Trinité Fall 2008

TrinitĂŠ the magazine of the American Cathedral in Paris d fall 2008

Designing the Cathedral Canons past and present Postcard from Portugal David McGovern, an American in Paris

FALL 2008

Dean The Very Reverend Zachary Fleetwood Canon Pastor The Reverend Jonathan Huyck Canon for Music Edward Tipton

Inspirational music for the holiday season.

Order your copy today. For more information :

Assistant Musician Zachary Ullery

www.americancathedral.org/en/musicart/choirs.html TrinitĂŠ Editors Nancy Janin Charles Trueheart

Trinity Society The Cathedral made a difference in your life.

Make a difference in the life of the Cathedral.

Plan your legacy and join the Trinity Society.

For more information: development@americancathedral.org or call Nancy Janin at 33 1 45 66 08 87

Design/Layout Elizabeth Minn Cover Art Architectural blueprints of the Cathedral courtesy of the Cathedral Archives Please send comments and requests for free subscriptions to: TrinitĂŠ the Magazine of The American Cathedral in Paris 23, avenue George V 75008 Paris France email publications@americancathedral.org web www.americancathedral.org

Dean’s message Solitude and Community

All our meals and all our living Make as sacraments of thee That by caring, helping, giving We may true disciples be.

- Harold Friedell The community of faith is a community precisely because of the relationships we embrace. Relationships with one another. Relationships between God and human beings. The relationship between human beings and the worship that shapes our common life as the Church.

After 21 years in public ministry, when I feel the need for rest and refreshment, I find myself increasingly drawn to solitude. However, solitude has its limits and its pitfalls. Alone, one can easily lose balance and become disoriented. Living too much within ourselves, we find that goals, perspectives and values can go astray, for there is nothing to “measure” against. Living in community helps to keep us honest.

Honesty is at the core of what it means to be in authentic relationship. Not being blinded like Peter (see Matthew 16:21-27) - blinded by what we want to see, but rather opening our eyes to see what is really there. And what is really there for most of us, most of the time, is the good and the bad comingled. Honesty is about seeing the good and the bad, acknowledging the imperfection and the tension, not going around obstacles, but rather through them; sometimes “just getting on with it” despite the obstacles.

As the Body of Christ, the Church gathered is called to sacramental living; to live our lives as outward and visible signs of God’s inward and spiritual grace. The sacramental life is not lived in isolation; it is lived in community, through relationships that involve caring, helping, giving. In the end, these relationships help to make us whole.

Christian experience is grounded in the secure knowledge of what God has done and is doing. Thus from generation to generation in the Church, we pass along the story of faith, calling forth our collective memory from century to century. And the unambiguous witness of those who have gone before is that relationships in community are of primordial importance.

Sometimes we forget or take for granted, the holiness of the relationships we weave and the communities we create. But this much is clear: we are called to community by the very nature of our faith. And that is one of God’s most precious gifts and, sometimes, one of our most befuddling challenges.

The Very Reverend Zachary Fleetwood 3

Architect of the sacred and divine

How George Edmund Street put pen to paper and created his Paris masterpiece

A

s a young boy, George Edmund Street tagged along behind his eldest brother on visiting and sketching tours of churches and ancient buildings around the English countryside, and a passion was born.

His early enthusiasm for old stone flourished into an outstanding architectural career, to which the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity owes its design.

Street was born in 1824 into a distinguished family in London, but moved around to various towns with his family. He grew up in the shadow of Exeter Cathedral and studied architectural drawing under the spires of Winchester Cathedral, and at one point considered entering the church as a profession.

“The love of church architecture grew on him fast, and with it grew the love of the services which, heard under a cathedral roof, gain so much in solemnity and impressiveness,” Arthur Edmund Street wrote in an 1888 memoir of his father.

Street was sent at age 15 to work in his father’s law office, but apparently did not enjoy office work. His mother then sent him for art and drawing lessons, and happened to see some architectural sketches at the teacher’s home.

The artist was the teacher’s cousin, and Street’s mother asked immediately if her son could study with him. Off he went to Winchester, where he studied with the artist for two years.

When he finished the apprenticeship in 1843, Street found a position with the London architectural firm of Scott and Moffat, which 4

specialized in Gothic buildings (St. Pancras station), churches (St. Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh), and directed restorations on Gothic cathedrals (Chichester, Lichfield, Exeter). Street’s first individual commission was for Biscovey Church, Cornwall, in 1846. By 1849, he had gone into business for himself, and was handling a great deal of restoration work, particularly in Cornwall. “…I cannot but think that architecture as well as, not more than, the other fine arts, is a great and most important assistant to religion,” Street wrote in his diary.

He considered himself a Gothic architect in need of an education.

Street went abroad for the first time in 1850, touring the great Gothic cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres and Paris. He considered himself a Gothic architect in need of an education, according to his son, and he traveled in Europe nearly every year after that for the rest of his life. He wrote books on decorative architecture in northern Italy, on gothic architecture in Spain, and closer to home, on the architecture of the colleges at Oxford. His first large project was the Theological College at Cuddesdon, Oxford (today’s Ripon College), whose construction began in 1853 and took 25 years to complete.

Trinité magazine Fall 2008

Nave of the American Cathedral.

In 1855, Street moved to London. The preeminent Gothic architect, Augustus Pugin, who carried out much of the work on the Houses of Parliament, had died suddenly in 1852, and Street may have hoped to fill the gap left by his death. As his reputation grew, major commissions came one after another, and Street worked almost constantly for the following 30 years. His first London project was the church of St. James the Less, on

Vauxhall Road. In the 1860s, Street drew work from around southern England, among which were the designs for St. Peter’s Church at Bournemouth, St. John’s Church at Torquay (Devon), Saint Saviour’s Church at Eastbourne (East Sussex), and All Saints’ Church at Clifton (Bristol), which was destroyed by bombing early in World War II. In the 1870s, Street won an appointment to the Royal Institute of Architecture as well as a gold medal for his

>> 5

Architect of the sacred and divine

literary contributions to architecture in 1874 (see list of books at the end of this article).

When the congregation of the American Church at 17, rue Bayard in Paris grew too large for its building, the vestry found and purchased a site on the then-avenue d’Alma, today’s Avenue George V. Street had already designed St. Paul’s Within-the-Walls, the American Episcopal Church in Rome, in 1872, and the vestry turned to him for plans for the new, larger church for Paris. Street visited the proposed location with the rector, John Brainerd Morgan, and liked it. Morgan asked if he could have a sketch of the design to show subscribers. “My father in return asked for paper, and without further consideration made a detailed sketch of about a twelfth of an inch to the foot. I don’t remember how long he took to do it, but he was described as putting his pencil to paper with apparently no pause at all for reflection, and as fast as his hand could work,” his son wrote in the memoir.

