRAYER List

FOR THOSE WITH IMMEDIATE NEEDS: Saint Legend Brown • Herbert Buffington • Andre DeBussey

FOR THOSE WHO ARE ILL OR RECOVERING:

LONG TERM PRAYERS: R. Huntley Allen • Lucy Baker • Oliveros Barragan family • Ed Black • Ann and Frank Blackistone, Jr. • John Blair • Lawrence Booker • Cheryl Bryant • The Bryant Family • The Crossley Family • Rita Daly • Jerri Darnell • Debbie Dewees • Mary Wayne Dixon • Paul Fekete • Phoebe Forio • Tom Frolik • Jenny Ham • Tory Hartness • Gena Inman • Jane Jones • Bennie King • Randi King • Lisa Krysiak • Bonnie Lamberth • Virginia LaMon • Liza Lanier • Ralph Lewis • Robert Lewis • Stewart Long, Jr. • Jill Mahaffey • Kit Mason • Tommy Mason • Floyd McRae • Sally Menning • John Mercer • Graham Mulling • Susan Myers • Jim Myrick • Charlie Neal • Lori Hegwood Owens • Marian Palmore • Jim Powell • Nancy Qarmout • Buddy Redd • Rubye Reid • Lorraine Reynolds • Barbara Rice • Bob Riggins • Tom Roberts • Agnes Elizabeth Robertson • Bill Roth • Kay Sanders • Nancy Sanders • Louis “Skip” Schueddig • Sheila Stovall • Tommy Truesdale • Susan Wilson • Jonathan Wright

FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Josephine Rose Adams • Kenya Anders • Steve Baker • Bettina Bass • Annette Bechtold • Ray and Pat Bell • Jason Borland • Darrell Boyette • Jason Brady • Trip Bray • Chaz Brownfield • Anne Bumbak • Lila Jo Callaway • Roanne Chandraratna • Mika Chorey • Anna Clifford • Linda Connelly • Ava Corroon • Veta Durman • Marilyn Epstein • Kyle Garcia • David Garlock • Ann George • Nikki Greenaway • Kerry Gresham • Ted Hackett • Ryan Hamilton • Joanne Dopp Hamlyn • Carole Ann Harris • Davis Hatcher • Shirley Helmke • Lisa Hoybach • Jane Hunnicutt • Beth Ingle • William Irwin • Farley Jenkins, Sr. • Rhonda Johnson and family • Pat Jones • Delores and Lee Josephs • Jack Karch • Edna Thornton Kennedy • Tyler King • Elizabeth Huey Levine • Pete Livezey • Carolyn R. Lusk • Lauren Makhlouf • Elaine Metcalf • Iris Miller • Carole Musarra • Melanie Myers • Tom Myer • Vonnie Nahill • Fred Neuschel • Linus Nickel • Mary Jane Noyes • Jon Oscher • Stephen Pararo • David Raj • Peggy Reese • Hugh Ripps • Terri Robertson • Pierce Robbins • Einar Sagstuen • Joe Salas • James Sands • Patricia Schooley • Coley Sheats • Lelia Sinclair • Don Smith • Michael and Kathryn Snider • Joe Spencer • Izzy Straus • John and Cleary Tanner • Pierson Thames • Leopoldo Velita • Pat Volpicella • Suzette Walling • Jay Whitten • John Wilmer • Christie Woodfin • Cutler Woodfin • Hollis Youngner

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED: Joanne Bath • Deborah Ellington • Erica Gurley • Barbara Moate • William F. “Bill” Morgan

FAITHFUL Politics MUSIC

BRAVER ANGELS WORKSHOP

With political change swirling around us we’d like to offer an opportunities for Cathedral parishioners, friends, and neighbors to explore how our Baptismal Covenant informs our civic and political engagement. Braver Angels is America’s largest organization that brings conservatives and progressives together on equal terms to understand our differences, find common ground where it exists, and help the country we all love find a better way. We have the following opportunity to explore how we “seek and serve Christ in all persons, … strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Contact Canon George Maxwell, gmaxwell@cathedralATL.org, or Jeannie Mahood, jmahood@cathedralATL.org, for more information.

COMMON GROUND WORKSHOP ON IMMIGRATION

Saturday, February 8

10 a.m.–3 p.m., Lanier House (lunch included)

This Braver Angels Common Ground Workshop will bring together equal numbers of Conservatives and Liberals - Reds and Blues (4-8 of each) - for a structured deep dive into this issue of Immigration. Together participants talk about their connection to the issue and their opinion on solutions. By the end of the 5-hour event they have come up with jointly and unanimously held Points of Agreements on values, concerns and policies. You can join us as a participant or observer. Everyone will receive brief educational materials on immigration.

“Are you willing to listen to the other side, and are you willing to speak to the other side with respect?” If yes, please join us! Register at cathedralATL.org/FEBbraverangels.

ABO CONCERT: MONTEVERDI VESPERS

March 28, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Cathedral Nave

March 29, 2025, 3:00 p.m., Cathedral Nave

A special collaboration between the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and the Cathedral Choir and Schola

This may well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Atlantans to hear Monteverdi’s Vespers performed live by virtuoso soloists, multiple choirs, and expert period instrumentalists in acoustical and aesthetic surroundings similar to those for which it was written. Come and be swept away by one of the transformative works in the entire history of music, and marvel at this kaleidoscopic work of sonic grandeur, extraordinary virtuosity, constant changes in color and performing forces, compositional brilliance, originality, and ravishing beauty, as Monteverdi ushers music from the Renaissance to the Baroque.

Presented by Friends of Cathedral Music at the Cathedral of St. Philip and the Cathedral’s Moore-Wilkerson Concert Endowment. Tickets can be purchased at cathedralATL.org/concerts.

