CATHEDRAL NOTES 

 

DIOCESAN-WIDE JUNIOR HIGH YOUTH KICK-OFF

We had a great response to ministry sign-up on Rally Day. ECW co-chairs, Julie McClelland and Lucy Brady are working with the names they have received, but they need to hear from YOU. If they have not heard from you, ECW sign-up sheets are available on the ministry table.

 

Vestry and Convention Delegate elections will take place at the Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, December 7 during coffee hour.   

 

 

 

CATHEDRAL MUSIC 

 

This week our Sunday Eucharist will feature several pieces of music with interesting histories and features. Firstly, the organ prelude is the Fuga in c by J. S. Bach (1685-1750). This piece is of special interest due to its very "violinistic" nature. Bach was, himself, a string player in addition to being a keyboardist and composer. The legend goes that Bach used to improvise on the violin while accompanying himself on the organ pedals! Listen to the different musical lines in this fugue as they chase each other about in a very dramatic and orchestral dialogue. Listen carefully to the theme played at the beginning of the piece, and try to follow it as it comes in again and again throughout the rest of the work. On the spiritual side of things, let this piece help focus your thoughts on the joyous yet serious mysteries that we prepare to celebrate during our Eucharist. The multi-leveled nature of a fugue is wonderful for helping to focus the mind and thoughts for meditation.

 

Rock of ages, cleft for me is this Sunday's communion hymn. The text of this hymn, penned by the Anglican priest Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778), is a favorite of Christians everywhere. Toplady was a prolific writer of hymns, essays, and other documents, but our iconic communion hymn is by far his most renowned and enduring text. As an aside, Toplady had strong interest in the after-life of animals and wrote in support of their resurrection! This week, as you sing the words of Toplady's hymn, think about the generations before us who were consoled and guided by faith in the "Rock of Ages", Jesus Christ. The overarching concept of salvation by sacrifice and grace are two cornerstones of Christian faith that were greatly prized and affirmed during the Protestant Reformation and thereafter. Simple trust in Christ is outlined with an almost childlike innocence in the three stanzas of this hymn.

 

Rock of ages, cleft for me has inspired many composers to use its melody, composed by Thomas Hastings (1784-1872), in other compositions. Perhaps most notably, Charles Ives (1874-1954) used the tune in the last movement of his Piano Trio of 1911. On Sunday, before we sing the hymn, I will improvise on the organ in the Phrygian mode. To make a long story short, a mode is a type of scale (of which 7 are normally recognized) that descended from the musical scales invented in ancient Greece. Today, only two of the seven modes are used often - the Ionian and Aeolian, also known as the major and minor scales. The ancient Greeks believed that different modes (scales) had different purposes and spiritual properties, but that is a discuss for another time! On Sunday, I hope your communion prayers will be aided by the combination of Rock of ages with the Phrygian mode, as I plan to use both in my improvisation. Sometimes, worship is aided by the unusual and unexpected as it serves to emphasize the great mysteries of our spirituality.

 

Members:
Brink Brinkley, Dunn Chandler, John Wade Thurber, Nick Nichols, Butch Trawick, Billie van der Giessen, Peter van der Giessen, Patti Biel, Alice Carwie, Raymond Fields, Yvonne Holladay, The Rev. Ellis Wilkins

Friends & Family:
Janie Houser, Leland Moore, Sr., Deborah Beverley, Peggy Naughton, Gary Davis, Harrison Leff, Michael Cameron, Nancy & Don Cameron, Rob & Amy Archer Ellis, Dottie McCord, Joyce Lee, Davis Nelson, Michael Sumrall, Sheri Neely, Gwen Cook, Alfred Showers, Michael Daves, Michael Sumrall, Jim Elia, Anne Brown, Mark Brown, Harriett Lillich, Bonnie Orillion, Dave Carlyn Block, Scott Craver, Rachel McClanahan, Beverly Schubert, Tom Cunningham, Francis Grace Hirs, Anna Laura Plovanich, Norma Beazley, Curtis Bullock, Valerie Boatman, Brian McArdle, Ann Jones, Hank Wozniek, Lisa Thompson, Stella Phillips, James Thomas, Ted Fraiche, Mark Miles, Susan Guilian, Rhett Travis, Noel Fell, Tot Swanson, Art Swanson, Chris, Anne & Philip Gill, Hayden Jenkins, Maggie Jenkins, Betty Ruth Patek, Carolyn Pryor, Merle Findley, Louise Douglas, Shirley & Dunlap Peeples, Steve Harris, Sandy Fortner, Carole Graf, Johnny McLeod, Marian Macpherson Currie, Jim McCall, Mary Lou Peake, Bill Goodloe, Kit & Roger Geil and the Geil family, Marie Harrison, Angel & Larry Torres, Kathy Boucvalt, Bill Stevens, Mancil Lee, Ginger Simpson, Carrier Yankie, Karen Sentilles, Melody Williams, Lila Fisk, Kendall Stanton, Tracey Johnson, Charlie Mae Moree, Joe Lowrey, Viva Weeks, Temple Webber, Dianne McCall, Celeste Hall, Joel Hopper, Betty Browder, David Lannie, The Rev. Mark Wilson, The Rev. Keith Talbert, Allan Tucker, Wyatt Ison, Sallie Jackson

For Those Serving in the Military:
Darrien Gibson, Kelley Hood, Evan Sizemore, Robert McNeil, The Rev. Bowen Woodruff, Daniel White-Spunner Reed, Jonathan Duralde, Ron Lansong, Sam Garcia, Chris Marslender, Jerry Olin, Abby Hutchins, Tyler Gamble, Todd Mouthaan, Jean-Michael Lemieux, Albert Robinson IV, Michael Nassar, Josh Power, Ryan Anthony Thomas, Randy Johnson, Susan Reniewicz, Brian Caselton, Brian Hudson, Keith Moss, Ryan Walker, Tyler Oubre, Brian Pennell, John Snyder, Louis Coggin, Jason Norris, Conner Thigpen, Zack Miller

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
The Anglican Church of the Province of Uganda

Cathedral Cycle of Prayer:
Immanuel, Bay Minette, Alabama; Sara Phillips, Pastoral Leader, St. Mary's, Coden

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer:
The Church in Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine, and Yorktown Baptist Church, Mobile

Prison Ministry Cycle of Prayer:
Coffee County Jail, New Brockton, Alabama