What we now call the Chane Proclamation was posted on the north porch door of the Cathedral in the 1990’s by past Dean John Chane, who later became the Bishop of Washington. It was displayed there until 2018 when the door was re-finished.
The Chane Proclamation is a statement of welcome that sets forth St. Paul’s values as a community of faith, its support of justice, and its relationship to the City of San Diego.
It still speaks to us.
Welcome to St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, San Diego. You have just entered a holy and sacred space.
This cathedral exists as a place of sanctuary and safety. It is a living, breathing, dynamic body, a place that celebrates great diversity and embraces the challenges of change. It stands gracefully in San Diego as a reflector of the events, people, and theological energy that have contributed to the history of the diocese, the city, and the greatness of our Christian Faith.
St. Paul’s Cathedral is a center of sacred prayer, listening, and discernment. It shines brightly as a promised place of lively and often-times controversial discourse centering around the important and critical issues of our time, issues that affect all of us and either threaten or affirm who we are as God’s people.
It is a safe and holy center of worship, clearly defined by the phrase, “Common Ground,” where people who may be deeply divided and alienated on issues of theology, doctrine, ministry, denominational tradition, social, moral, and ethical concerns, can come together for dialogue and patient sharing, and where such sharing can permit a common, respected vision of God’s love for all persons.
St. Paul’s Cathedral is a place where diversity is respected, encouraged, and protected. All persons who enter this sacred space enter with the promise that they will be free to be who they are and what God intended them to be. In this holy place, diversity is sacramentally united in the divine mystery of common prayer, sacred listening, healing, reconciliation, and God’s love.
If you are visiting for just a few moments or a few hours, please know that you are granted immunity from the painful ravages of religious bigotry and intolerance. St. Paul’s exists for people of all religious faiths and beliefs and for others who have yet to discover the direction of their own spiritual journey.
St. Paul’s exists as a gift from the Holy Spirit to you. It is a place where a loving God who sees all life as being divinely connected in a sacred and unbroken unity receives your thoughts, reflections, meditations, prayers, tears, anger, and joy.
This is the same God who calls each of us by name and respects us with such unconditional love and acceptance that Jesus, God’s Son, died on the Cross for our healing, wholeness, and reconciliation. The gift of Jesus’ resurrection is given to each person who wishes to receive it, infinite forgiveness, eternal life, and unconditional love.
St. Paul’s Cathedral offers what the world can never give – the peace of God that passes all understanding. Enter these doors in peace and begin your journey anew.