CHOIR OF ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE

Friday, April 11, 2025

7:30 p.m., Cathedral Nave

The return to U.S.A. of one of the most celebrated choirs of men and boys in the world—for the first time since adding girls to the top line—will move and delight listeners! At home in the University of Cambridge, the choir sings six Evensongs and a full Choral Eucharist each week during university term, giving them a facility of musicianship and breadth of repertoire that is truly astounding. Over the past half-century, the Choir has toured independently throughout the world – on many occasions as official representatives of the British government – and released more than one hundred critically acclaimed recordings on international labels including EMI, Decca, Chandos, Hyperion and Naxos. This will be an extraordinary evening, featuring some of the most beautiful treble singing one will ever have the privilege of hearing anywhere!

Presented by Friends of Cathedral Music at the Cathedral of St. Philip. Tickets are available at cathedralATL.org/concerts.

PASTORAL Care

LANDSCAPES OF GRIEF: ADULT GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP

Sundays, February 9 – March 9

2 – 3:30 p.m., Lanier House

This grief-support group, offered in partnership with Hospice Atlanta, is open to anyone in the community who is grieving the death of a loved one and is willing to commit to attending all five sessions. We meet from 3:30–5 p.m. on Sundays. To maintain a comfortable group size, space is limited, and registration is required. Contact Canon David Boyd, david.boyd@cathedralATL.org, for more information.

CATHEDRAL TOUR GUILD: BECOME A TOUR GUIDE!

Thursday, February 13

1:30 p.m., Room 239

Do you have a talent for hospitality and want to learn more about the Cathedral? Then the Cathedral Tour Guild could be the perfect opportunity for you. We are looking for people to give tours of the Cathedral during the week to school groups and other organizations. If you are interested, please come to our first gathering in 2025 on Thursday, February 13, at 1:30 p.m. in Room 239. We will provide plenty of information to get you started, and give an abbreviated “mini tour” of the Cathedral so you can see what we do for visitors. This gathering will last no more than an hour. We hope to see you then!

THE LOWDOWN ON ANXIETY: FROM BUTTERFLIES TO PANIC ATTACKS

Wednesday, February 12

9:30 a.m., Child Hall

Post-pandemic parenting is more challenging than ever with rates of anxiety in children on the rise. Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation” has hit hard and made an impact on our community. What does anxiety look like in children, what’s developmentally “normal,” what’s not, and what can parents do?

Join Teddi Bair, M.Ed., M.S. and Carli Reis, Ph.D. for a 1-hour parent education program. RSVP at cathedralATL.org/anxiety.

Sponsored by the Cathedral Counseling Center, this program is free and open to the public.

Teddi Bair is a “Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions” (SPACE) trained Licensed Professional Counselor, former educator, and coach. She sees parents of children and teens with anxiety problems with the goal of helping the child to resolve the problem.

Carli Reis is a Clinical Psychologist who has served children, adults, and families in Atlanta for the past 15 years. Dr. Reis offers individual therapy, parenting consultation, family therapy, and psychoeducational evaluations in her private practice, and also serves as the Consulting Psychologist at the Trinity School.

SOUPER BOWL FOOD DRIVE

Donations can be placed in the collection bins in the Cathedral Atrium through February 9

The Cathedral Youth are sponsoring a food collection drive to support the food pantry at Grace House on the Georgia Tech Campus. Predict who will win by dropping your shelf stable donations into your team’s bin in the Cathedral Atrium on or before February 9!

Most needed items:

Breakfast items

Granola bars

Power bars

Single serve lunch items

Pastas with sauces

Peanut butter

Healthy snacks

Mac N cheese

Canned meats – pop tops

Canned soups – pop tops

So, for those who would have me comment upon the latest social media dagger, either to applaud the jab or to condemn it, I hope you will understand my response: I am not a pawn in that game. It may be a fine game; it may be, for some, the most comfortable way of living in, and engaging, the world. But it is not the only game in the world. I am trying to be part of a larger and more long-lasting story, one that was named long ago in Jesus Christ, and started even before Christ. My story has endured through all sorts of turmoil, and all sorts of joy. And the story to which I try to give witness is not some cute and quaint groundhog day story. The Christian witness has changed the world, for the better, time and time again. It has taken seriously the words of Jesus (and Isaiah) which we heard in our scheduled lectionary just this past Sunday in church:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19).

Whether I am the preacher or not, I go to church. I go to church in order to see another world, in order to be part of another world. The people and the beauty and the culture transport me to another place. The preaching does. The music does. The prayer does. And the stories do! Oh my! The stories! Our present news media stories have nothing on the long-lasting stories of the Bible. Read them! (In my weekly bible studies right now at church, we are reading about the erratic character of King David!)

Yes, there is another story than the one you might be hearing the loudest right now. And there is another light! There is another way to spend your time. Join a community of faith, one whose language and culture have been around for a long time.

I leave you with a proverb from 1678 (before there was such a thing as “Groundhog Day”):

If Candlemas day be fair and bright Winter will have another flight If on Candlemas day it be shower and rain Winter is gone and will not come again. (John Ray, 1678)

The Very Rev. Sam Candler

Dean of the Cathedral

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This SUNDAY

THIS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, IS SCOUT SUNDAY

Scout Sunday celebrates the founding of the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910. In 2025, the Cathedral’s Boy Scout Troop 74 is also celebrating its 74th birthday. It is a tradition for the Scouts of Troop 74 to observe Scout Sunday by worshiping with their families and serving as ushers at the 8:45 service. All Scouts (Scouts BSA, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts) and Scout leaders are invited to join this service in uniform, regardless of their Troop or Pack affiliation.

The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord

Sunday, February 2

Bring candles for a special blessing!