(NPR) Faith Community Helps Steady National Cathedral After Quake

Standing in the nave of the Cathedral, Alonso, the head stonemason, watches as crews begin attaching the nets to the 100-foot vaulted ceiling. He jingles the chips in his hand ”” the same hands that 20 years ago helped put the final touches on the gothic-style cathedral.

“It’s heartbreaking to me, because I know what went into building this building. When I look at a piece of stone, I can tell you what that stone went through, from [when] it was designed by the architect, sculpted, carved [and] laid in place by the stonemason,” Alonso says. “This is a handmade building.”

Construction on the Episcopal cathedral began in 1907, after Congress granted a charter, and it took 83 years to finish.

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Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * General Interest, Episcopal Church (TEC), Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc., TEC Parishes

3 comments on “(NPR) Faith Community Helps Steady National Cathedral After Quake

  1. Jackson says:

    And sadly a 500 foot crane has fallen at the Cathedral site…http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2532677

  2. Ralph says:

    The Church’s One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord. The architects and builders might not have figured that into the equation.

    The 9/11 prayer vigil, “‘A Call to Compassion’ will include an interfaith prayer vigil on Sept. 11. It will feature the dean of the Cathedral, the Bishop of Washington, a rabbi, Buddhist nun and incarnate lama, a Hindu priest, the president of the Islamic Society of North America and a Muslim musician.”

    What about Bible-believing Christians? Apparently not. When challenged by the Southern Baptists, “Richard Weinberg, the Cathedral’s director of communications, confirmed that Southern Baptists were not extended an invitation to participate. ‘The goal was to have interfaith representation,’ he told Fox News Radio. ‘The Cathedral itself is an Episcopal church and it stands to reason that our own clergy serve as Christian representatives.’”

    Source:
    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/06/evangelicals-left-off-national-cathedral-11-program/

    So, earthquakes and 500-foot cranes could merely be the beginning. How does that other hymn go? “Thou rushing wind that art so strong…”

    I certainly hope that Darth Vader was mounted securely.

  3. evan miller says:

    #2
    I’m quite certain that the cathedral’s architects and builders were very much aware that Jesus Christ is the Church’s one foundation. It’s these later day occupants who have rejected that understanding.