An article from the Cathedral Times
by Dean Sam Candler
Last week, during Holy Week, my word to the parish, and to the wider community of the people of God, was simply “Thank you!” In the midst of challenging times, “Thank You” is contagious! Thanks to all of you for your patience and grace, and energy!
This week, following our Easter Day together, my word is the same: “THANK YOU, PART TWO!”
Yes, this Easter Week, I deliver a second part of thanks. I thank God for this incredibly skilled parish, and for this incredibly patient parish. You participated in our liturgies and prayers with energy and creativity! You helped us observe the solemnity of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and you rejoiced with us on Easter Day.
Thanks to Lauren Holder for celebrating Eucharist with us in such a dear and tender way in the Maundy Thursday service! Thank you to George Maxwell for his sermon’s wise words.
Our Good Friday liturgy presented prayer and veneration in a beautiful way. In my sermon, I tried to join the depth of Good Friday with the depth of Resurrection; I titled it, “The Good Friday Resurrection Starts Inside Us.”
Then, on Easter Day itself, our phenomenal community prayed ALL the beautiful elements of the Easter service: The Lighting of New Fire and the Paschal Candle, The Vigil Readings, The Blessing of Water and Renewal of our Baptismal Covenant, and then Cathy Zappa helping us celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter. It was a tremendous Easter Vigil and Eucharist! Your contributed photographs of fire and candles and water and blossoms were beautiful!
You can find video recordings of all these services in the links noted above, and on the Cathedral website! Thank you, thank you, thank you, especially to Brant McCaskill and Dan Murphy for their energy and time in helping to assemble all those video components!
And thank you, thank you, thank you, to each of YOU, for being with us, even in social distance. We were separate from each on Easter Day, but we were united in Spirit. We were many members, but we were One Body.
And, we still are One Body. Thank you! Thank you for being with us. Thank you for being the Body of Christ!
The Very Reverend Sam Candler
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip