News from the Congregation July 21, 2020
Christ’s Light in Stained Glass and in Us; Longing for Ordinary Times
From Fr. Steven
If you are looking for something soothing to watch in these stressful days, might I suggest this documentary on the German painter Gerhard Richter? It is currently available for free on the Met Museum website, and portions of this beautiful and spare documentary just show Richter painting, without any commentary.
I first saw it years ago at Film Forum, when my wife and I were dating, and the images (and sounds) of Richter scraping paint with his brushes have stayed with me until now. Watching him work is hypnotic.
For members of our Cathedral community, Richter may have a special resonance for another reason. As one of Germany’s most famous and accomplished artists, he was chosen to design a new stained-glass window for the cathedral in Cologne. The new window would replace one that had been destroyed in World War II.
When Richter’s startling design was unveiled to the public in 2007, the reaction was as you might expect: there was a storm of controversy. The church hierarchy was displeased by the abstract design, and the archbishop did not attend the installation ceremony.
But, as critic James Romaine noted, there is something profoundly Christian about this window created by an agnostic German artist:
While much of the discussion of Richter’s window has focused on its design and process, the work’s breathtaking effect is ultimately realized in the context of the cathedral. In fact, the window now seems like an inseparable part of the structure. Barbara Schock-Werner has said that the window “looks like it has always been here.”
Within the architecture, Richter’s design is at once fixed and moving, expanding and framed. A magnificent Gothic work, Cologne Cathedral might have aesthetically overwhelmed many window designs. Conversely, an artist might have introduced a design that called excessive attention to itself in an effort to contend with the cathedral’s volume.
Richter’s design balances an overall simplicity with a complexity of detail that fits, without disruption, into its total environment. The actual experience of the window (as distinct from photographs emphasizing Richter’s individual work) is the effect of light passing through it on the entire cathedral space.
The window is a model of a life of faith that, rather than calling attention to its own faithfulness, is a medium by which the light of Christ bathes and transforms everything and everyone in its sphere. As faith depends on Christ, the window depends on light for its life. Light makes the window three-dimensional; without light, it is only a flat design waiting to be realized. Without Christ, faith is a two-dimensional cutout waiting to be brought to life.
As we long for the day when we can one day enter our own Cathedral and be bathed in its transforming light, I pray that we too might also reflect on how our faith is “brought to life” by Jesus Christ.
From the Wardens
Longing for Ordinary Times
Isn’t it ironic that the coronavirus pandemic which took over our lives during Lent has lasted through all of Eastertide? This is the first Easter in our lifetimes that we have declared our daily Alleluias separated from one another in our apartments, many of us totally alone. Maybe we take a walk now and then in the park, but then we wear our masks and gloves, avoid other people and scurry back to our apartments to wash wash wash those hands! Our brothers are growing impressive, Rip Van Winkle beards. We all need haircuts. The senior warden will soon be able to go back to wearing her librarian’s bun. Now we are moving through the last Sunday in Easter and on to Trinity, Pentecost and ordinary time. How we long for ordinary time!
A saving grace to all this isolation has been the ability to connect in new ways with one another through virtual church services. A reading group meets weekly. The vestry and its committees continue their work. Morning and evening prayer have become an important ritual for many of us. In addition to using the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer, we get to experiment with other prayer books on Saturday. Officiants are the same people who led the offices in the chapel when we were still home at the Cathedral. A responder is chosen as well as readers of the two lessons. The offices grow in meaning as we do them on a regular basis.
Mimi Hendricks, who attends Morning Prayer, mentioned how the office itself has begun to feel like a conversation. We are getting to know each other in a deeper way. Some of us have used the time together each morning and evening to share concerns and losses. We sometimes get into fascinating ad hoc discussions of the readings, usually after the office ends. There are tears, but there is also laughter. If you have a prayer concern or long for some church community, do join us any morning at 8:30 or evening at 5:30 Monday through Saturday. You can join the Cathedral Zoom by clicking here.
Last Sunday the virtual coffee hour at noon was hosted by YESS (Young Episcopalians of Saint Saviour). We were invited to play a March Madness (or Lent Madness) type of game where we chose the best Episcopal hymn of all time. There was a lot of laughter in the process and we ended up with the consensus that Lift Every Voice and Sing was the winner. It’s not exactly an Episcopal hymn but rather the Black National Anthem adopted by the NAACP in 1900. It’s a real rouser with an interesting, and moving history.
However you are dealing with these difficult times, please know that we are praying for all of our community and are looking forward to the day when we meet again face to face!
Blessings from Tim and Marsha