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MINNESOTA CELEBRATED WASHINGTON – When Zibby Allen of Northfield, Minn., entered Washington National Cathedral for the first-ever time on Sept. 17, the things that caught her eye were the cavernous interior and the sun streaming through the stained glass. “I was just very impressed with everything,” said Allen, a 16-year-old high school junior and member of All Saints Episcopal Church. “The stained glass windows were gorgeous, I was very impressed.” A short time later, Allen accompanied by three other acolytes from Minnesota churches marched down the center aisle of the cathedral nave, carrying banners signifying the start of a worship service celebrating the people and leaders of their home state. About three dozen Minnesotans journeyed East, where they met with dozens more natives of the state who now live in the nation’s capital. They gathered for the 11 a.m. service marking Minnesota State Day at the Cathedral, the sixth-largest in the world. The Right Rev. James L. Jelinek, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, was chief guest celebrant. He was assisted by the Venerable Irma Wyman, archdeacon for the diaconate of the sprawling statewide diocese. Washington National Cathedral, in seeking to fulfill its outreach mission, sets aside one day each month to spotlight a state and lift it in prayer. An estimated 793 worshipers attended Minnesota Day. The visitors were greeted by the Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, Dean of Washington National Cathedral. “This is one of the ways we act out our connection to the people around the nation,” Lloyd said. Lloyd noted several Minnesotans are on the Cathedral staff, including the Rev. Canon John Peterson, canon for global justice and reconciliation, and the Rev. Canon Howard Anderson, warden of the Cathedral College. Lloyd also delivered the sermon, in which he explored how Christians have characterized Jesus Christ over time in response to the question Jesus posed in the Gospel: “Who do you say that I am?” During his lifetime, Jesus was considered a teacher and rabbi, Lloyd said. After his death, he came to be regarded as a savior, and later as “the crucified Savior who died to set people free from their sins.” Wielding a small knife, Thomas Jefferson excised the supernatural and mystical parts of the New Testament, leaving intact passages that portray Jesus as a philosopher and teacher, Lloyd said. At various times, and by various interests, Jesus has been characterized as a socialist, a capitalist, a civil rights activist, a hippie, a revolutionary, and even a CEO, in a book that contains “all the advice on how to make money the Jesus way,” Lloyd said. Lloyd said many people “are shrinking Jesus to their own categories, turning him into the things they need most. “The Jesus we hear about is all about us,” a private, and individualistic, and self absorbed version of Jesus, Lloyd said. As a nation where Christians are in the majority, the United States ranks poorly in matters of foreign aid, pre-school availability, childhood nutrition, infant mortality and many other areas, “the very categories that Jesus cared most about.” The sermon drew praise from Bishop Jelinek. “The dean was essentially talking about how much the United States has done a religion of privatism with Jesus, and we are no longer dealing with the prophetic dimensions of Jesus,” Jelinek said. “We certainly are not dealing with Jesus the healer of the wounded, the reconciler of the broken, the giver to the needy. “It was in the mid-90s when our country was the very richest that we started becoming the most stingy in terms of cutting down on social services in this country,” Jelinek said. “Our hearts became harder the wealthier we became as a nation and as individuals. “Minnesotans have a very, very strong charitable giving tradition, but it’s not as good as it was,” Jelinek said. Bronwyn Clark Skov of Hastings, read Scripture at the service. Skov, canon missioner for faith formation for the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, also was adviser to Minnesota teenaged acolytes who took part in the service. Skov attended two previous Minnesota-themed services at the Cathedral along with young worshipers. She said they approached each event with a different purpose. “The first time we came, we took pilgrimage very seriously,” Skov said. “We did a pilgrimage in Washington DC that included the Cathedral but not exclusively. The second time we focused on social justice issues and did some learning. This time we did the pilgrimage here (at Washington National Cathedral), so it had much more of a spiritual aspect.” The pilgrimage program is a contemplative Cathedral College program that invites participants to slow down and discover centering and silent prayer. In addition to Zibby Allen, Minnesota acolytes who took part in the service were Joren Skov, 15, of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Hastings; Chris Olson, 15, of All Saints in Northfield; and Bennet Hull, 14, of Gethsemane in Minneapolis. Harry Bernat, a native of St. Paul who lives in the Washington area, carried the state flag during the opening procession, and placed it on the chancel steps where it was to remain for a week in further recognition of the state. Bernat, a stockbroker and income tax adviser, is president of the Minnesota State Society, the organization of North Star State natives now making their homes in the nation’s capital. Susan Barksdale of Minneapolis; Frank Mislivec of Richfield; his son Mark Mislivec; Scott Brown of Harmony; Jonathan Moore, a native of Redwood Falls; and Monica Griffis and her 7-year-old daughter Caroline, delivered gifts to the altar during the Offertory. Anne Lewis, a Duluth native, and her husband, Peter Nord, executive presbyter of the Presbyter of Baltimore, also took part in the Offertory.
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). | |