A Picture can Say 1,000 Words...

I think that everyone knows that infamous expression. However, I want to put that theory to the test with a picture that I took...

It’s not very often when someone can say that they took a picture of the outside of the building while they themselves were still on the inside. I took this picture of the Washington National Cathedral, which is also less commonly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, from the seventh level on Sunday, February 15^th. For those of you who are unfamiliar with DC territory, in order to get to the Washington National Cathedral without a car, one must take the Metro, then take a bus, and from there do some walking. However, a friend of my family was willing to take me to the Cathedral by car, which I’m thankful for considering that it was a cold and windy day. The night before I took this picture, I had a brief discussion over the phone with my pen-pal and brother in Christ about how much I was looking forward to visiting the National Cathedral. When I first saw it, I was taken aback at how massive it is in both size and splendor. My family friend and I went inside for the 11:15AM service. Inside the sanctuary were the flags of each of the fifty states. This was the first time I ever went to an Anglican style service, which is also known as an Episcopalian service. Nevertheless, it was a good service. I liked to sing with the congregation, considering that I do not get to participate in as much musical activities as I do at Gustavus. The sermon was about how responsibilities are passed down from one generation to the next. After the service, my family friend and I were admiring the architecture and stained glass windows of the Cathedral. A nice gentleman told the two of us some background information about the Space Window, which was made in honor of the Apollo XI mission and actually has a piece of moon rock from the mission inside the window.

We received a half an hour long tour of the Cathedral. Due to the impact of two World Wars and the varying flow of private funds (the Washington National Cathedral receives no government funding), it took 83 years to complete the Cathedral’s construction. The work began on September 27, 1907 and finally ended on September 29, 1990. Almost everything in the Cathedral was made by hand, from the exterior to the kneelers. The central tower of the Cathedral is the tallest point in Washington DC, at 676 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, the Cathedral is still undergoing repair work for the damage that it took from the 2011 earthquake. There were a couple portions of scaffolding both outside on the Cathedral and a big stretch of scaffolding inside the sanctuary itself. A few places in the sanctuary had blue masking tape, which marked places where there were cracks to be fixed. According to the tour guide, all of the repair work should be done by the end of spring or summer at the latest. A few pieces of angels and gargoyles that broke due to the earthquake were on display at the seventh floor for people to look at, but my family friend and I didn’t see them until after the tour was over.

There are some very interesting stories behind some of the items inside the National Cathedral. The Canterbury Pulpit was made by people from the Church of Canterbury in England and given to the National Cathedral as a gift. The pulpit depicts the story of the translation of the Bible. That pulpit is the same pulpit where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his last Sunday sermon, which was four days before his assassination. As to the Space Window, part of the reason why there is a piece of moon rock inside the window from the Apollo XI mission is because astronaut Michael Collins was an alumnus of St. Albans School at the Cathedral Close (the school is right next to the Cathedral). Also, stars on the Space Window were made by blowing bubbles in the glass, which is difficult to do. The Creation Rose, which is one of three rose windows at the Washington National Cathedral, was made from over ten thousand, five hundred pieces of stained glass. When the sun is out, the dazzling colors from the Creation Rose reach all the way to the front of the sanctuary, which is the distance of about two football fields. Each of the kneelers represents a different historical person from American history and they get rotated; you may see Susan B. Anthony’s kneeler one day and the next it’s replaced by David Farragut’s or Ronald Reagan’s. President Woodrow Wilson is the only President to have his final resting place at the Washington National Cathedral. However, every President who passed away had either a memorial or funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. Both Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan are interred at the Cathedral as well. In fact, there is a plaque that is written in Braille in the lower level of the Cathedral which states that Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan are buried there. While there is so much I saw and learned while I was at the Cathedral, I don’t think my descriptions could do justice to the place.

At the end of the sermon, it was mentioned that a few years ago at a pastor’s convention they started to record the retirement speeches of pastors that would soon retire. The purpose of it was to capture a piece of time so that the moment would live on. According to the pastor though, in comparison to the actual event it’s just not the same. The same is true about my experience at the Washington National Cathedral. No matter how many pictures I took or much I describe the architecture or fun facts about different parts of the Cathedral, it’s not the same as if you were to experience all of it for yourself.