CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL An Episcopal Community in the Heart of Houston, Texas
AUGUST 2015 CHRISTCHURCHCATHEDRAL.ORG
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Beyond this point, there be dragons Last month I looked over the edge of the world. I was on Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. Inishmore is a wild and remote place. Four hundred years ago Oliver Cromwell pushed many Irish off the mainland, and to the Aran Islands they went. Over Inishmore’s jagged limestone hills THE VERY REV. (geologic continuations BARKLEY of the Burren in County THOMPSON Clare) the Irish spread seaweed and sand, creating a thin subsistence soil. There are no trees on Inishmore to block the wind that buffets everything constantly. For ancient people, who arrived on the Aran Islands thousands of years before Oliver Cromwell walked the earth, Inishmore was the edge of the world. Beyond the sheer cliff walls on the island’s western side was the abyss, the place where the world dropped off. It was where the old maps warned, “Beyond this point, there be dragons.” Last month a group of pilgrims from Christ Church Cathedral hiked to Dun Aengus, an ancient stone fort perched on the highest cliff on Inishmore, and peered over the edge. It was a vertiginous experience. In the late fifth century A.D., St. Enda and 12 followers rowed a seal-skin coracle boat nine miles from the Irish mainland across choppy seas to the edge of the world on Inishmore and founded a monastery. They were seeking “white martyrdom,” a way of life stripped bare and exposed to the elements, so that nothing separated them from the presence of God. Their lives were stark; their efforts undoubtedly often seemed futile; and to
BEYOND, page 8
Missioners from Christ Church Cathedral repaint a table at Iglesia de Todos los Santos in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Day by day, the impact of mission In July, the Cathedral sent a mission team of 15 high-school students and 12 adults to the Episcopal Diocese of Costa Rica, where they teamed up with Bishop Hectór Monterroso Gonzalez to aid impoverished communities in that country. Six members of the team kept diaries of their experiences, which are excerpted below. The full entries are available on the Cathedral website.
Day One: Francy Bermudez
We are Costa Rica bound. As a fellow Latina, I understand that there is a lot of poverty. What I did not expect, was how lively this place was from the moment I got out of the plane. Walking to the bus and just looking around my surroundings, I sensed the feeling of being proud of my race, my origin.
DIARIES, page 5
Øgaard takes new post, Czausz named organist Organist Sigurd Øgaard has been appointed as the new organist at Bergen Cathedral in his hometown of Bergen, Norway. Øgaard and his wife, staff singer Laurie Robertson, will leave for Norway in early September. Organ Scholar Monica Czausz will step into his post beginning September 1. For Øgaard, the opportunity to return to his homeland and assume this major post was too exciting to leave unexplored. “Being a part of such a historic church and excellent music SIGURD ØGAARD
MONICA CZAUSZ
ORGANISTS, page 6