An article from the Cathedral Times
by the Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip
I do not know if "Circles" is the exact name of the song that Harry Chapin once sang (1972), but I sure know the words:
All my life's a circle, sunrise and sundown
Moon rolls through the nighttime til daybreak comes around
All my life's a circle, still I wonder why
Seasons spinning "˜round again, years keep rolling by.
Seems like I've been here before, can't remember when
I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again
No straight lines make up my life, all my roads have bends
No clearcut beginnings, so far no dead ends
I've met you a thousand times, I guess you've done the same
Then we lose each other, it's like a children's game
But now I find you here again, the thought comes to my mind
Our love is like a circle, let's go round one more time.
I have been singing this song a lot during the summer. I spent some time with old friends. I visited some familiar places. I sang the song to my lovely wife. And I sang it last Monday night as I anticipated Homecoming Sunday at the Cathedral of St. Philip; "I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again." While some of us have been working steadily through the summer, others of us have had time off. Maybe we've been on vacations at the beach or in the mountains. Maybe we took a special trip.
Come this Sunday, August 17, however, all of us will resume routines. We will come full circle. Schools start. Practices and rehearsals start. Football season starts.
And the Cathedral of St. Philip will start anew, too. It is certainly not Fall yet, but we do resume a new season. We call this first Sunday of the season "Homecoming Sunday," and we will discover routines again. You'll read elsewhere of our new classes, new programs, and even some new staff. I am especially interested in our new "Barbecue and Bingo" event at 5:30.But I want to say a word for the old, too. Part of the deep joy of Homecoming Sunday is seeing familiar faces again. I know I am looking forward to it the same way I did when I started the fourth grade. I hadn't seen my friends in a long time, and I was actually looking forward to school!
"Now I find you here again, the thought comes to my mind /Our love is like a circle, let's go around one more time." The Cathedral of St. Philip is a circle of faith, and a community of love. One of the major themes that God has put in my heart for this Fall is the nature of "community." Large as we are, we are still very much a community. We need each other. In learning to love and to serve with one another, we discover what it means to love and to serve our Lord.
So, join us this Sunday, whether you are old or new. Whether you are returning, or whether you are just trying out a new church. A thriving community of faith and love exists at the Cathedral of St. Philip. It is home to us, just as it has been home to generations before us. Join us! Join our home.
The Very Rev. Sam Candler