>> continued from page 5

immense self-reliance which could enable a man to bind himself, definitely, once for all, and at a moment’s notice, to a design for a church, which was about the most costly parish church which he had ever had to build, and was to stand in a great and splendid foreign capital as a monument of what the boasted English school of church architects could accomplish. I lay particular stress on this example because of the importance of the church, but in other respects it was not a whit more remarkable than scores of others; and indeed, I never remember my father’s designs being produced except, as it seemed to me, by inspiration,” Arthur Edmund Street wrote.

Street not only provided architectural plans for churches, but also designed the details of linen embroidery, altar hangings, interior and exterior ironwork. His son wrote that

“…I

cannot but think that architecture as well as, not more than, the other fine arts, is a great and most important assistant to religion.”

The design of Holy Trinity changed slightly from this original sketch, but it was very similar, and the vestry approved Street’s plans in February 1881. “The artistic qualities of the sketch and the beauty of the design are obvious to the most unskilled eye; but the great point in the wonderful power of imagination which is implied in such a tour de force as this, and the 6

Brass eagle lectern designed by GE Street.

Trinité magazine Fall 2008

Monuments Historiques

he was particularly proud of the iron gates at the Strand entrance of the Royal Law Courts, which he worked on from 1866 to 1878. The Law Courts project was mired in controversy and contention from the first competition for plans, and Street’s son wrote that he believed the stress and strain of the job had brought about his early death.

Street had a stroke at the age of 57 and died in December 1881, before construction was begun on Holy Trinity. His son took over the project and brought it to completion. The cornerstone was laid in March 1882 and the first service was held on September 12, 1886, the 26th anniversary of the first service at the American Church on rue Bayard.

Street was buried in one church he did not build: Westminster Cathedral. A monument to Street and his work was erected at the Law Courts. n Ellen Hampton

Ellen Hampton is finishing a doctoral degree in history at the EHESS. She teaches at Sciences Po and Paris II and is resident director for City University of New York’s exchange program.

Further reading: George Edmund Street, Brick and marble in the Middle Ages: notes of a tour in the north of Italy, London: J. Murray, 1855. Second edition, 1874. __________, Some account of gothic architecture in Spain, London: J. Murray, 1865. __________, “An urgent plea for the revival of true principles of architecture in the public buildings of the University of Oxford,” Oxford and London (no publisher listed), 1853. __________, “Architecture in the 13th century,” in Afternoon Lectures on literature and art series, Dublin: Museum of Irish Industry, 1867.

Arthur Edmund Street, Memoir of George Edmund Street, R.A., 1824-1881, London: J. Murray, 1888.

George Edmund Street. Unpublished notes and reprinted papers, ed., Georgiane Goddard King, New York: Hispanic Society of America, 1916.

It’s been eleven years since the Cathedral was officially recognized by the French state as an historic monument. Preparing, presenting, and getting approval for the application was a long process and quite a story involving people on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Cathedral is legally the property of the Board of Foreign Parishes (BFP), a New York foundation set up by an act of the NY state legislature in 1883. While all financial matters and day to day responsibility rest with the locally elected Vestry, any decision yielding any control over the building must receive the benediction of the Board. Since historic monument status places some restrictions on the building the BFP had to be in agreement.

It all began in 1995 when Cathedral parishioner, architect and urban planner Elizabeth McLane initiated contact with the French Ministry of Culture’s monuments historiques office to determine if it felt the Cathedral building warranted protection and conservation. When their response was positive a team comprised of vestry members Edward Cumming and Ben Davis, then-Dean Ernest Hunt, Chancellor David McGovern and myself as the representative of the Buildings and Grounds committee was formed to move the process along.

Our task was to investigate the arcane workings of the historical monument office, to decide if the advantages offset any inconveniences, and if so, to persuade skeptical members of the Vestry, the aforementioned BFP, the Bishop and his Council of Advice, and finally the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. In other words, there were quite a few hurdles.

In consultation with other listed buildings in our area, and our growing appreciation of the work of the French government in this area, it soon became evident to us that the advantages of listing clearly offset any disadvantages: Ownership would remain with the BFP and decisions to carry out work on the fabric of the building and selection of architects and contractors would remain with the Vestry.

What is more, professional expertise and advice would become available from the Architecte des Bâtiments de France. They might even provide financial support of up to 20% for relevant projects. Additionally we learned that certain foundations we

might approach for funding would require us to be an historical monument.

After much give and take with the BFP, in the spring of 1997 I went to New York to plead our cause.

What a responsibility but a joy to find the board now unanimously in favor of our project! With their blessing in hand the Bishop and his Council of Advice gave their approval and the Right Reverend Jeffery Rowthorn, our then-Bishop in Charge, transmitted the case to the Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning. On July 7, 1997, the Presiding Bishop gave his consent. We were finally able to submit our application to the Ministry of Culture. The listing was approved on August 27, only a month after application but more than two years after Elizabeth McLane’s first approach.

I am happy to report that contacts with the ministry and its personnel have been fruitful ever since. Some examples: for the ravalement of the facades and pointing of stones in 1998, Annie Blanc, the “papesse des pierres,” at the Monuments Historiques was able to tell us the exact quarry that had furnished our stones and thus we were able in some instances to use the same quarry for the replacements. When it was discovered that our tower leaned ever so slightly, a leading engineer from the ministry worked with our architect to find an adequate solution, and their laboratory advised us on the reinforcement cable we eventually installed. And the Cathedral has received financial aid from the French state totaling €150,000 on three projects - the ravalement, security enhancements following the 9/11 attacks, and the restoration of the stained glass lancet windows.

The treasure entrusted to us by the church leaders who had the foresight to engage George Edmund Street and to construct our Cathedral from the finest quality materials is now secure, thanks to our partnership with the French state. It was a long time coming but will endure generations.

Harriet Rivière

Harriet Rivière is head of the Altar Guild and supervised several major renovation projects at the Cathedral.

David McGovern

Forty years of leadership in the American village in Paris

P

illar does not do justice to the place of David McGovern in the American Cathedral firmament.

Over the last four decades he has been a vestryman, warden, chancellor, cheerleader, problem-solver, wise man, and friend. What is more McGovern has contributed his leadership to nearly every other American institution in Paris. That he did so while running a major law firm and raising a family at the same time - well, this is why he is sometimes called (out of earshot, mostly) the mayor of the American community in Paris.

McGovern recently turned 80 and the tributes have been pouring in, making him scowl and beam at the same time, and giving Trinité an excuse to hear David’s story from David.

It’s also a chance to reflect on a generation of public spiritedness and community engagement - and devotion to church - that David McGovern seems to have brought in his steamer trunk when he stepped off the boat in France in 1967.

McGovern has contributed his leadership to nearly every American institution in Paris.

David McGovern was being dispatched to Paris to develop the Paris office of his New York law firm, Shearman and Sterling, taking over from its founding partner, Edward Tuck.

Shearman had two people in Paris when he arrived, and over 75 when he retired in 1999.

8

David Talmage McGovern had grown up in New York City, gone to St. Paul’s, Yale, Columbia Law, and (in the U.S. Army) the Korean front, finally settling in Manhattan.

Like so many permanent American expats, the McGoverns - David, Maggie and their young daughters, Justine and Alexandra - were going to spend a couple of years in Paris and then go home. Yet almost immediately they bought a charming small house with a garden on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, blooming where they were planted.

Though he was a relative newcomer, such was the ready attraction to McGovern - the kindness, the wisdom, the energy, the fun - that he was immediately propelled into the leadership of the American Club. He speaks of it as if had been an innocent bystander tapped on the shoulder. From there, he’s says he’s not quite sure how, “off we went,” on to the boards - and often the presidencies - of the American Chamber, the American Hospital, the American University, the American Library, the French-American Foundation, and more.

Those were the good old days, as McGovern remembers them, and Americans in Paris were more tight-knit, still a colony. “It was a different culture. We were a smaller community. Youngish guys running the US companies and law firms, in our forties if that, and all our children the same age.”

“We were not a ghetto,” he protests. “But we hung out together. We played golf together, tennis together, spent Christmas together.

And we all went to the American Club on Thursdays.”

The American Club lunch was in that day Trinité magazine Fall 2008

Maggie, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan and David at the Cercle Interalliée.

an institution - a weekly institution that has the whiff of a bygone age: 150 or more for a seated four-course lunch at the Cercle Interalliée to hear a distinguished speaker. Jacques Tati, Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan, the presidents of JP Morgan, Citibank, Chase Manhattan, of French companies and of companies visiting their French branches. There was also M. Bernadin, owner of the Crazy Horse saloon, accompanied by some of his dancers.

McGovern recalls an American Club lunch featuring Democratic Senator George McGovern, who had just been defeated for the presidency of the United States – and is no relation to David McGovern.

When he addressed the club president as “President McGovern,” the senator said, “I knew one of us would get there somehow, but I never thought it would be a Republican in Paris.” David McGovern was a liberal Republican when there were such things, and of late has supported Democrats just as often.

With his knack for friendship with the right people, David McGovern has known all the American ambassadors who served in

Paris, and been close to a few, including the incumbent. The old days sound much more informal. “We all wandered in and out of the embassy without security restraints. The ambassador, if he knew us, would call up and say come over for dinner at the residence. Or even dancing. And they all loved Maggie.”

Margery McGovern, a talented painter and well-loved friend of many, died in 2005 after a protracted illness, and David’s vigilance and care for her over the years is another mark of his character. Their daughter Justine teaches social work in Brooklyn, and their daughter Alexandra paints and teaches art in El Paso.

David sees his four grandchildren often, usually at Prouts Neck, Maine, the summer place where he has been going since he was a boy.

But Paris - the same house on the Villa Saïd is home.

Did the McGoverns ever consider leaving?

“Every day. Every day.” He laughs.

McGovern acknowledges that his service to community institutions in Paris “was not only fun, but a tremendous help to me businesswise.

I became known. It was a logical thing for me

>> 9

David McGovern

>> continued from page 9

Maggie and David in the summer of 1969.

to do, and I did not have to explain it to my partners in New York.” But his active involvement in the Cathedral was totally different. “That was personal.”

Raised by a Catholic father and a Presbyterian mother, McGovern had become an Episcopalian in the 1950s. He joined the Cathedral vestry in 1973, when he was tapped

by Sturgis Riddle, then the dean. (Elections, and women, came later to the vestry.)

“The parish was a pretty sociable place in those days. It seemed like everyone there went to the Ivy League. It’s much less classconscious now, much more representative of the whole Episcopal Church and society.

The lay leadership seemed to turn over a lot more in those days as Americans were called back to the US. The parish now is much more integrated in the French community and much more democratic than it has ever been. The congregation has much more to say about where the church is going.”

McGovern served as senior warden three times over a span of 25 years; twice 10

ran the search for a dean; served on strategic planning and advisory and fundraising bodies; and was appointed Chancellor of the Cathedral in 1996.

What does a chancellor do? “I’ve never been quite sure. It helps that I’m a lawyer.

I’m there to make sure we don’t do anything that’s outside church laws or civil laws. I’m a sounding board for the dean and the senior warden. I’m older, and I don’t have an ax to grind.”

McGovern has been called in more times than anyone likes to remember to arbitrate or consult on one Cathedral problem or another, even help arrange the funeral of the former Empress of Iran.

“Becoming Chancellor is the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t have to stand for election, and I don’t have to run anything!” n

Charles Trueheart

Charles Trueheart, a former senior warden of the Cathedral, is director of the American Library in Paris.

Trinité magazine Fall 2008

The buzz of the Parish Hall

Coffee, concerts, celebration, conversation - the room that never sleeps.

E

arly on a Monday morning the Cathedral Parish Hall is an extremely quiet place. The cavernous calm, the pale filtered light, the neo-Gothic arches and heavy doors, the huge stone fireplace... you might think you were in a genteel old banquet hall. And you’d be partly right.

But in that resonant stillness, the shrouded form of the grand piano, rows of folding chairs leaning like dominoes in carts against the wall, long well-worn tables anchoring the far reaches of the room, empty coat racks standing at the ready - and these might suggest that you were in a rehearsal hall, a performance space, a lecture room. And that, too, would be right.

If you were then interrupted by the noisy arrival of people in tights and t-shirts carrying bundled exercise mats, you would begin to get a sense of the extent of the lively transformation of spirit and function that occurs daily as the Parish Hall serves not only our parish community but the larger community as well.

The Parish Hall was built in 1886 at the time of the construction of our nave. It was dedicated in 2004 in thanksgiving for the ministry of the Very Rev. Ernest E. Hunt III, dean of the cathedral from 1992 to 2003.

In the course of any given week, it is the setting for everything from the noisy conviviality of coffee hour, when it is so crowded that the goal of a cup of coffee across the room can seem quite daunting, to a piano lesson for a nine-year old. It echoes with the sounds of the unfolding and folding of chairs and tables, the tuning of instruments, the clink of dishes and glasses, of voices in song or prayer or teaching, and even

Setting up for the Guilds’ Thanksgiving lunch.

the rustle of a bride’s gown as she waits for the moment to walk into the nave. The Parish Hall is, in fact, a very busy place - in some ways busier than the nave itself.

