Grace to you and Peace, in Jesus Christ our Lord!
In the presence of anxiety, fear, and threat, the Cathedral of St. Philip delivers the gospel of Jesus Christ with grace, excellence, and hospitality. In these times, that grace means being responsible and sensitive, but also creative. Our ministry, and our presence in the world, is for the common good. Throughout my own ministry, I have been committed to finding and supporting “Good Faith and the Common Good.”
Thus, I want to announce our plan for worship on Sunday morning, 15 March 2020. One might call our plan, “Social Distance For The Common Good.” Essentially, we invite you not to come to church on Sunday morning. In places of “mild to moderate” community transmission of COVID-19 (such as Atlanta), The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that faith-based organizations cancel gatherings of over 250 people. That would be us.
Thus, I invite you not to come to church on Sunday. The Church will not be open to the general public. Our childcare and Sunday school classes are cancelled. However! We will still pray and sing a service of Holy Eucharist on Sunday, which will be livestreamed and available online throughout the morning. Selected members of the extraordinary Cathedral staff will be there. We do not want to put people at risk, and we do not want you to be a risk to anyone. Again, we want you to practice “social distancing,” not so much out of fear, but because that practice serves the common good!
Please worship with us on Sunday, but while away from the Cathedral. In fact, I myself will not be there, though I will be preaching! My sermon will be livestreamed there, and everywhere, without my being present. (I am not ill, by the way! But I do want to model social distancing for the common good.)
Our Sunday service will also be titled, “Liturgy For The Common Good.” We pray for the common good. Please join us by livestream, via our website or our Facebook page. If the internet is not available to you, please join us in prayer wherever you are, and however you prefer to pray. 8:45 and 11:15. We will be at a physical distance from each other, a healthy distance from each other; but we will be close in the Spirit, a healthy closeness to each other!
Peace is contagious! May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you, and remain with you always. Amen. Peace is contagious!
The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip