I have been part of more than a few
conversations with pastors about whether to allow patriotism into a church
sanctuary or service. Sometimes, before Memorial or Independence Day, there
will be an argument (sorry, "discussion") about whether "Battle
Hymn of the Republic" can be used in the order or service or "God
Bless America" can be a prelude. Sometimes, the discussion is whether
there should be a U.S. flag in the sanctuary, and if so, should it be taller
than the Christian flag. At the heart of these discussions is whether giving
honor to the country and not just God in church constitutes idolatry.
The more well-known debate, of
course, is whether religion should be allowed in government institutions,
meetings and ceremonies. One lawsuit after another has been litigated about
allowing prayer in schools and governmental meetings. Should a statue of the
Ten Commandments be allowed in front of a court building? Should "In God
we trust" be on our coins?
Thomas Jefferson wrote of a wall
separating church and state, but more accurately it might be called a line of
traffic cones which are continually being moved one way or another. As
Americans we all seem to agree there should be a line of division between
church and state but border disputes continually erupt.
The National Cathedral was built
very close to that line. Because the
District of Columbia was completely ruled
by Congress back in the day, in 1893 that legislative body passed a charter
that allowed the Episcopal Church to build a cathedral. In 1907, when the cornerstone of the
church was laid, President Theodore Roosevelt was there, and when the final
finial (decorative piece) was placed 83 years later, President George H. W.
Bush was there. The United States Congress designated it as "the National
House of Prayer." Three Presidential funerals (Eisenhower, Reagan, and
Ford) have been held at the Cathedral. Inaugural prayer services for a number
of Presidents (FDR, Reagan, both Bushes, and Obama) have been held there.
So is it a place built to honor God
or the Nation?
Inside the cathedral, near where the
choir sits and behind the pulpit and lectern (I think this part is called the
"apse"), there is a seat for the bishop of the diocese. The chair
indicates that the church is the home church of the presiding bishop; it's
called a "cathedra," and it's what makes a church a cathedral in the
Episcopal Church. But the back of the cathedral, near the entrance, there's a
statue of Abraham Lincoln. For the last century (at least!) there has been
debate about Lincoln's faith, and yet he is a prominent figure throughout the
Cathedral.
In one of the many chapels, there
are cushions honoring a great variety of Americans, including names from Gerald
Ford to Jefferson Davis, Harriet Tubman to Jane Addams, Wilbur Wright to Horace
Greeley. These are all persons of note, but are they all people worthy of
places of honor in a church? There is an Alexander Hamilton cushion, and
everyone agrees (at least since the musical came out) that Hamilton should be
honored everywhere.
According to our tour guide (who
happened to be an acquaintance of Mindy's -- thanks, Lenelle!), there was a bit of controversy
of a Church/State nature in the Cathedral back in the 1970's. One of the stained glass windows has a unique feature:
because it portrays creation, the window's creator included a moon rock. The
Nixon administration didn't believe that this artifact, brought to earth through
millions in taxpayer dollars, should go to a church. Some higher power than
Tricky Dick must have decided otherwise.
As one watches school tour groups
wander from one sight to another, one might forget that it's a place of
worship. But at 10:30 a.m. an amplified voice asked for a moment of silence,
followed by a priest praying aloud for the nation. Our tour guide, who used to
attend Saints Peter and Paul, said she
appreciates these reminders that the National Cathedral is place of worship.
Some of the chapels in Cathedral
don't seem to have anything to do with to do with the Red, White and Blue.
There is a small little chapel named Good Shepherd, with a statue of Jesus,
small pews for worship, and no reference to Presidents that I could detect.
And there are regular worship
services in the Cathedral. The Sunday morning service is usually the best
attended Episcopal service in the diocese (Wikipedia says that in 2009, 1,667
was the average attendance). We attended a Thursday noon service in the
Bethlehem Chapel. Only fifteen people were in attendance. There wasn't any
music in the service, but we followed an order of service from the Book of
Common Prayer, shared Scripture, prayer, a sermon, and the elements of Communion.
It was just worship.
That Church/State line is a
difficult place to be. When wars have ended, people of a variety of faiths have
gone to the Cathedral to give thanks. When Martin Luther King or Billy Graham
or the Dalai Lama needed a pulpit, the National Cathedral has provided it. When
the nation mourned the deaths of 9/11, the Cathedral provided a place to
remember the victims. It is difficult to find where that line of church and
state should be, but there are times our nation has to deal with spiritual
issues, and there are times we should praise God for the good gifts He gives us
through this nation. I'm glad the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is there
to rest darn near that line.
We
went to the National Cathedral on Thursday. So what did we do on Sunday?
We went to quite the Odd Couple of
churches in Washington D.C. We went to Capitol Hill Baptist Church in the
morning and the Table Church in the evening. At Capitol Hill we sang hymns, and
at the Table we sang choruses and Carrie Underwood. Capitol Hill has a policy
of one service in one place, while the Table usually has several services in
different communities. Capitol Hill began promptly at the announced time, and
the Table not so much. The sermon at Capitol Hill was nearly an hour of
exposition, and the pastor at the table didn't even want to call his talk a
sermon.
It seemed Capitol Hill and Table
drew different demographics. Though both seemed to be composed largely of millenials,
I talked to someone at Capitol Hill who had been pulling for Rand Paul to win
the Republican nomination, and I met someone at the Table who is a big Bernie
Sanders fan. I met someone at Capitol Hill who works as a representative for a
defense contractor, and I met someone at the Table who works for an
environmental lobby and is concerned about global warming.
On the other hand, both services had
baptisms of adults proclaiming their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
At Capitol Hill, a man told of his transformation from drug dealer to escort
bodyguard to Christian. At the Table, we heard the story of a woman who went
from Hindu to atheist to Christian.
Despite the many differences as we
saw between the two churches, we saw the commonality of
Ephesians 4:5:
"One Lord, one faith, one baptism."
Statistics
National
Cathedral
Service Length: 31 minutes
Sermon Length: 12 minutes
Visitor Treatment: Everyone
greeted each other during the passing of the peace (and it seemed likely that
everyone was a visitor). The priest greeted all as they left.
Followup by Tuesday Morning:
none
Our Rough Count: 15
Probable Ushers' Count: no
ushers to count us
Snacks: none
Musicians: none
Songs: none
Miles to church: 6 miles
Capitol
Hill Baptist Church
Service Length: 2 hours 27
minutes
Sermon Length: 55 minutes
Visitor Treatment: Early in
the service, visitors were encouraged to fill out the cards in the church
information brochures behind each seat (there wasn't a card in the brochure in
front of us, but we found one).
Followup by Tuesday Morning: none email Wednesday afternoon, apologizing for responding slowly to our visitor card.
Our Rough Count: 990
Probable Ushers' Count: 1100
Snacks: coffee, hot water for
tea, lemonade, cold water, cookies
Musicians: acoustic guitar
(man), vocals (2 men, 1 woman), piano (man)
Songs: "Thou Who Wast
Rich"
"God, Whose Giving Knows no
Ending"
"See the Destined Day
Arise"
"Come, Behold the Wondrous
Mystery"
"Victory in the Lamb"
"Come, ye Sinners, Poor and
Needy"
"Dear Refuge of my Weary
Soul"
"Speak, O Lord"
"He Will Hold me Fast"
"Christ the Lord is Ris'n
Today"
Miles to church: 18 miles
Service Length: 1 hour 49
minutes
Sermon Length: 15 minutes
Visitor Treatment: We were
greeted at the door and asked if we usually attended at the other location
(this was a special gathering of the whole congregation in honor of the
Church's birthday). We happened to notice a visitor's card and filled it out,
but didn't find the box where it was supposed to be deposited. We gave it to a
regular attender who promised to turn it in for us.
Followup by Tuesday Morning:
none
Our Rough Count: 160
Probable Ushers' Count: 180
Snacks: decaf and water
before the service, sandwiches, cake, decaf, and water for a special
celebration after the service
Musicians: acoustic guitar
(man), keyboard (man), vocals (woman), percussion (man), electric bass (man), electric
guitar (man), choir (5 women, 3 men)
Songs: "Rejoice"
"You Brought me Back to
Life"
"You are Good"
"You're a Good, Good
Father"
"Down to the River to
Pray" (choir, a capella)
"Must be Something in the
Water"
Miles to church: 1 mile
Miles from start: 13,491
Total 2016 Miles: 13,184
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