Canon Lee
This Sunday, the Cathedral welcomes the Most Reverend and Right Honorable Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, to the pulpit. At the service, the first cohort of the Community at the Crossing will be received and vested. It will be a historic occasion. All of our Bishops will attend.
Many people have worked very hard over the past five years to bring us to this transformative moment. Most important is Dean Malloy. He had the vision to create a sister community to the Community of St. Anselm at Lambeth Palace here at the Cathedral.
In November 1919, the Board of Trustees adopted the following statement to be the Cathedral's guiding vision:
The Cathedral is the Church of the Diocese of New York. As a house of prayer it is for the use of all people who may resort thereto, especially of the Christian folk dwelling within that portion of the country covered by the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of New York, and besides, it is an instrument of Church Unity and a center of intellectual light and leading in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Last September, Pope Francis, Archbishop Welby, and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople—the heads of the three largest Christian denominations in the world—spoke in support of the Community at the Crossing. With this initiative, the Cathedral is realizing its historic mission to be an "instrument of Church Unity."
I am so pleased that in recognition of his outstanding work, the Board of Trustees this week elected Patrick Malloy as the 11th Dean of the Cathedral.
The Rev. Canon Steven Lee
Vicar
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FIND YOUR SEAT AT THE CATHEDRAL
At every event and service, there is a seat for everyone at the Cathedral.
This spring, we will receive 2,000 new chairs that we will use when we gather.
We invite our community to name these chairs in honor of family members, friends, beloved church leaders, or even pets. For each gift of $250, we will engrave a plaque with your chosen name(s) that will be placed on the back of each chair beneath a beautiful etching of our historic rose window! The Cathedral is a treasured gathering place for the City, and these beautiful new chairs will be a gift to our vibrant community.
NOTE: As chairs in the Cathedral are consistently rearranged, we can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to sit in or visit your chair but are happy to facilitate a picture of your engraving as possible!
Stay tuned for the donation form, which will go live on Sunday, October 1: St. Francis Day.
Interested in making a major gift to help underwrite the cost of these chairs, and honor a wider community? Contact Taylor M. Johnson at tjohnson@stjohndivine.org.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Sunday, Sept 24, 10:30 AM - Investiture of the first Community at the Crossing. The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby, will preach.
RSVP: Please click Here.
Sunday, Oct 1, 10:30 AM - The Feast of St. Francis with the return of the Procession of Animals
Passes: Please click Here.
*Donate: Please click Here.
*Gifts of $300 or more will be thanked with a reserved seat at the service. If you would like to learn more, or honor a loved one, either pet or person, by sponsoring an animal in the procession, please contact Priscilla Bayley at pbayley@stjohndivine.org. You may also give using the QR Code below.
Thursday, Oct 12, 6:00 PM - Public Opening of Divine Pathways, a site-specific installation by artist Anne Patterson.
RSVP: Please click Here.
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DAILY PRAYER IN COMMUNITY
Morning Prayer
8:00 AM - Online Diocesan service led by Bishop Heyd and Postulants and Candidates for Ordination. Link.
8:00 AM - In-person service led by the Community at the Crossing / Chemin Neuf in the Cathedral. Starting in mid-September.
8:30 AM - Online Cathedral service. Link.
Evening Prayer
5:30 PM - Online Cathedral service. Link.
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CONGREGATION FALL RETREAT AT HOLY CROSS
October 27-29, 2023
“Fall Triduum” led by Brother Robert Sevensky
The Fall Triduum refers to the three days that come during the week following our retreat weekend: Halloween, All Saints and All Souls and mirrors in a way the Spring or Easter Triduum, though in a minor key. We will explore the rich religious and folk history as well as the music and art surrounding these days: What does the Fall Triduum represent to us and how does it impact us even--perhaps especially--today? There is a mystical spirituality latent in this period that has its own power and excitement.
Where: Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, N.Y.
When: Friday, October 27, 2023 - Sunday, October 29, 2023
Leader: Brother Robert Sevensky
Cost: $300, includes private room with shared bath, and six meals (Friday supper-Sunday lunch).
Available Slots: 15
How to Register: Please register and pay through this link in Realm (Deadline: Sept. 30) (Payment is due upon registration.)
Contact Person: Michael Nixon
This retreat will be a wonderful experience, discussing a topic that would be of interest to many, led by Brother Robert Leo, who has worked with the Congregation of St. Saviour in the past. It is also a wonderful way to connect with members of the congregation more deeply and share something special.
