Letter from Kathleen & Bob: Grand Opening Week Extravaganza

Kathleen Burgess and Bob Oslie tell us more about the Grand Opening Week Extravaganza! Click here for the week’s schedule.

Rev. Richard: Hello, and welcome to this week’s Dean’s letter brought to you by Kathleen Burgess and Bob Oslie, two of our favorites around here. We’re going to be talking a little bit about the grand opening week extravaganza and what it means for this congregation and perhaps our community. So, Kathleen, would you mind kicking us off with just a status report on where we’re at?

Kathleen: Sure. Well, the grand opening week extravaganza of opening our doors to the community in the city is in very good hands with our committee. We have been planning and preparing and we are ready to execute. And our first event is going to be June the fourth with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration. And we are doing this in like conjunction with all over the world. There are neighborhood parties not unlike ours, celebrating the Queen’s Service and of her seven years in the throne. And it being in the Queen’s courtyard, it was I thought pretty applicable. And we have some wonderful photo opportunities, a raffle with memorabilia. We’ll have whimsical tea party food and beverages. It’ll be from 3-6PM on Saturday. And we’ll also do tours of the new space every 15 minutes. That Sunday’s Pentecost, wear read. And then we have Wednesday the labyrinth walk and that’s it’s I think 6-8PM and we will have music from the San Diego Recorder Society I believe the name is and then Thursday the Lori Bell trio from seven to eight and our guild room. Yes, jazz, good jazz, inaugurating our guild room. And I believe she’s Grammy Award winning. So, it’s a big deal. So please come and see and support. There will be a wine and cheese reception. And then we have Saturday, the big soiree with ribbon cutting dignitaries, voices of our city choir, a giant charcuterie board, special cosmic are not positive, special, personalized cocktails for us, and lots of goodies and fun and giving opportunities, ways to pay it forward. And, and so I would say tours of the spaces, it’s going to be extravagant.

Rev. Richard: You’ve done an awesome job setting that up. Thank you, Kathleen. I’m so excited to see it.

Kathleen: Oh, I almost forgot about the blessing on Sunday. And I don’t want to forget that. So, after services, there’ll be blessing with the smoke, holy smoke, and all the goodies and around the building and blessing the building that caps off our week. Tours and more tours to show everybody.

Rev. Richard: That’s awesome. Thank you again, Kathleen, for all you’ve done to make that happen. So, Bob, you’re a tenured member of staff here.

Bob: It’s been more than 10 years.

Rev. Richard: This is a big move for the cathedral, as you know. Would you mind saying what this move into the new space means for you and perhaps for the cathedral as a community?

Bob: We recently enjoyed Memorial Day weekend. And we did this because the freedoms were secured by those that have gone on before us. Places like Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Okinawa, Omaha and Utah beaches. We set aside that day to honor those that have paid the price of our freedom, they paid it forward. Currently, the cathedral is on the verge of moving into new programming and office spaces. And it’s paid for. The debt that was incurred for the construction of these sparkling new spaces was paid for those that have gone on before us. Admittedly, some of them are still with us because it’s only been a little over 20 years since they started this process. And some of them are not. But in their time they paid the price for those spaces. And the areas we now enjoy. We can never pay them back. But we can pay it forward for generations to come.

Richard: Thank you, sir. Well said, well said. And so this last questions a bit more of a free for all. But how will this new space help us to better live into our mission of St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral.

Kathleen: I can start the space have been designed with multifunctional you know intent. It very intentionally multifunctional we can have any kind of interesting thoughtful, artistic, creative, mundane events in these spaces and support them with a features like kitchens and green rooms and AV and really be an asset for the community, a space in Baker’s hill but a space also in the city and really open our doors and really live into our community. Welcome all aspects of our love Christ sir brothers and welcome all motto. So yeah, I think it’s built for community.

Richard: Awesome. Thank you.

Bob: Be excellent to one another and party on and, and do that in community and with your neighbors and who is your neighbor?

Rev. Richard: Anyone standing around?

Bob: Yep, there you go. There you go.

Rev. Richard: Not normal for the interviewer to say something. But I will say that as somebody who’s relatively new to St. Paul’s at seven or so months in this community, this people in this space have always occurred to me as something transformative. And so, I’m deeply excited to see how this new space that opens up all of our old spaces can allow us to pay it forward for the next 20 and who knows how much longer he is ahead. Thank you both so much for all you’ve done to make this happen. Bob, one of your big hurrahs here had towards the end, and we’re grateful for you, and Kathleen again, thank you for all you’ve done to make this happen. This is Reverend Richard, I’ll see you Sunday.