An article from the Cathedral Times
by the Very
Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of St.
Philip
You may notice that, during every Eucharist at the
Cathedral, during every Holy Communion, the presiding priest at the
altar elevates one piece of bread and breaks it. That act is known as
The Fraction. Even if that one piece of bread, or wafer, is rather
small, it symbolizes that each of us is fed from one bread at the altar.
That one bread is broken, like Christ's one body is broken, for each of
us.
I tend to think that the miracle of Jesus
feeding the Five Thousand, starting with only five loaves of bread and
two fish, is really a story of Holy Eucharist. When confronted with the
challenge of so many people hungry, Jesus took bread, blessed bread,
broke bread, and gave it to his disciples. So we recreate that event
every Sunday at the Cathedral, and most weekdays,
too.
But before Jesus could perform that miracle,
someone had to offer the bread. The same is true at our own Thanksgiving
dinners: before we can all eat, someone has to offer herself and go to
the grocery store, someone has to offer himself and prepare the meal,
someone has to offer himself and set the table. Each of us has a
critical and necessary role in assembling the one meal, the one bread.
Every one of us. Every one of us has a gift, as you have heard me say
each Sunday in the Cathedral.
The same principle
applies at Stewardship Season in the church, too. Here at the Cathedral
of St. Philip, we now begin the season of giving thanks to God by
praying about how much money we can pledge to the ministry of God
through the Cathedral in 2012. I know the time can be awkward, but the
time can also be a tremendous blessing"”just like the Feeding of the Five
Thousand.
Every year, we ask every member"”and we ask
every friend"”to make a financial pledge to the Cathedral of St. Philip.
The decision to pledge should not really be an option. It is how each
of us supports the mighty mission of this place. Our ministry and
mission cannot occur without money.
Yes, the amount
of your pledge can vary, and your amounts have certainly varied in the
past! From a hundred dollars to a hundred thousand dollars, depending
upon how God guides you. I always ask people to consider a tithe"”ten
percent: can you pledge ten percent of your annual income to the Church?
Many people and households have made that commitment; others have
committed to increasing their pledge each year until one year it might
reach a tithe.
We are blessed to be One Body at the
Cathedral of St. Philip. And we definitely have many and various
members. Each member has a different gift, a different opinion (!), a
different ministry. But each of us needs the One Bread of Jesus
Christ.
I invite you to pledge generously, so very
generously, to the Cathedral in 2012. This place is beautiful, and our
ministries are critical; but they do not happen without your pledge and
gift. The Five Thousand could not have been fed, even by Jesus himself,
without someone first offering five loaves of bread and two fish. Your
pledge, however small or however large, is critical to our being a full
and complete Body of Christ here at the Cathedral of St.
Philip.
Join us for a bounteous 2012 year! On
December 11, the day of our Annual Parish Meeting, I will invite you to
bring your completed pledge cards to the Cathedral and to bring them to
the Cathedral altar during our regular offertory time. Even if you
forget your card that day, or you have not yet decided an amount, please
walk to the altar that day; you will be doing your part to make all of
2012 a true Thanksgiving Feast, when all are fed, because all have
given! We need you this year. We need you so that the One Bread can be
complete.
The Very Reverend Sam Candler