Music is integral to the life and ministry of the Cathedral and it is a rare day when there is not music in the Parish Hall. On Monday nights the 100 or so members of the Paris Choral Society, under the leadership of Cathedral Canon for Music Ned Tipton, gather for rehearsal. A much admired and highly acclaimed group of volunteer nonprofessionals, the chorale draws its members from across Paris to the joy and discipline of singing the great choral works in the Society’s repertoire - and welcoming the public to sing along to highlights of Handel’s Messiah during every Christmas season.

On Wednesday afternoons, the Cathedral youth choirs, currently under the direction of

>> 11

The buzz of the Parish Hall Assistant Musician Zachary Ullery, take over the hall. Fortified with juice and biscuits, the members of the Cantori choir warm up with reflex and vocal exercises, stomp out rhythms in a conga line around the piano, practice their diction and finally join their sweet voices in The Lord is My Shepherd.

At noontime on most Thursdays of the year, the Parish Hall becomes a true concert hall. Les Arts George V sponsors free concerts as part of its mission to bring professional quality artistic events to the Cathedral both for the parish community and the community at large.

The Cathedral’s own choir warms up the room on Thursday evenings, fuelled, apparently, only by coffee, and then again on Sunday mornings. It is always a special joy to hear their voices reaching into the Sunday forum in the library or the classrooms where the children are gathering as they rehearse for the 11:00 service.

The resonant stillness, the shrouded form of the grand piano, rows of folding chairs leaning like dominoes in carts against the wall.

On other days during the week, there may be a lone voice filling the space as an audition is held for the Choral Society, or one of the Cathedral’s many talented musicians is conducting a lesson or even participating in a recording session. At times it is the big sound of the piano one hears, at others the finger exercises of a young student. And at times, the Parish Hall serves not as performance or rehearsal space, but as Green Room for concerts to be held in the Cathedral itself.

Gathering together around a meal is an important part in the life of any family or community and it is especially meaningful at the Cathedral. The Parish Hall is often home away from home, especially at the holidays.

12

>> continued from page 11

Choir practice with the Cantori

Finding six plump turkeys and transporting them across Paris is a challenge not to be underestimated. But every year the Parish Life Committee manages not only that admirable feat, it also transforms the Parish Hall into as near an approximation of an over-the-hillsand-through-the-woods Thanksgiving dining room as possible with autumn flowers and the aroma of stuffing and yams drifting up from the kitchen. This is such a popular event that reservations are required in advance because of the space limitations of the hall. In the spring the mood in the hall changes very quickly from the Mardi Gras atmosphere of Shrove Tuesday, when there is Brazilian dancing and pancake flipping, to the silent Wednesday evening suppers of soup and bread during Lent.

Every Friday of the year the Parish Hall becomes home for a noontime meal provided by the Mission Lunch program. As many as 80 guests, who due to space limitations also must reserve, pack the room to its corners around tables set with cloths and the Cathedral porcelain. A hearty team of 8 to 10 volunteers makes its way up and down the slippery stone stairs from the kitchen in the basement and TrinitĂŠ magazine Fall 2008

wrestle with the often intransigent old dumbwaiter that connects the two spaces, to serve a warm three course meal. The Mission Lunch program draws its volunteers not only from the Cathedral itself, but from three other organizations in Paris as well.

On a recent Friday, a team from St. Joseph’s, our neighboring Anglophone Catholic parish, drew rave reviews with its pasta with a creamy sauce of chicken breast, artichoke and sundried tomato, followed by cheese and salad, and layered pound cake with orange sauce.

One Tuesday of every month a number of women of the parish, always joined by a few men, gather for the combined St. Anne’s Guild and Junior Guild luncheons. These are not only lively social events, they also offer an opportunity for learning and often for deepening the connection between faith and action. Guest speakers are authors, scholars, aid workers, and others who deal with topics ranging from the Bonne Mine orphanage for abandoned children in Bulgaria, which the Cathedral now helps to support, to the plight of women in Afghanistan. And it is the Junior Guild and St. Anne’s Guild that during the course of the year transform the Parish Hall into a Christmas fair or bookstall to bring the parish family together and to help to fund the Guilds’ good works.

The neo-Gothic elements in the Parish Hall are perhaps never so evocative as when they become part of the stage set for the annual Epiphany Night celebration 12 days after Christmas. The night begins with a Medieval Mystery Play in which, in true medieval fashion, the players are drawn from the community and, in the boisterous mixing of Christian and pagan traditions, the action spills from a tiny stage to implicate the audience in the ancient story of death and rebirth. The festivity continues with a merry dinner of hearty chili and red wine and ends with a quiet candlelit procession through

A hearty meal served at the Mission lunch.

the cold winter night to gather communally around a bonfire lit in the Dean’s Garden to mark the close of the Christmas season.

On Sunday mornings, after the choir has folded its chairs from rehearsal, the Parish Hall is a once again the gathering place before a procession through the cloister. As the nave fills with worshippers hushed in anticipation of the service, the Parish Hall is abuzz. Choir members are organizing their music or finishing their coffee, young acolytes are milling about with their candles or a banner or having their robes adjusted by one of the adult acolytes, the crucifers balance the weight of their crosses, the ministers of communion check that they have remembered their hymnals, and the clergy confer about last minute details for the service.

And then the Dean or Canon quiets the room by saying, “The Lord be with you,” and offers a prayer before the procession through the cloister and into the nave begins.

The Parish Hall is - briefly - quiet again. n

Jeanne Fellowes

Jeanne Fellowes is head of the Ministers of Communion and is a Cathedral delegate to the Convocation Convention.

13

The Presiding Bishop comes to Europe

A

t the most recent Annual Convention of the

change the whole church, not just the church in Europe.”

Convocation of American Churches in Europe,

Over the three days of the convention, she listened to our

which was held in Waterloo, Belgium, October 16-19,

stories, joined in our fellowship and participated in our business

representatives and clergy were given a great gift, a chance to

discussions. Her challenge to the Convocation, issued on the

pause and listen, deeply, to some of the remarkable stories

last day, was to realize the gift that has been given to us by our

that are the formation, transformation and hopes of our partner

expatriate lifestyle. Reminding us that we are, like many of

parishes and missions across Europe. The Presiding Bishop,

God’s people, living in exile and that that exile might be chosen,

The

placing us at the margin. But, the margin is the zone of creativity

Most

Reverend

Katherine

Jefferts

Schori,

also

witnessed these stories on her first official visit to the

and that most prophets speak from the edge. n

Convocation, and chose the Convention’s theme “Tranformed

by Stories” as one of the themes for her sermon, (excerpts below.) The Reverend Kempton Baldridge, rector of All Saints’ Waterloo, said “God is writing a story and he’s using us

Betsy Blackwell

Betsy Blackwell is one of the Catheral’s Convocation Representatives.

