Imagine that the White House suddenly were to close. Sure, the President handily could dispatch the nation's business from the Executive Office Building or some other place, but powerful symbolic value would be lost. Ditto if we were to lose the Capitol. It is on this order of symbolic magnitude that the closing of a cathedral assaults the psyche of believers: particularly when the cathedral is beautiful and stretches back to 1722!
As an alumna of Brown University in Providence, and a former rector in the Diocese of Rhode Island, Anglicat is particularly sorry to see the Cathedral of St. John snuffing out its last candle. Nonetheless, it should come as no surprise. As far back as the late 1980s, the Cathedral was heavily dependent on the services of two non-salaried deacons who worked full-time and then some, to keep the Cathedral humming smoothly. Even to the most casual observers, the appointment of the Rt. Rev. David Joslin (former rector of St. Stephen's, Edina, here in Minnesota) as Interim Dean at the Cathedral should have made the likely future even clearer. Known as a tight-control, Organization Man rather than a charismatic visionary or community-builder, no one could have been hired more likely than he to nail the coffin.
So, what's a soon-to-be-Cathedral-less bishop to do? Without the cathedral, she loses her cathedra, another important symbol, out of which a bishop speaks officially. The Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf commented that the cathedral's closing would provide the opportunity for other uses in fulfilling the mission of the Diocese of Rhode Island. Let's see--if not to house liturgical services, what could those uses be? Shall the building host an art gallery or theater? Condos for the wealthy grey hairs who still can afford to visit the sinking L'Elizabeth's for their sherry and scones?
Seriously, Rhode Island is the second Episcopal Diocese (after Delaware, last September) to announce the closing of its cathedral, but it will be the first actually to do the deed on April 22. Sadly, given the rocky financial situation of so many Episcopal Dioceses, this is not likely to be the last Episcopal cathedral to be repurposed.
What positive lesson can be drawn from this sad news? Here it is, ready to be ignored: drifting from its core purposes is killing the Episcopal Church. How much farther behind can the United States be, as we continue to twist and stray from our Constitution?
2 comments:
The further we stray from the idea that there is something called "Truth," and the more we doubt the truths to be found in our core documents, then the less need we (believe) we have for foundational institutions.
I hear voices saying, "Who needs em since you can't believe em. They were all written by discredited men."
Anyone who attempts to present the Truth today is immediately discredited.
The only truth modern people won't discredit is their personal version of the truth.
People are building their own cathedrals.
As more and more Episcopal Cathedrals bite the dust, it would be great if Anglican groups could claim them for their lively, Christ-filled worship. But no! The vindictive Ms. Schori has made that impossible at any price. Can't wait for 2015, when we can sing, "ding dong, the witch is...."
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