Cathedral Connects

It's been a week since a bruising presidential election, and Canon Historian Jon Meacham has some words of wisdom from our history.

Today, America woke up to a new President, a new Congress and a new understanding of who we are as a nation. For some, this was a long-sought victory after years of work and organizing; for others, this seismic shift feels disorienting and disheartening.  

The Cathedral is sad to share the news that our beloved colleague in ministry, the Very Rev. Robert Willis, Dean Emeritus of Canterbury Cathedral, passed away unexpectedly yesterday.  

Did you ever jump in a pile of leaves as a child? That fluffy mound of red, orange, and brown practically begs children everywhere to take a running leap and jump.

I have a Bible that I use for personal devotion, bound in a red cover with my name emblazoned in gold letters on the front cover. Inside the front cover is an inscription with the date and place this Bible was gifted.

“How, really, do you keep hoping?” my son once asked me. “You lived through the 1960s, and here we are again. Aren’t you just tired of it all?”  

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you," Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Luke. For those looking for spiritual guidance in how to live in these turbulent and polarized times, Jesus’ advice may seem either naïve or simply impossible.

To state the obvious, finding common ground with those with whom we fundamentally disagree is one of the greatest challenges of our time. It seems we too quickly categorize and “write off” people who hold different views.  

Our dear friend Virginia Mars died on Sept. 1 at age 94. Ginnie holds a special place in our hearts for her friendship, her leadership and her passionate commitment to this Cathedral.

Chances are, if you’re anything like me, you look around our nation right now and you’re deeply concerned by what you see.