Welcome to the Dean’s Page of the Cathedral of St. Paul website. You will find here some of my writings and thoughts about cathedral life and ministry and other matters. I welcome your comments and suggestions. I believe Anglican and Episcopal Cathedrals, including ours in Erie, have a unique and important vocation in today’s church and society. I invite you to find a place in a cathedral or other congregation near you.
We live in a time when many people are discovering or rediscovering various spiritual practices. Perhaps this is because we live in a cultural and even religious environment which is intellectually and emotionally overwhelming in the sheer amount of information that comes before us, let alone the pace of change. Spiritual practices can give some focus and pathway. (more…)
Can we imagine a grown up church? A church where people take mature, healthy responsibility for their faith and practice as well as their active participation in the life and work of the congregation and the wider church community? (more…)
In February 2009, I had the opportunity to make some remarks to the Northern European Cathedral Conference in Uppsala, Sweden. I was invited to speak briefly as an Episcopalian to this diverse and ecumenical group of cathedral leaders. (more…)
Faithful, Missional, and Sustainable – these are the three words that have emerged from my praying and pondering as we at the Cathedral face up to the economic and other challenges of these days. The three are dynamically interrelated; we can’t think about one for very long without coming to another. And what we think about each shapes and is shaped by what we think about the others. I believe we can use them as a guide as we make our way through these times and beyond. (more…)
During the summer of 2008, I had the sabbatical opportunity to spend time at three great churches – The Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher) in Jerusalem, St. Peters Basilica in Rome, and the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
I had been to the Holy Sepulcher before, (more…)
I hesitate to speak too easily of a “vision,” especially “my vision.” I am more at home speaking of “sightings” or even “glimpses.” These signposts can really only be fully seen from within the local context, and they are lived out more like an adventure to be undertaken than an agenda to be implemented. But, for urban cathedrals, there are some common directions. (more…)
