I am still too brain-dead to write anything about the investiture so I will keep putting up photos. The bunch that follow were all taken by Compa, who was located up in the south transept with all the other press folks. There's no way I can generate enough text to go with the photos; they'll just be out of synch with the commentary.
The press was allowed inside the cathedral starting at 8.00 so Compa was able to go in and stake out her place (way, way up on a little platform in the transept), and then just walk around. We both had our cell phones so could communicate with each other; she could tell me where there still was open seating. At one point, the organ was so loud she wasn't sure I could hear her. Meanwhile, she got up to the west end of the cathedral and took this shot of all of us freezing our feathers. (Some people were actually standing on newspapers as insulation.) I know where I am in this crowd shot, up in the front second row to the right but in a low res photo, there's no point in trying to point it out.
Two by two the bishops processed. The bishops who were going to be helping in asperging the congregation (here) carried bowls and branches with which to asperge us. Given the location of the font, they had to process ahead of most everyone else. In all cases, the bishops came up the side aisles and then processed down (west) the centre aisle to their seats.
Next in line were the concelebrating bishops. The first one in line is the Rt Rev'd Barbara Harris, retired MA, the first woman elected bishop in the Anglican Communion back in 1988 (being consecrated in February 1989; I missed that event as well as the consecration of the Rt Rev'd Mary Adelia McLeod, retired VT, first woman diocesan).
Here's another shot from the south transept balcony looking back down to the centre. (I am over by that big pillar.) As Jan Nunley wrote, you couldn't go anywhere without hitting a bishop with a cat (not exactly that but that's the general idea). There were bishops everywhere. I am sure there were as many bishops at the investiture of PB Frank Griswold but certainly there was less angst in some quarters about who would attend.
Finally, after all the business at the west end of the cathedral, which most of us only saw on screens, the knocking at the door and presentation, the processions of others, in arrived our new PB. At this point, the liturgy moved into the giving of symbols of ministry. Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies, said: 'Katharine, let the gifts you are about to receive be signs of the ministry you share with all baptized persons and of the responsibility entrusted to you as Presiding Bishop, Primate and Chief Pastor of this family of the world wide Anglican Communion.'
Katharine, recibe este Libro de los Evangelios y llévanos a proclamar la Palabra de Dios. She responded: My brothers and sisters, may God renew in us today the courage to live and proclaim the Gospel.
After receiving water, symbol of baptism and the ministry of evangelism shared by every baptised person, bread and wine, symbols of the eucharistic life of the church, and oil, symbol of healing and reconciliation (presented by Dr Azizah al-Hibri in Arabic, the Most Rev'd Njongonkulu Ndugane and Rabbi Myra Soifer), PB KJS turned to face retiring PB FG. For a moment they stood there, and then he said: Katharine, receive this pastoral staff, the symbol of your authority as Presiding Bishop, Primate and Chief Pastor of the Episcopal Church, and lead us as we walk in the way of Christ. May Christ the Good Shepherd sustain you as you carry it in his name. I still think his voice cracked on the last three words.
And then she took the staff in her hand... and that was the moment when I thought nothing can take this away from us. What a sight to see a woman holding that staff! And thank God for our liturgy that enabled us all to go on, as she responded: My sisters and brothers, may God renew in us today the grace to follow where the Spirit leads us, reaching forth our hands in love and reconciling the World to Christ. We all said in a loud voice of one: Amen. And then PB FG said: My brothers and sisters, greet your Twenty-sixth Presiding Bishop.
She turned to face us and we applauded her for quite some time.
The sermon is up over at Episcopal News Service. Many have already written about it, no need for me to comment other than to say that it was powerful, and one that flowed... normally I take notes on things, but I didn't need to, yet still could remember about what she preached. The pulpit is an amazing piece of furniture (if I dare call it that); the flowers on it were beautiful. And whoever made the pulpit made that funny mouse hole niche for a glass of water -- smart. The deacon is not asleep; in other photos he is listening. He was just being reflective at that moment.
Given that 3200 some-odd people were going to receive communion that morning, lots and lots of baskets of bread and cruets of wine needed to be presented. Seeing all those baskets and cruets of course made me think of General Convention, where daily the same amounts are needed to feed everyone. I even wondered if they pulled out of storage the very glass pitchers for the morning, a silent connection to General Convention. For someone coming from a diocese of 8000 total, to go to a liturgy where almost half that many are under one roof is almost overwhelming.
'This is my Body...' Standing next to PB KJS are two deacons from Nevada; the woman is also a General Ordination Examination reader; she has been at GOEs reading for the past three or four years. In the background is +Barbara Harris. Cropped out of the photo are the other concelebrating bishops, including PB Ed Browning.
'This is my Blood.' We used Eucharistic Prayer B.
Finally, the end of the liturgy.
Here she is greeting thousands of well wishers. With everyone crowding up on the font platform, it's amazing that no one fell off (that I know of). Eventually the cathedral staff set up ropes to try to steer everyone into one line instead of having three lines funnel into one. She blessed many people, signed people's prayerbooks, bulletins and whatever else they had to put in front of them, and was incredibly gracious. To think that she probably had to go through the same thing again on Sunday overwhelms me. I just hope that she got some well-deserved rest today!
Lastly, a photo of PB Ed Browning, post liturgy. We were talking about their great blueberry crop they had this year. He is happily retired in Oregon... it is hard to believe that it has already been nine years since he was PB and, even more so, that he served for 12. His son, Peter, was at General when I was there (graduated in the class ahead of me), so there is that dim connection. We are very much where we are, because of PB EB's sermon at his investiture where he declared that there would be no outcasts in the Episcopal Church. There are many of us who consider him a hero for those words.
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