Thank you for Joy and Generosity in the Good Faith Chapel!
An article for The Cathedral Times
by the Very Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral
November 17, 2024
Thank you for the prayer and the joy, the generosity and the digging, the psalms and the singing, last Sunday, November 10, 2024, when we broke ground for the Good Faith Chapel. Wow! What fun!
With the Cathedral wardens and steering committee, with the clergy, and with worshippers of all ages, we prepared the ground for the Good Faith Chapel; it will be a mid-sized octagonal worship space with movable furniture for many configurations of liturgy and gathering. It will be a place for meditation and contemplative prayer, and for joy and wonder; it will expand our presence as a house of prayer for all people. Construction will begin in the coming weeks. Watch for it!
During our ceremony, we prayed the psalms (121 and 122, and then 126 and 127), and we sang “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates.” And we prayed these following prayers. Even if you were not here on November 10, please pray, and continue to pray, these prayers with me. Thank you for prayer and generosity!
Gracious God, we thank you for this land, and for this holy space. Years ago, a house stood here. An apartment building stood here. Recently, lovely trees have grown here, and children have delighted in play. We thank you for the holiness of this place. People have lived and loved. Beautiful trees have grown. Children have played.
Today, we gather to sanctify this space even further, preparing the way for The Good Faith Chapel. We seek to grow our faith and life even larger, expanding our vision to be a House of Prayer For All People. AMEN.
We give you thanks, O God, for generosity, the generosity of those have shared a vision of this future chapel, and for the generosity of those who have pledged and given resources for its construction. We thank you for good faith, We pray for safety in this project. We pray for all who will touch this chapel with their tools and with their energy. AMEN.
We hereby break the ground in the preparation for the construction of The Good Faith Chapel!
The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip