The Cathedral Connection

Each month, Trinity's Web site features an article from our newsletter, The Cathedral Connection.

From the February 2010 issue of the Cathedral Connection

From the Dean

Dateline: 9:00 a.m., Sunday, January 17, 2010, Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio

It is no ordinary Martin Luther King Sunday. Tectonic plates had shifted, the constructed landscape had collapsed, and the earth had swallowed up our neighbors to the south in Haiti. We had been collecting emergency aid money for Episcopal Relief and Development and following the Facebook entries of our former Haitian-American curate Judith Alexis. At the same time, it was the middle of a long weekend. On Friday night, we had welcomed Himie-Budu Shannon as rector at neighboring St. Andrew's Church; on Saturday morning, we ordained to the priesthood our curate Will Mebane; and we were preparing for our annual MLK celebration with Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple.

As I walked into the nave for our 9 a.m. Mostly Jazz Mass, I saw an unusual collection of people gathered for Sunday morning worship in an Episcopal cathedral. There were two retired Presbyterian ministers, an American Baptist minister and her Roman Catholic husband, and a rabbi with members of his reform Jewish congregation. We were gathered to hear a Puerto Rican preacher from the United Church of Christ and an African American Jewish gospel singer. I quickly glanced at the bulletin, hoping that no one would be offended by the words or music printed on those pages.

The worship began as we sang, "I've Decided to Follow Jesus." We then read a portion of the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" penned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963, followed by a passage from the Gospel (Luke 6:27-36) about what Jesus expects of his followers. The preacher delivered a powerful message about justice (you can hear the podcast at
www.trinitycleveland.org).

Following the sermon, I welcomed the gathered community, especially our curate's out-of-town family and friends, and our Jewish sisters and brothers. I shared with them what we do in worship and why we do it. I was reminded of Archbishop Rowan Williams' lecture delivered in 2005 at the Islamic University in Islamabad explaining Christianity to a gathering of Muslim students and scholars:

Imagine someone watching...the things that happen in a Christian church. They would be aware that one day of the week had special significance... They would see that extracts from a holy book were read in public and that instruction was given by leaders of the congregation in how to understand this book. They would perhaps notice that most of the prayers ended with words referring to someone called Jesus Christ, and describing him as 'Lord'...And finally, they would see that new members were brought into the community by a ceremony of pouring water on them or immersing them in water, and that the most regular action performed by communities of different kinds was the blessing and sharing of bread and wine. They would notice, perhaps with bewilderment or even shock, that this sharing of bread and wine was described as sharing the body and blood of Jesus. (You can read this lecture at jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/16308.htm)

I said that we were about to recite our baptismal covenant - to remember the promises made at baptism and reaffirmed at confirmation. I explained that this is what it means for us to be Christians. I said that following this, we would say our prayers for the church and for the world, and then gather for the Eucharist, the blessing and sharing of bread and wine in the name of Jesus. Reminding us all that Jesus was a good and faithful Jew, I invited everyone to gather around the altar, and if moved to receive communion. We then recited our baptismal covenant, said our prayers, and gathered at God's table. It was a powerful experience of God's realm: all sorts and conditions of people worshiping God in a particular way without dismissing, discounting or damning those who come to God by other paths.

People ask me why the language of worship matters so much. My answer is simple: radical faithfulness and hospitality in the name of Jesus. While we are called to be true to our beliefs, we also are called to be attentive to how what we say sounds to the stranger in our midst. The challenges of today's world demand nothing less from us. I hope you will invite your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join you for worship at Trinity Cathedral so that you may share with them your Christian faith and hospitality.

—Faithfully your Dean, Tracey