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IOWA CELEBRATED IN SPECIAL WORSHIP WASHINGTON – Worshipers celebrated the people and leaders of Iowa at a special service March 19 at Washington National Cathedral that featured a guest preacher from Des Moines and others who traveled from the state to take part. The Right Rev. Gregory V. Palmer, resident bishop of the Iowa Area of the United Methodist Church, was spotlighted at Iowa State Day. Palmer addressed close to 900 people from the historic Canterbury Pulpit, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his final Sunday sermon in 1968. Palmer offered an interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which God delivered to the Israelites as they fled slavery in Egypt. Palmer pointed out that God chose to make himself known at a time when the Israelites were in suffering, and not, he pointed out, when things were “peachy-keen.” “The God who cast his lot with a people who were in bondage is the same God who casts his lot with us no matter what our bondage is,” Palmer said. While people “get scared off by rules” and lists, Palmer said God did not deliver the commandments to set “an impossible standard” for man, but to give man “courage and hope to live like that.” Palmer urged worshipers to keep in mind that “God is for me, not against me.” The Right Rev. Alan Scarfe, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, led the visiting congregation and served as celebrant of the Cathedral’s 11 am Iowa service. The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of Washington National Cathedral, welcomed the visitors. Washington National Cathedral singles out a state each month for special prayer, inviting worshipers of all faiths to take part. Approximately 75 Iowans and Iowa natives attended the state service, and several played key roles. Pilgrims from Iowa included a half-dozen teen-agers from St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in West Des Moines who were preparing for confirmation in May. Kiera Morrill, 13, listed the ornate cathedral among highlights of the group’s tour of the nation’s capital. “The stained glass windows are really neat. There are a lot of different kinds of art. And in all the structures, everywhere you look, you can see something that you can stare at for hours,” she said. Morrill carried gifts to the altar during the offertory, along with traveling companions Sarah Davis, 13; Ned Montgomery, 17; and Lucy Montgomery, 14. Dale Minner and Jean Paul, both of Creston, also took part in the offertory. Gov. Thomas Vilsack conveyed well wishes in a letter marking Iowa Day. “Iowa has a great reputation and tradition of neighbor helping neighbor and of drawing on the talents and abilities of all members of the community,” Vilsack wrote. “The National Cathedral offers a source of guidance and comfort to many people.” Urbandale Mayor Robert D. Andweg read Scripture during the service. Following the worship visitors were taken on a Cathedral tour that highlighted Iowa elements in the cathedral’s architecture and furnishings, including the state flower—the wild rose—that is represented in the Folger Bay Window.
Go to the Sermons Page to watch, read, or listen to the sermon by the Right Rev. Gregory V. Palmer. Sermons are also available as Podcasts.
ATTN PRINT MEDIA: If you desire e-mail transmission of this account and/or photos sent as JPEG attachments please contact Elizabeth Mullen at the number above. Available on the web site are print-quality photos of Washington National Cathedral (“Photos for Print” under “News” at www.cathedral.org/cathedral). | |