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THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
In-Person Community
8:30 AM - Volunteer at the soup kitchen of Cathedral Community Cares
10:00 AM - Cathedral doors open
10:30 AM - Sunday service with Investiture of the first Community at the Crossing
4:00 PM - Evensong
Online Community
10:30 AM - Live-stream of Sunday service
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Congregation Column
Reflecting on the Creation of the Community of the Crossing
Bob Deming, Warden
I am a bystander of this long developing initiative, but from my position on the side let me share a few key moments of development I experienced and speculate about that which might still be to come. One forewarning about my reflection: it is longer than what I ordinarily write for News from the Congregation. My rationale is that I am seeking to add my voice to an important event in the life of the Cathedral: namely, this Investiture of the First Community at the Crossing that will be taking place at this Sunday’s service.
My first encounter with this initiative was about five years ago. Reverend Patrick Malloy visited the Vestry of the Congregation in October 2018. He gave a lengthy presentation about CoSA, the Community of St. Anselm, a new monastic community for young people at Lambeth Palace, which is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. We watched a two-minute video, “A Year in God’s Time,” which is available online.
Reverend Malloy explained that Justin Welby the Archbishop of Canterbury had recently visited the Cathedral and met with the Board of Trustees and the Clergy about having a similar Community of St. Anselm at the Cathedral. The faculty for CoSA has been Chemin Neuf, a Catholic community with an ecumenical vision, and this same faculty would likely be involved in this new initiative at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine.
The next key moment for me occurred about a year ago at the special service on Thursday, September 8, 2022 in support of this new ecumenical program for young people at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Its name would be the Community at the Crossing. I thought, what a great name, simple but profound. I recently looked up what is written about the name. The Cathedral’s website explains: “The community draws its name from an architectural element, the central heart of the cruciform design on the building.”
The restoration of the roof at the crossing was completed in the last year, and there are presently two exhibits. The one on the south side has pictures of this restoration project. The one on the north side recounts the history of the dome over the crossing. It was built in 1909 in less than six months by the R. Guastovino Company. One of the panels explains that the Cathedral is incomplete. The Cathedral is supposed to be in the shape of a cross. The longer east-west axis is complete, whereas the shorter north-south axis is not. There were architectural plans in the 1960s about completing this north-south axis, and there was one drawing showing how this might be accomplished. A decision, however, was made that this would not be worth pursuing due to the immense cost. I noted the perspective of Bishop Donegan expressed in 1967: “This unfinished cathedral, towering as it does over this great and suffering metropolis, shall be the prophetic symbol that our society is still as rough-hewn, ragged, broken and incomplete as the building itself.”
At that time, I also took a screenshot of the imagery connected to the Community at the Crossing.
My reaction was similar to how I responded to the name: simple and profound.
Looking ahead, I wondered what the Community of the Crossing might mean for the young people who are part of the program. This is an open-ended query, with, no doubt, many different answers for the different people involved. Nonetheless, I try to imagine specific interpretations, if only the sake of arriving at a clearer view of what might be the long-term value of this new initiative.
The first picture that came to my mind derived from about twenty years ago. The 2000s marked the beginning of the 21st century and the beginning of the new millennium. I remember Thomas L. Friedman’s The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (2005), which became a global bestseller. Friedman argued that the world is becoming flatter at this stage in history.
This small group that is the first Community of the Crossing has the unique opportunity to explore an alternative reality for the early 21st century. They are exploring becoming tall in spirit. That certainly fits with the design of the Gothic cathedral that is to be their spiritual home for these next ten months.
So, what might becoming tall in spirit mean? One interpretation is rising above. If one is afflicted with something, one can rise above, if not physically, at least mentally and/or spiritually. The young people in this program are at a stage of life where they are not likely to be afflicted with a host of physical ailments. I repeat: what might becoming tall in spirit mean for them? I am not sure, but I offer two possibilities.
The first possibility is playing off the quote of Bishop Donegan in 1967. Being tall in spirit may suggest the distinctiveness of our incomplete crossing at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It towers above, yet it is part of a building that is rough-hewn, ragged, broken and incomplete. Vastly different experiences—towering above as well as being rough-hewn, ragged, broken and incomplete--are likely to take place for those who are part of the Community of the Crossing.
The second possibility is playing off the symbol of the cross. The Cathedral’s website indicates: “To be the Community at the Crossing, we must be rooted in the cross of Jesus, which is what will enable us to turn to go toward the other, to cross over.” Picture oneself at the Crossing in the Cathedral, under the dome. Look to the west toward the entrance of the Cathedral on Amsterdam Avenue, where the great bronze doors are. Above are the two magnificent rose stained-glass windows. The larger one up top suggests heaven, and the smaller one below suggests earth. What makes the young people tall in spirit is that they are encountering a new type of higher education that encompasses heaven and earth as an interrelated dynamic. The way to exist in this dynamic is their life together. The Community at the Crossing is a collective endeavor.
In my bystander’s location, I am excited about watching, and hearing about, what is to come for the First Community of the Crossing.
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