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New York's St. John the Divine cathedral shines at rededication

Posted On : December 2, 2008 10:23 AM | Posted By : Admin ACO
Related Categories: USA

ACNS: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2008/12/2/ACNS4546

The world's largest Gothic cathedral St. John the Divine staged a
coming-out celebration November 30 after a $41 million restoration
revealed a gigantic space full of light and colour.

The mother church of the Diocese of New York had been partially closed
and its 8,500-pipe organ silenced after a fire on Dec 18, 2001 destroyed
the gift shop in the north transept and spread smoke damage throughout
the cathedral's interior.

The two-and-a-half-hour service of Holy Eucharist included greetings
from both of New York's U.S. senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary
Clinton, who the next day was nominated to be Secretary of State by
President-elect Barack Obama.

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in
it," said Clinton, quoting from Psalm 118.

"In this season of Thanksgiving, it is good to be reminded of that which
is lasting and permanent," she said.

Dean James Kowalski, in introducing Clinton, noted that cathedral staff
members were greatly encouraged when the senator and her husband, former
U.S. President Bill Clinton, and their daughter, Chelsea, attended
Christmas Eve services at St. John's shortly after the fire.

The current Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and her
predecessor, Frank Griswold, attended the rededication. Presiding Bishop
Schori said she brought greetings from the 15 other countries that make
up the Episcopal Church and called St. John "this most international of
cathedrals in the most international of cities."

The service began with a procession down the 601-foot-long nave, which
had been blocked by partitions since 2001 as various portions were
cleaned. The procession included bishops from the Roman Catholic and
Evangelical Lutheran churches, bishops and clergy of the Diocese of New
York, about 20 representatives of the New York Fire Department, drummers
and liturgical dancers robed in white and blue.

The church's huge rose window, 40 feet in diameter and located above the
main entrance in the west façade, sparkled and light was reflected off
the stone walls and columns, now several shades paler after the
cleaning. Under the window, the horizontal pipes of the organ's "state
trumpet" stops rang out a fanfare as organist Bruce Neswick filled the
space with sound. The hymns included a new work, titled The New
Jerusalem, by cathedral Canon Victoria Sirota and her husband, Robert
Sirota, president of the Manhattan School of Music.

Speaking to reporters before the service, Kowalski, who had been named
dean just before the fire, recalled that it happened "right after (the)
9/11 (terrorist attacks). People were terrified that they might be
related. We thought we might lose the cathedral. But we used it as an
opportunity."

The cost of the restoration was covered by insurance and donations, he
said. "Now it looks as if it was just built," he added. The organ, he
said, had to be disassembled, shipped to a company in Missouri for
repairs, then returned and reinstalled. Four tractor-trailer trucks were
needed to transport it.

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and New York Bishop Mark Sisk noted
that the earliest visions for the cathedral considered it an
international house of prayer. At the east end are seven chapels where
services were to be said in various languages in order to be hospitable
to New York's immigrant population, Sisk said. Plans were discussed as
early as 1828 and the cornerstone was laid in 1892.

"From many parts come one body," Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori
commented.

In his sermon, Kowalski said that "cathedrals are planted to stay and to
span history." Referring to St. John's strong tradition of involvement
with the surrounding community and with artists, he said that it "has
been courageous, at times controversial." Reflecting the cathedral's
stance for social justice, he quoted civil rights leader Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. as saying that "we must believe that a prejudiced mind
can be changed by the grace of God, lifted from the valley of hate to
the high mountain of love."

Article from: Episcopal News Service - by Solange De Santis

For photo please visit:

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2008/12/2/ACNS4546

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