This Sunday, September 20, 2026!
I am excited to begin a new series, a refreshed series, on what it means to be part of healthy Christianity in a new age! The series, to be presented in The Good Faith Chapel, at 10:10 am, is titled, “Refreshing Christianity in Good Faith.”
I hope to present values! I hope to present the values that nurture us, that guide us, that inspire us. But the values –in my presentation—are those of our tradition! A refreshing and healthy Christianity develops from our understanding and valuing of our ancient traditions. But our mission is to see and to live out those values in a new way.
This Sunday, I will present a preview of what is in store for us. It will be an introduction. And I will listen and respond to questions about where Christianity is, in this day and age.
Then, in turn, I will present the values. On Week 2, it will be the Bible. “What is the Value of the Bible!” I will discuss scripture, what it is, how we interpret it, how it defines us. I may even give some clues about how to read that amazing collection of sixty-six different books. (My sub-title here is: “The Bible as Conversation!”)
On Week 3, I will examine one of the more pressing theological questions in our time: “Is Jesus the Only Way?” My secondary title here is, “The Value of Good Faith, Wherever It Comes From.” But I present this issue, not using culture, but using the Bible itself. I will use the Bible itself to answer that question!
On Week 4, the theme will be, “What is the Value of History?” What is our Christian history, what brings us here? In particular, I will note the value of our church history, the Anglican Tradition. My secondary title here will be “The value of the Anglican Tradition, and the Value of Comprehensiveness (not the via media, but the Via Comprehensiva!)”
On Week 5, I will continue history, by discussing some of the particular heroes of our tradition. They might be Hilda of Whitby, Elizabeth 1, William White, and even the controversial William Porcher DuBose. And there will be others!
On Week 6, I will present leadership principles: “The Value of Spiritual Leadership Principles.” In particular here, I hope to use the grand story of Moses as our guide. But I will also lean on the insights of contemporary thinkers and leaders. And, inevitably, I will use some of my own meager experience!
As we continue (with some breaks), on Week 7 the subject will be “The Value of Community,” a study of “Jesus and All His Different Titles” (using the Gospel of John, chapter one). It is surely community which is our gift here at the Cathedral of St. Philip, but it is not random community; it is community based in our collective experience of Jesus Christ as Lord.
Future subjects (if there is time), will be: “The Value of Science.” Our particular tradition of Christianity appreciates and thrives on science! We might even look at several astronomers who worked in churches. Another subject will be “The Value of Poetry,” as we consider ways that poetry guides us into a different spiritual realm (John Donne and R.S. Thomas!)
Finally, if there is time, the series will conclude with “The Value of Contemplative Spirituality.” Here, of course (and throughout the series), we will not be limited to only Anglican saints. We learn from wisdom thinkers like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the present-day Richard Rohr. Some say that contemplative spirituality is the future of the church.
Oh my. This will be a fun series, and a fun way to inaugurate the use of our large vertical screens in the Good Faith Chapel. It will be a challenge! Those screens, and the Good Faith Chapel itself, are certainly features of a new world. But that space, and our community in that space, are built upon our solid Christianity! It is built upon our open and generous and traditional Christianity. Join us! Join us in the spirit of Good Faith!
The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip