The Heart of our Campus
The wood-paneling and millwork is sumptuous. The space is quiet, warm, and speaks of a robust history that spans more than a century. It binds our life as a congregation and a cathedral to the ministry of our bishops and ties us to the story of the Diocese of Ohio. It reflects the tradition of scholarship and reflection that is a hallmark of the Anglican tradition.
And yet, it doesn’t quite work.
I’m speaking of the Chapter Room, a room at the very center of our campus that is long past its days of regular use. It was the room where Trinity’s vestry once met (using the long table now on the stage in Cathedral Hall), it has been used as a library and a reading room, and is now used, occasionally, for events like family gatherings before funerals and book study groups.
Those are important uses, but can it be more? Can changes in lighting, carpeting, access, and audiovisual equipment help us to retain the beauty and historicity of the space while making it more attractive and functional? Can reflection on the current artifacts and portraiture allow us to use this space to tell a more inclusive story of our past, present, and future? (This question is as functional as it is philosophical: even with no changes, we’re simply out of wall space and couldn’t feature a portrait of our most recently retired bishop, Mark Hollingsworth, even if we wanted to!)
If you’d like to weigh in on the Chapter Room, please join us in that space this Sunday at 9am (between the services) to explore what works, what doesn’t and what’s possible. If you can’t be with us this Sunday, I hope you’ll share your thoughts with me directly.
Faithfully,
The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens