Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Washington National Cathedral

Today in the Washington National Cathedral, another American milestone will be passed. The main bell will toll thirty-eight times in honor of President Gerald Ford, for whom a memorial service will include eulogies from the sitting President, a former President, and Henry Kissinger.
Our National Cathedral was the setting for an official gathering to mourn all those who were killed on September 11, 2001.
It has been the scene of many priestly ordinations. More recently its stones witnessed the installation of Katharine Jefferts Schori as the first female Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church U.S.A.


Here is a bit of history from a Cathedral website:

"In 1893 the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation of the District of Columbia was granted a charter from Congress to establish the cathedral and the site on Mount Saint Albans was chosen. Bishop Satterlee chose Frederick Bodley, England's leading Anglican church architect, as the head architect. Henry Vaughan was selected to be the supervising architect. The building of the cathedral finally started in 1907 with a ceremonial address by President Theodore Roosevelt. When construction of the cathedral resumed after a brief hiatus for World War I, both Bodley and Vaughan had passed away; American architect Philip Hubert Frohman took over the design of the cathedral and is known as the principal architect. The Cathedral has been the location of many significant events, including the funeral services of Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower. Its pulpit was the last one from which Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke prior to his assassination. The Cathedral is the burial place of many notable people, including Woodrow Wilson, Helen Keller, Admiral George Dewey, Bishop Satterlee and the architects Henry Vaughan and Philip Frohman.
The Cathedral is located at the corner of Wisconsin and Massachusetts Aves. It is open to the public daily from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. Gardens are open daily until dusk. Good Shepherd Chapel is open for private prayer 6:00 am to 10:00 pm daily. Metro stop: Tenleytown/AU"

The Washington National Cathedral is our cathedral. You might want to put it on the list of places to visit on your next tour of the Capitol, or visit their website at http://www.cathedral.org/cathedral/. Drop by and say hello.



Pastor Linda
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

1 comment:

King of Peace said...

National Cathedral is a national treasure, a holy place overlooking the nation's capitol. I think a visit to D.C. is incomplete without spending at least a little time in our nation's cathedral, especially for Episcopalians.

peace,
Frank+