Hello St. Paul’s,
As you are probably aware, we hosted the annual conference of the North American Cathedral Deans last weekend. We welcomed some 43 deans and a dozen spouses for the weekend, coming from all over the US and Canada, plus the Bahamas and even the Dean of the Anglican Cathedral in Brasilia, Brazil (incidentally, the only female Dean in South America).
The weekend was packed with activities and opportunities to show off San Diego and St. Paul’s. We heard presentations on the history of San Diego and the cathedral; the diocesan Mission Real Estate and border ministry initiatives; Light up the Cathedral for Pride; St Teresa of Avila; and our space rentals ministry. We enjoyed a beautiful opening Evensong with a homily from Bishop Susan, followed by a dinner in the cathedral nave. We took a “field trip” to the Museum of Us and heard a compelling talk from the ED, Micah Parzen, followed by time at their signature exhibits on race and the human cost of closing the border. We had a photo scavenger hunt in Balboa Park. Voices of our City brought us to laughter and tears before we joined with them for a fish taco dinner al fresco in the Dean’s Courtyard. There was plenty of free time on Saturday for the deans to explore San Diego, and on Sunday morning the Very Rev. Owen Thompson, dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, Ohio, preached a wonderful sermon, before everyone scattered to catch flights home.
Our cathedral photographer, Susan Forsburg, took pictures of Thursday’s dinner and Sunday morning, and our a/v team Mark Sanzi and Ty Cayatineto filmed all the presentations. You can find photos on our Flickr account (Click Here).
And videos on our YouTube channel (Click Here)
Our team of staff and volunteers worked for a year on planning the conference, and it was an intense and fabulous weekend. I am very grateful for all who helped to offer warm hospitality and excellent organization. Our cathedral really shone!
See you on Sunday.
Your sister in Christ,
Penny
