An article for The Cathedral Times
by the Very Rev. Sam Candler, Dean of the Cathedral
Please come to the altar this Sunday!
Of course, many of you come to the altar every Sunday. You come to pray. You come to receive Holy Communion. You come to have children baptized. You come to have marriages blessed. You come to share. You come to rejoice. You come to grieve. Again, you come to pray.
With your presence and prayer, our beautiful altar at the Cathedral Parish of St. Philip is a sacred place of Holy Community. Of course, many of you come to a Cathedral altar not just on Sunday, but during the week. Thank you!
And this Sunday, we do something truly glorious. I hope we approach the Cathedral altar with tremendous thanks, and with tremendous joy, and with tremendous pledge cards!
Yes, this Sunday, we will rejoice in our annual Pledge Ingathering, a Procession of Pledges, one of the great altar calls of the year here at the Cathedral. During the regular Sunday offertory, after the wine and bread have been presented, and after our usual alms basins have been presented, (and after our own children have been presented!), we will present pledge cards —our annual pledges of financial support for God’s work through the Cathedral for the 2025 year. We call it a Procession of Pledges.
Many of you have already turned in generous pledges. Thank you! Some of us are just getting to it! Thank you! Many of you are wondering. Thank you!
Whether we have turned in a pledge or not, however, ALL of us can approach the altar this coming Sunday with a card that indicates —that indicates, simply, that we INTEND to pledge in 2025. Those “intention cards” will be in the pews this Sunday for you to use. You are welcome to join the offertory procession!
With your pledge, you are indicating not only that you are a part of Holy Community here at the Cathedral Parish of St. Philip, but also that you are helping to grow Holy Community here at the Cathedral.
Thank you for helping to grow Holy Community here! There is a difference between visiting and staying. There is a difference between watching and belonging. I am glad that the Cathedral Parish of St. Philip is a community of staying and belonging.
And, further, ours is a Holy Community of growing. With our pledges, we are growing all sorts of smaller holy communities within our grand Holy Community. We are growing holy community in our worship services, in our Christian Education classes for all ages and groups, in our outreach missions, in our bible studies, in our choirs, in our parish fellowship gatherings, in our parochial entities, in our preaching and teaching, and in our daily occasions of holy conversation and connection.
Join us this Sunday! Bring your generous pledge card to church and join the Procession of Pledges. It is an altar call! It is a procession of life and growth! I am glad you are here! I am glad you are growing with us!
The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler
Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip