In preparing to host the Icons in Transformation exhibit last year, we cleared pretty much everything out of the Nave that wasn't a chair or the altar to make room for Ludmila's art. We were amazed how many items had accumulated over the years!
It's been seven months since the icons left, and the question is "What goes back in the Nave?"
That question is an opportunity.
When it comes to liturgy and liturgical spaces, everyone has an opinion -- there are plenty of likes and dislikes. Because of that, those conversations often never get beyond the level of personal preference. When that happens, we end up with zero-sum games with lots of winners and losers ... and more than that no unified sense of what we believe about worship as a church community.
The decisions facing us about the Nave are no different. Flags or no flags? Congregational banners hanging from the catwalks or not? And what about that angel font?
Instead of having a vote or instituting mine or others' personal preferences, we're going to use this as a chance to think deeply about what the Nave (and Bofinger Chapel) are to us, to the Diocese and to downtown St. Louis.
I've identified a thoughtful group of people to come together and undertake this process. My hope is that this group will develop a set of values for what goes in the Nave and the Chapel that we can then apply to specific questions … not just now but in the future.
This team will make recommendations to me and will make a presentation of those recommendations to Chapter. As it is his Cathedral, the Bishop will have "veto power" over any decision, should he choose to exercise it.
As decisions are made about what goes in the Nave and the Chapel, they will be communicated in terms of the identified values so we can all understand not just what is being done but why.
The team (which still has one vacant seat ... for a young adult) is made up of Bob Schleipman (sr. warden), Pat Partridge (canon precentor), the Rev. Canon John Kilgore (canon minor), Shug Goodlow (head verger), Paul Anderson (Cathedral archivist) and the Rev. Dr. Lydia Agnew Speller (priest of the Diocese of Missouri), and me. Please feel free to talk with any of us about this endeavor!
As information comes in from the Cathedral congregation, the people of the Diocese and representatives of downtown St. Louis in chapter's process of identifying our shared, core values, that information will be made available to this team so that it may be considered as well.
We had our first meeting on Monday and laid out the process. We wil start with six questions to frame our work:
I – What pieces of scripture might be helpful to us as guides as we go through this process?
II – What personal opinions (micro to macro) do we bring to this conversation before it starts? (This is about owning our baggage up front)
III - What factors (physical realities, constituencies who use the space, purposes for the space, etc.) do we need to keep in mind as we develop the values that will guide our recommendations?
IV – What history can we be aware of that is essential to or will help us in this process?
V – What values data do we have from other people/constituencies that we need to consider?
VI – Are there other Cathedrals or sources of wisdom we can tap to help us in this process?
We believe that as we engage these questions a way forward will emerge and that a set of values will emerge. While I don’t want to drag our feet on this, this shouldn’t be driven by an artificial deadline. So we're going to do it as quickly as we can and still do it really, really well. We hope that timetable will emerge in the coming weeks. (remember ... We Have Time!)
Throughout the process, I'll use this blog and the On The Table forums to share how the conversation is proceeding and what we are learning. I have asked all the members of this team to engage people in conversation and listen deeply so that we can bring everyone's voice to the table. Please keep this process in your prayers.
Why is this important for Christ Church Cathedral? This is definitely one of those instances where the journey is at least as important - if not more - than the destination. And in that, it has a lot in common with much of what we are doing at Christ Church Cathedral. Following Jesus and loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is not just about doing the right thing but about being thoughtfully, prayerfully aware of WHY we are doing it. The decisions we make about what we put in our worship spaces send messages to everyone who enters about what the life of Christ is like (or isn't like) in those spaces. It's worth spending time considering.
What do you think?
It's been seven months since the icons left, and the question is "What goes back in the Nave?"
That question is an opportunity.
When it comes to liturgy and liturgical spaces, everyone has an opinion -- there are plenty of likes and dislikes. Because of that, those conversations often never get beyond the level of personal preference. When that happens, we end up with zero-sum games with lots of winners and losers ... and more than that no unified sense of what we believe about worship as a church community.
The decisions facing us about the Nave are no different. Flags or no flags? Congregational banners hanging from the catwalks or not? And what about that angel font?
Instead of having a vote or instituting mine or others' personal preferences, we're going to use this as a chance to think deeply about what the Nave (and Bofinger Chapel) are to us, to the Diocese and to downtown St. Louis.
I've identified a thoughtful group of people to come together and undertake this process. My hope is that this group will develop a set of values for what goes in the Nave and the Chapel that we can then apply to specific questions … not just now but in the future.
This team will make recommendations to me and will make a presentation of those recommendations to Chapter. As it is his Cathedral, the Bishop will have "veto power" over any decision, should he choose to exercise it.
As decisions are made about what goes in the Nave and the Chapel, they will be communicated in terms of the identified values so we can all understand not just what is being done but why.
The team (which still has one vacant seat ... for a young adult) is made up of Bob Schleipman (sr. warden), Pat Partridge (canon precentor), the Rev. Canon John Kilgore (canon minor), Shug Goodlow (head verger), Paul Anderson (Cathedral archivist) and the Rev. Dr. Lydia Agnew Speller (priest of the Diocese of Missouri), and me. Please feel free to talk with any of us about this endeavor!
As information comes in from the Cathedral congregation, the people of the Diocese and representatives of downtown St. Louis in chapter's process of identifying our shared, core values, that information will be made available to this team so that it may be considered as well.
We had our first meeting on Monday and laid out the process. We wil start with six questions to frame our work:
I – What pieces of scripture might be helpful to us as guides as we go through this process?
II – What personal opinions (micro to macro) do we bring to this conversation before it starts? (This is about owning our baggage up front)
III - What factors (physical realities, constituencies who use the space, purposes for the space, etc.) do we need to keep in mind as we develop the values that will guide our recommendations?
IV – What history can we be aware of that is essential to or will help us in this process?
V – What values data do we have from other people/constituencies that we need to consider?
VI – Are there other Cathedrals or sources of wisdom we can tap to help us in this process?
We believe that as we engage these questions a way forward will emerge and that a set of values will emerge. While I don’t want to drag our feet on this, this shouldn’t be driven by an artificial deadline. So we're going to do it as quickly as we can and still do it really, really well. We hope that timetable will emerge in the coming weeks. (remember ... We Have Time!)
Throughout the process, I'll use this blog and the On The Table forums to share how the conversation is proceeding and what we are learning. I have asked all the members of this team to engage people in conversation and listen deeply so that we can bring everyone's voice to the table. Please keep this process in your prayers.
Why is this important for Christ Church Cathedral? This is definitely one of those instances where the journey is at least as important - if not more - than the destination. And in that, it has a lot in common with much of what we are doing at Christ Church Cathedral. Following Jesus and loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is not just about doing the right thing but about being thoughtfully, prayerfully aware of WHY we are doing it. The decisions we make about what we put in our worship spaces send messages to everyone who enters about what the life of Christ is like (or isn't like) in those spaces. It's worth spending time considering.
What do you think?
2 comments:
I was intrigued, Mike, when you raised the question of congregational banners at Grace on Saturday.
I hope you heard clearly that we value having our banners on display at the Cathedral -- as a sign that the Cathedral is our "home" in this diocese.
I like to think that the banners incline you think of the rest of us as you gather each Sunday.
I heard that some of the banners have become rather "ratty." I didn't know that. If we need to refresh our banners, let us know and make us accountable.
While I would like to see banners displayed in the Cathedral, I don't care where. If they should be on smaller stands in the perimeter of the nave, that's fine with me.
But I do hope you will find a way to keep the congregations of the diocese present in some way within the sacred space of the Cathedral.
I believe the nave of the church should be kept as a place for worship, banners take away from the beauty of the Cathedral, there is natural beauty there. Banners are fine but not in the actual worship space.
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