She also serves as a Vice President of St. Anne’s Guild and is a member of the Cathedral’s Development Committee. For the last 4 years, she has led a Habitat for Humanity team to Braga, Portugal.

to do it. Telling our story and telling God’s story is important, but no more than telling our story in relation to God’s story.”

Here are just two of the many we heard:

✣

Ascension Church, Munich which, during the second World War,

provided shelter and flight paths to Jewish families who had been (briefly) released from Dachau. The parish lost its priest and building as a result of that assistance, but still operates today with members of some of the surviving families attending services, even today.

✣

Rennes, a small mission church created recently to support a

group of Rwandan refugees who wanted a safe haven for prayer.

Today, their numbers are growing to include other recent immigrants and local residents. They have pooled their limited resources to create a micro-lending program that has reached beyond their circle to benefit their French neighbors.

The Convention is a time to celebrate changes and this meeting was full of high points. In addition to the excitement of the Presiding Bishop’s visit, we also welcomed Christ Church, Clermont-Ferrand as the newest parish, joining the other eight parishes and six missions located in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and France. Laurette Glasgow, who spent formative time at the Cathedral during her training to become a priest, celebrated her first Eucharist to open the Convention.

It

was thrilling to see these new chapters in the stories of the convocation, a new parish, and a priest.

The annual convocation convention offers an opportunity to pull back, look at larger issues and reflect on our joint work, to share stories, to celebrate our fellowship, and most importantly, to remember that we are all part of the larger body of Christ. Our charge from the Presiding Bishop contains elements of all three: “The energy you have for mission can

14

Worship service at the Convention.

“

Excerpts from the Presiding Bishop’s sermon October 19, 2008 After the wandering Hebrews had melted down their earrings to make a golden calf to worship, God was telling Moses that now those people were his problem. God was finished with them, and Moses was going to have to be responsible. But the story ends like this: “and the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.”

Moses is looking for reassurance. He and God have a long interchange about names and identity, and finally Moses asks to see God face to face. God reminds Moses that no one gets to do that in this life, and offers to let Moses see him in passing. In one sense, all Moses gets to see is God’s retreating backside.

Trinité magazine Fall 2008

>>

That’s actually the way most of us see the evidence of God’s presence – we can tell in retrospect, or by looking askance, or in some way other than by looking directly at God, even if we could manage to do that in this life.

Your work at this gathering has built on work begun in Transformed by Stories. All of the story-telling has been about identity and how that identity is being lived out in mission. And those issues of identity and mission are directly related to seeing God passing by, or discovering where God is already at work. That is the evidence of God that Moses and we can see face to face.

When one of you says that what drew you was a community formed around worshiping in English, you are saying something about coming home, whether English is the language of your childhood or more mature years.

Some of you have said that even though this is your native land, you have found a spiritual home in a tradition that has its more recent roots in English-speaking lands.

And some of you native Europeans have found a home in these faith communities despite the language difference.

What I have heard more and more through these days is that you have a conscious and intentional community built around discovering the image of God in your midst.

You know the deep treasure of discovering Christ when two or three or ten are gathered together in his name, even when they come from different places and speak different languages. You know the treasure of restless wanderers who find rest and home in God. You know yourselves as folk on the road, following Jesus, whether you have been posted here for a year or two, or have chosen life with a loved one in a foreign land, or have come home to a bunch of foreigners.

Where do we see the image of God? Certainly in human beings, made in the image of God: “male and female he created them.” It’s less explicit, but the rest of creation must also in some way bear the image of the creator, for how could God create anything that does not in some way reflect divine creativity and the gift of life? Anything that expresses love in some way must bear the mark of God’s creative “hand at work in the world about us.”

Being the expressive love of God in the world about us is the mission part of the convention’s larger conversation. Mission is about how the coin gets put to work, for in the subversive ways of the gospel, the coin that Caesar claims can also be a tool for building the reign of God. That is a good part of what advocacy for

the (United Nations) Millennium Development Goals is all about. The European Union deliberations about international aid, about climate change and carbon credits are for the people in Europe a way to direct how the coin is spent. And it is clear that there is a surprising degree of receptivity to advice from those outside the circle of government officials! The treaty of Lisbon says so explicitly.

The prophetic tradition has always insisted that the coin of government and national policy is an essential a tool for building the reign of God. But the missional story is also about how the human coin is spent – those in this room, those who will hear the stories of this gathering in the coming days and weeks, and those who have not yet heard any story with much good news in it.

We all have the ability to spend the human and created coin that bears the image of God, including the coin of Caesar, so that others can find their homes in God – if we can use it as a tool and not an idol.

Finding home is certainly the subject when God says to Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” When you find the voice and space to tell them, your own stories about exile and searching for home become abundant evidence of God passing by. And when you’ve noticed that evidence, it brings an urgency to gather others in - and share the rest of home with the restless.

The existence of All Saints’ in this place has been the result of human coin, and Caesar’s coin, being put to work in the cause of mission. This facility is a blessing, and will continue to be a blessing rather than a burden, as long as it continues to bless the larger community, as long as it is home for the nations, not just for you.

Your bishop’s invitation to advocate for resettling Iraqi refugees in France is more evidence of God passing by.

A need was noticed, one voice asked for help, that need elicited a willing response, and now governments are actually moving to invite the homeless and stateless to find a home in the midst of Europe. Your stories about that may help those of us in the United States challenge our own government to do the same.

And it’s not just the Convocation of American or Episcopal Churches in Europe that is a divine home. When we’re conscious of seeking the divine, we discover that we are all truly standing in the cleft in the rock, watching God pass by. May we be spent in leading others home. n

” 15

Where have all the Canons gone?

In the spring 2008 issue of Trinité magazine, Karen Lamb interviewed Cathedral alumni who reminisced with her about their time in Paris and the life-changing effect of the Cathedral experience - “the life lessons the Cathedral taught us,” as Lamb put it. Former canon pastors whom we contacted for their reminiscences felt the Cathedral experience just as keenly as former parishioners.

B

en Shambaugh, Canon Pastor for close to four years in the early 1990s, describes his Cathedral ministry as “more intense, more real, more difficult and more meaningful than in other places I have served.” For Shambaugh as for other former canon pastors, the Cathedral “represented not just church but also home, country, and community.”

The Cathedral is considered a parish church like any other you might find in the United States, with its own particular needs and concerns, and for Dean Zachary Fleetwood, the Canon Pastor plays “a significant role as pastor in the daily joys and sorrows of life together as a large and diverse parish community.”

Shari and Ben Shambaugh at Scott’s baptism.

