Grace Cathedral

Dear Friends,

This week I have been thinking so much about my old friend Elwyn Berlekamp. Like my father, Elwyn was a mathematician. He was one of the founders of combinatorial game theory. He invented the algorithm to factor polynomials (the Berlekamp-Welch algorithm and the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm).

Elwyn was close to the Scientific American writer Martin Gardner who was a kind of childhood hero to me, and he loved mathematical games. I remember bringing him back a Native Hawaiian Konane game that weighed a ton but completely delighted him.

Elwyn’s father had been a congregational minister, and Elwyn always had something insightful to say about the sermons I preached at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church twenty-eight years ago.

Sunday worship has brought the most extraordinary people into my life. Someone once told me that we don’t invite all the people who come to worship with us, that in a sense, God brings them, and they transform us. Each Sunday in the pews around us, there are saints.

This is what we celebrate each year on Congregation Sunday. This Sunday, we will have our annual Town Hall meeting at 9:30 am and then celebrate our congregation both during the 11 am service and a party afterward. You will have a chance to meet new people and learn more about the ministries of Grace Cathedral.

Every day I give thanks for you and pray for you. You are a gift from God.

Love,
Malcolm

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young
Dean of Grace Cathedral

P.S. Yoga For Change is a one-of-a-kind yoga event where your practice makes a big difference! Your participation supports the littlest learners at The Community Preschool. Join us on September 24 at 10 am!