Dear Cathedral Family, I am thankful for the service of our wonderful delegation to last weekend’s 55th annual diocesan convention in Pensacola Beach. We had a great time worshiping and learning together with friends from throughout the diocese during the plenary and workshop sessions gathered into the theme “Let There Be Light,” and we had fun socializing together and with friends old and new. You should be especially proud of our Convocation 1 youth representative, our own

Dear Cathedral Family, When we began the first Sunday in Lent with The Great Litany (BCP 148), said with clergy and choir in procession, we were participating in a version of the very first rite of our Church published in English. It was crafted in 1544 by Thomas Cranmer as a special supplication when Henry VIII was at war with Scotland and France, to be used by the people in procession in church. It has been continually revised and included in all English and American editi

Dear Cathedral Family, In our bishop’s sermon here on Ash Wednesday, he invited us to keep a holy Lent as a “reset” from those ways of living that keep us “frozen” or sluggish in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Like our digital devices, over time we build up the need to unplug, restart, reset so that we are ready to do the things God calls us to do. Lent is the season set aside in the Church for doing so. The Gospel reading for this first Sunday in Lent focuses on Je

Dear Cathedral Family, Happy Mardi Gras! Please note that our service this Sunday will be at 8 a.m. This earlier time is a trial response to the increasing difficulty we have experienced with navigating downtown Mobile and dealing with parking challenges on Joe Cain Day. Parking will be on-street only, and you will need the purple church parking pass in order to do so safely. In years past, as I have opened our front gates before church, early parade goers have expressed s

Dear Cathedral Family, This Sunday, Jesus continues teaching about the reign of heaven in the Sermon on the Mount. Last week, the Beatitudes showed what and who the divine promise is for. This week, the sayings about salt and light elaborate the roles to which Jesus calls his disciples. Salt and light are essential to foster and further life; they are elements in the transformation of others. Small amounts can make the difference between thriving and languishing. Jesus c

Dear Cathedral Family, This Sunday will be our 5th Annual Black History Month Celebration. As always, and in keeping with our long-standing relationship, the day will be a time of thanksgiving for and support of the Elite Chapter of the Mobile Kappa League, mentored by our own Carl Cunningham, Jr. Kappa League members and their parents and mentors will be our honored guests, and the proceeds of the brunch following worship will go toward their preparations for college entran

Dear Cathedral Family, The beginnings of this new year bring transition in your vestry leadership, and we will mark those changes and pray for our leaders this Sunday, both in worship and in the annual parish meeting following in the chapter house. During worship we will pray for and install the new vestry class of 2028: Preston Bolt, Mary Hunter Fuller, Lance Lucas, Bill Skinner, Haley Van Antwerp, and Saylor Wiley. In our meeting we will give thanks for the excellent leader

Dear Cathedral Family, The new year in our life together is off to a brisk beginning, not only with a dip in temperatures but with our rapid movement toward Mardi Gras and the beginning of Lent. This long weekend is a brief pause before we plunge on to our annual meeting and the busy year that lies ahead. We will be discussing many long-anticipated activities when we gather next week. The lectionary this Sunday jumps out of Matthew into John, as it does every year at this po

Dear Cathedral Family, The story begins this Sunday, with the baptism of Jesus. This week of the Epiphany marks the manifestation of the light of Christ that will lead us through the seasons of the year to come, as we follow Him through the times of his ministry, and ours. The Proclamation of the Date of Easter (which you will find at below) is made by the minister at the celebration of the Epiphany, and it will be repeated this Sunday for those of you who did not hear it Tu

Dear Cathedral Family, The gospel for this fourth Sunday of Advent describes Joseph’s dream, the annunciation revealing God’s saving plan in the miraculous birth of Jesus. Joseph’s central role in Matthew’s version underscores that this new thing  that God is doing is part of a long plan and series of actions that began with Abraham. Abraham received his own divine message about the unlikely birth of his son, and Joseph’s own Old Testament namesake also led his people to sa

Dear Cathedral Family, This is the Sunday of joy , the pink candle Sunday of Advent. Traditionally the Third Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday,” from the first word of the Latin introit, “Gaudete in Domine Semper”— “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). While you may not feel especially joyful as Christmas fast approaches and you still have lots to do, the good news is that joy is not dependent on the material conditions of our lives. Not the same thing as h

Dear Cathedral Family, It’s only the first week of December, but already the holiday season feels in full swing. This can make it tough to hold on to the posture of waiting and watching that define Advent. This Sunday, our Liturgy of the Word (the first half of worship) will be a modified and abbreviated form of the traditional Advent Lessons and Carols service, a distinctive piece of our Anglican tradition. It is designed to help you slow down and re-orient yourself from all