16

But a significant difference comes through in the stories the former Canons shared with Trinité.

The relationships they formed here are The Reverend J. Douglas Ousley somehow deeper and more significant - both among parishioners and between parishioners and the Canon Pastors.

Each and every Canon Pastor interviewed spoke of the cherished relationships and bonds that they developed during their time at the Cathedral, many of which continue to this day.

Nicholas Porter and his wife Dorothy’s eldest daughter was born during their last year in Paris and their daughters’ godparents include Paris friends. Ben and Shari Shambaugh and Doug and Mary Ousley both had children in Paris. The Shambaugh’s son Scott was baptized at the Cathedral and organist and choirmaster Ned Tipton is one of his godparents.

Porter and Ousley both speak of the lasting impact on their families and their children of their early lives in Europe. They went on to serve other parishes in the Convocation, Porter as rector at Emmanuel Church in Geneva, Ousley as associate at St Paul’s Within-theWalls in Rome.

Porter speaks about the “radical welcome” that he and his wife received when they first arrived at the Cathedral and the impact it had both on the programs he sought to develop and the approach he took in developing them. The newcomer’s ministry he developed with Karen Lamb and the reorganization and rejuvenation of the Outreach program with Judith Lanier exemplify the Biblical idea of welcoming and bringing the stranger into the community in order to then go out into the world to share God’s gifts and blessings with others.

For Cindy Taylor, who went on to plant a church in Georgia, a radical and inclusive Trinité magazine Fall 2008

welcome is the basis of any successful ministry.

Both she and Doug Ousley speak of the importance of the specific needs of FrancoAmerican couples and developed ministries to meet their needs by offering them an informal means to talk about the challenges of living within two cultures, languages and churches. Shambaugh speaks of growing in his awareness and understanding of the Episcopal Church’s place and role within the Anglican Communion through the connections he built with the clergy from the Anglican churches in Paris. His encouragement of cross-cultural and international outreach in his subsequent parishes is a direct result.

Porter has carried the idea of multiculturalism into the educational opportunities he has encouraged in his Connecticut parish.

Each year Muslim and Jewish religious leaders make presentations about their faith and religious culture to as many as 200 parishioners and city residents - even on a rainy Thursday evening.

The Cathedral represented not just church but also home, country, and community.

In many ways the bookends of their ministries, their arrivals and departures, are the source of some of the more captivating and poignant stories.

“Each year,” Dean Fleetwood says, “I receive a multitude of inquiries from clergy all over the U.S., expressing an interest in serving at the Cathedral in Paris. Many are talented and gifted priests to be sure. However, it takes a very special and unique set of skills and passions for one truly to thrive in ministry as a priest on staff at the Cathedral. Paris sounds glamorous and it is. In fact, it can be the formative adventure of a lifetime for a gifted young priest.”

Dorothy and Nick Porter at the source of the Blue Nile, Ethiopia.

It is natural that a dean chooses his principal deputy. Porter’s introduction to the Cathedral came when his wife Dorothy’s aunt, Susan, married Cathedral parishioner and Senior Warden Bob McCabe. Dean Ernest Hunt invited Porter, then serving in Jerusalem, to participate in the service on the day following the wedding, and in the sacristy after the service Dean Hunt asked Nicholas whether he would be interested in serving on the clergy staff when a position was available.

Without much hesitation Porter agreed, not expecting that anything would come to pass.

Connections always help, but the current Canon Pastor, Jonathan Huyck, tells a radically different story. When he was completing his studies at General Theological Seminary his class was informed by the bishop that there was a shortage of clergy openings in the Diocese of New York and that all candidates were free to consider positions in other dioceses.

Jonathan took this as an opportunity to make a list of the many different places he would like to live, and found himself doing some research on the Cathedral. He sent off a letter and his resume to the Dean.

Cindy Taylor’s story is somewhere in the middle. She didn’t know about the Cathedral and the dean at the time, James Leo, didn’t know her. They found each other through the matchmaking efforts of a clergy friend in common.

As the first female member of the clergy staff at the Cathedral - this was 1988 - Taylor had a distinctive experience in Paris. Although

>> 17

Where have all the Canons gone?

The Reverend J. Douglas Ousley Canon Pastor, 1978-1981 Rector, Church of the Incarnation New York, New York The Reverend Cynthia N. Taylor Canon Pastor, 1988-1991 Vicar, Church of the Holy Comforter Martinez, Georgia

the Episcopal Church in the United States was still learning how to integrate women into ordained ministry, neither the Protestant nor the Catholic Church in France had even begun to consider it. When Taylor wore a clerical collar on the Paris Metro, she attracted stares and comments. She recalls those were times when she was glad her French was not up to par! Sylvette Oberting, the French woman who served many years as parish secretary, didn’t quite know what to make of this female priest.

Oberting called Taylor the “Chanoinesse” - it would not do to use a male adjective to describe this lovely young blond-haired, blue-eyed female priest.

The Reverend Benjamin A. Shambaugh Canon Pastor, 1991-1995 Dean, The Cathedral Church of St. Luke Portland, Maine The Reverend Nicholas Porter Canon Pastor 1997-1999 Sub-Dean, 1999-2000 Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church Southport, Connecticut The Reverend Canon Jonathan Huyck Curate, 2004-2007;

Cindy Taylor at the Cathedral with Kirsten Schmidt as the crucifer.

Canon Pastor, 2007-present The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

>> continued from page 17

Although all these priests are aware of the impact they had on the Cathedral, none of them ascribes to the idea of “après moi, le déluge.”

Jonathan Huyck is well placed to know that not all the ministries begun or rejuvenated by previous Canons have survived - not an uncommon occurrence in any parish.

While Huyck is not looking back yet, he is already able to reflect on his ministry and articulate the ways in which he has been formed by his experiences at the Cathedral.

He arrived subsequent to the completion of an assessment and evaluation period that led to a strategic plan. As part of that plan, Jonathan has been involved in what he calls “pruning the tree to help its growth.”

He recognizes that the experience he gained through this process puts him in a good position to consider a ministry in a growing parish that is struggling to survive. His commitment to youth and their formation he was instrumental in starting a J2A program at the Cathedral - has brought the Cathedral in line with parishes of similar demographics in the United States. This too will have an impact on how he is understood as a priest by parishes looking or a new pastoral leader.

Parishes in the United States have no less of an impact on the lives of their clergy and their parishioners than the American Cathedral. But the profound need here for community, the natural coexistence of different cultures, and the differing ideas of the role of Church that can be found at the Cathedral are unique. The Canon Pastors have gone forth from the Cathedral enriched, just as they have enriched the lives of those they leave behind. n

Paris, France Katie Lasseron interviewed these former Canons and would like to thank them for willingly and openly sharing their stories.

