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September 24, 2019 - 1:13 PM
Blessing of the Animals Tapestry
By Susan Martin Maffei - 0 Comments
Susan Martin Maffei is an internationally known tapestry artist who began coming to the Cathedral in the mid-1980s while working as a weaver at the Scheuer Tapestry Studio to work with Bruce Hutchison, then director of the Textile Conservation Lab. In this post, she recalls how she was inspired to weave the Blessing of the Animals tapestry. I visited the Cathedral often to see the new carvings on one of the front entrances and to visit the tapestries. One morning I stumbled on crowds of people surrounding the church at what I would learn was the Feast of Saint Francis service with their pets being interviewed and filmed by television personalities. I was amazed at the variet... -
September 3, 2019 - 1:02 PM
A Sermon from St. Paul's Cathedral, London
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The Cathedral Choristers have returned to New York City from their trip to the U.K., but memories of the visit will surely linger on over the months and years to come. While the choristers were abroad, they spent time singing in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, participating in a cultural exchange of music and spirituality with our English neighbors. On August 18, during the choristers' residency, the following sermon was preached at St. Paul's Cathedral by The Rev. Michael Burns, Vicar of Christ Church West Wimbledon. In the spirit of extending that same cultural exchange, the full text of the sermon is included below. 350 years ago in 1669, the task of designing a replacement structure for the old St. Paul's Cathedral was officially assigned to the architect Sir Christ... -
August 27, 2019 - 1:18 PM
2019 St. Francis Day Fair and Blessing of the Animals FAQ
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What is the Feast of Saint Francis? The Feast of Saint Francis is observed by Christians around the world every year on October 4 to commemorate the life of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. At the Cathedral, we celebrate this Feast on the first Sunday of October. For over 30 years, the celebration has included a Festal Eucharist featuring the Procession of Animals and Paul Winter and Paul Halley’s Missa Gaia (Earth Mass) performed by the Paul Winter Consort, Cathedral Choir and visiting choirs followed by the St. Francis Day Fair and Blessing of the Animals on the Pulpit Green. How is the Cathedral celebrating this year? This year we will celebrate on Sunday, October 6 with an aft... -
August 27, 2019 - 12:01 PM
Memorial Art Gallery Survey
By Rebecca Merrill - 0 Comments
For over 15 years, the Textile Conservation Lab at the Cathedral has worked with the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) at the University of Rochester in New York on surveying their collection of tapestries, embroideries, ecclesiastic textiles, small domestic needlework, lace, costumes, and ethnographic pieces among many others. Grant funding made the work possible in three phases (tapestries, embroideries, and then the rest) to provide MAG with a better understanding of the depth and breadth of their collection with an immediate goal to design new, appropriate storage for the collection. -
August 21, 2019 - 2:55 PM
Frederick Franck's Banner of Humankind
By Rebecca Merrill - 0 Comments
In addition to the AIDS banner, another piece the Textile Conservation Lab has taken in after the Cathedral's Palm Sunday fire is Frederick Franck’s Banner of Humankind. The Lab was quite familiar with the banner, having cleaned it after the fire in the Cathedral in 2001. Most recently, the banner was re-hung as a part of the exhibition Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls -
August 15, 2019 - 4:01 PM
AIDS Memorial Banner
By Rebecca Merrill - 1 Comment
While the Cathedral is undergoing a massive cleaning this summer, all of the objects that were in the Cathedral during April’s fire are also being cleaned. Luckily for us, the Cathedral houses the Textile Conservation Lab, one of the world’s premiere conservation labs. One of the projects the Lab has taken on is the AIDS Memorial banner. The Cathedral’s AIDS Memorial, located in the Medical Bay -
August 1, 2019 - 2:39 PM
Scaffolding Week!
By Rebecca Merrill - 0 Comments
This week was scaffolding week at the Cathedral as crews both inside and out worked to erect massive scaffolding. Outside, crews working to repair the dome scaled the south side of the Cathedral, which, at times, blocked off parts of the Upper Drive. At the same time, ACT’s water carnival filled the drive with water rides, providing a much needed cool-down from this week’s high temperatures. Inside the Cathedral, workers began building the scaffolding in the Great Choir and in the Chapel of St. James that will be used for workers to clean the su... -
July 22, 2019 - 4:32 PM
Update on the Feast of St. Francis 2019
By The Right Reverend Clifton Daniel III - 6 Comments
For over 125 years, our famously unfinished Cathedral has been a work in progress. Now is no different: currently we are undertaking the massive task of cleaning the entire Cathedral in the wake of a fire that occurred on April 14, Palm Sunday. Though the fire itself was small, the resulting smoke that filled the Cathedral left behind residue that, if left unattended, could create massive consequences for years to come. The work is necessary but is not easy. We’ve had to make tough decisions about closing off parts of the... -
July 1, 2019 - 10:34 AM
Limited Access and Early Closings in the Cathedral
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Information updated 10/11/19 Schedule Changes The Cathedral will be closed for sightseeing from 3-4 pm on Saturday, October 12. Cleaning and Conservation On Palm Sunday 2019, a fire in the Cathedral's Crypt filled the building with smoke. In the immediate aftermath, workers cleaned everything in the Cathedral below 10 feet. This summer, workers are undertaking an extensive project to clean and conserve everything above 10 feet. This work will lead to ongoing and intermittent limited access to many parts of the Cathedral and change where many services and other activities take place. We thank you... -
June 24, 2019 - 11:56 AM
Care Beyond Borders: Care Beyond Borders: Centering Women and Girls in Humanitarian Response Efforts
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On June 12, 2019, as a part of the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, the Cathedral presented a conversation with International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region on the impact of climate disasters and political upheaval on the healthcare of women of reproductive age in Latin America, the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Colombia. Below is the audio and a transcript of the conversation. Moderated by Alexander Sanger,... -
May 29, 2019 - 3:56 PM
Sunday Sermon: Sixth Sunday of Easter
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The Rev. Deacon Gene Bourquin preached the following sermon on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Who doesn’t love a Sabbath healing? Having listened to today’s Gospel, you’re probably expecting a recitation on this theme. Those Pharisees were always going after Jesus for working on Saturday. But I think it’s okay now. I read that gospel a few times, checked with the Dean this morning, and you got permission to go out today and help heal someone. If you’d like to take care of somebody sick, or visit a friend who’s ill, or help a fellow citizen with a disability get down the steps of the subway, please do. I think the matter is settled. -
May 22, 2019 - 1:32 PM
Meet the Artists: Baseera Khan
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Baseera Khan's iamulsima (2018) and Reading Room, On Purpose (2017-2019) appear in the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, now on view in the Cathedral. You can find her on instagram @baseerakhan. What were you thinking about when creating this piece of work? Had you spent any time considering the word “sanctuary”? I was 100% thinking of safety and sharing a space of knowledge, which has always been the one thing that provides me with a sense of sanctuary. I see the shoe box and the footwear as it... -
May 8, 2019 - 2:36 PM
Meet the Art: Muriel Rukeyser Poetry Wall
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As a part of the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, now on view in the Cathedral, we've reinstituted the Muriel Rukeyser Poetry Wall with a printed and digital display as well as online archive. Shirley Paxton Fofang has curated the Wall and responded to her work below. How did you first learn about the Muriel Rukeyser Poetry Wall? What were your first impressions? I first learned about the Muriel Rukeyser Poetry Wall as a student at The Cathedral School. One afternoon in middle school, my classmates and I read through selected poetry submissions and wrote letters in... -
May 8, 2019 - 2:27 PM
The Reverend Doctor William J. Barber, II Preaches
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On Sunday, May 5, The Reverend Doctor William J. Barber, II preached at the Cathedral on the need for a moral Pentecost. -
April 25, 2019 - 2:50 PM
Meet the Artists: Andrew Mroczek and Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo
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Works from Andrew Mroczek and Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo's series Virgenes de la Puerta (Virgin of the Door) appear in the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, now on view in the Cathedral. You can find Andrew on instagram @andrewmroczek. What were you thinking about when creating this piece of work? Had you spent any time considering the word “sanctuary”? The process of creating the Virgenes de la Puerta series began with in-depth conversations with several transgender women in Peru. Aside from the violence and oppression they each... -
April 18, 2019 - 4:08 PM
An Easter Message from the Dean
By The Right Reverend Clifton Daniel III - 1 Comment
Photo Credit: Kay Friday In the musical "Man of la Mancha," based on Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha," Don Quixote sings "To dream the impossible dream..." The Quixotic hero's varied adventures were in search of love, justice and mercy. Sometimes these far-off goals seem like remote ideals, unattainable goals or simply frustrated and unfulfillable hopes. Perhaps the title of the song might be better changed "To live the impossible life..." How much time, energy and money is spent on our illusion and fantasy to live the impossible life - the perfect life without worries, care-free, pain-free, illness and disease vanquished, conflict banished, hatred abandoned, all hope and no despair, plentiful food for everyone and justice for all. This world does not... -
April 3, 2019 - 1:58 PM
Meet the Artists: Fredericka Foster
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Fredericka Foster's Mediterranean Sanctuary and J-35 Pushing Hear Dead Calf appear in the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, now on view in the Cathedral.What were you thinking about when creating this piece of work?I had been making meditative paintings of water, intending to pull both me as the maker and any viewer into the painting, thus attempting to move beyond the conceptual mind and increase our identity with this critical element for our lives. Yet the tragedy we called Hurricane Katrina had begun to affect my thinking. In 2011,... -
March 27, 2019 - 12:46 PM
Meet the Artists: Adam Kuby
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Adam Kuby's Lean-to appear in the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, now on view in the Cathedral. What were you thinking about when creating this piece of work? Had you spent any time considering the word “sanctuary”? Standing in the Cathedral on my first visit I thought about how shelter and sanctuary overlap and I thought of all the people worldwide who are seeking shelter in tents and makeshift quarters. I asked myself how I might create a conversation between those fragile, temporary living situations and the (relatively) permanent stone edifice of St. John the Divine. I was immediately drawn to the carved but unins... -
March 22, 2019 - 11:29 AM
Meet the Artists: Francis Cape
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Francis Cape's Utopian Benches appear in the Value of Sanctuary: Building a House Without Walls, now on view in the Cathedral. What were you thinking about when creating this piece of work? Had you spent any time considering the word “sanctuary”? There is not a short answer to that question. One inspiration is the small town where I live and where neighbors do things for each other without regard to personal gain. In other words, they exhibit behavior that is motivated by values other than the materialist individualism that we are encouraged to live by. My neighbor on one side would cook three meals and walk one across the street to the o... -
March 20, 2019 - 2:12 PM
Dean Daniel on Stage at the Met!
By Rebecca Merrill - 0 Comments
Dean Daniel fulfilled a lifelong dream to be on stage at the Metropolitan Opera last week, when he took the stage during the triumphal march in the opening of the second at of Aida. Thankfully for all of us, NY1 was there!
Due to extensive cleaning and conservation work, there is currently limited access in the Cathedral. Learn more.
