Lost Opportunity
[published in The Living Church, 8/27/2007]
 

In late June, the official papers were signed, and the Cathedral of Christ the
King, former center of the Diocese of Western Michigan, was sold to the
Kalamazoo Valley Family Church for some $2 million. The sale and relinquishing
of the cathedral represents a great failure on the part of the diocese to live
into a strategy for the mission and ministry of Christ in Western Michigan.

The cathedral was built in the late 1960s according to a creative design by
architect Irving W. Colburn. Its unique design of the circle (symbol of the
divine) and the square (symbol of human creations) and its location along
Interstate 94 gave it a stunning visual impact for thousands of people who
passed by. The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, the fifth Bishop of Western
Michigan, under whose leadership the cathedral was built, spoke of its location
as being on “the main street of the Midwest.” Over the years busloads of
tourists visited, and the local arts community included it in its listing of
places to visit in the Kalamazoo area.

Bishop Bennison’s vision for the cathedral was global. As he put it:

The dynamic diocesan center I envision would have to be a church first and
foremost housing at its heart the altar, with the various related aspects of
the total mission of the church going out as spokes from the altar hub to all
parts of the cathedral building and from there out to the world. Further, the
church, through the cathedral, would have to be involved in all of life.
Nothing which concerns any part of human life, in even the slightest way,
could be divorced from the life and work of the cathedral. Moreover, this
building would have to be not only the official seat of the bishop of this
diocese of The Episcopal Church, belonging to all of the clergy and the laity
of the Diocese of Western Michigan, but in this age of ecumenicity and the
constant need for the grace of reconciliation to be born in the hearts of all
people, the cathedral would have to serve as a spiritual reservoir of all
people of every race and creed.

The last dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev. Cynthia Black, and those before
her, made the structure a place for creative arts, worship, and dialogue. In the
1970s, there were balloon launches on the extensive open spaces surrounding the
cathedral, and ground-breaking ecumenical services with Lutherans and Roman
Catholics. Hundreds of ordinations and weddings took place there. Western
Michigan University used the cathedral and especially its 49-rank
Aeolian/Skinner organ, for musical productions.

Many diocesan events, including conventions and related mission meetings, were
held at the cathedral, as this was the diocesan office or headquarters, the
bishop’s office symbolized so powerfully with the central stone chair (cathedra)
surrounded by impressive stone stalls for the canons who advised the bishop. The
cathedral’s location near the southern end of the diocese, which includes the
western half of the lower peninsula of Michigan, made diocesan meetings held
there a burden for those in Grand Rapids and further north. The Rt. Rev. Edward
L. Lee, Jr., seventh Bishop of Western Michigan, took his “cathedra” on the road
for conventions and meetings.

The eighth and current bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert R. Gepert, decided with the
executive council and the concurrence of the diocesan convention that the budget
could no longer support the facility. Neither could the small congregation which
met there under the leadership of Dean Black. Subsequently, the decision was
made to sell the facility, but retain Resurrection Gardens, the burial site for
cremains on the cathedral grounds.

The failure leading to the sale of the cathedral lies with the lack of a serious
commitment to evangelism. There is no growth strategy into which the cathedral
would fit. Such a strategy has little to do with the current inflammatory issues
of homosexuality or church polity. Rather the inability of the people in the
pews to speak convincingly about three key questions resulted in a great silence
about the mission of The Episcopal Church.

The first question about which people should speak with friends and neighbors is
simple: Why Jesus? Why do people need and benefit from a personal relationship
with the risen Lord? Can we share with them how that leads to “the peace of God
which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7)? Can we demonstrate both in word
and deed how that relationship has changed our lives?

The second question also is simple: Why the Church? Why do Christians need to
assemble together? Why is it not possible to be a faithful Christian alone? Can
we speak convincingly about how our participating in congregational life
strengthens and expands our faith? It is in the assembly of disciples that we
learn to love one another as Christ has loved us, that we learn to forgive one
another 70 times seven, that we learn to pray and worship as our Lord taught us
to do, and that we learn to serve one another and persons in need like good
Samaritans.

Third: Why this church? Why The Episcopal Church and this particular
congregation? The diversity of the congregations, the search for meaning in
relationship to crucial questions of life and culture, the significant exposure
to scripture in the lectionary, community and world service in Christ’s name,
the awesome nature of good worship with joyful hymns of praise – these are but a
few of the reasons why this church.

It is with true purpose and excitement that Episcopalians are working together
to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs of the United Nations. But it
would be more fruitful if we had congregations enthused about the mission and
ministry of Christ in the world because they have a personal relationship with
the risen Lord, are engaged with others in their congregational life, and
believe The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion can make a difference in
changing the future of humanity and of the earth.

The Kalamazoo Valley Family Church, which purchased the Cathedral, began in 1991
under the leadership of the Rev. Jeff and the Rev. Beth Jones, with three adults
and four children. Today its membership is near 2,500. The church’s website
notes:

From the beginning, we have seen Kalamazoo Valley Family Church as a local
church with a regional influence. Our vision and purpose have been focused on
reaching Southwest Michigan. Our message has stayed consistent and can be
summarized as one of abundant life through a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and through faith in God’s Word!

Isn’t this our mission as well? Isn’t this what Bishop Bennison envisioned for
the cathedral? If the people of the Diocese of Western Michigan and elsewhere
were as committed to that mission and could answer the three questions with
enthusiasm and personal testimony, would it have been necessary to sell the
cathedral? I think not!

[The Rev. Joseph Neiman is the retired rector of St. Mark’s Church, Paw Paw,
Mich., and the former editor of the Western Michigan Episcopalian.]