Jonathan Huyck at the Chateau de Crazannes, near La Rochelle.

18

Katie was a parishioner at the Cathedral for twelve years where she sang in the choir, served on the boards of St. Anne’s and Les Arts George V and was the Cathedral Business Manager for four years.

She now lives in Washington DC and works at Virginia Theological Seminary.

Trinité magazine Fall 2008

Huffing and puffing and building a house A week in Portugal with Habitat for Humanity

Helping hands in Braga.

Every June for four years now, Cathedral parishioners and others have traveled to Portugal to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. What’s the experience like?

Sigun Coyle of the parish participated in the first of two week-long Habitat trips in June 2008. What follows are excerpts from an account she sent to friends when she returned.

S

unday evening we got back from Braga, in the northern part of Portugal, where we helped build a house. Yes, you heard right, we actually helped finish a house.

When volunteering to go, I warned Betsy Blackwell, the Cathedral parishioner organizing this trip for the fourth year in a row, that Joe and I were old people with bad shoulders, but if Habitat could use us, we would be happy to come.

There were ten of us, including the Canon Pastor, Jonathan Huyck, our group leader.

The project we joined was a house in the hills about 30 minutes from Braga. Habitat’s local policy is to give preference to divorced women or widows with children who need a place to live. Habitat usually builds new houses, but land is scarce now, so it started rehabilitating old, decaying houses like that of Maria de La Salete Brito. It had two bedrooms, one huge kitchen-dining-living area, and a bathroom.

The cost of this project, Habitat told me, was 27,000€. The owner gets a 20-year interestfree loan from Habitat for that amount, and at the end of 20 years this house is hers. Not a bad arrangement for her! And for our group, a wonderful deal too.

I have to admit that my heart was beating as we approached the building site. Some workers were finishing putting tiles on the roof. I was thinking: what on earth can we do? Luís Ribeiro, the foreman, told us what needed to be done: he needed a crew to make cement and schlep buckets of it up the ladder to the first floor. Our four young people (one 14-year old and three 17-year olds) volunteered for that chore, plus two strong men of our group. Then they needed two sets of volunteers to tile the walls in the kitchen and in the bathroom. Joe and I volunteered to do the pink tilework in the bathroom. A sweet little old man who spoke some French showed us how, corrected our work and helped us when something went wrong.

Because seven Norwegians worked the site before our group arrived, and some had started on the bathroom tiles, whenever something went wrong we would jokingly blame the Norwegians. Joe and I were in our bathroom for four days, working away, surrounded by

>> 19

Huffing and puffing and building a house

>> continued from page 19

Cathedral members hard at work.

a small army of fellow volunteers and five or six professionals, working away furiously, making cement, pouring floors, building a wall.

It reminded me of a beehive: everyone knew exactly what to do and where to go.

For lunch we piled into cars and drove to a community center nearby. Each lunch of the whole week started with a bowl of mustardyellow cabagge soup. I do like cabagge soup, but five days in a row? Anyway, the food was nourishing, and that is what we needed in order to continue with our work.

Most days we stopped work promptly at five, drove home, took a shower and fell onto our beds for some rest before getting together for dinner. Each evening, either an employee of Habitat or one of its volunteers discussed with us where to eat, and sometimes shared our meal. We had some quite good food (especially the ‘polpo’ - octopus, which seems 20

to be a specialty of the region), and quite delicious wines, all Portuguese, of course.

And the restaurants were inexpensive: we spent an average of 20€ per person per dinner, with lots of wine and bottled water.

We had Thursday off, and what good planning that was. Our muscles were aching, and we were really tired. João Cruz, the head of the Habitat at Braga (a volunteer and member of the Board), offered to show Braga to those who wished to come. We visited Roman ruins (including some under the glass floor of a nearby café) and a remarkable atelier in a 400-year-old house where they restore and make saints and altar pieces.

Then we went on to the university and its library where they were mounting a huge exhibit to mark the 200th anniversary of the liberation of Portugal from the tyranny of Napoleon!

Trinité magazine Fall 2008

Then João asked us if we wanted to see Bom Jesus, an old, huge, gorgeous basilica high up on a hill outside of Braga. He drove us up into the mountains; we took a ‘funiculaire’ propelled by water up to the impressive church, breathing in the sweet smelling air of the surrounding trees… Then João drove us back to Braga where we had a bite to eat, and then Joe and I took a long afternoon siesta - much needed by our aching muscles! In the evening our whole group was invited for dinner to the home of another Habitat volunteer and board member. The Habitat people took such good care of us!

Braga is an unusually appealing city with acres of streets lined with old houses, many of them with beautiful tile work on the outside walls. Lots of squares all over with cafés and small restaurants. Our comfortable hotel (they give a deal to Habitat people: our room with bath and breakfast was only 37€ a night) was right next to the 11th century cathedral. There are many old churches all over Braga, and you can hear their bells all day long.

Saturday was our last day at the site. By the time we were done, the tiles were up, we had painted most of the inside, all the floors had been set, and outside, the garden wall was up, tons of dirt had been trucked in for the garden area and levelled by our young people, and the place looked quite good.

It reminded me of a beehive: everyone knew exactly what to do and where to go.

As we were waiting to board our plane on Sunday afternoon, the other Cathedral group of volunteers (18 of them) arrived on the incoming plane, and we got to greet them all on the tarmac. They went on to finish and dedicate the house that week in the presence of Dean Fleetwood, Maria de La Salete Brito and her daughter Carla Brito, their neighbor,

The following Cathedral parishioners participated in the Habitat for Humanity building project in Braga, Portugal, in June 2008: Charlotte Schotten, Cara Alsterberg, Joe and Sigun Coyle, Jonathan Huyck, Pamela Wesson and Patraig O’Curry, Avery, Jordan, and Rick Sellers, Jeanne and Peter Fellowes, Sebastian, Nancy and Violette de la Selle, Betsy Blackwell, John and Liz Watson, Zachary and Donna Fleetwood, Henry and Charles Trueheart, and Matthew Leum.

local officials, and Habitat people.

For decades I had been thinking of helping on a Habitat site, but somehow it never worked out - no time mostly, never deciding to do it, lethargy, you name it. Then Betsy Blackwell spoke so movingly at the Cathedral about her last trips that I was hooked. Not only did it feel good to ‘do some good’, but I could see that our work did make a difference.

An added bonus: to get to know well my fellow-parishioners who shared the work with us. A total win/win situation. n

Sigun Coyle

Sigun Coyle has been a parishioner since 2000 and volunteers with the welcome committee, ushering and lay-reading. She is also president of the Junior Guild and a member of the Vestry.

