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[Back to index of March articles] Lloyd shares his vision for cathedral's future By Lucy Chumbley With Washington National Cathedral set to celebrate its centennial in 2007, its new dean, the Rev. Samuel Lloyd III, is preparing for the milestone by hosting a series of conversations to "plan and imagine" the cathedral's future. "This is a very lively and interesting time in the life of the cathedral, and we're doing a lot of thinking and dreaming," he told a group of about 60 cathedral staff at a recent breakfast gathering, asking for their help to "think through where we are right now and what we're trying to be and what we could be." He issued a similar invitation at the diocese's 111th annual convention on Jan. 27-28, where he told parish representatives, "We really need your ideas about how this cathedral can serve you and undergird your life in the diocese." While a century is a significant birthday, "in cathedral terms, 100 years is not very much," Lloyd said. "In terms of the life of cathedrals, we're kind of kids - we're learning how to do things." "The heart of the enterprise was getting it built, and that work is done," Lloyd said. Now, he believes, the centennial presents an opportunity to take the next step; considering how to make the best use of the cathedral in the 21st century. To get things rolling, Lloyd has been hosting conversations with all the staff who want to take part - from groundskeepers to clergy - from all the institutions on the close. During one such gathering, Lloyd described his vision for the cathedral as being a voice for generous-spirited Christianity, a place for reconciliation and a people serving a broken world. To welcome all people, the cathedral must make its Sunday worship both engaging and inviting, creating services that people in the community want to come back to, he said. It also must reach out to young people, many of whom are drawn by the anonymity and majesty that worshiping in a cathedral offers. He described his plans for a dean's forum, where speakers from around the country will address "the big questions of the day," and said the Cathedral College has a central role to play in "teaching the Christian faith to a whole range of people in their adult lives." "We look to the Cathedral College to embody that generous Christian faith, and we're looking at ways to get that out over the country," he said. As a place of reconciliation, the cathedral must continue to find ways to "help people come together for larger causes," addressing issues like global poverty and AIDS, he said. To this end, two new staff members - the Rev. William H. Barnwell, who serves as canon missioner, and the Rev. John L. Peterson, the cathedral's first canon for global justice and reconciliation - are helping to further this vision: Barnwell is working to establish and coordinate metropolitan ministries and projects that address poverty, health care and social and economic justice, while Peterson has been charged with organizing a program of education, alliance building, resource gathering and communication to address global issues of violence, poverty and disease. In order to become a place of generous-spirited Christianity and reconciliation, Lloyd said, the cathedral also must build a community of regular worshippers. "We can't be a real place of healing and Christian ministry if there's not a group of people at the heart of this, worshipping together and making this their place of Christian ministry," he said. If you would like to contribute to this conversation, e-mail your thoughts, suggestions and dreams to Vision@cathedral.org. [Back to index of March articles]
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