21

A place for remembrance What seems “natural” to any of us varies greatly between peoples of the earth and even from generation to generation in the same culture. From our Neanderthal ancestors who put bodies in caves with flower petals and reindeer horns placed on the chests to today’s freezing of bodies à la baseball great Ted Williams, humankind has showed great creativity and ingenuity in disposing of the dead.

According to the website of the Australian Museum, which has a complete section on this subject, there are essentially four approaches to the final farewell: burial, exposure, preservation and cremation. Within each of these the creative human spirit is manifest.

Columbarium at Selwyn Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC.

1 Burial sounds pretty straightforward, but it

L

ast spring, every parishioner was asked to respond to a survey that included a question about building a columbarium at the Cathedral.

This proposal surprised some - especially those who did not know what a columbarium was (it is a vault with niches for urns containing the ashes of the dead). But it drew very favorable reaction from others who, having spent most of their adult lives in Paris and some of their most meaningful moments at the Cathedral, feel that the Cathedral is where they belong, in life and in death.

By dint of living in Paris for so long, I have seen up close the dilemma faced by families of the deceased when there is no family plot or plan after death. When I learned about columbaria, only recently, I began exploring why an increasing number of churches are installing them. I became curious about the larger question - what has mankind done with the dead in history, and why is that changing?

Disposal of the dead seems to have been a constant concern to humans in all ages and in all cultures, reflecting our attempts to reconcile our beliefs about the afterlife, our understandings of hygiene, the availability of resources needed to dispose of the bodies, the need to honor - or dishonor - the deceased, and also what we consider to be fashionable at various times and places.

22

could mean any number of things – the body can be put in a sack and thrown in a hole, tucked into a cliff, interred in a coffin of wood, clay, bark, stone or turtle shells, or placed in a tree.

1 Exposure means letting the elements (and animals) do the job: the body can be floated out into a lake, hacked to pieces and fed to vultures, thrown to sharks (the grisly fate of French prisoners on Devil’s Island), or laid on a termite nest.

1 Preservation can include mummification with organs removed and placed in special receptacles, embalming perhaps to be admired by generations to come (Lenin and Ho Chi Minh for instance), or even frozen through cryonics to be (hopefully) resurrected when medical science has come up with a cure.

1 Cremation: Ashes can be scattered, kept in an urn on the fireplace mantel, placed in a columbarium, or perhaps sent into outer space through the good services of the Celestis Corporation.

Despite all the options, for most of us growing up in the western world in the 20th century, the default setting for dealing with death has always been burial. Forty years ago 94 percent of deaths in the U.S. were handled this way (according to the Cremation Association of North America.) But by 2005 32 Trinité magazine Fall 2008

percent were choosing cremation, and the Columbarium” turns up 21,200 entries! Even industry predicts 57 percent of us will be cremated allowing for duplication and errors, there are clearly by 2025. a lot of churches with columbaria these days. AnWhy the change? Affordability and availability ecdotally by now many of us have attended services at of space in cemeteries is a factor in many places. So a columbarium (my own introduction to the concept) is the ease of transport of “cremains,” as the ashes or have seen them at churches we have visited. are called, especially when survivors live in different The “biggies” of the Episcopal Church cities or continents. But the industry admits that part The Washington National Cathedral, the Cathedral of the new popularity of cremation is due to of St. John the Divine in New York, Grace Cathedral “changing attitudes.” For whatever in San Francisco - have columbaria, reason, many people today say that burial, as do hundreds if not thousands of Columbarium particularly in a fancy casket, seems smaller churches. Some are indoors, with comes “unnatural,” although the bodies of most beautiful paintings or paneling, altars for from the of their family and friends were disposed services, and spaces for individual prayer.

Latin word, of exactly this way.

Many are outdoors, with plantings, benches columba, What is cremation? The process for meditation, and fountains. Since most of reducing the human body to bone churches have added a columbarium after for dove. fragments using heat of 1500-2000 F° for the church was built, each design is unique 2-3 hours. The resulting ashes, weighing 4-6 pounds, and tailor-made to the space available. resemble coarse sand and are compact enough to be Could we have a columbarium at the American placed in a small box or urn.

Cathedral? When the architectural survey was Nearly 40 percent of those requesting cremation evaluating our space requirements we asked the want their ashes scattered, 24 percent want them to architects to keep this question in mind. Their go to a designated location such as a columbarium or findings are that there is, in fact, a choice of locations cemetery, 10 percent want them to stay at home, and possibly in the garden, outdoor space along the side 14 percent express no preference. of the Cathedral or in an interior space to be Although cremation is the treatment of choice for determined - which would allow for both the public a minority of the dead and columbaria are the service and the private remembrance functions of a destination of a minority of those cremated, there are columbarium. So it is possible. nevertheless thousands of columbaria and the number The questions ahead are: Does this community is growing rapidly. want a columbarium at the Cathedral? Are there Columbarium comes from the Latin word, columba, many of us who would choose cremation? If cremated, for dove (a columbarium can also mean a dovecote). would many of us want our cremains to stay at the Probably the first columbarium in the United States American Cathedral? These questions will be the was built in San Francisco in 1895. The Episcopal subjects of discussion in the coming months as we Church established a columbarium in New York in continue our discernment of what changes we can 1928, although rites for cremation were not included and should make in our building and the possibility until the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. While most of financial support for these changes. n columbaria are small, intimate places with space for a Nancy Janin few hundred urns, the Arlington National Cemetery Nancy Janin is a Vestry member and head of the Cathedral’s Columbarium can hold 50,000 cremains.

Development Committee.

One indication of the growing popularity Photos courtesy of Columbarium Planners, Inc. of columbaria: a Google-search of “Episcopal www.columbarium.com 23

A Home away from home In solidarity with America’s Cathedral in Europe.

Won’t you join us?

contact: friends@americancathedral.org

Friends of the American Cathedral in Paris

Trinity Weekend June 6-7 2009

“

Paris is always wonderful but it was especially marvelous to experience it in the company of our fellow Episcopalians at the American Cathedral.

Their generosity and hospitality made this trip exceptional. A memorable weekend!

Professor Virginia G. Smith, New York City participant,Trinity Weekend 2008

Trinity Weekend 2008 was a resounding success – over 100 people participated in activities from private visits to the French Prime Minister’s residence (and site of the first Episcopalian services in Europe) and the Musée Carnavalet (where the famous Béraud painting of the Cathedral hangs); to cocktails at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence, presentations on the Cathedral stained glass windows, our musical heritage and the history of our church in France; plus many get-togethers, formal and informal, mixing Friends and parishioners.

We hope you will decide to join us for the next celebration of the life and mission of the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. We would love to have a chance to share with you our special ministry in this most beautiful and exciting city, Paris. Details to follow or email: development@americancathedral.org